Developing Christian Character

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 charity. —2 Peter 1:5-7

Peter lists seven building blocks of Christian character.  Six times in verses five to seven are the words “and to.”  These two words tell us the process of growth. Like the order in building a house—What comes first, second, third, etc. (Isa. 28:13, “precept upon precept… line upon line”). They are not automatic, but must be ADDED. If you don’t ADD them to your life, you won’t have them and lack Christian character.

Character is like the foundation of a house—most of it is below the surface. It’s not visible. It’s not the fancy or the frills. Character is what’s below the surface. The strength of the house is not the vinyl siding or the fiber glass shutters they put on the outside. These things may improve the appearance, but the strength lies beneath the exterior surface.

Christian character is the superstructure of the Christian life. It’s not a person’s good looks, talent, or ability that make him/her a good Christian. It is the character that they have built into their life.

How many of these building blocks had you ADDED to your faith?