Somebody Loves You

FRIDAY April 11, 2025

The Discipline of a Godly Life

But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 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 Timothy 4:7-8

Paul went from giving an exhortation about the diligent disciplines in studying God’s Word to the active disciplines of living a godly life. As a young minister, Timothy was to completely reject everything to do with false doctrine and fables––fiction or myths. This related to gnostic error and meaningless Jewish genealogies. Careful and continuous study of God’s Word would guard Timothy’s heart and mind. It would give him great discernment. If he remained grounded in God’s Word, he would not be easily dissuaded by false doctrine. Timothy would be a good guardian and minister of the Gospel and the Church––the believers.

The study of healthy doctrine is profitable, it results in Christian godliness. The Word of God sanctifies the believer––it sets him apart. Jesus taught this same concept: “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Second Peter 1:5-9 also shows the progression toward godliness in the life of a believer:

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. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

To help us understand the productivity and benefits of exercising toward godliness, Paul gave a comparison of how people exercise to keep fit, but how that only profits a little. Godliness has eternal benefits––it has the promise of life now and eternal life to come. Physical fitness is good, but the most important is spiritual fitness.

Endurance is a key indicator of spiritual fitness.
~Alistair Begg~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!