Supplies for our Faith (Godliness)

When it comes to godliness, phrases might come to mind like, “cleanliness is next to godliness”. Though this phrase is not in the Bible, godliness is sure mentioned in the Bible and it is an important concept to understanding how to grow our faith. What is godliness? How do we attain it? 

In 2 Peter 1, Peter mentions that we should add godliness to our faith so we know it is something important that we must do or have a mindset of to supply our faith. The Septuagint uses the same word Peter uses here to describe a fear of the Lord or a respect of him in the Old Testament in places like Proverbs 1:7. Isaiah 33:6 uses this word to describe the key to having access to God’s salvation and wisdom. It is the fear of the Lord we must show to add to our faith.  

In the New Testament, this phrase is used to describe someone who is “godly” or who practices “godliness”. There is some reverence and respect allusions in these Scriptures but there is more to it that we find. In 1 Timothy 6:3 there is a truth of knowledge, a teaching that is “godly”. “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching…”. There is this idea that to be godly or to have godliness is to stay true to the teaching of Jesus and teachings that align with it. Godly teaching will not abuse or rebel against the teachings of Jesus and the apostles so to be godly in a sense is to make sure we are staying true to those teachings. 

There is a source of this godliness we can attain. It comes from Jesus Christ who gives us the Holy Spirit. Right before our core passage, Peter gives us the source of all these attributes we have been discussing. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”- 2 Peter 1:3. It is only through God’s power that we can attain godliness and it provides all that we need to live a life worthy of the calling. 

To increase our faith or to make it stronger, we need to live godly lives and it starts by having this respect of God that so much affects us we want to live for Him. We are able to live wholesome, reputable lives for Christ because of the Spirit he gives each and every believer. If we are reading, learning, and devoting ourselves to the teachings of Jesus, we learn how to live godly lives. This knowledge and power will increase our faith and help us on this journey.