The G-Word

The G-Word
Words of Faith 4-27-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Timothy 2
[1] I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— [2] for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Paul called upon Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus in prayer for the leaders of government. His hope was that there might be peace such that all men might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. This would come about through the witness of believers living lives of godliness and holiness.
Paul used the word eusebia, which is translated "godliness" here. He used that word ten times in his writing; every use was in what we call the "Pastoral Epistles"-- the letters to Timothy and Titus. The word "godliness" may seem a little religious, stuffy, or even preachy to the modern ear. Some might say that Paul's urgency toward godliness should be rejected because it smacks of religious legalism and feels overly confining. But if Paul mentioned it so many times, it may be a quality worth considering.
This word, eusebia, describes one who is "pious, reverent or devout." Pious… hmm. The dictionary says pious describes a person "showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations." Not really appealing, but that is the kindest definition of the bunch.
It is a sad reflection of our culture that there is such a disdain for God and His ways that the dictionary lists several negative definitions of "piety." The dictionary says "piety" is "characterized by a hypocritical concern with virtue or religious devotion or a sanctimonious air." Wow. Or how about this? Piety is "practiced or used in the name of real or pretended religious motives, or for some ostensibly good object; falsely earnest or sincere: a pious deception." That is the dictionary.
Why should this surprise us? We live in a secular culture that has lost all sense of reverence toward God and His ways. Popular entertainment consistently pokes fun at "religious characters" and "pious people." The media treats any matter of genuine faith with condescension and contempt. That may be something to be expected, but we also live in a religious "Christian" culture that expresses itself with a fair amount of irreverence. Piety is a bad word in today's popular Christian culture. Reverence? Almost as bad. And godliness? Not very popular these days.
The reason may be that godliness is really something beyond us. When we try to DO godliness, we consistently mess it up. When we try to BE godly, we inevitably look hypocritical. Perhaps that is why Paul wrote to Timothy-- Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory (3:16).
Godliness is never something we can do or an attitude to be put on. The godliness of Jesus is the mystery of the incarnation. He appeared in a body. The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Godliness can only occur as the Word, Jesus, lives within us, and we are increasingly surrendered to Him.
Still, as a surrendered servant, Paul urged that believers train themselves to be godly. Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1 Tim. 4:7-8). We are to be under godly teaching (6:3). Godliness with contentment is great gain (6:5-6). We must pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness (6:11).
So godliness is a place of surrender to the work of God's Spirit that we can pursue. It is a place we can train toward that reflects genuine piety-- a careful reverence for God and an earnest desire to live in His ways. Now, godliness won't win as a theme for a national concert tour or a popular book series, but perhaps that is not so important.

Father God, show me the way of godliness. Teach me the discipline of surrender to Your godliness. Teach the walk of careful reverence. Build into me genuine piety. Make me devout in the ways that honor You and are humble before You. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.