Cultivating Christian

Character

ATTRIBUTION/CREDITS

• “Essential Virtues – Marks of the Christ-

Centered Life”

• Written by: Jim Berg

• Copyright: 2008 by BJU Press

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life

•True or False:

–The destiny of every believer

is Christlikeness

•TRUE

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life

•True or False:

–The enemy of Christlikeness

is sin

•TRUE

The Portrait of a Christ-

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•True or False:

–The root of every sin is some

kind of theological error

•TRUE (??)

The Portrait of a Christ-

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• This is why the new testament has so much to say about fighting back against false teaching!

•Galatians, Colossians, Paul’s letters, James, Jude, Peter, John

The Portrait of a Christ-

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•And this false teaching they all addressed – this was RIGHT after Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection!

•Has anything changed?

–We still face real and present spiritual warfare

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life

• In 2 Peter, the Apostle confronts false teaching head on

• Specifically, he addresses–Moral corruption of the society

infecting the church, and

–“Libertine” theology (using our freedom in Christ as license to elevate personal freedom as the ultimate virtue)

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life

• In 2 Peter 1:1-15, Peter says the #1 way for believers to wage the battle is to develop our Christlikeness

•We’re going to spend the next weeks together finding out how we do that

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2 Peter 1:1-15

“1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

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2Grace and peace be yours in

abundance through the

knowledge of God and of

Jesus our Lord.

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life3His divine power has given us

everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life5For this very reason, make every

effort to add and to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life10Therefore, my brothers, be all

the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life12So I will always remind you

of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered Life14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.”

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• Peter is pretty clear about his intent with this letter – he wants believers to actively pursue an intimate knowledge of Christ

• In these verses, he paints a picture for them of what a full grown, mature Christian should look like

The Portrait of a Christ-

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•Peter states plainly that the

only cure for the “ways of

the world” and the libertine

false teaching is mature,

Christian character

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Simultaneous yet Sequential

• This is Peter’s template for a believer’s sanctification (handout)

–This is how a believer grows in Christ and his/her ability to disciple others while living/existing/acting in the morally wicked culture surrounding us

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered LifeSimultaneous yet Sequential

• Mr Berg used the embryo analogy and said this is much the same way we cultivate Christian character

• All the traits in 2 Pet 1:5-7 are commanded elsewhere in Scripture

• But here they form a chain where each link is required because the complement/support the others

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The Harvest

• In vs 8 – 11, Peter describes

the benefits believers harvest

when there is intentional,

conscious effort to cultivate

Christian character

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The Harvest

• The antidote for apathy/indifference–v8 – keep you from being “ineffective

and unproductive”

–By cultivating these traits, you don’t get “stuck” in your growth

–Not being “stuck” keeps a believer from being sucked into the moral decline he’s surrounded by

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The Harvest

• Better understanding of God

–v8 –”your knowledge of…Christ

–When you’re working on these traits, you’ll have lots of interaction with God

–How can you help but to increase your intimacy and understanding?

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered LifeThe Harvest

• Better discernment skills– v9 –Negative example

–Those who do not have them (the virtues in v5-7) are “nearsighted and blind”

–Greek “cannot see afar off” = myopic (to shut the eye)

–This indicates willful blindness, a rejection of spiritual things

–Not cultivating Christian character? You’re defaulting to the influence of the culture

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered LifeThe Harvest

• Blessed Assurance– v9 –Another warning: “forgetting they have been

cleansed from their past sins”

– Not cultivating Christian character, pursuing virtues listed? One will tend to live as if unsaved!

– Are we not changed when we are saved? How can we NOT be pursuing Christian character?

– Quoting Mr Berg in the book: • “Peter, however, wants them to understand that if there

is no growth, there is no saving faith.”

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered LifeThe Harvest

• Incredible hope–v11 –“…you will receive a rich welcome

into the eternal kingdom…”

–Does it get any better than that?

–Cultivate Christian character by developing the set of virtues Peter provides gets you a cot in the Kingdom!

–Isn’t that what every believer wants?

The Portrait of a Christ-

Centered LifeBig Picture

• What is the Portrait of a Christ-Centered life?–Believers intentionally and actively

cultivating Christian character by developing Scripturally directed virtues

• What happens when believers do this?–They reap amazing benefits here in this

place and an assurance of a seat in the eternal kingdom

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Big Picture

• Easy to say…not so easy to do!

• We’re going to spend next 12 weeks looking at how believers can actively and intentionally cultivate Christian character in themselves

Next Week…

The Provisions of a Christ-

Centered Life…