Godliness

As believers, we are called to live godly lives. But what is godliness? Godliness is a respect for God that makes you want to live for his pleasure. It's also known as the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord isn't just about fearing the wrath of God. It is about loving him.

The Bible is clear, God's people live in ways that please him. How do we do that? There are numerous places we could look for an answer. Here are a few Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 4:17-32, Colossians 3:1-17, James 4:1-10, 1 Peter 2:1-12, and 1 John 1:5-10.

In 1 John 1:5-10, we see one truth by which we measure every claim. John says, "God is light; in him there is no darkness." Most likely, John is stressing the perfect holiness of God. God alone exists in moral purity. John uses this as a backdrop to test the claims of belief.

Claim one says, "I know Jesus," but in reality the person lives like the devil. First John 1:6 states, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." A profession of faith that lacks obedience is not genuine faith.

Claim two says, "I know Jesus," and the persons life shows it. First John 1:7 states, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." Walking in the light, means that a persons lifestyle is one of obedient faith. Faithful obedience has fruit: fellowship and forgiveness.

Claim three says, "I have no sin." John states, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We should not confuse forgiveness with sinlessness. We are completely justified before God, through Christ, but we still sin.

Claim four says, "I have sin, please forgive me." John states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). This view understands that while we strive toward righteousness, we never fully attain it in this life. It is Christ's sacrifice that makes us pure in God's eyes.

Claim five says, "I have never sinned." John warns, "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (1 John 1:10). Jesus took the penalty for all of our sin, but that doesn't mean it never happened. The sin we have committed, although forgiven through Christ, is still real.

If we aren't careful, we will confuse our standards with God's standards. God demands perfection. The only way to get it is by trusting in Jesus. We are called to trust Christ, and to live to please him. Godliness has great value in this life, and in the one to come. As the author of Hebrews said, "Without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

Lessons from Spilled Milk

It has been said, "There is no use crying over spilled milk."  The general thrust of this proverb is that life is too short to live with regret.  The message is meant to prompt us to make quick work of the clean up, and to quickly return to our task.  Almost every day there is "spilled milk" in our lives.  Whether it is something spoken that should not have been or something left undone, it is difficult to make it through a day without some sort of mistake.

Actually, it is humanly impossible to make it through a day without committing some error.  We sin daily.  There are sins we commit in willful rebellion, and sins we commit in ignorance.  We sin when we do what we should not do (sins of commission), and we sin when we don't do what we should do (sins of omission).  Paul states it succinctly, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).  We also make many mistakes that are not sin.  While it may be a sin to hit someone over the head with a frying pan, it is not a sin to drop a frying pan in the floor (unless you have just hit someone over the head with it, then it might be a sin).

We often assume that if we could remove the sin element from our lives, we would also remove the mistakes along with them.  However, removing sin would not necessarily remove mistakes (of a non-sinful nature).  Furthermore, it isn't helpful to image a world without sin, because that is not the world we live in and it will not be the world we live in until Christ's return.  Sin is an ever-present reality with which we must contend.

The temptation is to remove the human element, or at least to remove ourselves from as much human contact as possible.  For this reason, some in the early church went out into the desert and lived as hermits.  Others have entered monasteries or convents in the pursuit of holiness.  These pursuits end with a fractured holiness, because they can never produce wholeness.  We were created to be social creatures, who grow best as we interact with each other.

The spilled milk of life gives us the opportunity to be tried and tested.  It shows us what we are made of and where we still need to grow.  Sometimes the milk is spilled by others, but we still have to clean it up.  Other times, we spill the milk, but we spill so much we need help to clean it up.  If we approach each spill as an opportunity to grow, to learn, to become holier, and more like Christ, then we find spilled milk is really something that we should sing over.

Pursue Righteousness

"Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with all those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Tim 2:21-22).

In these verses, Paul is calling Timothy to actively participate in the sanctification process, rather than just being a passive recipient. However, many people approach the process of sanctification as if it is an option--as if it is the road traveled by the super saints or the "really" religious. Yet, that is not at all the picture we see in Scripture. It is God's will that we all be sanctified (1 Thes.4:3-8; John 17:17).

Some approach sanctification as if it is solely a work of God. It is true that sanctification is primarily of work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer, but it is a work that is accompanied by means. The Holy Spirit does not just make us holy; he causes us to work toward holiness. Even as Paul tells Timothy in this passage, "If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable," and "flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace . . . ." The expression "cleanses himself," "flee," and "pursue" all express means by which Timothy (and others) will be brought into sanctification.

Paul is not suggesting in this passage that Timothy has some natural ability to do these things. Paul wasn't asking Timothy to do the impossible, but he was asking to do what was required. If Timothy wanted holiness he would have to work for it, but not without the Spirit's enabling him to do it. As Paul reminds us elsewhere, "Work out you own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12b-13).

Do you mourn your lack of holiness? Do you desire a deeper walk with the Lord? It is probably the Spirit of God urging you to "pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace." Are you ready to answer the call? Heed the warning: "As it is said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.' For who were those who heard and rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses . . .whose bodies fell in the wilderness? . . . So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:15-19).

Initially, we are cleansed from our unrighteousness through trust in Christ's person and work. We have perfect righteousness with the Father, because Christ's righteousness has been imputed to us. However, we do not always live in perfect righteousness. Our righteous standing is never endangered by our sinful actions (because of Christ's atoning work), but our fellowship is hindered. Joyful fellowship is restored when we continual confession of our sin and trust in Christ (see 1 John 1:9). We must also flee youthful lusts (see Gal. 5:16-21) and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, as we seek to walk in obedience to the leading of the Spirit. We learn to discern his leadership as we read, study, understand, and apply the Word of God to our hearts and lives.

Sanctification is meant for every believer, and every true believer will experience it. If we have no desire for holiness, then we have no desire for God. For he is holy, and requires us to be holy, as well. By holy, I do not mean, holier-than-thou. We must not wear our righteousness as a badge of honor, but must bear it as a gift. If we see flames of holiness kindled in the ashes of our hearts, we can be confident that it is God at work in us. And everyone who truly desires to be holy, will openly acknowledge how far they feel they are from it. True holiness and humility go hand in hand, but that is a post for another day.