reading of The Travels of True Godliness by Benjamin Teach. We take up where True Godliness has had this conversation with poverty and it has been a great gospel presentation. This conversation has been truly a very strong gospel presentation to this man, and to this man, Poverty. And being by his name, Poverty, true godliness comes to his house, comes to his door, as he did with Mr. Riches, and sought entrance there. and was not given access. In fact, he was repelled, not just repelled from the door, but driven, as it were, and threatened. And so true godliness then takes up where we begin today, our reading today. He is taking up a response which will expose some of the foul, venomous creatures, some of the evil men who are dwelling with poverty in his house. And he's going to take them up one by one and expose them. And this is very good preaching as well. This is a preaching method where you set about to expose Satan and his lies and his emissaries and bring the law of God down firmly on these cases. And so that's where we take up with the reading today. True Godliness is going to take up an assault, as it were, on these vile characters that are domiciled with poverty. He says, first, there's actually two here, first one and two. I've numbered them one and two. First, sloth and idleness would not let him rise to call upon God, nor take pains to pull up the briars and thorns that grew in his heart. by which means his field lay barren and untilled, nothing growing therein but what the ground brought forth naturally. Nay, these made him of such a sluggish temper and such a lover of rest that he complained sometimes because he could not go out without motion. He complained he couldn't go out because if he had to go out, he'd have to stir himself, and he couldn't do that. Nay, he was unwilling to be at the trouble of feeding himself, therefore would wish that men might live as trees and plants do. I remember a very wise man told me, quote, that he hides his hand in his bosom and it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth." Proverbs 26, 15. By the said influence of these two lazy fellows, sloth and idleness. Now, we know from children, having children, seeing children, there is a certain There is certainly truth to the fact that people have different temperaments. They have different natural inclinations. Some children are naturally given to busyness. They would be busy when you would wish that they would not be busy. They are just That's just their nature, that's their temperament. Others are given to laziness. But these characteristics here are not just talking about certain natural inclinations that are diverse among peoples. This has to do, of course, Benjamin Keech is writing about the travels of true godliness. And he's speaking, therefore, in terms with reference to spiritual life. And in that realm, we are all born naturally with an equal dose, if you please, of these two gentlemen, sloth and idleness. It is easier not to do anything. It is easier not to apply ourselves to motion and to pulling up briars and thorns. We are universally disinclined to such things because of our depravity, because of the fall. So sloth and idleness are in us, but they are especially in the house of poverty because Poverty is what comes of this. And so he takes up first these two villains. Then thirdly, he takes up unbelief. Unbelief told him that the things of which godliness taught were mere fictions. Fictions. Why would he say they're fiction? Because he doesn't believe. He doesn't believe. He's an unbeliever. He says they're just unseen things in which there is no reality. But when poverty questioned the truth of what unbelief spoke upon this account and requested some explanations, then the wretch told him they were things far out of his reach and that he had no part or lot in them. Neither could they, if it were possible to obtain them, answer his present necessities. So unbelief simply discounts everything. Just dismisses it out of hand. Period. It's just that simple. I am sometimes, and I'm sure you are as well, have the same experience, I am sometimes shocked at how quickly and how seemingly easily unbelievers dismiss truth. You can say something to them that's true and they can seemingly just blink their eyes and dismiss it as if it was a complete fable when it is clear to anyone that it's not a fable, it's truth. And we have seen that, of course, in recent days in the ongoing debates and controversies surrounding our election. But the center, when it comes to truth, gospel truth, biblical truth, unbelief will always and effortlessly dismiss the truth. And so unbelief. Then he takes up fourthly Lightfingers. Lightfingers told him that he had been for a long while his best friend, and if it had not been for him, he had been starved long before now. If he had not been able to steal, he would have starved to death. But it takes some effort to steal, doesn't it? I mean, you do have to do that. And this fellow is disinclined to do any. He said he wouldn't even bring his hand up to his mouth to feed himself. But he would steal. And he was stealing. And had he not, he would have starved to death. And then he addresses distrust. He says, Distrust agreed to the discourse of his thieving brother, and positively said, if he turned light fingers out of his house, as he knew he must if godliness came in, he would certainly beg from door to door. So Distrust, the editor has a wonderful footnote there, he says, Reader, thou art poor, and afraid of abandoning some unlawful mode of gain, lest you should suffer wont. Remember that it is distrust which deters you from reform. But scripture teaches in Psalm 37, 3, trust in the Lord and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed. Distrust encourages him to keep close friendship with Lightfinger because without him, he says, you would have already starved to death before now. Well, of course, true godliness, what would true godliness answer to that? Well, he would answer this scripture, trust in the Lord. Do right, get light fingers out of your house, and trust in the Lord. But of course, unbelief would not allow him to do that. And even if unbelief were not an obstacle, he has sloth and idleness, which prevent him from applying himself to anything. And then number six, there's wasteful. Wasteful told him that true godliness, if entertained, would not suffer him to buy so good provisions as he was used to do on trust, or we would use the word credit, buying it on credit, unless he knew he was able to pay for them. He said that true godliness comes here. He is not going to approve of you buying things on credit things which you know you don't have the ability to pay for, and that he would not suffer him to go any more to merry meetings and carouse amongst good fellows at the bar room, nor recreate himself at cards, bowls, ninepins, and other sports for money on holiday. and that he must be content with such things as he had, and never lose a day's work to gratify the lust of the flesh, and that also he must change his company, which particularly was grievous for poverty to hear." Now, we make this point, I do, I make this point often, and I don't apologize for it. I don't bring it out of thin air. I only bring it up when a context dictates it. But we have got a false gospel today, an artificial evangelicalism, which has resolved this whole problem for the sinner. They are told now that they can have true godliness come in and live with them. And they would not have to do away, dismiss any of these things. They can live just like they were living. They can carry on with the same friends, do the same activity, recreate themselves at cards or bowling or sports or money or betting on holidays or content with such things as they have. They don't have to do anything. They don't have to change anything. They can go to their merry meetings and carouse amongst good fellows at the bar room. Honestly, I don't know when is the last, I can't remember the last time that I've talked with anyone who said they were a Christian that believed that to be a Christian there was anything you had to give up. I can't remember when. I'm not saying they're out there, I'm sure there are. But there are so few, we almost never encounter people who believe that there are things you must give up to follow Christ. But dear old Benjamin Keech, he has the words in the mouth of true godliness. This is what he would say. We know, even this vile fellow, wasteful, will tell it. that these are the things you're going to have to give up if you let true godliness come in. And so he says, and also he must change his company. Well, there you have it. He must change his company. Then number seven, carping care. tried to fill his head full of distracting thoughts that he might not have time to think of God, Christ, nor his own soul from one week to another. He is so completely consumed with care, with the cares of this life, that he hasn't even the time from one Sabbath to the next to entertain his own soul's well-being. He constantly urged poverty to make it his great study either to think where to borrow money, or so get more in debt, and so get more in debt, or else how to pay what he owed to get out of debt. Don't, you don't have time, poverty say. You don't have time for this. You don't have time for this. You don't have time for this. All this stuff about Christ and your soul and true God, you don't have time for this. You don't have time. You need to keep your mind fixed on this matter, your problems, your financial problems. And by this means, Keats tells us, he was filled with sad thoughts not knowing how he should procure food or clothing for the future. Besides, it could not go out of his mind, but that at one time or other, he should be arrested and thrown into a goal, having many times fearfully broken his word. So he is living in fear, He's living in fear because of what he has, the debts he has not paid. He, so poverty, our carping care advises him to keep his mind on this problem, keep his mind focused, stay focused on what's the problem you've got right here. You don't have time to think about this stuff. You know, it's interesting to me, poverty said poverty He constantly urged poverty to make it his great study. In other words, think about this. Think about this. And one subtle, I don't know if Keech actually intended it or not, but it occurred to me, that carping care is telling him he needs to think. He needs to keep thinking about his care. He needs to keep thinking about his problem. But notice he's not counseling him to do anything. He's just counseling him to think about it. And is that not much of his problem? He can think about it, but he's not doing it. Luke brought a message last week at the nursing home, and he talked about the gospel sticking to your lips. You'll speak the right words, you'll say the right things, but you won't do anything. You're not doing what the gospel demands. You'll speak about it, but you won't do it. He brought a great gospel message that made this very point, that there is the doing. And carping care doesn't come to him with recommendations of things he could do, jobs he could take, or ways he can improve himself. He comes to him and says, you need to be thinking, thinking about these things. But he needs to be doing more than thinking. But this is what Carping Care advises him. And of course, he puts him in fear because of his, how many times he's already broken his word on death. And then number eight and number nine, we come to faint heart and fear man, who's represented him Faintheart and Fearman represented to him the danger he would be in upon many considerations if true godliness was entertained. For first, they told him how contemptible godliness was grown, being of very little credit or esteem among men by reason of vice. And there's number 10. vice, which was never more popular. So we'll finish this little section right here, but his first, the warning that Faintheart and Fear Man bring to poverty is that he will lose credit and esteem. There's the loss of credit and esteem by taking on true godliness. Now that's a simple truth, is it not? For us at least. That's a simple truth. It doesn't bear pressing. That true godliness will not be popular. You're not going to you're gonna lose credit and esteem, especially among men because of their vice, their wickedness, which was never more popular, says Benjamin Keech in his day, never more popular, insomuch that godliness was likely to be driven out of the world. They said to him, Mr. Riches, who is lord of the manor, hath beat him away from his door with a perfect hatred. Now if you entertain him, he, that is Mr. Riches, will soon hear of it and so will become your deadly enemy and will pull down your cottage. or warn you out, or be sure not to let you have a farthing of the poor's money, nor ever set you to work anymore. And what will become then of your poor wife and children?" So now he's threatening him with the loss of everything. You're going to lose not just esteem, but Mr. Riches is going to hear about this. And of course, true godliness is not popular with Mr. Riches. And so when Mr. Riches hears about it, you are going to have a real problem. Because he is going to take away what little source you have for any help at all. Now he's threatened with the loss of his material, his very existence. Nay, said they, We will tell you more. Do you not hear what cruel edicts have been made against true godliness? Oh my goodness, here we go. Here we go. Not only are you going to lose esteem among your friends, you're going to lose ability to do anything for yourself or your family because Your lack of popularity, your association with true godliness is going to diminish the outlooks for you. But now here's this third thing. Cruel Edicts. And how many of the Protestant churches have been pulled down and utterly demolished? And how he is persecuted almost everywhere. A more liberal and pleasing form of religion is now becoming popular and will in a little time be generally embraced and they who entertain true godliness must expect to be reproached and reviled, nay, murdered. Now he's being threatened with civil law. it's illegal and you're gonna suffer you're gonna suffer persecution if not death because you've seen what's happened to the protestant churches you see how that this true godliness is persecuted everywhere he goes you see that there are cruel edicts and you don't want to associate with this." Well, none of that could be denied. It's certainly all true. But then besides, do you not hear that many who have for a long time entertained him have lately turned him out of doors? They are weary of him or afraid to own him. And is this a time for you to think of embracing him? Now he's threatened with the general apostasy that is prevalent. Have you not heard how that many who had entertained him have turned him out? Keech is touching, of course, here, apostasy. Turned him out. Well that happened several generations ago in our country. Men who did not leave the church, who should have left the church, but didn't leave the church. They stayed in and turned true godliness out. And so now it's become a time where to embrace true godliness is a real danger. And there's this precedent that look at all these other people. And I hear this. I hear this so myself. Look at this church so-and-so. Look at brother so-and-so. Look at such-and-such. What, you don't think that they're following the Lord? General apostasy. Well, poverty, said they, pity yourself and have more wit You're poor enough already and this is the way to make yourself more miserable. If riches will not entertain him, who has many advantages to relieve and help himself in distressing times and sad exigencies over what you have, or can promise yourself there is no ground of encouragement for you to open to him. Now here's the example of the elites. being brought as an argument. Why would you embrace this true Godness? I mean, look, look it up. Look at Mr. Riches. He's in a far better situation than you are, and he will have no part of it. And so here's an argument from bad examples. Using the examples of those that are prospering without true godliness. Again, the editor has a wonderful note. The obstacles which hinder the poor from embracing religion are here strongly portrayed. How true is that scripture, Proverbs 10, 15, the destruction of the poor is their power. So, These are the occupants of the house of poverty, and true godliness will respond to them. But upon this, poverty resolved not to let true godliness have a lodging in his house, but rather to put stronger bolts and bars on his doors. Godliness having waited, to hear what these enemies of his would say, and perceiving they had now done with their conversation, he broke the silence and began to speak after this manner. He says, well, poverty, I expected but little less from you when I perceived you were resolved to hearken to those graceless companions and wicked children, for they would do their worst to keep me out. But I shall now, however, to undeceive you, answer them all." That's a word I've been using lately, by the way, not because I encountered it here, I encountered it in a couple of other places, but it's a wonderful word, undeceive. It would be marvelous. It's a marvelous act of grace when God undeceives a heart. Because the heart by nature is deceived and is readily deceived by the enemies of our soul. And it is a marvelous work of grace when God undeceives a heart. You don't hear that word in our culture. But it's a wonderful word, undeceived. He says, now, I've listened to all of this. Now, I'm going to undeceive by answering these fellows. We'll stop it there and take it back up there. Lord willing, week after next. I don't know if it's next week, breaking the bread. If it's the first week, I'm not sure. Anyway, next time, The next time we'll take it up there. Anybody like to add comments to the portion of reading today? It is amazing, is it not, how much that unbelief believes. Yeah, yeah. It seems ready to believe anything and everything but one God. That's right. He would say he was also an applicant of Mr. Rich's house and he believed that his condition was good enough and that he was surely going to have a good time. Here he believes that things in heaven are too far out of reach for the poor and unwanted. I had occasion recently to speak with a co-worker who detailed his religious journey and what the journey was. He had experience and exposure to everything from charismatics to the Eastern Orthodox Church, every name included. And he describes himself now as being agnostic. And ultimately, it's that that holds him, it's a matter of belief. In his search of believing, of his belief of what Christianity should look like, and what it should feel like, he would not and will not believe God's Word. Hadn't thought of it the way you worded it there makes it Puts an interesting twist on it. It's amazing how much unbelief believes Every time that comes up, it takes me back. It's something of a bitter memory, but... A meeting that I had with, uh... Uh... I won't blame him, but... You'll know me as his coach under his ministry. I worked for a while. And his, um... assistant. Very gracious man, actually. Very sweet man. But I had a meeting with him in which the Pope thoroughly beat me to the shudder and stomped out, a bit like a ghost, and left me with his assistant, who struck me literally speechless at the time. as I expressed my own frustration with the Pope's childish behavior, it struck me that this man, who I had always known to be very gracious and seemingly very pious, could not allow himself to say anything condemnatory about the Chief Shepherd's behavior. And it was the first time that that verse in Columbus 29 appeared a man bringing a snake. Standing in the foyer of that restaurant, that first hit me in that moment. In a very practical way, it came alive. Wow, I'm seeing fear in this. Fear plan. I began to notice among some confusion from there on out, it really began to stick out to me what a problem this was. Keech is presenting it as an obstacle to really to entering in the Christian workplace, but it's been enlightening to observe how he weighs the fear of man continues to pose to his audience, even among Christians. Yeah. And predominantly in two relationships I found in my own observation. One was the relationship of the minister to the congressman. There is often, often abuse of the sheep. And it might be spoken, it might not be spoken. But I think there is a lot of that abuse going on in churches in our nation. People who are in a position to rein it in do nothing because of fear. I've experienced that first pain of disillusioning myself. The other relationship that has come to my observation where this is so keen and influential in opposing Godliness is in the marriage relationship. And having had some years now in the marriage relationship, I have observed in the recesses nature of one disposed to be a man, I never thought I was. But isn't it interesting what we learn about ourselves in the context of marriage? But being married, I began to observe how often truth was not defended, inappropriate behavior repudiated, and it came down to nothing but the fact that I don't want to suffer the displeasure of my spouse. As we put it at the news club, I got a weakness for this person. Nothing quarrels with the fear of that person. He is an obstacle to justice. And I think in these two areas, these two areas in particular, I see this verse, the fear of men bringing the plague. It does seem that unbelief has a meaning to him. In a way, he represents those he represented in Mr. Ridge's house as a servant. He represented here poverty as a companion. And yet, either way, he was an obstacle to God. How much of it is over my own heart? Faintheart and Fearman in this reading today, it says they represented him, to him, that is represented to poverty, the danger that he would be in. if he gave consideration to true godliness, to entertaining true godliness. And if you would like it, you want it or don't want it, there are actually, I outline, there are actually basically four, what I have titled, obstacles which hinder. There were, if you take all that Teach wrote here, all that he said, you can break it down really in four basic things that he has listed as obstacles that hinder poverty, hinder poverty from coming to accept true godliness. The first is the loss of material goods. That's the first argument he brings, loss of material goods. And then secondly, in that same paragraph, there is the loss of safety from civil persecution. That's a very strong point that these two, Fear Man and Faintheart have, the fear of persecution from civil government. And then there's a third argument made from the general apostasy around it. Look how many men have used to embrace this fellow and they've cast him out. apostasy is given as one of the hindrances. And then, finally, there is the examples of the elite in society. Says, look, Mr. Riches has run him away from his door. So here's an example of what's supposed to be the elite of society. Today, we could compare that to the intellectuals. You know, we wouldn't necessarily say, well, rich people don't, but we would say, well, the scholars, look at the scholars, the preponderance of evidence is that scholars have dismissed this as foolishness. So that's a fourth argument. There's the examples of the elite of society. So basically, there are basically four arguments here that Mr. Keech lays out. that are used to be hindrances, obstacles, for poverty coming to true godliness. Four obstacles there. And we still see them today. They're still very, very much alive, very active, very much in place today. Those four obstacles you previously mentioned, poverty as a set in mind, would you particularly apply those Yeah. Yep. Sure. Sure. These are not things that are unique only to poverty. Well, they are unique to poverty of soul. Yeah, spiritual poverty. They're unique to all that are poverty of soul, but then they are not unique to those that are materially in poverty. I find it more difficult sometimes to talk to those who really are in poverty. I mean people living under a bridge or living in a box or whatever. It's far more difficult to talk to them or it's far more difficult to make any ground with them, to gain any ground with them than it is folks who are doing well. Because they do seem to have this attitude that was reflected here by Keech that, you know, look at me, look at me. Do you think I'm a man that could entertain these things? I mean, this is above me. This is far above me. And besides, I don't have time for this. I've got serious problems here. Can't you see my problems? Surely you don't expect me to be diverted from that to entertaining all this nonsense. So in that sense, it's often much more difficult to talk to people like that. I had a fellow on the sidewalk some time ago, not very long ago, and as I passed by, he asked me for some money. And I said, how about I give you something, buy you something to eat, and we can talk." He said, uh, no, I don't really have time for talking. You don't have time for talking? You got time to sit out here on the sidewalk and do nothing and ask for money? What do you mean you don't have time for talking? I said, well, then I don't have any money for you. If you'd sit down and let me buy you something to eat while I can talk to you about Christ, I'd be willing to do that. But he didn't want to talk. He didn't have time. He said, I don't have time to talk. Oh, really? I didn't realize how busy you were. How foolish of me. But anyway, that's how it is with them.