Will You Be Remembered?

 Luke 22:19 ... "Do this in remembrance of me."

When Jesus presided over the final meal with His disciples in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, He was facing death by crucifixion the next day. In His human state, He dreaded the torture and inde-scribable agony He would suffer; and surely, He was sad at leaving His friends. He knew they would be devastated by His terrible death, and He sympathized with their sorrow. He loved them and wanted them never to forget Him and what He did for them. It was the future mission of these men to make disciples of Christ of as many people as possible. And that mission continues from one generation to the next as long as the world stands. Jesus' desire to be remembered by every generation was His purpose for instituting the Lord's Supper to be observed by His disciples until He returns again.

It is common among people to hope that a person will not be forgotten when he passes from the worldly scene. So, we often leave behind mementos of ourselves ... pictures, personal items, letters, diaries, objects we have made, etc. Especially, we want a monument to be set up at our grave that displays our name, vital dates, perhaps a picture, a pertinent motto and, in special cases, a statue. But practical obser-vation should convince us that, in spite of all effort, those who survive us will not remember us for very long. Memory gradually fades as days past; grief is relieved by daily occupations until the person can again smile and enjoy life. The mind dwells less and less upon the life of the departed, though for some people it may take years before they can go through a day without a flashback of memory.

Of course, family and loved ones retain good memory when they wish to retrieve it, especially in con-versation or browsing through a photo album. But when one comes to the end of life's journey, the following generation will think with less detail and affection of the lives of his parents. Looking to the past, dear reader, can you name each of your 8 great-grandparents? or, each of your 16 great(x2)-grand-parents? Unless you are an avid genealogist, you may not know the name or anything about even one of your great(x3)-grandparents. So, let us face reality; we will be forgotten and unknown within three or four generations. Even if you leave behind a detailed biography, it will be of slight interest to few and of no interest to most within a century. So, as we are told in Rom. 12:3, "I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think."

When a person becomes a Christian, however, he is given status as a child of God and granted a place in God's holy family that is eternal. Then, as we are assured in Rev. 21:27, "those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" will be taken into heaven to live in glory forever. God does not forget the name and life of anyone who lives "faithful (in Christ) until death." His name is enrolled in the Book of Life in heaven, and beyond death he will be given by Christ a "crown of life," (Rev. 2:10). To run the course of life in this world with no interest in religion, no relationship with Christ, and no thought of answering to God beyond death, (see Rom. 14:11-12), is to be forgotten not only in the world you leave behind, but in the spiritual world everyone enters beyond death. To deny future exis-tence does not make it null and void. To disregard it by living as you wish, by "doing it my way" as Sinatra sang it, is to boast now of your independence and then bitterly regret it for an eternity. The first step to true wisdom and eternal identity is, therefore, to "deny (yourself) and take up your cross (assume your responsibility), and follow (Christ)." These are the best words it is possible for me to offer to any-one, and they are here offered for your benefit rather than mine.

Your Unavoidable Choice

Rom. 12:9 ... "Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good."

There is one final component of Christian character to add to those presented in the previous 17 articles on this subject. It is to make the right choice, which no one can avoid, between following the path of evil or the path of good in one's course through life. This involves the concept of dualism, which views the world as divided into two spheres, good and evil. Behind the good, supporting and promoting it, is God; behind the evil, promoting and supporting it, is Satan. These two beings are diametrically opposed to each other and in perpetual deadly conflict. Satan's goal is to overthrow God and destroy Him, annihilating everything that is good. It is God's purpose to overthrow and destroy Satan, annihilating all that is evil.

God has already won the first phase of this great conflict, (see Rev. 12:9). Satan is no longer in heaven, but he is for sure here on earth, where he continues in fury to wage war against God and all that comes from God. His chief weapon is deception, by which he blinds our eyes to his presence, his ambitions, and his opposition to all that is good. Satan's work in deceiving people is exposed throughout the Bible, and it's quite evident in every sin recorded from Genesis to Revelation. In John 8:44, Jesus was speak-ing of Stan when He declared that "there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies."

Satan's greatest lie is that there is NO difference between good and evil, that everything is relative, and the words good and evil are subjective in meaning. The Bible and the religion it projects are ridiculed because they teach there are "absolutes" and "imperatives" that condemn certain ideas and behaviors. When we are told that the difference between good and evil is nothing but prejudice and intolerance, we are hearing the voice of Satan. It is like what John saw in Rev. 13:11, "I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke as a dragon."

A part of Christian character concomitant to the one being discussed is discernment, the ability to see that good and evil are distinct and opposing forces in everything that moves and operates in the world about us. But there is more to it than just discernment; there is also the accompanying driving urge to embrace what is good and then support and promote it with all the force you can. And that is because we recognize that whatever is good comes from God. Love for God, reverence for God, and faith in God motivate us to exalt whatever comes from Him and then cling to it. This is why everyone who rejects the God of the Bible, who sent Christ here to save us, can never possess Christian character.

It is a character flaw to fail to discern the presence of evil in so much of life about us and carelessly accept it as just a part of our culture. There is a great mixture of evil from Satan in every part of con-temporary life that we have come to tolerate and even adopt as normative -- in lifestyle, speech, cloth-ing, entertainment, grooming, and even in the context of worship. This character flaw will continue until we become serious about what Rom. 12:9 demands of us, "Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good."

The Importance of Loveliness

Php. 4:8 ... "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

In recent articles the effort has been made to show that essential elements of good character (Christian character) are found in Php. 4:8. The first two, being truthful and being honorable, were emphasized in the two previous essays. The third and fourth in the series, devotion to what is right and exalting what is pure, have really already been featured in the exposition of Jesus' beatitudes in Mat. 5:3-12. Devotion to what is right is the same as Beatitude No. 4, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; and exalting what is pure is the same as Beatitude No. 6, "Blessed are the pure in heart." There is no need, therefore, to add anything further to these, although a great deal more could be said about each of them. Thus we shall proceed to the fifth thing presented in Php. 4:8, "Whatever is lovely."

The word thus translated from the original Greek text is prosphilê, which means "that which calls forth love." What is featured here is a quality in a person's life that induces others to love them. We all can think of someone whom it is very easy to love. There is something about them that makes you feel good in their presence and quickly wins your heart. Jesus saw that quality in unusual measure in the Apostle John, because four times in the Book of John this apostle is called "the one whom Jesus loved." The first is in John 19:26-27. As Jesus was being crucified, it says, "When (He) therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved, standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your Son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household."

Jesus loved all His apostles, as well as friends like Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany, in a special way. But there was something about John that called forth His love in an exceptional manner. That is what this character trait is -- loveliness -- a power within someone's personality that "calls forth" your love. You notice it quickly; you appreciate it greatly; and you start loving them.

To explain this power, it is tempting to produce a list of things that together "call forth your love": an habitually pleasant facial expression, frequent smiling, a pleasant disposition, being mild-mannered, being genuinely sympathetic, and being kind and polite. Several other qualities can be added to this list. A person who has them will win your heart easily and quickly; you will not even have to try. So it would be easy to say that the presence and combination of them is what "calls forth your love" and that the combined effect is what loveliness is.

But I don't think that is the case. Rather, what we see here is a single component of Christian character that produces the wonderful effect mentioned above. This elemental compoent is what the New Testa-ment calls prosphilê (loveliness). It is what produces a beautiful personality that "calls forth love" when you are with such a person. Let us not confuse the effects with the underlying cause; let us recognize that cause and learn to call it by its proper name, loveliness.

At birth God gives us certain special potentials that He does not give everyone, at least not in the same meausre. We call them "talents." They are inclinations and abilities to do something in a way better than others. For example, some people are born with musical talent. That does not mean that at age six they can sit down at a piano and play Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms easily. But it does mean they can learn quickly, easily, and perfectly the skills that would enable them at an early age to play the music of the Masters like the Masters. A person without talent, with diligent effort, could learn to play them also. But they would never do it with the ease, the skill, and the grace of the person with real talent. The same is true with any talent ... art, athletics, eloquence, intelligence. Nearly anybody can be taught art, but their work will never hang in the Metropolitan Gallery in New York. Many youngsters become local stars in the various sports, but they never make the professional teams, or in most cases, even college sports. God does not give everyone the capacity to compose a symphony, paint a masterpiece with uni-versal appeal, set athletic records in the pros, rival the great orators, or win a name alongside Einstein in intelligence.

The reader may now think I have "gotten off track"; what does this have to do with loveliness? Well, here is the point: God grants the potential to be lovely to some people more than others; it is, therefore, a talent. Some people almost from birth display the attributes that "call forth love" in those about them. The rest of us have to work for it ... and work hard! I have been told that my usual facial expression is somewhat forbidding; I do not smile a lot of the time; some of my students said my disposition is stern; I do not think I'm good at being mild-mannered; I have to work to be sympathetic; I have to remind my-self to be kind, especially in stressful situations; and sometimes I suffer a lapse in politeness. So, I am reconciled to the fact that I was not born with the talent of loveliness. But that does not mean I cannot develop it to a level that will be acceptable to God. I just have to try! And that is the case with most who read this. So, indeed, let us make that effort, resolutely and consistently.                    

                                                                                                                                             [Character 17]

Character 16

Php. 4:8 ... "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."

In this statement eight essential attributes of good character, or more expressly, Christian character, are presented to us.  Although the word "character" is not mentioned in context, we are urged to "let your mind dwell on these things." What resides in a person's mind within determines the nature of his external life in mood, speech, conduct, and response to the fluctuations of daily experience. This is what we are told in Pro. 23:7, "As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he." In the last article (Character 15) the first thing in this verse, truth, was featured and commended. In the present essay, the second thing, honorable, will be discussed and also commended to the reader.

The word in the original so translated is semnos, which may also be translated "dignified" or "serious." In the King James Version, it is rendered as "honest/" Although honesty is very much involved in the idea expressed, it is not the fundamental meaning. When the New Testament writers wished to deal with honesty, they used other words or phrases, such as "being truthful, speaking the truth, being sincere, and being just." The New American Standard and the Revised Standard translate the term as "honorable"; the NEB uses "worthy," and the translations of Goodspeed and Moffatt choose "noble." Basically, Php, 4:8 teaches us that, to set our minds upon whatever is dignified, has real merit, and is serious, in con-trast to what is silly or frivolous. What we are being told here is to lift our mind above the level of most people about us and elevate it to the plane of what is noble, worthy, and dignified.

Previously discussed has been the subject of "character flaws." These appear in situations where someone lacks a component of good character. Being dishonorable is such a character flaw. Not only is it prevalent, but it is actually capitalized upon in society. There are so many people who seem to be serious about nothing and let their minds run free toward anything that is trivial, meaningless, useless and inappropriate. Led by such people as the TV variety show hosts, they spin raw humor out of everything, trash public figures, and laugh at tragedy. They are not fit to listen to, and Christians ought to avoid them. 

The Bible often forbids this kind of dishonorable, undignified practice. In essence, it warns us about a character flaw and thus clears the way to plant a real trait of good character within us. We are instructed in Eph. 5:4 that "there must be no filthiness, silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting; but rather, [the] giving of thanks." Paul ordered Titus in his ministry in Crete to "urge the young men to be sen-sible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us," (Tit. 2:6-8). He was told to teach "women likewise [to] be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things." This character component of being honorable essentially means to say nothing that embarrasses others, disgraces yourself, or casts reproach upon your Lord. 

This does not mean we should be like the Puritans in early Colonial America who lived in fear that "someone, somewhere was actually having a good time." Eccl. 3:4 says that there is "a time to laugh." In fact, there are instances of humor to be found in the Bible. Being honorable allows occasional humor, but it excludes trivializing what is serious. Eccl. 3:4 also says there is "a time to weep." And Rom. 12:15 points out one of those times: "Weep with those who weep."

Character 15

Php. 4:8 ... "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."

This passage presents to us a set of eight mental dispositions that will develop genuine Christian character in anyone who will admit them into his personal psychology. In earlier articles in this series I have asserted that only Christ is the standard of good character, for He is the only person in the Bible to whom that word is applied, (Heb. 1:3). If space permitted, it would not be difficult to show that Jesus exemplified each quality in this set in His life. That is, in fact, the last thought expressed before these things were thus named: "And the God of peace, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus," (v.7).

There is something to be noticed in this statement that is very important:  It shows that the essence of character resides in your inner being, not in your outer being. The typical prescription for character development taught in public venues addresses the external features of a person. They present a formula of conduct that regulates outward behavior. Not only do they fall short because they ignore Christ, but also because they address only the surface of our human nature.  But the essence of a person is the inner self, and that means his mind and heart. Observe that the eight qualities presented in Php. 4:8 have a dual reference, first, they involve the mind and heart, and second, they involve one's union with Christ.

The first one named is TRUTH. To possess Christian character, a person must recognize truth, esteem truth, and commit himself to truth. This is the case with Jesus in a way that far exceeds even the best person among us, for He is equated with truth. He is the very embodiment of truth. This is what we are told in John 1:14, "The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." This declares that Jesus is "full of truth," and recall that Heb. 1:3 states that He is 'the exact representation of God's nature." This means that truth is a part of Jesus' character, because God is true. Of this we are assured in Heb. 6:18 which says that "it is impossible for God to lie." God is the essence of truth; He speaks nothing but truth; and all His actions are in perfect harmony with truth.

As the impression of God's nature into the baby born in Bethlehem was His character, the impression of Jesus into the life of a person is Christian character. And one great part of that impression is conformity to truth. Until Christ is admitted into a person's life, commitment to truth is not established within him. In the description of unregerate men in Rom. 3, it states that "their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips." In v.4 preceding it says, "Let God be true, though every man be found a liar." None of us want to think we don't look good, that what we say is silly, and that what we believe is wrong. So, we take care to compliment each other, approve each other, and agree with each other, even though our heart sees "the other" quite differently. It takes cour-age to speak only the truth. Actually, when a time comes that you cannot speak the truth because it would hurt too much, the proper thing to do is say nothing. It is not necessary always to give a reply.

A great part of Christian character is being truthful. That means to search for what is fundamentally true in everything, expel from your thinking whatever you find not true, and stand by the truth no matter what. Pro. 23:23 says it thus, "Buy truth and do not sell it. Get wisdom and instruction and understand-ing." Truth is pure gold, anything less is iron pyrite. Something false is often very popular and attract-ive, but in reality it has no value. I like what Anatole France (1844-1924, Nobel Prize in Literature) once said, "If 50 million people say something stupid, it's still stupid!" To be like Christ in character, always search for truth, incorporate it in your thinking, and cling to it though others may ridicule you for doing so.

Character 14

Mat. 5:10-12 ... "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

To be persecuted implies there is something you believe in that others reject, and when you refuse to give up your belief to please them, they make you suffer for it. Therefore, to have this component of good character, loyalty, there must be something you hold to be very important and very precious. And for Christians, that is, above all else, Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior. This final Beatitude extends the thought and meaning of the fourth in v.6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right-eousness." In the essay in this series on it, it was stated that faith in Christ and obedience to His teach-ing results in Him conferring His righteousness upon you. A person who has Christian character will forfeit his life rather than compromise his faith or forsake obedience to Christ, because he puts first "the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," (Mat. 6:33). When you rank something first, everything else is second, third, or less in order. The fear of being persecuted is therefore of lower importance and persuasion than "the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," and the adamant Christian will submit to terrible treatment rather than deny them.

The history of Christianity has preserved a record of the fortitude of men and women who were so loyal to Christ that they submitted to horrible treatment rather than deny and desert allegiance to their Lord. They were beheaded, hung, burned at the stake, slain by gadiators or fed to wild animals before a multi-tude of blood-thirsty spectators. They are immortalized in the moving hymn, "Faith of Our Fathers," which is frequently sung in church assemblies. Though dedicated Christians are persecuted with cruel physical torment, or emotionally with demonizing ridicule, they will not give up their superior desire to praise Christ. Their commitment to please Him is far greater than the urge to please an ungodly society to escape its ire and brutality.

To abandon loyalty to Christ will quieten the ungodly multitude, but the reward is no greater than to be left alone and ignored. Jesus said that to stand resolute and immoveable against the sinful mass will lead you to a "reward in heaven (which) is great." That reward is depicted in Rev. 7:7-17. I urge you to turn to that passage and carefully read it, for space here will not admit its quotation. You, the reader, may then decide which reward is greater and more enduring, forsaking loyalty to Christ to avoid present persecution, or enjoying the beauty and bliss of heaven for eternity.

It is my observation that a great many "Christians" are not so loyal to Christ and yield to the pressure of an ungoldly society in countless particular attitudes, values, behavior and lifestyle. It seems obvious our real guiding principle is to be like the norm about us to fit in and not draw attention to ourselves. When "put on the spot" in some situation -- yield to pop culture to blend in, or oppose it to maintain loyaly to Christ and His model of mind and conduct -- so many of us chose the prevailing lifestyle. We may make this choice and harmonize with the ungoldy lifeview and behavior, but it betrays a character flaw. And, it costs us in more ways than we care to admit. It is very often true that there is so little difference between a "Christian" and the admittedly irreligious that they can hardly be differentiated. Would to God we had a change of heart and put loyalty to Christ first, even if it displeases others and riles society against us. 

Character 13

Mat. 5:9 ... "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called 'sons of God'."

In other articles in this series, we have seen that Jesus is the only model for best character, for the word "character" is used only one time in the New Testament, and then it is applied to Jesus, (Heb. 1:3). In this article, the emphasis is upon peace as an essential of true character, for it is exmplified in Christ. We are told in Isa. 9:6 that He is the Prince of Peace. His great work on earth was to establish peace between man and God, as well as peace between man and his fellow man. He taught His disciples to be peacemakers. When He sent them out on a tour of Galilee to proclaim His gospel, He told them, "What-ever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house'," (Luk. 10:5). In Rom. 12:18, all Christians are instructed, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." If peace cannot be estab-lished between a Christian and someone else, it should not be because the Christian has not gone to the limit in the effort to bring it about. A disciple of Christ must always be open to making peace, being ready and willing to put away tension and suspend the agitation that prevents peace.

There are people with whom it is not possible to achieve peace and maintain it.  They are intractible, suspicious of everyone's intentions, and seem to think anyone who approaches them is a threat. This is inplied in the words, "if possible," in Rom. 12:18. This writer once knew a man who attended church each Sunday and thought himself a Christian. But he criticized everyone, found fault with everyone, and was quick to argue with anger. He obviously had a character flaw and was detrimental to the local church's effort to project the spirit of Christ to the surrounding community. The good character of the many was compromised by the irrascible temper of this one person. When someone is of this nature, he is blind to Jesus' model, which features peace.

It is the mission of Christians to persuade people who are not disciples to discover in Jesus the best way of life in this world and the reward of life in heaven in eternity. The effort to persuade is not (speaking metaphorically) by "closing doors, building walls, and burning bridges" in relating to people about you. Such hostile and repulsive action will present a false image of Christ and turn people more completely away from Him and from the salvation of their souls. It is the goal of the genuine Christian to "open doors, dismantle walls, and build bridges" to gain friendly access to people about them. This is the Way of  Peace, the Way of Christ, and a large part of the essense of good character.

Character 12

Mat. 5:8 ... "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

In this series of articles the objective is to advocate the best model of character to be that which is seen in the life of Christ and in His teaching as recorded in the New Testament. In earlier articles the case was presented for Jesus' life to be the superior character model. Then, attention was turned to the Beati-tudes which Jesus stated in Mat. 5:3-12 in the effort to commend each of them as a component of true character. Thus far, five of them have been featured: humility, feeling sorrow for the presence of sin and its damage in human life, gentleness, righteousness, and being merciful. In this article we shall focus our attention upon the sixth, which is given in v.8, "Blessed are the pure in heart."

The word "heart" is here used metaphorically for affective mental activity.  It has nothing to do with the physical organ that pumps blood through the body. But there is an analogous relationship involved. As the work of a healthy heart is essential to keep the body alive, the work of the mental heart is neccesary to maintain spiritual life. We all know people whose physical heart failed. They died and were buried. If one's mental heart ceases to function, they become spiritually dead. They keep on living physically and go about the regular course of daily life as usual. But spiritually they are dead. A great many people of the earth's population are physically alive but spiritually dead. Because they do not have pure hearts, in the sense Jesus used the word, they have no spiritual life.

I have not invented this idea, but rather took it from the New Testament, where people whose hearts have not been purified from sin are spoken of as being spiritually "dead." One of the many such state-ments is Eph. 2:1, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world." The people to whom these words were first addressed were very much alive in the usual sense; they were going about their ordinary daily activities. But their hearts were defiled by "trespasses and sins," that is, their way of life was beyond the limit (trespass) of God's stand-ard, and it fell short (sin) of what God intended for them . Trespasses and sins soil the heart just as dirt and mud soil the body. Soap and water will remove dirt and mud from your skin, but it will not remove the moral filth of trespasses and sins from your heart. Only the grace of God through Christ can do that, as it did for the Ephesians. We are told that "even when we (the writer and his readers) were dead in our transgressions," God "made us alive together with Christ ... and raised us up with Him." As Jesus was resurrected to life after He was crucified, those who respond to God's will by faith and obedience are "raised up" from spiritual death to the fulness of spiritual life. In being "raised up," which is the same as being "born again" (John 3:3,5), the "heart" is purified, spiritually cleansed. This is essential to attaining Christian character, the major thesis of these articles.

Once the heart has been cleansed, it is the individual's task to keep it pure. This is an essential task for a very important reason, which is revealed in Pro. 23:7, "As (one) thinks in his heart, so is he." Our exterior self is determined by our our interior self, which is our heart. A person with an impure heart cannot have good character, for sooner or later the impurity within will emerge in his speech, behavior, and disposition and betray what his real nature is. What constitutes an impure heart? And what kind of action does it produce in outward activity? Jesus answers these questions in Mat. 15:19, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." The human activities that warp society and make it dysfunctional, have their origin in the attitudes, thoughts, ideas, and moods of the heart. There is a common belief that you can think whatever you like, if you keep it to yourself. That is, you can imagine or fantasize anything, as long as you keep to yourself. This cannot be done, according to the Lord. You cannot "keep the lid" on your inner self always; eventually the rotten-ness will escape. It is like the decaying matter at the bottom of a swamp. The decay emits foul gas, which colletcs into noxious bubbles that break loose, rise to the top, burst on the surface of the water, and befoul the atmosphere. How often do we see such happen in human behavior? A person who has never attracted attention enters a school one morning and kills as many little children and teachers as he or she can with an automatic rifle.

If you keep your heart pure, only goodness, kindness, and benevolence will surface in your speech, deeds, and moods. You will be an asset to society, promote the welfare of many people, and brighten the scene wherever you happen to be. Your character will fit the model of Jesus, for He never displayed anything but what was pure.

Character 11

Mat. 5:7 ... "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

In these articles on the importance, the value, and the need for good character, the assertion is made that the best model is Christian character, as revealed to us in the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ. The scope of His model is far greater than these articles will encompass. But what they will project, I hope, is enough of that model to encourage the reader to recognize its superiority and concede to build into his own life the components revealed. The focus so far has been the essentials of character commended in the Beatitudes with which Jesus introduced the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Four of them have already been featured in previous articles:  humility, feeling sorrow for the presence of sin and its damage in human life, gentleness, and righteousness. The fifth one is presented in v.7, being merciful. To be merciful means to extend mercy to fellow humans in situations where it is justified and will effect improvement.  Mercy is justified when a person has blundered, caused trouble, and offended. If the offender is amenable to guilt for the problem he has caused and indicates the desire to rectify it and avoid further offense, mercy to that person will result in significant improvement.

Mercy is essentially suspending the demand of justice and giving a person a second chance after he has blundered. This is how God shows us mercy. It is demonstrated in John 8 when a woman was arrested in the very act of adultery and brought to Jesus for justice.  The prevailing law specified that the woman should be stoned to death. Jesus did not approve of what the woman had done, for it was an act of sin.  Neither did He deny the application of the Law, but He did modify it by reminding the accusers that another law impinged on the case and must be applied as well: "The one who is without sin among you,  let him be the first to throw a stone at her," (v.7). The implication in the words "without sin" is being innocent of the specific sin for which the arrest was made, adultery. Jesus meant that any one of the accusers who was not himself guilty of adultery was to be first to throw a stone and begin the woman's destruction. Verse 9 reports that one-by-one the men quietly slipped away from the scene.  Soon only the woman was left in the presence of Jesus. He looked up and asked her where were the men who had arrested her and sought her condemnation. Verse 11 then reports, "She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go, from now on sin no more.'" This is a remark-able case of mercy extended. Jesus perceived that the woman could learn from the incident that adultery is a sin and is due death, which is really the penalty for ALL sin, (Rom. 6:23). So, He suspended the application of the law and extended to her a second chance for continued life, but with an exceedingly important provision: "Go, from now on sin no more." Again, the reference is to the same sin, for the woman would indeed sin again, (I John 1:8,10).  But this woman saved by mercy must NEVER commit adultery again! That prevention was indeed within her ability to accomplish.

Everyone one of us, from the person whose occupation is religious down to the criminal in prison, sins and deserves the penalty for sin. And our continuation in life testifies that God is extending mercy to us with the intention that we will recognize our sin, feel genuine remorse for it (Beatitude No. 1), seek God's forgiveness, and be released from the terrible penalty impending upon us. This disposition of God toward us is revealed in II Pet. 3:9, "The Lord ... is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." God does not want to zap sinners, for He gave them a soul in His own Image, (Gen. 1:27). He wants us to see our sin, repent of it, and "from now on sin no more." He wants everyone to live in His presence in heaven for eternity. This is the purpose and great blessing of mercy.

We all know that there are people who refuse to show mercy and forgive a person of an offense. Those who hold such grudges are beset with a very serious character flaw. In fact, it is a character flaw that is fatal. In Mat. 18:21-35 Jesus told a parable about a man who was released from an enormous debt by a great act of mercy. But that man then refused to remit the small debt of a man and had him imprisoned. Because of this iron disposition of being unmerciful, Jesus said the man must be "handed over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him." That is, the mercy that excused him of a colossal debt was withdrawn until he should repay it. And that "until" meant "forever," because the debt was too immense to repay. Jesus concludes the parable by stating a principle by which God deals with man: "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

To exclude yourself from God's mercy, the only thing that separates you from eternal torment, just do not be merciful. Mercy is, therefore, a basic component of real character, and a wonderful and beautiful thing it is. And finally, it does not cost you anything to show mercy to another person.  But it will cost you an eternal fortune if you don't. 

Character 10

Mat. 5:6 ... "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

      Most simply stated, "righteousness" is maintaining a right relationship with God, and that can come only through faith in God and obedience to His instructions. This is not saying that righteousness is what you develop through obedience, for righteousness cannot be achieved by anything you do. If it could, then righteousness would be something earned through meritorious service, making it a debt God owes to a person. But God cannot be put into debt to man! The New Testament rather speaks of one "being clothed with the righteousness of Christ," (Rev. 7:12-14). When you put your faith in God as the Supreme Being, the Creator of the Universe, and the Source of life and existence, and then submit to His will revealed in Holy Scripture, Christ confers His rightousness upon you. The expression in Rev. 7:12-14 symbolizes righteousness as a beautiful, elegant robe with which Christ clothes His approved disciple.  It is a robe of His origin and design, available only from Him, and conferred only by Him.

      A najor component of Christian character is, therefore, being deeply concerned about becoming righteous. It must be a constant driving urge within you, similar to the ever present desire for food. A person can eat a full meal to complete satisfaction, and within hours the pressing cry of the body for food returns. Then, the longer the person goes without eating, the greater the hunger builds until the person craves food. This desire and need continues daily throughout life; and if the person does not eventually satisfy that urge, he will die of starvation.  Jesus says in Mat. 5:6 that our desire for right-eousness must be similar to our hunger for food and thirst for water. The need for water is greater than that for food, and the lack of water will lead to death more quickly than starvation without food.

      Righteousness is therefore spiritual food for the soul as much as physical food is for the body.  Everyone on earth hungers for food and thirsts for water to maintain physical life.  But a great part of mankind ignores the soul's need for spiritual food and drink.  The body deprived of food and water will die, and the soul deprived of righeousness will also die. The New Testament often speaks of people who are physically alive but spiritually dead. Those who are righteous, and therefore spiritually alive, are a blessing to the world. They do good, spread benevolence, maintain peace, and build harmonious rela-tionships that continually improve society.  Those who are not righteous and are spiritually dead, are not a blessing to the world. They are the source of dysfunction in society, disturbing the peace and disrupt-ing the general welfare. From those utterly destitute of righteousness come the criminal element, the violent, and those who corrupt morality and thus wreck the lives of many others.

      Righteousness, God's gift to those of faith who respond to His will, is an essential to good character and the welfare of all humanity. It lifts the plane of human life above the common desire to satisfy physical desires, the Epicurean goal to "eat, drink, and be merry." Rightousness sets higher goals than wealth, power, fame, and being served rather than learning the true joy of serving others who for many reasons lack the essentials for a pleasant, meanigful life. Righteousness is NOT walking about detached from the daily struggle of life, with hands together and fingers upward, with eyes lifted to the sky, and the continual verbal emission of the Lord's Prayer, special Scriptures, and "praise Jehovah." That is the world view of the righteous, religiously oriented life. But being truly righteous is what has been des-cribed above, and it is the real hope for the best world here in which to live.

      The popular models of good character that are publicly advocated do not include righteousness as a component, because they are secular and omit religion and spirituality. But the wisdom that transcends the physical dimension in which we live, that is, the wisdom from the spiritual dimension revealed by Christ, advises us that righteousness is an essential component of good character. Without it, any character model is flawed and will not ulitmately succeed.

Character 9

Mat. 5:5-6 ... "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth."

      In the previous essay in this series, we saw that, in the Beatitudes with which Jesus introduced the Sermon on the Mount, He revealed two essential components of Christian character, humility and sorrowful. The latter is not the common sorrow for life's adversities, but sorrow for the presence of sin that does such enormous damage in human life. In this essay, we shall consider another essential trait of true character. It is presented in the third Beatitude, ""Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." In its noun form, the term is gentleness. Its presence in a man makes him a gentleman; and in a woman it makes her a lady. In English, the true meaning of these terms has been mostly abandoned.  But in previous generations they were generally understood to refer to the excellence of an individual's character.

      In today's culture, "gentleman" means little more than adult male. It then includes undeserving men who are rude, rough, and bullyish. Likewise, a woman can be trashy, uncouth, and slutty, and still be covered by the word "lady." There are many men these days who are not gentlemen, and a large set of women who are not ladies. In my own working vocabulary, I am careful not to apply these honorable terms to people whom I do not perceive to deserve them. In fact, it seems that the prevailing view of what constitutes real manhood has morphed into this image: A real man is an aggressive competitor, who comes in first in any context no matter what, an obvious "macho." Likewise, girls are no longer trained to be ladies; it is rather the goal to enable them to project as far as possible into the male world as they can go. That is, "If a man can do it, so can a woman!"

      A gentleman is a man who is gentle, for that is the original, basic meaning of the word. He will show tender feelings of kindness, compassion, and grace to all about him. He will not be embarrassed to shed tears in a somber setting, or to hold and comfort a baby, or sit with those who are sick, weak, and lonely. Most of the men I know feel very uncomfortable in this role, because they have been con-ditioned to accept the worldly concept of manhood, not the Christian concept.  When a man does dare to assume such a role, it can become somewhat senational. Recall, e.g., the iconic photo of the fireman carrying in his arms the small child who survived the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City on 19 April 1995. That is the picture of a true gentleman!

Character 8

Matt. 5:3-4 ... "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

      In Mat. 5:3-12, at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents eight features of the kind of personality He wants His disciples to have.  He then promises a blessing upon the person who will build these features into his thinking and consequent behavior.  A blessing is paired with each of these features, so that the quality of the person's life is enriched and lifted to a higher plane. A view has developed in the popular explanation of this passage that "blessed" means "happy," and thus it is translated in some recent versions of the New Testament. A more careful examination shows this view to betray the essential idea in Jesus' meaning.  "Happy" is from the root word "hap," which denotes chance and its random nature. But a blessing is not the product of chance; it is a measure of God's grace received. A person who is blessed has a reason to be happy, but a person can be blessed without being happy. Many is the time in a Christian's experience when the roughness of life is stressful and unplea-sant, but God's blessing is still with him, if he perseveres in faith and trust in God's providence. Clouds of trouble often darken the lives of God's people, but He will eventually part the clouds. and the sun-shine of His goodness will bring light and joy.  So, it may be said ... A Christian's life will pass from sorrow and oppression to joy and exaltation, but at all times God's blessings are present. I advise that we not replace Jesus' word "blessed" with the weak and shallow, but very popular term, "happy."

      The character trait that appears in the first beatitude is humility: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." A person who is "poor in spirit" is an humble person who does not put himself before others. He is always concerned about the situation of people around him, especially if they are having difficulty. He does not consider himself to be more worthy, more deserving, and more fitting than others. He recognizes value in everyone, believes they are due consideration, and seeks to find a good place for them in a given context. There are numerous times in Jesus ministry where He is found paying attention to the needs, the pain, and the welfare of people. He reacted to their misery and deprivation by relieving their pain and bringing them into the mainstream of productive, meaningful life experience.

      The character trait in the seond beatitude is sorrow: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." This does not mean being sorrowful about disease, accidents, losses, backsets, and those kinds of afflictions that life deals out to everyone. Jesus speaks of the sorrow one feels because of the great prevalence of sin in the world that is continually devastating the lives of everyone, including one's own life. Because every soul is made in God's image, because one soul is worth more than all the  world, and because a soul is something eternal, one should feel great sorrow that sin constantly invades the soul. It is a spiritual contagion that sickens its victim in the worst way, in the part of his being that exists forever, beginning in this world and continuing through eternity.

      The attitude of the common worldly individual is, "It's every one for himself, and let the devil take the hindermost." This prevailing attitude is the opposite to the character trait revealed in the second beatitude. It is a grievous character flaw.  The further a sinner is removed from us, the less we care about him, and the better we feel because he is at a distance. We rarely look at him with sorrow and  have much concern that his soul is wrecked and headed into a dreadful, hopeless oblivion. Jesus had no sin, and therefore He could not sorrow over sin ruining Him. But the New Testament is replete with examples of the sorrow Jesus had for someone else whose life was being blasted and wasted by the action of sin within him. 

Character 7

In previous articles I have asserted that Christ is the only real model for good character.  By looking to Him in the way He lived and by considering carefully what He taught, we can discern the elements that constitute a good character. In this article, and those remaining on this subject, we will do just that. First, we shall examine a special section of one of His sermons, the one popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5-6-7). His introduction was a set of blessings He pronounced on the person who will incorporate into his life certain personality traits which He names. Since the word for "bless-ing" in Latin was beatus, and the Latin Vulgate had a great deal of influence on the earliest English translations of the Bible, these statements in Mat. 5:3-12 have for centuries been called the Beatitudes. Actually, these traits are essential components of real character. The emphasis will be upon the specific traits named and not upon the blessing that rewards the person who builds these qualities of spirit into his life. That is the emphasis for another study.

Note the words, "who builds these qualities of spirit into his life." They are not external things that are put on as clothing; they are spiritual things that are introduced into the heart to permeate thought, feel-ing, and perspective and thus reconstitute one's inner being into a far better person, even the best a mortal man can be. Character models that seek only to shape and regulate outward expression really do not produce genuine character. What Jesus teaches in the Beatitudes are to be taken into the heart and refashion it into a person whose inner and outer lives are congruent. (See Pro. 4:23.)

Reputation is often taken to be character, but it is not. Character is what you really are; reputation is what people think you to be. That may be said another way: Character is what God sees when He looks at you; reputation is what people see when they look at you. A person's life is at its best when reputation and character match, but that is seldom the way it is. And the mismatch goes both ways. Sometimes a person's reputation extends no further than his family and a small circle of friends and acquaintances. But he may have an excellent character. Because he is quiet, humble, and unobtrusive, not many people realize the excellence of his character. I have known many such people and considered them to be the solid foundation of their community and church. On the other hand, there are people whose reputation is big and widely known. They project themselves; they want to be seen and heard; they want to be up front of any group they are in. But if you measure them by the canon presented in the New Testament, you discover that, while big on reputation, they have significant deficiencies in character.

When you see people at church, you are only seeing one side of them. If you could see them in their routine at home, at work, in business, and in  public interaction, you might recognize quite a different person than you know at church. There are some people who do know them in both both settings, and they are well-acquainted with their duplicity; but for many reasons, they keep what they know private. But, the lord knows, for His knowledge of man is complete. We are told in Psa. 14:2 that "the Lord [looks] down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand [margin: act wisely], who seek after God." A person of good character will have a reputation that matches his char-acter, at least by people who know him in all areas of life.

(* Beginning in the next article we will begin to consider the 8 essentail traits of good character taught by Jesus in the Beatitudes of Mat. 5:3-12).

 

Character 6

       In concluding the previous essay, I made the point that it is not man's place to construct a model of good character, although many have done it and doubtless will continue to do it. In Jer. 10:23, Jehovah through the prophet, stated that "A man's way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps." In composing these essays on good character, I therefore resisted the urge to draw up a list of personality traits and proclaim, "When these are integrated into one's life, they will develop in that individual a good character." Neither would I assemble such a list from the writings of philosophers, social scientists, and psychologists, which I have often read. What I would do, and it's all I have done, is point to Jesus as the God-given example of good character and encourage everyone to investigate His life and then model yours after Him. After all, that is what we are told to do in I Pet. 2:21, "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." The closer a person comes to Jesus' perfect example, the more excellent his character becomes. No one can find a better way, or even one that is comparable.

      In the same context of thought, we are told in Eph. 4:11-13 that God has given us a sure and effec-tual way to bring us to "the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ." The inspired writer might just have said "good character," but instead he used the phrases "mature man" and "measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ." They are, however, synonymous. The words "mature" and "fulness" in this verse refer to the same thing, completeness. Jesus was a complete Man, that is, He possessed a fully developed character, having the substance of God Himself imprinted within Him.

      Let us focus attention for a moment on the word "good" in the phrase "good character." The idea of good is usually considered to be a moral entity in and of itself. But in my own study and insight into the term, I have come to the conclusion that ... something is good if it fulfills whatever God intended for the thing to be and if it contains all that God mean for it to have.  Therefore, a character is good if it makes a person fulfill God's will for an individual and if it contains all that God meant to be there. The passage last considered, Eph. 4:11-13, speaks of "the fulness of Christ." That means that He accomplishmed all that God sent Him to earth to do and that He contained all in His personality that God meant to be there. This has been, and now is, true of no other man. Therefore, Jesus is the ONLY model of good character. Only of Christ does Scripture say that a person should aim to achieve the "measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness" of that person.

      It is indeed proper to make a list of the components of a good character, because it will facilitate the understanding and application of them in one's life. But the list should be drawn from a careful study of Jesus' life as recorded in the New Testament, not from the musings of a philosopher, social scientist, or psychologist. To discover Jesus' attitudes and see how He responded to the varying circumstances of daily life can be accomplished by anyone who will read closely the Four Gospels. As we think about the challenge to develop good character, this is the only course that Christians should think of choosing.

      We have therefore come to the place in these essays where we should start looking at the specific traits of good character. Since the New Testament uses the word only once (in Heb. 1:3), and then in reference to Christ, there is no passage that discusses the subject with direct reference to the word "character." There are, however, several passages that do deal with the subject without using the word and reveal the constituent components we seek. Since Christ is THE model for character, we should expect these passages either to refer to Him or to be the substance of something He taught. In the remainder of these essays two such passages will be considered.

Christian Character 5

Heb, 1:3 ... "He (Jesus) is the radiance of [God's] glory and the exact representation of His nature."

      Please fix your attention on the words "of His nature." They translate the original in Greek, which is upostasewV autou (hupostaseôs autou).  The word upostasewV literally means "reality" or "substance," and in this case refers to the nature of God Himself. When we consider the composition of our bodies, we easily understand that we are made of earthly elements fashioned into flesh and bones and various organs. But what is God composed of? This question would take us far beyond the limit of human capacity. We know that He is not made of material elements, for Jesus said in John 4:24 that "God is spirit." Whatever spirit is (which is God's nature) is what the word upostasewV in Heb. 1:3 refers to; and it says that the character of Jesus perfectly corresponds to it. In other words, character takes shape and is perfected the more the individual is modeled after God. And since John 14:9 says we see God in Christ, the last statement may be rephrased to say: Character is shaped and perfected the more the individual is modeled after Christ.

As I was developing this series of articles, I could have made a list of the qualities that seem to me to constitute and define good character. But I knew that was the wrong way to go about it. It is not my prerogative to make such a decision and bring forth such a list. I believe that no one, not even moral philosophers, have the ability to do it irrefutably. In my study of philosphy, both in university and in private, I have read with interest their various prescriptions for good character. And they are indeed varied, as one rejects the others to replace them with his own.

One example is that of Aristotle (384-322 BC) in his great work called the Nicomachian Ethics. He defines character in terms of what he called "The Golden Mean."

"The qualities of character can be arranged in triads, in each of which the first and last qualities will be extremes and vices, and the middle quality a virtue or an excellence. So, between cowardice and rashness is courage; between stinginess and extravagance is liberality; between sloth and greed is ambition; between humility and pride is modesty; between secrecy and loquacity is honesty; between moroseness and buffoonery is good humor; between quarrelsomeness and flattery is friendship; and between indecisiveness and impulsiveness is self-control."

This seems quite convincing, and if you read no one but Aristotle, you might think that here is a defi-ition of character that can be used to advantage. The only trouble is, if you consult another philosopher, you find that he rejects both Aristotle and others and constructs his own model of character. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), for example, had this to say about Aristotle and his disciples:

"All these were attempts of the Greeks to check their own violence and impulsiveness of charater; more truly they reflected the Greek feeling that passions are not of themselves vices, but the raw material of both vice and virtue, according as they function in excess and disproportion, or in measure and harmony."

This German philosopher, who was an atheist, constructed his own definition of character. A generation later, Nazi ideologists  applied Nietzschean philosophy, and thus was created the monster that disrupted Europe in the 1930-1945 period. One can have "good character" by the Aristotelian standard, or even "good character" by the Nietzschean standard, and yet have a contemptible personality and lifestyle by the Christtian standard. In future articles, the Christian model of good character will be presented,

Christian Character 4

       Early in His ministry, Jesus chose 12 men to be His apostles. They were probably quite ordinary men, for they were from the common occupations of the time and place and included fishermen and a tax collector. They exhibited human frailties and passions such as we do now and which hinder us from achieving exemplary lives. Here and there in the Four Gospels these human problems make their appearance among these men. So we are much impressed when we read in Acts 4:13, "Now as [the Jewish High Council] observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, [they] began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Peter and John, formerly simple Galilean fishermen, had not had the advantage of formal training in the rabinic schools of Jerusalem to make them suave, polished men like those before whom they were being tried. But there was something extraordinary about their demeanor that the judges could not help but notice, and the only explanation for it was that they "had been with Jesus."

      For three years Peter, John, and the other apostles had felt the impact of the personality of Christ upon them. That impact had changed them from men who engaged in petty squabbles over rank, who wanted to respond to insult with violence, and who fled their Master in fear in His moment of trial. In short, they had become men of character in the true sense of the word. The impression of Jesus' nature upon them had transformed them into men who wanted to serve others rather than be served, who returned good for evil as a matter of course, and who willingly sacrificed themselves to glorify God. During their time with Jesus they had acquired from Him such qualities as reverence to God, love of truth, purity of mind, courage, self-control, integrity, and all the rest we associate with good character.

    Coming to these qualities that constitute character leads back to Heb. 1:3, where the New Testament, in its solitary use (in Greek) of the word "character," applies it to Jesus. If we are not careful, we will presume to define for ourselves what constitutes character.  As Christians, we should not look to human concensus for such definition, but realize that character is conformity to a high standard that we our-selves do not determine.

      About 25 years ago someone  designed a program called "Character Counts" and promulgated it in schools across the nation. I first became aware of it in August 1999 when it was adopted in the high school where I was a teacher. I was initially enthusiastic about it, because if there is anything we need to instill in our youth, it is good character. It is more lacking in the current generation than it was during the 1990s. But when I looked at the program carefully, I discovered I could not accept the character model it used. It featured one that had been drawn from the human disciplines such as psychology and philosophy. I do not think we can develop our own model, because what might be considered good character by one society would not be judged so by another. Just think of the models used by Nazi Germany, Marxist communism, and radical extremists.

      I was asked by my school in 1999 to introduce in our first teacher in-service the character model to be taught . It was a surprise to many when I rejected the national model and proposed instead the model that has been featured in the New Testament for two housand years.  That is the model centered upon Jesus in what He taught and the kind of life He lived.

Christian Character 3

       The word character is not used a single time in the King James Version and only three times in a translation so recent as the New American Standard. But the idea of what we mean by the term is an essential subject of emphasis in the Bible. The Biblical model of good character is without doubt Jesus, and there is one place which especially demonstrates this with reference to the derivation of our word "character." In presenting Jesus in his roles of supreme Prophet, Creator, and Savior, Heb. 1:3 also states that "He is the radiance of [God's] glory and the exact representation of His nature." Notice the phrase that calls Jesus "the exact representation of [God's] nature," because the two words "exact repre-sentation" translate only one Greek word. And that word is carakthr (kah-RAK-tayr … character), which is the original of the English word character. 

      It's very interesting and very significant that this is the only occurence of the word in the Greek New Testament and that then it is applied only to Jesus. In several other places Jesus is called the eikon (aye-KOHN …image) of God, but this word is often appplied to others also. In fact, in Gen. 1:26, all men are declared to be made "in the image of God." This means we are all endowed with a living spirit that corresponds to the anture of God who gace it, (Gen. 2:7). Of course, Jesus possessed the divine image to a degree we can never attain, but nevertheless we all do have at least a spark of that divine nature within us, (Jas. 3:9). But never of any man except Jesus does the Bible say that he is "the exact representation of God the Father. Any valid and profitable study of character must therefore begin with a careful examination of the Person of Jesus in the Scriptures.

      There is yet more in this phrase of Heb. 1:3 to enlighten us. In 1st Century Koinê Greek, the verb form of carakthr is carasso … (KAH-ras-so … to stamp, impress). It was specifically used to signify stamping coins in a mint with a picture and an inscription. There is little doubt the writer of Hebrews had that precise idea in mind when he aimed at informing his readers about the true nature of Jesus. And when they read this special word, they would have made the precise connection easily.  When the die was stamped into the metal, it left in it a perfect, exact representation of the image and wording on the die. Likewise, when a baby was born in a stable in Bethlehem to Mary, God as the die stamped Himself into that tiny baby of flesh and left therein the exact representation of Himself. This is what Heb. 1:3 is telling us. It also clarifies what Jesus meant in Jno. 14:9 when He said to Philip, "Have I been so long with you, and yet have you not come to know Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father."

      When we begin to grasp these essential ideas, we are already beginning to develop an idea of what character truly is and why it's so important. Character is not merely a configuration of certain virtues in an individual that gives him moral strength. In its original connotation, which has just been shown in reference to Jesus, character is what is left when one's life has been impacted by the person of Jesus. When God was stamped into human flesh, the character of Jesus was the result; and when Jesus is stamped into the life of an individual, Christian character is the result.

Christian Character 2

THE PROBLEM OF CHARACTER FLAWS

      Sometimes it is said that a person has a character flaw. In such a case, the individual usually has most of the components of a good character. But one of the necessary constituents is poorly developed, warped, or missing, and sooner or later it will show up in his life in bad behavior. Such a case happened in an outdoor tent meeting, when an evangelist was preaching the Gospel very effectively.  Each night people were persuaded to repent, confess faith in Jesus, and be baptized. Interest and enthusiasm was growing each day, and each night more people crowded into the tent to listen to the preacher.  Then the worst happened in response to a very small irritation. A stray cat had wandered into the tent and up onto the platform where the preacher was speaking. Lonely, hungry, and forsaken, the little creature began to rub against the ankles of the evangelist.  This became a distraction to him and a mounting irritation. When he almost stumbled over the cat, the man's temper flared. He viciously kicked the kittie to the wall of the tent. The people were shocked at the preacher's outrage and cruelty to the poor feline. One after the other, they arose and left the tent, until half were gone. The next evening, the attendance was very small; everyone in the community was describing the man's loss of temper and hateful treatment of the little cat. The next evening, no one appeared at the tent except the preacher. His opportunity to win more souls to Christ was lost. One of the greater features of good character is self-control, and the man demonstrated before everyone he lacked it. He had a character flaw, and it cost him the opportunity to finish the meeting with great success.

      We all have character flaws to some extent, and when the stress of life presses upon us, we cave in at the point of weakness. And it costs us dearly in our relationships with other people, especially the people closest to us. Another element of Christian character is sincerity. A play on words can be made with this term to demonstrate the main idea in it. It can be separated into two parts, sin- and -cerity. "Sin-" suggests the Latin word sinê (without), and "-cerity" suggests the Latin word cera (wax). This is not the actual derivation of the word "sincerity." It's rather a good analogy that reveals a vivid meaning.

      It is a fact that ancient Roman sculptors would inscribe on the base of a statue the two words sinê cera, meaning "without wax." A wealthy person would commission an artist to produce, e.g., a beautiful statue of a water nymph to place beside the pool in his ornamental garden. The artist would indeed make an exquisite statue that looked almost lifelike. But somewhere the thing would get chipped and blemished. He was not about to spend months producing another statue, which might also get cracked or chipped. So, he would simply reattach the chipped part with a bit of hard wax. The client would not notice it and so would display it proudly beside the pool. Then, on an oppressively hot summer day, the wax would melt and the chip would fall off. Reputable artists, however, when delivering a statue to a customer, would inscribe upon the bottom of it a guarantee ... sinê cera.

      A person without sincerity is one whose character is held together, so to speak, with wax. And when pressure is applied to him, the wax melts, and he falls apart. Surely, every reader of this has seen it happen to someone who was considered a solid person, and it quickly provoked great disappoinment. Do we not then use the vivid expression, "He came unglued!"?

Christian Character 1

      There are words in our language that we use so much they become trite and lose their significance. Character is one of those words. In fact, it has come to have contradictory meanings in various appli-cations. With admiration, when we wish to praise someone who uniformly exerts a good influence, we say he/she is "a person with character." On the other hand, we call someone a "character" who acts silly, or engages in unexpected, unusual behavior, or causes trouble and fouls things up. It goes without say-ing that when we state that "character is important," we are referring to its positive, beneficial nature rather than the negative connotation the word can have.

      As I contemplated the basic meaning involved in this term, I looked up its derivation and found its origin in the Greek word carakthr, which designated "a tool for engraving." The basic idea involved is something that is set or established. The ancient Greek had two main ways of writing, with a stylus on a wax tablet, or with an iron tool upon stone. When something was written on wax, it was easily erased by smoothing the wax with the other end of the stylus, with a finger, or by heating. But when a message was engraved on stone with hammer and iron point, it was put there to stay. To remove it, one had to exert great effort to chisel or sand away the inscription. I have never read or heard of a single inscription on wax that survived from ancient Greece, but thousands of lines of script chiseled in stone still exist.

      As philosophers and theologians pondered human nature, it occured to them that the constitution of some people is like a wax inscription, and for others it is like a configuration engraved in stone by iron. Hence the application of the word "character" from the iron engraving tool. A person without character is unstable and therefore undependable; neither he nor his works will endure. Like an inscription in wax, his life will vanish and leave nothing behind for anyone to read or use. But a person of charater has fixed qualities that do not move with the storms of life and changes in the enviornment.

                                                                    (There will be much more to come on this subject in future articles. BFW)