2nd Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Character is formed by habit, and habits are formed by practice, and practice is the result of deliberate decision. Our character is who we are essentially, and in order for us to break bad habits in favor of forming new ones, choice, and practice must of necessity play a vital role. In the above passage the apostle outlines some of the main elements in a Christlike character. It is worthy of note that he starts with the word "Diligence", for by using this word he is implying that those godly traits which follow next must be put into practice diligently, on a continual basis, until they become second nature to us.
The problem is that none of those characteristics mentioned occur in us naturally, which means that if we desire to develop Christlike characters,we will have to start from scratch, with a new heart and mind, renewed by the grace of God each day, so that we will have implanted in us an inner desire to do good. Doing good does not come naturally to any human being, for we are fallen in nature and therefore inherently selfish. That's the reason why "Good works" in and of themselves are useless in recommending anyone to God, for as a rule, they are always tainted with some form of selfishness.
This is why when good deeds are done by some, such as saving the life of an animal or human being, cameras often start rolling for some unknown reason, followed by interviews on CNN, which laud the actions of the good Samaritan in question as being heroic. Now even though the person's motive might have originally been upright, yet the desire to make the good deeds known, demonstrate that there is a taint of selfishness involved, for whenever genuine deeds of kindness are done from a heart purified by the grace of Christ, there is an opposite reaction, in that there is a general tendency to keep it secret, or if for some reason it becomes known, then there is no personal incentive to get ourselves into the spotlight, but instead, all the praise and glory is reflected back to Christ, as the One who made it all possible in the first place. Let's read:
Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
In the development of a Christlike character therefore, self-denial will stand front and center, for it will involve doing the things which are not natural to us, and refraining from those things which we know are not right. For instance, covetousness can only be uprooted from our hearts through the power of God, coupled together with the practice of uniform benevolence, but we are never to think for one moment, that after baptism, some miracle from Christ will cause us to change instantly and become benevolent overnight, without any effort and practice on our part. This is one of the many delusions being circulated in Christendom today, which says in a nutshell, "Just believe, and it will happen".
In building sterling characters, there will be fierce internal conflicts to be waged against those inherited or cultivated tendencies to evil, which tug us in one direction, whilst The Spirit pulls us in the other, and it is at times like these that we will have to decide which direction we want to go, whether upward to God and heaven, against our own grain, or downward with the flow of gravitational lusts and desires, which sink us deeper in the mire of sin.
This is what is involved in the development of sound character, and such a conflict can only be kept up on a continual basis if we be found in Christ, and depend upon His mighty arm for success each and every day. But for us to think that it will be a breeze is a deception which we must turn our backs on resolutely, for the Bible teaches us no such thing. Let's read:
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Romans 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Let us therefore look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, for it's only by beholding Him from day to day, and by putting into practice what we have seen, and heard, and handled of Him, through the power of The Holy Spirit, that we can be changed from glory to glory, even as by The spirit of The Lord. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which should give us hope and encouragement, for if we are willing to cooperate with God, He will bring each and every one of us to perfection in Christ Jesus, as we look to Christ and not to ourselves. Let's read:
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!