Tag: religion

What is Godliness?

food-sunset-love-field
by Spencer Harmon

It’s a prerequisite for Christian leadership. It’s championed in Christian literature. It’s absence is a red light in romantic relationships.   It’s heralded in thousands of churches every Sunday.  It motivates accountability groups, is commended by Christians around the world, and is summarized in one word:

Godliness.   

But godliness is dangerous.  Not because you may be persecuted if you pursue it – although you may.  Not because Satan will oppose you at every turn of your striving towards it – although he will.  Not because your sinful flesh will roar in resistance as you reach for it – although it will.  No, godliness is dangerous for a much more subtle reason.  

Godliness is dangerous because we use the word so much.  And where words are used often, assumption follows closely behind.  As we continually use this word without defining it from God’s Word, vague definitions take root.  As a result, people who should be pricked are comforted, people who should be freed are burdened, and at worst a culture of shallow holiness implants itself in our Christian communities.  

When something is precious and being threatened, you guard it from multiple sides.  The same is true with godliness.  We not only need to know what godliness is, but also what it isn’t.  

WHAT GODLINESS ISN’T

Godliness is not gifting.  God gives his church gifts, but we should not equate them with godliness.  The Corinthians excelled in spiritual gifts, but at the same time were rebuked for heinous sin (1 Corinthians 5; 11:17-22).  Preaching, teaching, counseling, music, writing, leadership, persuasiveness, hospitality – all of these things can be included in godliness, but are not godliness in and of themselves.

Godliness is not personality.  Godliness is not politeness, an easy going attitude, or diplomacy. Jesus was not perceived as polite by the money-changers when he turned over their tables and called them robbers.  He wasn’t perceived as diplomatic when he called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs.  He wasn’t perceived as easy-going when he rebuked his disciples.  Paul rebukes Peter for not eating with Gentiles.  James rebukes the rich.  All of these men were godly, and one of these men was God himself.  

Godliness is not knowledge.  A robust knowledge of theology, a nuanced understanding of the human heart, and sharp apologetical skills does not make us godly.  Knowing things makes us accountable for them.  The Pharisees were men of astute knowledge, but Jesus tells them they are blind to spiritual reality (John 9:40).    

Godliness is not a leadership position.  The greatest cause of trembling for me as a young pastor is that I would begin equating godliness with my position rather than my character.  Just because we lead a discussion group or Sunday school does not make us the godliest person in the room.  Being a pastor does not automatically mean you become the holiest person in the church.  No, the Bible assumes this principle: the higher the leadership, the deeper the character (1 Timothy 3:1-7).  And the higher you get without deeper character the more likely you are to fall.  

Obvious gifting, a dynamic personality, rigorous knowledge, and lofty leadership are wonderful.  They should be affirmed in the local church lifted up as worthy of pursuit.  But these qualities are not what the Bible defines as godliness.  Knowing this for myself is challenging and clarifying as I aspire towards greater Christ-likeness in daily life.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GODLINESS

Godliness believes the truth.  The fountainhead of godliness is knowing and believing the truth.  Trees need seeds, houses need foundations, cars need gasoline, and godliness stands on truth.  The man who follows a false map walks in the wrong direction.  False teaching in the New Testament warrants swift rebuke because it leads people to sin and death.  The apostle Paul calls the gospel itself the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16).  The apostle Peter says godliness comes through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3).  This is why every saint is called to speak the truth in love to one another. (Ephesians 4:15)

Godliness is dignified.  In 1 Timothy 2-3, dignity is a marker of the Christian community from the laity to the leadership.  We should pray for leaders so we can live dignified lives (2:2), pastors should lead their families with all dignity (3:4), and deacons are to be dignified (3:8, 11).

Dignity is the outward reputation of a godly heart.  Dignity doesn’t flow from trying to look dignified, but it’s the result of a heart that loves Christ and others.  The Bible calls this living worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27) or conducting yourself with fear (1 Peter 1:17).  It’s a life that appreciates that gravity of their salvation in Christ, and lives a life dripping with that gravitas.  

Godliness is marked by good works.  The person who spends all their time in a prayer closet but never loves their next door neighbor isn’t a godly person in the Bible.  Godliness is not just private piety, but public goodness.  Godliness is a light that is meant to be seen (Matthew 5:16).  Good works signify a godly person, and the nature of good works are to not remain hidden (1 Timothy 5:25).

Godliness is a fight and race.  Godly people are marked by fighting and fleeing, racing and pushing, practice and persistence.  Paul tells young Timothy to train himself for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).  Training involves intentionality and vigilance that monitors the areas of life that propel you towards or away from your goal.  This means that godliness doesn’t come automatically to us, we must intentionally grow in it, practice it, and discipline ourselves for it.  

GODLINESS HAPPENS TO US

Two parallel truths meet when we talk about godliness.  The first truth is obvious from everything written above: godliness can’t be assumed. It must be understood, pursued, and intentionally fought for.  Godliness doesn’t just happen to us.  Yet, there is a second truth that undergirds the first truth: godliness does happen to us.  

The human heart does not thirst for godliness out of the formation of new habits, but from the transformation brought about by the new birth.  God’s Spirit transforms the human heart by cleansing it from sin and giving it a new nature that desires to grow in godliness (John 3:1-8).  The human soul becomes tender as the seed of the gospel breaks through cement-soil hearts.  May we grow in this grace that he might reap a fruitful harvest.  

Spencer Harmon is the Senior Pastor at Vine Street Baptist Church and the co-author of Letters to a Romantic: On Dating and Letters to a Romantic: On Engagement (P&R, 2017).

Why I am a Capitalist

by Sean Perron

so·cial·ism
noun

  1. A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole
  2. (in Marxist theory) A transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of communism

cap·i·tal·ism
noun

  1. An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state

There are perhaps well meaning people who want Socialism to work today. Sharing and caring; it could be fun. But the fun begins to end when a few elite people call the shots and take your toys. When the “community as a whole” turns into the few with power, things begin to go sour. Or when the “productive” neighbors become the many who mooch, smiles begin to droop.
Can I get an amen from the citizens of Jamestown?

As Christians, we cannot be ostriches with our heads in the sand, but instead must have our heads in the Bible. So the question cannot be avoided. Do the Scriptures teach socialism or another form of government?

You might hear the questions rumble: Capitalism can’t survive without selfishness. It thrives off the greedy, conniving, and fat cat American dream mentality. How can I choose a system that is profit driven over a system that is based on looking out for others? The book of Acts talked about how believers shared everything in common and their leaders regulated it. They gave away all their possessions and lived life in community with each other making sure no one lacked anything. Don’t we want to be like the early Christians?

And so the socialist spins his web full of sticky spirituality and well-placed verses.
They paint with broad strokes, but their watery colors run.

I will grant to any and everyone that selfishness is always lurking at the door, but selfishness is not the hinge on which capitalism turns. Rather, freedom is the hinge and hard work is the knob. Sure it is possible that selfish ambition may drive a person’s capitalistic car, but at least they had the freedom to put that low-grade fuel in it.

Those who blow the selfish horn usually have a lot more in their lungs. Which is more selfish? To force others to do what you want or to allow people the option to buy what you have?

Take note that neither socialism nor capitalism will solve the problem of selfishness. The only form of government that can break the power of sin is the kingdom of Christ.

As Dane Hays has said,

The bottom line is, we want capitalism because it gives the Church the liberty to take dominion over the earth and take every thought captive that is set over against the gospel.  The question we ask shouldn’t be “What government system will answer the problems of the world?”  The question is, “We have the answer. Now what system asks the question?”  Only capitalism asks the question, because socialism thinks it already has the answer.

 

The early church had no part in a socialistic society. The early believers freely gave their possessions to others. They were not required by a government to share but they were compelled by God to hold all things in common. The hermeneutic that uses Scripture to support Socialism is the same hermeneutic that supported the Crusades. One coerces to convert using the sword. The other forces to share by socialism. But we all know that you can’t really make people serve God by force.

As Schmidt has pointed out, the commandments “You shall not steal” and “You shall not covet” both assume that the individual has the right and freedom to acquire, retain, and sell his property at his discretion.

So the bell has rung and Socialism 101 is being offered at the same time as Scripture 101. You can’t reserve a seat in both sections.

Therefore, let us be happy, generous capitalists who share the good news of Jesus Christ. Capitalists who have the freedom to love God by giving and allowing others to do the same.