Building Blocks of Christian Character - Faith

copyright 2008 Martin Kimeldorf

2 Peter 1:5, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith..."

Certain things in this world re made up of other things. In fact most things are composites of other things. Take water for instance; it is a combination of (Ask what) 2 hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule.  If you take away the oxygen or the hydrogen then you no longer have water, right? Salt is another example; it’s made up of sodium and chlorine, take away either of those elements and you don’t have salt anymore. How about fire, it’s made up of three elements, heat oxygen and fuel. Without all three necessary ingredients, you don’t get fire.

Faith is the same way. I believe that faith consists of three key elements, and if you remove any of them then you don’t have a true Bible based faith.

What is faith?

1. Faith is, in part, belief.

According to the dictionary, faith is: the conviction of something that is true. This is the head part. It involves our thinking and cognitive abilities. This is where we wrestle with pieces data and information in order to make some kind of decision about them. If we believe them, we accept them as true. We store them in our “true” file even though we may not have scientific or empirical proof. We believe, or have been convinced that they are true.

What does the world say about belief? - Seeing is believing.

Jesus turns everything around though. He says, “Believing is seeing.”

In John 11:40 He said this “Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?"

2. Faith is, in part, trust.

We might be mentally persuaded by facts, but until we rely on or put our confidence and trust in what we believe, then our faith is weak. This is the heart part, where we lean on and become dependent on the credibility and reliability of God and what HE says. 

3. Faith is, in part, obedience. This is the will part where we choose to act in accordance with what we believe, and in whom we have places our trust.

Which do you think is easier, belief, trust or obedience? Why?

Faith is more than just an academic exercise. It’s more than accepting a few facts, faith involves action.

Building Blocks of Christian Character - Diligence

copyright 2008 slayer photo

2 Peter 1:5-11, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Many old buildings have had their foundations rebuilt. One example is Winchester Cathedral in England. The wood that was used in the original foundation was getting rotten, and the building was beginning to sink. When an excavation was performed, water from the river began to pour in and some parts of the basement were flooded with 14’ of water. Fear of further damaging the foundation prevented the workers from pumping out the water. So, divers had to go in and remove the rotten wood piece by piece, and replace them with concrete blocks. After 6 years of renovations, the cathedral was once again on a firm foundation.

In these verses, Peter gives us some building blocks to help us lay the foundation of Christian character. The first of those building blocks is diligence.

What does diligence mean to you?