Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
i want to talk to you about godliness
and i would like to suggest to you
that is our assignment
a lot of christians today are working on
the wrong assignmenta
we’re working hard
we’re putting in all the effort
we think we can put in
and it’s just not working everything is
coming up f
we’re failing in our lives we’re failing
in our
priorities we’re failing in our families
we’re failing in our commitments we’re
failing
while working hard and i’d like to
suggest to you it that is because
much of what we’re doing is not tied to
the assignment we’ve been given
he wants you to see him at a level
you’ve never seen it before
so the question on the floor is how bad
do you want it
the mystery of godliness
verses 14 to 16 of first timothy chapter
3.
he says i am writing these things to you
hoping
to come to you before long
but in case i am delayed i write so that
you will know how one ought to conduct
himself in the household of god
which is the church of the living god
the pillar and support of the truth
by common confession great is the
mystery of godliness
he who was revealed in the flesh was
vindicated in the spirit seen by angels
proclaimed among the nations believed on
in the world taken up to glory
verse 16 introduces us
to
the great mystery of godliness
he calls it a common confession that is
agreed on by the church
so what i am getting ready to share with
you
is to be true of all of us
is to be our common confession it is to
be
what we all ascribe to
he said in verse 15
that
this agreement that i’m getting ready to
discuss that we should all ascribe to
affects our conduct
how one ought to conduct himself it
affects our
our lifestyle because that is at the
heart of godliness
every person here today who is a
true christian ought to have as their
aspiration
to become more godly
that ought to be
your aspiration that ought to be your
goal because that is
the purpose of our redemption not only
to give us eternal life but to
grow us in god-likeness or godliness
and this ought to be our common goal and
our common confession what we what we’re
all saying speaking desiring and
purporting
me first of all talk about the word
mystery he calls it a mystery not only
does he call it a mystery in verse 16.
he calls it a great mystery so whatever
this mystery is it’s a big deal
it’s not a small thing because he calls
it great
yet he calls it a mystery
in verse 9 of chapter 3 he says but
holding to the mystery of the faith
so there’s something mysterious going on
here something that is hidden
a mystery in the scripture
is something that was concealed in the
old testament that is revealed in the
new testament
the old testament is the word of god
incomplete
because the bible was not finished
with the writing of the old testament
there would be a whole new testament
that would come
and would fill in the blanks
that would
give us
the rest of the story
about who god is and how god works and
it is called a mystery there are things
in the old testament that you and i now
know because we have the new testament
that was hidden to them in the old
testament they either couldn’t see it at
all or couldn’t see it clearly because
of what we call in theology the progress
of revelation meaning
god did not reveal all he wanted man to
know at one sitting
he didn’t tell them all at one time the
bible was not written
as one book by one author at one time
the bible was written over 1600 years by
40 different authors
over time
because god
revealed things in stages
based on what that group needed to know
at that given time for god’s given
purpose
the old testament
is what god gave to give the
introduction
to what he fully wanted to reveal
that you and i now have access to
that he calls the mystery
of godliness
let me go a little deeper in this the
old testament testament is a covenant
is an agreement is an arrangement
that god had with people and then he
comes with the new testament so let’s
pause for a moment to to go into this a
little bit deeper and ask you to hold
your finger here but turn your bible to
hebrews chapter
8.
just flip over a few pages and you’ll
run straight into hebrews
chapter eight we’re coming right back to
timothy in a moment
but hebrews chapter eight
there’s so much here
verse six but now he has obtained a more
excellent ministry
by as much as he is also the mediator of
a better covenant
which he has enacted on better promises
verse 10
for this is the covenant that i will
make with the house of israel after
those days says the lord
i will put my laws into their minds i
will write them on their hearts i will
be their god they will be my people and
they shall not teach
and they shall not teach everyone his
fellow citizens and everyone
his brother saying know the lord for all
will know me from the least to the
greatest of them for i will be merciful
to their iniquities i will remember
their sins no more and he said a new
covenant that is the new testament he
has made the first obsolete
but whatever is become obsolete and
growing old is ready to disappear
now follow me
he says
this new testament
is better than the old testament
and not only is the new covenant new
testament
better than the old testament
the new testament covenant
makes the old covenant obsolete
it makes it
old that’s why it’s the old testament
so the only way you can really
understand the old testament
is by knowing the new testament
without the new testament
the old testament will stay cloudy and
hidden
because remember a mystery is something
concealed in the old revealed in the new
so if you don’t have the revealed and
the new you’re living with the concealed
and the old
and so what you wind up with if all you
have is the old testament are nice bible
stories
without understanding what they mean for
you today
because the mystery is concealed in the
old
it’s revealed in the new and the new is
better
at the heart of this mystery this
hidden thing in the old that’s now been
revealed in the new is godliness he says
it is the mystery
of godliness
what was concealed in the old that’s now
revealed in the new
is this new way
of becoming godly
when i read you hebrews you should have
noticed
two words that i used over and over
again that god uses in chapter 8 in
verses 10 and following he says i will i
will i will i will i will
okay
in the old testament it was more like
you better you better you better you
better you better
all right
in the old testament
it was
do do do do do do you got to do this you
got to do that you better do that you
better do that
and so much of it was driven by the
negative let’s take the ten commandments
okay thou shalt not thou shalt not thou
shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt not
it was telling you what you do and it
was not only telling you what to do it
was telling it to you negatively
it was not not not not not in the old
testament do do do do do in the new
testament done done done done done
he now introduces the mystery of
godliness to be a person
he goes on in verse 16.
he lists six things about jesus first of
all he who was revealed in the flesh
that is
the manifestation of god
in human
terms in physical frame
deity poured into humanity we call it in
theology the hypostatic union which
means two natures in one person unmixed
forever
two natures jesus had a divine nature
and he had a human nature but these two
natures are in one person
one minute he could say i thirst
the next minute he can walk on water
one minute he could die
but then he could rise
because you got two natures
in one person
unmixed
forever
that’s why he’s sometimes called the son
of god sometimes called the son of man
because he bears both natures
he was
secondly vindicated in the spirit
he was vindicated in the spirit
the holy spirit said this is my beloved
son in whom i’m well pleased the holy
spirit was there during his temptation
the holy spirit was there with his
resurrection it goes on to say he was
seen by angels seen by angels at his
birth seen by angels of his temptation
seen by angels in the garden of
gethsemane angels were there at the
death angels were there to move the
stone when he rose from the dead and
angels were there when jesus stepped on
a cloud and rose up to heaven validation
heaven’s validation of the uniqueness of
jesus christ he goes on and he says
proclaimed among the nations
jesus has never written a book but more
books have been written about him than
any other individual in human history he
never wrote a song yet more songs are
sung about him than any other person in
human history
the whole world
has to be confronted with jesus christ
he goes on to say believed on in the
world of course christianity has spread
worldwide take it up to glory that is
the exaltation of jesus christ he lists
these six things
to say that the mystery of godliness is
centered in the uniqueness of jesus
christ that’s his point
the mystery of godliness
is tied to the uniqueness of jesus
christ
and if that uniqueness is missing
the mystery stays hidden
because a mystery is something hidden in
the old testament that is revealed in
the new testament
that is the uniqueness of jesus christ
he is if you will the master key
that unlocks the mystery door
of godliness
and that raises the question how
turn with me a couple of pages over to
titus
chapter 2
titus chapter 2 for the verse 11 for the
grace of god has appeared
bringing salvation to all men
instructing us to deny ungodliness
here’s our word
and worldly desires which is the
opposite of godliness
and to live sensibly righteously and
godly word again
in this present age
when he says the grace of god has
appeared
he is referring to the appearance of
jesus christ in history
the bible says the law came by moses
john chapter 1 but grace and truth came
by jesus christ
he says in second timothy chapter 1
verses 9 and 10 that the grace of god
came by jesus christ
so here it is stick with me
the mystery of godliness
concealed in the old but revealed in the
new
is the entrance upon the scene
of jesus christ
bringing the grace of god with him
for the grace of god
has appeared
that is
has been made manifest
grace is always without exception
free
you can’t buy it you can’t earn it
you can’t pay for it
you don’t deserve it it’s what god gives
away
okay
grace is always given
jesus christ brought
grace out of the shadows
now here is where it gets tricky
by the way ii peter chapter 3 verse 18
says
grow in grace and in the knowledge of
our lord jesus christ
that is grow in your understanding of
grace
a whole book in the bible was written
about this the book of galatians
because people were struggling with the
two covenants
the old and the new and they were going
back and forth
old testament sometimes new testament
sometimes old testament sometimes new
testament sometimes
and the bible says if you go back and
forth
you nullify the grace of god
galatians chapter 2 verse 21
he tells them stop nullifying cancelling
out the grace of god stop
keeping the grace from flowing
because if the grace is not flowing
godliness is not occurring
because the mystery of godliness is tied
to the flow of grace
so if you don’t understand grace or not
accessing grace you cannot become godly
or you’re trying to become godly with a
washing board
and not with a washing machine
grace is what god
is free to do and here is what grace
does he says verse 12
it instructs us so he calls grace a
teacher
instructing us
to deny ungodliness
and
to deny worldly desires
and positively to live sensibly
righteously and godly in this present
age looking for the blessed hope and
appearance of the glory of our great god
and savior notice jesus christ is called
god and savior
grace
empowers what it
demands as i put it last week
batteries are included
the bible gives you instruction
the bible is a manual that gives you
instruction let me tell you what the
bible doesn’t give you
power
it gives you information
but it doesn’t give you the power to
pull it off which is why
you can read the bible study the bible
go to church and hear the bible preach
and not change
that’s why over and over again the bible
says you cannot be transformed to
godliness by the law
because all the law will do all the do’s
and don’ts of the bible will do is
frustrate you
because it’ll just make you feel guilty
all the time
the grace of god that is his
supernatural provision
if that works
in the old testament god was with them
in the new testament when jesus showed
up god was among them
and now that jesus has risen god is in
them
old testament is with the gospels among
the church age you and i now that jesus
is no longer physically on earth within
that’s why jesus sent the holy spirit he
is your mother
so jesus christ
the grace of god
has
already
situated you for godliness
ii corinthians 5 21 he who knew no sin
became sin for us
that we might become the righteousness
of god in him
he who knew no sin became sin for us
that we might become the righteousness
of god in him
on the cross
god took your sin and my sin
and credited it on to jesus christ
jesus died for sin on credit
okay because he never sinned
he died for our sin
but since he didn’t sin how could he die
for our sin
credit
god credited his sin
our sin onto him
when you become a christian
god credits
the righteousness of christ to us
and his righteousness is perfect
righteousness
because he never sinned
so he got all your sin and when you
accept accepted christ the savior you
got all his righteousness
now watch this
jesus christ
fulfilled all the demands
of god
perfectly
he said i’ve come to fulfill all
righteousness he says i’ve come to
fulfill the law
the reason why you don’t hear anything
about jesus between the time he was born
and the time he was 30 years old we have
no information in the scripture about
him other than that little incident when
he was 12 years old with the with the
leaders in the temple but those are
silent years is because it took him 30
years to fulfill
all 613 demands of the old testament
it took him 30 years to fulfill all
righteousness to meet all the standards
and qualifications of god that were in
the old testament he has met them all
and he met them all
perfectly
okay watch this now
perfect jesus revealed in the flesh all
those the great things said about him
perfect jesus
is now
in you
perfect jesus if you’ve accepted jesus
as your sin bearer
is now in you
the mystery of godliness is a person the
person who’s the basis of the mystery of
godliness is now
in you
okay
how godly
is jesus perfect
so you have perfect righteousness
perfect godliness mysteriously
indwelling in you
but you say wait a minute
i got perfection walking around inside
of me
well then why am i so imperfect
why am i still struggling with this and
that and the other
why if i’ve accepted christ and i have
christ in me am i
perfect
it’s only one reason
because christ
has not been sufficiently freed up to be
himself in you
see when you receive christ you receive
christ in seed form
but you can stifle the expression of
grace manifested in the presence of
jesus christ
so that we don’t learn to live by grace
because we don’t feed the seed we feed
the law
and all the law can do is condemn you
it can never help you the bible says
with the law comes the knowledge of sin
you can read the ten commandments and
know what’s wrong but the ten
commandments were never
given to help you fix it
it was only given to show it
christ being revealed in the flesh was
given to fix it
so as christ expands within you
godliness expands within you
as christ as is restricted within you
godliness is restricted within you
so you don’t need more programs you need
more of the expression of christ within
you
because he is the mystery of godliness
[Music]
the mystery of godliness
which is called great in scripture
is the person and work of jesus christ
a mystery in the bible is something that
was concealed in the old testament
that is being revealed in the new
testament with the coming of jesus
christ
god was made manifest
in human form
we call it the incarnation
the in-fleshness of god in the person of
christ now we can see what godliness
looks like
how it can be modeled how it functions
because we have the perfect example
in the person of christ so if you want
to
see whether in your humanity
you are increasing in your godliness
look at the portrait of jesus as he
lived
functioned
responded to his father
in a way that demonstrated he was under
the control
of god in all that he said and did
and while we’re not jesus
we can increase and increasingly become
more like jesus it’s called
christ-likeness
because the more like christ you become
the more godly you are
[Music]
i’m standing here in alaska one of the
most glorious places in god’s great
creation and i want to invite you to
join me in our urban alternative family
for the alaskan cruise we’re going to
have a magnificent time
in god’s word and in god’s creation
we’re going to enjoy great fellowship
great fun great food and i’m looking
forward to meeting and greeting you on
our tua alaskan cruise
register to be there can’t wait to be
with you
[Music]
you