Or, How to Know Liturgy Is Powerful
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:5
Date: January 8, 2023
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Paul told Timothy what it would be like in the last days.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV)
Note the bookends: the times would be difficult and the godliness would be in appearance only. The KJV calls them “perilous” times, the NIV “terrible” times, the NRSV “distressing” times. They are “troublesome, hard, difficult” (BAGD definition for χαλεπός). Brothers, without being too dramatic, these days of difficulty, as prophesied by Paul, are here in the room with us.
The last part is the worst part, and also the part that explains the rest of the list. There is only an “appearance of godliness” but no power of godliness, form without force. Their godliness is as deep and as dynamic as laminate.
A godly silhouette without godly strength could be personal, it could be liturgical. A group can go through the motions, like a church, or an entire denomination of churches, or even a generation of churches. It’s religious people who would even give a rat’s behind about looking godly. It’s a great threat to any people to play a part without the heart, to hide under liturgical practice instead of increasing in godliness and godly power through the liturgy.
Godliness is the key term, and we’re talking about godly worship. My take is that church people don’t talk about being godly like they used to. We don’t sort people by godly/ungodly categories, let alone godly in greater/lesser categories. Aspiring to godliness is even less how we walk. Wanting to be more righteous, wise, disciplined, spiritual, these are good, but so is pursuing godliness. Make godliness great again.
The Greek word for godliness is εὐσέβεια, “awesome respect accorded to God, devoutness” (BAGD). That certainly belongs with our worship. In English, godliness and piety are overlapping synonyms, to be godly is to be pious, even if piety spills over into recognizing and fulfilling one’s relational duties, to family, to countrymen, to God Himself. Thomas Watson wrote, “Godliness consists in an exact harmony between holy principles and practices” (A Godly Man’s Picture, p. 7).
I read through the Pastoral Epistles a couple times between Christmas and New Year’s, and they are full of instructions for shepherds of the flock; “I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14–15 (1 Timothy 3:15). In fact, this church/household of God who has the great confession of godliness: “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16), more about that in a moment.
Godliness is referred to 14 times in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus taken together. And it’s a great angle with application for our new year as a church and in this series of reminders about our liturgy. How can we know what liturgy is powerful? We know liturgy is not just in appearance but power when we see godly men and women who keep growing in godliness.
I’ve grouped Paul’s teaching on godliness throughout the Pastorals into four headings, four threads (more than just a word study, it’s our worship study).
There is no godliness without truth. This is why we need/use so much Bible/Scripture, why we use words not just dim lights and deep chords, why the confession exhortation and communion meditation and sermon in between are so teaching and statement oriented. There are propositions, doctrines.
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
(1 Timothy 3:16 ESV)
The first part of godliness, the first part of truth (verse 15), is a confession of faith about Jesus Christ. Godliness is personal, the He is a Person, but His greatness has contours; it is possible to be wrong about Him, which can’t help but send us in the wrong direction. The mystery of godliness is a summary phrase for God’s message of salvation which is the gospel, here put in a poetic, hymn-like structure. The revelation is meant to be definable, memorable, repeatable, and venerable to the Lord.
A couple other passages connect doctrine, words, and teaching with godliness.
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, (1 Timothy 6:3 ESV)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness (Titus 1:1 ESV)
The teaching/truth that accords with godliness in both verses marks the nature of the truth, what makes the truth the kind of truth it is, what makes it peculiar. The teaching belongs with obedience (see Matthew 28:20), expertise in loves and choices not just in fact management.
Truth that is known but not seen in godliness is not the full truth, not true truth, not the right result of what is right. The formula for gasoline does not fire any engine forward, an entire set of flashcards doesn’t make a fluent lover. So godliness is a manifest lifestyle, not an impressive library.
We are to pray for our government so that they will facilitate a place we we can live godly lives (which I think means more than praying that they would just leave us alone).
[supplications] … for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:2 ESV)
God’s grace forgives us and trains us to live godly amidst those who are ungodly.
[the grace of God has appeared] … training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Titus 2:12 ESV)
Men are told to pray, women are told to “adorn themselves in respectable apparel”
with what is proper for women who profess godliness (θεοσέβειαν)—with good works. (1 Timothy 2:10 ESV)
Professing it, making a claim of it, could be no better than having the appearance of it. Good works are what godliness means.
Adult children show godliness by how they care for their families.
if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. (1 Timothy 5:4 ESV)
And men, especially those who would be pastors and leaders in the church, must pursue godliness.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; (1 Timothy 4:7 ESV)
Train is γύμναζε, get yourself in the gym (the Greek word was used for gymnastics, and we get our English words from the Greek; progymnasmata are writing exercises), so to speak, to exercise and discipline oneself to get fit in godliness.
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11 ESV)
Pursue is “move rapidly and decisively toward an object.” Get after it. Among the list is godliness.
It’s not just a brute force expectation; do it or else. Godliness is not all sweat without any sweet.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7–8 ESV)
Value now and forever. Godliness has immediate promise, instant but not only temporary benefit. You can use it.
constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, (1 Timothy 6:5–6 ESV)
The conference speaking/best-seller “godliness” might have a lot of followers, but real godliness, godliness that puts things in perspective with thanks, is great gain (πορισμὸς μέγας).
This is where we started.
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:5 ESV)
The contrast, of course, to denying would be accepting, embracing, and embody it’s power. Godliness that is not just Sunday-clothes deep, or five Cs of liturgy deep, is powerful. So may each of you be more and more powerfully godly. Be such people, and assemble with such people.
The power, and even promise of reward, are important because in its exercise and embodiment godliness provokes persecution.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12–13 ESV)
The elders pray that our liturgy would promote godliness and strengthen the flock to live in powerful godliness. We see our worship as more than an audience, but as an assembly of the godly. And how would that godly participation in worship not spill over into godly participation in the rest of the work of the week?
We do know, and see, by God’s grace, our worship resulting in the gain of godliness. We are blessed. Boom!
His power gives what we need for godliness. Godliness has divine power. Pursue godliness, through worship and for all your work all week. May He make your godliness full-strength.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3–4, ESV)