Are you developing these Christian qualities that will keep you from falling?
In the spring of 2005, when Mr. John Ogwyn learned he had MRSA, he pressed on with his service, giving of himself to help others for as long as he could. Many of us remember him continuing to smile, even through the terrible swelling on his face, as the infection spread. He remained full of smiles, full of encouragement, and full of hope. He remained focused on others, not on his own suffering.
Here was a man who had faith to be healed, but he died. Sometimes it seems that those with apparently much less faith are healed, while others who are pillars of faith—like Mr. Ogwyn, and Mr. Carl McNair, and other dedicated ministers and brethren in God's Church—nevertheless die. Over the last 6,000 years of human history, it is obvious that God has not allowed every one of His people to live to age 70—or 80, or 90. We are not given immortality in this physical life. Yet we understand that if healing does not take place in this life, it will nevertheless occur at the resurrection. That is greatly encouraging. Though we may not understand God's reasons for doing certain things—or merely allowing them—we know that He is in charge (Romans 11:33).
When we call for the elders of God's Church to pray for us and to anoint us, we should expect to be healed (James 5:14–15). Yet some must wait until the resurrection of the dead to be totally healed.
The Apostle James devoted practically his whole epistle to the subject of faith—living faith, faith that always produces fruit. But he also revealed a much neglected truth that holds the key to healing. He wrote, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17).
Certainly Mr. McNair, Mr. Ogwyn and others like them can be counted among the many faithful Christians who up to the moment of their death exhibited both faith and works! They did the best they could to lead a Christian life. They were excellent examples for us all. Their lives were a continual example of living the works of faith.
James' epistle deals primarily with faith. Peter's two epistles put the accent on hope. The Apostle John, in his three letters, expounded on what love is.
These three virtues combined—faith, hope and love—reveal to us the works of faith. Can we see those works in our own lives?
Interestingly enough, the Apostle Peter groups these works in three simple verses, as he writes: "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love" (2 Peter 1:5–7).
Do you understand the full meaning of these words? Peter mentions seven supplements—seven important works—that are to be added to faith. These seven works make our faith a living faith, not a dead one.
In any language, words are used to express ideas, but they often have different connotations in people's minds. God expresses His ideas through the Bible. We must therefore grasp the spiritual intent of His words to fully understand the Bible's meaning.
Virtue
Peter wrote, under God's inspiration, that the first supplement to faith—the first of the required works—is virtue.
In the original Greek, this word appears four times in the New Testament, but it is not always translated "virtue" in the various English versions. Some translate it as "excellence" "strength", "right conduct" or even "wonderful deeds."
In essence, you must conduct yourself according to God's way in order to have living faith. You must show courage and strength, and you must excel in your task.
Peter also wrote, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Here the same Greek word that is elsewhere translated as "virtue" is rendered as "praises."
Interesting, yes? The word "praises" is used as the equivalent of the Greek word elsewhere translated "virtue."
Therefore, to have living faith (remember, "Faith without works is dead"—James 2:26), you must produce "wonderful deeds" or have "praiseworthy conduct" in God's sight. That is what God wants you to do (Isaiah 66:2).
Knowledge
Let us examine the second work that must be added to your faith to make it live. Peter states, "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5).
Why should knowledge come right after virtue? The answer is obvious: to enable us to rightly determine just what are good and praiseworthy deeds. That knowledge only comes from God.
Consequently, you need to study the Bible and learn what God wants you to do. Your deeds must be evaluated by His standards and not your human standards. Without divine revelation, you cannot have this essential knowledge.
Today, humanity as a whole has much knowledge of material things, but is lamentably ignorant of spiritual truths. Men can send highly sophisticated machines into space and take remarkable pictures of the planets. Astronauts can set foot on the moon and return to the earth safely.
Nevertheless, that kind of knowledge, however awe-inspiring, does not produce living faith. It cannot save a person. Your faith must be supplemented with the knowledge of God's will and His ways.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge," says your Creator. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).
The prophet Micah clearly shows what is the true knowledge that needs to be added to your faith: "He [God] has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).
Simple and beautiful words, provided you grasp their spiritual intent. To do justly is to live by every word that proceeds out of God's mouth; to love mercy is to be good to your neighbor—to love him as you love yourself; to walk humbly with God is to do His will, and to have no other gods before Him.
Regrettably, ever since the beginning, the world has rejected this knowledge.
Self-Control
After supplementing your faith with virtue and knowledge, you must exercise temperance—self-control. "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add… to knowledge self-control" (2 Peter 1:5–6).
Of what value can knowledge be if you fail to put it to use—or if you lack self-control? More often than not, people know what they are supposed to do, but they lack the character to do it.
Misuse of anything leads to sin. For instance, there is nothing wrong with eating and drinking. But too much eating and drinking can lead to sin. Do you see why God wants you to add to your faith—as a working part of it— self-control?
You must learn to resist temptation, to stop before you come anywhere near breaking God's law.
The best and surest way to resist temptation is to get closer to God, but you can only grow closer to Him by doing His will. That is having self-control or temperance.
God's Spirit in you will give you all the help you need, because "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22–23).
Patience
To virtue, which is good conduct or praiseworthy deeds, we must add godly knowledge; to knowledge, self-control or temperance in order to resist evil; and to self-control, steadfastness or patience (2 Peter 1:6).
Patience is one of the most important—and one of the hardest—virtues to practice. Without it, we cannot grow in grace and knowledge or exercise self-control.
That is why the Apostle James wrote: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2–4).
To one degree or another we all lack patience. We often become upset and irritated when others do not do what they are supposed to do, but we are very tolerant with ourselves.
How grateful we should all be to God that He does not lose patience as we do!
To have patience is to set your ideas, your goals, your mind on positive things—with faith—all the time.
Patience never gives up, no matter what. It enables you to remember that God loves us and that He always knows what is best for us.
Throughout history, all the people of God and every disciple of Christ had to learn to be patient. Today, in this era of corruption, as we eagerly wait for God's Kingdom to come, some of us have not patience enough to wait. Some of God's people quit! They must have forgotten that God's timing is always best, and that our faith is strengthened when we patiently wait on Him.
Godliness
Just what is godliness (2 Peter 1:6)? How does the Bible define it?
To be godly is to have a godlike attitude. You must gradually learn to think like God and behave like Him. God commands you to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (1 Timothy 2:2).
Indeed, you have to endeavor to be godly and respectful in every way—to think and act as God does—to be patient and kind as He is. Regrettably, the much misunderstood words pious or piousness have been substituted for godliness in some English versions of the Bible, and people are confused.
Godliness is synonymous with true Christianity or true religion. In fact, in the Revised Standard Version, this is how the same Greek word has been translated in 1 Timothy 2:10: "but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works."
As you can see, to practice godliness is to have godlike religion—the true religion. Faith without godliness is dead.
Kindness
So far, we have briefly examined five of the seven supplements or works Peter tells us to add to our faith. The last two concern love toward neighbor: first, love or "brotherly kindness" (2 Peter 1:7) toward God's people; second love toward all mankind.
The "brotherly kindness" mentioned in this verse is translated from the Greek word philadelphia, which literally means "brotherly love." This love is one of the works of your living faith.
God's Church has members all over the world. Some are poor—much poorer than you; some are sick and very old; many are of a different race than you. Nevertheless, they all are your brethren. You must have brotherly love for every one of them.
How often do you pray for God's people around the world? Do you love them as you do your closest friends in your local congregation? Are you concerned about their particular problems, their difficulties and hardships? You lack living faith if you are not!
God commands you to have brotherly love—philadelphia— for all members of His Church. Whatever their age, their education, their nationality and their race, they are your brethren—members of God's spiritual family—who share with you God's most precious gift: His Holy Spirit.
This is the type of concern you should have for all of your brethren in Christ. You must pray for them, suffer when they suffer, rejoice when they rejoice. That, indeed, is brotherly love—a dynamic supplement to your faith.
Mr. McNair, Mr. Ogwyn and others like them certainly had brotherly love. They truly expressed it. When people saw them suffering from their illnesses, it was they who encouraged others. People who visited them became fortified rather than depressed, because they saw God's Spirit working in and through these faithful servants of God. They studied and taught, right up to their deaths, in a beautiful attitude. And they will be resurrected—totally healed—to live forever expressing brotherly love. Can they have desired anything more rewarding? We miss them, but we know they have overcome, and endured to the end. We should treasure—and follow—their example of living the works of faith.
Mr. Meredith often asks us to pray for him, as well as for all the ministry and the Church as a whole. Do we do it? Or is this vital work absent from our faith?
Love
The final supplement—the seventh work—to living faith that Peter lists is love for all human beings (2 Peter 1:7). Brotherly love—philadelphia—alone is not sufficient; you must love (agape) all human beings regardless of their character.
Do you really love everyone, including your enemies? Do you sometimes criticize others, see the evil in them, overlook their good deeds? Do you judge them instead of being a light to them?
Without question, there is much wrong in the world, and you, as a Christian, should not be a part of it. The whole world today desperately needs God's Kingdom to come. Christ did not only die for His true followers. He died for every human being.
In fact, when a man came to ask Christ what were the two great commandments, Christ answered: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37–39).
Christ is not only talking here about brotherly love, but of the love (agape) for all of humanity, which is the highest form of love. He expressed agape for every single human being when He died for our sins.
Consequently you, too, through His Spirit, must have agape for everyone—including those who hate you and persecute you.
Examine your heart. Is your faith truly supplemented with the seven works the Apostle Peter mentions in this section of his second epistle? Mr. Ogwyn and Mr. McNair, even when debilitated by serious illness that led to their deaths, did not let up in doing those seven works. If they could do so, even when facing such severe trials, how much more should each of us be able to practice those works amidst our far lesser trials!
In concluding this section, Peter wrote, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble" (2 Peter 1:10).
What a tremendous promise! If you have living faith— faith supplemented with these seven works—you will never, never fall. You will never give up, and "an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (v. 11).
That is your precious, ultimate reward. Let your faith truly be supplemented with the works of the Holy Spirit!