Have you ever thought about how many times in the New Testament the Christian life is compared to the physical training of the body in earthly, temporary pursuits? This is just off the top of my head:

• 1 Cor 9:24-27 – Like athletes who discipline their bodies and bring them under control to win the prize, we Christians are urged to discipline our bodies, to make every effort not to join others in their sin while we try to win them to Christ.

• 2 Timothy 2:1-7 – Timothy (and also us Christians) is urged to endure the suffering that comes from preaching Christ crucified to a sinful world. He is to be like a soldier – single-minded in pleasing his commanding officer Jesus; like an athlete – he is to compete lawfully under Jesus’ command; and like a farmer – he is to be hardworking, doing everything within his power to bring in the crop.

• Hebrews 12:1-13 – The Christian life is compared to a marathon – we are to shake off every sin and burden that stands in our way and run the race (the long race) by faith in order to get to the prize of heaven. Jesus is our hero and helper, the person we look to for motivation and help to run the race. He saw the goal – sitting at the right hand of God – and threw off every obstacle: death on the cross, he laughed at the shame, and he reached his goal. We are to imitate him, never growing weary, never losing heart.

There are many more instances (that I will try to cover in future minister’s letters), but for now I want to take us to 1 Timothy 4:7-8, where Paul urges Timothy to avoid false teaching and train himself to be godly.

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 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. 

1 Tim 4:7-8 ESV

Notice the negative – have nothing to do with old wives’ tales and godless myths. What were these false teachings? Jewish myths and endless genealogies (ch. 1), trying to teach the law of Moses to believers in a way that made them think their eternal destiny is based on their own efforts to keep the law. But it isn’t. The law of Moses reveals to sinners that we transgress the law, and we need Jesus to graciously pay for our sins on the cross and bring forgiveness to us through his resurrection from the dead. So, have nothing to do with this false teaching!

Now notice the positive – train yourself in godliness. What is godliness? It’s not “good-liness.” It actually is training ourselves in understanding the gospel of the Lord Jesus, teaching it to one another, and imitating Jesus in all we think, say and do. Paul defines godliness in 1 Timothy 3:16:

He appeared in the flesh,
 was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.

1 Tim 3:16 NIV

See, godliness is all about Jesus – God appearing in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit in his resurrection, seen by angels (at his tomb) or messengers (the apostles), who began preaching him to the nations and the nations began believing in him. He was taken up into glory, but he has given his Spirit and continues to give his Spirit to us, his church… so we might be the pillar and foundation of the truth. We might keep preaching him to the nations so the world might believe in him until he returns and takes us up into glory. That is the life of godliness that Timothy and the whole church of Jesus Christ must train ourselves in while we wait for Jesus to return.

Paul gives the reason why we should train ourselves in godliness – 1 Tim 4:8: although physical training is of some use (its use is limited, temporary), training yourself in godliness has value for everything: value for life now and value for eternity. That is why Paul labours and strives (hard training) in practising the life of godliness, because he has put all of his hope in the Saviour of the world, but especially the Saviour of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and train themselves in godliness every day and every moment.

So, can I encourage you this year, as every year, no matter what your age and stage – train yourself in godliness. Take advantage of the formal ways we try to train/equip everyone at St Michael’s in godliness:

Throughout this year, starting on Sunday 22 March, we will have Equip Foundations on Sundays from 2:30–4 pm. This is for everyone, with the first two terms focused on deep diving into the Moore College course called Introduction to the Bible – 10 weeks helping us to see the overarching storyline of the Bible and how every story, person and event in the Bible points us to Jesus, who comes to fulfil all of God’s promises to the world. And yes, it is a big commitment, but it’s worth it, right? Training ourselves in godliness. So, take advantage of these and more training opportunities to equip yourself in godliness, and encourage those around you to join you in this useful training for both life now and eternal life.

Kingsley Box (Assistant Minister | 10am & 5pm)