Cultivating Christian Character
Transcript of Cultivating Christian Character
ATTRIBUTION/CREDITS
• “Essential Virtues – Marks of the Christ-
Centered Life”
• Written by: Jim Berg
• Copyright: 2008 by BJU Press
Previously...
•Groundwork for Christian
Character
– Cultivating Goodness
(Excellence)
– Cultivating Knowledge
Previously...
•Backbone of Christian
Character
– Cultivating Self-control
• Deal w/world, our desires,
promote order
Last Week...
•Cultivating Endurance
– Keeping on in the face of
intentional opposition, defying
something onerous or evil
– To remain constant under
external pressure
• It implies ACTIVE
RESISTANCE against those
external pressures, or
• ACTIVE DEFENSE of some
ethical principle being threatened
externally
• Why must believers cultivate this
endurance?
• In order to ensure any response
to whatever external pressure we
face glorifies God
• Cannot do it in our own strength
• Must be Holy Spirit-powered
and God-sustained
• In the end:
Endurance is the ability to
remain faithful and glorify God
under external pressure by
looking to God for strength to do
it
Cultivating Godliness
•2 Pet 1:6: “Add
to…endurance godliness.”
•Take a look at your charts
•Essential personal virtues
Loving God with my Whole Heart Loving Others as Myself
The Groundwork for Christlike Character (v. 5) The Backbone of Christlike Character (v. 6) The Trademark of Christlike Character (v. 7)
Saving FAITH SELF-CONTROL BROTHERLY KINDNESS
Being a "partaker of the divine nature" through the righteousness of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-empowered mastery of my internal desires
Cultivating a God-engendered affection for and service to those in the "household of faith"
EXCELLENCE
ENDURANCE LOVE
ESSE
NTI
AL
VIR
TUES
Cultivating a God-mandated purpose to develop and display the excellencies (character) of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-sustained faithfulness under external pressure
Cultivating a God-imitating mindset that scripturally and sacrificially meets the spiritual needs of others
KNOWLEDGE GODLINESS Cultivating a God-taught understanding of the person, the work, and the ways of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-honoring devotion to Jesus Christ that promises righteousness and opposes evil
COMMITMENT to Christ COURAGE for Christ COMPASSION like Christ
CO
RE
VA
LUES
These traits produce a whole-hearted disciple who chooses the appeals and ideals of Christ and rejects the appeals and ideals of the world
These traits produce a brave-hearted disciple who advances Christ and His ways and opposes evil in himself and others regardless of risk to himself
These traits produce a tender-hearted disciple-maker who seeks the lost and who by his example and effort disciples others to live a Christ-centered life
Cultivating Godliness
•Berg calls godliness “the crown and the summary of the four “personal virtues””
•Calls godliness the “launching pad into the two “social virtues,”” -- brotherly kindness and love”
• Label at top of chart
Loving God with my Whole Heart Loving Others as Myself
The Groundwork for Christlike Character (v. 5) The Backbone of Christlike Character (v. 6) The Trademark of Christlike Character (v. 7)
Saving FAITH SELF-CONTROL BROTHERLY KINDNESS
Being a "partaker of the divine nature" through the righteousness of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-empowered mastery of my internal desires
Cultivating a God-engendered affection for and service to those in the "household of faith"
EXCELLENCE
ENDURANCE LOVE
ESSE
NTI
AL
VIR
TUES
Cultivating a God-mandated purpose to develop and display the excellencies (character) of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-sustained faithfulness under external pressure
Cultivating a God-imitating mindset that scripturally and sacrificially meets the spiritual needs of others
KNOWLEDGE GODLINESS Cultivating a God-taught understanding of the person, the work, and the ways of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-honoring devotion to Jesus Christ that promises righteousness and opposes evil
COMMITMENT to Christ COURAGE for Christ COMPASSION like Christ
CO
RE
VA
LUES
These traits produce a whole-hearted disciple who chooses the appeals and ideals of Christ and rejects the appeals and ideals of the world
These traits produce a brave-hearted disciple who advances Christ and His ways and opposes evil in himself and others regardless of risk to himself
These traits produce a tender-hearted disciple-maker who seeks the lost and who by his example and effort disciples others to live a Christ-centered life
Cultivating Godliness
•Godliness completes the set personal virtues Peter says we need to love God w/ our whole heart
•Sets the stage, prepares our heart, for column 3, which is loving others as our selves
Loving God with my Whole Heart Loving Others as Myself
The Groundwork for Christlike Character (v. 5) The Backbone of Christlike Character (v. 6) The Trademark of Christlike Character (v. 7)
Saving FAITH SELF-CONTROL BROTHERLY KINDNESS
Being a "partaker of the divine nature" through the righteousness of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-empowered mastery of my internal desires
Cultivating a God-engendered affection for and service to those in the "household of faith"
EXCELLENCE
ENDURANCE LOVE
ESSE
NTI
AL
VIR
TUES
Cultivating a God-mandated purpose to develop and display the excellencies (character) of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-sustained faithfulness under external pressure
Cultivating a God-imitating mindset that scripturally and sacrificially meets the spiritual needs of others
KNOWLEDGE GODLINESS Cultivating a God-taught understanding of the person, the work, and the ways of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-honoring devotion to Jesus Christ that promises righteousness and opposes evil
COMMITMENT to Christ COURAGE for Christ COMPASSION like Christ
CO
RE
VA
LUES
These traits produce a whole-hearted disciple who chooses the appeals and ideals of Christ and rejects the appeals and ideals of the world
These traits produce a brave-hearted disciple who advances Christ and His ways and opposes evil in himself and others regardless of risk to himself
These traits produce a tender-hearted disciple-maker who seeks the lost and who by his example and effort disciples others to live a Christ-centered life
Cultivating Godliness
•Achieving godliness (more on this coming) marks a maturity level in a believer that facilitates our ability to reach out and love others
•But remember, simultaneous and sequential…(back)
Cultivating Godliness
• So what is godliness?
• The original Greek word translates as “religion”
• Meant worship that was worthy of God
• Used to mean “authentic piety,” living, breathing, visible every day way of life whether at home, alone, in the workplace, etc.
GODLINESS GOOD WORKS
DEVOTION DISCIPLINE BROTHERLY LOVE
KINDNESS
ARETE SELF-CONTROL
KNOWLEDGE ENDURANCE
Cultivating Godliness
•Believers achieve Godliness by
– Cultivating personal devotional virtues (arête, knowledge), with
– Personal discipline virtues (self-control and endurance)
Cultivating Godliness
• When we cultivate these personal virtues that allow us to love God with all our heart…
• They become the fuel that gives us the spiritual commitment and spiritual strength to cultivate the social virtues and love others
Cultivating Godliness
•Godliness must become a way of life
•A godly lifestyle will be distinctive and different than the world
• It also is useful to the cause of Christ
Cultivating Godliness
• St Paul sums it up in Titus 2:11-12
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”
Cultivating Godliness
•So what are the marks of a
godly man (believer)?
•How do you know if you’re
cultivating godliness with
some success?
Cultivating Godliness
•Can probably think of
hundreds
•Focus on three in this study
•One today, two in next
week’s Godliness Part Deux
Cultivating Godliness
•Devotion to God • Know he’s committed to pursing
arête and knowledge
• Increasingly high and frequent thoughts of Jesus
• As knowledge grows, Jesus becomes more dear for what He did for us on the cross
Cultivating Godliness
•More aware of and saddened
by sinful thoughts, self-serving
actions, indifference to others
• More buoyed by the peace felt
after confessing a wrong and
receiving God’s promised
forgiveness
Cultivating Godliness
• Less discouraged by his sin/moral failure because he’s seen Jesus’s forgiveness in the past
• Looking to give God the glory more than looking for self-glory (sorry if it’s to him)
Cultivating Godliness
•Barriers to cultivating this
devotion abound
•Hours and hours of time
spent in front of screens,
video games, pursuing
hobbies, sports, etc.
Cultivating Godliness
•Berg says “The Christian who would be Godly cannot fill his time with entertainment and recreation.”
•Rather, cultivating godliness requires ever increasing time in God’s Word
Cultivating Godliness
•Believer must personally
and regularly spend time
with Jesus in His Word
•Meditate on what one reads
•Respond with confession, a
contrite heart and praise
Cultivating Godliness
•Godly devotion manifests itself in a distinctive Christ-centered life vs a self-centered life
•Berg:
–“Many men (believers) today are Christian, but alarmingly few are godly.”
Cultivating Godliness
•The bar of godliness is
incredibly high
–But do NOT be discouraged!
•Godliness takes TIME!
•Cultivating godliness is a
process
Cultivating Godliness
•Make this perfected, high bar your target
•Godliness grows when a believer makes cultivating the earlier virtues a lifestyle
• Start slow – decide to make a small change and stick with it
Cultivating Godliness
• Pick one worldly thing you love/do/spend time on and replace it with 30 minutes in the Word
• Be warned – breaking a habit is hard!
• Make 30 min in the Word your new habit – habits become routines
Cultivating Godliness
• Expect opposition – this is spiritual warfare!
• Our sinful nature likes the worldly things we indulge in
• You may not want to give up that 30 minutes of Facebook time
• You’ll need to lean on your cultivated self-control and endurance to overcome the lure of the world
Cultivating Godliness
•Keep at it and make it a
routine
•Once it becomes routine,
add 30 more minutes!
•CULTIVATE GODLINESS!
Cultivating Godliness
• The godly man (believer) is known by his observable devotion to God
• None of us are there yet, but we know where the bar is set
• With prayer, intentional, active effort and God’s grace we can cultivate godliness and move toward that high bar day by day
Cultivating Godliness
•And remember:
•A godly man (believer) will not remain on the sidelines when evil attacks or good is facing opposition
•He cannot and will not be a weakling when defending the causes of God
Loving God with my Whole Heart Loving Others as Myself
The Groundwork for Christlike Character (v. 5) The Backbone of Christlike Character (v. 6) The Trademark of Christlike Character (v. 7)
Saving FAITH SELF-CONTROL BROTHERLY KINDNESS
Being a "partaker of the divine nature" through the righteousness of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-empowered mastery of my internal desires
Cultivating a God-engendered affection for and service to those in the "household of faith"
EXCELLENCE
ENDURANCE LOVE
ESSE
NTI
AL
VIR
TUES
Cultivating a God-mandated purpose to develop and display the excellencies (character) of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-sustained faithfulness under external pressure
Cultivating a God-imitating mindset that scripturally and sacrificially meets the spiritual needs of others
KNOWLEDGE GODLINESS Cultivating a God-taught understanding of the person, the work, and the ways of Jesus Christ
Cultivating a God-honoring devotion to Jesus Christ that promises righteousness and opposes evil
COMMITMENT to Christ COURAGE for Christ COMPASSION like Christ
CO
RE
VA
LUES
These traits produce a whole-hearted disciple who chooses the appeals and ideals of Christ and rejects the appeals and ideals of the world
These traits produce a brave-hearted disciple who advances Christ and His ways and opposes evil in himself and others regardless of risk to himself
These traits produce a tender-hearted disciple-maker who seeks the lost and who by his example and effort disciples others to live a Christ-centered life