{"id":47330,"date":"2017-03-13T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/\/us\/?p=47330"},"modified":"2017-03-13T14:12:08","modified_gmt":"2017-03-13T19:12:08","slug":"ministerial-godliness-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.banneroftruth.org\/us\/resources\/articles\/2017\/ministerial-godliness-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministerial Godliness: Its Value"},"content":{"rendered":"

What matters most to us in life? There is a \u2018right\u2019 answer to that question, but then again there are many \u2018real\u2019 answers that lurk beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

No serious-minded Christian would argue with the truth of the Shorter Catechism\u2019s assertion that \u2018the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever\u2019. (It is nothing less than Jesus\u2019 exhortation to \u2018seek first the Kingdom of God\u2026\u2019 [Mt 6.33] in statement form.) However, since attitudes and actions speak louder than words, the reality is often very different.<\/p>\n

We have used the last two posts on this theme of ministerial godliness to explore Paul\u2019s counsel in his first letter to Timothy as the young pastor of the church in Ephesus \u2013 a church that was beginning to reel from the impact of false teachers and their influence. Throughout the letter he has highlighted the link between distorted doctrine and warped behaviour \u2013 not least on the part of the false teachers themselves.<\/p>\n

The apostle\u2019s concern is to impress on his young pastor-friend the importance of godliness as the outworking of healthy teaching and as one of the marks of a faithful minister. And, as we noted in the very first post, this tallies with Robert Murray McCheyne\u2019s perceptive remark when he said, \u2018My people\u2019s greatest need is my own personal holiness\u2019.
\nAs we follow this thread through 1Timothy, it takes us all the way to the final chapter where Paul says, \u2018godliness with contentment is great gain\u2019 (1Ti 6.6). Its value is much more far-reaching than one might at first imagine.<\/p>\n

The backdrop to this comment is significant. He has just spent the last paragraph revisiting the issue of false teaching and its effect on how professing Christians live. Indeed, he contrasts \u2018false teaching\u2019 with \u2018godly teaching\u2019 (1Ti 6.3) and goes on to expose the inconsistency between the behaviour of false teachers and the message of the Bible they claim to proclaim.<\/p>\n

Paul does not mince his words. He condemns them as \u2018men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain\u2019 (1TI 6.5). The life of these ministers had become a charade. Their \u2018ministry\u2019 was nothing more than a thinly veiled mask to cover up their greed.<\/p>\n

It is not without significance that Paul puts this connection under the spotlight. Jesus had already done something similar in the Sermon on the Mount when he identified \u2018mammon\u2019 as the most common rival god to the true God who claims our deepest devotion in life. In fact Paul punctuates this little section in his letter with the warning, \u2018\u2026for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil\u2019 (1Ti 6.10). But the fact he connects it to what motivates ministers is telling.<\/p>\n

It is not at all uncommon for pastors to grumble about their level of income and standard of living in comparison with their neighbours and friends in the secular sphere. And in many cases it is the sad reality for them. Even Paul himself \u2013 the preeminent preacher-theologian of the New Testament world \u2013 knew first hand what it was like to struggle to make ends meet (Php 4.12). It was a key reason why, at times, he had to provide for himself financially through tent making. But when income becomes a fixation and \u2018godliness\u2019 becomes a fiction to encourage more support, then it reveals something dangerous in our heart of hearts. One pastor in America said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, \u2018The test of a minister\u2019s sanctification is, after preaching away, how far up the turnpike he gets before he opens \u201cthe envelope\u201d!\u2019 But its truth is closer to the mark than many might admit.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s response is to remind, not just Timothy, but all his ministerial colleagues through the centuries that there is greater gain that comes through godliness than what we get for ourselves by way of income.<\/p>\n

His logic is irrefutable: \u2018For we brought nothing into this world, and we take nothing out of it\u2019 (1Ti 6.7). As Job was to discover and confess in the midst of extraordinary crisis and pain, \u2018Naked I came from my mother\u2019s womb and naked I shall depart\u2019 (Job 1.21). Despite his vast estate, the loss of his possessions, his children, his health and his reputation was something for which no amount of money could ever compensate. Indeed, his assertion, \u2018\u2026the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord\u2019 is the most eloquent declaration of where life\u2019s deepest contentment is found: in the God by whom and for whom we were made.<\/p>\n

As Jesus makes so very plain, life does not consist of what we eat, wear or what we can accumulate for ourselves (Mt 6.25-34). At the very heart of our humanness lies the relationship for which we were designed: fellowship with God. He is the one in whom we live and move and have our existence. And in him and through him alone do we find a contentment that is not at the mercy of the ups and downs of our fortunes on earth. It allows us to hold what we have with an open hand and rest in the knowledge that having God is infinitely more important than having the gifts that too often eclipse him as the Giver.<\/p>\n

The same pastor in America who made the quip about turnpikes and envelopes, once told me of his first visit to Pakistan for a three-week ministry trip. He spent the time preaching in churches located in some of its poorest areas \u2013 some of which were constructed over open sewers. When he returned, he said, \u2018I have never met people who were so poor; yet I have never met any who are so content\u2019.<\/p>\n

Godliness with contentment is the greatest of gains \u2013 not just for ourselves and our own enjoyment; but for those whose lives we touch and what we can impart to them.<\/p>\n

\n
Mark Johnston is Pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church, Cardiff. He will be preaching the closing sermon at this year\u2019s US Ministers\u2019 Conference<\/a> (May 30 \u2013 June 01).<\/h6>\n
The above article was originally posted at aplacefortruth.org<\/a> and is re-posted here with the kind permission of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals<\/a>.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What matters most to us in life? There is a \u2018right\u2019 answer to that question, but then again there are many \u2018real\u2019 answers that lurk beneath the surface. No serious-minded Christian would argue with the truth of the Shorter Catechism\u2019s assertion that \u2018the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever\u2019. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[253],"resource-author":[757],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-47330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-banner-of-truth-ministers-conference","resource-author-johnston-mark"],"yoast_head":"\nMinisterial Godliness: Its Value – Banner of Truth USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ministerial Godliness: Its Value\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What matters most to us in life? 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