Godly Youth

In previous posts, we have studied how one builds the Christian character on the foundation of faith in God. One adds excellent morals, knowledge of God’s word, the ability to control oneself in the boundaries of God’s laws, and the perseverance to endure until the end. These characteristics depend on one another for optimal growth. To these gifts, we must add godliness. Certainly, if we add all of the characteristics of 2 Peter 1, we will be like Christ. However, godliness, in this context, does not mean to be like God but rather to direct our attention towards God or to have reverence.

Directing our focus to God directs and strengthens the other characteristics. Faith must be directed heavenward, Hebrews 11:6. Moral excellence for its own sake may bring praise from men but one would probably discard it at the first ethical conflict. A person with moral excellence based on reverence will choose to do right even when it is not in his personal best interest to do so. Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up but love edifies.” Knowledge by itself is valuable, but better is a desire to know the will of God and to know about God Himself. Self-control is admirable in any person but God wants us to exercise self-control because of our desire to please Him. Perseverance truly finds its strength in godliness for by looking to God and the home He has prepared for us, we can endure many trials throughout life.

How does one develop godliness? It begins with keeping God in our daily lives. When we rise for the day, we should begin with prayer. When we bed down for the night, we should pray to the Father. Throughout the day, we should pray to Him. His word must speak to us during the day. We can read a passage and meditate on it throughout the day. We should also look for ways to show Christ living in us to others. Our speech, manner, and honesty will either demonstrate godliness or betray it.

When we make decisions, we should decide in a way that pleases God. Our business, social, and personal life should reflect one who is trying to be like Jesus. Just as the moon does not generate light but reflects the light from the sun, so should the Christian look to God for guidance and “let his light shine before men.” When Moses was in the presence of God at Mt. Sinai, his face shone. The people were frightened and asked Moses to wear a veil when he spoke to them. Though our face will not shine like Moses, it ought to be evident to all people that we have an intimate relationship with God. Like the apostles, people should know that we have been with Jesus, Acts 4:13.

A life directed towards God will progress towards Him. When we take our eyes away from God, it is easy to get distracted with the allurements of the world. As the Hebrew writer said, we can drift away from that salvation. When our focus is heavenward, our earthly ties become weaker. It is this attitude that characterized many men and women of faith who, leaving their homelands on earth, confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims traveling to their heavenly city to a God who is not ashamed of them (Hebrews 11:13-16). Let us fix our eyes on God and journey to that heavenly city, following the way paved by His Son.

One of the great challenges of the Chrsitian life is understanding that it is a marathon, not a sprint. There are moments where we can attain spiritual heights that we wish would last our lifetime. However, the ebb and flow of life means that not only will those spiritual heights not last, but may be followed by great spiritual challenges. After His baptism and the heavenly proclamation of a Father’s pride for His beloved Son, Jesus went to the trial of the wilderness to be tested by Satan for 40 days. After the glorious defeat of Baal’s prophets by the mighty hand of God, Elijah was on the run wondering if he was the only one who remained faithful among God’s people. When you are soaring spiritually, enjoy the feel of peace and joy but do not be disappointed when a great challenge converges onto your path. Likewise, when you are in the depths of struggle and despair, know that you will be able to stand on the higher ground of spiritual delight again.

Various translations render this word perseverance, patience, and steadfastness. It is the ability to not give up despite the obstacles in your path or the voice within that calls for you to quit. I’m not surprised that this characteristic is listed after self-control since changes in our lives based on the knowledge of God’s word require us to be patient with ourselves as we break bad habits or try to develop consistent good behaviors like daily prayer and study. We must be patient with ourselves as we grow spiritually. It will take a lifetime for us to develop all of these characteristics and it may take much time before we see the maturity in our own lives. More often, though, others will see great progress in our lives faster than we will see it in ourselves.

You will also need this perseverance to remain holy when your friends are indulging in sexual immorality, partying, and following the passions of this world. It may be tough when they appear to be having fun and you feel you are needlessly denying yourself pleasure. If those who claim to be Christians and doing these things it can be tougher not to join in. It takes perseverance to trust God (to “wait on the Lord” as the Psalmist says) and His way knowing that if you follow His guidance you will be much happier and avoid needless guilt, shame, and often physical consequences associated with these destructive behaviors. I have lost count of the number of people who I’ve talked with who had carried the burden of a life given to sin into adulthood and created avoidable difficulties in their marriages and sense of spiritual wholeness. God is merciful and will forgive but as the old proverb teaches, you can choose your actions but you cannot choose your consequences. Let patience develop within you and choose actions that avoid a sinful life that you may enjoy the positive consequences of your actions. 1 Peter 4:1-11 should be a passage that will encourage you to remain holy when tempted by so many people living a foolish life.

We must have the perseverance to continue faithful until death, especially if persecution for your faith might result in death. In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter acknowledges that Christians will have to endure trials and persecutions. However, he describes this as a blessed condition because one is sharing in the suffering of Christ. We will strengthen our patience by enduring trials and overcoming temptation according to James. As with trusting God’s path to avoid immorality, we can endure persecution if we will entrust our lives to God’s loving care. This trust gave Paul confidence as his life was about to come to a violent end. Those who patiently trust God can endure suffering and persecution for they know a crown of life awaits.

When developing patience, understand that you do not have to develop it alone. We have a family of God for support in our time weakness and to encourage us to remain faithful when tempted and tested. Perhaps our perseverance would improve greatly if we made ourselves accountable to a fellow brother or sister in Christ to overcome a particular weakness or strengthen a virtue. Faithful brethren should rally one another in the face of the enemy and watch for those who are growing fainthearted. Build relationships with those who will help you develop perseverance.

Above all, perseverance helps us to endure when we fall. It doesn’t matter if you fall a thousand times as long as you get up each time you fall. Many years ago I read a thought that over time has helped me greatly in developing patience with myself. Essentially the author said that our great frustration is that we can’t live always like we can live sometimes. I used to beat myself up when I couldn’t live every days with the zeal, service, and passion that I enjoyed on certain days. Then I realized that no one is able to always live every day like they do on some special days. However, I can still live one day at a time to the best that I can for that day and look forward to those special days when it seems like everything is in perfect order. Perseverance helps me keep that focus.

Perseverance or steadfastness is necessary because sometimes we must hold on when there appears no reason to do so because we trust in God to make everything work out for the good, Romans 8:28. It reminds me of the encouragement of Rudyard Kipling in his poem “If” to hold on, sometimes, only for the sake of holding on:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

Those who wait on the Lord and persevere will enjoy a better life on this earth and a joyful eternity with God.

BONUS: My pump up video when I feel like giving up:  Warhawk Matt Scott

If you have ever been to a circus, I am sure you were amazed at the lion tamers. A man or a woman stands in a cage surrounded by several lions. The lions respond to the trainers commands and perform tricks for the audience. The lions have incredible strength and could tear the trainer to pieces. However, the trainer has brought the power of the lion under control and directs his actions as he desires.

Christians must perform similar feats in living a godly life. We have desires that we must master. We have the ability to destroy others, but must restrain ourselves. We might be lazy or procrastinate regarding something we should be doing and must motivate ourselves to be diligent servants. We must train and control these desires, like the lion tamer controls the wild animals, and bring them under the control of a spirit dedicated to Jesus.

Christians must control their tongues. The tongue is truly like a wild beast that can destroy others and our own soul. In James 3:1-12, James warns that although it is small, the tongue can curse men and God and we cannot tame it. We must try to control it to the best of our ability. We must not curse others or speak evil of them. Our tongue must be used for edification and blessing. We train our tongue by resisting the temptation to gossip, curse, lie, and insult others. We try to find good things to say about others. We seek words that will encourage our brethren as they journey towards heaven. When we must offer a rebuke, we do so with humility, meekness, and love, considering their soul’s welfare.

We must also control our desires. The Devil will use our desires to draw us away from God, James 1:14. It is not wrong to have desires, but it is wrong to have them directed at things God has forbidden. For example, physical desire for my spouse is permitted; coveting my neighbor’s wife is not. Our desires can seem as strong, but we can be stronger. God will give us the strength to endure temptation. We may have to get ourselves out of the situation or call someone to help us through the tough time. However, we can endure and we must overcome evil desire.

A Christian must also control his temper. James wrote, “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” In some situations, such as in business, it is acceptable, perhaps even expected, that a person will lose his temper. However, even if the world accepts such behavior, the Christian, who is not of the world, should keep his temper under control. He may get angry, but he must express his anger in an approved and dignified manner that does not demean or injure others. It is not the anger that is wrong; it is the improper expression of anger. Though it might lash out like a wild beast, the Christian must bring his temper under the control of his spirit.

Finally, we must consider positive self-control; we might call this self-direction. Self-control is not concerned only with restraint but with action. God commands us to do many things that may seem difficult or potentially embarrassing. However, we must overcome our fears and anxieties and do what God has commanded us to do. We might be scared to call a sick brother or sister, fearful that we might say the wrong thing or not know what to say. We must overcome that fear and choose to do what we know God wants us to do. Self-control will allow us to limit activities that take us away from Bible study, prayer, edifying our family and loved ones, and direct our efforts towards these godly pursuits. Self-control will encourage us to study or pray when we really do not feel like it. Like a dreaded workout, we often find after starting what we tried to avoid, we are happy and thankful that we did it.

Add self-control to your faith, and see your faith grow.

To faith and virtue, the Christian must add knowledge.  Knowledge is already present in the characteristic of faith for “faith comes by hearing the word of God,” Romans 10:17.  Yet the basic knowledge that leads to faith must grow.

To grow in Christ, one must have knowledge of the word of God.  God gave us commands through His Son and the apostles.  The commands of God are to shape our lives in holiness so that as He is holy, we can be holy.  God did not give commands arbitrarily; there are reasons why God legislated as He did.  We must trust in the wisdom of God and do all that He commands.  However, we must first know the commands, and that comes through study.

The word of God also teaches us by the example of godly men and women.  Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we can study the lives of men and women who served God in difficult situations, often standing against those who claimed to be God’s people.  We are urged to “walk as Jesus walked,” 1 John 2:6.  How can we know how Jesus lived if we do not read the gospels?  Many of us who desire to live like Christ do not study how He acted, how He answered His critics, His love, His anger, His doctrine, and His sacrifice.  The more we learn about Christ, the more we will want to do what He did.

As we learn more of the gospel, we are able to use that knowledge in handling situations in life.  Through knowledge, we can gain wisdom.  Knowledge is the understanding of the facts; wisdom is the ability to use those facts in daily life.  The spiritually mature have “exercised” that knowledge in daily life, Hebrews 5:14.  The mature Christian knows how the word of God works because he has exercised it in his life.  I can read a cookbook and learn how to bake a delicious cake, but until I step into the kitchen and actually make the cake, I really cannot know how to bake a cake.  I may know what the word of God teaches, but until I use it in my life, especially in difficult circumstances, I will not know how the word really works.

Sometimes we view knowledge as a goal.  We feel that once we know enough, we will be good Christians.  However, some very knowledgeable Christians have gotten themselves into trouble because they did not exercise the word in wisdom.

Paul wrote, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”  We should not pursue knowledge as the end goal.  We should realize that knowledge is just a means towards the ultimate end of being complete in Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The Scripture is able to equip us fully, that is, we have everything we need for living our lives before God.  The word of God simply arms me for conflicts with Satan and provides nourishment to help me as I journey to become complete in Christ.  Knowledge is not the destination; it is a road map.  God will not allow me into heaven because I was able to pass a test on my knowledge of the Bible, but He will judge me by how I lived the Bible.

 In the previous post we studied faith, the basic theme of our life that we enhance with all of the characteristics of 2 Peter 1:5-11.  Each characteristic supports and enhances the other and, when taken together, will prevent us from stumbling.  We will spend our lives nurturing these traits but we will enrich our lives by the effort.

To our faith, we must add virtue.  Other translations read “moral excellence” and “goodness.”  Our faith demands commitment to the high moral ideals taught and exemplified by Jesus.  In 1 Peter 1:16, Peter records God’s words, “Be holy for I am holy.”  God has called us to live holy lives in an unholy world.  We are to be lights in the world by reflecting in our lives the greatest light of all, Jesus.

We do not attain moral excellence on our own; the word of God teaches us how to live righteously.  The church in Corinth existed in the midst of an extremely wicked city.  According to a saying of the time, if one were to act like a Corinthian it meant he was very immoral.  Yet, even in this wicked city, men and women changed their lives to become like Christ. Consider 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:  

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you.  But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

The Corinthians were involved in many kinds of immorality but the gospel changed them.  If you read both epistles to the Corinthians you realize that they had many spiritual problems to resolve, yet they were growing towards perfection in Christ.  We may have little or much to do in adding moral excellence to our lives but it is an essential trait of the Christian.

This trait not only emphasizes the high moral standard we must embody but the courage to maintain that standard though persecuted.  In the Roman times in which Peter penned this letter, the valiant soldier who stood his ground and fought courageously exemplified virtue.  The Christian is a battle against the forces of evil and must stand courageous in the face of the enemy, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.  Our courage must reflect the power and strength we receive from our faith, Ephesians 6:10.  We often sing, “On every hand the foe we find drawn up in dread array.  Let tents of ease be left behind and onward to the fray…the earth shall tremble ‘neath our tread, and echo with our shout.”  Do you have this courage?

In 1 Peter 4:1-4, Peter shows that our moral excellence will cause some conflict with our associations in the world.  Some people do not want to stand out for their moral convictions in a world that considers morals something to be determined on a case-by-case basis.  They may rationalize decisions instead of following God’s high standard.  In so doing they become weaker and morally inept.

We must have moral courage.  The courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who faced a fiery furnace rather than bow to the idol of Nebuchadnezzar.  The courage of Daniel who faced what seemed to be a certain death in the lion’s den rather than disobey God.  The courage of David who, indignant at the blasphemy of Goliath, ran to meet the giant in battle.  The courage of countless others who suffered persecution, torture, and death because they would not deny the Lord.  Great faith needs great courage.