To Your Perseverance Godliness

Godliness
From a lesson by Alan Hitchen
2 Peter 1:5-7
"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love"

In Your Perseverance, Godliness

Drawing near to God is one of the most rewarding and exciting things that we can do in this life. Everything that man strives for so zealously and tirelessly is all found when we draw near to God. Happiness, freedom, excellence, perfection, excitement, risk, danger, success, prosperity, life, wisdom, joy, peace, love, happiness, and contentment are all found when we draw near to our Creator and God. The depth of our relationship is based upon our desire to draw near to Him.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double‑minded. James 4:8

The closer we draw to God in prayer, Bible Reading, worship and Bible classes (our love for the truth), and in allowing Him to speak to us everywhere (unfeigned faith and trust), and the closer we draw to His moral and spiritual likeness (clean conscience), the closer He can draw to us. We must pant for Him, long for Him, and feel empty without Him. For so we are!

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Ps 42:1-2

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Ps 103:1-5

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. Ps 63:1-4

Peter speaks of some of the most effective and powerful of tools for accomplishing these things in his second letter. He begins by showing how close God has already drawn to us. Just a tiny stop now from each one of us. He gave His Divine Power and His precious and exceeding great promises. This Divine power is bound up in His grace, mercy, compassion, wisdom, purity, righteousness, and holiness.

All we have to do now to draw near is hear (Rom 10:17) believe (Heb 11:6; Jn 8:24;) Repent (Acts 17:30-31), Confess (Rom 10:9-10) and be baptized (Mk 16:15-16; Gal 3:27; II Cor 5:17; Rom 6:3-4). We then begin our journey, hand in hand with God as our Father, Jesus as our Saviour, and the Holy Spirit as our comforter and guide.

Peter then sums up how we draw near to God with the rest of our life. We must work hard and diligently to add the seven things he lists. This morning we will turn our attention to godliness.

It's first use in the Bible will help us understand what a powerful thing it is. After the lame man was healed, Peter comments on the reaction of those who saw it. He warned them that it was not any power in them.

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk? Acts 3:12

The Spirit knew the people would assume that either these men had power in their own right, or that there was something about them that would give them such special privileges in the eyes of God. What’s important is, it was understood that godliness had a special place in God’s eyes Its next use is to describe the first Gentile convert God selected to be converted.

Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. Acts 10:1-2

It is defined as:

"EUSEBEIA... from EU, well, and SEBOIMAI, to be devout, denotes the piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him... " (Vine, W. E. Dictionary. Vol 2 p. 162).

"EUSEBEIA... reverence, respect; in the Bible everywhere piety towards God, godliness..."(Thayer, p. 262; 2150)

"EUSEBEO... to be EUSEBES (pious), to act piously or reverently(towards God, one's country, magistrates, relations, and all to who dutiful regard or reverence is due); ..." (Thayer, Joseph Henry; op. cit., p. 262; 2151)

"EUSEBES... pious dutiful (towards God[A. V. devout, godly]..." (Thayer, Joseph Henry; op. cit., p. 262; 2152)

"EUSEBES... denotes pious, devout, godly, indicating reverence manifested in actions..." Vine

Godliness is thinking about God and about his reaction to things before we do them. It ties is somewhat with Paul's admonition in Eph 4:30 and the words of Gen 6:6; God can be grieved over our conduct. He can also be well-pleased and proud as He was with Jesus (Mt 3:17; 17:5;), Job (Job 1:8), or Daniel (Dan 9:23).

Becoming aware of the affect that our thoughts, words and conduct has on God paves the way for godliness and piety. A devotion to God which is concerned about His feelings about our conduct is the very heart of godliness. When we care and are concerned about God's feelings, then we are going to act with reverence and devotion to all God asks of us.

Paul gives some broad instructions on this theme.

But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 1 Tim 4:7-8

Thus we are to exercise vigorously to become godly. This concept may not be clear in our minds until we consider how this is done in any sport. How does a young man become a better ball player? He gets a good coach and then practices. We have some great coaches in the Scriptures. The exercises for godliness are the ones listed in the introduction and are the means by which we draw near to God.

The value of these exercises cannot be underestimated. I Tim 6:5-6.

They are the purpose the grace of God has been brought to man.

Titus 2:11-14. We are motivated to seek it diligently