Here are six virtues Christians ought to promote. But too often, we don’t.

David French has been on a roll. Recently I wrote about an excellent essay of his that argued Christians in the political arena have managed to turn Jesus’ teachings upside down.

Now he’s done it again. In a piece called “Evangelicals Decenter Jesus,” French—a conservative, white evangelical — demonstrates how strikingly the words and deeds of many evangelicals veer from the basic doctrines of evangelicalism.

That’s especially true when it comes to evangelicals’ near obsession with sexuality rather than with the person and core teachings of Jesus, French says.

Citing a survey conducted jointly by two theologically conservative organizations, he writes that most “evangelicals” today aren’t really evangelicals. While by some estimates more than a third of Americans identify as evangelical Christians, French says the real number is drastically lower: about 6 percent “if identity is based on agreement with a series of core evangelical beliefs.”

I’d encourage you to go read French’s entire essay. It’s eye-opening.

He got me thinking about how far the practice of contemporary Christianity in general quite often veers from the teachings of Jesus and his apostles in the New Testament.

I don’t think evangelicals—of whom I consider myself one—are uniquely guilty of missing that mark. Yet one of the “core evangelical beliefs” that French mentions is adherence to the Bible as the highest authority for faith and practice. So when we of all people fail to live up to the the New Testament’s commandments, our failure is far more glaring. It smacks of hypocrisy.

Here, then, I offer six virtues the New Testament requires of all pilgrims who would be disciples of Jesus Christ:

▪ Love. Love isn’t something God possesses — it’s who God is, his defining characteristic, St. John says. As God’s children, we’re to imitate him. Without love, our religion means nothing, St. Paul says; a Christian motivated by anything other than love is merely “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” and worthless to the cause.

▪ Grace. The New Testament’s central message — in addition to the vastness of God’s love — is that everything good we receive, whether in this world or the next, is the result of grace. Hardly anything good comes from our efforts or our innate holiness. It must be granted to us from above. Going to heaven? Grace. Got your health? Grace. Adored by your kids? Grace. Receive a promotion at work? Grace. And those who’ve received grace should show grace to everyone else, no matter how little he appears to deserve or even want it.

▪ Humility. People given everything they possess as a gift have no right to be puffed up about who they are or what they own or where they’re going when they die. We should regard every human as equally as important as we are and equally deserving of God’s acceptance. We should recognize our own frailties, which are myriad.

▪ Honesty. We serve a shepherd who described himself as the Truth, capital T. It then behooves us to be people who tell the truth, whether it’s popular or unpopular, whether it helps our position or undermines it. This doesn’t just apply to theological or biblical truth. It applies to everything — at work, at home. We tell the truth as best we know it, even when it makes us look silly or ineffectual. (See “humility” above.) Honesty sets us free.

▪ Kindness. As I’ve told my congregation for eons, 90 percent of the gospel can be summed up in three words: “Just be nice.” If your neighbor is hungry, give her something to eat. If he’s in the hospital—or in jail—go visit. If the other driver at the intersection seems in a rush, let him go first. Don’t be a jerk, and doubly don’t be a jerk in God’s name.

▪ Tongue-control. It’s surprising how often the New Testament admonishes us to be careful about what we say and how we say it. “Let your words always be seasoned, as it were, with salt,” it says. “If you can control your tongue, you’ve become perfect,” it adds. Don’t be quarrelsome, it warns. “God will hold you to account for every word that comes out of your mouth,” we’re told. Yikes. Speak less and listen more, especially if you’re tempted to say something mean-spirited or judgmental.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. There’s more. But since most of us could spend the remainder of our days trying to master these half-dozen virtues, I’ll end here.

Paul Prather is pastor of Bethesda Church near Mt. Sterling. You can email him at pratpd@yahoo.com.