Peter’s list of valuable virtues

A CEO gets caught on the mega screen embracing a woman who is not his wife. As it turned out, she worked for him at what used to be his business. The Epstein files just won’t go away, and a lot of wealthy people could find themselves in a lot of trouble because of them. The nightly news provides reminders that we live in a culture where virtue grows increasingly rare. Moses told his people, “You have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). His words are equally relevant to our world today.

Why do we want to know about the sins of others? Why do we want to read about their failures? I suppose there are a lot of different answers to those questions, but maybe there is a better question for us to ask. We know from Scripture that everyone sins and falls short of God’s highest standards (Romans 3:23). What can we remember that will help us maintain God’s standards in our lives?

We know we will occasionally trip up, but how can we catch ourselves and keep from falling? Peter listed seven qualities we can pursue and act on that will minimize our mess-ups. Peter said, “If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8).

Let’s look at Peter’s list today and make his words more than just lessons to learn. We need to make his words our lessons to live by.

A little background to this list

Whenever I teach from the letter of 2 Peter, I remind those listening that these verses are among Peter’s last words to the churches and congregations the apostle had nurtured, taught, and loved for many years. By this time, these churches were filled with both Jewish converts and Gentiles, but mainly with Gentiles. 

Peter likely expected his death to be imminent at this point because Nero had begun to persecute Christians in vile and heinous ways. Therefore, when we look at Peter’s list of Christian virtues and understand that these words were to encourage a steadfast faith in people whose lives were being tormented, we can better understand the significant value of these truths. 

Peter wanted his people to survive, but even more, he wanted them to thrive and one day, arrive in heaven having lived on earth for the glory of Christ.

How do we do that? Let’s look at Peter’s list of valuable virtues.

Peter’s list of valuable virtues

Peter wrote, “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” (2 Peter 1:5–7). James taught, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). Peter teaches us to add virtuous works to our faith so that we will not be “ineffective” and “unfruitful.” We need to look at Peter’s list and consider his teaching to be the best instruction for protecting our witness and living our lives for Christ’s glory.

Peter’s list:

  • Knowledge – the best way to know God is through his word and through his Word—his Son. God’s word is “the lamp to our feet and the light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). Haven’t you noticed that when your personal Bible study grows weak, so does your witness? Bible study is the best way to know all the practical truths God knew we would need. Read your Bible and listen to the words like God is speaking them directly to you – because he is!
  • Self-control – which is literally a “God-controlled self.” God gave us his Holy Spirit so that we would have his word, his strength, and his help 24/7 if we would just “keep in step” with God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:25). It isn’t hard to notice when we get out of control and start to lose it. How quickly will you breathe out the angst and breathe in the presence of God’s Spirit? Imagine having spiritual eyes to see Jesus standing right beside you! That one vision would likely impact everything that happened next.
  • Steadfastness – the ability to not “grow weary in well doing.” When does your spiritual drive wear out? Weariness happens to all of us, especially after a busy time of ministry. God wants us to allow the Holy Spirit to be our strength, so we are designed to wear out without him. God wants to spend time with us, so we are created with an enormous need and hunger for his presence. Steadfastness is fueled by our time with God and reliance on his power.
  • Godliness – the qualities of God infused in us. Godliness is “God’s likeness” in our character. 1 John 4:8 tells us, “God is love.” When we are infused with God’s love, his very character and qualities can overflow from our lives into the lives of others. Godliness is abnormal, which can cause us not to seek that virtue. There has been a lot of emphasis in recent decades on showing ourselves to be “normal” in the eyes of the world. Christians have the Son of God indwelling their lives. We are abnormal because we are already eternally saved and are being sanctified by our Creator. Godliness will sometimes cause others some discomfort, but it is also the quality that will show them who God is in our lives and what he can do in their lives. We are still on earth and sometimes fail, but we don’t have to fail as often. We need to trust and rely on the power of God to infuse our lives with his character. God is love, and we can provide his love to others.
  • Brotherly affection – Jesus said, “All people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). He told the Pharisees and Sadducees that loving God was the first commandment, and the second was like it – to love your neighbor as you love yourself. You can know you are living for God when you realize you are loving others as God would.
  • Love – this is “agape love.” Human beings cannot produce the love of God. We must receive his agape love if we want to give that love to others. We cannot love perfectly like God, but through his Holy Spirit, God can love others perfectly through us.

The result of living with valuable virtues

Peter told the first-century Christians to live with those virtues because God’s rewards are eternal. He told the churches he loved, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, 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 1:10–11). If we live with the virtues that Peter has listed, we will “never fall.” That is a powerful promise from an apostle of Christ. Every act of obedience to Peter’s list provides you with eternal life filled with God’s riches. We will never be perfect, but if we seek the Spirit’s help, we can definitely live perfected lives. 

Which virtues do you want the Lord to strengthen in your spiritual life? All of us are better at seeking some than we are at others. That said, Jesus was perfect at living with all of these virtues. His Spirit is ready to respond if we just yield our lives to his power.

The evening news will continue to highlight people’s flaws and mistakes. Virtuous goals can highlight Jesus as the light, the strength, and the source of our Spirit-led lives. We can’t do it without him, but we can do it with him. 

Our Christmas Baby

There is truly something miraculous about holding a newborn baby, especially when that baby belongs to your family.

Wells Denison was born last week, and he is already loved and adored by his family. He came into this world weighing in at eight pounds, twelve ounces and is twenty-one inches long.

The Denisons are feeling very blessed this Christmas season.

The First Christmas Baby

My thoughts naturally go to that cave in Bethlehem where our Lord was born. How much did Jesus weigh when he was born? Did he cry at his first breath too?

The person who wrote “Away in the Manger” and said “no crying he makes” wasn’t there. I’m sure Jesus spent some time crying because that is what healthy babies do. Crying isn’t a “sin,” so I have a feeling Jesus kept his parents up at night as well.

I write an Advent book each year, and I always have unanswered questions about the birth of Christ. The biggest question each year is always, “Why did God choose to enter our world as a baby?”

The best theological answer to that question is found in Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus came into this world as a baby because we do. Jesus came to live an entirely human life so that he could die for every sin.

Even though I know that is the theology of the Advent, I still wonder why. God didn’t have to save us that way. He is the Creator of all things and has the power to accomplish our salvation any way he chooses. Why send our Messiah to the world as an infant?

Even as I ask the question, I sense his answer.

A Glimpse of Easter at Christmas

As I held my new grandson, Wells, I held a glimpse of God’s perfect will for our lives. The only thing Wells needs is to be loved and cared for. He is completely dependent on others to care for him. Without his mom and dad, he wouldn’t have life. Without our heavenly Father and his plan for our salvation, we wouldn’t have life either.

The baby in the manger would grow up to become the sinless man, able to take away the sins of the world. He grew up like all of us, tempted in every respect as we are, yet remained without sin. Jesus would one day tell a Pharisee named Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

As I held Wells, I was reminded of what “born again” means.

When God saved our souls through Jesus, we were reborn in his eyes. We became like a newly born, innocent, perfect baby: without sin. We are completely dependent on our “Parent” for our salvation. We would die eternally without Jesus. A Christmas baby would become an Easter sacrifice because he was always a “sinless lamb.”

Wells will be two one day and throw a toy in anger. (Hopefully not at his brother!) Wells will make his choices, both good and bad, and I am already praying for the moment he understands that he will need to choose to be “born again.” Our Christmas baby will need to find salvation in the only perfect Christmas baby ever born.

But, for now, Grandma is going to join hearts with Mary, as she held her perfect baby.

Cradling Perfection

There are moments in life a person will “ponder” forever.

There is a lifetime of potential that we cradle in our arms and hold in our hearts and minds. There will be first steps, first words, and other milestones. My prayer is there will be declarations of faith, baptisms, moments of divine calling, and the work of the ministry for each of my grandchildren.

This Christmas I will hold my newborn grandson and think about what Mary pondered in her heart. All babies are miracles, but she knew hers was also a Messiah. She just couldn’t know what that would ultimately mean for her and each of us.

Spend a few moments this Christmas “cradling” the infant Messiah in your arms. He is the only child born who lived every day of his life with holy perfection. That Christmas baby is the sinless lamb who perfected each of us for heaven.

All babies are miracles, but only Jesus is our infant Messiah.

I Can Only Imagine: The Movie of the Year – A Must-See for Christians

I’ve been looking at the blinking cursor and realize my words are inadequate. What do I say to convince all of you that this movie is essential for your soul too? It is like the song—anointed. And trust me, I am careful about using that word. If you have heard the song, you know it is special—it was the first time you heard it. Now, having seen the movie, I understand why.

The song is a celebration of the redemption Bart Millard saw in the life of a man he thought of as a monster: his father. But don’t think the movie is too sad or too sappy. This might be the best faith-based movie I have ever seen. It is an honest, genuine story about real people and the amazing power of God to redeem anyone. You will find yourself somewhere in the cast. All of us are imperfect, even if we aren’t evil. So is everyone God uses in the movie and in life.

This movie is about God and all he is capable of doing through the prayers and compassion of regular people like you and me. It is also a challenge to all of us to get involved in the lives of other people so we can share in the joy of their redemption. Most Christians are a product of the “ministry of many.” But, in each of our lives, there is likely a handful who made us one of their sheep for a time, and God called them to strengthen and invest in our journey.

One of the things I loved the most about this movie is that no one person is responsible for leading Bart to a place of redemption and no one person is responsible for his dad’s journey either—unless that one person is Christ, using many people as his witness.

The song title is “I Can Only Imagine.” Imagine entering heaven and seeing Jesus face-to-face. How do you think you will react? At that moment, the hope you have carried through this life becomes reality. The song asks, “Will you fall on your knees or will you dance?” I imagine doing both—over and over again.

Imagine looking around and seeing people you have known in this lifetime. There are family, friends, Bible teachers, pastors, neighbors, and some you realize you lost track of over time. There will also be some you never thought would choose Christ as their Savior. All of us will be amazed, awed, gladdened, and overwhelmed with the goodness and glory that surrounds us.

Imagine never being afraid, never being sick, never being sad, and never being sinful. And no one else you see is either. I can only imagine.

Bart Millard is the product of a mom who loved him but left him. He is the son of a man who loved him and stayed in Bart’s life, but as a terrible abuser. But Bart is also the product of a grandma who loved him, a teacher who invested in him, friends who gave him Christian love and a place to belong, and a God who adopted him as his child.

Redemption is a journey, not a moment. Redemption isn’t finished even though it’s final. Redemption is enough for this life even though it isn’t fully received until the next one. Redemption means joy for our journey.

I imagine the little boy who was abused by his dad but loved by the church will go down in history as one of the finest and most successful Christian songwriters. But Bart Millard knows that Jesus is the real author of his story and his talent. The movie works hard to make sure the audience understands that truth as well.

I love the song, I love the movie, and I love Jesus for writing this story for us—through a boy from Greenville, Texas. Take as many people as you can and see this movie. I promise you will leave with a full heart and a stronger conviction about the way Christian life is supposed to work.

How good is this movie? Well, I stared at the blinking cursor for a while and then started typing. Twenty minutes later, I’m ready to type amen.

For more information about I Can Only Imagine, visit their website or Facebook page.