“According to Godliness” – FBC Morning Light (10/9/2023)

Well, a good Monday morning to you. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and were able to gather together with God's people yesterday and learn something from his word that challenged you to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to become more and more like him.

I think that's an important factor in considering a church home. Really, does that happen? Does it happen consistently? That when I go to church, I am being challenged and encouraged to grow in godliness.

Truth That Accords With Godliness

Now, here's one reason why I think that's such an important thing, because of what we read in one of today's passages. So today in our scripture reading, we're in Jeremiah chapters 19 and 20, Titus chapter 1, and then Proverbs 30.

Almost done with the book of Proverbs. We'll be finishing that up tomorrow. What I want to focus on is the first couple of verses in Titus chapter 1, and that first verse. Listen to what it says. Paul, he says, A bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledgement of the truth, notice, which accords with godliness.

The truth which accords with godliness. Biblical truth that's proclaimed by a faithful pastor will accord with godliness. That is, it will challenge and encourage, it will reprove, it will rebuke, it will correct, it will instruct.

Inevitably, to the end of that, God's people grow in godliness. They become more and more like Christ, they exhibit the character of God and of Christ more and more in their lives. And it is the preaching and the teaching, the faithful preaching and teaching of God's Word that helps to mold and shape that.

So that's why I say, if you go to a church, you know, week after week, and you hear some, you know, sweet little positive words that make you feel good, but you go away without being encouraged or challenged to grow in godliness, to become more and more like Christ, then maybe you're in the wrong kind of church.

There are plenty of churches where people go, they go out of a sense of religious duty or religious ritual or whatever, and they'll go and they'll sit and they'll listen and they'll leave, and there's no impact whatsoever made on their lives.

They live like ungodly sinners live every day of the week, and going to church makes no difference to them. No, the faithful preaching and teaching of God's Word will accord with godliness, it will challenge us to grow in Christlikeness.

Election, Eternal Life, and the Preaching of the Word

I want to continue in those next couple of verses, because, you know, in verse 1, Paul brings up the idea of this doctrine of election. He says, according to the faith of God's elect, the ones whom God has, by his grace and in his grace, chosen.

It says in verse 2, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. He promised the gift of eternal life to those chosen in Christ before time ever began. Well, how is it that the elect, who are chosen in Christ and promised, given this promise of eternal life, how is it that they ever come to experience that, to know that?

I mean, after all, if God's chosen them for salvation, I mean, it's a deal, right? Well, God chose a method for that to take place. It says in verse 3, that he has in due time manifested his Word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior.

So in other words, what Paul is saying is this, that that hope of promised eternal life, promised by God in eternity past, that hope of eternal life is manifested to the chosen ones through the preaching of the Word, the sharing of the gospel, for the proclamation of the Word.

See, nobody knows who the elect are, nobody does, only God. Well, how are they ever to come to Christ? Through the preaching of the Word. God has chosen that methodology, and so that is an encouragement to me, that's an encouragement to me, because I know that the preaching of the Word, of the gospel, is not in vain, and you know, I may have 42 people absolutely reject it, may have 420 people absolutely reject it, but if in that crowd of 421, there's one whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world in eternity past, and has promised to that one eternal life, they hear the preaching of the gospel, and they hear it, and they respond to it, and they receive it.

This is the way God has chosen to work, the proclamation of the gospel. So we want to be faithful in that proclamation of the gospel. You know, when the book of Acts, Paul was in Corinth and he, you know, faced a bit of opposition and so forth, but the Lord came to him and said to Paul, hang in there, be faithful, keep preaching the Word, because I have much people in this city.

Paul didn't know it yet, didn't know who they were, but as he remained faithful, preaching the Word, they became followers of Jesus as well. They were people that God had for Christ already chosen. They just needed to hear the gospel so that they might respond.

Faithful Gospel Proclamation and Closing Prayer

So let's be faithful in the proclamation of that glorious gospel, the hope of eternal life that God promised before the foundation of the world. So our Father and our God, we're thankful for your grace, your grace that devised salvation's plan, your grace that brought it down to man, your grace that is chosen through the foolishness of preaching to save sinners and bring to Christ those whom you've given to him.

Oh may we be faithful in sharing and proclaiming that gospel. We pray it in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Monday, I trust the Lord will bless you in it.

Good day.