The Origin of Upright Character

Have you ever admired a relatively mature Christian(s)? Perhaps he may be a preacher or an apologist (one who defends the faith)? I myself have my own heroes of the faith. For years, I have admired Dr. Kent Hovind. I enjoyed seeing him debate evolutionists in-person. During his earlier years, I liked how he was both logical, yet also light-hearted (and amusing). He helped my little high school brain understand that God’s Word is absolutely true, especially with regards to the Creation vs. evolutionism subject. Perhaps you may have looked up to the great preachers Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and Paul Washer. Their fiery and passionate, yet still sincere, preaching is exceptionally convicting!

Quality character may be fostered in an individual when they are a child. The Biblical way to do this is through discipline. If a child is terribly immature and acts inappropriately, it is the parent’s duty to discipline, him or her. This may be done through spankings. Sadly, much of mainstream culture has disparaged this avenue of godly discipline. With this derelict culture, combined with the insidious propagation of evolutionism, no wonder there are so many juvenile delinquents! No wonder there are so many teenagers just drunk with heathen, temporal partying! The Bible instructs us in a better way.

“He that spareth his rod hateht his son: but he that loveth him chastenth him betimes.” – Proverbs 13:24

“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” – Proverbs 29:15

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 

The Bible is clear. It is the parents’ (or parent’s) duty to discipline their (or his or her) children (or child). Not the public, or private, school teacher’s duty, nor the Sunday school teacher’s duty. No. It is the parents’ duty to discipline their children and lead them in the way that they should go. I seriously believe that the mainstream’s grave lack of this Biblical structure is the reason why we have so many wild women and weak men. So many in America are simple creampuffs or keyboard warriors. Just walk around a secular mall. The sin is so very ostentatious there that it is exceptionally important to remember to let thine eyes look right on and thine eyelids straight before thee (Proverbs 4:25). And don’t even get me started about the beach. Public places are now cesspools of sin. If a revival does not come onto America first, I believe that God’s fiery, just wrath will. Sadly, for so many people, public schools have filled the vacuum of instruction caused by derelict fathers and mothers.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” – 1 Corinthians 13:12

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” – James 1:17

While it is extremely important for parents to discipline their children, ultimately every good thing comes from God. All of these admirable traits in Christians that we laud are originally from Jesus Christ. Remember, He is the head, and we (the Church) are the body (Ephesians 4). If we remember this, we could get a greater (yet still insignificant) idea of the beautiful character of Jesus Christ. You see, each Christian has a unique gift. “11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-13). These gifts are given to us so that we could, in part, help others (and ourselves) more clearly see how Jesus Christ is like. However, even the aggregate of all these admirable traits only show us a part of Jesus’ beauty. All of Kent Hovind’s light-heartedness, all of Paul Washer’s fiery, paternal passion, and all of David Wilkerson’s loving sincerity (etc.) gives us, even when taken all together, a trivial and inadequate representation of Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is one legitimate interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:12, in that we currently only see through a glass, darkly.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

As Christians, it is our duty to pursue sanctification (James 4:8), so that our image of Christ would be clearer. How do we do this? By simply spending continuous time with God. Remember that the Gospel has the power of salvation and of sanctification. I have noticed that a day goes much better if I spend time with god right when I wake up. During this time, I am able to eat my spiritual daily bread (Matthew 4:4; Matthew 6:11). In fact, not only does this time with God help further my sanctification, but it also truly helps me to be more productive throughout the day. I recognize that I am not the only one who has noticed this. I highly recommend everyone to spend such quality time with God in the morning.

The sad thing is that most of humanity, after crossing the death “line” will never be able to enjoy these aforementioned admirable qualities again. Most individuals will sadly die in their sins because they never repented and believed on the Gospel for their salvation (Matthew 7:13-14; Mark 1:15). These people will never enjoy the pleasure of quality human interaction. The only “interaction” they will be able to experience in hell is hearing the wailing and gnashing of teeth of every other eternally damned soul. The only thing they will feel is complete pang without any reprieve in the slightest. Why will this happen? Because this is their just sentence for their sin. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, namely eternal damnation (Romans 6:23), and we’ve all sinned!  Therefore, you and I, and everyone else, all deserve to roast in hell forever. You see, the Bible instructs us to not lie (Exodus 20:16), and we’ve all lied! The Bible tells us not to steal (Exodus 20:15), and we’re all guilty of this in one degree or another! The Bible warns us to not be angry with anyone without a cause (Matthew 5:21-22). We’re all certainly guilty of this command (just examine yourself while on the road. You’ll see that I’m right.). We have all broken God’s authoritative Law! Therefore, if we are judged by our actions, we will forever pay for our sins in hell. The Good News (i.e. the Gospel) is that, around two thousand years ago, Jesus (who is God) came down to earth and took on the form of a man. He lived the life that you could never live, and He died the death that would have justly fallen upon you! He did this that we might not perish in hell forever. This is salvation. Salvation is a free gift, although you’ve got to actually recognize and accept the gift in order for it to truly be yours. To do this, you must believe on Jesus Christ’s finished work on the Cross for the complete payment of your sins, meaning that you trust in Him as your sole means for salvation from hell. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved. True saving faith implies repentance (a recognition that you have done wrong and are in need of a Savior because, by yourself, you are powerless to change, let alone to escape from hell). True saving faith also implies your acceptance of Jesus as the only Savior, Lord, and God for yourself and the only option thereof for all the rest of humanity; after all, you would be placing your trust and belief on Him and His finished work. Placing such radical, yet so clearly logical, belief on Him would clearly mean that you believe that He is God (because if you don’t believe that Jesus is God, then you don’t have the saving faith on Him for salvation). Also, His blood would only atone for your sins if He were indeed God because this would require for Him to be more than perfect, and only God is this immaculate. His blood would need to be objectively good and spotless – i.e. sinless – and only God is this good (Mark 10:18; Matthew 19:17). Many cults (such as Jehovah’s Witness and the Mormons) try to deny the deity of Christ, and thus, they reject true saving faith. John 8:58; Philippians 2:6; and Titus 2:13 are just several of many Bible verses that demonstrate that Jesus is truly God (the Son). If you will simply confess and ask God, in sincerity, to help you turn away from your sins, and believe on Him and His finished work as the means for your salvation, you shall be saved. Romans 10:13 says that if you simply cry out to God for salvation, then you will be saved. So, don’t wait! Cry out to Him because death is steadily advancing on you. Or, if you would like, here is a prayer of salvation that you could pray. Remember, you will only be saved if you pray this prayer in sincerity. God is looking at your heart, rather than your mouth. Don’t wait to get saved, for you know not when death shall call your name and wrap its cold hands around you. For it is then when your prerogative to get saved shall be stripped (I speak to those who are not already saved). Let today be the day of your salvation!

“O God! I am a sinner! I have no means of salvation other than through your finished work on the blessed cross. Please save me! I believe that you came to earth as fully man and fully God in order to live the life I could never live and to die the death I am so deserving of. I believe that you were tortured and crucified on the cross, dying for all of my sins. I, by my free will, choose to believe that three days after your death, you rose up from the dead and defeated death, thus paying my death wages in full. Please apply your blood to my sin-debt account. I am choosing right now to believe on you, Jesus, rather than on my own works. Please take me to heaven. Thank you Jesus for saving me! Now, I want to please you the rest of my life. Amen.”

Now, if you just prayed that prayer and meant it, then you are by a certainty saved. Congratulations! Additionally, if you are saved, you are now sealed with the Holy Spirit “unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30). Mark this day as your spiritual birthday and begin to grow to be a good Christian. Attend a Bible-believing Church, get baptized, read your Bible daily, pray, etc. However, remember that while all of these things are important and good, these aren’t what save you. Jesus’ blood was what saved you. Romans 5:1-2 reads, “1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Just as a quick recapitulation of this article:

• It is the duty of parents to discipline their children and lead them in the way that they should go.

• The admirable attributes of Christians we may admire are inadequate representations of Jesus Christ’s truly good character.

• True upright character comes from God alone.

• If a revival does not come onto America first, then God’s just wrath and punishment will.

• Spend time with God! As Leonard Ravenhill once said, this life is simply a dressing room for eternity. Christians, grow to know your blessed Savior in a new, beautiful way! Evangelize to the lost. In heaven, you will not be able to do so anymore (I speak to those who are saved). For anything that you do that is outside of God’s divine, beautiful purpose for your life will certainly be burned forever. Only what is done within God’s Will will come out of the furnace of the Judgment.

• Please, if you are not saved, get saved! Your eternity depends upon it! This is the most important decision of your life!

Any (theo)logical error is the author’s own fault, whereas any truth is from God.