"Seven Cardinal Responsibilities"

I was reading in Peter a while back and came across this section:


II Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
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.


Obviously, these are good things to have - and things that we, as Christians, are responsible for doing - sooo....my question is: What are these "seven cardinal responsibilities"?

I also understand that they are not necessarily in a chronological order (i.e. I don't have to have virtue before I can get knowledge, etc.)

I don't need dictionary definitions, I can get those in any good version of Webster's. What I want are definition of these in terms of how to DO them -- what is it about VIRTUE whereby I can say "yes, I have added virtue to my faith."? What is it about GODLINESS that is definitive whereby I can say "yes, I am without a doubt godly."? How does CHARITY work itself out in my life? Get the point? How do these work out in your life...DO they work out in your life? If so, why and how? If not, why not?

Looking the Part

"I once saw a man at a golf course step out of his cart and approach the first tee. He looked immaculate -- expensive set of clubs, sharp looking clothes, confidence all over his face. He looked every inch the pro...until he tried to play golf. He was simply not very good. He might have looked the part, but he should have just hung around the clubhouse where he was a convincing golfer instead of demonstrating his true abilities by actually attempting to play."
--Benny Perez

"We are a generation of cheap Christians going to heaven as inexpensively as possible; religious hobos and spiritual deadbeats living on milk instead of meat, crusts of bread instead of manna, as though we were on a cut-rate excursion."
--Vance Havner
_______________________

Are we dressed for the part of living for Christ -- but unable to actually live it out, as the golfer was? Do we have the form of godliness without the power of God? Are we truly living victoriously, using and showing the power of Christ....or would it be better if we just hung around in our "clubhouse", where we can look convincingly spiritual? If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit -- for if we live after the flesh, we shall die: but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, we shall live; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

If He has given us strength that is according to His glory (which He has), and if Christ dwells in our hearts by faith (which He does)-- we must live our lives out according to His glory, and according to the love in which we are rooted and grounded. If we do not...we are in serious trouble!

Resolution: August 13, 2008

While contemplating my life direction recently, I thought about some of the things that I do and how they are related to God's service. There are a lot of things that we do while hardly taking any thought as to whether they are really something we should be doing: for example, how often do we sit down to watch a movie at the end of the day while neglecting to take the time to do more in-depth study of God's Word, or simply starting a conversation with Him?

All this to say that I believe it's really wrong to live parts of our life without taking thought to the effect of those activities on the state of our relationship to God. I also think I need to do something about it...so to start anyway, I resolve:

To quit doing any and every activity that does not work godliness. If it be what I watch (movies, videogames), what I read (novels, websites, other books), what I say (online discussion, face-to-face conversation), what I do (games, work, leisure activities), what I spend money on (food, gifts, projects, music), what I choose to listen to (music, speeches, comedian monologues), or people I associate with (classmates, acquaintances, friends).

So, my first action under this resolution is to ask you all -- what have my actions on Facebook been?

Have they been entertaining?

Or have they provoked you to godliness?

Or have they been pointless?

Or have they been informational?

Or...


I'd seriously appreciate your thoughts.

What It Means To Be Holy

"Just what does it mean to be holy people? First and foremost, holy people have given themselves wholly and completely to God. When they determine what is right or wrong for them to do, they do not ask "Can I do that?" but instead "Would God want me to do that?" They are more concerned with God's smile of approval than they are with public opinion. God has first place in their life." (1)

"A spark from the fire is like the fire. The tiniest twig on the giant oak, or the smallest branch of the vine, has the nature of the oak or the the vine, and in that respect is like the oak or vine. A drop of water on the end of your finger from the ocean is like the ocean, not in size, of course, but in essence, in its character, and in its nature; just so, a holy person is like God. Not that he is infinite as God is; he does not know everything, he has not all power and wisdom as God has, but he is like God in his nature. He is good and pure and loving and just in the same way God is" (2)


Holiness is simply this: the giving of oneself to God, as His own. This is our our reasonable service to God; having been redeemed from certain death through the death of His Son, what less can we do than "God, you have saved my life, I am forever indebted to you... I will be your servant." To be holy is to be set apart for God's service...another word for this "setting apart" is sanctification. If I am truly sanctified, I am wholly in God's service - there is no "but God, I wanted..." in holiness: it is "Thy will be done."

Are YOU holy? Or do you have the form of godliness without the power thereof? Which would you rather have?

God has given His children exceeding great and precious promises, such that we may have "ALL things that pertain to life and godliness." Will you claim these promises? Do not delay...God is eager to bestow upon us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. If there is a part of your life that does not conform to His law, it needs to be laid aside, because it is a hindrance. We must run this race to win: this means leaving all our baggage behind and press on toward the mark of the high calling of Christ Jesus. Look unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, keep Him foremost in your mind, for it by His gracious power that we began the race, and it is only through His power that we can finish it.


(1) -- Martin Hotle

(2) -- Samuel L. Brengle