Exercise Your Faith

1 Timothy 4:7-12
Paul’s words to Timothy remind us of the value of focused service and committing our lives to the dreams God has for me.
“There are a lot of distracting things you could give your attention and your mind to. Evidently this was true in the 1st century as well as ours. I do not know what it was that was particularly in Paul’s mind when he wrote to Timothy. Paul mentions earlier in the letter something about foolish myths, etc. These myths were godless only in the sense that they were common. (It is actually the word for common; it was widespread; everybody around believed this superstitious nonsense.) And these myths were silly, because the word really means, “foolish old wives’ tales” — stories that foolish women, riddled with superstition, spread around and everybody believed them. Paul tells Timothy not to give himself to these kinds of things.” (Ray Stedman)
I was speaking briefly with a gentleman who attended our church and he wanted to know why I was not teaching in regards to the DaVinci Code, the Bible Code, the fraud taking place in the credit card industry, and much more. He wanted to know my views on the biblical admonitions to ecology and the chemicals in our drinking water. After my brief conversation with him, I was so grateful that I was not allowing myself to be sidetracked. We need to make sure we aren’t distracted from what really matters. There are so many things competing for our attention. There is plenty of mistruth in our society that we can give our attention to and be distracted by. But just as Paul warned Timothy to stay away from these myths of his day, we need to stay away from the distractions in our own day that would keep us from the Word and from diligently studying the Bible to find what God would have us do. Then we need to rise up with faith – and go do it.
Paul tells Timothy (verse 7) to train himself to be godly. Godliness is not automatic, is it? If you have given your life to God through receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior, you didn’t instantaneously achieve Godliness. Now, God attributes Jesus’ righteousness to you but as you know living out your new place and fitting into your new clothes is another story all together. If you want to lead a Godly life it takes discipline and diligence on your part you need to actively pursue Godliness.
In this passage, Paul mentions the value of physical training/physical fitness and then moves on to contrast that with the value of Godliness - spiritual fitness. Notice he says that godliness has value for all things. It holds promise in this present life and in the life to come. If we pursue godliness we will reap the benefit of that in this life.
Notice that Paul did mention that there is some value in physical fitness. There is nothing wrong with one exercising or trying to be in good physical shape. It is important and will give you greater strength with which to serve the Lord. But of far greater importance and value is your spiritual fitness. You must major on being in good spiritual shape. You need to take time and make the effort to ensure that you are spiritually healthy. You need to be studying your Bible regularly. You can’t expect to grow in Godliness if you’re neglecting the Word of God. You also need to make a habit of prayer and fellowship with other believers. It takes diligence and effort on your part to be godly, just as an athlete has to be disciplined and work hard to achieve physical fitness so too must you be disciplined in your spiritual life.
Maybe you have noticed but the Christian life is not easy. If we want to excel in our lives as Christians, we need to labor and strive to achieve godliness. It requires great effort on our part. Paul goes on to say that “we trust in the living God.” That makes the effort worth it. Our struggle serves a purpose. There are those who are out there working hard for their religion, but sadly they are not serving the God of the Bible. There is no hope in that! There are those who are faithfully following the teachings of a dead leader. But as Christians we have hope and it is found in the living God. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon to George Wilson who had been convicted of robbing the United States Mail and sentenced to be hanged. Wilson obstinately refused to accept the pardon. The matter went to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Marshall. He noted, “A pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.”
Can you imagine not accepting a pardon and dying because of it? We all have the opportunity to receive eternal life. God has offered it to us through the death of His son, Jesus Christ. But we must accept God’s gift to us in order to receive eternal life. Jesus died for all mankind but only those who believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior receive the benefit of eternal life. He is our savior only when we choose to accept Him.
Have you accepted God’s gift? Jesus died on the cross for your sins. He took your penalty and offers eternal life to all who believe. If you haven’t accepted God’s gift then today is the day to do so, you should not wait.
Will Houghton was a man, who lived a Godly example,“[He was] a preacher who became the president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940s, [who’s Godly example] played a large role in the conversion of an agnostic who was contemplating suicide. The skeptic was desperate, but he decided that if he could find a minister who lived his faith he would listen to him. So he hired a private detective to watch Houghton. When the investigator’s report came back, it revealed that this preacher’s life was above reproach; he was for real. The agnostic went to Houghton’s church, accepted Christ, and later sent his daughter to Moody Bible Institute.” Our call and life are to serve as an example to others of who God is. Paul mentions five ways in which Timothy was to set an example for others.
First of all Timothy was to set an example by the words that he spoke. The Bible has a great deal to say about our words. What we say matters. It is important that our speech is in line with the standards of the Word of God. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in love. Does our speech reflect our relationship to Christ?
Second of all Timothy was to be an example was his conduct. The way he lived was to be a reflection of his relationship to Christ.
The story is told of four ministers discussing the pros and cons of various Bible translations and paraphrases. Eventually each stated which version, in his opinion, is the best. The first minister said he used the King James because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures. The second said he preferred the New American Standard Bible because he felt it comes nearer to the original Greek and Hebrew texts. The third minister said his favorite was the paraphrased Living Bible because his congregation was young, and it related to them in a practical way. All three men waited while the fourth minister sat silently. Finally he said, “I guess when it comes to translations and paraphrased editions of the Bible, I like my Dad’s translation best. He put the Word of God into practice every day. It was the most convincing translation I’ve ever seen.”
The third area in which Timothy was to be an example was in love. 1John 3:16: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
The fourth area in which Timothy was also to be an example was in faith. Is your life marked by your faith in God? Or are we guilty of worrying and complaining as those who have no faith? Our lives should be marked by our faith in Christ and our faithfulness to Him. A faith that is strong even in the midst of discouragement, pain or grief.
Finally Timothy was to be an example in purity. This word has to do with moral cleanliness and living with integrity. Immorality surrounds us. We must be Godly examples in the area of purity. Our life and light shine as our actions and attitudes line up with our words and faith.
Okay….as you go about this week, how are we doing? Are we exercising our faith?- Are we diligently working on our lives to achieve godliness?- Are we faithfully reading and studying the Word of God and obeying it?- Are we spending time in prayer regularly?- Are we finding our place of service and living our God’s dream for our lives? - Do the words we say reflect Christ living in us?- How about the way we live our lives?- Is our lives marked by love?- Can others see by our actions that we truly love one another?- How about our faith?- Are we demonstrating our faith in God or do others think we place our faith in our own resources?- Are we living morally clean lives? Are we guarding our hearts against the immorality around us or do we allow ourselves to be entertained by it or to even be a participant in it?
Living the Christian life is not easy in a sinful world. But we have been instructed to train ourselves for godliness.
I pray that each one of us would be striving for godliness in our lives; that we would exercise our faith and serve Jesus with all we have.