Adding Virtue... how?

Recently, the cell group has been going thru 2 Peter 1, a phenomenal chapter in an awesome book that has been very encouraging to me (and the cell I hope!). In fact, the first chapter is so good, I'd like to study it some more and share some of its treasures on this blog. Right now though, I'm going to explain something that was brought up in the cell group... so maybe you can treat this as a teaser/trailer of sorts. Heh.

Here's the passage, 2 Peter 1:5-7;

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (emphasis mine)

A short note on this list - this list should not be read as a step-by-step process or journey of the Christian life because in the following verses, the Apostle addresses these qualities as a whole. Rather, he seems primarily intent on portraying a complete picture of Christian qualities, while at the same time choosing qualities that move from the internal to the external.

Now the question raised was - how do you "supplement your faith with virtue"?  Or as the KJV puts it, how do you "add to your faith virtue"? 

What is "virtue" anyway? 
A quick check with wiki and dictionaries yield the definitions moral excellence or goodness. This is in line with the various translations -

1. NIV: goodness
2. NLT: moral excellence 
3. NASB: moral excellence
4. ESV: virtue
5. KJV: virtue 

Context Check
This "virtue" is whose virtue?
Based on the preceding verses (2 Peter 1:3-4), where Peter spoke about "having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire" - this "virtue" has to be the virtue that is not of the world, but of God.

Just to be doubly sure, let's check the Greek behind it. The Greek is "aretē" and Strong's Concordance has this definition: "properly manliness (valor), i.e. excellence (intrinsic or attributed) :- praise, virtue." So that's a nod for the translation of "virtue" and in addition, we know that this "virtue" can be intrinsic or attributed.

Context Check
Does Peter use "virtue" in an intrinsic or attributed sense?
I believe it is in an attributed sense for the Apostle instructs us to supplement (i.e. to add) not develop or improve or work-with-whatever-is-within-us.

Now we have a clearer picture - "virtue" has to do with moral excellence based on God and, in this context, it is attributed to the Christian.


Back to the original question - how do you "supplement your faith with virtue"?

Perhaps we can do so by working virtuous acts. However, this is unlikely for the following reasons:

1. There is no definition of working virtuous acts either in the Greek or in the word ("virtue") itself.
2. There seems to be an order in the qualities mentioned from v5 - v7; i.e. moving from the internal (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control) to the external (steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love) of the Christian. If so, understanding "virtue" as "working virtuous acts" would be out of place in this order. 
3. In addition, to interpret "virtue" as working virtuous acts may be affirming the consequent, as seen here:
   
   A virtuous person will work virtuous acts
   Person X does virtuous acts
   Therefore, Person X is virtuous
   
   While a virtuous person would do virtuous deeds (Matt 12:35), virtuous deeds do not necessarily make a person virtuous (Matt 15:3-9). After all, I can be a hypocrite by doing good things for evil gain. Therefore, such an interpretation actually downgrades the definition of "virtue" to mere good works. 

So that's out of the window... what gives?

I found a little clue from reading James... In James 1:21-27, James begins with this line - "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (emphasis mine) - and thereafter he continues with instructions on being a doer of the Word. Receive and then the doing.

So "adding virtue" could mean to receive (i.e. accept/embrace/agree with) God's virtue? I think it is very likely a YES for the following reasons:

1. The English word allows for such a definition (Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster). 
2. As an internal act, this is in-line with the proposed order in 2 Peter 1:5-7. 
3. This understanding helps to prevent logical fallacies.

Therefore, I believe that to "supplement your faith with virtue" would mean adding increasing acceptance of God's virtue.



Such an understanding yields interesting applications. One aspect of my life that is lacking in acceptance of God's virtue, would be in the area of dealing with sin. I actually "grade" my sins. Some sins are somehow lesser to me and I don't bother about them as much. What an odd notion! Something to reflect upon...

What's an "Ebenezer"?

Thought it's good to talk about why this site is so named... and to talk about that great hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, by Robert Robinson.

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

There in the 2nd Stanza, is the word "Ebenezer" and I'll be honest here - I've sung this hymn for the longest time without understanding what that word meant. I recall purposing to go do some research and figure it out but I just never gotten down to it. Yeah, and I still sang this to my Lord and King, the Almighty God... as if I could have actually intended what I sung without understanding it. Gah.

That word is taken from the passage below:

I Sam 7:12

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, "Till now the LORD has helped us." (emphasis mine)

Right there at the bottom of the page, there's a footnote which reads "Ebenezer means stone of help". Ah-ha! 

Reading around in the chapter, we find this situation - Israel has repented and returned to the one true God and while they gathered at Mizpah, the Philistines rose up to attack them. Samuel instructed the children of Israel to cry out to the Lord for aid whilst he presented a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Lord did save them. The Philistines were soundly defeated.

And this was when Samuel "took a stone... and called it's name Ebenezer".

The account is made all the more amazing when one reads a little before I Sam 7. In chapter 4, we read that instead of crying out to the Lord, the Israelites foolishly thought that by bringing the Ark of the Covenant into battle, God would somehow be obliged to defeat the Philistines. One can even hear the haughtiness of the elders of Israel (1 Sam 4:3) affirming this superstition.
It is astounding to read of the sons of Eli, who was the High Priest, accompanying the Ark out into battle. One would expect Eli to have known better when 1 Sam 3:18 records him saying "It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him." (emphasis mine) Why didn't he stand against this superstitious act?
The Lord did not yield to their superstition and the Ark was captured while Israel suffered a crushing defeat.

This stands in stark contrast to the events in chapter 7, where Israel "lamented after the Lord" (1 Sam 7:2) and they cried out to the Lord to save them. These later events portray the people finally getting it right and not yielding to foolish superstition. Samuel said "Till now the LORD has helped us" (emphasis mine) and that is true - It was indeed the Lord doing what seemed good to Him.

All these Biblical facts add an incredibly rich meaning to Ebenezer.  It is a word that reminds me of God's attributes:

His Sovereignty 
God is not moved by superstitious rituals/acts. As if by my obedience, God is obligated to do some good for me. As if when I obey a commandment, God must therefore bless me. As if.

His Holiness
God demands the right heart before Him. A heart that cries out to Him in submission and is willing to yield to His Will. (Ps 51:17) A heart that loves Him and seeks to obey Him. (Jn 14:15)

His Love
God will help us in accordance to His good and perfect will. The palmist sang in Ps 46:1-3 that:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Now, over and above the daily blessings from God... there is one Help worth mentioning time and again. One Help that will always be remembered and it must be reminded to all. It is this Help that Mr Robert Robinson writes about in the 2nd half of stanza 2:

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

Indeed, God has already given us the greatest Help and that is Christ! What a joy to think upon the reality of this Gift!

 

Here I raise my Ebenezer

Hither by Thy help I'm come

Inadequacy

So I led my cell group in a short study of 2 Peter 1:1-11. It's such an amazingly written piece of Scripture (and which part of Scripture isn't?!) that packs so much encouragement for believers in such a short passage. I was so utterly amazed by my recent reading of it that... I was bursting at the seams - I wanted so badly to share this piece of incredible encouragement with everyone. So I started with the cell.

And I came away from it somewhat disappointed and with a sense of shame. Not with Scripture, for it is sufficient (Ps 19:7-11), but with myself because I have failed to handle the Word properly (2 Tim 2:15). I believe I could have done more to bring out the tremendous encouragements and truths from the passage but I fell short. Especially in the area where the Apostle writes about "these things" (2 Peter 1:5-7), I ought to have spent more time studying the various items and expanded upon them some more. There is no excuse for missing the obvious emphasis the Apostle placed on "these things" for he clearly stresses, reminds and advises his reader about them.

There are still more things that I have found lacking... but there's no need to speak of all of them now. What I must do now, is to make sure that the duty entrusted to me, to lead the cell through the first chapter of 2 Peter, does not go unfulfilled. I can only thank God that He has laid it on my heart to strive for a respectable handling of His precious Word.

Easter Service

Today is Easter... and I awoke with this hymn in mind -

"Welcome, happy morning!"
age to age shall say:
hell today is vanquished,
heaven is won today!

That's from the hymn entitled "Welcome, Happy Morning!" and I think it encapsulates the heart of the Resurrection. Praise the Lord for the hope that we have in Christ!

There was an exceptionally long service today (2.5 hours!) but it was filled with this tremendous joy commemorating the Event that happened so many years ago... and I think, isn't this another reason why it is good to gather on a Sunday for corporate worship? For an Event as infinitely monumental as the Resurrection, every Sunday should be a commemoration... and it should be approached as such. If I am convicted that I'm there to commemorate the biggest, greatest, event in the history of this world my attitude towards Sunday worship must change. What a notion!

My sister helped organise a little choir group for a special item and they sang "He Lives!" - a remarkable hymn - together with a bit of me guitar playing. It is just a small group of some 6 ladies in all but I'm thankful that the Lord uses them to proclaim His Truth in passionate, skilful and diligent ways. I'm especially grateful that my sister has found a ministry in singing for the Lord.Thank God for this.

A final little thought on today's service... there was noticeably less people at church today. Apparently some were away at other churches with friends or relatives due to baptisms and what not. While I'm not dogmatic about compulsory attendance in my-church-and-my-church-only, I'm just wondering how these excursions square with the "regular way" church is done in Singapore. By "regular way" I mean that in Singapore, we gather in designated church buildings and form communities within those walls. So by going on these excursions, they have to leave their community while they join up with another community somewhere. Therefore, due to our local context, perhaps we should be more mindful of the times we spent away from our communities? After all, the original community would have to endure a Sunday without these adventurous people and since some Christians only gather on Sundays, Sunday remains their only time for communion.

Yes, I am aware that all Christians are part of the invisible, catholic (universal) Church and yes, there is liberty to go visit any other church one wishes to visit. All I'm saying is - perhaps there should be a weightier consideration made before one goes on an excursion to another church.  For example, if you are a teacher with your bible class students there and you only get to meet them on Sundays, perhaps it is good that you should stay with your local community? Are there not people who would love to hear how you have fared through the week with God's gracious guiding hands? Moreover, it is Easter today and what better time to be with familiar faces, greeting one another with exclamations of "Alleluia, He is risen!" and sharing this joy together? I just wonder...

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

It's Good Friday today and during service, there was a beautiful hymn sung.  It's called "Beneath the Cross of Jesus", written by Elizabeth C. Clephane and the music was composed by Frederick C. Maker. This is how it goes:

Beneath the Cross of Jesus
Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.


Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.


I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by to know no gain or loss,
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

 
Several thoughts on this hymn... I like how there's a progression of ideas and I find the flow ingenious. Stanza 1 presents the cross of Christ as how many would view it. The imagery is immensely down-to-earth - who doesn't realise the need for solace from the "burden of the day"? Then as if to avoid any superficial (mis)understanding of the Cross or to prevent the stanza from becoming mere sentimentalism, Stanza 2 strikes right to the heart of the Cross - It is about Christ dying to save the sinner. A response is written there and those who sing it should be moved to confess the last line of the stanza. Again, as if to avoid mere emotional response without a heart (and action) for repentance, Stanza 3 steps in with some serious "applications". There isn't much I can say about the last Stanza except that I tremble when I sing it.

It's Good Friday today and I remember "my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross".

Thank God for Good Friday.

Working Relationships (Part 2)

Hebrews 3:13

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Let's look at something detrimental to righting a malfunctioning relationship within the family of God - procrastination.

"Wait..."

This is possibly the most often heard piece of advice given when it comes to conflict resolution. It is like hoping that Time Heals All^TM would somehow occur in its entirety or at least, partial healing can take place... all in due time of course. Since this is popular practice/thinking, I've got some questions about this...

Is there a place for a time-out?
When should I call for a time-out?
How much time should be given?

These are important questions because procrastination seems to be a favourite resort especially when the going gets tough. In fact, the high frequency of (oft-times flippant) use hints that this is actually more than mere words of advice but betrays a prevalent mindset. Is such a mindset of procrastination biblical?

Matthew 5:23-24 has our Lord's instructions:

²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

There are 2 things to note in this short excerpt.
First, it is apparent that our Lord pointedly expects the party involved in conflict to man up and settle the issue - by themselves.
Secondly, our Lord expects the same party to settle the issue quickly. I don't think that back in the day the gift would have been left on the altar for say... a week? No, it is clear that conflicts ought to be settled as fast as possible.

And we see a pattern as we look at other passages:

Matthew 18:15-17 

¹⁵ "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Here, our Saviour lays down the Biblical precedent for conflict resolution between members from the household of God. Christ gets straight to the point and His tone is commanding - just like the passage from Matt 5:23-24.


Luke 17:3-4

³Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, ⁴and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

Again the words of our Saviour... and again, note the instructions given dive straight for resolution.

From these passages, I think the Bible speaks loud enough on this matter - It is clear that God wishes His children to work out the conflict kinks A.S.A.P and those who are directly involved have been tasked to bear the responsibility of personally doing the work. In fact, from this we can see that there should never be any reason for Christians on either side of a broken relationship to avoid/refuse reconciliation!

In the same manner, those on the sidelines should be ready to come forth to aid your fellow family members (Gal 6:1-2) by guiding them in the right direction and encouraging them to consistently work on the issue.

Be diligent in the matter by working on it with haste, lest a "root of bitterness" (Heb 12:15) springs up and causes others to be stumbled.



In the next part, I will look at what if a conflict just isn't getting resolved. How shall we handle that?