Virtual Devotions

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Dear Friends,

Today, our study turns to godliness, Peter’s fifth ingredient we need to add to our faith to make our salvation sure.   The word godliness is found in the Bible only in the New Testament.  Depending upon the translation, you will find it from 14 (ESV, KJV, NASB) to 16 times (ASV).  Of those instances, more than half are found in one book, The First Letter of Paul to Timothy.

Timothy was a young man who was converted by the Apostle Paul, traveled with him during his second missionary journey and was later appointed by Paul to be the pastor of the Church at Ephesus, a city wrought with false teaching.

In defining an abstract concept like godliness, it is sometimes easier to say what it is not instead of what it is.  In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul gives us a long list of what godliness is not.  He ends this paragraph claiming these people have a form of godliness, but denying its power.  A fitting capstone to the list, I think, and just as fitting for today as it was back then.

To recognize someone as not being godly is easy if they are lovers of themselves or of money or boastful or proud or abusive, etc.  But the young pastor, Timothy, was confronted with men who “had a form of godliness” and taught as if they knew the truth about God, yet Paul said they did not know what they were talking about.  He said that they promoted controversies that resulted in envy, strife and conflict rather than God’s work.

We find this today still, men and women who claim to be pastors and teachers who instead of doing God’s work rooted in faith and love promote controversies and quarrels that serve only to detract from the Gospel message, forgiveness of sins and life everlasting by grace through faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

If you want to be godly, be nothing that Paul listed in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and hold to the sound teaching of grace that led you to salvation.  Do not be distracted by false prophets of our day or get caught up in their controversies.  Instead, use these opportunities to overcome false teaching with the Gospel.  And read the scriptures to learn what Christ is truly like, and in Him you will find absolute godliness.

In Christ,

David

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” – Hebrews 10:35-36

Dear Friends,

Back in February, I gave you the full order of salvation, the step-by-step process that we undergo in our journey to eternal life.  In that message, I said that one of the two hallmarks of a true Christian was perseverance.

Peter lists perseverance fourth in his list of seven qualities that a believer needs to make his calling and election sure.  I think it is fitting that perseverance is in the fourth position because that puts it right in the middle of everything, and it is when we are right in the middle of everything that perseverance is what we need.

During the first 300 or so years of the early church, Christians were persecuted first by the Jews and then by the Romans.  During that time men, women and children who claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior were dragged from their homes, jailed, flogged, burned alive, and as we all know, fed to the lions.  Yet these people persevered.  They held onto their faith and endured the trials and tortures until the very end never denying their Lord.

While this may seem like a thing of the past to us in the United States, in other parts of the world, Christians are still dragged from their homes, jailed, flogged and murdered for their faith.  We must remember them in our prayers.

By God’s grace, we in the United States do not fear this type of persecution, yet we still have attacks on our faith; attacks that in some ways are even more insidious.  Often, “biblical scholars” and “historians” tell us that what we believe to be true is nothing more than a myth or a story.  The very tenets of our faith are assaulted both from within and outside the church.  It is during these times that our personal perseverance comes into play.

I expect that sometime this week you will read or hear some story that says that the resurrection of Jesus never really happened.  Of course, this is what Easter is all about and if there is no resurrection, then there is no Christianity.  At best, it is reduced to a post-modern humanist belief system.  If there is no resurrection, then there is no hope, and faith is believing in what is hoped for.  Do not be led astray.  Do not deny your Lord. Persevere!

In Christ,

David Judge

“Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.” – Exodus 32:25

Dear Friends,

Moving along in 2 Peter through the list of qualities that we must add to our faith to make our calling and election sure, we come to one that I believe is of utmost importance, self-control.

It is said that the character of a person is best revealed in the things they do when no one else is around.  When Moses had been gone for days up on the mountain to receive the Law from God, the people below decided they were not going to wait any longer.   They convinced Aaron, Moses’ brother-in-law and person Moses had left in charge, to make them a god to worship, an idol, the golden calf.  When it was finished, they began to worship it and indulge in a variety of immoral activities.

When Moses came down from the mountain and saw what was happening, he cried out, “Whoever is for the lord, come to me.”  The true believers, the Levites, ran to his side.   Moses instructed them to strap on swords and slay the revelers to squelch the orgy.  Talk about church discipline!  In the end, three thousand were killed.

Many theologians recognize the parallels between Moses and Jesus.  In the Exodus 32 story, I see a parallel for the church today.  While our leader, Jesus, is gone to be with the Father, many within his church are falling into immorality.  Unfortunately, like Aaron, many of today’s church leaders are at the forefront of this charge into sin.  No wonder so many people outside of the church look at the “Christian” community and scoff and call us hypocrites.  But like the story of Exodus 32, our Lord is going to return, and when he does he will call to his side his true believers.  To the others, he will take up the sword of his mouth and cut them off saying, “I never knew you, away from me you evildoers” (Mat 7:23).

Many fear hearing those words on the last day and want to make their calling and election sure.  Salvation comes only by grace through faith.  Adding goodness, knowledge and self-control to your faith is on outward expression that you are saved.  If you do not have self-control, if you habitually fall into sin, you are not displaying the character of a saved person.  You need to examine yourself.  Do you hate your sin or do you accept it?  Do you turn from your sin each time, even if you commit the sin repeatedly or have you given up fighting it?  Do you even recognize your sin as sin?   Is your sin a problem or a way of life?

All Christians struggle with sin.  And our struggle will continue until we are glorified with Christ.  So if you sin, it does not mean you are not saved, but as I said above you need to examine yourself.  You need to demonstrate that you have self-control if you want to make your calling and election sure. 

To finish, let me quote the Apostle John, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ the Righteous One.”  Amen.

In Christ,

David

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord." – Genesis 4:1

Dear Friends,

As I continue with the study of 2 Peter, it may seem odd that I would chose the birth of Cain in Genesis 4:1 as today’s verse.  What does this have to do with knowledge, the second ingredient that Peter tells us we must add to our faith in order to make our calling and election sure?  It is not the birth of Cain that I am concerned with, but instead the intimate relations between Adam and Eve.

I’m sure you’ve heard the comment, “He knew her in the Biblical sense.”  We all know this is a reference to sexual relations between a man and a woman.  In Hebrew, the word that is often translated as “know” or “knew” actually implies an intimate relationship between the two parties.   And this is what Peter is instructing us to work toward when he tells us to add knowledge to our faith.  He wants us to come into an intimate relationship with God.  He wants us to know God.

Let’s suppose you hear something untrue about someone you don’t know very well.  You may believe what you hear is true.  After all, how would you know any differently?  Now, let’s suppose you hear something untrue about someone you know intimately, your spouse or dearest friend for example.  How would you respond to the person making such comments?  I expect you would defend your spouse or friend and you probably would choose not to associate with the person making the comments.

From the beginning of the Christian church, there have been heretical teachings both internally and externally.  In many of the letters of the apostles, they encourage the early Christians to reject these heretical teachings.  The apostles knew God intimately, yet many of the early Christians were immature in their faith.  They didn’t know God well enough to know the difference between what was true and what was a lie about God.

Unfortunately, many of the same and many new heresies plague the Christian faith today.  If you do not have an intimate knowledge of God, you may be led astray.  For this reason, Peter’s exhortation to add knowledge to your faith is as important today as it was 2000 years ago.  And how do you do this?  By reading God’s own words about Himself, the Bible, and by asking Him in prayer to draw you into an intimate relationship with Him.  The better you know Him, the better you will be prepared to discern truth from lies.

In Christ,

David