By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC 8am & 1045am Service, 2013-07-28

Text: 2 Peter 1:5; 3:18

This is the fourth message in our series of sermons on Growing in Christ-Likeness from 2 Peter 1:5-7. This passage provides a list of eight characteristics: Faith, Virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (or love). One way to remember this is to use an acronym like, “Five Voices Keen To Praise God By Choruses.” As we have already studied faith and virtue, we now proceed to the next characteristic, which is called knowledge. Everyone knows what knowledge is and how valuable it is. A vast amount of knowledge is available today. There are over 7,000 universities in the world where knowledge can be acquired, and over 129 million books have been published. That’s a lot of knowledge!

But how much of it is really useful or needful? A story is told that an engine of a huge ship broke down, and its owners were losing lots of money because the ship could not sail and it remained in the harbour for days. They tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, from top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000. “What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote him a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.” The man sent them a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer – $2; Knowing specifically where to tap – $9,998.

The kind of knowledge that we need to cultivate is just like that: It works because it is specific! The term forknowledge in v.5 of our text is actually a very specific kind of knowledge. There are three other verses in this epistle that tell us what kind of knowledge it is:

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.” Here we see that we should be fruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

2 Peter 2:20 – “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,….” This shows that the the way to escape from the pollution of the world is through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

These verses show us that the kind of knowledge we need in order to grow in Christ-likeness is the knowledge of Christ Himself. In fact, it is most important to learn that this is the only kind of knowledge that is really worth pursuing. Solomon, the wisest king in his time, spent much time acquiring knowledge and making an assessment of its value. He said, “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” (Ecclesiastes 1:18) and in Ecclesiastes 12:12 he said “of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

I am sure that those of us who have spent long hours ploughing through stacks of lecture notes to prepare for exams can identify with that statement – there is no end to the pursuit of knowledge, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. And what happens after we have passed those exams, graduated and secured a good career? How much of all that knowledge do we really use? A lot of things that I have learnt years ago has gone back to the books even though I may have scored ‘A’s in the exams.

But there is one kind of knowledge that is really worth pursuing as it never loses its usefulness – the knowledge of Jesus Christ! As Paul said in Colossians 2:3, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. And then in Philippians 3:8, Paul testified that he “counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.” In John 17:3, Jesus Himself said, “And this is life eternal, that they mightknow Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Dearly beloved, if you want to have knowledge that is really useful both for your present life and for eternal life, please make sure that you know the Lord Jesus Christ fully and deeply. This morning we will learn three things about this knowledge – Why we need it, how we can obtain it, and What we should do with it. Firstly let us consider…

I. Why We Need this Knowledge

In v.5 of our text, we notice that this knowledge needs to be added to virtue. You may remember from the sermon preached last week that the word ‘virtue’ here refers to moral excellence. But how do we know exactly what moral excellence is, unless it is clearly defined? What is it then that defines moral excellence for us? Is it merely the Ten Commandments alone, or the Moral Law? It is actually more than that. If we were to trace moral excellence all the way back to its source, we would find that it originates in the character of God. God’s character defines moral excellence for us. If something is right to God, then that makes it right. If something is wrong to God, then that makes it wrong. But how can we ever know God’s character completely and accurately?

The answer is found in Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate way by which we can know God fully. Every other way of knowing God falls short of giving us a complete understanding of God’s character. We may learn some things about God’s character by observing all the works He has done in creation and in history. We may learn more about His character through the laws that He gave to Moses, and the visions and messages He gave to the prophets. But what all these provide us is at best only a shadow, and we cannot know God’s character fully through them.

It is through Jesus Christ that we have now received the fullest revelation of God. God did not lose any of His divine attributes when He was made flesh. He entered into a new dimension of existence through the gateway of human birth, but He fully retained His divine nature, while taking on an additional human nature.By being fully God and fully man Jesus is God’s ultimate revelation of Himself to us. This is so much clearer and sharper than any other mode of revelation.

If we liken revelation to viewing a picture, then all those earlier modes of divine revelation would be like looking at an old black and white photograph, which does not show much detail. That was the only thing we could have back in the early days of photography. The ultimate revelation of God when He was made flesh in Jesus Christ would then be like watching a high-definition moving image on a 60-inch screen where even the tiniest details can be seen most clearly. This is definitely much better than the all earlier low-resolution photographs we used to look at. And we thank God that this is the kind of revelation of Him that we now have in Christ – a high-definition revelation.

By knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, we have all the knowledge we need to live a life of moral excellence, a life that fulfills the purpose we were made for. And one important feature of this knowledge is that it never changes. The knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is permanently fixed. It never becomes outdated, unlike much of the knowledge that is relied on today. Those science books on your bookself that you bought more than ten years ago are no longer useful, because new research has brought considerable changes in science. Do you know that many laws and ethical standards have also changed considerably? This is because we live in a postmodern world where relativism reigns, and absolutes are no longer desirable. Things that were once considered unaccepable are now considered to be acceptable.

For instance, before 1967 homosexual activity was a crime called sodomy and it was punishable by law. The Irish poet Oscar Wilde spent two years in prison for this. But within the last 13 years, homosexual marriage has been legalized in 14 countries. Britain will soon be joining the list as the British parliament passed a bill only a few weeks ago to legalise gay marriages.

One reason why laws and ethical standards change is that they are influenced by the prevailing sentiments of society and public opinion, which keep on changing. When we rely on such changing standards to guide us, we will certainly lose our way. But when we rely on the unchanging knowledge of Christ to guide us, we will always have clear directions to keep going on the right path of life.

This is like using a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver to help us reach our desired destination. It works by taking readings from 3-4 satellites orbiting above the earth. Using that data, the GPS can determine the exact position and give the driver turn-by-turn instructions to reach his destination. Such accurate guidance is possible only because the GPS receiver maintains continuous contact with the outside reference points. The knowledge of Christ functions in a similar way. It is like your personal satellite for navigating your way through life and you must maintain contact with it. And this satellite is fully reliable because it always remains the same. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Therefore let us make sure that we know Him well. Be sure that you keep knowing the Lord Jesus fully and deeply so that your life will be continually led and guided by Him. Now that we have seen why we need this knowledge, the next thing we want to learn is:

II. How We Can Obtain this Knowledge

How can we obtain the knowledge of Jesus Christ? At the time that Peter wrote this epistle, there were many false teachers who claimed to have obtained the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They were the gnostics. Some gnostics believed that Jesus could not possibly have been God, because in their system of philosophy God can never take on a material body. Others said that Jesus is God or one of the emanations of God, but He did not really take on a physical body. He merely appeared to have one, but it was only an illusion. One Gnostic teacher named Cerinthus was strongly opposed by the apostle John. He taught that God came and took over the body of a man named Jesus at his baptism and then left his body just before he was crucified.

In our present time, there are still many strange teachings about Jesus Christ circulating the globe. If you were to do a Google search on the words “Jesus Christ” you will find about 65 million web sites. There is so much information that is so easily accessible. Some of them claim that Jesus was only one of the many great teachers sent by God to teach us how to live together in peace and harmony. Some claim that in the time between the age of 12 and 30 Jesus went to India and Persia and learned everything that He later taught in Israel. Others relate how they met Jesus Christ personally in a vision, and learned many things from Him that are not found in the Bible.

Now, for us, there is only one authentic source of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And that authentic source is the Bible. All that we need to know about Jesus is found right here in this book, and this is what we should read and study well in order that we may have the right knowledge of Jesus Christ. Peter who wrote this epistle, emphasised the same thing in verses 16-19 – “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables,when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”

Here Peter says that the written Word of God that we have right now is more sure, more reliable than any voice speaking from heaven or any new vision that someone may claim to receive. We must therefore ‘take heed,’ and that means to pay careful attention to the written Word. Since the knowledge of Christ is so important to our life, we ought to study the Scriptures well!

And the intensity of effort required for such study is defined in v.5 as ‘giving all diligence’. This simply means doing our level best. We all know how important it is to do our best when we study for examinations, and especially when an important one is coming, like PSLE, O level or A level exams or final year exams in Univerity.

There was a child who wandered into his grandmother’s room one day, and he found her reading her Bible intently. So he asked her, “Grandma, what are you doing?” She answered, “Well honey, I am preparing for my final exam.” Sometimes it is only when we realize how near we are to entering eternity that we start to prepare for it. Actually our entire lifetime here is meant to for us to prepare for eternity. But how much time do we really spend reading and studying the Word of God? Does it make sense to spend thousands of hours to acquire knowledge that will be useful for your 30-40 years of working life, but spend only a few hours to acquire knowledge that will remain useful for eternity?

The question you need to ask is: Where are your priorities? How should you regard your Bible? Someone has put it this way, using the word ‘BIBLE’ as an acronym. It is the “Believer’s Instructions Before LeavingEarth.” Think of your Bible as a personal road safety manual which contains valuable information on how to reach heaven safely. Make sure you know it well. Think of the Bible as a personal love letter from God, then you will read it well!

We live in an age where everyone can easily own a personal copy of the Bible or download it free of charge into one’s mobile phone. But before the invention of printing many did not have a Bible. Besides that, we also have easy access to plenty of resource materials for Bible study, like guidebooks, timelines, maps and commentaries. But many who have already gone home to be with the Lord never had the luxury of using such resources for Bible study, and they would have given anything to have even one of them. Since we have these resources, shouldn’t we give all diligence to use them well to add the knowledge of Christ to our lives? Please don’t say, “I’ll read the Bible whenever I have the time.” You must make time for it! Don’t be satisfied with a superficial knowledge of it, but dig deep into it to find every precious gem inside it!

As you dig deeper and deeper into the Bible, you will be surprised at how much knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ you will gain from it. And this is true not only of the New Testament, but even of the Old Testament. Many Old Testament passages are designed to point to the coming of Christ.

For example, in Leviticus 1:3 the burnt offering had to be a “male without blemish; the offerer shall offer it of his own voluntary will.” In its present-day application, Christ is the sacrifice without blemish, and every Christian, in an act of consecration must identify himself with Christ to offer his body as a living sacrifice of his own free will.

Even historical events recorded in the Old Testament can teach us wonderful truths about Jesus Christ. One example is the Exodus of Israelites out of Egypt. Their deliverance from slavery in Egypt is a picture of our deliverance from the slavery of sin. The blood of the Passover lamb which saved their firstborn from dying in the tenth plague points us to the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who saves us from eternal death. Now that we have learnt how we can obtain the knowledge of Christ, we go on to the third thing about it…

III. What We Ought to Do with this Knowledge

The knowledge of Christ is not only meant to enrich our minds. Some people are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7) Why? It is because instead of committing themselves to believe and practice what they learn, they take pride in their wealth of knowledge. Paul says that ‘knowledge puffeth up’ (1 Corinthians 8:1). The worst thing we can do with knowledge is to show off how much of it we have – to gain some glory for ourselves.

Actually, having a true knowledge of Christ ought to make us humble. The more we know Him, the more we realise how great He really is and how little we actually know. Even Paul the apostle never dared to assume that he had a full complete knowledge of Christ. That’s why he said, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:10) He kept on pursuing the knowledge of Jesus Christ with all his might. And he tells us to do the same: We must keep on pursuing the knowledge of Christ, not just to feed our minds, but to transform our lives.

Knowledge is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. You may have noticed that in the list of virtues given in our text, knowledge is not the last one. There are another 6 virtues that come after it, and the last one is charity or love. Love is the climax of all the essential virtues. Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 13:2 – “though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

In order to put the knowledge you gain from reading God’s Word to good use, you must take time to meditate on it. Ponder over it regularly until it becomes a natural part of your thinking process. Do you know that the way that you live your life depends a lot on what you think about? That is why the Scriptures put a lot of emphasis on our thought life. E.g. Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Many people want to be successful. But do you know what is the secret to success? It is to meditate regularly on God’s Word! Joshua 1:8 tells us, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Here we are told that meditating on God’s Word day and night will lead to doing according to all that is written in it. As you keep meditating on the truths of Scripture, the Holy Spirit will show you where and how to apply them in your daily life. Your attitudes and actions will then begin to follow your thoughts. And if you persist in these attitudes and actions, they will form themselves into new habits. This is how you can develop healthy Christian habits like praying, giving thanks, confessing your sins daily, showing love to others, and forgiving those who offend you.

The Bible isn’t just a book of facts or historical data. It is filled with things for you to do. Its truths are practical and applicable to everything that you do in life. This is what you should expect to see each time you open your Bible to read it. If you expect much from it, then you will see much. But if you merely dabble in its pages for some mediocre lessons, then you will find nothing more than that. And if you don’t expect to learn any practical truths from the Bible, then it will make no difference at all in your life.

So please make it a point to have great expectations from God’s Word. Expect it to teach you the examples to follow and the errors to avoid. Expect to find many exceeding great and precious promises of God to put your trust in. Expect God’s Word to confront you about those sins in your life which you need to confess. Expect it to instruct you of the duties God wants you to perform, and expect it to equip you well to perform them.

And above all, you must expect God’s Word to transform your life into the image of Jesus Christ. Let this be the ultimate goal of our Bible study from now onward. And may it always be our joy to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

By Mark Chen

Preached at Life BPC 10.30am service, 2004-02-08

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-8

In the introduction to this series of messages, there was an important question asked: 'How far have I progressed in the process of sanctification, since the day I came to know Christ? What stage have I reached in my growth in the image of Christ?' Meaning, how holy are you and how much are you like Christ now? Are you holier, more Christ-like, and more spiritual this year than you were last year or the year before? These are important questions! Remember, the goal of our religion is not only to be saved and to get to heaven; but the goal is to get into heaven well. Definitely, if we are saved, we are assured a place in eternity - whether we enter first or last place, we'll still get in. But that isn't the point. Scripture tells us that we who are saved are in a race, and we are all competing against ourselves, NOT each other - we're not rivals competing against each other, but the one that we are competing against is ourselves. We know what is good and required of us, but we don't do it. We know what is bad, but we can't help but do it. And that is what Paul says of the Christian struggle in Romans 7: 19 'For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.' This of course, this is not a license for us to sin, but it just goes to show how difficult it is to run this race. But then again, since when has running a race been easy?

The athlete prepares for a race by hours of training and hard work. He has to eat the right kinds of foods to at least keep his weight to a specified class - long-distanced runners are usually leaner with longer muscles whereas sprinters are usually bigger with large hamstrings. The athlete must monitor himself carefully. Some even shave excess body hair to make themselves more streamlined. He has a system. Not only does he spend time monitoring his diet, but he adds to that - training. He trains everyday for a certain number of hours, not only doing his stretches, but lifting weights; and adding to that a system of exercises to increase his distance or his speed. All these work in conjunction to help him win. If he fails to add one of those elements in, he may not be as prepared to run the race. In fact, he would be at a severe disadvantage. 

These things take time to build up. Stamina takes time to build up. But once an athlete has these things under his belt, running races will be increasingly easier - the 2.4 km run he did last year would be of no difficulty to him if he has been training for a 5 km run. Once he is able to conquer the marathon, the half-marathon would be of little difficulty for him. And so he progresses, applying himself as he goes along. Each step of the way with challenges no doubt, but he has his training to back him up. It is tough to become a good athlete.

Which is why, certain athletes feel that they are at a disadvantage, often times resorting to other means of achieving success. Anaerobic steroids, methamphetamines, and other performance enhancing drugs become secrets, or rather, not-so-secrets of success. Time-honored effort and the work ethic are put away. But their triumphs are empty for they haven't been true to themselves.

Let me give another example. A pastry chef has to train and undergo years of apprenticeship before he can qualify to be an under chef, and even years after that before he can be a master. He must first learn to mix the dough, to which he adds the knowledge of how to roll the dough, to which he adds the knowledge of how to shape the dough. Then he must know how to make the fillings. Then he must know at what temperature to bake and for how long. Even a home maker needs years of experience. Our mothers don't become expert cooks overnight. To know how to make a real authentic rendang requires skill and knowledge of spices and how to combine them. But some mothers have a secret recipe. It is called Maggi pre-packed rendang spices - just mix in the meat and fry.

So it is no surprise that with performance enhancing drugs and instant award-winning seasonings, Christians often look for the easy way out to grow spiritually. With such secrets to winning races and creating the perfect meal, what then is the secret to spiritual growth? Well, there really isn't a secret. The recipe for spiritual maturity and the regime for spiritual growth are listed quite clearly in our passage this morning. It is a tough regime - there are no short cuts. We see here that to grow spiritually, not only do you need faith, but you need virtue. And on top of that, knowledge, followed by temperance, patience, and so on. No secret, just hard work. 

And when you have these things, and when they abound in you, according to verse 8, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in your knowledge of Christ. If we have these things and are full of these things, then it can be said that we are growing in the knowledge of Jesus. But this knowledge of Christ is more than just an intellectual knowledge. Sure, intellectual knowledge is important. In verse 5, we are told that we should add on to virtue, knowledge - knowledge being the knowledge of doctrine, knowledge of the Bible. So this kind of knowledge does have a place. But Peter is talking about growing in a very personal kind of knowledge of Christ. For example, it is one thing to say you know about someone and a completely different thing to say you know someone personally.

So Peter isn't talking about a factual knowledge, but a personal and intimate knowledge. And the more we develop these characteristics, the more we will really 'know' Jesus. After all, he is the embodiment of these characteristics. Who was the most faithful person? Jesus. Who was the most virtuous person? Jesus. Who was the most knowledgeable, temperate, patient, godly, kind, and loving person? Jesus. And when we know Jesus, to be thoroughly acquainted with and to know accurately and well, we are growing spiritually. Our church theme this year is 'That I May Know Christ.' And the way that one can truly know him is to follow this regime - this recipe. 

All ingredients are necessary. Growing in Christ requires all these characteristics. And we must add these characteristics to each other - just as you build up on the ingredients to make a dish. The word 'add' in verse 5, in the Greek, is where we get the word 'choreograph.' This word was a musical term - it means to support a chorus, to lead a choir, or to keep in tune. When a conductor leads a choir, he has to make sure that the voices of the men blend with the voices of the ladies. When ladies sing, they usually have a certain light tonal quality. Their voices are supposed to soar. They are like birds flying effortlessly through the air. Then when you blend in the men, and if they are controlled and are able to support the ladies, then they are like the thermal winds that lift a bird up. But if they are too over-powering, they will act like the head wind, that will cause the bird to struggle in flight and tire easily. But if the choir is carefully choreographed, the end result is a wonderful piece of music that uplifts the soul. 

So, in our spiritual growth, these ingredients are all necessary - and this word 'add' suggests that they must work together in perfect harmony in order to produce an overall piece of work that is without rival. And that is what the Christian would be when he carefully choreographs his spiritual life, not to neglect any one of these ingredients. Each ingredient or activity builds up on another. Faith without virtue can't make it. Neither can virtue make it without knowledge. If any of these ingredients are lacking or are not abounding, then the end result is a poor intimate knowledge of Christ - the end result is poor spiritual growth. 

That is why Peter tells us repeatedly in verses 5 and 10 to give all diligence to do these things. Diligence means 'zeal, earnestness, and urgency.' Hence, it requires haste to grow in this intimate knowledge of Christ. And 'diligence' also gives us the idea of desire. How much do you desire growth? An athlete doesn't win a race by just sitting down - if he did that, he wouldn't develop the lightning speed and muscles required to win. But victory is achieved through diligence. Well, what if we do not apply ourselves diligently? There's this story of a school teacher who had taught for 25 years. One day, she heard about a job offer in the same school - and if she were to get it, it would be a promotion for her. So she applied for it. However, another person who had only 1 year's experience teaching was hired instead of her. So, puzzled, she inquired with the principal. And he told her that though she had taught for 25 years, she didn't have 25 years of experience; she had only one year's experience 25 times. Throughout those years, she hadn't improved one bit. No diligence. 

So how diligent are we in nurturing and developing these characteristics? Are we even training? And because training is not easy, many are prone to lying low. Many aren't growing, because as mentioned, it is very tough. 

Among the characteristics listed here, I believe one of the toughest to develop is 'virtue.' And virtue is the characteristic most needed today. What firstly is virtue? Most people will define virtue as decency. A virtuous person is a decent, respectable, and a moral person. In one sense, that is not incorrect. But what Peter has in mind is different. The sense we get from this word can even be seen in the word itself. Virtue is related to the word virility. Both of these words come from the Latin word virtus. Vir means 'man', hence virtus means manliness, courage, and strength. When a man is said to be very virile, we get the idea that he's a man's man. He is courageous in the face of opposition. And in the Latin translation of the Bible, this word is used. But more than just meaning manliness or courage, it has a specific context. It refers to moral courage. Wycliffe translated it as moral excellence. Another translated it as manly excellence. Yet another, fortitude. 

So we get the idea that to be virtuous in the sense that Peter meant it, the Christian is not only to be looking to be a very moral person, a holy person, but he is also willing to stick to his guns in being holy. He will be courageous to do the right thing regardless of temptation to sin and the pressures to conform to the world. Virtue includes such characteristics as goodness, nobility, dignity, modesty, purity - and all with a strength and resolve to stick to it. And hence you see in this word the idea of hungering and thirsting after righteousness. That's one of the Beatitudes. Jesus told his disciples and those who were with him at the time during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, that blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, that blessed are they who are the pure in heart, that blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. So to be virtuous is to hunger after purity.

Here's an illustration. In many parts of the world, especially in the north, there is an animal called an ermine. It's a small rodent well-known for its gleaming white fur. It takes very good care of its fur, grooming it and preventing it from getting dirty or dull. And hence, hunters will take advantage of this. The hunters don't set any traps to capture this animal. What they would do is firstly find its home, which would be a small cave or a dead log, then they would put black tar at the entrance and also inside. Then the hunters would then call forth their dogs to frighten the ermine by the loud barking and chasing. The ermine would run towards its home, but once finding that the entrance and interior covered with this substance, it would not enter in. Rather than dirty its glossy white fur, it would rather face the dogs and the hunters with courage. Its purity was far dearer than its own life. 

There are many biblical examples as well of this characteristic of virtue. Genesis 39 tells of Joseph who refused to commit fornication with Mrs Potiphar for fear of sinning against God. It's remarkable what he said. He said in Genesis 39:9, 'There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?' Here it is revealed that Joseph had the opportunity because he was well trusted and almost ungoverned, that he could've accepted the advances of such a woman. But virtue kicked in and he refused. 

Another example is that of Daniel. It was said of him in Daniel 1:8 that 'Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.' The very act of purposing showed his virtue, courage in the face of great opposition. How do you fare in business ventures, business dinners, entertaining guests, going out with friends, your conversations with them, your work ethic, taking exams, doing reports, even the nature of your occupation? How do you fare? How virtuous are you? 

Yet another example was Stephen, who was not afraid to rebuke the Jews for their unbelief, by saying in Acts 7:51, 'Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.' And for that he was stoned and killed. But even as he died, he remained virtuous, courageous to stick to what was right and good, even though he had every so-called right to be angry, yet in moral excellence, he forgave his murderers, 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.'

Aside from Biblical examples, there are also many examples in history of virtuous Christians. I'd like to take two examples from Foxe's Book of Martyrs. The first is of the Thebian Legion � a group of soldiers numbering 6,666 men. And they all happened to be Christian. This was in the year AD 286. The Roman emperor Maximian sent them to fight in France. About halfway there, they stopped, and the emperor ordered a sacrifice to the Gods, in which the whole army was to participate. He also commanded that they should swear an oath to exterminate all the Christians in France. Of course, the Thebian Legion refused to do both. So the emperor executed every tenth man to try to get them to change their minds. But when this had failed to weaken their resolve, again, he executed every tenth man. And when this had failed again to weaken their resolve, he commanded that the whole legion executed. All perished. They never budged from their spiritual decision. This was moral courage.

The second example is of a bishop named Quirinus. He was ordered by the governor of Croatia in AD 308 to sacrifice to the pagan deities. He refused and was sent to jail and torture. The governor could not weaken his resolve, so he sent Quirinus to Hungary, to be tortured under a more ruthless governor. Ridiculed, mocked, and beaten, yet this bishop was still resolved. So the governor decided to execute him by drowning. There he was in the river Danube trying to stay afloat with a millstone around his neck, preaching to the people to live holy livese2C he finally ended with this prayer before drowning: 'It is no new thing, O all-powerful Jesus, for Thee to stop the course of rivers, or to cause a man to walk upon the water, as Thou didst Thy servant Peter; the people have already seen the proof of Thy power in me; grant me now to lay down my life for Thy sake, O my God.'

In these words, we see that Quirinus knew that it did not require some great miracle like walking on water for the people to see Jesus, for it was through Quirinus' virtue and holy living that they saw Him. And from this, we kno7 that virtuous living has certain results. 1 Peter 2:11-12 says, 'Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.' Virtuous living causes others to respect us and glorify God. 

That's what happened with Quirinus - many people who witnessed his drowning respected Him and glorified God. Learning to build and show forth Godly standards will cause others to desire a more Godly life. And this will lead people to Christ. If you are a person who is easily angered, or reacts poorly in times of anger, people cannot see your moral excellence. But if you react graciously, with much love, even when you've been hurt, people notice something different about you. Now, which is better? Which is more Christ-like? When you have been hurt and others have spoken maliciously of you, do you react in anger and stir up the feelings of others against your enemies? Or do you surrender to God and let him soothe your hurts? How you react shows how virtuous you are.

2 Timothy 2:21 says, 'If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.' Focusing on moral excellence will cause you to be used by God. If we are not morally excellent people, it should come as no surprise that God is not using us for any spiritual endeavor.

James 4:7 says, 'Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' This tells us that courage to resist sin and courage to lead a pure life will result in exactly that - a life victorious over sin filled with purity. But the question is 'Do you desire to live a pure life?' With no desire, with no diligence, with no courage or virtue, all is lost. All is lost. No intimate knowledge - no spiritual growth. How did you run the race? Badly or well? 

I mentioned during this message that many of us say that to live this kind of Christian life is tough. That is true, to a certain extent. But let us remember too that we have help from the Holy Spirit, and only when we submit and surrender to Him, will He grant us success in living the Christian life. 1 John 5:3-4 says, 'For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.' We can be virtuous, we can be courageous.

But a word of caution. Yes, having virtue is vital for Christian growth. But it must also be tempered by and choreographed with knowledge. Virtue without knowledge of the Bible leads to self-righteousness. You may have zeal, but is it according to knowledge? Romans 10:2-3 says, 'They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.' We can get courageous over many things and righteous over many small and ridiculous things. Care must be taken that our virtue be harmonized with knowledge of the Bible. And it goes without saying too, that knowledge must be harmonized with virtue, for if not, it leads us to a very theoretical Christianity. Is our Christianity emasculated? Is it just a theoretical Christianity? Important questions, but that's another sermon. 

So how do you run? How diligent are you? How brave and moral are you? May the Lord help us and excite us to live a life filled with virtue that we may know Him more intimately each day.