In my last post I said that I would start studying what it is to be godly because of the call to godliness in 1 Timothy 4. If I am going to train myself to be godly I sort of need to know what that end is. So, I first did a topical search of "godly" and "godliness" to find out where it's located in the Bible only to find a scant number of references. I'll research each one of these thoroughly, use different translations and hit up some commentaries as well to do a deeper research on it. But, I'm also going to do the 21st century thing to and research online and get some quick answers. Additionally I'll do the old fashioned thing of reading some books. Hopefully this three pronged attack will help me to learn what godliness is, how to train for it and how to achieve it.
But, the first little google search came up from https://bible.org/article/what-godliness and I found it to be a good start. I'm going to quote it some and then I'll paraphrase it some. Then I'll try and get some application out of it to.
The article illuminates the importance of godliness, in spite of very few Biblical references that use the exact term. It states that "No higher compliment can be paid to a Christian than to call him a godly person." It states that "it is both the privilege and duty of every Christian to pursue godliness, to train himself to be godly, to study diligently the practice of godliness". Fantastic. This is what I want. I want to be godly - I want to study it diligently. Hence, this exercise. But, the definition of godliness is a difficult one, sort of like a game. Try defining that sometime with any precision.
Godliness, it goes on to state is a foundational spiritual attribute. It is a foundation from which all godly character is built on. These again are of course things that I want, things that I need. To overcome some of my character flaws I need them to be replaced with positive ones. To become a better Christian I need to have a firm foundation. But, still the definition is a bit hazy. It just doesn't seem like a tangible thing that I can reach out for. It's not something I can really build a training regime towards.
But, then the page talks about Enoch and gets a bit more specific. Things become a bit clearer. Godliness is a relationship with God, pleasing God, walking with God. These three things combined equal a devotion to God. Devotion then is the meaning of godliness. But, devotion isn't a mere activity. Rather, devotion is an attitude towards God. "The practice of godliness is an exercise or discipline that focuses upon God." Devotion to God is repurposing one's life to center on God. This is a little more tangible - something that I can shoot for. "Godliness is more than Christian character: it is Christian Character that springs from a devotion to God".
So, what then does devotion look like practically? Devotion is a motivation for Christian behavior that is pleasing to God. Devotion is a relationship with God, pleasing with God and walking with God. It's being like Enoch (so a study on Enoch is obviously forthcoming).
Interestingly, though I found a bit in the page that shows where devotion can go wrong. There are lots of Christians that are devoted to certain aspects of God or of godly living. This can hamper true devotion as it will take one's mind off of God - kind of like missing the forest for the trees. So devotion, if it is to lead to godliness must be a devotion wholly to God, not to an aspect of Him or His ministry. Godliness then can be defined as the devotion to God which results in a life that is pleasing to Him.
Also interesting in this little page was a delineation between a godly person, a moral person and a benevolent person. A moral person does the things that are moral for the sake of morality. A benevolent person does benevolent things for the sake of benevolence. A godly person though, does moral things and benevolent things because they are godly. Godliness is always the end. Morality and benevolence are good things, just not ends to themselves.
So, it is a bit better defined for me, but where do I start? Godliness starts from cultivating a relationship with God. That is tangible enough for me
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