Virtue

1. Auto mechanics sometimes hear a particular expression from some of their customers:

2. “The sound is hard to describe.”

3. Doctors hear this same type of thing.

4. When they ask patients, “What does it feel like,” or “where is the pain,” they are told,

5. “It is hard to describe.”

IN SOME CASES A THING MAY BE HARD TO DESCRIBE BECAUSE IT IS SO VAST.

a) For a Scripture reading we heard 2 Pet. 1:5-8.

b) Towards the beginning of this list is a word translated “virtue” in the ASV and KJV.

2) This word has a long, long history.

3) Before the New Testament was written people used this term for many different things.

4) Before the first century this word had so many meanings it has been called “ambiguous.”

5) It meant everything from “wealth” to “manliness.”

6) When the New Testament writers began to write, they chose to use this word.

7) Peter uses it in 2 Pet. 1:5; it is also found in 2 Pet. 1:3.

8) In Peter’s first letter he used it in 1 Pet. 2:9 (there it is translated “excellencies” or “praises).

a) All these references may or may not be familiar to us.

b) Another text that has this term should be very familiar.

c) Paul said in Phil. 4:8, “if there be any “praise” (virtue), think on these things.

d) Praise in Phil. 4:8 is the same term “virtue” in 2 Pet. 1:5.

9) What is the virtue in 2 Pet. 1:5? We want to zero in on this single passage and leave the others alone.

10) A one-sentence definition is “Moral power or moral excellence that comes through faith and the Word of God.”

11) We all know what excellence is.

a) Excellence is the state or quality of excelling.

b) It is superiority. It is being good to a high degree. Schools often speak of excellence.

c) Other organizations also frequently talk about excellence. Groups give excellence awards.

12) When we look at the life of Christ we find excellence.

a) Mk. 7:37 says Jesus “did all things well.”

b) At the end of the Lord’s life we have Lk. 23:41; two men were dying with Jesus on crosses.

c) One of these men said Jesus “had done nothing amiss.”

d) People from many backgrounds believed Jesus excelled at excellence.

13) Peter wrote the second epistle towards the end of his life.

14) When this period comes for people, they often concentrate on what is really important.

15) They know the end is close, they really reflect on life, and they often see things for what they are.

16) Peter said to his readers, “I am telling you stuff that is really important. Listen. Obey. Get this right.”

17) With a single word Peter said we want to pursue excellence in our Christian lives.

a) We may do a lot of things in life that are not excellent.

b) Teresa and I received a flyer the other day from someone who wants to start a lawn care service.

c) There are people who make money mowing grass and trimming bushes.

d) Those who move 10-25 laws a day probably want to a good job, but I doubt they want excellence.

e) There are too many lawns to mow in a single day to meet that standard.

f) Most services use big mowers and clip lawns as fast as they possibly can.

g) The person who cooks day after day likely wants to be a good cook.

h) Unless we have a very rare household, every meal is not like Thanksgiving.

i) The standard for meal preparation on special days is excellence; on regular days we lower the bar.

18) Quite often we try to do a really good job in so many things.

19) Excellence is what many save for special occasions.

a) Virtue is a word that tells us to look at Christianity from the standpoint of excellence on a regular basis.

b) We want to be the best Christians we can possibly be all the time.

20) In 1 Cor. 12:31 Paul told the Corinthians he wanted to show them a “more excellent way.”

21) The thought is related to spiritual gifts.

22) The Corinthians thought that gifts like tongues and other miracles were about as good as things could get.

23) Paul said spiritual gifts were like scaffolding on an incomplete building. They were childish.

24) There was something better—something a whole lot better.

25) The spiritual gifts were “in part” but “the perfect” was on the way.

26) By the perfect Paul had in mind the completed Scriptures, what we know as the New Testament.

27) Paul said the book we have is “the excellent” way. It is the best way.

28) Now that this book has been revealed, our duty is to read, learn, and obey it.

29) We have an excellent book, and it will give us an excellent Christian life if we put it into practice.

a) Although this is the truth, a lot of Christians are content with mediocrity.

b) As long as a person has been baptized and comes to some services, some think all is okay.

c) This way of life is not excellence.

30) Excellence is a long process and it begins with self.

31) Not long ago I heard an advertisement for personal fitness training in Indiana.

32) There is a school in our state that advertises a four-month training program.

a) I have never had a personal fitness trainer, but as is true with most of us, I have heard about them.

b) Trainers seem to have achieved some measure of excellence as far as their physical body.

c) They usually appear to be lean, trim, and physically robust.

d) What if we had a need for a physical fitness trainer?

33) In our example we go to a trainer and the person is 4’ 2” tall and weighs 410 pounds.

34) She says to us, “Help me up out of the chair and I can get you started on your exercises.”

35) What would we think about using such a person for our personal trainer?

36) Excellence begins with self.

a) Trainers realize this and thus ready themselves for the work they do.

b) If we are going to be a Christian who has excellence, we begin with ourselves.

c) Jesus certainly believed this.

d) In Mt. 7:3-4 Jesus gave an illustration involving a man who had something in his eye.

e) Not long ago someone reminded me of how I once illustrated that passage.

f) I was reminded of how several years ago I compared Jesus word for “beam” to a telephone pole.

g) I have not measured a telephone pole, but let’s say an average pole is 30 feet tall.

h) Picture Mt. 7 from the standpoint of a 30 foot piece of wood sticking out of a man’s eye.

i) This man feels like his life is so excellent he says to someone else, “I can see you have a problem.”

j) “Let me swing the 30 foot pole out of the way and get the speck of dust out of your eye.”

k) “I am ready to help you.”

37) The man with the telephone pole doesn’t have excellence; he has a serious problem.

38) Of the two men in Mt. 7, the man with the sawdust is actually the fellow who has excellence.

39) It is therefore no wonder that Jesus said to the pole toting man in Mt. 7:5, “you hypocrite.”

40) Jesus taught that excellence begins with self.

a) Peter surely had to learn that principle in his life.

b) He made a lot of mistakes. Before he could help others he had to help himself.

c) He had plenty of personal issues to deal with before trying to aid others.

d) Jesus worked with him and some others day after day for more than three years.

41) Some seem to think Christian excellence is easy or it can come almost overnight.

42) Peter spent more than three years with the Lord day in and day out.

43) We do not have the Lord physically here. We do have His word.

44) Unless we are diligent about studying and following that word, we will not find excellence.

45) Paul told the Thessalonians, “stand fast and hold the traditions” they had received (2 Thess. 2:15).

a) Why do that Paul? Several reasons could be given.

b) If this were not done, there would be no virtue (Christian excellence).

c) In the life of Jesus we find several passages about servants.

d) A servant can be excellent, okay, or just downright awful.

e) We do not live in a society with servants so we might compare servants to wait staff.

46) Have we ever gone to a restaurant and had excellent table service?

47) Do we know the difference between an excellent waiter/waitress and what we get at Wendy’s?

48) If we know excellence in the world, we can know it in the church and in our Christian life.

a) We also know what excellence requires.

b) Excellence means work.

c) Suppose a waiter were to come over to our table, be excellent, and then never return.

d) That would be a good start, but that would not be all that he should do.

49) Excellence can from every single person in the church.

50) We can look at the preacher and say, “I expect excellence from him.” That’s true.

51) We can look at our elders and say, “I expect excellence from them.” That is also true.

52) We can look at our deacons and Bible class teachers and say, “I except excellence from them.” That’s true.

a) Excellence does not stop with preachers, elders, deacons and Bible class teachers.

b) We can look at the parents of our young people and say, “We want to see excellence.”

c) We should look at every member of the church and say, “we want to see excellence.”

d) This is the standard God has communicated to us in His word by a single term (virtue).

53) This past week I learned something new – it was introduced by a video clip of two people in a limo.

54) The couple was well dressed and were going out to eat, apparently at somewhere pretty nice.

55) They stopped in front of a McDonalds and then went inside.

56) This McDonalds is not far from Wal-Street (160 Broadway in New York)

57) At this McDonalds there is a doorman for every customer.

58) The couple went into and had some pretty plush surroundings (it even looked like there were fresh flowers).

59) Customers eat on marble tables; there are chandeliers.

60) There is a private dining room with wait staff and real silverware.

61) A baby grand piano is played by a real person.

62) McDonalds has found a way to offer excellence in fast food.

63) If a burger shop can offer excellence, surely the people of God can.

64) What kind of Christian life are we living?

65) Is it good, bad, sort of “okay,” or “excellent?”

66) Today we have seen the kind of Christian life God wants us to have.

67) The process starts by becoming a Christian.