Character Traits

[Soyeong]

To become a character trait means to be someone who practices that trait and it would be contradictory to for someone to become a character trait apart from becoming someone who practices that trait. We become character traits through faith that we ought to practice them apart from having practiced them as though they were earned as a wage. For example, to become courageous means to become someone who practices courageousness, it would be contradictory to be courageous apart from becoming someone who practices courageousness, and the way to become courageous is through faith apart from having practiced courageousness. It can be the case that someone is not courageous in the present moment if they do not currently have faith that they ought to be courageous in spite of all of the times that they have previously practiced courageousness, so again the way to become a trait in the present moment is through faith apart from what we have previously done, but becoming a character trait is not apart from becoming someone who practices that trait through faith.

The same is true of righteousness and holiness, which is the point Paul was making in Romans 3:28-31, where we become righteous through faith apart having practiced righteousness as through it were earned as a wage, but where becoming righteous is not apart from becoming someone who practices righteousness because the faith by which we are declared righteous does not abolish our need to practice righteousness in obedience to God's law, but rather our faith upholds it.