We need to see that truth and goodness are related. The church of the living God is “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (3:15)
If you believe what is true, then you will behave rightly – you will do what is good. If you believe a lie, then your behavior will follow the lie.
Being faithful to a lie is not a good thing. It is good to be faithful – and I'll admit that I am very impressed with the fidelity of a devout Muslim or Mormon. And the faithfulness that they show is (in the abstract) quite admirable.
But faithfulness to a lie is bondage. Think of the classic story of the prince or princess who is kidnapped as a baby, and raised by someone else for their own advantage. Whether C. S. Lewis's “Shasta” in The Horse and Its Boy or the recent Rapunzel – the child shows admirable fidelity to the false parent.
And it says good things about that child – but the truth is still the truth.
At the intersection of truth and goodness is godliness. Godliness (or piety) is where your practice embodies your beliefs.
I've entitled the sermon “the Economics of Sound Doctrine” – because economics means literally “the law of the household.” Paul has said that he is talking about how to behave in the household of God – in other words, he is laying out the way in which the household of God should operate: the rules for Christian living (“the economy” of the church).
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