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Godliness
August 10, 2013

Last week, I wrote about how patience is part of our spiritual development. Peter shows that next in our life comes godliness, with a small g.

2 Peter 1: 5-11
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I like to think of this verse as providing the taxonomy of spiritual development. The character of godliness can be deceiving. There are those who think godliness is acting like God would act. I think the problem with that approach is it presumes we have the mind and character of God, and I wouldn't claim that for myself as I see myself as a person with faults rather than the character of God. I think the best way to think of godliness is to pursue character which is better than what we have. With this approach I never worry that I deceive myself into being better than I am; rather, I am acknowledging my weaknesses before God, knowing that I have room to improve.

1 Timothy 4:6-9
If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

Part of spiritual growth is to give up that which holds us back from being better than what we are, and that includes giving up talk that is profane and far-fetched, such as lies, dirty jokes, and filthy language. These continue to be common forms of communication through the ages and are lower levels of communication. We need to recognize that we allow ourselves to be less than we can be when we use these and we must strive to be better than we are. Physical exercise is used as the example. We exercise to improve or maintain the physical body. We can strive for that which is better than we are spiritually to maintain and improve our spiritual mind.

2 Timothy 3:1-9
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

The reason it is important for us to consider godliness, is because in the last days there will be those who have a form of godliness, and yet deny its power. These are people who are considered good people and yet never allow their relationship with God to lead them to live a life that is greater than they are. They deny the power of Holy Spirit to improve one's life and much like the unprofitable servant choose to live a life based on what they have. These are people who are so busy learning, they never consider they have already learned and need to apply what they have already learned. It's sort of like believing learning new things is an excuse to not apply what they already know. Contrast these people to those who strive for godliness and pursue character that is better than they already are. Those who seek godliness do much with their life because they act on the knowledge they have, and because they act on the knowledge they have are able to celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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