Godliness

(From devotionals at work)

"The vision of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right and duty, but because he had a vision of God." -Oswald Chambers

"... make every effort to supplement your...steadfastness with godliness..." 2 Peter 1: 5-6

The next word in Peter's series of Christian virtues is godliness. The Greek word is "eusebeia," a combination of the word that means "well" and a word that means the correct worship of a deity, as opposed to false or hypocritical worship (see 1 Timothy 6:3-8). In classical Greek it could mean reverence, piety, loyalty, or religion, and in that culture could be addressed to parents and those in authority as well as to the gods.

In the New Testament it is best translated "proper reverential awe and fear" (see Hebrews 12:25-29). It is our response to both His raw power in creation and in nature (His "bigness"), and the fear of His displeasure (His judgment and wrath). Eusebeia comes from the realization of who God is, and of His sovereign control over our lives. The immediate result of godliness in our lives is humility. Its posture is to bow and confess two simple things: "You are God." "I am not."

Proverbs 14: 27 says "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death." 1 Timothy 4:8 states, "For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." These verses point out that godliness is not purely negative, but is also a source of life--on the premise that the more we fear and humble ourselves before God, the more He responds to us and exercises His life in us.

Godliness follows patience in Peter's series, so we have to ask what patience would be without it. This amounts to asking if the processes God puts us through to grow us would ever bear fruit if not culminating in humility. To experience those things that produce patience without ever bowing our heads before the majesty and plan of God would only produce bitterness. We might say with Job, "I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock." Note, by the way, that Job's response was entirely different when he encountered the power and love of God at the end of the book.

Lastly, let's reverse this. What would it be like to pursue godliness without first learning patience? If patience produces character, without it we would be offering God a fake and hypocritical worship, an artificial spirituality not based on suffering or experience.

Next time: brotherly love.

Steadfastness (2)

(From devotionals at work)

"...and make every effort to supplement your self-control with steadfastness...." -2 Peter 1:5-6

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. " -Psalm 40:1

Last week we defined steadfastness, or patience. Remember that Peter did not list the characteristics in these verses arbitrarily. Each builds on the other in such a way that the former is the foundation of the next, and the next after provides a vision. With that in mind, let's think about the relationship of self-control and patience.

What happens when we try to practice self-control without patience? Simply put, the struggle against temptation becomes purposeless, because the character that patience produces is not a goal, and our lives become a series of battles with sin, and more often than not, a series of failures. Because the end of patience is hope, without an awareness that God is trying to work patience in us, our struggle as Christians seems hopeless. Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to patience when he said, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...."

What about the reverse? What happens when we attempt to learn patience without first learning self-control? In short, we are trying to fulfill a vision without the proper tools. If we can't overcome short-term, we certainly can't learn to hang on to a vision long-term.

Without a foundation of self-control, the attempt to be patient will cause us to give up in frustration, complain, or try to shortcut the circumstances. Remember that Christ's greatest temptation was to by-pass the will of the Father (which included the cross), and take His legitimate Lordship without suffering.

Next week: godliness.

Steadfastness (1)

(From devotionals at work)

...and make every effort to supplement your self-control with steadfastness.... -2 Peter 1:5-6

"To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems to be no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hairsbreath for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only that faith should fail--such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed." -George McDonald

Steadfastness can also be translated "patience." The Greek work is hupomone, and is literally translated to "abide or remain under," and is in some sense self-control in extended form. Self-control is short term and for the moment; patience is long term. If we lose our temper, we often say we have lost "patience." Actually, what we have lost is self-control. To lose it is to give in to temptation. To lose patience is to lose the capacity to get up when we fall and give in to despondency and despair.

The Bible sometimes contrasts patience with longsuffering (macrothumia). Longsuffering is active; that is, it can usually control the source of temptation or irritation, and it is usually a response to other people rather than to circumstances (especially if they are persecuting us). The loss of longsuffering, or its opposite is to reject others and withdraw from them. The best example in the Old Testament is David and his response to Saul's pursuit of him.

Patience, on the other hand, is generally passive, dealing with circumstances that are out of our control (finances, sickness, unfulfilled expectations). Rather than rejection, the negative response under circumstantial pressure is to give up hope. The best Old Testament example is Job.

Romans 5:3-4 points out a couple of things about patience. One is that is produces a positive hardness that comes from being tested and holding on to hope, similar to the process of assaying metal. Most versions call this result "character." The other thing is that patience is born out of suffering--a fact that American Christians go out of their way to avoid, and have even theologized away. But faith and hope that are never tested always remain spongy and have no real strength.

Patience is rooted in the finished work of Christ, believing that "He who began a good work in you will perform it to the end." (Also see 2 Thessalonians 1:2-3.) Patience believes that His plan for our lives is perfect, and He will bring us into perfect fellowship with us in the next world because He desires us more passionately than we do Him.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 offers this prayer: "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ." Jesus is the greatest example of longsuffering and patience is history; in fact, He IS patience. When He comes by His Spirit to live is us, He brings His patience with Him. He is our source and character as we wait for the fulfillment of His purposes in our lives.

Next: Relating self-control and steadfastness.

Self-control (2)

(From devotionals at work)

"...make every effort to supplement your...knowledge with self-control..." 2 Peter 1: 6

"But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." -Hebrews 5:14

Last time we looked at the concept of self-control in 2 Peter 1:6. Now we want to look at how it relates to the foundational knowledge that precedes it.

First, how can knowledge become distorted if it is not balanced and contained by self-control? Perhaps a military analogy will help. Simply put, knowledge is training; the use of self-control is war. Without the practical experience of overcoming deceit and temptations, knowledge is powerless, immature, and untested.

Let's push the analogy a bit further. There are three Greek words that relate to maturity and experience. One is holos, meaning "whole," or "entire." A raw recruit meets this qualification; he is relatively healthy and has all his parts. This corresponds to what we've said about faith and virtue in the Christian. Another word is artios, meaning "prepared" or "trained." This corresponds to the Christian's study and growth in knowledge. And finally, there is the Greek word teleios, which means "mature" in the sense of fulfilling one's purpose. Using the military analogy, this word describes a battle-hardened veteran.

Another way to say this is that knowledge that is not tested does not fulfill the purpose--in this case, the ability to withstand sin and temptation.

Lastly, there is a reverse problem. To attempt to overcome the assaults of the enemy without learning from the Scriptures and from other Christians can produce a fruitless asceticism, and worse, the deep discouragement that comes from failure in Christian warfare. Failure should drive us back to the Bible, to prayer, and to the counsel of the church.