Aretology is the branch of Christian systematic theology that focuses on virtue, godliness, and God's prescribed morals. Aretology seeks to answer the following questions:
What is virtue?
How does the Bible emphasize virtue?
What are the different types of wisdom?
What moral standards has God given to Christians?
How important is the virtue of godliness?
How can a person cultivate godliness?
What are the consequences for not applying God's moral standards?
What are the benefits of living a virtuous and godly life?
The theme verse for Aretology is 2 Peter 1:3, 4, which says "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Virtue is moral goodness or moral excellency; the practice of living according to high moral standards. Virtue coincides with holiness, which is an aspect of godliness. Godliness means having a reverence for God and living a life of holiness for the purpose of worshiping, serving and glorifying God. Christianity has virtues that surpass those of all other religions in terms of efficacy in attaining godliness.
Virtues are aspects of God’s character which everyone must integrate into their own character, since humans were created in the image of God and are accountable to God. Aspects of God's character include love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, mercy, faithfulness, contentment, humility, discretion, self-control, purity of heart, decency, godliness, justice, and delighting in righteousness and shunning evil.
Jesus Christ, as God manifested in the flesh, exercised virtue perfectly and Christ's godliness was exactly as God commanded in the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament). Jesus said "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I ALWAYS DO THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM." Jesus exemplified God's qualities of love, patience, mercy, faithfulness, purity, wisdom and righteous conduct. Jesus was content with being different from everyone else around Him since He knew that everything He was practicing was in perfect conformity to the will of God. Hence He never compromised even in the midst of the worse suffering and persecution from others. As God manifested in the flesh, Jesus Christ is referred to as the "mystery of godliness" at 1 Timothy 3:16. The mystery and prototype of godliness is Jesus Christ. As a person reads through the four Gospels, they observe Jesus' incarnation, His virtuous and holy life, His atoning death on the Cross, His bodily resurrection, and His glorious ascension to Heaven. Jesus' life is the pattern for Christian godliness, and those who repent and believe on Him are redeemed and covered with His perfect righteousness, then Jesus uses the Holy Spirit to enables the redeemed to walk in true godliness. Keeping one's eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of the faith, prevents one from backsliding into ungodly behavior, also prevents one from practicing fake and hypocritical godliness. In addition, keeping one's eyes on Jesus inspires them to continue growing in godliness. Since Christ left Christians an example to follow (1 Peter 2:21-23), Christians are called to be Christ-like. Although Christians will never attain sinless perfection in this life, they are to follow Jesus' example by walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:3-6). As they are indwelt and transformed by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18), Christians are to put off the old self that is corrupt and put on the new self that is conformed to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:9, 10).
A virtuous person will manifest three attributes represented by three Greek words: arete (high moral standards), phronesis (practical wisdom), and eudaimonia (well-being). These three Greek terms are used in secular philosophies and non-Christian faiths, but their meanings also apply very well in Christian theology:
Arete (ἀρέτη) is virtue or moral excellence. The opposite of virtue is vice (Greek κακία = kakia), which is moral evil; that is, any practice, behavior, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, depraved or degrading. It is possible for the very character of a person to be virtuous. Its not that the person has a habit of not lying, but that their core disposition is to be honest. The person's emotions, honest reactions, preferences, values, wishes, and intentions are all characterized by virtue. Whenever is inside the person's heart is what will determine how vicious or virtuous they truly are. Jesus said it best when He said that a good man brings forth good things out of the good treasure of his heart, but the evil person brings forth evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart (Matthew 12:33-35). The virtuous person's actions are informed by their complete nature; they can be honest and kind, generous and responsible, and have high expectations of other people but still be forgiving of offenses or shortcomings. Also, to be fully virtuous means to act on all these good characteristics readily, willingly, and with a good attitude.
Phronesis (φρόνησις), also known as practical wisdom, is knowing why, when, where and how to apply accumulated knowledge in light of experience and the discernment of experiences. The book of Proverbs teaches practical wisdom more clearly than any other book in the Bible. The book of Proverbs is a compilation of God's practical wisdom on a large variety of topics ranging from parenting, listening to wise counsel, sexual chastity, justice, giving to the poor, pride, anger, laziness, and so on. For example, there are many passages in Proverbs that deal with speech, as to how and when to speak to this or that person. While there are other dimensions to being Christ-like, the most important is that Christians be like Christ in character. The more a person studies the Word of God and meditates on it, the more their own moral character will reflect Christ's character, thus inclining them to practice personal and practical holiness. Developing practical wisdom through studies in the scriptures also enables a Christian to discern the character of other people. This is especially important whenever a Christian preaches or provides biblical counseling.
Eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία) is the "well-being" or "human flourishing" that generally results from practicing moral goodness and practical wisdom. Eudaimonia is manifested as a state of happiness, good health (spiritual, mental, physical), success and prosperity. Generally speaking, if a certain action or lifestyle is not inherently good, virtuous and wise, then it will not produce eudaimonia. The Bible presents many scriptures saying that a wise and morally good life will result in all kinds of blessings in this life. For example, diligent work brings prosperity but laziness results in poverty (Proverbs 10:4). However, there is no absolute guarantee that a Christian will be 100% healthy and bountifully prosperous for every moment of their life as a godly individual. The scriptures promise that those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution and other trials (2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-19). Even if a Christian does not remain physically healthy and materially prosper in this life, their eudaimonia will still be manifested through joy, contentment and continual spiritual growth in this life, plus a much greater eudaimonia awaits them in eternity future. For example, Peter and the other apostles were rejoicing as they suffered afflictions in the hands of the Jewish leaders (Acts 5:40-41). The Christians of Smyrna endured tribulation and persecution until death because of promises of blessing made by Jesus (Revelation 2:10).
The life of a Christian is characterized by knowing God through a personal relationship with Him, and growing spiritually to become like God in holiness and character. The Christian life is not natural but supernatural, because the only way a person can successfully apply all the virtues of God, and live in holiness on a consistent basis, is through the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit. The law of God is not merely a list of do's and don't's; the law of God perfectly reflects God's holy character as to what is pleasing and displeasing to Him. Thus delighting in God's law, and striving to obeying God's law, leads a person to behave more like God himself. Since the law of God is spiritual, it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that a person is able to delight in God's law and live by it.
What does it mean to be a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)? In a process known as theosis, Christian believers take on some of God's divine qualities. This does not mean that we become "gods" or "little gods" as taught by Word of Faith theology, Mormonism, and the New Age Movement. Rather, theologians divide the attributes of God into two categories. The first category includes God's incommunicable attributes, which always have been and always will be exclusive to God alone, attributes such as God's omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, aseity, eternal existence and immutability. The second category includes God's communicable attributes, also called relational attributes or moral attributes. The communicable attributes are the behavioral attributes that are found in God and shared by God with born again Christians who are conformed to the mind of Christ, attributes such as love, patience, grace, mercy, humility, holiness and an inclination to righteousness. It is in this sense that Christians become partakers of the divine nature. The settled dispositions associated with Christian virtues cause Christians to act in certain ways; that is, ways that are Christ-like. All godly virtues are interrelated to the all-embracing Christian virtues of holiness and love and are produced by the Holy Spirit as Christians strive to make such virtues increase in their lives.
The fear of God is mentioned repeatedly in Proverbs; in fact, godly fear is one of the major themes of the book of Proverbs. The fear of God means having a humble and loving reverence for God, desiring to please Him through obedience, and endeavoring to imitate His character. The first step toward acquiring virtue and progressing in godliness is to have a fear or reverence for God, which in turn leads to knowing God personally and understanding His revealed will that must be obeyed (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).
Another major step toward acquiring virtue and godliness is repentance, which includes repentance of unbelief and repentance of sins. Repentance is translated from the Greek word metanoia (μετάνοια), meaning "a change of mind" that results in a change of attitudes, passions, and motives away from sin and toward the holy God. Although a person is saved and justified in Christ at the moment of initial repentance, the person continues to repent over the course of their Christian walk, as part of sanctification, in order to gain a closer relationship with God and to grow spiritually in all the godly virtues of Jesus Christ.
HERE ARE A FEW VERSES THAT LEAD TO VIRTUE AND GODLINESS:
Love God with all your heart (Matthew 22:37-40)
Love your neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 13:8-10)
Persevere in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1)
Bridle the tongue; be careful how you talk (Ephesians 4:29, 31)
Be given to hospitality (Romans 12:13; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9; Hebrews 13:2)
Give to others and share with others (Hebrews 13:16)
Abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
Study and meditate on God's Word diligently (Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:15)
Do not dwell on lustful desires (2 Timothy 2:22)
Do not seek to feed the flesh (Romans 13:14)
Walk according to the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
Do not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2)
Do not let anger rest in your heart (Ephesians 4:26)
Avoid getting drunk with wine (alcohol) (Ephesians 5:18)
Do not practice greed or dishonest gain (Ephesians 5:5)
Love your enemies, pray for and do good to them (Matthew 5:43-47; Romans 12:20)
Avoid compromising the faith and God's standards (Colossians 2:8; Hebrews 10:23)
Die to self daily to follow Christ (Luke 9:23)
Be a living sacrifice to God; Keep a clean body and spirit (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 7:1)
Do not lie, cheat or steal, kill, or commit adultery (Matthew 19:18)
Do not worship idols, do not idolize things (1 John 5:21)
Pursue godliness; pursue holiness (1 Timothy 6:11; Hebrews 12:14)
Put God's will ahead of your own (Luke 22:42)
Do all things decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40)
Be forgiving, and do not seek revenge (Romans 12:17-19)
Avoid stumbling your weaker brothers or sisters (Romans 14:21; 1 Corinthians 8:9-13)
Be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11)
Do not associate with negative people (Proverbs 13:20; 1 Cor. 15:33)
Have courage; Do not be afraid (Isaiah 41:10; John 14:27; 2 Timothy 1:7)
Put heavenly things and eternity first (Colossians 3:1, 2)
Stay humble; do not be proud or conceited (Romans 12:16)
Stay filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
Endure persecutions, temptations and trials (Matthew 5:11, 12; James 1:12)
Sanctify God's name (Matthew 6:9)
Meditate on things that are positive (Philippians 4:8)
Honor your father and your mother (Ephesians 6:1-3)
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