Living Godly Lives In An Ungodly World
by Bobby Witherington
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). “… that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (I Timothy 2:2). “But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness, For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:7-8). “Now godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Timothy 6:5). “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness” (I Timothy 6:11). “Godliness” is one of the character qualities required of all Christians (II Peter1:6).
These are a few among many scriptures which stress the necessity of our living godly lives. “Godliness” is a noun, translated from the Greek eusebia, and it “means to be devout, denotes that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well pleasing to Him” (An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, by W. E. Vine). “Godly,” when used as an adjective, is translated from the Greek eusebes and it “denotes pious, devout, godly, indicating reverence manifested in action” (ibid). Biblically speaking, there is no denying it; we must live godly lives! And we must live godly lives in this “present age” (“world,” KJV) (Titus 2:12).
Surely no honest, informed person would deny that we live in a very ungodly world! And God looks with extreme displeasure upon societies which become filled with ungodliness and immorality! Such was the condition of the world in Noah’s day. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). As a consequence, God brought in “the flood on the world of the ungodly” (II Peter 2:5), destroying all but eight people. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah became so depraved that God “rained brimstone and fire” upon those cities, as well as upon surrounding cities (Genesis 19:24-25). Indeed, God does not look kindly upon ungodliness and immorality; yea “sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
Would any deny that, morally speaking, society is deteriorating right before our eyes? Some of us remember when homosexuality was regarded as a perverted life style and immoral. Now we can read about “Teach Out,” featuring “Massachusetts Department of Education employees instructing children as young as 14 in how to properly perform homosexual sex acts”! Something is badly amiss when elementary age students are encouraged to read such filth as “Daddy’s Roommate,” or “Heather Has Two Mommies”! Increasingly, schools are discouraged from teaching anything connected with the Bible, lest they be hit with legal battles, while so-called “Sex Education” courses (bereft of any moral guidelines) are often required. A 2002 survey in the U.S. found that “30 percent of adults in America did not even believe in morality”! We, as a nation, are gradually headed from a state of immorality to amorality, where “anything goes,” and nothing is considered immoral! In a few years pedophilia will be viewed in the same way as homosexuality is now viewed. In fact, it has recently come to my attention that some “Legislators have introduced bills that would give pedophiles and other ‘alternative lifestyles’ legal standing.”
Our young people are growing up in “a different world” from that which characterized society when some of us were born. And there are many causes for this, including television, so called “reality shows,” the internet, modern “music,” the break-down of the family, the pressure from so many realms to divorce our nation from God, etc., etc. This is the world in which we live; we live in the world, but we must not be “of the world,” John 15:19. Yes, we must live godly lives in an ungodly world! This is a challenge which faces every child of God. But what is involved in living godly lives in an ungodly world?
To Live Godly Lives in an Ungodly World we Must:1. Remember who we are! If we are genuine Christians, we are “living stones,” a part of “a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,” a people who are “now the people of God,” and therefore “as sojourners and pilgrims” must “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (I Peter 2:5,10-11). “People of God” must not live like children of the devil!
2. Get our priorities in order! Jesus commanded His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). God will not accept second place in our lives; it is either first place or no place at all!
3. Develop proper friendships! Scripture says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits” (I Corinthians 15:33). The world is filled with alcoholics and drug addicts who never intended to become addicted, but who “went along in order to get along,” and “experimented” with such because of a “dare,” or because they did not want to be called “chicken” by their so-called friends. It has been observed that people “who lie down with the dogs often get up with the fleas!”
4. Set aside time each day for reading and studying the Bible. Physically, we are usually what we eat! The same is true in a spiritual sense. The Bible is genuine “soul food;” we need to feed on it daily! The truly “blessed” person of Psalms 1:1-2 is the man who “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,” whose “delight is in the law of the Lord,” and who “meditates day and night” in “the law of the Lord.” In this matter, we need to follow the example of David who said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalms 119:11).
5. Spend much time in prayer! Jesus taught that “men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Paul admonished the saints at Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:22). The Bible contains many examples of people whose lives demonstrated the fact that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). One such example was a man named Daniel who lived at a very critical period in Israelite history. The Persian King, Darius had signed a written decree to the effect that “whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days except” the king himself “shall be cast into the den of lions.” However, “when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home, and in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:7,10). Certain ones “found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God” they notified the king of his offense, and Daniel was cast into the den of lions (Daniel 6:11-17). But “God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths,” so that Daniel was not hurt (Daniel 6:22). Daniel found deliverance because he was a man of prayer. However, in sad contrast, many professed Christians often receive not because they ask not (cf. James 4:2).
6. Never miss a worship assembly which you are able to attend! First century Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). The “whole church” ought to come “together in one place” (I Corinthians 14:23), to honor and glorify God. God’s people are plainly exhorted to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). In such assemblies we encourage one another, we glorify God, we increase our knowledge of the Scriptures, we are drawn closer to God, and challenged to avoid “ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and to “live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12). In a real sense, regular worship helps us build up our spiritual “immune system,” so that we are made more able to resist temptation. There is a definite correlation between spiritual strength and regularity in scriptural worship.
Yes, we live in the world, but we must not be “of the world” (John 15:19). We must live godly lives in an ungodly world. “With God all thing are possible” (Matthew 19:26), so don’t say “it can’t be done”! Let’s do it!