The Virtuous Man Second Peter 1:5-8 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 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. Roberto Clemente Walker was a virtuous man. Pride and humanitarianism won him universal admiration. Despite an un orthodox batting style, the Pirates' great won four batting crowns and amassed 3,000 hits. He was equally brilliant in right field, where he displayed a precise and powerful arm. Clemente earned National League MVP honors in 1966, but achieved his greatest fame in the 1971 World Series, when he batted .414. Tragically, Clemente's life ended at age 38 - the victim of a plane crash while flying relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. “ “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,†said Jesus. Yes, love is the greatest of all virtues.Oh yes ,Love encompasses all virtues. Well ,without love ...the other virtues are ...invalidated. This text deals with Peter addressing the problem of false teachers in the Jerusalem Church. There were several classes of false teachers within the church, 64 A.D.They were causing considerable difficulty. This letter warns the church against them, and exhorts Christians to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." The plea for steadfastness was prominent, in view of numerous heretics threatening the spiritual life of the saints. He exhorted them to perseverance in truth . Peter was also giving some instructions to individual Christians. He was encouraging them to become virtuous individuals. What is a virtue? I am glad you asked. A virtue is a character trait valued as being good. The conceptual opposite of virtue is vice. A vice is a bad quality such as deceit. The false teachers in the church that Peter was talking about were deceivers of the believers. Love is the cure for lack of virtue. Paul asserted that a more ...excellent endeavor... is love .It is greater than spiritual gifts and faith. A good example of this is the story of a mother. Her child got trapped under a car. Without thinking or believing whether she could lift the car. She picked the car up and freed her child. Yes, love is a very powerful force.It seems impossible to achieve love and lack the other virtues. They tell me that a man... kicked Martin Luther King down in Alabama! Martin turned and said, " I love you brother." It was said that experienced changed that man's life and he later became Martin's friend. Rev.James Forbes,Jr. said, '' If you have love,it will increase in the environment where ever you go.If you do not have love,it will decline in the environment where ever you go."This implies to your,home,school,church or community. According to Aristole, virtue can either have normative or a moral value. The virtue of a speaker is to speak; the virtue of an excellent speaker is to speak well. The normative view is a standard of action. The virtues that have moral value are prudence, reason, kindness, patience, faith, charity, etc. We can conclude that virtues are the sum total of all good moral qualities and actions. In Greek virtue is called[arete ] ‘ ‘habitual excellence’’. The virtue of perseverance is needed it seems for all and any virtue since it is a habit of character and must be used continuously in order for any person to maintain oneself in virtue. Plato claims that all virtues are a single kind of knowledge, possibly ‘knowledge of good and evil’. Most virtues can be achieved through human effort, with the exception of three. According to Christian Theology, these three are faith, hope and charity. These are God given. However, spiritual devotion, study, prayer and acts of faith will allow the spirit to guide you. Peter is saying... when we are attacked by false prophets and doctrines, we must combat this by our qualities of virtue. We know the truth... because we study God’s Word. We increase our faith... by hearing God’s Word. We increase our blessings... because we provide love and service to others. We are persistent in our devotion ...to God and Truth. Yes, the great virtues are faith, hope and charity. According to the Bible, the greatest of these is charity or love. Jesus was the greatest example of love .He loved so much that he laid down his life for his friends. H e also laid down his life for his enemy. This also explains the mystery of the cross.Jesus allowed the Romans to put him to death.He had the power to call legions of angels to his defense.He asserted, '' if you lift me up,I will draw all men... unto me.''He used the great virtue of love. So, be persistent... to be all you can be in... your personal life. Do your best... to seek truth ...in your spiritual life. Seek the more perfect way… which is love. You can become the... virtuous one. Let us pray: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen Rev.Esco Yancey,Jr.,Ed.D.
