Christian Character

Character counts. Character building. This will strengthen your character. I would be content just being a “character.” So, what is character? Webster offers a list of definitions and here are a couple: 1) One of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual. 2) Moral excellence and firmness.

So, we are thinking one would want attributes to their character to be moral excellence and firmness. With this knowledge we can move forward in our walk with Christ, and as a person of good character things will go smoothly from here in work and family. Perhaps before we complete our “character analysis”, we should see what God’s Word has to say. In his commentary from the book Be Right, a commentary on the book of Romans, Warren Wiersbe discusses developing Christian character:

Justification is no escape from the trials of life. “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). But for the believer, trials work for him. No amount of suffering can separate us from the Lord; instead trials bring us closer to the Lord and make us more like the Lord. Suffering builds Christian character. The word 'experience' in Romans 5:4 means, “character that has been proved.” The sequence is tribulation-patience-proven character-hope. Our English word tribulation comes from a Latin word 'tribulum'. In Paul’s day, a tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it separated the wheat from the chaff. As we go through tribulations, and depend only on God’s grace, the trials only purify us and help us get rid of the chaff.

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Pray

Lord help me to use the trials in my life to draw closer to you and strengthen my character.

Thank you for your grace.

Take A Look

Romans 5: 3-5

—Mike