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.

Read the Bible Yo

 Let's start with a little game. Below are 10 statements. As you read each one, write down whether you think its a true biblical teaching or false teaching. You don't have to explain why you think its true or false, just determine which it is.

Things the Bible Teaches...??

1. Most people are basically good.

2. God accepts the worship of all religions.

3. The OT Law (Law of Moses) condemns children to death for cursing their parents.

4. Jesus was the first and greatest being created by God the Father.

5. Sin entered the world when Eve ate an apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

6. All people are created in the image of God and He loves them as His children.

7. Money is the root of all evil.

8. All you have to do to be saved is ask Jesus into your heart.

9. God will never give you more than you can handle.

10. God helps those who helps themselves.

Did you figure out which ones are true and which are false? What if I told you that only ONE of those statements is a true biblical teaching, and its not the one you think it is. The answer key (with an explanation for each) is in the comment section if you're curious.

If you got a bunch of them wrong, don't feel too bad, the wording got a little tricky and I even tricked some of the leaders last night with those statements. If you somehow got them all right, or came close, I am willing to bet that you were able to figure it out based on one thing: you've read the Bible.

Answer me this: have you ever felt like you can't talk about God because you don't know enough? Or have you felt like you can't talk about God because someone may ask you a question that you don't know how to answer? Or because you just don't know what to say?

How do we fix this? How can we know more? Where can we find answers? How can we know what to say?

The answer is simple: by reading the Bible. If you take nothing else away from any of my messages, take this: READ THE BIBLE. Know what it says. Consume it like New England Clam Chowder from the Cheesecake Factory after a 5-day fast (there's a story there). Take it in like cool water after a long summer day in the hot sun. Get lost in the Word of God like when you get stuck scrolling through TikTok until 4 in the morning.

Read.

The.

Bible.

Why is it so important for Christian's to read and know the Bible? Some of you know that I've recently gotten really into TikTok (my wife tells me I'm obsessed). Over the last month I've been interacting with a lot of false teaching (FROM CHRISTIANS) that has come across my For You page. I never knew how bad it was out there, even just within Christian circles. People who have a very poor understanding of the Bible are teaching whatever they want and calling it biblical. Then, people who don't know the Bible very well are believing them! This is a problem. When we don't know the Bible very well, we are going to fall into a lot of false teaching.

In Psalm 1, David talks about the blessing that comes to those who meditate on God's Word every day - it leads us to righteousness and keeps us close to God. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul tells Timothy "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

This letter, naturally, comes after 1 Timothy 4:8, where Paul tells Timothy "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."

We can see benefits to physical training. It keeps our body in good shape, allowing us to have a higher quality of life and live longer. There is value to that. But Paul here is saying that training in godliness has MUCH GREATER VALUE, holding promise both for this life, and the life we will spend in eternity with God. And how do we train in godliness? By reading Scripture. By spending time in the Word of God. It is what trains us to live as God wants us to live, and to draw near to Him in all things.

When we invest our time in the Bible like we are commanded to do, our minds are changed, our behaviors change, our lives change, our words change, our understanding is changed, and we are better able to identify false teaching. These are amazing benefits for this life, and as we draw near to God, these hold benefits for eternity as well.

So read the Bible. Meditate on it. Think about it. Memorize it. Act on it. The more we read the Bible, the more we will know what to say when people ask us questions. The more we read the Bible, the more we will know and be able to identify false teachings. The more we read the Bible, the more we will talk to people about the Gospel and faith in Jesus. This is because it is "out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). What we put into our hearts and minds is what is going to come out of it. So the more time we spend in the Word of God, the more the Word of God will come out in our daily lives.

If you want to grow in your faith, to grow closer to God, and to have everlasting benefits in both this life and the life to come: Read the Bible.

The Value of Life - A Biblical Perspective

 Last night we touched on a sensitive topic, abortion. Now, we didn't go into the political arguments of "Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice" or into whether or not abortion should be legal in America. No, our focus was simply on getting a biblical perspective on human life. While the Bible does not ever use the word "abortion", by spending time studying His Word, we can get an idea of God's view of human life and allow that to color our perspective on the issue of abortion. So, as we dive into Scripture we're going to attempt to answer 4 questions from a biblical perspective: 1) When does human life begin? 2) What is the value of human life? 3) What constitutes murder? and 4) Who has the authority (right) to take human life and under what circumstances?

Each question is bolded and I have included a summary answer to each question toward the end. My hope is that as you read God's Word you will come to an understanding of how He views human life and allow that to transform your thinking.

When does human life begin?

Genesis 2:7 - "...then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."

This is the go-to verse for people trying to say that human life begins at first breath - Adam wasn't considered a living creature until after God breathed life into him. The argument then goes for everyone else, we aren't considered fully alive (or having a soul) until we take our first breath after being born. However, we need to remember that Adam is a special case. No other person alive since Adam has been made of dust from the ground - we were born from our mothers. Since Adam is a special case, we cannot base the beginning point for every human life on the example of his creation. So let's keep looking.

Isaiah 44:2 - "Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen."

Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were even born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Job 31:15 - "Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did he not fashion us in the womb?"

Psalm 139:13-16 - "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

What do all of these verses have in common? They all speak of an individuality, a specialness, a foreknowledge of God of each person in the womb. God formed them, hand-crafted them, and in Psalms it mentions that God knew of all of the days of David's life before he was even formed in the womb. These verses point to there being human life before birth, and depending on how you want to interpret God's foreknowledge, human life even before conception (I don't take it that far personally, but I will share my personal views below). What we can say definitively in answer to the question is that the Bible views human life as beginning before birth.

What is the value of human life?

Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

This is the description of God's creation of mankind. It is starkly different than His creation of any of the other animals, as He definitely sets mankind apart from the rest of creation. He goes so far as to give mankind dominion over the earth as stewards (caretakers) of His creation. Now, when it says mankind is made in God's image, it does not mean that we somehow look like Him physically. God is not a physical being (although He can enter the physical world). God is spirit, which means we also have a spirit, a soul. That is my interpretation of being made in the image of God - we have a soul. Animals do not have souls, we do. That sets us apart from the animals and establishes a unique relationship with our Creator.

As the Creator of all things, God has a the highest view of Himself (and He is worthy of the highest view, for everything else, being made by Him, is beneath Him). If He has such a high view of Himself, and we are made in His image, what does that mean for us? It means He has a high view of us as well.

Luke 12:24 - "Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouses nor barns, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"

This supports the view that we are of a higher value to God than the animals.

This high view of the value of human life is reflected in all of the laws that God established for Israel to protect human life. Murder was a big no-no, and made the top 10 of God's commandments. This brings us to the next question:

What constitutes murder?

Exodus 20:13 - "You shall not murder."

Murder here is the intentional killing of an innocent person. The original Hebrew word for murder which is used in the commandment also includes accidental killing as a result of carelessness or negligence. Let me give you an example.

Say you are driving on the highway, paying attention to the road as you should, and huge gust of wind pushes your car into the car next to you, causing an accident. If the person in the other cars dies as a result, you are not at fault and you are not guilty of breaking the commandment to not murder. However, if you are driving on the highway and you're texting (or distracted in some other way) and your car drifts into the car next to you, causing an accident and killing the person in that car, then you are guilty of breaking the commandment. You were being careless as a driver and your carelessness caused that other person's death. You may not have intended to kill them, but they died as a result fo your carelessness - this breaks the commandment. And finally, of course, if you intentionally swerve your car into the other with the intent to kill the person in that car, and you succeed - you've broken the commandment.

So then, a biblical understanding of murder is not only the intentional killing of an innocent person, but also the unintentional killing of another person through carelessness or negligence. God does not want us going around killing people, on purpose or by accident, which is why He established this law.

Proverbs 6:16-19 - "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."

This is where we see the distinction about "innocent blood". But what does it mean for someone to be innocent? In Romans, Paul talks about how no one is innocent before God - we have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. However, when we talk about shedding innocent blood, we are talking about innocence in the eyes of man. Someone who has done you no harm is considered innocent - they aren't deserving of punishment because they haven't done anything wrong to earn punishment. They certainly don't deserve death. If, however, someone has wronged you in some way (say, they mugged you and stole your wallet), well then they are deserving of some kind of punishment (not death, but definitely recompense).

The next set of verses will help explain this, as well as answer the next question. As for murder, hopefully you have gotten the sense that biblical murder is the intentional taking of an innocent human life, and includes killing as a result of carelessness or negligence.

Who has the authority (right) to take human life and under what circumstances?

Leviticus 24:17, 21 - "Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. ... Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death."

This law highlights two things: the idea of "a life for a life" and the affirmation that human life is of more value in God's eyes than animals.

Exodus 21:12-14 - "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die."

Here we get some clarifications for the "life for a life". There is a difference made between pre-meditated murder and what appears to be a crime of passion. If the murderer planned ahead of time to kill another, he must forfeit his life. If it was an accident or happened in the heat of the moment, then the killer could flee to a city of refuge for a time and be safe.

Exodus 21:22-25 - "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her child come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

Now we're seeing some specific examples. If a pregnant woman gets hit, even if there is no harm, the aggressor has to pay a fine. This demonstrates that even threatening the life of the woman or the child in such a way is not good in the eyes of God. And if harm comes to either the woman or the unborn baby, the aggressor has to pay in kind. If there is injury, he must suffer the same injury. If there is death, he must forfeit his life. Once again we see a high value placed on human life (and this time even on the lives of the unborn), so that those who disregard that value are punished in kind.

Genesis 9:5-6 - "And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning, for the life of man. 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.'"

First, we see here that each person will be required to give an account of his life and his actions before God. That's it means for God to require a reckoning. Second, we see why "a life for a life" is the way that it is - because every person, from the unborn to the elderly, is made in the image of God and therefore has a high value in God's eyes.

Now, who said these things and who made these laws? God. God created all life, and it is His right to take it away. He established these laws so to protect innocent lives from being trampled by evil people. If a person takes it upon themselves to decide who lives or dies, apart from the Word of God, they forfeit their own life.

So, to answer this last question: God is the one who has the authority/right to take human life, and He has established laws for specific circumstances when it is okay for humans to take the lives of other humans. In every case we've looked at so far, it is only okay for humans to take the life of someone who has unlawfully taken other human life. This is where find validation for the death penalty, but only in cases of murder and disregard for the value of human life. "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."

To sum up:

1. When does life begin? Before birth - the unborn are considered human lives and are valued by God.

2. What is the value of human life? Extremely high. Every person, from the unborn to the elderly, is made in the image of God and therefore is highly valued by God.

3. What constitutes murder? The intentional killing of innocent people, or the unintentional killing of innocent people as a result of carelessness or negligence.

4. Who has the authority/right to take human life? God has the authority, and He has given this authority to mankind only in situations where someone is guilty of murder (or heinous sins against God Himself, which we did not discuss in this post). These situations require witnesses and judges to be involved, so that we can't just go around killing whoever we want just because we think they deserve it.

When it comes to issue of abortion, you will have to decide for yourself what you believe. However, I want to challenge you that whatever decision you come to, make sure that you can back up that belief with the Word of God. If we come to believe things that go against the Bible's teachings, then we are going against God, and that is the opposite of what Christians are called to do.

My personal conviction, and you do not have to agree with this 100%, is that human life begins at fertilization (when the sperm and the egg combine, and a new set of DNA is created). This would mean that any form of abortion (from "Plan B" to late-term termination of the pregnancy) is murder, because it is the intentional taking of innocent human life. I do not believe that rape justifies abortion, because the unborn baby, though a result of sin, is not deserving of the punishment for that sin. I do make a distinction in the case of medical emergencies/complications which put the life of the mother at risk, because God cares about both lives, and in those cases I think it is within the rights of the mother to decide which life to save if only one can be saved. Like any other sin, I believe abortion can be forgiven in Christ Jesus, but it has horrific consequences in this life (one being the killing of the unborn child). These are my convictions based on the verses above as well as other passages of Scripture, and I urge you to look at these passages and decide for yourself what to believe about this.

If you have questions, you can ask them in the comments below. Or, if you have my contact info, you can ask me directly and I would be more than willing to talk with you further about this.