YOUR ACTIONS DEFINE YOUR CHARACTER
It does not matter who you are, your character will be defined by your actions. Many times all a person has is their character, and if their character is bad, people will have very little to do with them.
Let me give you some examples. I want you to pretend for a minute that you are a business owner that is hiring. You have two people to choose between that have similar qualifications, but one of them has a record of breaking the law, which person are you going to hire? I can tell that most would hire the person without a criminal record because they don’t want to take a chance with someone with a tarnished character. Their past actions have defined their character, and even if that person has made changes in their life, you as owner have no way of knowing that for sure.
When politicians start running for office many times you will see that character plays a big role, and each politician tries to attack the character of those they are running against or if they run a cleaner race, they will spend a lot of time showing why their character is better than their opponents.
If a someone is trying to take the position of a politician that has been in place for many years, that more experienced politician will claim that the new person is to inexperienced to take the office, even though that same politician was is the same boat before he or she started politics.
The new person can attack the more experienced politician by pointing out how he or she said they would do one thing, but they ended up doing another.
Another example of how our actions define our character can be seen in our own family or in one of our friends. For example, I knew a person that had a bad habit of lying all the time. Once people figure out that you lie all the time, no one is going to believe you when do tell the truth. This is why fables like the boy who cried wolf are taught to our children so they can learn at an early age the results of lying.
Another good word for Character would be reputation because that is what your character is all about. All of us are affected by the reputation of those around us. Trust is something that we don’t just give away to anyone and we certainly will not give our trust to those who have a bad reputation and of course this includes groups and places as well.
For instance, if a local restaurant has been cited for several health violations and many people have gotten sick from eating there, what are the chances you are going to eat there? Probably none. But if that same restaurant has been given rave reviews, its reputation is good and the chances of you eating there are very high.
So far, all we have talked about is how important our character is in our society, and how our reputation is defined by our actions. From a worldly point of view, we should be concerned about our Character, but as Christians we should be very concerned about our Character because God expects us to be known as having a Christ-like Character. Jesus said,
Matthew 5:14
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden. 15 "Nor do they
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light
to all who are in the house. 16
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven.
Also Paul said,
2 Thessalonians 3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread
free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not
be a burden to any of you, 9
not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how
you should follow us.
Why Paul?
1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Before you and I became
Christians, no matter how good our Character was deemed by society, all of us
were stained with sin and we were separated from God. While its wonderful if
you were kind and considerate person, your Character was flawed because God was
not in your life. However, when we learned about God and realized that were
drowning in our sins, we understood that a change had to take place in our
life. We needed to change our Character.
Unlike the world who does
not let you live down your past mistakes, God is ready to wipe the slate clean
when obey the Gospel and are baptized into Christ for the remission of our
sins.
When we choose of our own
free will to accept the grace of God by obeying His commands, the Bible teaches
us that when we are buried with Christ in baptism, we put to death our old-self
and we become a new creature in Christ. As Paul said,
Romans 6:4
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. 5
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we
also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man
was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new.
The fact that God allows us start over with a clean slate should be very comforting to us because we can take confidence in the fact that God is not going to bring up our past sins because He has forgotten them. So, once we became Christians, our Character was fully intact, but we must learn to keep it intact so that we can be that shining light that represents Christ.
We need to remind ourselves on daily basis that we are not just living our lives for ourselves, we are living them for God, and our actions will either make us a great example for Christianity that leads people to Christ, or we might be a bad example for Christianity and find ourselves being a representative of the devil. As Paul said,
2 Corinthians 10:4 For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds, 5 casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
As Christians we are in
constant battle against the devil and against ourselves. One of the great
challenges we face as a Christian is remaining pure by bringing all our
thoughts and actions into captivity to the obedience of Christ. I wish there
was some magical switch that we could turn on when we become Christians that
would make us perfect, and could somehow keep our character blemish free, but
we all know this does not happen. So we must work at maintaining our Christian character.
God knows we are going to
fall short of His glory form time to time. He knows that we are going to skin
our knees on our race to heaven. God never wants us to give up, and He is going
to be there for us when we need to be lifted up, and He will help us finish the
race if we will allow Him to. This should give us great comfort.
As part of character as
Christians we must have confidence in God’s love and His forgiveness because we
are not perfect and we sin from time to time. As John says,
1 John 1:7 But if
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 10 If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Just as God gives us a
clean slate when we repent and are baptized into Christ for the remission of
our sins, we also learn that God will continue to erase the flaws of our character
from the record when we walk in the light and we confess our sins to Him. When
you think about it, God’s plan for our salvation is not all that hard to
maintain, but we must be humble enough to admit when we are wrong and be
willing to change our ways to God’s ways.
Even though we have been
given this freedom in Christ over sin, please understand that this does not
mean that we can just sin as much as we want to and then simply confess it to
God. Again, John said we must walk in the light, which is a continual action.
We must be striving for perfection by doing our best to stay away from sin. I
don’t know your heart, but God does. He knows the difference between those who
fall because of a weak moment, but who are walking in the light and those who
continue to sin who are really walking in darkness. Paul addressed this issue
in:
Romans 6:1 What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it?
Romans 6:12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in
its lusts. 13 And do not
present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but
present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness to God. 14
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under
grace. 15 ¶ What then?
Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom
you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness? 17 But God be
thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from
sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
We must never take the
freedoms we have in Christ for granted and think that we can be as wicked as we
want to be and think God’s grace will cover it all because it will not. If we
try to abuse God’s grace we can fall from it (Gal. 5:4). As Paul just said,
when we became Christians we became servants of righteousness, and we should
stay far away from sin. We are in the Lord’s army now and He is our general.
Just like in earthly army, we are to obey the commands that come down from
headquarters. All us have our instructions written clearly in the Word of God.
Notice what Paul says
about Character in,
Romans 5:1 Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 2 through whom also
we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. 3 And
not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation produces perseverance; 4
and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us.
I don’t know who coined
this phrase, but someone once said, “What doesn’t kill you, will make you
stronger.” This is the idea that Paul is giving us about our character. The
first century Christians went through some difficult time because the opposing
Jews wanted them stopped, and later on, when the Romans had a beef with them,
many of them suffered immensely, but the majority of them did not waiver in
their faith. No matter how many times they were told to renounce God, they
would not.
They had such integrity
in their Character that neither the Jews nor the Romans could break it. This is
the same integrity we must have in our Character as Christians as well. Paul
hit the nail on the head when he said that perseverance produces Character.
Whenever bad things happen to us and we actively seek comfort from God and we
turn our problems over to Him we will make our Character stronger and stronger.
When that bad time is over and we see how God gave us the strength to make it
through, then we can know that we will be able to make it through the next
thing that comes our way.
As Christians we must
always be thinking about how we can add to our Character, and how important it
is that we allow God’s Word to be our guide.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep
your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of
life. 24 Put away from you a
deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight
ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be
established. 27 Do not turn
to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
We have to do our best to
make the right decisions every day in our lives. We cannot just go with the
flow and do whatever seems right at the moment, we must learn to think about
our actions. We need to ask ourselves if the words we are about to say, are
they going to be helpful or harmful. Or if we are going to get involved in some
activity, we need to ask is this what a Christian should be doing. When you
watching a show that has sinful images and language, we must think about what
affect that is going to have on us.
We have been so
desensitized by the media and our society about certain sinful issues that when
here about those sins happening, it doesn’t it shock us or even concern us that
much anymore. The more we buy into this tolerance agenda that is being pushed
on us, the more our Christian Character suffers. Just because sinful things are
being practiced more and more, it doesn’t make them less sinful, and we need to
stop and think about how we are being affected by this negative influence. We
need to remind ourselves just how ugly and horrible sin is no matter how
popular our society says it is.
Timothy is great example
of man that had Character. Notice how Paul boast about His character to the
Philippians in:
Philippians 2:19 But I
trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be
encouraged when I know your state. 20
For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21 For all seek their own, not the
things which are of Christ Jesus. 22
But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he
served with me in the gospel. 23
Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with
me.
Timothy was a great
evangelist and he had been tested, but as far we know he never lost his
integrity. He had a lot of encouragement from his mother and grandmother and
from Paul to be a man of Character. For instance Paul taught Him,
1 Timothy 4:12 Let no
one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct,
in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Paul understood the
importance of having a Christ-like character and how young Timothy and every
Christians must be a Christian example. If we allow our Character to break down
and we fail to be an example in word, in conduct, in love in spirit, in faith
and in purity, then we are failing to be the kind of servants that God wants us
to be. Again, this shows us how our actions define our character.
Of course God is the
perfect example of what a person of character should be like because He is a
God of love, mercy, grace, and justice. When God says He will do something He
does it without fail. Now some only like to view God as God of love, mercy, and
grace, but we need to understand that justice is part of His character. As you
study through the O.T., you see God excel in His love, mercy, and grace, but we
also see His justice when His people fail to do what they are supposed to do.
He punished them because He is just.
God is not going to give
you a slap on the wrist and send you on your way. He is not going to say that
you are doing is ok since society says it is ok. No, there will be severe
consequences for those who choose to live in sin that will last for an eternity
because God is just. If He was not just, then His character would be flawed.
So, I hope all of us will follow God’s example and always strive to be people
of Character.
The best advice I can
give that will help you to make sure that you maintain your Christian Character
come from the words of Paul in Col.3. As I read these verses I want you to pay
close attention to what Paul is saying.
Colossians 3:1 If
then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the
earth. 3 For you died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him
in glory. 5 Therefore
put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the
wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once
walked when you lived in them. 8
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old
man with his deeds, 10 and
have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the
image of Him who created him, 11
where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. 12 Therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
longsuffering; 13 bearing
with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against
another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put
on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which
also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in
word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God
the Father through Him. 18 Wives,
submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and
do not be bitter toward them. 20
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the
Lord. 21 Fathers, do not
provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all
things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as
men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of
the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done,
and there is no partiality.
I hope this lesson has
shown you how important it is for us to keep our Christian Character intact,
and how our Character is defined by our actions. I hope that we all take the words
of Paul to heart, because if we do, our Character will stand the test of time
and we will be the examples that God wants us to be.