How to live a godly life

My mother explained contentment to me in an odd way. She often said, “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” As a teen, that usually annoyed me, but finally I got it. She trusted the sovereignty of God to the point that she could accept whatever came her way as from His hand — and He knew what was best for her.

Biblical truth often comes the same way — in an odd package. Paul writes to Timothy so he “may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) At this, one might expect him to go on with a list of behaviors, but he does not. He explains godliness like this:

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

This morning, I got it. Godliness is not about what I do; it is about what I believe — because what I believe governs what I do!

Jesus is God in human flesh, demonstrated to be so by the Holy Spirit, observed by angels, declared as such throughout the nations, believed throughout the world, and lifted to heaven. Believing that changed my life. Instead of serving my own needs and desires, I put my trust in this marvel of a man who is God. Because He is who He is, does miracles, rose from the dead and now rules everything, I think differently. That new way of thinking affects everything that I do.

Paul adds what the Holy Spirit revealed to him: in the later days, many will depart from believing this statement about Jesus Christ. They will follow the teaching of demons and liars even in ordinary things like what to eat and whether to get married or not. He told Timothy to have nothing to do with “silly myths” but train himself for godliness. In this context that means to be firm in the faith because believing the truth produces godly behavior! He says:

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10)

We do what we do because we believe what we believe. This works for Christians but also followers of false teaching. If my hope is in Christ, I will proclaim Him. If my hope is in my church, or myself, my proclamations will reveal that. Paul told Timothy to immerse himself “in these teachings” that he might be “an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” The truths of Scripture are what make my talking, behavior, love, faith and purity what God wants it to be — godly.

Is godliness really a mystery? It seems common sense to say that what a person believes governs their actions. If this principle was given the place it deserves, perhaps our world would be more apt to connect the dots between how people behave and the reality that “In later times some will depart from the faith” by believing lies and abandoning the most amazing truth of all — that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, lived a sinless life, was crucified and put in a tomb, rose from the dead, was seen by hundreds, ascended into heaven and now is seated on the throne in glory.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, this is so significant that I’m convinced the mystery of evil in our world can only be explained the same way — far too many people have traded the truth about godliness for a lie, even to the point that few people are even interested in being godly, never mind becoming godly by putting their faith in You.

Today’s thankful list . . .

Fellowship with a couple of dear friends.

Sunny days and cool nights.

The fun of a cat that brings her owner dead mice as a gift.

Email so quilting buddies can exchange photos of their projects.

Tea and cookies.

Fresh apples.

God planned before time began

Endless space is a challenge to my imagination. So is eternity. The best I can come up with for eternity is that time no longer exists and all events are in the ‘now’ rather than past, present, or future. But that too is a challenge because we are bound in time.

God is eternal. His Word speaks of Him knowing the future as if it is the present. He does His work with the knowledge of its need and outcome before He even begins.

For instance, Jesus speaks of “the King” who will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)

Other New Testament passages say that God has chosen us in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4) and that God’s “works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3)

This boggles my mind. We humans make our plans, but not with the same knowledge and certainty as God. Even Jesus “was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times” for our sake (1 Peter 1:20)

As for salvation, God also sees the end before the beginning. He declares that “the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” (Revelation 17:8)

To me that is marvel enough, yet this verse gets even more personal:

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Before I was born, before my sinful nature manifested itself in sinful self-rule, God sent Jesus to die for those sins, to die for me. He knew. He created a plan to cover it all.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17–21)

This is the good news, the greatest marvel of all. God is not just out there doing His thing — He lives in my heart, governs and cares for my life, AND gives me a task of great and grave importance in His kingdom: I live on earth to represent Christ, to act as an ambassador on His behalf and a messenger of good news. His plan was formed in ages past, in eternity.

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time (1 Timothy 2:3–6) . . . . For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)

This good news is for everyone. It applies even to those who reject it, yet for those who believe, it becomes our incredible hope. God’s grace has appeared bringing salvation for all people. Those who are saved are trained by grace “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14)

^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus Christ, the scope of what You have done overwhelms me. Day by day You remind me of what You purposed to do before the world began and how You have carried out that plan. Despite the choice of allowing sin into Your created world, and despite our selfish resistance to You, You devised a way to rescue us with new life, faith, and the privilege of being born again into Your kingdom, into Your family. You made me Your child and Your servant, even Your ambassador. What a wonder You are!

More Amazing Grace

Oh, Lord, You tell me that I am to be perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect. And even though everyone who belongs to You longs for perfection, I know this will not be mine this side of heaven. That is why Your promises are so precious. 

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

No matter how good I try to be, the only goodness that counts is that which You bestow by grace. Any actions of obedience are empowered by You. All desires for obedience come from Your Spirit who lives in me. This means that the wonderful righteousness You promise as a crown and a reward is also given by grace. I will not have earned or deserved it — for apart from Christ, I have no righteousness.

Pope Celestine had it right when he said, “So great is God’s goodness to men that He wills that their works should be merits, though they are merely His own gifts.”

2 Timothy 4:8 also says that this reward is for all who have loved Your appearing. My Greek dictionary says “appearing” refers to a manifestation of You in three ways.

The first was Your advent. We celebrate Christmas at a time of year that may not coincide with the exact time You appeared to us in human form. Nevertheless, that advent is precious to all who believe. How sad for those who shun Christmas yet claim to believe in You, and how sad for those who have turned this holy celebration into a love of all things worldly.

Another “appearance” is Your presence and power seen in the Salvation You offer. How wonderful that day when I literally saw the light of Your glory as You revealed that Jesus is God. At the same moment, I knew that I was a sinner in need of forgiveness and eternal life. Your Advent is special, yet that appearance is even more precious.

The third sense of “having loved Your appearance” hasn’t happened yet. The love and longing for this event is in my heart, but Your return from heaven to earth is reserved for an unknown time in the future. Any pause to think about it fills my heart with strong desire to see Your face.

I’m struck too by the context of this verse. It speaks of loving Your appearance, then verse 10 tells of a man who loved something else. “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. . . .” (2 Timothy 4:10)

This is sad, and yet how easily it happens. This present world offers immediate and visible rewards, and some of them are available for very little effort. Righteousness is harder to come by for it means abandoning self-effort and relying solely and without reservation on Your grace and mercy.

To complicate the difficulty of going for the crown of righteousness, one theologian says that this reward will be based more on our motives than our accomplishments. Whatever I do, it must be for You and not for me. “Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?” (Proverbs 24:12).

Selfishly motivated good deeds may appear to greatly help other people. You might even use them for Your glory, but they merit no reward for the doer. You want righteousness from the heart, and this means it cannot happen unless Jesus lives there.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6), again giving me assurance that what You have given me, You have also put a desire in my heart for more of it. In the end, on that Day the fullness of this righteousness will be my reward for seeking it . . .  a reward that I would not have, nor even want, if it were not for Your amazing grace.