We have been focusing on Paul’s encouragement to Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7, ESV). We began by looking at the purpose of the believer’s training: growth in godliness. We train, we work hard, we discipline ourselves, to be godly. Our ultimate goal is expressed in Paul’s words in Romans 8:29, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Did you catch that, “conformed to the image of his Son?” Our goal is to be like Christ, or, to put it another way, godliness. Over the next few posts, we will examine how we do this. If we are to train ourselves for godliness, then we mus

We read in 1 Timothy 4:7, “Rather train yourself for godliness.” Paul, writing to the young pastor Timothy, offers helpful advice throughout this letter. This particular encouragement comes at the heels of a warning against “irreverent, silly myths.” We could say much about this, but for now let’s simply view it as useless issues.[1] Compared to that, Paul encourages Timothy to train himself for godliness. The word train is a fascinating word which has connection to physical training. But Paul uses the analogy of physical training for spiritual purposes, namely, godliness. We need to ask ourselves two questions. First, what is godliness? When we answer this question, we are afforded with ins

Disciplines for a Godly Life One of my God-ordained goals is to see you (a fellow church member) grow into Christlikeness.[1] The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith summarizes the biblical teaching on the role of the pastor like this, “The work of pastors being constantly to attend the service of Christ, in his churches, in the ministry of the word and prayer, with watching for their souls, as they that must give an account to Him; it is incumbent on the churches to whom they minister, not only to give them all due respect, but also to communicate to them of all their good things according to their ability, so as they may have a comfortable supply, without being themselves entangled i

Test the Spirits (Part 7) We began examining the two temporal aspects of the antichrist last week. We observed the that that the antichrist is already in the world. He is referred to as the serpent, and we examined him particularly in the Garden of Eden. John writes, “This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming…” (4:3). That is, there is currently an antichrist in the world (not only Satan, but also the many antichrists who work to disprove the deity of Christ), but there is an antichrist who is coming as well. Now, there is much discussion and disagreement when it comes to the End Times. This post is not seeking to present a case for either. Instead, it is a reminder of

We have learned much from the aged apostle. Our world is fraught with false prophets, seeking to undermine the Word of God and His Messiah. Our last post provided the how of testing. In that post we learned that, for at least one type of test, the views of the prophet/teacher must align with the biblical truths concerning Jesus Christ. If they do not, then, as John tells us, they are “not from God” (1 John 4:3, ESV). Now we come to a shift, or at least an adjusted focus. Cameras are incredible machines. They can focus on one blade of grass amidst an entire field. John has been focusing on one single blade: testing the spirits. Now he shifts his focus from the individual blade of grass to the