Romans 6:16 “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.”
There are 4 cardinal virtues: Wisdom (Prudence), Justice, Courage (Fortitude), and Temperance. While, as humans, we have the capacity for acquiring these moral excellences, they are not naturally endowed. We must acquire them by doing the acts. That is why Paul instructed us, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him, you are slaves to the one whom you obey.”
The above mentioned virtues are cultivated through habitual practice. Our character as an adult is determined by the habitual acts we choose to engage. The neural mapping of our brain is designed so that every behavior establishes a neural pathway. As each behavior is repeated, the neural pathway becomes more firmly embedded. What began as conscious choices soon becomes “normalized,” finally to become automatic, unconscious responses. This is, from a neuroscience perspective, how we acquire character.
Aristotle, remarkably accurate in his understanding of character development, places great emphasis on one’s own ability to acquire and cultivate moral excellences. Paul makes no such assertion. He unashamedly places his entire dependence upon God’s resources for character development (see Philippians 3:9).
Additional to the 4 cardinal virtues are 3 theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Love (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). Now, let’s get a clear picture of what Paul was teaching us. First of all, Paul tells us the foundation of our lives has already been laid: Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). Secondly, he instructs us concerning the materials we are to build upon the foundation (1 Cor. 3:12). Peter comes to our aid just here and helps us see the benefit (2 Peter 1:8).
Please forgive the redundancy, but I wish to be as clear as possible.
1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (see also Isaiah 28:16).
1 Corinthians 3:12 “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones…”
Faith and Hope
Wisdom, Courage, Justice, and Temperance
One final point. The Crucible of Character is a pathway described in Romans 5:3-4, “…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope.” The greatest character change occurs deep in the trenches of suffering. For those who have experienced this, they know this truth well. In fact, the most familiar emblem of Christianity is a symbol of unimaginable torture and suffering: the cross.
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