Israel Akinadewo
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), godliness entails being obedient to God and leading an exemplary life.
This definition brings about what God stands for and what He expects from the man that He created in His own likeness.
Therefore, the living of one’s life, within the context of godliness, will guarantee God’s love for man till eternity.
Having said this, it is necessary to emphasise that, anything short of godliness, will only result into godlessness, for the two work at variance with each other.
The things that godliness and godlessness embrace could immediately be seen from the Bible passage.
While godliness embraces love, cleaves to that which is good, encourages brotherly love, rejoices in hope, patient in tribulation and the likes; godlessness embraces wickedness, rejoices in evil acts, encourages revenge, and follow every other thing, which gladdens the heart of Satan.
This then means that when we live a godly life, we will be in good relationship with God, but when we live contrary to what godliness stands for, then we are having undeniable relationship with Satan.
But if we are to look at the Bible passages, which talk about righteousness and obeying God’s commandments on one hand, and those which are empathic about man’s frailties in attaining righteousness, it is then a necessity to take very seriously, the compulsory step in meeting up with God’s expectation.
Relevant Bible Passages
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10: (9)Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. (10)Nor thieves, or covetous, nor drunkards, nor revellers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Psalm 130:3-4: (3)If thou, Lord shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (4)But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
John 3:5-6: (5)Jesus answered, verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6)That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Matthew 7:21-23: (21)Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22)Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? Done many wonderful works? (23)And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
1 John 5:17: All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.
Revelation 20:15: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
1 Timothy 6:10: For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Corinthians 4:21: Therefore, let no man glory in men. For all things are yours.
James 2:10-11: (10)For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (11)For he that said, do not commit adultery, said also, do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
In critically looking at the messages the above stated Bible passages are sending to us, we will see that the issue of the kingdom of God is not what anybody can take with levity.
This might have been why Jesus Christ said that from the day of John the Baptist, that the kingdom of God suffers violence and that the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12).
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Source:
https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/ibru-ecumenical-centre/godliness-today-godlessness-tomorrow-any-nexus-with-salvation-part-1/
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