[0:00] Well, last week we read that God created everything to be good. And so we ought to receive everything with thanksgiving and enjoy it.
[0:13] ! And so during the week you might have experienced a transformed life. Your face was shining. Maybe you were able to more consciously enjoy things, to remember to be thankful for things that God has created and has given you, a big smile on your face, like that woman in the picture.
[0:37] Or maybe you grew even more anxious. Maybe you thought, oh, great, I have to remember to work and to feed my kids, do my laundry, get groceries, mind the grandkids to water my garden, and now I have to remember to enjoy things too?
[1:00] And to remember to thank God for them? You're more anxious because in the midst of busyness, the enjoyment of things often becomes not liberation, but another command to remember.
[1:16] like this sign here at a cafe, slow down and enjoy your coffee. Imagine you go to this cafe in a rush because you're late, and you have all these tasks that you have to finish in your head, and you have groceries that you have to remember to get before getting home, and you remember your laundry pile at home is getting higher and higher, and you see the sign telling you to slow down and enjoy your coffee.
[1:50] In your heart, you know that's what you want, but in your head, it just makes you feel sad that somehow you're not doing well in life because you can't slow down and enjoy your coffee.
[2:01] But you're not doing well in life anyway if you forget to do your tasks or forget to feed your kids or forget to do the laundry or forget to water the garden.
[2:15] And so you're feeling pulled towards different directions in life, and the enjoyment of life in thanksgiving towards God just becomes another demand that pulls you apart.
[2:28] That's a bit sad, isn't it? I wonder if you've ever felt that or if you are feeling that at the moment.
[2:40] Well, in our passage today, Paul goes to what's the most important thing for a Christian life. He helps us to prioritize, kind of.
[2:53] And that's what's the most important thing in Christian life? Godliness. Godliness. In verse 6 to 7, if you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, Paul says to Timothy, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
[3:15] Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales. Rather, train yourself to be godly. Timothy. In verse 6, Timothy was charged to point these things out as a good minister of Jesus.
[3:32] What things? Well, in the immediate context, it's the things that Paul said before, that God created everything to be good and that we ought to receive these things with thanksgiving.
[3:44] But that's not all. That's just one part of the fuller Christian doctrine that Timothy was to teach.
[3:55] That's why Paul continued by saying that Timothy was to be a good minister of Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
[4:08] That is the full teaching of the Christian faith, as expounded by Paul and the other apostles. And as he's nourished in the full teaching of the Christian faith, he's able to point out the different parts of the Christian faith to defend against various false teachings and to nurture Christians in the faith.
[4:39] But why is this important? Well, in verse 6 to 7, Paul seems to be discouraging Timothy from godless myths and encouraging him to do two things.
[4:53] Teach the right doctrine and be nourished in it and train to be godly. And I think these two things are connected to each other. I suggest that training to be godly is done, first of all, through being nourished in the right teaching of the gospel.
[5:15] And so Timothy was charged to teach the right doctrine for the sake of godliness. And that's why in the previous chapter, Paul says that true godliness springs from the mystery of the gospel.
[5:31] You want to see what godliness looks like? You want to be godly? Look at Jesus. God in the flesh. The physical embodiment of God himself.
[5:42] Godliness springs from the right understanding of God, expounded in the scripture, shown by Jesus.
[5:54] And this is why the right doctrine is important. And Timothy was charged to teach it. The right knowledge of God leads to true godliness.
[6:06] Because only when we know God rightly can we start to be like him. And therefore, we become godly. A distorted understanding of God leads to fake godliness, like the godliness that the false teachers were trying to promote by forbidding marriage and certain foods.
[6:28] We need to teach and listen to the right Christian doctrine. And that is the apostolic Christian faith.
[6:40] That's why we sometimes we say the apostles' creed before the sermon or after the sermon. So we can assess the sermon based on the apostolic teaching.
[6:54] We need to teach and listen to the right Christian doctrines, not so that our heads are full of the right knowledge, but for the sake of godliness.
[7:07] So that's the first thing. Godliness comes from the right understanding of God. That's why Timothy was charged to teach the right doctrine.
[7:19] Now, second, godliness is not only the right doctrine, but it's the right doctrine expressed in the right living. Here, Paul uses the language of training.
[7:33] Train yourself to be godly. It's practical. And in verse 8 later, he compares godliness with physical training. Later on, we'll see Paul talking about godliness in speech and in conduct.
[7:48] So it is practical. So godliness is not just about having the right knowledge of God, but also about living out that truth about God in our daily lives.
[8:03] When we live out truths about God, we become more and more like God. We become godly. I think one of the traps that I see in some Christian circles is the tendency to prioritize right doctrine, but somehow godliness falls into second priority.
[8:27] And I think that's a bit sad. Yes, we want to know more and more about God, but we also want to live out our knowledge of God by becoming more and more like Him.
[8:47] And we want to live out our knowledge of God through godliness, because godliness is valuable. Paul continues in verse 8 to 10.
[8:57] Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
[9:09] This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
[9:24] Physical training is of some value, if you go to the gym, or if you're into healthy eating, you know this to be true. And if we connect this to what Paul has said previously, from last week, physical training is of some value, because God created everything to be good.
[9:45] Our physical bodies are good, and so physical training is good. And so we could perhaps add other things here as well. God's creation is good, so working is of some value.
[9:59] God's creation is good, so doing laundry for the sake of hygiene is of some value. God's creation is good, so watering the garden is of some value. But there's something more important than all of those things.
[10:13] Godliness has value for all things. Holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
[10:25] So if we work hard for other things in life, we should work harder for godliness. My dad used to be a professional basketball player in Indonesia, and he used to train a lot, especially before an important game.
[10:46] He trained for days and weeks, only for, what, a two-hour game. One time he won a gold medal, and then it was hung at home as a decoration, and we, the kids, played with it.
[11:01] That's it. For all that, he trained so much. Olympic runners train so much, day in and day out, for a 10-second race, and a medal that they hang.
[11:16] Can we put at least the same effort into our godliness, which is valuable not only for a 10-second race, but for all things in this life and the next?
[11:32] Godliness is valuable. Godliness is valuable in this life. When you tell your neighbor that you're a Christian, your godliness can attract them to Christianity.
[11:46] But if you're ungodly, you might repel them from Christianity. Hannah, my wife, recently got a text from her friend asking her for a prayer.
[11:58] And she said, Can you please pray for me? I'm not religious, but can you please pray for me? Why would they ask for a prayer if they're not religious?
[12:10] I believe it's because of Hannah's godliness. People could see it. They're attracted to it. When you parent a child, your godliness can keep you from losing yourself to rage and selfishness.
[12:27] When you serve at a church, your godliness can help grow people in the faith. Or if you're ungodly, it might cause them to abandon the faith.
[12:39] Isn't that what Jesus has warned us? How many people have left Christianity because of the ungodly behavior of Mark Driscoll, for example, which we have heard about from Andrew a few weeks ago?
[12:53] How many people have believed in Jesus, have turned to Christianity because of the godly behavior of Billy Graham? Godliness is valuable for the life to come as well.
[13:08] That's why in verse 10, Paul connects striving for godliness.
[13:19] That's one. Paul connects striving for godliness with hope in the God who saves. God saves. Our hope for salvation and for the life to come is only in him.
[13:31] But God gives godliness as evidence for his work of salvation. And therefore, godliness is closely related to eternal life as well.
[13:46] And I think this is what Paul means by holding promise in verse 8. Holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Godliness gives us hope.
[13:59] It gives us promise for eternal life because it's the evidence that we do have eternal life, that we are saved if we have godliness.
[14:12] Like Puritan preacher Thomas Watson said, your godliness will be your evidence, not your plea or your plea will be Christ, but your evidence for heaven.
[14:26] You know that you are saved and you have eternal life if you grow in godliness. And so it's valuable not only for this life but also for the next. Godliness is utterly valuable.
[14:44] Physical training is important but godliness is far more important. And if we want to go with Paul's previous point again, enjoying food is good, marriage is good, but godliness is far more important.
[15:03] Godliness is valuable. So train yourselves to be godly. But how? How do we train ourselves to be godly?
[15:13] Well, with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course. But if godliness is the right knowledge of God expressed in the right living, then those two things are the means that the Holy Spirit uses to grow us in godliness.
[15:33] Right doctrine and right living. And in the rest of the chapter, Paul goes back and forth between those two things. verse 11.
[15:47] Command and teach these things. Right doctrine. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.
[16:02] Right living. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Right doctrine from the scripture. And then Paul continues about preaching.
[16:15] Do not neglect your gift which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress.
[16:31] Right living. And finally, the combination of the two. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
[16:47] So, Timothy was charged to devote himself to the preaching and teaching of scripture, which Paul called his gift from the Holy Spirit, teaching the right doctrine, and at the same time be a model of godliness in speech and conduct, in love, faith, and purity.
[17:13] Now, this doesn't mean that he was to be perfect as verse 15 points out. He was to show progress, growing in godliness so everyone might see it.
[17:30] But these are the two sides of godliness, right doctrine and right living, or right doctrine expressed in right living.
[17:45] Now, godliness is not only important for Timothy, right, but for every Christian. Like Paul previously said in chapter 2, I urge them that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings, and all those in authority that we, Christians, may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
[18:11] Godliness is not only for Timothy or for church ministers, but for all Christians. And if you agree that godliness is valuable, friends, I ask you to listen to Paul here when he says, be diligent in these matters.
[18:32] Give yourself wholly to them. Godliness is more important than your job, than your hobbies, than your physical training, than your social life.
[18:50] Godliness They're all good things because God has created them to be good. They're all of some value, but godliness is more important because our relationship with God is more important.
[19:10] Prioritize godliness. Prioritize knowing more about God and living out more of Him in our daily lives. Now, going back to our first point, but we're busy.
[19:27] We're busy, Ricky. I can't remember all things. I can't remember to prioritize godliness in our daily lives. I'm busy too. And isn't it sad that we often are too busy to train ourselves to be godly, to spend time reading the Bible or in prayers.
[19:48] I'm sad when I'm too busy to do those things. But in the midst of our busyness, we get three choices when it comes to prioritizing godliness.
[20:00] We can prioritize godliness by doing some things because some things help us to be godly, like going to church, reading the Bible, praying, going to Bible study.
[20:13] yes, those things add to our schedule, they make us more busy, but these things are important for godliness. Or we can be godly while doing other things.
[20:30] These are things that we don't have to do to be godly, but we can be godly while doing them. How can we show godliness when we're socializing, for example?
[20:40] people. I used to know someone who was invited to go to a nightclub to do drugs and alcohol, and they used to say, sorry, I don't do that kind of stuff, can we do something else instead?
[20:54] You guys can come to my house and I can cook for you. Or how do we know, how can we help ourselves to know god better while doing other things?
[21:06] I often vacuum the floor while listening to Christian audiobook or the audio Bible, for example. How can we practice being patient while playing with our kids or grandkids?
[21:22] We can practice godliness while doing things. Or third, we can also practice godliness by giving up things.
[21:36] these are the things that hinder godliness. Of course, there are the sinful and harmful activities like getting drunk, watching porn, gossiping.
[21:50] They obviously hinder godliness. But there are also activities that are okay in themselves, but they can become addictive and take up so much time of our time and energy that we barely have time left for Bible reading or prayer.
[22:11] For me and my family, it's things like social media, Netflix, video games sometimes. And if we have no time for godly things because of these things, let's give them up.
[22:28] Prioritize godliness. I've deleted my social media accounts twice now because of this reason. And I'll happily delete them again in the future if I find them hindering my godliness.
[22:45] What can you do this week to prioritize godliness? I encourage you to think of one thing that you can do.
[22:56] Because godliness is valuable. Let's give ourselves wholly to it. Bluetooth Bluetooth Bluetooth