Category Archives: Christ-like Traits

God wants us to obey Him and apply His Word to our lives. Yet, if that’s our primary focus, we’ll tend to be left with external conformity and mere religious activity. God, however, wants to change us from the inside out that enables us to be in a relationship with Him. So, it becomes clear we need to be grace-based, not merely performance-based.

Grace Comes Before Performance

Start with salvation: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Then comes performance: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:8-10)

But even after we’re saved by grace, we do those good works by His grace as well. — “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ …” (Titus 2:11-13)

Grace Changes Character Which Leads to Effectiveness and Productivity

Because of God’s grace, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3). We then find a list of qualities in verses 5-6 that are to build within us — faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.

Then we read, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8). If we don’t have the needed qualities, it’s because “whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Pet. 1:9). — We have forgotten about grace wherein God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

Grace Needed for Character Development

God’s grace enables us to be who we should be which leads to us doing what we should do. Click on the links below for how character development is then …

all to God’s glory,
with Him as our Standard,
and His power and grace as the means to change.

If we don’t depend on God’s grace, character development will be performance based which can become …

• mere external conformity which can change with a different set of circumstance
• mere religious activity which can lead to simply going through the motions
• mere self-improvement which is reliant on enough will-power and stamina to keep at it

— This basis often leads to pride or endless guilt. And, it can confuse the issue of salvation by grace.

Grace-based character development, on the other hand, that grows out of a relationship with God wherein one is divinely empowered leads to . . .

• change from the inside out that leads to a desire to be more like the Lord
• transformation, not merely building on our strengths and fixing what is wrong

— This basis leads to humility and hope.

Why do we do what we do as Christians? Certainly it shouldn’t be to earn favor with God since we began our relationship with God on the basis of grace (Eph. 2:8-9) and we continue our walk with Him by grace (Col. 2:6; Titus 2:11-12). Rather, Christ’s love should be that which compels us. He loves us so much that He took the punishment our sin deserves.

The more we “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:18), the more we’ll want to do that which aligns with Him. The more we’ll want to serve Him and others because of love, not out of duty.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that … he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them, and was raised again. (2 Cor. 5:14-15)

What happens when we’re compelled by His love?

The love of Christ compels us to love in return. I remember my very first public testimony as a 13 year old after giving my life to Jesus. I said, “I love Him because He first loved me.” I don’t think I was familiar with 1 John 4:19 then but I was able to make the connection. When love compels us, we are never too young to worship, expressing adoration to Him because He first loved us.

When we truly grasp the love of Christ, we no longer want to live for ourselves, taking advantage of the freedom we have in Him. Rather, we “serve one another humbly in love” (Gal. 5:13-14). No matter what position we might hold in ministry, serving is all because of what He did for us so there’s no room for pride and self-ambition.

We want others to experience His love as well. And so, we’re compelled to witness to those not yet in a relationship with Him because of His love. We’re also moved to build up fellow believers, praying that their “love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Phil. 1:9). As Jesus told Peter, if we love Him, we’ll feed His sheep (Jn. 21:15-17).

In addition, when compelled by His love, we’ll not only give willingly and cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7) of our financial resources and time, but also sacrificially. — “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn. 15:13)

All that we do should be affected by and driven by His love.

So often we think we must achieve a balance of grace and truth in how we communicate — just enough truth, just enough grace. Not wanting to be at one extreme or the other, we look for balance. Or, perhaps we feel there are times for grace but other times we must primarily speak truth.

Grace & Truth Isn’t Really a Matter of Balance

Jesus’ life shows us that grace and truth isn’t a matter of balance. He was 100% grace and 100% truth. He did not lay aside the one to become the other.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn. 1:14 )

For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (Jn. 1:17)

Consequently, exercising grace and truth in how we speak is Christ-like. (Resource: Christ-like Communication for Church Leaders)

The Defense for Both Grace AND Truth

“But they’re sinning,” you say. “Sometimes people just need to hear the truth.” You point to Scripture which clearly states that God uses truth to sanctify people (Jn. 17:17) and set them free (Jn. 8:32). And, we’re to stand firm “with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (Eph. 6:14).

You would be right because truth is essential but so is grace. When people sin, they also need grace. The same grace that saves us “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12). We’re to stand firm in truth but we’re also to stand firm in grace (1 Pet. 5:12).

Scripture Exhorts Us to Speak with Both Grace and Truth

We are exhorted to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Notice that it doesn’t say “Show some love and then hit them with the truth.” Nor does it say “Speak the truth and follow it up with some love.” Both love (at the root of grace) and truth are to be present at the same time.

Grace AND Truth must be evidenced not only in the actual words we speak but also in attitudes and any resultant actions.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. (Gal. 6:1-3)

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim. 2:24-26)