It’s the start of a new year. Public and silent New Year’s resolutions are being made all over the place. Some of us may be thinking about the things we wanted to see happen in our spiritual life but didn’t become reality. In the “busy-ness” of the schedule, it is very hard to insert anything new. Did you try something last year? Did you last for a little while and then stop?

In 1st Timothy, we can see coach Paul instructing Timothy on how to be godly in an ungodly environment. Timothy is up against the influence of sinful behavior in the church (false teaching, bad doctrine, endless debates of the church in worthless myths and tangents).

In some ways, this mirrors our lives. We are busy without any productivity or growth. We try to start new habits, but fail within weeks. We are caught in a depressing cycle of try and fail.

Train for godliness

Paul is telling Timothy, “Don’t spend your precious time battling endless worthless fables that have no value. Instead, here is what you should spend your time pursuing – holiness, godliness, emulating Christ. That is where the reward is; both here and in heaven.

Paul’s coaching tip for Timothy is “train for godliness”.  It’s interesting that he doesn’t say “try harder to be godly.” He uses the word “train” which means to teach a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time. We are inherently sinful. Whatever the sin issues are in our lives, we have to allow our coach to train us to behave differently. It will take time. We will not change naturally. The wonderfully plain and easy to understand Jay Adams put’s it this way in his booklet Godliness Through Discipline;

Instant godliness

“We want to do the right thing yet rarely achieve it. Why do we fail at our attempts? It may be that we have sought to obtain INSTANT GODLINESS. There is no such thing. Today we have instant everything. But godliness does not come that way. However, the Bible is very clear on how godliness does come.”

God’s training program is simple in many respects. He tells us explicitly what not do (put off) and what to do instead (put on). He tells us to pray, abide in Him, read His Word, worship Him, fellowship with the brothers, minister and serve others, seek Him in all situations, trust Him. He also tells us what to stay away from. It is a simple command, but that doesn’t mean it is an easy command to obey.

Are you willing to work for it?

Are you willing to sacrifice some comfort, time, deny yourself some things that lead you away from Him? Are you willing to follow His plan and train yourself in godliness? Again, Jay Adams, “If you practice what GOD tells you to do, the obedient life will become a part of you.” I can’t remember who said it, but the saying goes, “if you always do, what you’ve always done, you will always get, what you’ve always gotten.”

My prayer for you is that you get this little book and that your year is the beginning of a deeper relationship with Him. He’s waiting for you.