The seven heavenly virtues are an ancient Western Christian tradition that describes how God would have us live. From the fifth century onward, these seven heavenly virtues have served as a guide to many Christians. As counterpoints to the seven deadly sins, the virtues of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility uplift the soul and contribute to the betterment of society. These virtues offer a roadmap for living a virtuous and God-fearing life. In this article, we delve into the profound significance of each heavenly virtue, exploring their timeless relevance and the transformative power they hold in shaping individuals and communities in the way God desires.
Seven Heavenly Virtues: Table of Contents
- List of the 7 Heavenly Virtues
- History of the Virtues
- In the Bible
- In Christian Tradition
- In Other Religions
- Should We Follow the 7 Heavenly Virtues
The Seven Heavenly Virtues
Chastity
The word chastity means “the quality of being morally pure.” Note that chastity can relate to either sexual interactions or conduct, behavior, and intention generally. Synonyms of being chaste include purity, modesty, and virtue. Usually, we think of chastity as abstaining from immoral sexual activities. Chastity also has a less-known meaning related to personal integrity.
Temperance
Temperance, or self-control, presents as an inward spiritual virtue exhibited outwardly through restraining or controlling one’s total being (thoughts, speech, actions). Self-control is not just about being submissive but being in control of your emotions, words, and actions. As a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, it is allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you so that you do not sin.
Charity
The virtue of charity is often synonymous with love, particularly the selfless, unconditional love that God shows to humanity. One of the most famous passages about charity is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV): "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Diligence
Diligence is a virtue praised in the Bible, often associated with hard work, perseverance, and steadfastness in one's efforts. The Bible encourages diligence in various aspects of life, including work, relationships, and spiritual matters. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV), Peter writes, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love." Here, diligence is seen as an essential part of growing in faith and character.
Patience
Patience is the ability to remain steadfast in difficult situations. The Bible teaches that patience is a virtue that allows believers to trust in God's timing, endure trials with grace, and maintain peace in the midst of challenges. It is seen as an essential aspect of living a faithful and obedient life. In Romans 12, it is essential to be quick or fervent in patience. But most importantly, to take the time and effort to pray. “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
Kindness
The Bible teaches that kindness is a characteristic of God's nature and that believers should strive to emulate this virtue in their own lives. One of the most famous verses about kindness is found in Ephesians 4:32 (NIV): "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." This verse emphasizes the importance of kindness in relationships, highlighting that believers should treat others with compassion and forgiveness.
Humility
Humility is a central virtue in the Bible, emphasized in both the Old and New Testaments as a key characteristic of a faithful and righteous person. Biblical humility is characterized by a modest and unassuming attitude, a willingness to serve others, and a recognition of one's own limitations and dependence on God.
History of the Seven Heavenly Virtues
Fifth-century writer Prudentius listed the original seven heavenly virtues in his poem Psychomachia. The virtues responded to the popular and somewhat better-known seven deadly sins. The seven deadly sins were initially listed as lust, idolatry, greed, discord, indulgence, wrath, and pride. People believe that these particular sins led to spiritual and physical death. Prudentius’s seven heavenly virtues were the opposite of the sins: chastity, faith, good works, concord, sobriety, patience, and humility.
Those familiar with the seven deadly sins might wonder why the list differs from the one they know. A century later, in 590 AD, Pope Gregory I rewrote the list, and the later version has remained since. Both the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues were changed. The “new” seven deadly sins became lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, and pride. New virtues needed to be written to go along with the revised sins. So, the seven heavenly virtues became chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility.
Interestingly, the virtues became even more of a practical moral guide. The virtues replaced were faith, good works, and concord. These are important biblical concepts to Christianity. The apostle Paul reminds us that we are saved by grace through faith, so valuing faith is a no-brainer. Good works are also something that Christians should practice, as faith without works is dead. Concord, the New Testament instruction for church unity, is vitally important (the New Testament firmly warns against the opposite sin: discord or division). However, these virtues can be vague, mystical, or harder to define. The replacement virtues made them more specific and practical. Faith was replaced by diligence. Good works were replaced with charity. Concord was replaced with kindness.
Heavenly Virtues in the Bible
Each of the seven heavenly virtues can be found in the New Testament. Chastity, keeping oneself sexually pure, is explained in 1 Corinthians 6, dealing with sexual misconduct in the church. Paul explains that since the Holy Spirit resides in the Corinthian believers individually and corporately, they shouldn’t sully the privilege of being the house of God with perverse sexual acts. Nor should they condone or celebrate them in other believers.
In Ephesians 5:18, Paul tells them not to be drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit, dealing with gluttony and espousing temperance. Jesus taught in the Gospels to give to the poor, a clear example of charity (Matthew 19:21-23). Paul emphasizes diligence to replace the sin of sloth when he states that if a person doesn’t work, they shouldn’t be given food (2 Thessalonians 3:10), a harsh injunction for modern ears. However, he was dealing with people taking advantage of the kindness and charity of the Christian community.
We can find the last three (kindness, patience, and humility) listed as part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
Heavenly Virtues from Christian Tradition
The argument could be made that the latter list of heavenly virtues is more legalistic than the original. Unity and faith are incredibly important concepts in the New Testament. By the time of Pope Gregory, the Roman Catholic structure and organization controlled culture, society, and even government. We can’t know the minds of the popes and religious leaders of the day. We can’t say whether or not they felt the masses were capable of being responsible for faith and unity. Still, it’s worth noting that diligence and kindness (work hard and be nice to people) have more to do with social harmony than Christian doctrine.
The Roman Catholic tradition took on much of the spiritual responsibility given to every believer—confession (James 5:16), the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), knowledge of doctrine (letters containing theology to be read to whole churches), etc. For better or worse, religious and governmental power structures became in charge of virtues like unity.
Seven Heavenly Virtues in Other Religions
Moral standards aren’t new. One of the first written documents was the Babylonian legal code written by King Hammurabi almost 2,000 years before Jesus. Hammurabi claimed he got the laws from Shamash, the Babylonian god of Justice.
Even the Bible has an ancient code of morality. The Ten Commandments were written by God himself, with his finger on stone tablets, handed down on a mountain of fire. Some modern courthouses have those ten rules posted for all to see.
Two of the oldest religions have similar codes. Buddhism has five virtues (wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity, and compassion). Buddhists have their version of the “deadly sins,” their five precepts (abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, wrong speech, and intoxicating substances). The Buddhist Eightfold Path includes right views, thoughts, speech, action, livelihood, effort, and morality.
The Five Pillars of Islam are faith, prayer, alms (giving to the poor), fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca.
Gandhi wrote his own Seven Deadly Sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.
We’ve had moral codes and standards from the beginning of history, and from all over the world. Many are similar or even identical to the seven heavenly virtues. We could argue that these codes are so similar because they are universal ideas across cultures and times. Some people would argue this means that it doesn’t matter what religion we follow. Yet we still have violence, sin, and a divided world. Some things have improved, but others have gotten worse. Have we fixed anything with moral codes?
Virtues are something to aspire to, for sure. However, perhaps the problem is something different. Something deeper and more difficult to address.
Should We Follow the Seven Heavenly Virtues?
The seven heavenly virtues, and all of the morals expressed in the Scripture, are good and true. Still, they are not the core problem. The seven deadly sins are only symptoms of a deeper disease. Increased morality is superficial and can’t dig deep enough to fix the disease. Our righteousness is but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and even knowing what is good, we can’t do it.
Jesus came to speak and teach the truth, yet that isn’t all he did. He died and rose from the dead, so we could die to our own righteousness and efforts and access the power of Heaven through resurrection. Jesus was more than a moral teacher. Christ made a way to change the very nature of who and what we are.
The heavenly virtues are manifestations of Heaven’s culture— another realm. We can’t fulfill those virtues with the powers of this world, especially our own. We need the power of Heaven to live the virtues of Heaven.
When Paul laments his inability to do what is right under the Covenant of the Law, he cries out, “Who can save me?” We are slaves to the law of Sin and Death (Romans 7:14-25). The answer is Jesus, and in Romans 8, he clarifies that there is a higher law. The Law of Spirit of Life breaks the Law of Sin and Death. Like the virtues, the opposite of death is life. That makes sense.
But why isn’t the opposite of sin righteousness? Because the root solution is the power of the Spirit, Paul further clarifies that we will not fulfill our lusts when we walk by the Spirit. The goal, then, is not to try to follow a moral standard (however true and right the God-given moral standard is).
The New Testament is clear, and Paul knew firsthand the deception of religious legalism. We must follow the Spirit in relationship with the Father through Christ. The result will be living right, expressing the heavenly virtues because we are living by the Lord of Heaven, our good and loving Father.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Vadym Kalitnyk
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