… having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:5

True godliness claims nothing for itself. If God is seen living in the life of a believer, that Christian is just amazed that God is doing something so wonderful in them, and they give God the glory. They take no credit for it. They are as amazed as the other person who saw God living in them. True godliness has an honest, truthful view of the human heart. The godly know their heart is wicked and deceitful. They fake no one about their sin. In fact, the most godly will be the most aware and the most broken over their sin. But they will be the most assured of forgiveness and the most comforted by the Gospel of Christ. True godliness grieves when sin gets in the way of God’s glory or his Gospel. It claims the Gospel and is restored quickly and often to walk again with God. They are not crushed by sin. They put sin to death.

False godliness denies God’s power. It doesn’t need God’s power. It doesn’t want the restrictions that God’s power places upon the soul. It creates false measures of goodness, holiness, and obedience to God. And it proudly claims godliness where there is none. They may fool the young and the newly converted, but they will not fool the man or woman of God who has fought against sin for decades. The falsely godly live differently from the truly godly. There is no comparison. One has no power. There is self-serving and pride overflowing, and they are blind to their sin. The truly godly is filled with the power of God, is self-emptying, and quick to repent.

True godliness means that we seek God from the heart, not for show or for position or praise. It demands that our life and our faith hold the same values and the same virtues. True godliness is quick to confess sin, eager to seek reconciliation between brothers and sisters, and it is tender to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. It doesn’t delay to do what is right. It treats people with real love and understanding. It has integrity, authenticity, and consistency.

False godliness may bring about great things in the work of the Kingdom of God. But if God had had nothing to do with their plans and their schemes, they wouldn’t have noticed any difference. They do bold and grand things, even in God’s name, but they don’t have the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of servanthood, of self-sacrifice, and they are not friends with humility. They have grand visions and poor living. They invariably fail morally or are blind to some great sin. They have great power over people, but they do not build them up or bring them to maturity. They use people and they love things. They deny the power of godliness.

Godly people are tenderhearted. They are quick to forgive. They are able to measure everything by the standard of God’s Word. They are teachable and they are able to be led by others. They do not demand others follow them. They are distinguished as leaders because they are first and foremost, servants. People follow them because they are living with such beauty and integrity that people want to be with them. As people see the godly life of a believer, they too become more honest, more truthful, more prayerful, more diligent in the Word of God, and more fruitful. Godly people are students of the Word of God, not just for the factual content of it. They live and apply the Word of God in their daily walk with God. They are “living epistles” of God’s Word. The power of godliness is that it captures the whole person and leaves nothing untouched. True godliness is not perfection. But it is human beings living in the presence of God, more and more, closer and closer, growing and learning, following and obeying with greater diligence and success over time. Never perfectly godly. Never completely holy. But true godliness is that one qualifying aspect of their life that is more defining of them than anything else. The power of godliness captures the way they think, the way they talk, and the way they care about others. Their godliness impacts the way they love God. There is no compartmentalization of faith and life. They are wholly God’s. There is no decision where God’s will and God’s life in them is not taken into account. They speak the truth to themselves, and they surround themselves with others who are also truly, wonderfully, godly.

The falsely godly have few truly godly associates and friends. They could not stand the comparison.

Avoid such people.