We would all probably say we want to help our students develop good, Christ-like character. Here’s one thing we should do and one thing we shouldn’t when teaching character development.
Do emphasize character development over external conformity.
God established the commands we find in Scripture for our good based on His holy character that is filled with all that is right and good. Obedience does matter but God wants more than external conformity. He seeks those who worship and obey Him from the heart.
Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, according to Matthew 5:17-20. He emphasized the need to go beyond external conformity in obeying the law to the core of our being. The law says we should not murder. Jesus said it needs to go deeper. We must also watch our attitudes and anger toward people (Matt. 5:21-26). The law says we should not engage in adultery. Jesus took it further saying that we must also guard against lust (Matt. 5:27-30). What’s inside matters so “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23).
Reflect on Jesus’ words to the teachers of the law and Pharisees who put external conformity over internal character development. This is how He described them:
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. (Matt. 23:25
You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. (Matt. 23:27)
In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matt. 23:28)
This is His solution:
First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matt. 23:26)
Jesus basically said that when we are who we should be, we will do what we should do. Consequently, as Bible teachers we must get beyond the commands in Scripture to the heart qualities that would cause students to obey that command. They need to sow good into their lives to reap good for “every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matt. 7:17).
Discipleship Tool: Sowing Good into Our Lives
Don’t give the impression good character is something we self-generate.
While as Bible teachers we do need to emphasize character development over external conformity, we also must stress the need to rely on God so it’s more than a self-improvement program. Christ-like character is a fruit of the Spirit, the result of His divine power and grace at work in our lives.
The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) comes as a result of walking in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-23)
The traits of godliness (faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love) increase within us as we rely on His divine power based on who He is and the promises He keeps. (2 Pet. 1:3-8)
The character needed to live like those who have been redeemed by grace (self-control, uprightness, godliness) is possible because of that same grace. (Titus 2:11-14)
Jesus came to transform lives, to make us new (2 Cor. 5:17), from the inside out. The more our students learn to abide in Him, pulling on Him for the strength and sustenance they need each day, the more Christ-like they will become. Christ-like character cannot be self-generated. Pay close attention to the last phrase in the following verse and teach like you believe it to be true for both you and your students.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn. 15:5)
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