To Be A Godly God Fearer
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Recently my family and I were invited to have dinner with one of our church families, which, by the way, is a very nice way to treat a Pastor. During the after dinner conversation, a comment was made by our host that it seemed to him that it's difficult to bring people to the Lord in our country today because it's a lot easier to be "spiritual" than to be "Christian." Not only did I readily agree with this comment, but it immediately occurred to me that it corresponded to what I wanted to share in today's message. What is the distinction? To be "spiritual" is to simply acknowledge there is a spirit world, and that as human beings, we are capable of interacting with that world because we have a non-material aspect to our personhood. The rush to access the spirit world is a reaction to our culture's overemphasis on materialism and its accompanying world view which includes the practical belief that we are nothing more than a compilation of molecules. As human beings, we are therefore nothing more than any other object that can be experienced by use of one or more of the five senses. In other words, the materialistic world view says that we are, in the final analysis, no different than a dog, a rat, a bush, or a rock. In this view, even thoughts and emotions can be easily explained as proceeding from biological and chemical factors. The spiritual world view begs to differ, and offers the protest, "There's more to us than the physical, there's a spiritual life force which has the capacity of communicating with other spiritual beings." You say, "What's wrong with that view?" Actually, so far so good. To recognize the reality of the spirit life is a good start, but we must not stop there. We take it another step to acknowledge that good and evil pervade the spirit world even as they do the physical, so just to "be spiritual" is not enough to assure that we are accessing the good and avoiding the evil. Christians believe that the only way to be confident that good is achieved both in the present as well as the future, is to develop a personal relationship with the ultimate source of good, and that is God, as revealed in and by Jesus Christ. This leads us to consider a word and a phrase in the Bible which appear many times, the word is "godly," and the phrase is "fear God." Most of the sightings of the word "godly" are modifiers, appearing either as adjectives or adverbs. We learn about:
A different form of this same word, and one which comes from the same Greek word, is "godliness," and is found primarily in I Timothy and II Peter. Our prime example is where Paul writes, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 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." (I Timothy 4:7,8) Most people around us are fully aware that physical exercise is important. However, we are also aware that in America, obesity has been declared an epidemic. We are especially concerned that over the last decade, children in the United States have been gaining more and more weight. The concern is that if this trend is not checked, we will doom our children to be much more likely to suffer from debilitating and chronic diseases such as diabetes, several types of cancer, joint and muscle ailments, and even heart disease. Obesity is also associated with disability and premature death, increased health care costs, and lost productivity. Yes, even premature death. One Surgeon General’s report concluded that "regular physical activity decreases overall mortality rates in a dose-response fashion." In other words, the more a person is physically active, the longer the person can expect to live. How have we come to develop obesity as a national health problem? The simple answer is, our energy intake exceeds our energy expenditure.
She goes on to make the argument that for most Americans, the increase in obesity is clearly tied to the decrease in physical activity. While we want to believe that weight increase is a result of higher consumption of calories, the fact is, calories consumed by Americans remained fairly constant over the last 40 years, and surprisingly, calories coming from fat have decreased in the last 10 years (from about 38 percent to 32 percent). So why are obesity levels dramatically increasing? Physical inactivity. "Small decreases in physical activity can have large impacts over time. People who decrease their physical activity level by 50 calories a day could gain over five pounds in a year, 50 pounds in a decade, and 100 pounds in 20 years." Less than a century ago, physical activity was part of a daily routine. Today we are annoyed if we can’t find a parking spot within a few yards of where we are going - in fact, if possible, we'd rather use the drive-up window and not have to walk a step. If there are more than a few stairs, we seek the elevator. Since physical activity is no longer a significant part of most people’s daily routine, physical activity must be planned. James Sallis, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, studied factors influencing physical activity in youth. His conclusions were: time spent outdoors was the most important factor influencing physical activity for young children; time spent in organized physical activities was the most influential factor on physical activity for adolescents. Sallis encourages families and communities to develop safe, accessible places for children to play outside. Once outside, the imagination of children usually takes over and they naturally become physically active. Teenagers should be encouraged to participate in organized sports. He goes on to say, "Physical activity should be part of everyday life, not just to help maintain healthy weight, but also for enjoyment and mental health - a great way to relieve stress, maintain mental alertness, prevent injuries, and prevent chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis." According to Paul's letter to Timothy, we could add "spiritual well-being" to the list. When a person is physically fit, they are more likely to be capable of being alert to God's voice and able to follow through with instructions He provides for our daily lives. Should Christian parents care about the physical health of their children? Of course they should. In the article by Betty Holmes, she provides what she calls "Simple Successful Strategies for Parents of Overweight Children." This may be good advice for all parents - and the rest of us too! 1. Control the type of food available. Make fruits, vegetables, low-sugar cereals, and low fat calcium products readily available for snacks. 2. Secure a safe, accessible place outside for play — especially for young children. 3. Model healthy behavior — normal, healthy eating, and an active lifestyle. 4. Commit to quality family meal times as frequently as possible. 5. Praise, love, and cherish the child — never tie acceptance to body size or shape. 6. Participate in family physical activity times on a regular basis — family hikes, family bike rides, and family walks. 7. Encourage physical activity. Support your child’s organized physical activities. 8. Because a certain level of overweight may be genetically determined and internal controls may discourage weight loss, focus on good health, not a certain weight goal. 9. Limit how much time your child watches television, plays video games, and works on the computer. Balance inactive time with active time. 10. Strive to follow the guidelines of the Food Guide Pyramid. Going back to I Timothy 4:8 - "bodily exercise profiteth a little" - the comparison between exercise and godliness is not so much between what has little or much value. Rather, it has to do with present and future well being. Godliness is superior because it only affects the present, but also determines the future. Today we want to come to the place where we can say with all confidence, "I want to be a godly man; I want to be a godly woman." And we understand that this is different from, and far more than, being "spiritual." How can we explain that difference? By associating the word "godly" with our other phrase, "fear God." There are only a few but significant Bible people of whom it was said, "they feared God":
However, the one place where our word, "godly," and the phrase "fear God" come together is when we learn about a man in the New Testament by the name of Cornelius (Acts 10). As an aside, when reading this story, we find the word translated "devout," which we take to mean "godly," is found a second time when describing the soldier sent on the mission to bring Peter - he too was "devout" (Verse 7), but this refers to his loyalty to his commander. Right away we are reminded of the story of Jesus when He healed the servant of another Roman military commander who identified a "devout" soldier as one who simply obeyed the commander. In this way we too are called upon to be devoted to God, willing to give unquestioning obedience. However. in the case of our main character, Cornelius, in order for us to understand that being "devout" meant to be "godly," the added phrase is given - he "feared God." For just a moment, let's look at this and notice the outstanding features of this man:
2. We also learn that he is generous toward the needy, and is a man of prayer. 3. Later we learn that he is a family man and concerned about his friends as well. 4. What is of special interest is his ready response to the surprise messenger, an angel whom he readily accepts as being sent by God. 5. He follows the directives given to him, and upon hearing the Gospel, accepts, is suddenly baptized in the Spirit, and later baptized in water. Here then is a worthy model for anyone wanting to be a God-fearer. Nationality, occupation and religious background are all incidental factors. The transferable and coveted characteristics of Cornelius include:
2. his being a caring man - his care for the needy was demonstrated by the giving of alms, the care for his family, and close friends (verse 24) can be seen in his inviting them all to be present when Peter arrived to preach the Gospel, 3. his openness to receive the Gospel and be filled with the Spirit. During our year-end week of prayer we especially prayed for guidance concerning the ministry of Crossroads Church for this coming year. A number of thoughts came as we prayed, but none more persistent than this - a priority for the Gospel is our own families and close friends and associates. This is what godly, god-fearing men and women do.
There's no denying that one's family members and close friends are the most difficult to reach with the Gospel message. Success requires far more than giving a personal testimony and telling the Gospel story, it must be lived day in and day out. And it must be bathed in constant intercessory prayer on their behalf. There's one more important statement concerning this matter of fearing God. When Jesus was getting His disciples prepared to face certain persecution, He coached them to diminish their fears by remembering this important truth, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28) The stakes are high for us to be Godly God Fearers and lead our families in that same direction. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun.
To Be A Godly God Fearer 1. What is the difference between being "spiritual" and being a Christian? 2. The word "godly" is associated with many characteristics. Look up the following verses to identify them: II Corinthians 1:12, II Corinthians 7:10, II Corinthians 11:2, I Timothy 1:4, Hebrews 12:28, III John 1:6, and II Timothy 3:12+Titus 2:12). 3. According to II Peter 2:9, who may expect the Lord to rescue them from trials? 4. Why should Christians be concerned with matters related to physical well-being? 5. What can be done to counteract the trend toward becoming overweight in ourselves as well as in our children? 6. Why is "godliness" superior to physical training? 7. In addition to Cornelius, there are at least three other men and a group of women whom the Bible describes as "fearing God." Who are they? 8. What is the one place where our word, "godly," and the phrase "fear God" come together in reference to the same man? 9. How is being a devout soldier much like being a devout Christian? 10. What was the nationality, occupation and religious background of the main character in Acts 10? 11. What other outstanding qualities are attributed to this "god-fearing" man? 12. What do these three men have in common? Noah, Job, and the Philippian Jailer. 13. Why is it difficult to share the Gospel with family members and close friends? 14. What is the ultimate reason to fear God and not man?  - - Return to Top of this Page  - Email a Link to this Page
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