The Practice of Godliness

I recently began reading Jerry Bridge's book, The Practice of Godliness. Since the start I have not only been very encouraged but also very convicted by the biblical Truth of godliness and what it means to live a life marked by that. The next few blogs I write are going to encompass the idea in hopes that you too will be motivated to PRACTICE Godliness in your own lives as you follow Him.

What do you want to be known for? Do you want to be known as a Christian? Maybe someone who served a lot? Someone who had a lot of biblical knowledge? A pastor? A worship leader? A sunday school teacher? Or do you want to be known like Enoch as someone who walked with God? Do you want to have the label of godliness?

We must first realize as Christians that our concept of who God is and our relationship with Him directly affects our conduct...how we live. That devotion, as Bridges puts it, "consists of three essential elements: the fear of God, the love of God, and the desire for God". When somebody, even a Christian, hears the words fear of God they are quick to misinterpret the meaning. In the Bible we find this word used two different ways: that of anxious dread and that of veneration, reverence and awe. The fear coupled with anxious dread is the realization of God's impending judgment on sin. This fear should characterize every unsaved person who lives as an object of God's wrath. The Christian however has been delivered from this wrath (1 John 4:18, but the Christian has not been delivered from His discipline. Therefore the Christian still lives a life that fears God, he works out his salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). The primary fear for the Christian encompasses the second type of fear however. Like the angelic beings in Isaiah 6 demonstrate as they use their wings to cover their faces in the presence of the exalted Lord. "The reverent Godly Christian sees God first in His transcendent glory, majesty and holiness before he sees Him in His love, mercy and grace. There is a healthy tension that exists in the godly person's heart between reverential awe of God in His glory and the childlike confidence in God as heavenly Father." On a side note in regards to this is our flippant familiarity with the way we address God in prayer. We need to remember that there is an infinite gap between our worth and His and exalt Him to His rightful place. When we address Him we must remember that as Paul said, although He is our "Abba Father" He also dwells in "unapproachable light".

Albert Martin said the essential ingredients of the fear of God are; 1. correct concepts of God's character 2. pervasive sense of the presence of God 3. a constant awareness of our obligation to God. So, "if we have some comprehension of God's infinite holiness and His hatred of sin, coupled with this pervasive sense of God's presence in all of our actions and even our thoughts, then such a fear of God must influence and regulate our conduct. Just as obedience to the Lord is an indication of our love of Him, so is it also a proof of our fear of God (Deut 6:2)."

Only God-fearing Christians can understand true love, and God's ultimate love. "He/She sees the infinite gulf between a holy God and a sinful creature, and the love that bridged that gulf through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ." A truly Godly person will never forget that at one point he or she was an object of the wrath of God. They will never forget that the true love of God can never be separated from Calvary. We must be gripped by the fact that God loved us as an individual. Paul continually grew in the knowledge of God's love and as He did He realized more and more what a sinner he was. "He compares himself with God's standard and consequently sees himself as the worst of sinners. The more he grows in his knowledge of God's perfect will, the more he sees his own sinfulness and the more he comprehends God's love in sending Christ to die for him." This love that he has for us should stimulate us to increase our devotion to him, an active devotion not a feeling. When Paul wrote in Corinthians 5:14-15 saying that Christ's love "compels" us to live goldy he was talking about the verb meaning "to press in on all sides and impel or force a certain course of action". This is the force God's love should have on us!

"True godliness engages our affections and awakens within us a desire to enjoy God's presence and fellowship." David in the Psalms expresses many times his deep desire and longing for God. "As he contemplates God in the awesomeness of His infinite majesty, power and holiness and then as he dwells upon the riches of His mercy and grace poured out at Calvary, his heart is captivated by this One who could love him so. He is satisfied with God alone, but he is never satisfied with his present experience with God. He always yearns for more." God desires that we come to know Him and yearn to know Him more, and this desire will create a strong desire to glorify Him as well...they go hand in hand.

"...train yourself to be Godly." (1 Timothy 4:7). Do you realize that the Bible is calling us to train/discipline ourselves to be Godly? There are principles for this training however that we can learn from:

1. Personal Responsibility- Paul said "train yourself". That means that we are personally responsible for our progress in godliness. Meaning that we are not merely to trust the Lord for that progress and the relax. Paul did know that that strength to train and that growth was only through divine enablement. We are lazy. We would much rather pray for God to make us Godly then to train and fulfill our personal responsibility.

2. The Object of this training was growth- Growth in our personal spiritual life is the goal. No matter who you are or how far along you have come on the Christian walk, you are called to grow in the areas of godliness: fear of the Lord, comprehension of his love, and the desire for the presence and fellowship of God.

3. Minimum Characteristics needed for training

a. Commitment- "No one ever becomes godly without a commitment to pay the prace of the daily spiritual training God has designed for our growth in godliness. (Jeremiah 29:13- "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." There is a price to godliness.

b. A competent teacher- We must continually be exposing ourself to the teaching of the Word of God. "This truth is to be found only in the Bible, but it is not just academic knowledge of Bible facts it is spiritual knowledge taught by the Holy Spirit as He applies the truth of God to our hearts...only the Holy Spirit applies this type of knowledge".

c. Practice- We must practice and practice more...the fear of God, for example if we are to grow in devotion that we need to seek to understand His character and the concepts of it, practicing His presence and remembering our responsibility to Him. "It is practical, down- to earth and even a bit grubby at times as the Holy Spirit works on us, but it is always rewarding as we see the Spirit transforming us more and more into godly people."

d. USE THE WORD OF GOD

1. Hearing- none of us become so spiritually self-sufficient that we don't need to hear the Word taught by others...we need to listen and apply.

2. Reading the Word- We have the chance to learn directly from the Master. We have the opportunity to gain an overall perspective of the entire Bible. "Without a reading program of the entire Bible, we would not only be spiritually ignorant but also spirtually impoverished".

3. Studying the Scripture- Reading gives us the breadth but studying gives us the depth. "Every Christian should be a student of the Bible". Proverbs 2:1-5 gives us some principles of Bible study: Teachability- accept my words, Intent to obey- store up my commands, Mental discipline- apply to your heart, Prayerful Dependence- call out, Diligent perseverance- search for hidden treasure. You always find time for what is important to you. Is studying His Word to become godly important to you?

4. Memorization- Psalm 119:1 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." "Storing up God's word in your heart against a time of future need, a time when we would encounter temptation and we will be kept from that by the Word."

5. Meditation- Memorizing is the first step of meditation, but meditation opens our understanding, engages our affections and addresses our wills.

"You and I are responsible to train ourselves. We are dependent upon God for His divine enablement, but we are responsible, we are not passive in this process."

In Scripture, an unbeliever is identified as "ungodly". "At the time of our salvation God through the Holy Spirit deals with this godless spirit within us. He gives us a new heart and moves us to obey Him. He givees us a singleness of heart and inspires us to fear Him, and He pours out His love into our hearts so that we begin to comprehend His love for us." We need to depend and vitally on the Spirit for this growth in godliness. We need to get serious. We need to pray for this growth, showing our dependence. If we really want godliness and are committed to it, our prayer life is going to reflect that. We need to meditate on who God is, that the Holy Spirit will make His Word come alive in our hearts. We must worship God meaning privately, by ascribing to God the glory, majesty, honor and worthiness due His name. We must daily spend time with Him in prayer and study of His Word.

And there is one more area, the ultimate test, "I can know if I truly fear God by determining if I have a genuine hatred of evil and an earnest desire to obey His commands. The measure of our obedience is a direct measure of our reverence of Him."

And remember "WE ARE SEEKING TO GROW IN OUR DEVOTION TO THE MOST WONDERFUL PERSON IN ALL THE UNIVERSE, THE INFINITELY GLORIOUS AND LOVING GOD. NOTHING CAN COMPARE WITH THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWING HIM IN WHOSE PRESENCE IS FULLNESS OF JOY AND IN WHOSE HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOREVER MORE!"