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Christian Virtues

How are Christians to live in this current world? What are the Christian virtues and how are we to obtain them? We want to be pleasing to God, but many times we believe that we fail. We see our faults and our Christian virtues seem slim.

The first thing we have to realize, that if we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, God is pleased with us. We do not earn our salvation and we do not work to keep it. It is a gift of the grace of God made possible by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. You and I are already pleasing to God. He sees us through the perfectness of Jesus not the imperfections of our life. We can always come boldly and lovingly into His presence. We have nothing to fear from our loving Father. [See our Life Line Series for an explanation of how law, grace, and love work together.]

On the other hand, the Christian life is not one of a careless attitude toward sin. We are not to drift along wherever the current of the world may take us. We are commanded, yes - commanded, to war against sin and to work at adding Christian virtues to our lives.

His 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. Through 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.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:3-11

This is not working for salvation. This is following the natural progression of salvation. Nor is this something which we have to strive to accomplish in our own strength. It is a partnership of working with God to accomplish the overall goal of increased Christian virtues in our lives. As we work with the Holy Spirit we do not come under condemnation for our failures but we do grow in our love and knowledge of Jesus Christ and who we truly are in Him.