Trustworthy Statements Series
“The Value of Godliness”
I Timothy 4.1-16
Introduction
Currently we are in a five-part series entitled “Trustworthy Statements.” Five times in the
Pastoral Epistles, which includes the books of I and II Timothy and Titus, the Apostle Paul
uses this little phrase “it is a trustworthy statement” to indicate a statement or saying that
had developed in the early church during the first century and used in public worship
services. What is interesting is that Paul incorporates five of these trustworthy statements
into the inspired pages of holy Scripture.
We first looked at the brief and concise statement of the gospel when the Apostle wrote,
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners.” (ITim.1.15) Last week we looked at a trustworthy statement that would
have been recited in an ordination service. It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires
to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. (ITim.3.1) This week we come to a
trustworthy statement that speaks about the importance of pursuing godliness in our lives
as believers in Christ. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, discipline
yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is
profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
(ITim.4.8-9)
So, let’s recite these trustworthy statements together this morning the way the early
church would have recited them centuries ago.
Pastor: It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance
Congregation: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
Pastor: It is a trustworthy statement:
Congregation: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.
Pastor: It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance
Congregation: discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of
little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.
Our Scripture reading for today will be First Timothy chapter four verses one through
sixteen. Hear now the Word of God:
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars
seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and
advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who
believe and know the truth.
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4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. 6 In pointing out these
things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the
words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 7 But have nothing
to do with worldly fables . . .. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose
of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all
things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 It is a
trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive,
because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, that is,
believers. 11 Prescribe and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness,
but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who
believe. 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and
teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you
through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. 15 Take pains with
these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 Pay close
attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you
will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Young Timothy
As I mentioned in the first sermon of this series Timothy probably came to faith in Christ,
together with his mother and grandmother, as Paul preached the gospel during his first
missionary journey in Timothy’s hometown in the area of Derbe and Lystra. (Acts 14.6-7)
Timothy was probably no older than his late teens or early twenties when Paul would pass
through the area again on his second missionary. By that time Timothy had distinguished
himself as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and was spoken well of by the brethren and
elders of the churches in the region. Paul was so impressed by Timothy’s faith he wanted
Timothy to join him on his missionary journeys. Timothy had traveled with the Apostle
Paul for about fourteen years before Paul sent him to pastor the church in Ephesus. This
means that Timothy would have been in his thirties when he began his pastoral ministry in
Ephesus. In our text this morning Paul refers to Timothy’s youthfulness because men in
that day were not considered as entering manhood until the age of forty. Timothy’s youth
would raise eyebrows for some, particularly those who were older than he, perhaps even
giving rise to a challenge from false teachers who were his seniors.
False Teachers
Timothy had been assigned to a church that was experiencing serious problems. False
teacher who claimed to be Christians had invaded the church of Ephesus. These false
teachers had abandoned the genuine, authentic faith once delivered to the church and
replaced it with a theology that should be consider as worldly fables. Paul had told the
Ephesus elders years before that after his departure savage wolves will come in among you,
not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20.29-30) At that time Paul charged the
Ephesian elders to be on guard for themselves and for all the flock but seems that these
savage wolves had snuck into the fold anyway.
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The Apostle has harsh words for these false teachers calling them deceitful spirits who are
teaching doctrines of demons. Paul tells us that these false teachers had reached a point
where their conscience no longer bothered them. Their hypocritical lies had caused their
conscience to become callous. They had burned the conscience with a branding iron of
heresy. What false doctrine could these guys be teaching that would cause the Apostle to
use such strong language?
Denying the Goodness of God’s Creation
The essence of their heresy was the denial of the goodness of God’s creation. Along with
other restrictions they taught that a person should not be married and to abstain from
certain foods. Basically, these false teachers taught that a person showed their devotion to
God by abstaining from personal pleasure. The taught that a person’s willingness to abstain
from pleasurable food and marital interaction showed how much they were willing to
sacrifice for God and that God would reward their sacrifice. Their mantra was, “Do not
handle, do not taste, do not touch.” (Col.2.21) Their man-made religion was marked by self-
abasement and severe treatment of the body. (Col.2.23) Spirituality was measure by how
much a person was willing to reject and abstain from anything that looked good, tasted
good, and felt good.
The problem was that their teachings were not only a racial departure of the gospel but
were a racial departure from the biblical principle that everything created by God is good,
and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the
word of God and prayer. (4.4-5) Remember God’s Word tells us that at the end of the sixth
day of creation God saw all He had made, and He pronounced His blessing saying it was
very good. (Gen.1.31) And now even in its fallen condition covered with thorns and thistles
God’s creation is beautiful and His blessings to us through His creation are abundant. As
Paul teaches us in First Corinthians, “Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without
asking questions for conscience’ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains. Whether,
then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (ICor.10.25-27, 31) As
God’s people we are to enjoy God’s creation with gratitude and thankful hearts. Paul
instructs Timothy to teach the Ephesian church about the goodness of God’s creation and to
call them to nourish themselves on words of faith and sound doctrines instead these
worldly fables. (4.6-7a)
The Trustworthy Statement
Instead of following the man-made doctrine of self-abasement Paul reminds the church of
the trustworthy statement that is deserving full acceptance which states, discipline yourself
for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is
profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
(4.7b-8) See you, true spiritual training benefits a person’s life while enjoying God’s
creation in this present life and also for the life to come. Paul is not speaking against
physical exercise but rather promoting the dual benefit of spiritual exercise.
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One semester in seminary I had a three-hour class on Thursday nights. Because the class
sessions were so long the professor, Dr. Palmer Robertson, would give us a fifteen-minute
break. During that time as a church, we had a Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study every Friday
morning at 6:30. So, during the break at class I would go into the seminary office area and
make phone calls inviting and encouraging men to join us on Friday morning. (Yes, this was
before everyone had cell phones.)
One evening Dr. Robertson overheard my conversation with a guy who never attended the
Bible Study because he played in a men’s basketball league at the YMCA during the same
time. Dr. Robertson leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Tell him the bodily exercise has
little benefit, while spiritual exercise holds a promise for this life and for the life to come.”
As a seasoned pastor/theologian Dr. Robertson knew the importance of speaking the truth
of God’s Word into every situation. And this is what the Apostle Paul is doing for Timothy.
Brothers and sisters, bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all
things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Training in Godliness
Paul is instructing Timothy to promote true spiritual fitness to his congregation. Pastor
Timothy is to prescribe and teach these things. So, what are the spiritual exercises the
Apostle tells every believer in Christ to do? Paul shares three simple exercises to maintain
spiritual health.
The first exercise is to be an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. (4.12) No one
wants to hear you talk the talk if you aren’t walking the walk. Our speech should always be
seasoned with grace. (Col.4.6) Our conduct should be in a manner worthy of the gospel.
(Phi.1.27) We are to walk in love just as Christ. (Eph.5.2) We are to stand firm in our faith.
(ICor.16.13)
The second exercise is to be devoted to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and
teaching. (4.13) We should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together in public
worship. (Heb.10.25)
And the third exercise is to not neglect the spiritual gift within you. (4.14) Since we all have
gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, every one of us should exercise our gifts
accordingly. If service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in
his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows
mercy, with cheerfulness. (Rom.12.6-8)
Paul makes it clear that our spiritual workout should include godly behavior in what we
say and do. It should include our devotion to public worship. And it should include the
exercise of our spiritual gifts. Implementing these three exercises into our routine hold
great promise for the present life and for the life to come. It is these things that we should
labor and strive. We should take pains with these things and be absorbed in them. We
should persevere in these things so that our progress may be evident to all.
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Closing Thoughts
What struck me about these spiritual exercises was their simplicity. They are not
complicated or difficult. Paul isn’t calling us to climb the highest mountain with a fifty-
pound backpack. Paul isn’t calling us to run a spiritual marathon. Paul isn’t calling us to
train for a spiritual Iron-Man. What he is saying that if we really want to purpose ourselves
for godliness, we will strive to be an example in speech and conduct. We will be faithful in
our worship attendance. And we will serve the church with the gifts God have given us.
I have never been one to join a gym or hired a personal trainer, but Barb has done that a
few times. I remember when she joined Orange Theory, and she would come home with
her muscles aching convinced that those workouts were going to kill her. More recently she
enlisted Mandy as her personal training and she would come home saying, “She’s working
me really hard.” But the exercises that Paul is prescribing aren’t going to strain any
spiritual muscles or cause spiritual exhaustion. It’s just striving an example. It’s just going
to church. It’s just serving others. These spiritual exercises aren’t difficult. Anyone can do
them. Yet, if we diligently implement these three spiritual exercises into our lives, they will pay benefits for this life and for the life to come.