“WE MUST LIVE GODLY LIVES” 1 Timothy 4:6-10
FBCF – 6/20/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Shift from corporate emphasis to individual emphasis this morning in “How to Do Church.”
EXPLANATION – 1 Timothy 4:6-10
Continuing “How to Do Church” series. Quote from Judah Smith:
“The Church isn’t a building. It isn’t a religion or an organization. It isn’t a place to find spiritually themed entertainment or free childcare on a Sunday morning.
It is a FAMILY.
God is building a home for hurting humanity where everyone is welcome. He is creating a community where everyone is loved, where everyone loves, & where we serve each other & weep w/ each other & laugh w/ each other & do life w/ each other.
Jesus tears down the walls that we use to keep each other at a distance. The Church is a safe place where we can be ourselves, even in our faulty states. We can come together & find healing, love, forgiveness, & reconciliation.” (How’s Your Soul, Pastor?, p. 61)
Paul wrote this letter to Timothy to help him build that kind of church there in Ephesus.
- A church that had a solid pastor
- A church that had sound doctrine
- A church that had strong leaders
- A church that was seriously committed to discipleship
In the midst of all his church-specific instructions to Timothy, Paul also gave Timothy some encouragement for his own personal, spiritual life.
- Back to that Paul/Timothy relationship
- Can’t minister out of emptiness
o Car not going anywhere on empty tank
o Not going fishing in that boat if tank is empty
o Lawnmower not going to get the job done if tank s empty
o Same is true for us.
- Another pastor called me Wed just to check on me. Asked about the church, the SBC, but most importantly, my personal spiritual life & my relationship w/ Vicki. Reason: I’m totally dependent upon the Lord & must be totally committed to walking & living in godliness.
1 Timothy 4:7 – Key point that Paul was making about Timothy’s spiritual life.
- “…steer clear of all these stupid, godless fictions. Take time & trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.” (Phillips)
- “…Exercise daily in God. No spiritual flabbiness, please!” (MSG)
Remember that all those “stupid, godless fictions” were just distractions that Satan was trying to use against Timothy & the church through the false teachers who were trying to infiltrate the church.
Don’t get distracted from the main priority of your Christian life: To live a godly life.
APPLICATION - Living a life of godliness should be the goal of every Christ-follower.
GODLINESS TAKES TIME – “train yourself”
Training for anything worthwhile takes time.
- Athletes, musicians, firefighters, military
- Marathon training – can’t just go out & run 26.2 miles
- Lusia Harris – DSU women’s basketball
3 tenses of salvation:
- I have been saved – Justification
- I am being saved – Sanctification
- I will be completely saved – Glorification
We are in the sanctification stage – Lifetime process
GODLINESS TAKES TENACITY
Ever heard someone say, “Just let go & let God”? May look good in your social media feed, but that’s NOT how the Christian life works. That’s not how we live godly lives.
v. 10 – “we toil & strive” – Not negative words. But words that let us know that our hard work is worth it. Not working FOR our salvation – working BECAUSE of our salvation.
Tenacity doesn’t mean we are going to live a perfect life & get it right every time. Doesn’t mean we are never going to struggle, never going to sin, never going to fall down.
But it DOES mean that when we do struggle, when we do give in to temptation & sin, when we do fall down, we are going to get right back up, confess our sins to God, turn away from them, & get back into the race. We are going to keep going & going & going. We’re going to get stronger. We are going get better. We are going to grow in humility. We are going to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit more readily. We are not going to settle in & just say, “Oh well, that’s just the way I am.” We are going to keep practicing, keep growing, keep learning, keep running the race until we cross the finish line.
Jerry Bridges: “It is practice, where the skill is developed, that makes the athlete competitive in his sport. And it the practice of godliness that enables us to become godly Christians. There is no shortcut to Olympic-level skill, & there is no shortcut to godliness. It is the day in & the day out faithfulness to the means which God has appointed & which the Holy Spirit uses that will enable us to grow in godliness. We must practice godliness, just as the athlete practices his particular sport.” (The Practice of Godliness, p. 36)
One thing we can count on: Tenacity is something we can definitely expect from Satan as he works against us. So tenacity is something we need to have to stand against him.
GODLINESS TAKES TRUST
In all of this, we must remember that we are completely dependent upon God to enable us to continue to grow in our walk w/ Him. The Christian life is a life of faith & trust in the Lord.
- We trust Him to save us
- We trust Him to fill us w/ His Spirit
- We trust that His Word is completely true & His instructions to us
- We trust that He will carry us through every hard time that we encounter
- We trust Him to give us the wisdom we need, the strength we need, the power we need
God is going to do His part. He will never fail us in any way. We can trust Him completely. And He expects us to always do our part in living in obedience to Him.
- Judah Smith – “Just keep walking. Allow your soul to be directed & guided by God, & He will work in you & on you for the rest of your life.” (How’s Your Soul, Pastor?, p. 67)
