Before knowing the "how", we must get the "why" down.
Why are we called to greater things than the rest of the world?
2 Peter 1:3-7 - "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."
Why must we devote ourselves to greater things? Because we have escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. This is the thing. We have been saved out of our former sinfulness. Christ has redeemed us; our only response is to be like Him. We are called to be like Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:16 - "I urge you, then, be imitators of me."
1 Corinthians 11:1 - "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
Ephesians 5:1 - "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."
1 Thessalonians 1:6 - "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,"
Hebrews 6:12 - "So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
How can we be like Christ unless we apply to our lives what the Word of God teaches us?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
Try something for me. Take out the word "love" and replace it with "Jesus". Does it fit? That's why elsewhere in the Bible it states that "God is love."
1 John 4:7-11 - "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
1 Corinthians 13:13 - "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
Why is love the greatest? Because it will continue for eternity. Faith and hope will find their answers. Faith is looking for things unseen - they will some day be seen. Hope is waiting for things not yet fulfilled - they will be fulfilled. Love is the only one of these three that will continue on in Heaven - God will show His love for us, and we will show our love for God, now able to praise Him continually without hindrance from sin.
Knowing all of this was important in the light of how Christians should act. Now we'll go on.
How can we have Christian character?
First, let's look at these passages which talk about what we must do. The only way to find out how we can develop Christ-like character is to search the Word that God wrote out for us - we can't learn about what Christ would have us do without studying the Scriptures.
Ephesians 6:10-18 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..."
Click here for a more in-depth look at the Armor of God.
Philippians 2:12-16 - "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."
Philippians 1:27 - "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,"
Philippians 2:2-8 - "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
Colossians 3:2 - "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."
Colossians 3:5-17: - "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 4:2 - "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."
Colossians 4:5,6 - "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
Here is the list I have put together. Be mindful that this is not some sort of legalistic "checklist" to follow in order to be like Christ. We can only be like Christ by the grace of God, which cannot be found through what we do, but only through what God has done. The verses above show much more than what I have compiled here, but this will do for now. My hope in writing this list out is that you will read it and think about the scriptures even more.
Don't become a legalist because of me, is all I'm sayin'. ;)
1) Fight for God, in His name and for His glory. Do not be afraid to stand against the wiles of the devil - lift up your shield of faith! It will defend you against those fiery darts every time.
2) Do not grumble or question. Be blameless and innocent, not looking for "your rights".
3) Be "Lights in the World". To eyes used to darkness, light hurts sometimes. But it reveals so much. Do not be afraid to be a letter from Christ, a living witness to His wondrous works of salvation and grace.
4) Live in such a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Do not act ashamed of the gospel. Apply Christ's message to every aspect of your life - politics, money, health...none of it should be outside of your Christianity. If you are a Christian, you are a Christian every moment. Act like it.
5) Stand firm with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. Believers are called to be a body. The body of Christ.
6) Practice humility. Remember Christ, who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
7) Set your mind on things of God, not on things of earth. Don't let this world take your mind off of what is most important.
8) Put to death what is earthly in you. Don't hold on to things that you know are displeasing to Christ. Cut them out. Put them to death.
9) Forgive others. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. No grudges allowed.
10) Put on Love.
11) Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Don't stir up trouble for the sake of trouble.
12) Be thankful to God. God is great and greatly to be praised. We cannot thank Him enough.
13) Teach and admonish one another - study the word of Christ! You cannot teach if you do not know.
14) Continue steadfastly in prayer. Our freedom to pray to God came at a heavy price. Christ died a horrible death so that we might have fellowship with God. Why would we waste any opportunity to speak with God and thank Him for the gift of being able to speak with Him??
15) Walk in wisdom. Study the Word of God. You won't find wisdom anywhere else.
16) Make the best use of the time. The day is coming when time will be no more.
17) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. None of us has any right to condemn anyone else - we are saved by the grace of God, through no merit of our own. We forget that quite easily.
One last word. Character comes only with time, with God sanctifying us, and making us more like Himself. As our relationship with God grows, so will our character. Have faith.
