Have you ever tried swimming against the current? For those of us who tried, I believe we found it so difficult and we even felt like drowning. I think that’s the same drowning feeling when we talk about living a godly life in an ungodly world. Either we feel like giving in or giving up. Yet, the truth remains that God called us to live a godly life.
This morning, we continue“Our Pursuit for Our Growth” series. We are going through 2 Peter 1:5-7. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”[1] Today, we will look into adding godliness to steadfastness.Godly living may be difficult but we can still dare to be different. To do what is right to make us distinct is doable. Let us pray first…
My son Jessey pointed out to me the other day that this series on spiritual growth is becoming the longest series I have ever preached here in Makati Gospel Church. This is the 13th message so far on the series based on 2 Peter 1:3-11. As I think about it, I saw that the apostle Peter spent his last few days teaching on spiritual growth. He pointed out, “Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it. This is the post to which I’ve been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and I’m sticking to it as long as I live. I know that I’m to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me. And so I am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after I die, you’ll have it for ready reference.”[2] Now, God willing, I am not dying anytime soon. But, as Peter wrote, the stakes are so high and we all need to have all these down firmly in black and white.
So, far we saw in verses 3-4 the power for our pursuit for spiritual growth, in verses 8-11 the purpose for our pursuit and now in verses 5-7 we are going through the pursuit itself where we see the seven spiritual qualities that we need to develop in ourselves. The first four qualities, that is virtue, knowledge, self-control and perseverance, “pertain to one’s inner life and his relationship to God”[3] while brotherly affection and love “relate to others”[4] or our relationship with people. It is fitting that godliness is the transition between the qualities that has to do with our relationship with God and with our relationship with ourselves. It is because this quality “described the man who was right in his relationship with God and with his fellowman… He seeks to do the will of God and, as he does, he seeks the welfare of others.”[5] For this message, I studied the four instances where the word “godliness” appeared in 2 Peter[6] and drew three insights from those verses.
What does it mean that we are to be godly? In the Greek, to be godly means to be god-like or to be like God in character. If you’re name is“Eusebia” or “Eusebio,” that was actually taken from the Greek word for “godliness.” When this word was translated into Latin, we got the word“pious” or “piety.” Godliness “consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills.”[7]
I have to admit that at first when I heard the word “godly” or “pious” or “holy,” I think of glow-in-the-dark Christians or those who don’t speak or act normal, those whose eyes are always dreamy and who speak so softly. But that is so far from the real thing.
I like what Chuck Colson wrote: “When we think of holiness, great saints of the past spring to mind—or contemporary giants of the faith. But holiness is not the private preserve of an elite corps of martyrs, mystics, and Nobel prize winners. Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian.”[8] Read the last sentence again: “Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian.” Godliness is actually very practical.
Usually when we hear “holiness” we immediately think of “sexual purity.” But godliness really covers all aspects of life, not just the sexual areas. It is seeking to please God in all things. “[It] is a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of life.”[9] Simply put, to be godly is to DO what is right. According to the Bible Exposition Commentary, “The godly person makes the kinds of decisions that are right and noble. He does not take an easy path simply to avoid either pain or trial. He does what is right because it is right and because it is the will of God.”[10] It involves both our attitudes and our actions, both our desires and our decisions.
So for example, to be godly in the midst of traffic, we are to be both patient while stuck in traffic and obedient to the traffic rules. To be godly in business, we are to pay the right taxes and we are to give the right wages to our employees even if it means a reduction in our profit. We are to treat our employees well and not run our business like a sweatshop. It is to be content with what we have and still be competitive as we seek to grow our business. To be a godly employee, we are to make the most of our working hours by giving it our best shot. We are to treat our co-workers well. We are not to speak against our bosses behind their backs. We are not to post our complaints about our supervisors and co-employees on Facebook or gossip about them. We are not to harbor ill-feelings against them. To be a godly child, we are to obey our parents and we are to enjoy obeying them or at least respect them even if there are times we could not understand them. To be a godly parent, we are to commit to impose Biblical standards in our homes and in our marriages and we are to stick to those standards even if the world says otherwise. To be a godly spouse, husbands are to love their wives and wives are to submit to their husbands. Thus, to be godly is to do what is right in all areas of life. But we have to do so not just because we must do it but because we want to do it. My friend Bob Deffinbaugh wrote, “Godliness refers to practical religion, or, perhaps we should say, practiced religion. Godliness is the religion we practice in our day-to-day walk.”[11]
Now, I know that to most of us, godliness is a great idea. But, like swimming against the current, we feel that sinking feeling once again. We feel like drowning because we think it is difficult to be godly. Yes, it is really difficult to be godly. But, to be godly is actually DOABLE. 2 Peter 1:3 assures us, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence”. In short, God already gave us everything we need to live a godly life when we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The Contemporary English Version goes like this, “We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.” God gave us the power to do it. So, we just have to pursue godliness. The great British preacher G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation. Holiness is not inability to sin, but ability not to sin.”[12]Before we became believers, we had no choice but to sin. Now that we are believers, we have the choice not to sin. By God’s grace, we could live a godly life. The challenge now is if we would live a godly life.
Someone wrote, “Godliness requires Divine Intervention. Godliness requires Human Investment.” To be godly is doable. But you don’t have to do it all alone. It is a major investment of time and effort to join a small group. It is a labor of love to be involved in a Circle of Care. It is work. But it is worth it. We need each other in our pursuit for godliness. We don’t float towards godliness. We fight for godliness. We don’t drift towards a godly life. We decide to live godly.
So, to be godly is to do what is right. To be godly is doable. Lastly, to be godly is to beDISTINCT. In 2 Peter 3:11 and 14 we read,“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness… Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” In his first and second letters, the apostle Peter talked about the last days and how God will punish the ungodly and reward the godly. That’s why he commanded us, “Always let others see you behaving properly, even though they may still accuse you of doing wrong. Then on the day of judgment, they will honor God by telling the good things they saw you do… Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it. But they will have to answer to God, who judges the living and the dead.”[13]
During these times when an ungodly life is deemed acceptable, when they claim everybody is doing it, we dare to live differently. We swim against the currents of the world. “[Godliness] is that quality of character that makes a person distinctive. He lives above the petty things of life, the passions and pressures that control the lives of others.”[14] We dare to live a godly life.
Brothers and sisters, keep in mind that to do what is right to make us distinct is doable. Let us pray
[1]All Bible verses are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]Eugene H. Peterson, “The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.” Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. 2 Pe 1:12-15
[3]John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas “The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures.” Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:866
[4]Ibid.
[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, “The Bible Exposition Commentary.” Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. 2 Pe 1:5
[6]2 Peter 1:3, 6-7, 3:11.
[7]John Brown, nineteenth-century Scottish theologian, quoted in J. Bridges, “The Pursuit of Holiness.”
[8]As quoted in the “Personal Holiness in Times of Temptation” seminar by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. This seminar greatly influenced my view of holiness.
[9]Michael Green, 2 Peter and Jude (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), revised edition, p. 79.
[10]Wiersbe.
[11]“The Pursuit of Christian Character.” http://bible.org/seriespage/pursuit-christian-character-2-peter-15-7
[12]Wilkinson.
[13]1 Peter 2:12, 4:4-5, Contemporary English Version.
[14]Wiersbe.
