The Noble Bereans

            Benjamin Franklin, the famous American statesman, said, “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.” As we look around our world today, self-control is sorely lacking in our society. People choose to live anyway they desire, without a bit of concern for how their actions may affect themselves or others. Temperance, or self-control, is what Peter writes we are to add to our knowledge. We cannot just have the knowledge of what is right and wrong, we must also have control over our bodies and minds so that we will act upon what we know. McIlveen wrote: You must not only know what to do , but also have firmness and determination to do it (emphasis mine JS) . Solomon had wisdom, but he lacked temperance. He who would gain the master...

            It is interesting that Peter commands Christians to add knowledge to virtue. When we stop and think about this combination, it makes perfect sense. Virtue is the zeal or determination to do that which is right. Knowledge ( gnosis ) is the act of knowing. Wayne Jackson said that this knowledge is, “The ability to discern truth from error in harmony with sacred revelation.” Why is it so important to add knowledge to virtue? B.W. Johnson wrote, “The moral heroism [virtue] must be guided by knowledge or it will run into ‘a zeal not according to knowledge’ [Romans 10:2].”             Is it possible to be sincere in our beliefs, to be zealous for the Lord, but to be wrong in what we know? Does the Bible give us any examples of individuals who were very passionate about serving God, but were serving Him in the wrong way because they did not have the proper knowledge? S...

            When we read about the Christian Graces from the scriptures, virtue is mentioned as the first quality that Christians should add to their faith. Virtue is not a word that is used much in our everyday conversations – so, what does it mean? Merriam-Webster defines virtue as a “ conformity to a standard of right.” Brother Guy N. Woods in his commentary on 2 Peter describes virtue as “the manliness and the determination to do that which is right.” In essence, virtue could be described as making the determination to hold oneself to a higher standard of morality. That higher standard of morality is, of course, the Word of God.             The Bible is full of examples of men and women; some which behaved in a virtuous manner and some which did not. Daniel and his three friends come to mind as those who determined beforehand they were going to behave in a virtuous ma...

Peter wrote to Christians who were scattered throughout Asia Minor – in what we now call the country of Turkey. Peter wrote by inspiration in the beginning of his second letter that Christians were to add to their faith characteristics that would keep them from being barren and unfruitful (2 Peter 1:8). Before they were to add these characteristics however, they were to already have faith (2 Peter 1:5). This article will briefly examine what is meant by the term “faith.” The writer of Hebrews said, “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). The ASV reads, “ Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen ” (Hebrews 11:1 ASV). Faith is the support and evidence of the things for which we hope and cannot see. The writer goes on to say, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear ” (Hebrews...