| What is Righteous Character? |
|
by David A. DePra |
| In the Christian community today, some people don't believe |
| Christians can develope what we might term "righteous character." |
| Many believe that being a Christian is merely a "positional" thing. |
| They say you and I aren't really changed in any way through |
| salvation. We are only "re-categorized" by God, from being |
| "unrighteous" to being "justified." Those who believe this usually |
| say that it is only at the bodily resurrection that the real character |
| of Christ emerges in us. |
| There are others, however, how are absolutely obsessed with |
| the idea of "righteous character." There are entire religious systems |
| which are geared to helping us build it. Usually these consist of |
| Biblical principles to follow and religious exercises to do. Every |
| attitude is analysed and every tone of voice scrutinized. These, we |
| are told, must conform to the definition of righteous character. If they |
| don't conform, then it is only evidence that we are lacking |
| somewhere in our relationship with God. |
| Obviously, the Christian approach to righteous character is all |
| over the map. It ranges from apathy towards the need for character, |
| to a legalistic obsession. They has to be a balance. And that |
| balance is clearly revealed in scripture. |
| What is Character? |
| When you think of "character," what do you think of? Many of us |
| think of works. Character is evidenced by what we do and by what |
| we say. That is certainly true. But if that is true, then does that mean |
| that the way we "build" righteous character is to DO righteous |
| works? |
| This is no small question. Doing righteous works -- and the |
| definition of that varies -- has always been said to be a means of |
| building character in the church. Methods have ranged from strict |
| self-denial and self-torture, to the keeping of religious and Biblical |
| principles. |
| There are ministries today which actually try to teach people how |
| to build Christ-like character. They say, "Follow this principle and |
| you will build character." In fact, there is one ministry which teaches |
| that you will build character by following what they say are Biblical |
| principles -- even if you leave out the name of Christ, God, or the |
| the fact that the principles are Biblical. This ministry, which will go |
| unnamed here, teaches that these "character-building" principles |
| are a thing unto themselves. It is doing the principle which builds |
| character. The One who gave the Truth really isn't needed. |
| This must be addressed, because even though many Christians |
| might not endorse such a blatant error as that, many of us, because |
| we have never really thought it through, may have assumed that |
| character is built by works. We may have mistakenly bought into |
| the notion that we can develope righteous character by merely |
| following the law of God, or by following Biblical principles. |
| Obtaining Faith |
| The Truth on this matter is discovered by first asking the |
| question, "What is Godly, righteous character?" At the core; at the |
| root, what is it? |
| One of the best places to start in the Bible is in I Peter. There we |
| find a passage which contains just about all we need to know about |
| how to build character, as well as a clear indication of exactly what |
| it is. Let's take I Peter 1:1-9, verse by verse. |
| Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that |
| have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness |
| of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be |
| multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our |
| Lord. |
| The first thing Peter does is tell us HOW we have obtained the |
| faith we have. He says, "have obtained like precious faith --- HOW? |
| How have we obtained this "precious faith?" Peter answers. He |
| says, "Through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus |
| Christ." |
| Most of us think we didn't get our faith anywhere. We have |
| assumed that the faith we have is of US. We think that we initiated |
| it, and generated it up to God, and that He responded to it. But not |
| so, according to Peter. He says that the very faith we have is |
| "obtained through the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ." |
| So even our faith is from God. Through His righteousness in |
| Jesus Christ. |
| But how do we obtain this faith through HIS righteousness? It |
| comes back to the fact that Jesus said, "No man can come to Me |
| except the Father who sent me draw him." (Jn. 6:44) When God |
| draws a person to Christ, He deposits the seed of faith in him. That |
| gives the person what they need to believe and be saved. This |
| faith then, is not originally of ourselves. It is because of the |
| righteousness of God; because of the love of God towards us. |
| The reason this is important to grasp is that it lays the foundation |
| for what follows in the passage. |
| Given Us All Things |
| According as his divine power, hath given unto us all things that |
| pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that |
| hath called us to glory and virtue. |
| Here we see another vital point: God has given us ALL THINGS |
| that pertain unto life and godliness. Which things? ALL things. That |
| leaves nothing else behind which is not given freely to us. He has |
| GIVEN us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness -- through |
| the knowledge of Him that called us. |
| As if to make sure we don't misunderstand, Peter defines WHAT |
| things he means when he says "all things." He says, "All things |
| that pertain unto life and godliness." Yep, that sure is ALL THINGS. |
| Now we begin to see emerge the idea of "character," do we not? |
| Sure. For "character" surely has to do with life and godliness. So |
| Peter is clearly telling us that the potential for character is given to |
| us freely by God -- included in the "all things" which have to do with |
| life and godliness. |
| Is Peter saying that God has given us "character" as a gift? No. |
| We must read on. If we do, we will find that character is not a gift. |
| But the life and nature necessary to develope character IS. |
| Partakers of Divine Nature |
| Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises, |
| that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature, having |
| escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. |
| Here we find the word "nature." Peter has said that through faith |
| in Christ we have received "all things pertaining to life and |
| godliness." Peter now elaborates. He says that "all these things" |
| are OF the Divine nature. Indeed, he tells us that we are "partakers" |
| of the Divine nature of God. |
| We have all heard of the term "human nature." But there is an |
| animal nature and a plant nature. There is likewise Divine nature. |
| It is the "nature" of God. |
| But what is a "nature?" Well, a person's "nature" speaks of the |
| "kind" of creature he is. My "nature" is my state of being. "Nature" |
| is a category of existence which carries particular traits. |
| There are other things about "nature" which are important too. |
| First, we cannot choose our nature. Rather, we are BORN with it. |
| Human beings are born with human nature -- that is -- with the inbred |
| fabric of what makes a human being human. |
| God did not create what we think of as human nature today. Real |
| human nature has become captive and ruined through sin. Through |
| the sin of Adam, human nature was brought into a lower condition |
| than intended by God -- from which there is no escape except |
| through death and resurrection. |
| Through Christ, we are partakers of the Divine nature. This, of |
| course, is accomplished through the new birth. Paul says, |
| "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things |
| are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Cor. 5:17) |
| Paul is not talking about merely being "re-categorized" by God. |
| He is not talking about some "legal position." No. He is talking |
| about a change in our very NATURE. In Christ, we are NOT the |
| creatures we were by natural birth. We are new creations -- |
| indwelt with Divine nature. |
| Building Character |
| And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue. And |
| to virtue, knowledge. And to knowledge, temperance. And to |
| temperance, patience. And to patience, godliness. And to |
| godliness, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, love. |
| We've said that my nature defines the kind of creature I am. But |
| that also means it determines what I am able to do. It determines |
| how I act, how I think, and how I feel. It has to determine that, for |
| I cannot operate outside of what I am. I have to live as what I am, |
| fully within the limitations and laws of my nature. |
| So when we say that we are born with a "sin nature," it means |
| that this sin nature determines what I do, think, and feel. Sure. My |
| nature is all I've got to supply me with the materials necessary to |
| build myself; develope character. The same goes for God. God |
| is love. That is His nature. Consequently, God loves US. There |
| isn't anything else in God except love because He IS love. Thus, |
| when He turns and looks at us, He loves us. |
| Here begins to emerge the Truth about "character." Our "nature" |
| is what we are by birth. We don't choose it. But our "character" is |
| what we do with our nature. It is our nature being worked out |
| through our thoughts, words, and deeds, through our choosing. |
| Thus, the Divine nature we receive through the new birth is a free |
| gift. But what character we develope out of that is OUR continual |
| and progressive choice. |
| Peter is telling us to develope character. He says, "ADD to your |
| faith....virtue." Notice we don't add faith. No, we already have it. |
| It's a gift. But, Peter says, we have to "add" some things to faith. |
| And every one of the things he says to "add" are character traits. |
| They are the manifestation of the Divine nature in us, worked out |
| through us by the power of our choosing. In the end, we end up with |
| is we call "righteous character." |
| There are many ways to "work out" the Divine nature into Godly |
| character. Often, it is through inward and outward works. But you |
| will notice that not once in the entire passage does Peter ever |
| mention anything to DO. He doesn't say, "Give alms and it will |
| develope in you righteous character." No, he doesn't. But why? |
| Because you cannot GET righteous character through works |
| anymore than you get GET Divine nature by doing works, or by |
| keeping certain principles. Rather, it is through works that we |
| manifest and work out the Divine nature we already have through |
| the new birth. |
| Get that. We usually get the cart before the horse. Character |
| is NOT the product of merely doing. If it were, an atheist could |
| build Christ-like character by simply following a program. Only if |
| we have, already within, the Divine nature, do we have the right |
| stuff to work with. Only if we have been freely given "all things |
| which pertain to life and godliness" can we build life and godliness. |
| We build character through choosing, and this does involve works. |
| But works and choices build character only because through works |
| we are manifesting and releasing the eternal life which is within us. |
| The Kind of Tree I Am |
| Jesus made it perfectly clear that it is the nature of a person |
| which makes it possible to build character. |
| He said, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can |
| a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings not forth |
| good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their |
| fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, |
| shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of |
| my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, |
| Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in Thy name |
| have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful |
| works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart |
| from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matt. 7:17-23) |
| The people Jesus speaks of in this passage all DID good works. |
| They did. They even listed them -- all of them done in the name of |
| Jesus Christ. But Jesus called them "workers of iniquity." Why? |
| Because despite the works, they were "bad trees." Evidently, |
| these people were NOT born again as new creations. They were |
| still "bad trees" -- despite the works. They could not, despite |
| appearances, bear good fruit. |
| But wait. Didn't they DO good works? By their definition, yes. |
| But by God's, no. God looks at works much differently than we |
| look at them. Works which are good to us, may not be good in the |
| eyes of God at all. That's because of the TREE producing them. |
| Jesus tells us this in this passage. He says that "a good tree |
| CANNOT bear bad fruit." He says, "A bad tree CANNOT bear |
| good fruit." In effect, it is the KIND of tree you are that determines |
| whether the fruit you produce is good or bad. |
| This, again, is speaking of nature. It is speaking of the fact that |
| unless we have within us eternal life, and are partakers of Divine |
| nature, we do not have anything good to work with. We are a bad |
| tree, planted in bad ground -- i.e., the Adamic creation. |
| Our nature is the KIND of tree we are. We are either one or the |
| other. We are either a bad tree in Adam, or a good tree as a new |
| creation in Christ. If we are in Adam, it does not matter how much |
| we claim to be a Christian, or how many Biblical principles we keep. |
| We are still a bad tree. And as such, we cannot "build character." |
| The best we can do is build self-righteousness. |
| Christ-Like Character |
| Christ-like character is the result of having a new nature, and |
| of choosing to work out that nature through a series of moral and |
| spiritual choices. Character is therefore nothing more than the |
| building up, through faith and obedience, of the new man in |
| Christ -- who is born equipped with the Divine nature. |
| What this means is that character is not something added |
| onto us through faith and obedience. No. Character is built in the |
| sense of RELEASING what has already been given us in Christ. |
| We have to get that. God doesn't sort of "tack onto" us the |
| character of Christ. He doesn't give it to us. It's not a gift. No. We |
| RELEASE it from that which is already born in us. We work it out |
| through faith and obedience. |
| Remember, Peter said we have been given "all things" |
| pertaining to life and godliness. It all in us, inherent in the Divine |
| nature. Now, we must release it and manifest it through living. As |
| we do, we build character. |
| Now, this character obviously isn't easily built. That's because |
| we still have a sin nature to deal with. We are no longer in bondage |
| to the sin nature -- that is -- we don't have to obey it. But in order to |
| build character it is often necessary to choose, not only FOR God, |
| but against the old nature. |
| Purged From Old Sins |
| For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that you |
| shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord |
| Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot |
| see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. |
| Note the phrase "be in you." All those character traits Peter |
| mentioned are to be IN us. This is much difference than merely |
| obeying a principle. Again, character is the manifestation of the |
| Divine nature within us -- not a religious act we perform because |
| we think there is a principle we must obey. |
| Peter also mentions the possibility of "lacking these things." He |
| says that if we do, we are blind and have forgotten we were purged |
| from our old sins. |
| Wow. Do we see what Peter is showing us here? If the reason |
| we lack character is the we have "forgotten we were purged from |
| old sins," we can likewise conclude that the reason we DO have |
| character is the we are walking IN the forgiveness of our sins. In |
| other words, all of this goes back -- not to what I'm DOING, but to |
| whether I am believing and resting in Christ. |
| This is confirmed by the fact Peter begins with FAITH, and then |
| tells us to "add" to it. Faith is the basis. Thus, I build character, not |
| merely by doing, but by doing IN FAITH. If the faith isn't there, |
| behind what I'm doing, then I can't build anything. |
| What Is Godly Character? |
| There are some people who think that "Godly character" is a |
| matter of becoming a super-Christian. They have this idea of a |
| standard which God expects of them, and if they can just attain it, |
| well, then they believe they will have "arrived." They will be the |
| spiritual giant which God wants them to be. They will be among |
| the "spiritual elite." |
| Some people even turn character building into a sort of contest. |
| Because our character does determine the depth of our fellowship |
| with God, they embark on a campaign to build as much character |
| as they can before they die. They believe doing this will increase |
| their eternal reward. |
| This can get to be an obsession with some people. They focus |
| continually on their character. They construct principles and laws |
| which they believe will build it in them. For some, this "character |
| building" can become a kind of legalism -- something which they |
| use to establish themselves before God. It can also result in such |
| a self-focus that a person will live in constant defeat because he |
| sees he is never going to become the spiritual giant God wants. |
| The Truth is, however, that God does not want us to become |
| spiritual giants. He wants us to become as little children. The best |
| way I know to describe this is to take a statement of Jesus and |
| paraphrase it. Jesus said, |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will |
| lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 16:25) |
| We might paraphrase: |
| He that saves his character shall lose it: and he that loseth his |
| character for my sake shall find it. |
| Or regarding eternal rewards: |
| He that saves his reward shall lose it: and he that loseth his reward |
| for my sake shall find it. |
| What is being described here is abandonment to God. I stop |
| calculating and simple surrender to Him. I begin doing the right |
| thing because it is the right thing to do -- not because of some |
| reward I think it will earn me. I begin to give God all of myself and |
| allow Him to determine my reward and allow Him to bring to |
| fruition His character in me. |
| Ironically, Christian character is the result of losing myself and |
| my control in Jesus Christ. If I lose that in His hands, what will |
| emerge is the real character of Christ. |