EXERCISE THYSELF UNTO GODLINESS
EXERCISE THYSELF UNTO GODLINESS
“Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8 KJV).
Obesity is a serious health problem, and the major cause is a lack of exercise. “Inactivity rather than overeating could be driving the surge in Americans’ obesity, according to a study by a team of Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.” According to the World Health Organization obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. The Center For Disease Control states: “Obesity is also associated with the leading causes of death in the United States and worldwide, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer”. Timothy was Paul’s true son in the faith (1 Tim. 1:2). Paul was concerned about Timothy’s “frequent infirmities” (1 Tim. 5:23). Paul wanted Timothy to be healthy, but more than that he wanted him to be godly. That’s why Paul reminded Timothy exercise himself unto godliness.
Athletes exercise in order to win a race. Paul knew this and wrote to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
This inspired advice was especially meaningful to the Corinthians. They began hosting the Isthmian Games in 581 B.C. These contests took place the year before and the year after the Olympic Games. It was a famous event that was open to all Greeks but was especially popular with the Athenians. After 229 B.C. the Romans were also allowed to take part in the games. Because the runners knew exactly when the race would take place, they could schedule their exercise so they would be in top physical condition on the day of the race. Sometimes runners would train for many weeks with weights on their legs, but on the day of the race these weights would be laid aside. We also need to cast aside anything that would hinder us in the race of life (Heb. 12:1).
Godly exercise, however, is a life time commitment. Timothy was not to be godly every other year to win an earthly prize, he was to be godly all the time. A life time of exercise is modeled by a famous runner from Australia. His name was Cliff Young. Every year Australia hosts a 543.7-mile (875-kilometer) ultra marathon from Sydney to Melbourne. It is considered among the world’s most grueling races. The contestants are usually world class athletes in their 20s or 30s sponsored by the manufacturers of sporting goods. These sponsors provide the athletes with the latest and best equipment and a team of helpers. If their runner wins the race their investment will pay rich dividends.
In 1983, however, a different kind of athlete entered the race. He was a 61 year old farmer named Cliff Young. He had no sponsor, no fancy equipment, and no team of helpers. In fact, he ran the race in overalls and work boots. Cliff explained how he came to be a runner. He lived on a 2,000 acre farm and took care of 2,000 sheep. Since he didn’t have a horse or a motorized vehicle, he ran all over the ranch to round up his sheep. He had done this for all of his life. Ssometimes would run for 2 or 3 days without sleep.
When the famous race began, the professionals quickly jumped into the lead. Cliff didn’t run fast. In fact, he merely shuffled along without expending much effort. After the first day he was far behind. When the other runners stopped to eat, rest, or sleep, however, Cliff kept shuffling on. Every day he came a little closer to the leaders flashing a toothless smile at photographers. (He chose to run without his false teeth). By the last night he had moved into first place in record breaking time. Cliff won the race in 5 days, 15 hours, and 4 minutes. This was 9 hours faster than the previous record.
Cliff didn’t realize there was a $10,000 prize for the winner. He refused to take any of the money, however, and directed that $2,000 each be given to the next five runners who crossed the finish line. His running style came to be known as the “Young Shuffle”. It revolutionized long distance running. In fact, it was used by the next three winners of the annual Sydney to Melbourne race.
Cliff didn’t just exercise just for a race, he exercised all the time. He said: “Get out of your wheelchairs and start doing a few laps, if you can. If you don’t get any exercise your joints start seizing up like a rusty engine. The doctors once told me I had arthritis in my joints and to take it easy, so I said “I’ll fix that up, I’ll run it out”. So I kept running and it disappeared. It is like rust that gets into a vehicle. Well, I think it was like rust in me. I reckon you have to keep your joints moving. Absolutely. No matter what you do, you have to keep moving. If you don’t wear out, you rust out, and you rust out quicker than you wear out.”
In 1997, at the age of 76, Cliff decided to raise money for homeless children by running 16,000 kilometers around the entire continent of Australia. Since Cliff operated on a low budget he only had one “crew member”. Cliff completed 6,520 kilometers of his marathon journey when his only “crew member” became ill which forced him to quit before reaching his goal. Sadly, Cliff Young died of cancer in 2003 at the age of 81.
Remember “bodily exercise profiteth little but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”. The “little profit” of “bodily exercise” refers to earthly rewards. In addition to the health benefits of physical exercise, athletes who work hard can also become rich. The ten top athletes with the most earnings are:
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Conor McGregor (Mixed Martial Arts) $180 million.
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Lionel Messi (Soccer) $130 million.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer) $120 million.
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Dak Prescott (football) $107.5 million.
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LeBron James (basketball) $96.5 million.
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Neymar (Soccer) $95 million.
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Roger Federer (Tennis) $90 million.
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Lewis Hamilton (Auto racing) $82 million.
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Tom Brady (Football) $76 million.
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Kevin Durant (Basketball) $75 million.
We salute these men for their success! They did did not make their millions by being lazy. While others were taking it easy, they were putting in long and difficult hours of training and exercise. The millions they have made, and the fame they have achieved, are a part of their earthly reward.
“If” they have “only” exercised their bodies, however, they have made a tragic mistake. Our bodies die but our soul lives forever. Wisdom requires that we exercise to benefit both our body and
our soul. Jesus said it like this: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26). If you sacrifice your soul to become the richest person in the world you have made a bad bargain! Someone asked at a rich man’s funeral “How much did he leave?” The answer, of course, was: “He left it all”. Our earthly wealth will be left behind when we die, but someone quipped: “You cannot take it with you, but you can send it ahead so it will be there when you arrive”.
EXERCISE
The word “exercise” in our text comes from the Greek word “gumnazo”, from which we get our word “gymnasium”. It is only used 4 times in the N.T. Scriptures.
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First is our text in 1 Tim. 4:7-8: “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”.
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The word “gumnazo” is used in verse 7, and a similar word “gumnasia” is used in verse 8. Both words refer to training and exercise.
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As we have said, Timothy had “frequent illnesses” (1 Tim. 5:23) and bodily exercise would be especially important for him.
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Exercising himself unto godliness, of course, would help him both physically and spiritually.
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The second use of “gumnazo” is in Heb. 5:14: “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14 KJV).
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The inspired writer of this letter wanted to tell the Hebrews more about Melchizedek but feared they wouldn’t understand. They were too immature and slow to learn.
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They should have been mature enough to teach others, but they were not. They still needed someone to teach them the elementary truths of Christianity.
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They needed “milk” and not “meat”.
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Strong meat is for the mature who have “exercised” their “senses” to discern both good and evil.
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The word translated as “exercised” is “gumnazo” and the word translated as “senses” is “aistheterion”.
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The word “aistheterion” refers to “perception” “feeling” and “understanding”. Godly exercise not only involves our bodies, but also our “senses” or “perceptions”. Godly “senses” enable us to discern between good and evil.
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The third use of “gumnazo” is in Heb. 12:11: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:11 KJV).
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This use of the word “exercise” does not refer to what we do, but rather to the chastening we receive from our earthly fathers, and also from the Lord.
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Our earthly father chastened us because they loved us!
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Our heavenly father also chastens us because He loves us! “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6 KJV)
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“But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb. 12:8 KJV).
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So - “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of him” (Heb. 12:5 KJV). This “exercise” or “chastening” by God is for our own good!
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The fourth and final use of “gumnazo” is in 2 Pet. 2:14: “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin: beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children . . .” (2 Pet. 2:14 KJV).
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This passage refers to sinful people who “walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusations against them before the Lord. But these. As natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption . . .” (2 Pet. 2:10-12 KJV). •
While God wants His children to exercise themselves unto godliness, Satan wants his children to exercise themselves unto covetousness.
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While godly exercise makes us better and better, those who exercise in evil become worse and worse (2 Tim. 3:13).
THE SERVANT OF ELIJAH
The servant of Elijah provides an interesting insight into exercising ourselves unto godliness. Let us briefly review this famous story.
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The first time the name “Elijah” occurs in the Bible is in 1 Ki. 17:1: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lies, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the nest few years except at my word’”.
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Elijah is used as an example to teach us to pray: “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (Ja. 5:17- 18).
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Here is a summary of the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. •
Elijah was opposed by 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah (1 Ki. 18:19). •
The contest lasted all day long.
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These pagan prophets tried to call down fire from heaven. They shouted and danced around their altar but their god made no response (1 Ki. 18:25-26).
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At noon Elijah began to taunt them to “shout louder” suggesting “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (1 Ki. 18:27).
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These pagan prophets shouted louder, danced, cut themselves with knives and continued their frantic prophesying until the time of the evening sacrifice but their god did not send any fire from heaven. Finally, they gave up in despair!
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Then Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord using 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. •
He then dug a trench around the altar, prepared the wood, and cut his sacrificial bull in pieces.
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Then Elijah had them pour 12 large jars of water on his offering and the wood. The water ran down from the altar and filled the trenches.
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Then Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O Lord. God of Abraham. Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have
done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Ki. 18:36-37).
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“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (1 Ki. 18:38).
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“When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – He is God! The Lord – He is God! (1 Ki. 18:39).
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Elijah then slaughtered these pagan prophets. Not one of them escaped!
NOW FOR THE LESSON ABOUT EXERCISE
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“Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.” (1 Ki. 18:41-42)
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While Elijah prayed, he gave his servant some exercise to do.
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“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.“There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
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I am indebted to Oscar Brooks for the following insight. Oscar spoke about this when we were together on a mission trip to Nigeria.
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Why did Elijah send his servant 7 times up the mountain?
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Obviously there was a reason!
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He could have told his servant to sit down and rest because nothing was going to happen soon, but he didn’t. Obviously his servant needed the exercise.
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Elijah repeatedly commanded the servant to do something that apparently had no benefit. •
Those who exercise regularly often feel the same way.
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As the servant ran up the mountain he was filled with optimism and excitement, as he came down he was filled with discouragement.
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This “exercise” was repeated six times with the same results.
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Praise God! On the seventh time there was victory!
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Please consider that “optimism” and “discouragement” are emotions quite common to the Christian.
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Exercise is key to success in every challenge and the challenge of discouragement is no different.
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There is a lesson here for every one. It reminds us of Luke 18:1: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up”. •
Praise God! THE RAIN DID COME AND THE SERVANT OF ELIJAH RECEIVED A LESSON IN PRAYER THAT HE WOULD NEVER FORGET!
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WE MUST EXERCISE OURSELVES TO GODLINESS AND NEVER GIVE UP! •
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.” (I Ki. 18:43- 46).
Please remember that there is a spiritual benefit to exercise! David probably threw thousands of stones practicing for his big moment with Goliath. His “exercise” was not in vain and neither is ours!
So - “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”