"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness..."--2 Peter 1:5-6. Here we find the fifth ingredient to a proper faith in Christ, GODLINESS.
Godliness. Godliness must be added to our faith in addition to moral excellence (excellence of character), knowledge, self-control (power over ALL things), and perseverance (staying in place). In addition to all this, we must have godliness.
Godliness. So what is godliness all about? You might be asking how can we sinful creatures be godly? Well the answer is easier than we might think. In fact as Christians, we tend to make Christianity harder than it really needs to be. Have we forgotten that God said in 1 John 5:3 that His commands are not burdensome?
Godliness. Back to my point. Godliness is easy when we add it to all the prior ingredients we have discussed so far. If we achieve moral excellence, gain some knowledge along the way, practice self-control (knowing WHEN to apply knowledge), and persevere (remain true to that godly knowledge), godliness will fall into place.
Godliness. So what does being godly mean? Well the word godliness in this context means to be favorable and it can also mean devoutness. Godliness means we are devoted to God in EVERY way. By the time we add the previous four ingredients godliness should be the result.
Godliness. Godliness does not mean we are any more perfect than the next guy/girl but it means our Christianity is evident to others by this point. We live in a world where sin is running rampant. Many people are striving for something different, something better. Some people are wondering if the sin they see around them is all there is to this crazy world.
Godliness. We as Christians have a chance to show the world that there is indeed something more to life than just the sin, heartbreak, and tragedy that is all around us. The hope of one day escaping this world riddled with sin is found only in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27). If you have not been baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-4), the time do so is now. Don't wait.
Godliness. So, if you have obeyed the gospel, we need to add to this newfound faith the ingredients that result in godliness. Being godly means being different in a world that tells us to "go with the flow." Being godly means going against the current even when the waters are rough.
Godliness. My encouragement to you is this. Find someone in need, especially if they are in your home congregation and find a way to practically serve them and show them there is something different, something better and that is Jesus Christ.
Thanks for reading everyone. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
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