Train in Godliness

Introduction

Christians are people in training. This is a good time of the year to talk about training. People are making new goals for the year. Many of us are thinking about our physically healthier. Getting sober is a first step as you work on your physical health. Some of us have accomplished running, and others are going to be working on some new physical goals. But for the Christian, there is something even more important that we should be training. The Bible says that we should train in godliness, because it is beneficial for life, both now and forever.

When I think of physical training, I think of the movie Rocky. This movie was cool to me when I was a kid. I remember the soundtrack going, and the training scenes. The music started, and there is Rocky running and doing all of these one-handed pushups. Then he is in this meat factory, and I don’t know why Rocky was in their punching meat, but it looked cool. Then he runs up the stairs, and pumps his fists in the air.

What we see in this training montage with Rocky is motivation and determination to get stronger to be able to endure in the fight. Is there a way that I can do that in my walk with God? Should I look at my walk with God that way? Should I look at myself as someone in training, someone daily working out, in training for godliness?

In 1 Timothy 4:7-8, the Bible says this:

1 Timothy 4:7–8 CSB

7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. 8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

There are a couple of things that we see in these verses.

We should train in godliness to get in spiritual shape.

It is important that train up to get in good spiritual shape. Tell your neighbor, “You need to get in shape.”

Paul is writing this letter to his young protege Timothy. Timothy was a young pastor, who was half Jewish and half Greek (Acts 16:1). The apostle Paul tells Timothy to “train yourself in godliness.”

1 Timothy 4:7 CSB

7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.

The word for “train” is the Greek word γυμνάζω, from where we get the English word “gymnasium.” The Greeks were famous for their gymnasiums that they would place in different cities. They pushed physical exercise, and were famous for their athletics. The Greeks started the Olympic games. Timothy would have been well acquainted with the idea of physical exercise in a Greek culture.

Training includes the idea of discipline. Now, we sometimes think of discipline in a negative way. We think of discipline as “punishment” for something we have done wrong, like someone is going to discipline us to make sure we do it right! But this idea of discipline is to discipline oneself in order to develop your behavior by instruction and practice.

The word that Paul uses is a present active verb. So here is the picture that Paul is painting for the Christian life. Our life should be in a constant state of training. As Christians, we are constantly disciplining our behavior by instruction and practice.

What are we training or disciplining ourselves in? Paul says to “train yourself in godliness.” Now godliness is a bit difficult to define, because godliness can mean different things to people based on your idea of who God is. So in order to be someone who is godly, you need to be someone who knows who God is.

Paul says in Titus 1:1 that we need a “knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.” Therefore, a good definition of godliness is “a God-honouring manner of life, issuing from a true knowledge of God and his grace in Jesus Christ” (D.G.P., “Godliness,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 423.)

Now here is an interesting thing. We often think of the Christian life of this big list of don’t dos. We think to ourselves, “Christianity is this big list of things that I should not do, which will in essence, if I don’t do these certain things, I will have a better life. Basically, if I don’t do anything that is fun, I’ll be golden! All the things that are fun in the world, those are the things that I shouldn’t do, and if I don’t do those things, then I will be a good Christian!”

However, Christianity is more than a list of don’t do these particular things. Certainly there are things that aren’t healthy for us, that we should stay away from. But there are things we need to do in our life so we can “train ourselves in godliness.”

Think of working out and getting physically fit. I’m not going to get stronger without doing something. I build muscle by going in to the gym and lifting weights, or doing push ups, or doing squats, or whatever it is that is going to get me strong. And I’m not going to get fit if I go in to the gym once a year and lift weights. It needs to be a constant thing in my life. I need to consistently, 3,4,5 times a week, go in the gym and lift weights if I want to be someone who is physically strong.

Well, this is the same way spiritually. If I’m going to be spiritually strong, I need to be someone who is able to train myself in godliness. I need to spend time in the spiritual gym every morning, and maybe every evening. I need to spend time praying, focusing on God, meditating on Scripture, reading Scripture, studying Scripture, memorizing Scripture, getting to know God’s word in my heart, writing down and reflecting on what God is doing in my life, telling others about God, being around people who are going to support and build me up in Christ.

We should train in godliness to get in spiritual shape. But there is a good reason why we should train ourselves in godliness. Paul makes point.

We should train in godliness because it is the most beneficial use of our time.

In the self-help world, habits is something that is becoming more popular, because people are realizing the importance of habits. There is something that these habit experts call keystone habits. Keystone habits are essential habits you need in your life which create a domino effect, touching every area of your life. Every habit expert you will find will call exercise a fundamental keystone habit.

For instance, according to the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, exercise is correlated with better mood, less stress, more confidence, and better sleep.

We all need to exercise, but more important than exercise is godliness. Listen to how Paul says it in 1 Timothy 4:8.

1 Timothy 4:8 CSB

8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

He speaks of the training of the body as having limited benefit. Now, I just mentioned to you that exercise has benefits for better mood, less stress, more confidence and better sleep. Exercise benefits your body for right now.

But you have to understand what the Bible says about who you are.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 CSB

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 3:6 CSB

6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

James 2:26 CSB

26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

The Bible speaks of a person of at least being two things, if not three. Some say soul, spirit, and body, but we have at least a spirit and a body. There is a spirit man inside of this physical body. The Bible calls this body our tent (2 Peter 1:13; 2 Cor. 5:1). Our body is the tent in which lives our spiritual person.

So more important than physical exercise is the training of our spiritual person. This is because training in godliness holds a promise for the now and the not yet.

We should train in godliness for our present life.

1 Timothy 4:8 CSB

8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Training in godliness holds promises for the now. The Bible is full of promises for the now.

John 14:27 CSB

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Training in godliness holds the promise from God that you will grow in the fruits of the Spirit, grow in love, peace, patience, kindness and the rest.

There is a huge hunger in the world for what godliness brings. Do you know that the self-improvement industry is estimated to grow to 13.2 billion dollars a year by 2022? People are buying self-improvement books, audiobooks, courses, coaches, and whatever else they can get their hands on to improve.

The Bible says that it is only training in godliness that is going to lead you to that improvement that you are looking for. Trusting in God daily through prayer, Bible reading, meditating on Him, talking to and hearing from God; you need godliness in your life.

Godliness is beneficial not just for the now. Look at what else.

We should train in godliness for our future life.

1 Timothy 4:8 CSB

8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Godliness “holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” There is a real sense in which what we do with our life today has an effect in what happens with our life in the future.

Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 5:6-10.

2 Corinthians 5:6–10 CSB

6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Here Paul talks about this separation of our spiritual man from our physical man. He says “we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Listen to what happens when we are away from this body on earth. “We must all appear before the judgment set of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

Jesus says it this way.

Matthew 6:19–21 CSB

19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Here then is the focus of the Christian life. If I want to live a strong, growing Christian life, I need to “train in godliness,” which will have benefits for the now and the not yet. Now, I experience the fruits of the Spirit. In the not yet, I am storing up for myself treasures in heaven, because in godliness, I show that my treasure truly is with Christ.

Suppose I were to offer you two things. You could do something that would give you a million dollars, but that million dollars would only last you for one year. After that, it’s gone. However, there was thing other thing you could do, and that would give you a million dollars every year for the rest of your life. Which one would you choose? Obviously, you would want the benefit that would last as long as you live!

Training in godliness is the most beneficial thing you can do for your life, because it is beneficial for now and forever.

Application

How do we train in godliness? Here are four things to get you started.

Prayer: spend time with God. If you are in a relationship, you spend time with that person. Spend time with God. Be quiet, and wait on Him. Turn off all of the distractions, and pray, speaking to God.

Reading God’s Word: If I spend time with someone, I want to understand that person, want to know who that person is. We learn about God through His word.

Meditate on God through His word: Think deeply on who Jesus is. Memorize scripture, remember it, and think on it. Keep God’s word on your mind.

Tell others about God: Tell people about what God has done in your life. As you tell people your story and how God has changed you, it reminds you of who He is in your life.

Conclusion

If we want to get in spiritual shape, we need to train in godliness. So many people become Christians and think, “Few! There it is. I did it. Going to heaven now. All done.” Faith in Christ is just the starting point for a rich life that God has for you. That begins with faith in Christ, and continues with training in godliness. Spending time in prayer, in His word, meditating on Him, and speaking to others about what God has done in your life.

Godliness begins by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are people in training. God has a rich life for you, both now and forever. Train in godliness, because it has benefits for now, and benefits for your life to come.