Truth Magazine

By Dennis C. Abernathy

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy” (Prov. 28:13). According to this verse we can do one of two things: we can cover our sins and not prosper, or we can confess and forsake them and find mercy. When sin is of a private nature, i.e., no one knows about it but the individual and God, the person should repent and pray to God for forgiveness. If the transgression is public (generally well known) the individual needs to confess it publicly.

Some have the idea that a public confession of sin is not necessary, They ridicule the idea of one coming down the aisle and confessing his sins before all. They would liken this to a Catholic confessional. But it ought to be self-evident to the Bible believer that when one sins publicly he should confess the sin publicly. James say, “Confess yours faults one to another” (Jas. 5:16). John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). Just here, I want to say a word to some who are claiming that God will forgive the Christian of “certain kinds” of sins without the guilty confessing those sins. There is no Bible for such an idea. All sin is washed away or cleansed (whether one be an alien or a Christian) by the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5; 1 Jn. 1:7). But according to 1 John 1:9 God is faithful to forgive the Christian’s sin and to cleanse (by the blood of Christ) him from all unrighteousness, if he confesses his sin. Where is the passage that reveals God forgiving the erring Christian’s sins (any sins) without confessing and forsaking them? So, one is to confess before the Father in heaven and he is to acknowledge his sins before others, if they are of a public nature.

What does the confession of sin entail? It seems clear to this writer that the Bible teaches a public confession involves openly admitting the sin. If one is genuinely sorry to God for his sin and fully repents of that sin he will have no problem of confessing and forsaking the same. But some are teaching that the brother overtaken in public sin does not have to openly admit that he is wrong. He can just say, “I need the prayers of the church” or “I need the brethren to help me be a stronger Christian” or “if I have done wrong, I am sorry.” I ask you brethren, what has this person done? Wherein has he sinned? Actually, this person has not confessed in the Bible sense of the word. A thorough study of the word “confess” will show that it involves openly admitting the sin.

The individual who comes before the assembly to confess a public sin ought to confess his sin publicly. How can you pray for and help a brother if you don’t know that he has actually sinned publicly? If one is guilty of drinking he ought to confess the sin of drinking. If he is guilty of using dirty language, he ought to confess the use of filthy communication. Instead of encouraging erring brethren to confess they have “made mistakes” we ought to rather encourage them to confess the “mistakes they have made.” Instead of encouraging “if I have sinned” type confessions, we ought to rather encourage them to confess the “sin they have done.” Do you see the point? Listen friends, we all need the prayers of the church, we all make mistakes from time to time, and certainly we ought to be sorry when we sin. But in this article we are talking about specific acts of sin that need to be confessed publicly.

Perhaps one of the problems in this area is the desire for numbers in the church. Some live ungodly lives, but because of pride will not openly confess their sin. Brethren want them back in the fellowship so they accept them on the basis of a “if I have sinned, I am sorry” confession or “I want to be a worker again in the church. We had a problem in the past, but it was all just a misunderstanding, and I want to start over.” I ask you brethren, is that a public confession of sin or is it just slipping back into the fellowship without admitting sin? If one does not know whether or not he has sinned, he cannot publicly confess a sin. If one wants to be a worker in the church again, then let him clear up the problem and straighten out the misunderstanding and he can start over as God directs!

In Acts 19:18-19, we read: “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” It appears plain from this verse that “confessing” involves “telling their deeds” (admitting sin). Also, it involves clear evidence that one will do something about his sin.

I’m sure some would have told these poor misguided souls that they did not have to “tell their deeds,” just say “there has been a little misunderstanding. Burn your books if you want to, but do it in private, for if you openly confess what you have done and go too far with this thing it will cause people to talk.” Can’t we see this is not what the Bible teaches concerning public confession and forsaking of sin and that it weakens the force of the gospel? It covers over sin instead of confessing and forsaking it!

In conclusion, brother R.L. Whiteside wrote: “But if you good and faithful Christians feel that you must make public confession of sins, name the sins you are confessing. A blanket confession is really no confession of sins.” “Of course, to graciously make public amends would be considered very humiliating, but to do so would be such an outstanding example of Christian manhood at its best that every right-thinking person would applaud the deed; and such a deed would ease the conscience and make the one feel more content with himself.” Please remember, if sin is of such a nature that it calls forth a public confession then one needs to openly and humbly admit his wrong in confessing his sin.

Two examples will suffice to prove our point here. In the Old Testament, after the prophet Nathan pointed out to David his sin, David openly confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). There were no “ifs, and, or buts” about the matter. What we do see is an open admittance of sin and a confession of the same. In the New Testament we have the blessed confession of the prodigal son. After he had messed up his life in the far country of sin, devouring his living with harlots, he came to himself, he woke up or came to his senses. He realized where he had been, where he was, and with a penitent heart, determined where he was going. With his mind fully persuaded and his course laid out, he openly confessed, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son” (Lk. 13:21). Again, we do not see any “Ifs, ands, or buts”; rather, we see the open confession of wrong.

My brethren, a Christian will be willing to not only confess his transgressions, but to also forsake his sins as well.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 16, pp. 494-495
August 18, 1988

By Mike Willis

We all suffer in life. No man is exempt from suffering, as is seen from the fact that all men die. Consequently, we ask, “What can we learn from suffering?” Here are some suggestions:

1. Obedience. The Lord Jesus learned obedience from the things which he suffered. “Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. . . ” (Heb. 5:7-8). The submission of one’s will to the will of the Father is a difficult lesson to learn. Jesus learned submission from the cross. Paul also learned to submit to the Father’s will from the things he suffered. In 2 Corinthians 12:6-7, he was given a thorn in the flesh which he asked the Lord to remove three times. When the Lord refused to remove his thorn in the flesh, Paul resolved, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10). If you are called to suffer, you can learn obedience.

2. Steadfastness. A person can also learn to be steadfast through the things which he suffers. James wrote, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (Jas. 1:2-3). Paul added, “We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:3-5). The word “patience” means “steadfastness, constancy, endurance … the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings” (Thayer, definition of hupomone, p. 644).

3. Dependence upon God. David wrote, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Psa. 119:67). The afflictions which come to us remind us of our own frailty. They remind us that we shall surely die. Frequently in the hour of sickness, a person resolves to serve the Lord. The oppressed turn to the Lord for the deliverance which no man can or will give: “the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless” (Psa. 10:14). Since our sufferings sometimes drive us to greater dependence upon God, we can be thankful that they come to us.

4. Prayer. Another lesson which we can learn from our sufferings is to pray. When all human help fails us, we turn to the Almighty God. David reflects this when he wrote, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears” (Psa. 18:46). “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me” (Psa. 86:7).

I have witnessed this impact of suffering on several occasions when men, who had no habit of praying, turned to God in prayer in the midst of their afflictions. A father waits in the hospital while his child is being treated for some illness; while his heart aches, he prays to God for his child. A man watches his world crumble around him – his family is torn apart by divorce, he loses his job, old age takes his parents – and turns in desperation to God. Indeed, afflictions drive us to God in prayer – prayers which express the very depths of our soul (not some cold, formalistic prayer). Learning to pray is one lesson which one can learn from suffering.

5. Suffering lasts but a short period of time. In the hour of grief and suffering, the days seem long and drawn out; days seem like weeks, weeks like months, and months like years. We think our suffering will last forever. Most suffering, however, is short-lived. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psa. 30:5).

I attended a funeral two or three years ago in which a gospel preacher lost his God-fearing wife. As he left the funeral home to drive to the grave side, the man had to be supported to walk. His grief was greater than he could bear alone. This same gospel preacher has since remarried and has found happiness anew. This is not to minimize the pain of his grief and loss or his love for his first wife; rather, it is to remind us that our afflictions and sufferings last for a relatively brief moment of time – a time which too shall pass. Even those who suffer throughout a lifetime need to remember that the brief span of a lifetime is a relatively short period of time in view of eternity.

So, in the midst of your sufferings, remember that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” William and Gloria Gaither expressed this thought like this:

Joy Comes In The Morning

If you’ve knelt beside the rubble of an aching, broken hew,

When the things you gave your life to fell apart;

You’re not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain,

But the Master promised sunshine after rain.

To invest your seed of trust in God in mountains you can’t move,

You risk your life on things you cannot prove,

But to give the things you cannot prove for what you cannot lose

Is the way to find the joy God has for you.

Hold on my child, Joy comes in the morning.

Weeping only lasts for the night;

Hold on my child, Joy comes in the morning.

The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.

6. Suffering reminds us of our frailty. When I visit the hospitals, I am reminded that this world is not our permanent home. “Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am” (Psa. 39:4). “For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth” (Psa. 102:3). The illnesses of the body remind us that one day we too shall die. They serve as reminders to us that we must be making preparation for eternity. Regardless of how far back in my mind that I hide death from today’s consideration, I cannot escape the fact that I shall die. Sufferings should serve as reminders of this fact.

7. Suffering tries our faith. The Devil charged that man only serves God because of what he gets from God (Job 1:9). God allowed Satan to tempt Job to test his faith in God. The psalmist stated that “the word of the Lord tried” Joseph (Psa. 105:19) during the time that he was an Egyptian slave and prisoner. Whether or not suffering has the design from God to test our faith we may never know; however, we do know that suffering does test our faith. When suffering comes, men ask, “Why does God allow me to suffer?” “Why did God take my child?” “Why me, Lord?” All of these questions are questions related to one’s faith in God. Will a man renounce his faith in God in the midst of his sufferings? The Devil will use any circumstances in your life to destroy your faithfulness to God. One of the circumstances he will use is suffering. “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou brougbtest us out into a wealthy place” (Psa. 66:10-12). Those who have maintained their faith through suffering are like gold or silver refined by fire.

8. That God will be with us in trouble. We pray for the Lord to deliver us from trouble and many times he does. However, we need to recognize that God will be with us through the troubles of life. He will not leave us or forsake us at the difficult periods of our life. The psalmist said, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him” (Psa. 91:15). “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psa. 34:19). “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5), said the Lord. One poet expressed it like this:

“When you walk through a storm,

Hold your head up high.

And don’t be afraid of the dawn.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart

For you never walk alone.”

Indeed, God will be with you through the storms of life.

9. To be sympathetic. Everyone states that the ability to be sympathetic is a virtue; yet it is a virtue learned at the school of suffering. The suffering saint learns to communicate a comfort to others which the one who has not suffered cannot give. “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Cor. 1:34). Who can better minister to a wife at the death of her husband, than a widow who has experienced the same suffering? She can help the suffering saint through the problems which she faces. Recently I visited in the home of a young man who had lost his young wife three days after she gave birth to her second child. He told of the support which he received from talking to another Christian who had lost his wife through sharing their common experiences. The reassurance of knowing that what was happening to him in his grief was not uncommon helped him pass through the grief with hope and assurance that life would be better down the road.

As we experience the comfort which other sufferers can give to us, we should resolve to share our comfort with others who later experience similar griefs. A person should consciously look for others who are experiencing the troubles through which he has come and minister to their needs.

10. To build the pilgrim spirit. A pilgrim is someone in a land which is not his home. The sufferings of life should remind us that “here we are but straying pilgrims.” “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. . . . For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal,” (2 Cor. 1:9-10; 4:618).

“For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20-21). The sufferings of life awaken the yearnings in the soul for our eternal home, creating a longing for that time when we shall go to be with the Lord forever. Being reminded that this world is not my home, I reassess the priorities of my life, putting greatest emphasis on those things which affect my soul.

11. To glorify God. The book 101 Hymn Stories relates the events in the life of the authors of various hymns from which the songs were written. Many of our modern songs of praise come from the sufferings of life. Such is the case with “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” as related by Willie W. White in What The Bible Says About Suffering (pp. 131-132):

Joseph Scriven was a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. At the age of 25 he migrated to Canada where he met a delightful and dedicated young Christian lady. At the time they were engaged to be married they knelt together in prayer. As their love continued to deepen, and their wedding day drew near, they resolved that throughout their married life they would take every problem to God in prayer.

On the day before the happy young couple were to be wed Joseph was handed a letter, bearing the tragic news that hi; beloved fiancee had drowned. The groom-to-be was stunned, then turned bitterly on God. It was not right! It was not fair! How cruel of God to “take her!” . . . and then Joseph remembered the resolution which they had made: take every problem to God in prayer.

The bereaved young man fell to his knees and for three hours he begged God for light and guidance and strength. And God answered, as He always does. Joseph Scriven was granted the grace of Christ, and he arose from his knees and penned the words which have brought solace and strength to myriads of aching hearts:

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry,

Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer;

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,

Thou will find a solace there.

What is demonstrated by this modern book is confirmed by the ancient book of songs known as Psalms. The sufferings of David at the hands of wicked men (Saul, Absalom, Ahitophel, etc.) were the backdrop from which the psalms were written. The lips of Paul and Silas offered praise to God after the two had been beaten by Roman soldiers and put in a Philippian jail (Acts 16:25). “Did song ever come out of the heart of deeper injustice and did it thereby ever have deeper meaning? They went higher and higher in their notes of praise until they struck such high notes that God had to bring in the earthquake for a bass” (E. Stanley Jones, Christ and Human Suffering, pp. 86-87).

12. To Be Humble. Suffering may make and keep us humble. Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7) was given to him “lest (he) be exalted above measure.”

Conclusion

I am confident that there are many other lessons which one can learn from suffering. I hope that a consideration of these which have been fisted will cause us to accept our lot in life remembering the advice of Solomon: “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him” (Eccl. 7:14). God’s purposes are accomplished through suffering just as they are through prosperity. Let us learn from our sufferings. I close with the poem “Friendly Obstacles” (author unknown):

For every hill I’ve had to climb,

For every stone that bruised my feet,

For all the blood and sweat and grime,

For blinding storm and burning heat,

My heart sings but a grateful song —

These were the things that made me strong.

For all the heartaches and the tears,

For all the anguish and the pain,

For gloomy days and fruitless years,

And for the hopes that lived in vain,

I do give thanks; for now I know

These were the things that made me grow.

‘Tis not the softer things of life,

Which stimulates man’s will to strive,

But bleak adversity and strife

Do most to keep man’s will alive.

O’er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,

But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 17, pp. 514, 547-549
September 1, 1988

By Louis J. Sharp

The office, telephone rang. The caller was a concerned and grieving grandmother. She was stirred with emotion as she related to me that her grandson had been involved in an automobile accident. He had “totaled” a car his father had recently purchased for him. On the highway between Little Rock and Pine Bluff, he and a truck had collided. The young lad was unconscious, had a large gash on his head, but luckily, no broken bones. Presently, he is in a local hospital in stable condition, but under observation. The sad grandmother could scarcely hold back sobs of grief and anguish, she was so “choked up!” We offered our sympathy and help, but could really do little more than pray for the young man and his family.

On the plus side, this teenager had never been involved with drugs or alcohol. He is a fine young lad in most every way, except he is not a Christian!

After leaving the study and driving home, scarcely had I arrived until my wife called me to the telephone. One of our members was relaying a message to me. A fellow Christian, from Bossier City, Louisiana, had received news that her son, who is stationed at the Little Rock Air Force Base, had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. There were no particulars about the accident, but he too, is in another local hospital in critical condition. The distraught mother was requesting our prayers.

This young man, evidently influenced by military life and the allurements of this world, was no longer attending the services of the church. His faithful mother had recently been here to talk with him and to encourage her son to be faithful as a Christian. Like so many others, he had not heeded her pleas.

Two accidents! One a teenager, the other a young man of twenty. How barely each escaped instant death. According to our understanding of God’s word, neither was prepared to meet his God! I do not know how or why these accidents happened, but it does seem an impossible task to get the young to understand the danger of speed! Also, for them to realize that they are driving machines that are indeed wonderful, but can be “killers.” And yes, they seem not to comprehend the brevity and uncertainty of life. These things may be true of old and young alike!

This day may have been a little unusual, but by no means exaggerated. These things here related come to those of us who preach, all too often. From our experiences in dealing with calamities and human suffering, such incidents may be multiplied a hundred-fold.

Youth, filled with life, vitality, hope, and expectation, may not consider that life’s thread can be snapped at anytime. Although we cite them the language of Job, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope” (Job 7:6), they ask, “Who was Job?” “What has a weaver’s shuttle got to do with my life?” or “What is a weaver’s shuttle?” They do not see the connection.

Young people, we want you to see that even though you are in good health, accidents do occur. Your life which is today so full and promising, can be cut off; yes, just like the thread in the weaver’s shuttle. Preparation is essential for all, young and old alike. Dedication and Christian living must continue if we are to avail ourselves of the promised blessing – life eternal with God!

Young people, older people, all people, please beware and prepare to meet your God (Amos 4:12)! This thought should be paramount with each of us. If we lose our souls, nothing else matters. Where will you be in eternity?

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 16, p. 495
August 18, 1988

By Forrest D. Moyer

II. Godliness Is Profitable In All Ways

1. Godliness is profitable physically. The wise man pointed out the need of keeping this teaching by saying, “For length of days and years of life, and peace they will add to you” (Prov. 3:2). Wisdom says, “For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you” (9:11). One way by which godliness helps to prolong life is that it keeps us from dissipating morals and habits. Drugs, alcohol and immorality work to destroy the physical body. Godliness regulates our behavior so that we do not engage in “sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries . . . excess of dissipation” (1 Pet. 4:34). Godliness bids us to “flee fornication” and youthful lusts.” It teaches me that my body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit” and that I must “glorify God in my body” (1 Cor. 6:18-20). 1 must present my body “as a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1). Thus, I will refrain from habits that are destructive to this body which belongs to God.

May I make an earnest plea to my brothers who use tobacco? It has been shown most emphatically that cigarette smoking is linked to lung cancer and heart disease. With every cigarette you are shortening your life by some fourteen minutes. Why do that which is taking precious minutes of service to God away from him? You will agree that suicide is sinful – it destroys God’s temple. But destroying the body by degrees is accomplishing the same thing over a period of time. If we can do something that will help us have longer time to serve him, let us do so. Remember, God does not demand anything of us in our serving him that will destroy our bodies. Godliness truly is profitable.

2. Godliness is profitable mentally. One of the outstanding benefits of Christ’s way is that it demands the use of the mind. He demands that we think, reason, understand, and believe. He teaches that our thought process controls our actions (Matt. 15:19-20). The reason so many are bound for Hell is that they “walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in the understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of , their heart” (Eph. 4:17-18). Please observe the power of the mind in binding man in sin through this negative thinking. On the other hand the Christian is to program his thinking in a positive way: “. . . true . . . honorable . . . right . . . pure . . . lovely . . . good repute . . . let your mind dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8). This is genuine “positive thinking” and it leads us to say with Paul, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (v. 13).

The proper use of our minds will lead us to search, to study his word, and to believe God. The Christian is one so “who by reason of use has his senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). For this reason “though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). The intellect is a vital part of our service to him because service demands faith, and faith is a function of the intellect. Our faith grows by our hearing God’s word, and this, too, is a function of the mind. Therefore, we can say most emphatically that godliness is profitable mentally.

3. Godliness is profitable emotionally. Each one of us from time to time must face circumstances that tax us emotionally. That such is a national problem is seen in the large number of counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists who are constantly busy with emotionally disturbed people. This is not to suggest that qualified counselors do not serve a vital and needed purpose – they do. However, Jesus Christ offers to us an emotionally stable form of life. Godliness offers that which is psychologically sound from every standpoint. It offers a faith to sustain us. Jesus said to the apostles, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (Jn. 14:1). He can help eliminate the troubled heart that we all have from time to time. I have sometimes bogged down in the slough of despondency. I have been at that low point where one feels that the world is against him. I have felt the sorrow of severed relationships that once were precious. I have cried out in anxiety because of my own sins. But “thanks be to God for his wonderful gift!” I can be free from all these fiery darts of Satan. He lifts me up from the pit!

a. Jesus can eliminate the guilty conscience. He urges us to come with confidence to the throne of mercy that we may find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16). He tells us that the blood of Jesus is constantly there for the Christian so that as he repents and confesses his sins, he will have a continuing relationship with the Father (1 John 1:7-9). How precious it is to know that every sin of our past lives has been hidden in the depth of the sea of God’s forgetfulness. We do not have to lie down on our pillow at night with the guilt of any sin upon us. We can take all our sins to him and he will abundantly pardon.

b. Godliness also helps to eliminate worry from our lives. We have, perhaps, all worried about where the rent or the next bag of groceries would come from. We have worried about our health. We have worried about our children, and quite often, about myriads of insignificant things. Paul wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). As Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, he said, “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ (Matt. 6:31) Instead, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and I ‘do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 34). Only by a deep, abiding faith in God can we develop this armor against worry. John wrote, “this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4). Certainly we can say that godliness is profitable emotionally.

c. Above all, we can say that godliness is profitable spiritually. As we have seen, godliness is profitable because it gives to us a faith to sustain us and the forgiveness of all sins. Godliness gives to us a God to serve. Jesus said, “Man Should not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). When man’s stomach is filled with food, when his body is enraptured with pleasure, there is still a longing of soul that nothing physical can satisfy. As Paul expressed it in our opening text, godliness “holds promise for the present life.” It is promise of the abundant life of which Jesus spoke, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10). You can live an abundant life! But, friend, that life is only in Jesus Christ.

III. Godliness Is Profitable At All Times

1. Godliness is profitable for the everyday living of this present life. “But godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). In writing to the Philippians, Paul spoke of three great attributes that every Christian ought to possess: joy, peace, and contentment. He tells us how to have all these traits. He tells us to “rejoice.” But he does not stop there. He tells us of the only relationship in which we can rejoice – “in the Lord.” There can be no genuine joy elsewhere. Nehemiah expressed it centuries ago when he said, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). When we have the joy of the Lord in our lives, we are strong. Satan cannot rob us of our spirituality when it is guarded by joy. Just as a husband and wife who are truly happy with each other will not seek love elsewhere, even so one who knows the joy of Jesus will not seek the companionship of the devil.

He tells us how to have peace. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayers and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). We pray with sincere faith in Jesus’ promises to us. Because we believe him, we believe that he will hear us. We believe that our sins are forgiven. We believe that he will never leave us nor forsake us so that we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid” (Heb. 13:5-6). In godliness we have “peace like a river.”

Paul tells us how to have contentment. He said, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Phil. 4:1112). What was the secret that Paul had learned? “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (v. 13). He had contentment through Jesus because he knew that “my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (v. 19). He knew that “if God be for us, who can be against us?”, and that ‘,all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8). Godliness brings joy, peace, and contentment into our lives. It is profitable for this present life.

2. Godliness is profitable for the life which is to come. It is only by godliness that I can be with God eternally. He has made it possible by his grace for me to have a right standing with him. I have the responsibility of maintaining that right standing by walking in the light and allowing the blood of Jesus to cleanse me of my sins. This “walking in the light” can be equated with godliness – the right attitude to God and to things divine. By God’s love and power, I can have eternal fellowship with him in Heaven. Peter describes our new dwelling place in 2 Peter 3:11-13. He shows that this present world is to be destroyed. Since it is to be destroyed, “what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?” Please observe the demand for holy conduct and godliness on our part. By this kind of living in fellowship with him “according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” Our new dwelling place beyond this earth is “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4-5). Therefore, godliness- will carry us through life and will help see us through the valley of the shadow of death. God will lead us safely through to the other side where we can hymn his praises forever while eternity rolls on and on.

After Paul had spoken of the need of godliness and that it is profitable in all ways, he said, “It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance” (1 Tim. 4:9). Let us rely on it; let us live by it. We will have a better life now and eternal life with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth. Our prayer is that the Father will grant us to live in all godliness before him all the days of our lives.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 16, pp. 491-492
August 18, 1988