The Practice of Godliness

1. Godliness: Devotion to God and Godlike Character.

Godliness is more than Christian character; it is Christian character that springs from a devotion to God.

Defining godliness. Godliness is the essence of the Christian life, encompassing both an inner attitude toward God and the outward behavior that results from it. It's not just about looking good or acting morally; it's about being centered on God. The Bible emphasizes godliness as a core pursuit for every believer, holding value for both this life and the next.

Two key aspects. Godliness has two complementary parts: devotion to God (God-centeredness) and Godlike character (Godlikeness). Devotion is the foundation—a personal attitude of fear, love, and desire for God. Godlike character is the structure built upon this foundation, displaying virtues that reflect God's nature.

More than morality. Many people, even non-Christians, can exhibit good moral character. What distinguishes godly character is that it flows from a deep devotion to God. Without this God-centered foundation, attempts at Christian character can become cold morality, legalism, or spiritual pride.

2. Devotion to God: Built on Fear, Love, and Desire for Him.

Devotion is not an activity; it is an attitude toward God.

The core attitude. Devotion to God is the fundamental attitude that fuels godliness. It's not merely an emotional feeling or a specific practice like a "quiet time," though these are important expressions. This attitude is composed of three essential elements:

• The fear of God (reverence, awe, veneration)
• The love of God (apprehension of His grace in Christ)
• The desire for God (longing for His presence and fellowship)

Balanced foundation. The fear of God and the love of God form the base of this devotion. A proper fear of God, recognizing His majesty and holiness, prevents casualness. A deep apprehension of God's love in Christ, especially His atoning sacrifice for us, prevents viewing Him as distant or austere. These two elements must grow together for balanced devotion.

Highest expression. The desire for God is the apex of devotion—a thirst and longing for God Himself, His presence, and His beauty (attributes). This desire is planted by God and grows as we contemplate His awesome glory and redeeming love. It leads to a desire to glorify and please Him, radiating warmth and never being satisfied with our current experience of Him.

3. Training for Godliness: Requires Commitment, the Spirit, and Practice.

Train yourself to be godly.

Personal responsibility. Paul's exhortation to Timothy emphasizes that godliness is not automatic; it requires deliberate effort and personal responsibility. We are to actively "train ourselves," not passively wait for God to "pour" godliness into us, although divine enablement is essential. This training is for our personal spiritual life, not just ministry proficiency.

Irreducible minimums. Like athletic training, training for godliness has core requirements:

• Commitment: A willingness to pay the price of rigorous, daily spiritual training. It's never cheap or easy, requiring persevering, painstaking effort.
• Skilled Teacher: The Holy Spirit is our coach, teaching and training us through His Word, holding us to God's standard.
• Practice: Day-in and day-out faithfulness to the means God has appointed. There are no shortcuts; godliness is developed through consistent practice.

Daily choices matter. Every day, we are training ourselves in one direction or another by our thoughts, words, and actions. We are either growing toward godly character or ungodly character. This progressive growth requires conscious effort and discipline, accepting our responsibility while depending entirely on God's power.

4. The Word of God: Essential for Godly Growth and Communion.

It is impossible to practice godliness without a constant, consistent, and balanced intake of the Word of God in our lives.

God's primary means. The Word of God is crucial for training in godliness. It is the truth that leads to godliness, renewing our minds and establishing convictions. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us.

Methods of intake. The Bible suggests various ways to take in God's Word, vital for developing devotion and character:

• Hearing: Listening to God's Word taught by gifted teachers, receiving it eagerly with intent to obey (like the Bereans).
• Reading: Gaining an overall perspective of the Bible and enjoying personal communion with God as He speaks.
• Studying: Digging deeper into passages or topics, requiring diligence and mental intensity to analyze, compare, and apply.
• Memorizing: Storing God's Word in our hearts for future need, especially against temptation, and as a basis for meditation.
• Meditating: Talking to ourselves about the Scriptures, turning them over in our minds to engage our understanding, affections, and wills, storing the Word in our hearts.

Foundation for practice. Consistent intake of the Word is foundational. It informs our understanding of God's character (for fear and love), fuels our desire for Him, reveals His will for our conduct, and provides the basis for the Holy Spirit's transformative work.

5. Godly Character: Motivated by God, Enabled by Christ.

Devotion to God is the only acceptable motive for actions that are pleasing to God.

The right motive. Actions, even seemingly good ones, are only acceptable to God if they stem from a God-centered motivation. This means acting out of a desire to please God, glorify Him, or because He is worthy of our obedience, not for self-centered reasons like maintaining reputation or feeling good about ourselves. Joseph's refusal of Potiphar's wife ("sin against God") is an example.

Source of power. The ability to live a godly life comes solely from the risen Christ. We are like electric motors needing constant connection to an outside current. Our power source is Christ, accessed through our relationship with Him. This relationship is maintained by:

• Abiding in Him (drawing all from Christ, setting aside self-reliance).
• Living in Him (rooted, built up, strengthened in faith).
• Beholding His glory in His Word (being transformed into His image).
• Depending on Him in prayer.

Responsibility and dependence. A crucial principle is the balance between our total responsibility to pursue godliness ("work out your salvation") and our total dependence on God's power ("it is God who works in you"). We are called to active pursuit, but the spiritual power comes from God working in us to will and to act. Grace strengthens our existing faculties; it doesn't replace our effort.

6. Developing Character: Put Off Sin, Put On Virtue.

We are to put off the traits of the old self and put on the traits of the new.

Dual process. Developing godly character involves a continuous process of "putting off" the sinful traits of our old self and "putting on" the virtues of the new self, which is created to be like God. This is seen in Paul's specific instructions regarding falsehood/truthfulness, stealing/generosity, unwholesome talk/building others up, and bitterness/kindness/forgiveness.

Balanced growth. Godly character is balanced, displaying the full spectrum of graces (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, etc.). We tend to favor traits that align with our natural temperament, but the fruit of the Spirit requires growth in all areas, even the difficult ones. This requires extra prayer and attention.

Progressive and necessary. Growth in godliness is progressive and never finished in this life. Even mature believers like Paul were still "pressing on." This growth is necessary for spiritual survival; if we're not growing toward godliness, we're regressing toward ungodliness. Our daily choices train us in one direction or the other.

7. Humility: The Foundation for All Other Graces.

Humility opens the way to all other godly character traits.

Esteemed by God. God highly values humility, promising to dwell with, esteem, give grace to, and exalt the humble. While not technically a "Godlike" trait in His majesty, it is profoundly Christlike, as Jesus humbled Himself to death. Humility is the soil in which other godly traits grow.

Manifestations of humility:

• Before God: Begins with a high view of God's majesty and holiness, leading to being brought low in His presence. It's a consciousness of our creaturely place before an infinite God.
• Before God's Word: Trembling at His Word, accepting it as the expression of His will for conduct and doctrine, even when it challenges our understanding or pride.
• About Ourselves: Realizing and gratefully acknowledging that all we are, have, and accomplish comes from God's grace (salvation, abilities, attainments). Avoiding comparing ourselves favorably with others.

Toward others. Humility expresses itself in relationships with others through:

• Mutual Submission: Being teachable, accepting instruction and correction from other believers (like Apollos and Peter).
• Service: Following Christ's example of serving others, even in mundane tasks, depending on God's strength so He gets the glory.
• Honor: Honoring others above ourselves, considering them better than ourselves, placing their interests first.

8. Contentment: Finding Sufficiency in God's Provision and Providence.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Sufficiency in God. Contentment means experiencing the sufficiency of God's provision for our needs and His grace for our circumstances. It's believing God will meet our material needs and work all circumstances for our good. Discontent questions God's goodness and is a serious, even satanic, sin.

Areas of contentment:

• Possessions: Being content with what we have, avoiding covetousness (a sin God detests). Practical steps include renewing the mind with Scripture, focusing on true values (eternal life, God's Word, wisdom), viewing work as service to God, acknowledging all comes from grace, avoiding envy, and sharing with others.
• Position: Being content with our place in society and the body of Christ. This comes from accepting that our position is by God's sovereign grace, not chance or human favor. Every part is indispensable, and God has prepared good works for us in our place.
• Providence: Being content with the circumstances of life, even frustrating or difficult ones. This is possible by accepting that all circumstances come through God's will and believing His grace is sufficient for any situation (Paul's secret).

Grace is the key. Contentment ultimately rests on God's grace: His unmerited favor (we deserve hell, anything else is grace) and His divine assistance (His enablement to respond godly). We must accept that we live by His favor and can respond to any situation by His enablement.

9. Thankfulness: Honoring God and Cultivating a Grateful Heart.

To fail to be thankful to God is a most grievous sin.

Acknowledging God's goodness. Thankfulness is recognizing that all we are and have comes from God's goodness and faithfulness. Failing to give thanks is a grievous sin, as seen in Romans 1's account of mankind's downfall. God desires and is aware when we thank Him, even angels give Him thanks.

Purposes of thanksgiving:

• Honors God: Acknowledges His goodness and mighty acts.
• Promotes Humility: Counteracts the tendency to take credit for ourselves.
• Stimulates Faith: Remembering past mercies encourages trust for present needs.
• Promotes Contentment: Focuses on blessings received, counteracting yearning for what we lack.

Cultivating thankfulness. While a work of the Spirit, thankfulness requires personal effort:

• Living in fellowship with Christ (thankfulness is an overflow of this union).
• Cultivating the habit of giving thanks always and for everything (Ephesians 5:20).
• Expanding mealtime prayers, starting/ending the day with thanks.
• Keeping a list of answered prayers and significant blessings to review regularly.
• Including thanksgiving in intercessory prayer (Paul's example).

10. Joy: A God-Given Strength Grounded in Christ.

The fact is, only Christians have a reason to be joyful, but it is also a fact that every Christian should be joyful.

Privilege and duty. True Christian joy is the enjoyment of God, a fruit of the Spirit, and a hallmark of the godly. It is both a privilege (Christ came that we might have life to the full of joy) and a duty (we are commanded to rejoice always). It's not dependent on temperament but is intended for every believer.

Stumbling blocks to joy:

• Sin: Breaks communion with God, the source of joy. Must be confessed and forsaken.
• Misplaced Confidence: Relying on anything other than Christ and His grace (good works, religious attainment, ministry success). True joy is grounded in our names being written in heaven.
• Chastening/Discipline: Painful at the time, but remembering its purpose (getting rid of sin) and God's love helps maintain perspective.
• Trials of Faith: Intended to develop perseverance and fix hope on future glory. Can be severe, but God's faithfulness endures.

Stepping-stones to joy:

• Confess and forsake sin: Leads to freedom from guilt and restoration of fellowship.
• Trust in God: Believing His promises and character, even when circumstances are unclear (Romans 8:28).
• Take the long-range view: Grounding joy in the hope of eternal inheritance and ultimate glorification with Christ.
• Give thanks in all circumstances: Being thankful that God is working for our good, for past deliverances, and for His sufficient grace.

11. Holiness & Self-Control: Disciplining Against Sinful Desires.

Self-control is the believer’s wall of defense against the sinful desires that wage war against his soul.

Holiness: Without sin. God is absolutely holy ("God is light"), and we are commanded to be holy as He is holy. Holiness is the pursuit of being without sin in every area of life (honesty, peaceableness, purity). It's not an option but a must, despite living in a wicked society.

Pursuing holiness: Requires five elements:

• Conviction: Renewing the mind with God's Word to understand His standards and develop Bible-based convictions.
• Commitment: A determined purpose to live by God's Word, obeying all commands, even making specific commitments against areas of temptation.
• Discipline: Making daily choices to say "no" to temptation and "yes" to positive steps (feeding on Scripture, praying, avoiding temptation).
• Dependence: Total reliance on the Holy Spirit to transform us inwardly, renewing our values and desires.
• Desire: A God-centered motivation for holiness, desiring it for His sake and glory, not just
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Last updated: June 7, 2025