Address—William Hayhoe Jr.
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good evening everyone.
Normally when you stand up and start a meeting, you have the chance to suggest to him this thing, and you can even pick a long one to give a chance for the nerves to settle and the heart rate to slow down. We can't do that tonight, but thankfully we can still pray and ask the Lord's help, so let's do that.
Our God and Father.
We thank you for the time we've had here at the camp and that we have been able to do this despite the current umm, difficulties. And we ask for your help now as we would look into the word of God and trust that what would be said with honor the Lord Jesus and would it help to each one here and that each of us would be able to go home with a renewed desire to.
Honor our Savior who loved us and gave himself for us. And we asked this and where they impressed his name of Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Night, I would like to speak to you about subject.
And see if the pointer is not working again.
Let's see, there we go. Now it's working.
Of doctrine and godliness.
Now I will tell you that if I was sitting in the chair out there as a young person or as a married person and someone got up here and started off by saying I'm going to talk about doctrine and godliness.
The thought inside my head would have resembled something equivalent to a rolling of the eyes. Maybe I would have even rolled them externally and if the speaker have to be noticed, taking all the confidence right out of the way at the start. And I would have thought something like why can't we have something practical?
Well, I am if you're thinking that I understand, I can relate and I would assure you that we are going to get practical and speaking for how some of these things is spoken to me on my own life, so practical that I could use the expression it hurts.
So I'll just go through a quick outline of what we're going to look at.
And talk a little bit about why this subject, what drew my attention to it, and why it's important. We're going to talk about some misconceptions that perhaps some of us have about these two subjects. We're going to talk about what real doctrine and godliness is. We're going to look at the secret to godliness. And lastly, some things that can inhibit doctrine and godliness.
So perhaps, umm, the reason that I would have rolled my eyes at hearing a subject like this, I'm sure for me at least, perhaps it is for you as well, would be because I have.
Some misconceptions about UMM doctrine, and I've got my slides out of order here, so I'll I'll skip one ahead here. So in the weeks before the camp, I've spoken to several young people.
And older people and also at the camp and ask them what they thought doctrine was and what kind of what do you associate with the subject to see if anyone else maybe has some of the same misconceptions that I had. And these are some of the some of the feedback that I got several people, the 1St 2 words out of their mouth. What do you think about doctrine? Not practical, sometimes with emphasis.
And some other people said umm.
You know, it's more complex things in the Bible, you might say more high level truths, things like prophecy, maybe assembly order, umm, things like that. Or some people said things hard to understand. And if that's you, please don't feel bad. Even Peter thought some of the things that Paul was teaching were hard to understand. So Peter could relate to you and I'll go backwards.
Now it's jumping too on There we go. So now I'm going to share what drew my attention to this subject and it was in studying first Timothy and I'd like to read first Timothy chapter one, verse 5.
It says now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and it was a good conscience and a faith on vain. What Paul is saying here to Timothy is the end goal or the purpose of the charge.
Or the commandment that I've given to you here in First Timothy, the end goal is that there might be charity or divine love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith on fame. And I think any of us that have believed in the Lord Jesus, that would be the desire for our lives, that there would be divine love that would flow out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith and fame. That's what we would want for us and for those around us.
00:05:17
So that was called end goal. You could say that was his purpose. That's what he wanted to see. And So what was this commandment or this charge that he gave to Timothy to accomplish this end goal? It's a few verses before and verse three. I'll read the whole verse as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some, that they teach no other doctrine.
I've got to say that if I was writing to someone and my end goal in writing to them was that there would be divine love expressed in their life out of a pure heart, a good conscience, faith and fame.
I don't think the charge that I would give them, what would come to mind would be to teach no other doctrine. But that is what Paul said it gave to Timothy. And I think the reason for that might be some of these misconceptions that we have about doctrine. So let's talk about what doctrine really is.
At the most simple, basic level, doctrine just means teaching. And if we might, when we use doctrine in the context of the Bible, it means the teaching of the Bible.
From Genesis to Revelation, everything that's in there.
Says all Scripture is profitable for doctrine. It's not a certain set of higher level, more complex things like we perhaps sometimes think of it. And to give some examples of that, the first time the word doctrine is mentioned in the New Testament, it's at the end of the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus got done giving that famous sermon and the IT says that people were astonished at his doctrine.
We'll go through what he talked about there in his doctrine. It's all intensely practical things. There's a big focus on reality in the heart as opposed to hypocrisy. There's subjects like not worrying. It's very practical thing. And that was doctrine. You turn over to the act and you see how the preaching of the gospel in the early days here was referred to. It's referred to as doctrine. So doctrine includes the preaching of the gospel. Doctrine is the entire teaching of the Bible, not a certain set of higher level truth.
Now, one of the things that the Bible repeatedly emphasizes about doctrine is that it should be characterized by feeding Christ through our souls again and again and again. It's not an intellectual exercise in knowledge. It's learning to know Christ. And I'd like to go through a list of verses. I'm going to go through these pretty fast. If you're a person that likes to take notes, umm, I can send you the slides after and you can have the left so.
Create. I count all things but lost for the Excellency of the knowledge, Knowledge of what Christ Jesus my Lord, or what Jesus himself said. Search the Scriptures, or you might say, study the teaching of the Scriptures, the doctrine of the Scriptures. They are they which testify of me, Christ, and having Him fed to our souls. That is what should characterize doctrine. Go through a few more.
Ephesians 415 speaking the truth, and love may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
So speaking the truth, there's the doctrine. What's the purpose that we might grow up into him?
Ephesians 413 Until we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge. Knowledge of what? Of rigid intellectual, How to give an explanation of certain doctrines of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of prey.
Look at another one, umm, referring to the Lord Jesus again he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. The subject of the whole Bible, the teaching of the whole Bible is about Christ. Another verse who this is referring to, umm, leaders in the church, the offices, elders and deacons, says, Who have spoken unto you the word of God? There's doctrine.
Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation? Well, what was the end of, you might say, the goal of their life? What was it?
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, day and forever. And this is the last one in this list that I'm going to go through here. The last slide, Ephesians 420 and 21 it says but you have not so learned Christ. If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. So it's found in the Lord Jesus and then lastly in Colossians 2.
00:10:05
That their hearts might be knit together in love and then to.
I can't read it on the one down there so got my computer here and I'm just going to Scroll down to it.
That their hearts might be knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, was especially that last part that I was thinking there. Does it read? In whom are hid all the wisdom and knowledge? No, it's the treasures. You want to get the goodness, the value out of the Scriptures, you have to study them or preach them with Christ in view.
And then now I'd like to look at a verse in our chapter regarding this subject.
This is first Timothy chapter one and verse four. We've already read verse three and verse 5. Now let's look at verse 4. I'm going to read the end of verse three again so we get the context. So Paul is charged with that thou might discharge them, that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions. I'm going to read this incorrectly on purpose. He doesn't say.
Rather than doctrine instead.
He describes what should characterize the doctrine. He qualifies it and he this is what he says rather than godly edifying which is in faith. So do so the that expression there godly edifying which is in faith is what should characterize doctrine. And I'd like to say it needs to characterize the giving of doctrine and it needs to characterize.
Receiving of doctrine. So let's let's talk about perhaps the giving and the word edifying. If I or in a family setting that could be a mother or father or an assembly setting, whatever it is, if I'm in a place of giving doctrine, do I have a goal as a goal to feed Christ to my soul? What to the soul of my listeners? What is what edifies us? This Christ, He said I am the bread of life. Do I have that in view?
Or am I just, umm, explaining what I know about the Bible and I'm not seeking to feed Christ to my listeners? What about godly? Sometimes I might.
Speak about doctrine in a Christ centered way. But I might be speak trying to speak to your old. Appeal to your old nature instead of your new nature. I might be trying to appeal only to your feelings and how I'm presenting instead of speaking in a God reference manner. How about in faith? Am I seeking to speak to the heart or is it again more of a intellectual exercise? Am I speaking to the heart and I think in faith?
Also captures the thought that what I'm speaking there should be a.
It should be lived out in my life and believed. So doctrine must be both presented in this manner and received. So if I'm in the position of receiving doctrine, and whether that's a meeting, whether that's in my own personal reading, studying something, or just reading the Scriptures, whether it's in the family setting, whatever it is, is my desire to be fed Christ or do I just want to learn things and know facts and get some good advice? Do I want to know Christ better?
If that's not how I'm receiving doctrine, it's not going to benefit me. How about godly? Which nature am I wanting what's being said to speak to? Am I wanting something that's going to appeal to my nature and what I want to hear, or am I willing for it to be for it to appeal to my new nature? How about in faith? Am I willing to live out what I hear?
Am I willing to listen to with my heart or is it, Or am I listening from, uh, intellectual?
Umm, I just want to learn to be able to explain this so I can have this knowledge. Am I willing to listen with my heart? And I think often when there is a problem with doctrine, it comes down to one of three things. There can be something wrong with the substance of the doctrine. It can be not according to the scriptures. And that's not something so much, umm, on my heart talk about tonight. But those two things we just talked about there, there can be a problem with the giving of the doctrine. It can be given with the.
Motors aiming for the wrong, not for the hard and in an intellectual manner. It can come from a a perspective of not living out what I'm talking about in my own life or there can be a problem in the receiving of the doctrine. I could just be wanting to hear something that I want to hear and not be willing to listen to what God might have for me to hear. So it's something for us all to think about. Are we willing to both give and receive in the in these three characteristics?
00:15:15
Edifying, which is in faith.
Now, I'd just like to quickly share what drew my attention in studying first Timothy to the subject of godliness. So there's two things. Two times in Timothy where Timothy uses the expression, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. So it's always bringing emphasis. What are you saying? Pay attention. This is really important. And the first was also in first Timothy. Chapter one is verse 15 is the verse you probably all know.
First Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. That one for myself makes sense. There's the gospel, there's the saving of my soul. That is that's important. That's a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation. You don't accept that you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior and you're headed to a lost eternity. I I get why he would want to bring emphasis to that one.
It's interesting. It's also the last part of whom I am chief, and it doesn't say I was chief, it says I am.
All you did is great importance from never to forget that just to left to himself without Christ. He was nothing but the chief of sinners. And that's just as true for me and you and we. And it's very important to remember. How about the second time in Timothy where the expression of faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation was used?
Statement #2 is in First Timothy 4 verse 8.
We've already had this verse at the camp. It says for bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. And then verse 9 says, referring back to verse 8. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promised of the life that now is.
In the fact which is to come.
Those two statements in in first Timothy were emphasized as of great importance. So me and reading this, OK, godliness is something really important and that got me thinking about godliness. And now I'd like to talk about the misconceptions about godliness. So just like I did with doctrine, I've talked to a number of people over the last few weeks, including at camp and ask them what do you think godliness means?
What do you associate with me? Tell me your thoughts on it. It's very interesting. Had a lot of conversations and one constant theme throughout almost all of the conversations was.
I think I know that godliness means something that is pleasing to God or living with reference to God, but I know I tend to think about godliness or use the word in referring to what I see in other people and what they see in me instead of it being with reference to God. That was a common theme throughout all the conversations. And then another interesting thing that came out of it was many people said, well.
Holiness, but no one says love and I thought that was interesting and we'll talk about that more later. And a number of people said, I think myself or others, we tend to associate godliness with an outward standard to live up to. You might say a checklist. Here's the checklist. And if I can check off all the boxes, then I'm living godly and the Scripture refers to it. This is a form of godliness and second Timothy 3 verse five. And there I would just.
Sad that I don't think there's anyone that's got a checklist in their Bible or in their bedroom where they say, well, these are the things that have got to be godly. It's a subconscious thing. It's something we do in our subconscious and we have to examine these things for ourselves to see if we're thinking about godliness in some terms of in some terms of, umm, a list of things that I've got to keep right in my life in order to be godly.
So let's talk about what godliness actually is. And I thought it was encouraging and talking to many people that even though people would say, I think I often think about it in the wrong sense, and I use the word and perhaps the partly the wrong sense, most people give a really good answer in that it was living with reference to God or living in a way that would please God.
And for myself, I wouldn't suggest this versus the only definition for godliness, but.
I think it can be thought of as a very good definition for godliness in what the Lord Jesus could say and how he lived his life. In John 829 he said I do always those things that please my Father always. He always lived with reference to what would please God and I would suggest you that that is what it means. Godliness means it's always living.
00:20:25
With reference to what would please God and not me. Now I'd like to tie that into the verse that we already read in First Timothy chapter one.
Where it said the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and a faith on fame. Because I think this verse is also speaking about godliness a little bit. We're going to see that the Bible constantly connects doctrine with godliness. 1 produces the other. And here we already noticed that.
Paul's charge was to teach another doctrine, and the end result was to be charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and a faith on fame. So I already talked about that the definition of godliness is living with reference to God and what would please him. But in that verse that we just read, where does godliness start? Does it start with an outward checklist of things that I should do to be godliness?
No, all three of those things.
A pure heart and a good conscience and faith on fame, those are all inside. You might look at my life and it might look like everything's good. And there's been times in my life when people, perhaps not my wife, but other people could look at my life and say, yeah, things seem good. Things weren't good. It starts inside, it starts.
In a pure heart and good conscience and a faith in pain, and those are all things that are with reference to God.
I just, uh, little comment here that may be helpful to some of you in thinking about this subject. I realized that in our language, sometimes when we don't understand a word, we start using a different word or word in its place. And I think this is almost what's happened with godliness. We think of it so much in the outward terms that we don't often use that word, but we often speak about practical Christianity.
And I would suggest to you that.
When we say practical Christianity, we really mean godliness. We just not stop using the word because perhaps we don't realize what it means. We've so gone off the track into thinking about it and outward things and instead of what's pleasing to God and what He would like that we started using a different word. It's just the thought that I had and think about this subject and you may find it helpful.
So now I'd like to talk about what Paul presented to Timothy as the secret to godliness, and it's in chapter 3, the last verse of chapter 3, verse 16. I'll read it.
Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit scene of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received that into glory.
Now if we just read that verse and it's not quickly apparent to you how this all ties into what we're talking about, I can relate. This first might seem when you first read it, a little bit abstract, could I say, and hard to understand what the meaning is. And I would suggest to you that the meaning of the verse is the secret, the godliness is found in the Lord Jesus and feeding on Him.
And to try and communicate, umm, that a little bit more. I'd like to think about this first, a little bit more.
So there's six things that are listed in this verse and I'm just going to pick names, if that's OK, and go through the six umm, and ask you whether they refer to the Lord Jesus as a man when he was on here on earth or not. So we'll start with the first one. God may be the easiest one.
God was manifest in the flesh. So let's see the Cameron is that referring to Jesus as a man?
Yeah.
Good. How about the next one? Justified in the spirit?
I don't know. This is an assembly meeting, so I can ask a girl too. Let's see. What would you say, Caroline? Is that referring to Jesus as a man?
Yeah, she's nodding her head. Put her on the spot. All right, How about the next one? Dean of Angels? Let's see. Hard to see one people from up here. I know. Uh, Dave, what would you say? Is that referring to Jesus as a man?
00:25:17
Yeah, OK, now I'm going to intentionally skip the next two on purpose and go to the next one. I'll answer this to myself. Received up into glory. And I think we can all realize that that one is referring to the end of Jesus life on earth as a man. He was received back up into glory. And I intentionally skip to the kind of put in the middle of this list, this list of six things that starts with Jesus when he was born into this world and ends when.
Jesus was received back to glory, and those four all referred to Jesus as a man. But then there's two others.
#4 says preached unto the Gentile. Who did that? Did Jesus do that as a man? No, he preached the Jews. There was a few Gentiles that reached up in general. That was not done by Jesus as a man. And the result of that preaching was the fifth one believed on in the world. Who did that? Who preached the Gentile?
Should still be preaching to the Gentiles today.
Believers did. So something that believers did is inserted in this description of the Lord Jesus as a man that starts with his birth and ends with his sending back to heaven and just put in the middle. And it's almost like I believe the Bible is saying that you feed on Christ and his life and what he has done for us and all that He is.
The fruit of your life is going to be, it's going to be the life of Christ lived out to the world just as it was.
When Jesus was here, I, I hope I'm not sure I can communicate this very well. I I hope that's clear. It's there's this description of the life of Jesus and something that believers has done is put right in the middle and it's like Paul was telling him it's a secret to godliness is for you to feed on Christ and to know him better. If that happens, Christ life is going to be lived out in your life.
It's the secret. The godliness is to feed on Christ.
And to be in him.
So now I would like to go and and talk a little bit about why I believe these two subjects are so important. So let's start go back to doctrine. Why is doctrine so important? And I was suggesting answer to you is because it leads to godliness and you could almost say they're inseparable.
One follows the other. And therefore you could also say in the way we talk these days, doctrine and practical Christianity go together. The one is the result of the other. They're inseparable. And if you're sitting there thinking, umm, I get it. I've been there. I thought many times that doctrine is something over here, practical Christianity is over here. And I've heard being I said that one was all doctrine and it's not practical. And I would suggest you that they go together.
What would separately, what did we say with the primary characteristic as presented inscription of doctrine feeding on Christ. What's the secret to godliness feeding on Christ. They go together, but we must remember that it it's doctrine that is godly edifying in faith. It's not something intellectual. It's not knowing the Bible. In fact, it's it's going into the word seeking to be edified. It's preaching the word seeking to edify souls it's receiving.
Faith with the desire to live out what we've learned.
It's it's real doctrine that produces godliness and I'd like to look at.
A number of verses. If you're not convinced and you think that wow, that's quite the concept and thoughts that I've had a number of verses that would speak to this. I'm going to go through these very quickly. Again, there's a lot of them. First Timothy 6, verse 3, the doctrine which is according to godliness.
Titus 11 The acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness, that they may adorn, adorn as the actions, the living out the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Now we're going to go over to Hebrews 5. Strong me. Or you might say deeper doctrine belongs to them that are of full age. Even those who by reason of use, left to living it out, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
00:30:04
Or we can go to Titus two and speak now the things which become sound doctrine. You go to Titus Two and and read the things which become sound doctrine. It's a very intensely practical list of instructions to fathers and children and mothers. It's a very practical list.
Now Hebrews 13, verse 7, umm, this, we already read this one. I'm going to go through it again. Who have spoken unto you the word of God. So there's the doctrine whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Conversation here means their manner of life or their practical living. They go together. John 15, verse seven. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you.
You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. This verse.
I think shows again what we're talking about in in the godly edifying, which is in faith. It's not if you know my word, if you abide in me and my word abide in you. If we're looking into the word of God to have our souls fed of Christ and we have the willingness to live out what we learn, then what does it say? You shall ask what you will and it shall be done to you. Remember when you're talking about that verse about the secret to godliness.
It's something that believers did, is put.
Right inside this book ended picture of the Lord's life. It's right together and here it's the same thought. The thought isn't that I can ask whatever I want and I'm going to get it If I study doctrine. The thought is that if I am feeding on Christ and I am feeding on the word of God with the the faith to live out what I learned my my desires, my will is going to, you might say, merge with the Lord's will. They're going to be one and the same.
Christ is going to be lived out in me.
You keep jumping two slides here on this clicker all right, some other verses this you might say is more from the the negative side of things. First Corinthians 1533. It says be not deceived evil communications, we might say bad doctrine, corrupt good manners so.
Your maybe the doctrine is of a bad substance. It's going to have effect on your your life. Maybe if the doctrine isn't of a bad substance, but you're looking into it, seeking to feed your own intentions and opinions.
Well, I would suggest that that too could have a bad effect in your life. Or we could look at observations that people made of the Lord when He was on earth. Luke 432 Says they were astonished at his doctrine, for His word was with power.
They connected His teaching with His actions. It was like they were one and the same when they looked at the Lord Jesus.
And I was just it's an interesting study. You can do it on your own. You can go through every book in the New Testament. I haven't tried with the Old Testament. Maybe it's their true. And you'll find that connection very clearly in every single book that feeding on good doctrine and and remember in faith, it's an edifying character. It's not a knowledge exercise. It's feeding on Christ. It leads to practical Christianity, or we could say godliness. Go to the little epistle of second John, third John, Jude by Lehman, you'll.
Sit there in every single book.
So that's that's doctrine, why doctrine is important because it's in separately connected with godliness. Why is godliness so important? And I believe the answer to that is that it leads to the enjoyment of eternal life. We already read this first. I I put it up there again. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of life that now is and of that which is to come. We probably often heard that Jesus did not just die to save our souls, He died to save our.
5:00 so that we could live a life in relationship with him and bearing fruit for him. And godliness is what leads in to that. It says godliness is profitable and all things having the promise of life that now is that which is to come. So one day we're all going to be enjoying eternal life in heaven, but we can enjoy it right now. And if I live a life of with reference every day to what would please God and every day the desires of my heart is what would please my Savior.
That is going to lead me into the enjoyment of eternal life right now on this earth. And I would suggest that the thought that I enjoyed from considering this verse is that we often perhaps think of godliness and why it pleases God is if I'm choosing in my life to do things well, it's the things I'm doing that please God. And that's true. I think that's true, but from this first I think that deeper reason that godliness pleases God is that living.
00:35:08
Reference to him I am getting to know him better and that is the deepest reason that it pleases him it's why he created us it's why he sent his son to die for us so that he might have relationship with us. The very first meeting we had here at camp by Bob, I know some of you weren't there, he talked for quite a bit about God's desire to have relationship with you. Why is godliness important it is if you live your life with reference to what please God is going to lead you into a.
Enjoyment of that eternal life or deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus. Another way that we could think about this is that doctrine and godliness both lead to, umm, a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus. It's both by feeding on Christ through the Word and by living out practically what we what the word of God speaks to us when we're feeding on it, or godliness, both of those things.
Bring us closer to the Lord Jesus in relationship with Him.
And I'm jumping two forward and two back. There we go. All right, so now I'd like to go through very quickly a list of some things. And this is not an exhaustive list that could get in the way of doctrine or godliness. So the first one is not living out what I already know. And I'll read this verse again. We already had it. Strong meat belonged to them that are of full age, even those who.
Reason of use has their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
There is a lot of basic teaching in the Word of God that we all know in our head. Are we living it out? If we're not living it out, the stronger meat as it expresses here isn't going to mean anything to us.
Honor your parents. That's a very basic doctrine. You live it out.
He that forsake not all that He has cannot be my disciple. That's a very basic doctrine. Do I live it out? It's a very important question. Perhaps sometimes when we hear things and I can't relate to that, and that didn't mean anything to me and that wasn't practical, maybe this would be a reason. Am I living out? But I already know.
So.
Other reason we talked about this bit already reading my own desires and opinions into scripture and verse that speaks to that is John 717. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. Remember that verse we talked about. Doctrine must be accepted as godly edifying, which is in faith. It must be with reference to God, not with reference to me. I can come to meeting sometimes and have an idea.
This is what I need and this is what I want. Am I willing to accept what God has for me? Do I read my Bible in my personal reading with my own preconceived notions and opinions? Or am I willing to let God speak to me?
Another reason is similar to that, but I think a little bit different, is not holding the scripture as the living Word of God that speaks directly to my soul. And the well known verse For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and as the joints and marrow, and as the discerner of the thought and intent of the heart.
Every day I need to be reading the word of God is the living.
Word of God. It's not an intellectual good advice book. It's the living Word of God that can speak to my heart. If I'm not approaching in that way, then the good of all the doctrine that's in the Scripture won't be good to me. And I think sometimes we are very good at applying the Word of God.
To problems we see in other people and perhaps at the same time forgetting this to always be reading the word of God is the living word of God that speaks to me.
I might see all the problems from other people and the way that I think godliness should be seen in their life and how the Word of God might apply to them. What about me? And as a husband and also a mother, what about my own family? Do I apply it there first?
Very important.
I think this is the last one I have here.
00:40:01
I believe some, and we've already spoken to this as well, thinking of doctrine or godliness. There's a list of do's and do not.
And I like to read Hebrews 13-9 be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with me which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
It's great. It's like that verse that you considered Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Never forget that, Never forget that.
Sometimes we.
This first one, it says meet. It's referring to back in that day, one particular way they made doctrine a list of do's and do's not was applying the law and said you could eat this and you could eat that. Perhaps we don't make our list in in reference to what we should or should not eat today, but I think even subconsciously we don't even realize it. Sometimes we're thinking of doctrine and godliness in terms of, well, I need to do this and not do this. As long as I've got that covered, then I'm good.
Godliness is living with reference always to what would please God. It's not confined to a certain length and I think another reason that another way we perhaps go astray here is things that fall outside of direct instruction in the word of God. We sometimes refer to these as personal exercises. We take my personal exercise and I make that the standard for godliness and projected onto you. And if I don't see you living out my personal exercise.
Then I'm making certain assumptions about whether you're living godly or not, and that is a mistake. That is what Paul was speaking about in this verse.
Now, the last thing that I'd like to speak about is profane and vain babbling. Now, if you're like, we've been talking about doctrine and godliness and all of a sudden profane and vain babblings, What? How does this fit in? I understand. I said at the start that at some point we would get, umm, speaking from my own life, so practical it hurt.
There are three times in the Timothy's where First and Second Timothy where all spoke about profane and vain babbling. One time you used a slightly different word for the 2nd umm, but with the same intent.
And I've read this many times before, and I think my thinking was something along the lines of, well, as long as I don't swear and talk about myself all the time, I'm good.
And missed the point entirely. And I think some of this is due to changing language, perhaps our King James translation. I was really struck that this phrase was in there three times. So dug into a little more as to what it actually means. We think of profane in terms of our modern word profanity, which is swearing, taking Lord's name in vain. And so therefore, perhaps our thinking is long lines or something. Profane is something that's really, really, really bad. And as long as I don't have something really, really, really bad.
Then I'm following this instruction. That's not what profane means. Look it up for yourself. I use the Vines dictionary. Profane means something that it doesn't have anything in common with God or the person who studied and wrote his thoughts down in that book said it's something that does not promote relationship with God. That is very different than something that's only things that are really, really, really bad.
And to the second. And that being babbling is really all one word.
In the original, and it just means empty sound or something. That's just for myself, and I'd like to look at one of the places where this is used. It's at the very end of First Timothy.
First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 20.
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings in oppositions of science, falsely so-called, which some professing have aired concerning the fate. Grace be with thee. Amen.
So Paul writes this very heartfelt epistle to Timothy. It was from the heart. You can see that here in that little expression. Oh, Timothy, he's he's desiring his blessing. He writes this very heartfelt epistle that Timothy would teach no other doctrine that there would be godliness expressed in his life. And he gets to the end and it's like Paul said, he closes it says if there's one thing, Timothy, that's going to get you off the path.
Of living with reference to God and what would please him. You need to avoid profane and vain babbling. And again, because of our language, I think we, we almost, it's hard for us to get our heads around what that means. And I believe what it is. It's just things in my life. They don't have anything in common with God. They don't bring me in relationship with God. They're just empty. They're just for me.
00:45:24
The more I if I let those things come in into my life, little by little by little by little, I'll be taken off the path of living with reference to go out that very last verse where it says which some professing have erred concerning the faith.
It's the, the, the thought there. If you, if you look and dig into the words a little more, these people, their intentions were good. They wanted to please God. They wanted to do what was right, but they let these just empty things, things that didn't promote relationship with God come into their lives. And little by little by little, even though their, their desire, you might say, was to please God, they were pushed little by little by little by little.
Away.
From that desire there's not time to go and read and go into it in detail, but there's an interesting section in Timothy that is written to widows and it talks about young widows and it there's some instruction there that young widows were not to be put on the list of receiving full time financial support.
And.
We can, we can read it. And the reason for that is that then they would they would be idle time then and that would open the door to bad things in their life. Well, I think if this is a place in the Bible where if we think about this in context, we think back to that time. Perhaps young widows who had few, if any children were might say the only group speaking in general in society that would have had a lot of vital time if.
Given full time financial support. Fast forward to 2020.
We've got all these conveniences, modern technology. How much idle time could we all have in our lives? It's a very.
Practical, sobering question. For me, I've been in university, I've been the father of three children, which he is a very busy thing. And all those times, if I wanted to, I could have a lot of vital time that I could fill up with cocaine and Zane Valen and.
It's I can give testimony in my life, you let that come in little by little by little by little, you'll get knocked off the path of living with reference to what he's gone. I think many of us here would say there's a lot of time in our lives where.
There's not necessities that need to be taken care of where we can make choices with how we spend our time.
What do we do? I believe the Word of God is warning us here. You choose to just do it on something empty doesn't promote relationship with God. Little by little, by little, you're going to be taken off the path of living with reference to God and to just emphasize that warning off.
Go to one other verse here has the same expression in Second Timothy 216. It says shun propane and vein babbling they will increase more ungodliness. First of all you can see in that verse that empty things and things without reference for God there are ungodliness because it says they will increase into more ungodliness.
When I said the word of God can be so practical that it hurts, umm, this is what I had in mind.
It's been a lot of empty.
Things that did not promote relationship with God and it has this effect. It's a warning and I just passed it on to something that spoke to me and trust it can speak to you and that there could be more in our lives recruit and pleasing to God.
We have a few minutes left here, and in reading and thinking about Timothy, there's umm.
A few specific things that you might say they were given in Timothy and instruction and godliness at all share a few thoughts on one is in regards to honoring your parents.
Ephesians 6 verse 2 Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise.
00:50:04
I believe that God has put us in families and the first commandment, not actually the first commandment. The list of 10. It's the first commandment with reference to men.
It's a training ground for children to learn oddlyness.
And I'm not very far along this road, but I'm thinking about this. It struck me, Why must my children learn to obey and honor their parents?
Because God said so.
There is nothing. It's not because I can convince them or I can reason or I can always be right. It has to be because God says so. And my oldest is very young, but I've already found it very impactful to Is there something that's not right to speak about it in those terms?
It's because God says so. It's very easy, I have found, to fall into a line of thinking of wanting them to obey or honor me because.
They respect me or because I can convince them.
And I'll just pass on the thought that came to me from thinking about this that that is a very, very dangerous way of approaching it. I believe that honoring your parents is God's training ground for learning godliness. And I'll put the question to young people, and really it applies to people like me who have left their homes. Do you honor your parents? You might say it's the first commandment, the 1St test for you, knowing your life, whether you live with reference to God.
It has nothing to do with your parents. Maybe they don't understand, or you think they don't understand. Maybe they're not always right. You honor them because God says so. It's a very important question.
You had a question a couple days ago, umm, about leadership in marriage. And another thing that struck me in considering First Timothy, and this goes beyond marriage. If I could summarize the instruction in First Timothy given to men in two words, it would be take responsibility.
And it starts with when you're young, you might say, before you're married. Now see if I can find the verse here. Umm, it says, let no man despise thy youth.
Maybe someone can help me or so Thank you.
Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in Word and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and purity. It starts when you're young. Do you take responsibility for your own life in the example that you are? The messaging in this world is totally opposed to men taking responsibility.
I would just encourage you to look into these things yourself and ask yourself, am I going to take responsibility in my life, in my life as an individual 1St And then we talked about this in the question answered me a few days ago. Then it goes to if you're married one day and have a family to take responsibility in your family. And that is God's training ground. Like I think the family is a training ground for us to learn godliness.
Leadership in the family is God's training ground to eventually one day.
Take leadership in the assembly and then lastly, umm.
Something can be hard for me to talk about.
Umm, to.
Young mothers and young women, here I'm.
Obviously not a woman and I, I can look at the world and I can see.
How?
Incredibly opposed the world and the messaging is even the Christian world to what the Bible would say in first Matthew and elsewhere as to what the path of godliness, what would be pleasing to God would look like for women especially. I had in mind young mothers totally opposed to it and I also recognize that sometimes.
Even though the opposition comes from the world, the comments and the innuendos.
That hurt the most come from.
Fellow believers, maybe even your own assembly and I just can only pass on the.
What it says at the end of chapter 2.
00:55:01
Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in children, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness and variety.
To devote yourself to.
Grazing of children.
It's pleasing to God.
Says here.
Your life will be saved.
World.
Many Christians will tell you and.
Not even realizing that your life will be lost.
God's health will be saved, not just your life.
Children as well.
I can't speak this very well, but.
I just wanted to encourage you in the.
So.
Closing. I hope that we can perhaps in our thinking about these subjects of doctrine, we would not think of it as head knowledge, not think about it in terms of what I would like to hear, and also speak about it in terms of head knowledge and thought. We would both speak and receive it the heart.
That we would remember that doctrine should always be characterized by feeding Christ.
I mean, I stand the Lord Jesus. It's found in feeding on him living with reference to God and what would tease him and that warning that Timothy put at the very end of his book that he wrote Timothy to avoid these empty things that in your life wouldn't have any reference to go on.
It's very striking how similar it is to the end of First John. Maybe I'll just read that.
In a very similar epistle, John writes this very heartfelt epistle. You can read it and see the longing he has for the hearts of those he's writing to. And how does he end it? Verse 20, chapter 5. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true.
There's the doctrine even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God in eternal life.
There's the godliness. And how does he end it, Little children? There you can see He's speaking to the heart. Keep yourself idle.
Like I've written all this to you and if there's one thing it's going to take you off the path. Keep yourself some idol very similar to how all ended First Timothy, and I'll suggest they're connected to you in this way. Idle, more question of the heart.
Where hard is vain and being babbling, more question of what we choose to do with our time and the two are connected.
Lord Jesus said where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Not this principle. You cannot change it. You choose to put your time to empty things, things that don't promote relationship with God, your heart will follow. You cannot stop it. And both Paul and John were inspired by.
Here's God, we're warning about it, and the Lord give us help and willing heart to listen and heed the warning and live lives that would be pleasing Lord Jesus.
In closing, I'm just going to read one hymn that perhaps I might say expresses the secret to godliness better than any of the words that I could have said this evening apart from reading the scriptures.
It's #193.
Jesus, my Savior, thou art mine.
Father's gift I love to buy.
All thou hast done, and all that work, and now the portion of my heart.
Poor, feeble, wretched as I am, I now can glory in my name, now clearness in my most precious blood. May the righteousness of God, all that thou hast, thou hast for me. All my fresh springs are hidden me, In Thee I live.
01:00:14
I confess I nothing in it all possessed. O Savior, teach me to abide. Oh shelter death I wounded sighs which are receiving grace on grey, so you see the face to face.
Right.
God and Father, we.
Thank you for instruction you've given us in the Word of God.
We ask for courage and purpose to live out what we could learn.
We thank you that your desire for us eternity, your desire for us now, and the desire that will be fully accomplished one day when you take us home.
Just to have relationship with uh, for us to know you better.
We pray that we could lay hold on this by faith.
That our lives would be characterized by feeding on Christ, not in doing so He would live with reference to God and what would feed him. And he asked us the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.