GODLINESS
According as [he by] his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called
us to [his own] glory and virtue: – II Peter 1: 3
GODLINESS can
be defined as our true and vital spiritual relationship with God. It is a personal thing between
you and God Almighty. God says He has given us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness. So that means we cannot be lacking anything. If we walk with God and stay in fellowship, this will become a
reality. Godliness is our inward relationship with God. This is in comparison
to an outward appearance which can relate to the outward acts or religious
observances or ceremonies observed by the flesh. Godliness makes true
Christianity distinct from religion.
We are going to cover
almost all the references in the New Testament pertaining to ‘godliness’.
Let’s take a look at
the book of Titus and what the Apostle Paul has to say about godliness.
Paul, a
servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s
elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; – Titus 1:
1
You can see how the
acknowledging of the truth and godliness work hand in hand. You will NEVER
experience a true and vital spiritual relationship with God unless you live
God’s Word. You must study, apply and speak God’s Word. As I heard it said in a
figure of speech, you must ‘eat the Word’. It must be in every fiber of your
being. That is life in the fast lane. What else is there in this life? Nothing,
and you know it. Keep God first and everything else will fall into it’s proper
place. Let us go back to II Peter.
But the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the
earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. -- II Peter
3: 10
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, – II
Peter 3: 11
Jesus Christ is coming
back and when he does, this earth, as we know it, will be destroyed. Seeing
that we know and believe this, how should we act in the meantime? We should
live a Godly life. ‘Conversation’ means manner of life. AND WE SHOULD LIVE IN GODLINESS. We should be developing our true and
vital spiritual relationship with God.
God also talks about
prayer, of course, in much of His Word, and Timothy is no exception. Let us now
go to I and II Timothy which continues to mention the concept of godliness.
I Exhort
therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
-- I Timothy 2: 1
For kings,
and for all that are in
authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty. -- I Timothy 2: 2
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour; -- I Timothy 2: 3
Verse three (3) clearly
states that verses 1, 2 and 3 is God’s Will for man. The subject of the context
is to pray – every day. This should be a most important habit in your life. Then in verse two (2), God states that it is His Will
for us to lead a quiet, peaceful life IN ALL GODLINESS
and honesty. You CANNOT lead a quiet, peaceful, and honest life without
establishing a true and vital spiritual relationship with God! Did the point
come across? Believe me, it cannot be done – I know, I tried it. I have been to
hell and back and that is why I sit here for endless hours giving you my heart.
It is partly so you don’t ever have to go through what I went through. It is
because I love you and I walk with the power of the true God. I know the Word
of God is true and I care only to find one (1) person out of 4 billion who will
believe and act on what is written.
But refuse
profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto GODLINESS. – I Timothy 4: 7 [emphasis added]
The word ‘exercise’ in
this verse is most interesting. According to the Lexicon, it means " to
practise gymnastic exercises, to train, accustom". You need to train
yourself to do what the Word of God says you are to do, PERIOD. We are in a
competition with the god of this world (see Ephesians 6: 12). ONLY THE WORD OF
GOD RIGHTLY DIVIDED AND APPLIED IN YOUR LIFE WILL DEFEAT HIM. Train and
accustom yourself to God’s Word and then you will develop godliness. You are
going to need it.
For bodily
exercise profiteth little [for a little while]: but GODLINESS is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that
now is, and of that which is to come. -- I
Timothy 4: 8 [emphasis
added]
To have godliness makes
all things profitable for you and for God. So exercise yourself unto godliness
with much greater effort and as a priority over bodily exercise which profits
for a little while. Some of you athletes can identify with this. Just stop
working out for a week or two and before you know it, you begin getting out of
shape. Being a long distance walker, at one time I walked about 50 miles per
week. Right now, after stopping for a while, I struggle to walk 20 to 30 miles
a week. Why? Because bodily exercise profits for a little while. That’s what
the Word of God says and that is what it means. It is not hard to understand.
The Word of God is tremendous – so dynamic that most people never see it. All
the answers to life are written out for us – but our cell phone is more
important, isn’t it? The enemy makes fools out of us with covetousness and a
barrage of other tricks. Remember, ONLY the Word of God will defeat him in your
life and set you free. Godliness is profitable unto all things. Practice –
practice – practice. Believe me, it’s worth it. Why would I be doing this?
And the world passeth away, and
the lust [over-desire] thereof: but he that
doeth [PRACTICES]
the will of God abideth for ever. – I John 2:
17 [emphasis added]
If any man
teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome [healthy, sound] words, even the
Words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to
godliness; -- I Timothy 6: 3
What is one of the
three (3) ways I taught you as to how the Word of God interprets itself? One of
those ways is in the context. Read the first two (2) verses of this sixth chapter
in I Timothy and you will clearly see that God is talking about people who can
possibly blaspheme and contradict God’s Word. We need to watch over one
another. You found this site because you are special to God and have great
potential for Him. Whether you use it or not is up to you.
In verse three (3), God
is saying that if any man teaches words that are not the words of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, these words are obviously not in accordance with the
doctrine of godliness. The following describes people who blaspheme God’s Word
and do not and are not capable of rightly dividing God’s Word. The internet is
plastered with these sites.
He is proud,
knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof
cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of
corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness:
from such withdraw thyself. – I Timothy 6: 4, 5
In verse 4, the part
that says ‘knowing nothing’ pertains to what he professes to teach. Do you want
to study from this type of person? You found this site out of Divine favor. I
can’t explain it. No one can explain God.
Back to the above
verses: He stumbles over questions and words and the result is envy, strife,
etc. Should I go on? He is a man of a corrupt mind, starving for the truth.
But, financial gain, or gain in the senses world, he mistakes for godliness. You
see, Satan has a counterfeit for everything the true God does. He is a
parasite. These people are passing themselves off as teachers of God’s Word.
God explains clearly and concisely everything we need to know about these
people in II Corinthians.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan
himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to
their works. – II Corinthians 11: 13-15
Read I Timothy 6: 4 and
5 above to keep your train of thought. Now let’s go to I Timothy 6: 6.
But GODLINESS with contentment is great
gain [a great way of
making gain]. –
I Timothy 6: 6 [emphasis
added]
That type of godliness
is true Godliness that you develop on your own with the God and Father of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the rewards is eternal
life.
And the world passeth away, and
the lust [over-desire] thereof: but he that
doeth [PRACTICES]
the will of God abideth for ever. – I John 2:
17 [emphasis added]
Verses 9 and 10 [read
them] talk about the love of money which is the root system of all evil. But in
verse 11, God instructs us what to do as he always does to escape the enemy’s
devices and methods and come out victorious.
But thou, O man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, GODLINESS, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith [pistis – believing], lay hold on
eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses. – I Timothy 6: 11, 12 [emphasis added]
Let’s wrap it up by
going to II Timothy. Doesn’t the following explain the atmosphere out there
today? God is amazing – actually there are no adjectives or superlatives to
justifiably describe God. Watch the last verse.
This know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers
of their own SUV’s .. oops, sorry.
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 [homosexuals
and lesbians], 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 [shell] of GODLINESS, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. -- II
Timothy 3: 1-5 [emphasis added]
Let’s face it. When
America’s so-called top fashion model surrounds herself with homosexuals and
lesbians and defends their manner of life [devil spirit possession] as being
perfectly normal, SOMETHING IS WRONG. When this spokesperson for Satan himself
speaks, she is admired and even worshipped by most of the American public,
isn’t she? She is an idol just like a wooden statue only transformed into an
angel of light. How do such evil, deceptive people reach such heights of
worldly success? To understand this, you should refer to the teaching "The Unforgivable Sin". One more
time, God tells you that this can happen and is happening.
And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. -- II
Corinthians 11: 14
Be careful. You will
never be able to separate truth from error without an accurate knowledge of
God’s perfect Word. Take a stand for the true God by developing a special
relationship with God, your Father and He will crush Satan quickly before your
very eyes.
And the God of peace shall
bruise [crush] Satan under your feet shortly [quickly]. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. – Romans 16: 20
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