Qualities of a Christian’s Character

"For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”-2 Peter 1:6-11 (ESV).

     Writing about 67 A. D. from prison in Rome, Peter, facing imminent death as a martyr to the faith, wanted again to write to the churches in Asia Minor to encourage them in their own persecution and to give them strong pointers on living an effective Christian life. He encourages Christians to remember how they were called into God’s own “excellence and glory,” (v. 3) and that their lives should reflect qualities of the divine nature.

     I like to think that the qualities of Christian Character Peter advocates are like giant steps upward to a life of effectiveness for the Christian while at the same time providing an example to be emulated by those who are weaker in the faith. Imagine the qualities as steps upward to godliness. Here are the qualities for which each believer should strive: Faith (the foundation); virtue (growing in grace); knowledge (really loving to study and practice the Word, the Bible); self-control (as the Christian learns scriptural truths, he puts them into practice in his life and is able to really live as a devoted Christian; steadfastness (another term is faithfulness); godliness (putting on Christ-like characteristics of humility, understanding and service); brotherly affection (loving one another, caring for one another); and finally, reaching the step of love (unconditional and God-inspired).

The graphic is hard for me to draw here, but draw a set of steps and write these eight qualities of Christian Character on the steps as a reminder that we are always striving to emulate the character of Jesus in our daily life and walk. And the striving is always upward.

     These characteristics are akin to the fruit of the Holy Spirit Paul admonished Christians to seek after and practice in their daily lives. From Ephesians 5: 22-23 we learn: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

     Knowing Christ and following Him makes a vast difference in our own life and in how we relate to others around us. If we have made “our calling and election sure” as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1: 10, then it follows that we should be changed and become active in helping others to know Christ so that they, too, may begin that glorious climb upward in attaining a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord Christ and exemplified by virtuous living. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.13.2016