The doctrine which is according to godliness!

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(Arthur Pink, "Practical Christianity")

"The doctrine which is according to godliness" 1 Timothy 6:3

The doctrine which is according to godliness at once defines the nature of Divine doctrine, intimating that its design or end is to inculcate a right temper of mind and deportment of life--it is pure and purifying. It is very much more than a series of intellectual truths intended for the instructing of our brains. The doctrine which is according to godliness, is the enunciation of spiritual facts and holy principles, for the warming of the heart and the regulating of our lives.

The objects which are revealed in Scripture are not bare abstractions which are to be accepted as true, nor even sublime and lofty concepts to be admired--they are to have a powerful effect upon our daily walk. There is no doctrine revealed in Scripture for a merely speculative knowledge, but all is to exert a powerful influence upon conduct. God's design in all that He has revealed to us, is to the purifying of our affections and the transforming of our characters.

It is absurd to conclude that if my creed is sound, then it matters little how I live. Thus it is possible to deny the Faith by conduct--as well as by words. A neglect of performing our duty is as real a repudiation of the Truth, as is an open renunciation of it!

The doctrine of grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11, 12). By far the greater part of the doctrine taught by Christ consisted not of the explication of mysteries--but rather that which corrected men's lusts and reformed their lives. Everything in Scripture has in view the promotion of holiness.

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