Students of the Word - Training in Godliness

If you want to test your basic knowledge of the Bible, try out this online quiz and see how you do. 

Student: scholar or learner; one who attends a school; one who studies

When we think of "students", typically we think of school, children, homework, quizzes and tests, grades, etc. The truth is, anyone can be a student. It doesn't matter your age or whether or not you go to school. A student is someone who studies a particular body of knowledge. Sometimes the goal is simply to know more, but usually there is some practical application for seeking that knowledge. You might study biology if you want to go into the medical field. You would study mathematics and physics to go into architecture or engineering. You might study history and geology to go into archaeology. In my case, I studied the Bible to go into full-time ministry.

Disciple: a follower, or student, of a teacher, leader, or philosopher

Students study a particular body of knowledge. Disciples study a particular person. 2,000 years ago, disciples would study under their master with the goal of becoming as much like their master as possible. They would study everything about him from his mannerisms to his teachings. Some might go so far as to cut their hair the same way. They wanted to be able to be as much like their master as possible so that when people looked at them, they could see their master.

When Jesus picked out the 12 disciples and said "Come, follow me", this is what He was calling them to. He was saying, "come and study under me, learn from me, so that you can be like me". Today, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become His disciples. We become students of the Word (the Bible) so that we can know more about Jesus and His life, then like disciples we try our best to become like Him in every way.

Our verse today is short and simple:

1 Timothy 4:8 - "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

"For physical training is of some value..."

I played soccer most of my grade school life, up through 11th grade. In that time I spent a lot of time training physically, learning how to pass, shoot, and work together with my teammates. We also ran...a lot. That was part of the training so that we would be able to have the endurance to keep playing through all 4 quarters of the game.

My senior year of high school I decided to change things up a bit by switching to cross country. I was the only guy on the team, and also the only senior. I found out in the first practice that I was not ready for cross country. In competition, you have to run a 5k, which is roughly 3.2 miles. I couldn't run 1 mile. I was out of breath, wheezing, my heart beating out of my chest, legs shaking, side cramping.

What did I need to do?

Train.

Over the next few months I kept coming back and I kept on running. As I did, I found that I was able to go farther before losing my breath. Eventually, I was able to run the full 3.2 miles. Then, as I continued to train, I found that I could go faster. Eventually, I built up my speed to at least not come last in the meets. But it took time and continued effort. It took training to get to that point.

As a result, my body was healthier, my heart was happier - there was definitely value in that physical training. And that's what Paul was talking about in 1 Timothy 4:8. Physical training has clear value. Usually we get to see results when we train physically, whether it be bigger muscles, clearer tone, loss of fat, increased energy or endurance, or even increased happiness. Yes, physical training has been shown to positively impact your mood. Crazy.

But Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on to say that while physical training has some value, godliness has value for all things. He says it holds promise for both the present life and the life to come. In some translations, it even says training in godliness. What do you think that means?

Physical training is when we practice things physically so our bodies can get used to it and get better at it. Taking that into godly training would mean practicing things spiritually so we can get used to being like Jesus and get better at living like Jesus in every way. This requires two basic things: knowing Jesus and putting that knowledge into action. It means being a student of the Word and then training ourselves to be like Jesus every day.

1. Being a Student of the Word

For Christians, this is what we always come back to - because it is so central to our faith. We have to read and know the Bible. The Bible is where we first find out about Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, and it is where we find the full story of God's redemptive plan for us. From the beginning to the future end, the Bible unpacks everything we need to know about God and how He wants us to live in this life. Plus, it tells us what to expect in the next life, which is why training in godliness has value in this life and the life to come. Our bodies, no matter how fit or strong, don't go with us to the next life. But godliness does.

To be a student of the Word means not just reading, but studying the Bible. Seeking to understand it and know it. Then you have to apply it.

2. Training in Godliness

This is where many Christians tend to get lazy. They might have the knowledge, but they don't do anything with it. It is one thing to know what the Bible says, or to know how Jesus lived, but it is another thing to live that way yourself. So, once you know how Jesus lived, and how He wants you to live, find ways to do it! Practice living that way in real life!

Jesus is known to be generous, so you should practice generosity with others. The more you practice, the more easily it will come to you as you train yourself in it.

Jesus is known as a servant to all - He came to serve, not be served. Find ways to serve others, maybe in small ways at first, then in bigger ways. Let service characterize your life like it characterized Jesus' life.

Jesus loved deeply, so much so that He was willing to die on behalf of those He loved (like you and me). Practice loving others with a sacrificial love. Train yourself to start putting the needs of others before your own needs.

Being a disciple of Jesus means more than just being saved. It means studying Jesus and trying to be like Him in every way possible. And this takes time, it doesn't happen overnight. We have to keep going, even when it gets hard (especially when it gets hard). That's what it means to train. So don't give up. If you are a disciple of Jesus, keep going. Study the Word, train in godliness, and be like Jesus. Trust me, if you stick with it you will see the results.

What Does It Mean to "Take Up Your Cross"?

 We had the great fortune of hearing from one of our volunteer leaders for the message last night as we looked at what it means to "take up your cross and follow [Jesus]".

    Before we dive into the passage, let's look at some context. In the chapters leading up to our passage for today, Jesus is seen feeding a crowd of 5,000 men (plus women and children), walking on water, healing a demon-possessed girl, and feeding another crowd of 4,000 men (plus women and children). His disciples are with Him the entire time and witness all of these things firsthand. Each of these miracles by themselves are incredible, and when linked together they are a powerful display of Jesus' authority over creation. This brings us to the first part of our passage:

Matthew 16:13-20 - "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'

They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'

'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?'

Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'

Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah."

    Following those amazing miracles Jesus sits down for a conversation with His disciples and He asks about the rumors that are going around about Him. "What are the people saying about me?" And the disciples tell him - the people recognize that He is someone of great importance, like a prophet of old. The crowds have seen His miracles and they have heard His teachings and they can see that He is someone sent from God. And they are partially right - Jesus was sent by God.

    But then He takes the question and makes it personal: "What about you? You have been with me and heard my teaching and seen my power - who do you say that I am?" After everything they have seen and heard, He wants to know if they understand who He really is yet. And Peter replies, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." "Messiah", also known as the "Christ", means "anointed one". That's right, "Christ" is not Jesus' last name. It is a title. Peter calls Jesus the anointed one from God, the one promised in the Old Testament who would come and bring salvation and liberation to the world. And, even more importantly, Peter calls Him the "Son of the living God." Essentially, Peter calls Jesus God.

    And how does Jesus respond? "You're right." He gives Peter high praise for understanding who Jesus really is, and then blesses him by saying that He will establish the church and give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. A quick side note here: "Peter" means "little rock", and the word used for "rock" when Jesus says "on this rock I will build my church" means more of a "big rock". So He is saying here that Peter will be part of the foundation of the church, but ultimately it will be built on Jesus Himself as the "chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19-20).

    This is very high praise for Peter, and he must have felt awesome after hearing it. Unfortunately, that awesome feeling didn't last very long.

Matthew 16:21-23 - "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 'Never, Lord!' he said. 'This shall never happen to you!'

Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.'"

    He goes from being a part of the foundation of the church and holding the keys of the kingdom of heaven to being called "Satan" (which means "adversary" or "one who resists"). He went from being a key player in the establishment of the church to an adversary of Jesus. Why? Because his mind was set on human concerns rather than Godly concerns.

    We know that Jesus' death and resurrection payed the penalty for our sin and bought us from the power of sin and death into eternal life. If Peter had been right, or had convinced Jesus not to go down that path, then we would not have access to eternal life or a relationship with God. Without Jesus' death and resurrection, the Christian faith would mean nothing. Jesus' concern was for our redemption, even though it meant His death. I think Peter stopped listening after he heard Jesus say He was going to die. "But Jesus, if you die, then how are we going to establish the church? How is this kingdom thing going to work if you're not around?" It was a human concern, thinking only about this life and what was happening here. Jesus warned Peter that his thinking needed to change. He needed to get on board with Jesus' death, or he was only going to be a stumbling block in Jesus' mission.

This brings us to our final piece of the passage:

Matthew 16:24-28 - "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Truly I tell you, some of you who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'"

    This is one of Jesus' hardest teachings. What do you think it means to deny yourself? Well, this one is pretty straightforward - rather than go after what we want, we instead go after what Jesus wants. Whatever my heart's desires, wants, or future goals may be, my priority as a disciple of Jesus Christ is to pursue His desires, wants, and future goals, even if it costs me my life. This is where the next part comes in. Today, a "cross" is symbol for the church of what Jesus did for us when He died. It is a symbol of hope for us. But in His day, the cross was a symbol of humiliation, submission, and execution.

    The Romans used crucifixion (death on a cross) as way of executing the worst of criminals in the most painful and humiliating way possible. If you look forward in the gospel of Matthew (27:27-37), you will see that it was normal for the Romans to force the prisoner to carry the beam of wood that would be his cross up to the place of his execution. This was both humiliating for the prisoner as well as a forced symbol of his submission to the Romans. Jesus had been so brutally beaten and tortured before this point, however, that they had to get someone else to carry it for him. This is where we get the phrase "my cross to bear".

    So, when Jesus says that those who want to be His disciples must "take up their cross and follow me", He is saying that those who want to be His disciples will have to bear humiliation and death. In Luke's gospel, he adds that this is something they have to do daily. So every day Christians are called to carry death and humiliation as they follow Jesus.

    If that's the whole sales pitch - "Follow me and die" - which of you is taking Jesus up on His offer? "Follow me to death" is not the end of the discipleship under Jesus, however. This is the cost. This is what it will take to follow Jesus. You have to be willing to give up your own desires and wants, and even your life, to follow Jesus as His disciple. If you are unwilling to give up your life, or as He puts it, "whoever wants to save his life", then you are not fit to be His disciple. That's why this is such a hard teaching.

    Praise be to God that death is not the end! Jesus says, "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it". The reason why we deny ourselves, and take up our cross and follow Jesus is that through Him we have everlasting life and salvation for our souls!

    There have been times where I have gone to a restaurant and think, "oh, that looks really good maybe I'll get that". Then I see the price and think, "Nevermind, that's not worth it". Many people look at what Jesus calls His disciples to do - deny themselves and take up their cross - and they think its not worth it. They have their minds set on earthly things; they want all the things this world has to offer like sex, money, success and power and they want those things more than they want life eternal with God. But Jesus says, "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

    When we have our minds set on human concerns, like Peter did, we lose sight of what's truly important and what is ultimately going to be for our good. It is absolutely worth it to give up what I want out of this life in order to obtain eternal life with Jesus. The reward is worth the cost.

Some questions for you to think about:

1. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you recognized Him, as Peter did, as the anointed Son of God?

2. What desires, wants, or aspirations are you holding onto or refusing to deny? Jesus didn't say "Deny bits and pieces of yourself". He has called you to surrender everything.

3. Are you willing to take up death on a daily basis, offering your very life in submission to Jesus? Paul phrases it like this in Romans 12:1 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship". Have you offered your life as a living sacrifice to God? In other words:

Are you living for God or yourself?

There's No Time

 This one is coming out a bit later than usual, but that's ok, because the important thing is that you are able to look back and see what we've talked about this year. Our group is still recovering from all the sickness we experienced over Christmas Break, and Omicron is just sweeping across America faster than the latest broom. lease stay safe out there yall. Also, get a sense of humor because I'm going to guess that you aren't laughing and that joke was literal gold.

So last week we looked at a simple passage (super well-known, too) within the context of a story I shared. So about 6 years ago I worked at a bio-analytical lab as a kind of hyped up stockboy (no, I didn't do any bio-analyzing). While there I met a guy we'll call Eddy, who was about the same age as me. I was one of a few Christians in the workplace, but only two of us spent much time talking about our faith. Well, Eddy was what the church might call a seeker. He would regularly ask questions about our faith and about the Bible, and we would talk to him about those questions. But, I never took the opportunity to unpack the Gospel. 1. He never directly asked about it, 2. I didn't want to be accused of imposing my faith on him and making future conversations awkward, and 3. I always assumed I would have an opportunity in the future. One Monday morning I came in to work and Eddy wasn't there. No one knew why, and honestly we didn't think much of it because people miss a day of work all the time (sickness, emergencies, etc.). It wasn't until a couple days later that we found out the sad truth - Eddy had been killed in a car accident over the weekend. Just like that, he was gone. He knew a little bit about the Bible from our conversations, and he knew a little bit about God, but I don't think he ever heard the Gospel message about Jesus.

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says this to His disciples: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

The will of God, for me and for you, is to go and make disciples. Breaking that down: we are to tell people about their need for a Savior and about Jesus, the Savior. Those who repent and believe we are to baptize into the church and teach them to obey what God commands in the Bible.

These are some simple bullet points for sharing the Gospel:

1. People are stuck in sin and are destined for death.

2. Jesus (who is God in the flesh) came and died for our sin so that we could be forgiven.

3. When we believe in Jesus, we repent (turn away from) of our sin and follow Him.

4. All those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved.

5. Stuck in sin - sin earns death - Jesus died for sin - we believe in Him and are saved

I never gave Eddy a chance to believe and follow Jesus. Is it possible someone else told him about Jesus? Yes, it is possible. But I didn't follow the mission I've been given by Jesus - which is to make disciples.

The truth is, we have no idea what tomorrow holds. We don't know how much time we have left and we certainly don't know how much time our friends have left. SO LET US NOT WASTE OUR TIME.

I have two questions for you:

1. If you died tonight, do you know where you're going?

Take a long second to think about that. If you were to die tonight, do you truly believe that you're going to be with God forever?

2. If your friends died tonight, do you know where they're going?

I am willing to bet that all of you have some non-Christians friends or family. The Bible teaches us that those who do not believe in Jesus will be separated from God forever. So, what is keeping you from talking to them about Jesus? Is it fear that they will stop being your friend? Worry that it will be awkward? Uncertainty about what to say or how to start the conversation?

We can't let these things get in the way of talking to people about Jesus. He is their only hope, and God has placed YOU in their lives to share the Gospel with them. Our mission is urgent, because we just do not know how much time anyone has left. If you know that your friends or family are not believers, you have to at least give them a chance to believe. Below are just a few suggestions for ways to start the conversation or prepare for a conversation about faith in Jesus:

1. Ask what the other person believes. This gets a spiritual conversation going, and can very easily lead to you sharing what you believe. The bonus of this is you get to see their perspective and their response can show you how much they've thought about this kind of thing.

2. Ask "What do you think happens when we die?" Once again, it gets the conversation started with their perspective, opening up opportunities for you to respond with your perspective.

3. Ask them if there is anything you can pray for them for. This doesn't always go well, but most people are willing to accept prayer. This can also be a subtle way of letting them know that you have faith in a higher power, even they don't explicitly know Who you are praying to at first.

4. The blunt approach: Ask if they would be willing to hear about Jesus, or just jump right in to talking through the Gospel.

5. Share your testimony, your story of believing in Jesus. Try to keep it shorter than about 5 minutes if you can, and then as they ask questions (and hopefully they do) you can go deeper into certain areas. Always bring it back to salvation through faith in Jesus.

6. Ask if they would be willing to read the Bible with you. I've seen some people in our church do this with great success - people might be more willing than you give them credit. The cool thing about this approach is that you get to read the Bible alongside them, and they might ask questions that you had never even considered - leading to a pursuit of the truth and discovery of knowledge about God. This approach allows the Word of God to speak for itself.

7. Pray continually for opportunities to talk about Jesus (especially with specific people in mind), then look for those opportunities and DO NOT IGNORE THEM. When we pray about it, our eyes are more open to see opportunities as God brings them to us.

8. Look for different illustrations to use in explaining the Gospel (Romans Road, The Chasm, The Judge, CRU has some great illustrations to use). These can help you to know what to say or to better explain what you're trying to say in a conversation.

9. Bring someone with you. Making disciples is not a solo-mission. We don't have to do it by ourselves, and we're actually not even called to do it alone! The example set for us by Jesus was to go in pairs and work together. So find another Christian to go with you and work together in making disciples.

10. Read the Bible. The more we know about God and His Word, the easier it is to talk about Jesus with others. Start small, just share a verse you were reading recently and talk about how God impacted your life through that verse. It doesn't need to be an hour-long conversation for it to have a lasting impact on your friends and family.

I am praying for you all and my hope is that you will be steadfast in your faith and diligent in the mission we have all been given.