Growing by Addition
Godliness
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
I want to thank Jordan for his message on Perseverance last week. It’s important that we remember that we are called to “endure” in this lifetime because God is stronger than anything we will face.
Jordan also made an important point that I want to repeat, because it becomes especially true in regards to our next subject of growth, Godliness. The simple fact that perseverance is not just enduring tough times, but it’s also the persistence in doing what is Good and God’s Will. We must never give up!
In this series, we’ve taken the approach of stages or levels of growth as a means of examining each one closer on a weekly basis. But spiritual growth does not necessarily work in stages like this. It is all areas working and strengthening one another; adding to your faith in increasing measure together!
Well today’s focus is truly a life transformer. Godliness, if truly sought out and applied, will turn you upside down. It will change
- the way you perceive things
- your purpose and motivation
- how you take action
- where you go
It is truly the complete removal of self, and setting apart your life for God.
I know what you’re thinking, “Godliness sounds like it could be Goodness.” Let me tell you, it’s not. This is not a typo that has been printed twice. It was a deliberate writing of two different areas of spiritual growth.
Goodness
In man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.
(Easton Bible Dictionary)
Now look at the contrast:
GODLINESS
An attitude and style of life that acknowledges God’s claims on human life and seeks to live in accordance with God’s will.
(Holman Bible Dictionary)
So in Goodness we have the choosing of what is right in our life, whereas in Godliness we have the complete dedication of our lives to God.
1. Process of Sanctification
Here’s a nice big Christian “buzzword”, Sanctification. But this word has a very powerful meaning that comes from a necessary action. Let’s go back to it’s roots for a moment:
In the Old Testament, the root word is kadash (ka-dash) which means “to cut or separate.”
- Holy Priests
Exodus 28:41 (NLT)
Clothe your brother, Aaron, and his sons with these garments, and then anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they can serve as my priests.
- Holy Altar
Exodus 30:10 (NLT)
“Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s most holy altar.”
-The Holy Land
Leviticus 27:21 (NLT)
When the field is released in the Year of Jubilee, it will be holy, a field specially set apart for the Lord. It will become the property of the priests.
The words “sanctify,” “saint,” “hallow,” and “holy’ all come from the same Greek root hagizo or hagiazo (ha-geed-zo).
In the New Testament sense, the word means “to place in a relation to God answering to His holiness.”
2 Timothy 2:21 (NLT)
If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
In either case, sanctification has to do with separation, and this separation is because of something else. The sanctified person or thing has been chosen first and then separated.
Justification (Our Salvation) puts us into a right relationship with God; sanctification exhibits the fruit of that relationship - that is, a life separated from a sinful world and dedicated unto God.
Today when we say we want to add to our faith Godliness, we are saying we want to cut off completely from our sin nature and dedicate ours lives wholly to God. (Life Changing!)
2. Required: Divine Intervention
*Special thanks to Scott Kircher for the inspiration of the next two main points!
If we want to add to our faith Godliness, we’re going to need help from God.
2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
“We cannot live godly lives apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We cannot attain it on our own.?
You will never be able to be good enough.?
You will never be able to live a morally upright life.?
You will never be able to experience the full life that comes with godliness apart from Divine intervention.”
- Scott Kircher
When we accepted Christ as our savior, we acknowledged Him as Lord. In the process of Sanctification, we are acknowledging our utter dependence upon our Lord.
This is where the process can come off track. We forget that we needed a savior to set us free, and we go about trying to sanctify ourselves on our own power! We can’t do it. So how do we grow in Godliness?
3. Required: Your Investment
Like anything worth pursuing, there’s going to have to be some investment on your part, but this is a daily and continual process.
A. Ask God to RENEW YOUR MIND Daily
Ephesians 4:22-23 (NLT)
throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Because of our Old Sin Nature, we are not automatically good. The mind controls the body, therefore we must make a move daily to offer our minds up for transformation.
Understand the process of transformation is not necessarily a quick or easy one: Remodeling a Home Analogy – it’s going to take daily work and time!
2 Corinthians 4: 16 (NASB)
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
B. Practice the Disciplines of Growth
1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
When I think of discipline, I think of something that takes time and energy—a regiment that must be practiced over and over. But remember, it takes more than your power, because we will fail in our own power! It’s time to plug into another power source.
- A Daily Time of Devotion
Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
- A weekly tithe to God
2 Corinthians 8:12-13 (NLT)
If you are really eager to give, it isn’t important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don’t have. 13Of course, I don’t mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little. I only mean that there should be some equality.
What are you giving back to God? All you have is from him, now give unto him what he has given you!
- A regular commitment to the Fellowship
Ephesians 2:19 (NLT)
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
C. Trust God in the Circumstances of Life
Hebrews 5:8 (NLT)
Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
You see the key to growth is understanding that each “setback” is really an opportunity for growth! God is using all of these things to be glorified in our lives, to foster further sanctification!
D. Let Your Actions do the Talking
Matthew 5:15-16 (NLT)
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
This is critical. Remember, true Godliness means being separated and designated for God. So this means standing out. But it has to come from our actions.
Listen, the world is tired of Christians! It’s true, the only we see Christians in the mainstream media, we are judgmental, compassionless, self-centered or hypocritical!
What if we were to just let our actions do the talking?
What if we just concerned ourselves with showing love the way Jesus loved?
What if our actions were all motivated from the grace we have received?
People are watching you all the time, and our world is looking for something genuine. They’re done hearing Christians talk about Godliness, they need to see it—otherwise, why would they ever think they need it?
It’s time to be a light in our actions, show real Godliness.
-Prayer
Go Further! - Personal Study Questions
1. Take an honest inventory of your life. Would those outside the body of Christ be able to tell that you are “set apart for God”? Why or why not?
2. What does living a life of Godliness really mean to you? What attributes are we called to pursue (see 1 Timothy 6:11), and how will you go about doing this?
