The ABC’s of Christian Character - Part 4 of 9
By Bro. Cheek | July 30, 2008
Table of contents for The ABCs of Christian Character
- The ABC’s of Christian Character - Part 1 of 9
- The ABC’s of Christian Character - Part 2 of 9
- The ABC’s of Christian Character - Part 3 of 9
- The ABC’s of Christian Character - Part 4 of 9
The ABC’S of
Christian Character
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Part Four of Nine
By Pastor Robert L. Cheek Jr.
Victory Baptist Church
This evening we are going to continue our series on The ABC’s of Christian Character. By the end of this series we will have 26 character traits before us that the Bible attributes to the Christian character. It would be interesting and certainly beneficial for us to consider memorizing these or at least jotting them down on a calendar for consideration every week of the year. With 52 weeks in a year, we can consider the entire list two times in a year. Just something to think about. Let’s move on to the letter C.
C. Contriteness is a Christian Character Trait
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
The word contrite has a very interesting meaning. You might think it just means being humble. But actually, the meaning is much deeper than that.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
That verse opens up the definition of contrite. The word means, “to break or bruise; to rub or wear… Literally, worn or bruised. Hence, broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent; as a contrite sinner.”
To be contrite is to be broken beneath the knowledge that our sins have offended God. Sometimes it is hard to see contriteness manifested in ourselves and in others. We certainly ought to be more contrite than we are. Why? Because a contrite heart is not only a trait of Christian character, but it gets God’s attention. Look at 2 Kings 20.
2 Kings 20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Kings 20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
2 Kings 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
2 Kings 20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
2 Kings 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
2 Kings 20:6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
I want you to notice that it wasn’t simply the fact that Hezekiah prayed and asked for deliverance. God not only heard his prayer, but when he wept sore (vs. 3), God saw his tears (vs. 5)!
Psalms 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Sometimes help from the Lord doesn’t show up until we are contrite enough, broken and bruised in our hearts, to beg God for help. When the Bible talks about weeping “sore” and “bitterly”, I think that’s being contrite.
We can become contrite over many things.
We might have a contrite heart because of sin as David did.
Psalms 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
We might have a contrite heart because of a lost loved one.
Psalms 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
We might have a contrite heart because of our circumstances, as was the case with Hezekiah.
What ever the reason, let me assure you that a contrite heart gets God’s attention. Notice Isaiah 66:1-2.
Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
God said that He created the entire universe with all its beauty and wonder and majesty. Yet nothing in the entire universe gets God’s attention like a contrite heart. I need more contriteness in my character. How about you?
D. Diligence is a Christian Character Trait
2 Corinthians 8:7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
Diligence means, “Steady application in business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken;”
Hebrews 6:11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
How diligent are you child of God? You don’t measure diligence by how much it takes to get you started. You measure diligence by what it takes to stop you. How much effort from the world, the flesh and the devil does it take to make you give up and quit? I’m afraid many times Christians just don’t give enough effort to serving God. Do you remember what happened right before Elisha died?
2 Kings 13:14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
2 Kings 13:15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
2 Kings 13:16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
2 Kings 13:17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
The arrow was a picture of warfare and the king new that because Elisha explained the symbolism to him. But now watch this…
2 Kings 13:18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
2 Kings 13:19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
The problem was not that the Elisha failed to tell the king how many times to strike the ground. The problem was that the king did not have a diligent heart. He knew the arrows symbolized warfarewith Syria and he knew Elisha wanted him to smite the ground. He probably understand that those smites on the ground would have something to do with battles. So he smote three times, meaning three battles, and then he stayed. The kings problem was his heart. He didn’t have a diligent heart. He only half-heartedly obeyed.
Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
I think there are many times when victory is just around the corner, but God’s people fail to be diligent to the end as Hebrews 6:11 stated. Look over a 2 Peter 1.
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2 Peter 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2 Peter 1:8 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.
2 Peter 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
Twice in that text, Peter said that we should give diligence to do what we ought to do. I will tell you how you can determine if your character needs to change in the matter of diligence.
- Looking for a way out of doing right is not diligence.
- Making up any old excuse to keep from doing what you know you ought to do is not diligence.
- Bowing to pressure and relaxing your own personal Christian standards is not diligence.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
That verse tells us that diligence is a Christian character trait, and it is an important one. We need to be diligent. Do we have a diligent character?
E. Expectation is a Christian Character Trait
2 Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2 Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
I believe every child of God has within them an expectation in their hearts of the coming of the Lord.
Proverbs 23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
Proverbs 23:18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Stop and think about how we act when we know we are having company over to our home. We do our best to make everything presentable. Why? Because we are expecting company and we know they are on their way. I think the greatest problem with Christians in regard to expectation is not that they don’t believe the Lord will ever come back. Probably every Christian you know believes that if their doctrine is right. The problem is that we just don’t believe it will be today, or tomorrow, or the next day. I mean, we know He is coming back, but we don’t live as though He could come back soon. His return is way off on the horizon somewhere. That’s the way we live much of the time.
But expectation is a Christian character trait and we should cultivate that trait in our lives.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Christians are taught not only to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, but to live soberly, righteously, godly, and to live LOOKING for Jesus. Do you live LOOKING for Jesus? Is your Christian character developed in such a way that every day you get up and wonder, “Will this be the day?” You see, it’s hard to sin when you think Jesus could come back at any moment. Developing an expectation in our Christian character will go a long way in keeping our hearts right with God.
Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
If we truly believe that Jesus is coming back, let’s live as though we truly believe that. Let’s expect Him. We have considered three more Christian character traits.
Contriteness is a Christian character trait.
Diligence is a Christian character trait.
Expectation is a Christian character trait.
How is YOUR character?
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