The Essence of Christian Character

            When discussing the essence of “Christian character”, there are two questions that must be addressed: “what is character?” and “what aspects of a person’s character make it ‘Christian’?” To answer the first question, character is, by definition, the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. In other words, character is who a person truly is.

            When we say that we are Christians, we are declaring to the world that we are people who have accepted Christ as our Savior and have been born again unto Him. It is very important to emphasize the phrase ‘born again’ because when we are born, we share traits with those of whom we’ve been born to: our parents. As Christians, we’ve been born out of God, so as His children, we should bear his characteristics.

            Now we must answer the question, “So what are the characteristics of God?” On that note, I would like to reference Galatians 5:22-26, for it clearly gives a broad understanding of what God’s characteristics are, and what a true Christian character looks like. It states, “For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.”

            The fruits that are mentioned in the passage should not be taken as a legalistic list that Christians must follow in order to get into Heaven; they are all characteristics of Christ that He displayed during His life on Earth. He showed love to everyone, regardless of if they were a friend or an enemy. He became a servant to His own creation with joy in His heart. He remained peaceful while under great pain and misery in the garden of Gethsemane for He knew that God was and is in control. He was patient with His disciples who could not completely understand what His infinite wisdom was trying to show them. He was kind and good to the unfortunate because He knew that the physically and spiritually sick people around Him needed a Savior. He was faithful to the task that His Father sent Him down here to finish because He did not want to see us have to suffer an eternal damnation. He spoke with gentleness to those who hated Him because He understood that a man who is slow to anger calms dispute. And even though He had the power to call down the angels and remove Himself from that cross and free Himself from the immense pain that He was experiencing, He kept control over His own actions so that the will of His Father could be carried out.

            Being inherently sinful, of course we will never be able to live a life that perfectly reflects the sinless life Christ lived. However, this does not mean that we cannot learn to adopt these traits. When we choose to follow Christ’s example and live a life focused on mirroring his character, we gain a divine guidance from Christ, via the Holy Spirit, who empowers us as believers to do what we now know is right and avoid the sinful temptations of the flesh. Once we turn from living for the pleasures of sin and the world, we cannot just stop there. As good fruit grows under proper care, so must the fruits of the spirit grow in our own spirits by continually seeking to be like Christ in how we think, and in how we act—for James 2:26 reminds us that “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead”. By aiming to become more like Christ, not only does our character grow and produce good fruit, but our relationship with Christ our Savior grows as well.

           Character is the springboard from which all we do and say in life comes. Developing Biblical character in the face of our daily life and even in adversity is proof that we have a growing relationship with Christ. Character is not just having integrity or honesty or doing the right thing. It is a living, growing relationship in Christ that helps us turn away from our inherent sinful desires. As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”