The theological virtues are listed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor 13:11-13 KJV).
Faith
The book of Hebrews famously reads, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith is translated from the Greek word pistis (πίστις), which literally means to have been persuaded that something is true, to have confidence that something is true, and to trust that something is true. When reading the NT, it is therefore often helpful to think of faith/trust whenever the work faith is encountered. In this sense, the verse above is describing faith as trust in divine truths for which there is no objective evidence.
Hebrews goes on to state, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 11:6). And so, faith is needed for justification and faith is needed to please God. But in what sense can faith be understood as a virtue? Christians presumably have faith that Christian doctrine is true because of the weight of the evidence. There is seemingly nothing virtuous about believing whatever the evidence suggests you should believe. Therefore, faith as a virtue must suggest something beyond mere intellectual assent.
Recall that a virtuous person is someone who instinctively and automatically responds to situations in a virtuous manner, and that this characteristic develops over time with practice. With regards to faith, this principle means that a virtuous person will respond to tests of faith by taking comfort in faith rather than doubting faith.
Nearly everybody, and probably everybody, has periodic doubts about their faith. These can arise in a variety of ways such as intellectual doubts, doubts arising from personal tragedy, doubts arising from the tragedy of others, doubts arising from global events, doubts arising from a seeming lack of God responding to prayer requests, and so forth. A virtuous response to these doubts will be to return to faith in God and to surrender any illusion of personal control to the will of God. An unvirtuous response will be to indulge in doubt and to try to take personal control over the situation. As with other virtues, faith as a virtue will develop through practice. When doubts happen, it will initially take effort to respond in a virtuous way. Over time, a virtuous response to doubt will become easier and increasingly automatic. Paul refers to this as the obedience of faith. “[The Gospel] now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom 16:26-27).
As a theological virtue, it is important for this aspect of faith to be understood as a divine gift that allows one to access the strength of the indwelling Holy Spirit. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).
Hope
Christian hope is for the future coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead into glorified bodies, and the divine granting of an eternal state of blessedness in the presence of God in a New Heaven and a New Earth. These things are promised by God, and God is always faithful in delivering on His promises. “Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23). This hope is felt when life is good, knowing that a good earthly life is no comparison to what awaits. But this hope is also felt when life is difficult, knowing that we are on this earth for but a brief moment when compared to eternity. “We celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom 5:2-5). Notice that our virtuous hope comes through the Holy Spirit, which is necessarily the case since hope is a theological virtue (see also Rom 15:13).
Virtuous hope, like faith discussed above, is a character trait that is cultivated by practice and repetition until it becomes automatic and natural. A Christian’s hope will be tested by a variety of life circumstances, both through an over-attachment to earthly pleasures and doubts about one’s eternal future. As one’s virtuous hope develops one increasingly finds comfort in saying maranatha (an Aramaic word that means “come oh Lord!”). This is comforting because when He appears we will be holy as He is holy. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 Jn 3:2-3).
Charity
The Greek word agapé (ἀγάπη) is translated as love in most Bible versions but is famously translated as charity in many passages in the KJV.[i] Agapé is the highest form of love and can be thought of as a selfless love and how God loves each of us. When discussing charity as a theological virtue it is understood to mean the agapé form of love.
Of course, Jesus famously instructs that agapé love is the greatest commandment:
And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE (agapaō) THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE (agapaō) YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:35-40)
It is easy to love those who love us, but this is not the essence of charity as a virtue. It is much more aligned with the typical understanding of charity, where goodwill reaches out to those in need. Jesus distinguishes easy love versus charitable love as follows:
You have heard that it was said, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5:43-48)
In the last verse, the word perfect is a translation of the Greek teleios (τέλειοι), which means complete. It does not mean without defect. Louis Lotz writes, “In Jesus’ day the word ‘perfect’ meant to be full grown, to be mature, to reach the end of development.”[ii] As such, this verse refers to progressive sanctification including the maturation of our ability to consistently have charitable love towards others. “This perfection is the condition of being fully mature, all grown up, of having reach the end and goal of human life under God. It means being children of God, sharing in the divine nature that is marked by stunning and indiscriminate acts of generosity to all.”[iii]
The process of being made perfect involves the maturation of charity as a virtue. As with faith and hope, the practice of charity will initially require substantial effort and will become more natural over time. The Christian must beware that the opposite is also true. Acting in uncharitable ways towards others, if indulged, will also become more natural over time. C.S. Lewis writes:
The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more … Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.[iv]
And so, the process of cultivating charity as a virtue involves performing acts of charitable love for your enemies and the avoidance of performing acts of uncharitable love for your enemies. This includes both thoughts and deeds. Over time, charitable love will become increasingly habitual towards others, even if you do not like them.
The concept of charitable love is perhaps best demonstrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). Jesus had just told a lawyer to love your neighbor as yourself, and the lawyer then asks, “Who is my neighbor?” This question is asked in the context of Leviticus, where God instructs the Israelites: “You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Lv 19:17-18). Neighbor in this context seems to refer to fellow Israelites. It is likely that the lawyer’s question is to clarify the scope of neighbor in this Levitical passage. In the parable, Jesus does not give the wounded man an ethnic identity and therefore clearly indicates that we should love all people, not just those who are ethnically close. Furthermore, it was a Samaritan that acted as a loving neighbor, indicating that the command to love one’s neighbor is not just for the nation of Israel but for all people, even those who are mistrusted and even hated. Jeannine Brown writes, “[A] number of scholars argue that later Jewish tradition narrowed the definition of ‘neighbor.’ Against this restrictive backdrop, Jesus (it is argued) expands the scope of who is the neighbor and his point is thus considered ethical: a call to universal love. In this line of argumentation, the importance of the Samaritan is precisely that he is not a Jew.”[v]
In becoming Christlike, it can sometimes be helpful when making an ethical determination to ask, “What would Jesus do?” This question is commonly answered, “He would love first.” In this sense, developing a capacity for charitable love can be considered a core aspect of Christian virtue ethics.
[i] The Douay-Rheims and Webster translations also translate agapé as charity in many locations. Agapé is used 114 times in the Greek NT. The KJV translates it love 87 times and as charity 26 times.
[ii] Louis Lotz, “Perplexing texts: Matthew 5:48,” Reformed Journal, Vol. 29, no. 4, April 1979: 8.
[iii] Robert Smith, “The End in Matthew (5:48 and 28:20): How to Preach It and How Not To,” Word & World, Vol. 19, no. 3, Summer 1999: 307.
[iv] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, New York, NY: HarperOne, 1952/2002: 130-132.
[v] Jeannine Brown and Kazuhiko Yamazaki-Ransom, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan and the Narrative Portrayal of Samaritans in Luke-Acts,” Journal of Theological Interpretation, Vol. 15, no. 2, 2021: 236-237. It should be noted that the authors in this paper argue for a different perspective, that Jesus’s use of a Samaritan is to demonstrate that Samaritans should still be considered part of the greater Israel.
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