Cleanliness is next to godliness kjv
Friday, July 28, 2017
For most of us in the modern western world, this may not sound to be much of an issue. For most of us who attend church regularly, this may not seem to be much of an issue. Sound redundant? Actually, we’re talking about two different issues. But they’re related . . . and they’re not trivial.
An article in National Geographic (August 2017) reports that there is a grim health crisis in many parts of the world: poor sanitation, lack of toilets, and expose defecation. Shockingly, more people include cell phones to make personal calls than access to toilets to do their personal business!
Paul’s second letter to Timothy reveals that the early church was faced with a grim health crisis on the spiritual level: quarreling, godless chatter, false teachings, lusts, foolish arguments (for more, see 2 Tim 3:1-5). Shockingly, the church—only a few decades old—had already drifted far from the personal standard of godliness!
Now I assume we would all agree that cleanliness is crucial to good health. But how about godliness? Is godliness crucial to true faith?
Imagine if Paul had been a health worker. He would probably have been saying something like Mahatma Gandhi
by Michael Osborne
If cleanliness is next to godliness, it is because they are in such close competition. It is hard to be godly and to be clean, too. When a schedule already bulges with a full-time job, church ministries, activities, and raising a toddler, sometimes the choice becomes one of washing the pile of dishes or reading the Bible, of writing an exhorting letter to that wayward believer or fixing the faucet, of inviting that new family at church over for dessert or getting the boxes in the basement unpacked (since we bought our first house in May).
I am a clean freak. (My wife just glanced over my shoulder and corrected me. “You used to be a clean freak.”) Touché. Having a toddler and all of these various responsibilities has constrained me to relax my standards, and it vexes my clean-freak soul. If asked what she does for a living, my wife tells people, “I fight entropy.” And entropy fights back so hard, you would think we’re living under some kind of curse.
But wait. We are living under a curse. So I have to keep not only my new 0.42 acres free of literal thorns and thistles, as described in Genesis 3, but also the retaining wall clear of Killer cicada wasps
15 Bible Verses on Godliness
Godliness is an essential pursuit for every Christian. God has wonderful plans to make us more like Christ, but we have work to do as well: “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).
Use this list of Bible verses on godliness from the New Testament to motivate you to be God’s man or God’s woman, growing in the fear of God, love for God, and desire for God. (And no, “cleanliness is next to godliness” is not a verse from the Bible!)
Bible Verses on Godliness in the Pastoral Letters
1) 1 Timothy 2:10 – …but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
2) 1 Timothy 3:16 – Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
3–4) 1 Timothy 4:7, 8 – Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
5) 1 Timothy 5:4 – B
Is cleanliness next to godliness?
Answer
The saying “cleanliness is next to godliness” does not appear in the Bible. The expression is an archaic proverb found in Babylonian and Hebrew religious tracts. Its debut in the English language, in a modified form, is found in the writings of philosopher and scientist Sir Francis Bacon. In Advancement of Learning(1605) he wrote, “Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.” Almost two hundred years later (1791), John Wesley made a reference to the expression in one of his sermons in the form we use it today. Wesley wrote, “Slovenliness is no part of religion. Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness."
It’s hard to say where the idea of a connection between cleanliness and godliness originated. The Israelites were certainly concerned about the concepts of “clean” and “unclean” because a major portion of the Mosaic Law outlines the principles of each. Among the unclean things that God’s people were to avoid are dead bodies and carcasses, eating certain animals, leprosy, and bodily discharges. Elaborate washing rituals were prescribed to render an unclean person clean again so that he could re-enter the
What Does it Mean 'Cleanliness is Next to Godliness'?
"Cleanliness is next to godliness." Most Christians have likely heard this saying, but where did it begin? While the specific expression is not seen in the Bible, the idea is certainly expressed.
"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." ~ Isaiah 1:16-17
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." ~ Psalm 51:7
Origins of 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness'
John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism, may have been the originator of the slogan "cleanliness is next to godliness." In 1791, he referenced the phrase in one of his sermons as we use it today. Wesley wrote, “Slovenliness is no part of religion. Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness."
John Wesley would often emphasize cleanliness in his preaching. But the general principle behind the practice begins long before the time of Wesley to the worship customs mentioned in the book of Leviticus. These observances were established to show sinners h