5 Characteristics Of A Godly Man

There are many attributes of a godly man but here are five characteristics of what the Bible would call a “godly man.”

A Godly Man is Puts God First

This might be the most important of all characteristics of a godly man. He must put God first and foremost in his life above anyone and anything else. If a wife is jealous of her husband, that’s normal and it goes the other way too with men of course, but it is in the best interests of a Christian wife if her husband puts God first and not her. She should know that “the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Duet 4:24) but this isn’t a petty human jealousy that this is about. It’s the anger of God set against those who make idols of anything other than God. By putting God first, the godly husband will seek to love His wife as it says “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Eph 5:25). If the man put his wife above God, that would be idolatry and God would never bless anyone that has someone else or something else taking the place of God. The throne of God is a one-seater and we must resign as the chairman of the board to our own lives.

A Godly Man is Humble

God cannot ever use anyone, man or woman, who is not humble. When we see just how high and far above God is than we are, we should be humble. Jesus taught that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11) because “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Prov 29:23). It is easier for us to humble ourselves than for God to do it for us; and God may have too. If we humble ourselves today, God “may lift you up in due time” (1st Pet 5:6). The number of men that God used that either voluntarily humbled themselves (like Moses) or were humbled by God (Jonah) is extensive in the Bible. Paul called himself the chief of all sinners (1st Tim 1:15) and the least of the apostles (1st Cor 15:9), even though he may have actually been the greatest of the apostles, perhaps even the least of all sinners. A godly man is one who esteems others better than himself as Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3) and so “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”  (Phil 2:4) since even Jesus Christ “was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8). A godly man doesn’t dominate the conversations or Sunday school classes, he doesn’t interrupt others before they’ve finished their sentences, and he doesn’t exalt his biblical knowledge but is slow to speak so that others may go before him.

A Godly Man is a Generous Man

Remember the story of Ruth and Boaz? Boaz was apparently a very wealthy man, yet took for himself Ruth to be his wife and supported Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi. A generous man will give of his own time, talent, and treasure (or money) to fill a need when it comes. Solomon wisely wrote “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (Prov 19:17). Christ will say to the godly and generous man who did for the least in this world, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). The godly man might think he’s doing it for the least in this world and he is, but Jesus sees it as doing it unto Him. That’s important because those things done on earth for Christ will be rewarded someday in the kingdom. He doesn’t do them for rewards but he does them because He’s been granted eternal life. He knows he can’t take his wealth with him so he sends on it ahead, into the kingdom, where no moths, rust, or thieves can destroy.

A Godly Man is a Man of Prayer

When all we can do is pray, that’s the most we can do. There were so many godly men in the Bible that were passionate about prayer but Daniel the Prophet stands out because he prayed three times a day and even risked being fed to the lions. The high officials and satraps hated Daniel so much that they tried to find a way to have him break the king’s law (Dan 6:1-6). When they could find nothing to accuse Daniel of they convinced the king to create a law where “whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions” (Dan 6:7) so what does Daniel do after hearing about this? “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God” (Dan 6:10-11) so Daniel changed nothing! He continued to pray as always…that’s what a godly man will do; pray, even while it’s inconvenient or there’s a risk of death and even when all is well. God delivered Daniel out of the lion’s den or pit and who knows that if that’s what Daniel prayed for. A godly man is a prayer warrior, like Daniel.

A Godly Man Obeys the Word

James wrote that we are to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (James 1:23-24) but “but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:25b). If I went up to the mirror and thought, “I need a shave” then walked away, I’d quickly forget that I’ve got stubble on my face during the day. But if I go to the mirror and not just say I need a shave but actually shave, then I’d be a doer and not a hearer only. Talk is so cheap but action speaks a lot louder than any of our words do. A godly man does what he says he’ll do and obeys the truth revealed in the Bible. To simply know to do good and not do it, isn’t good enough and in fact, that’s sin (James 4:17).

Conclusion

The truth is that “The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net” (Micah 7:2) and that none of us are good, not even one of us (Rom 3:10-12) so we need the very righteousness of Christ to be imputed on our behalf or God will not accept us (2nd Cor 5:21) but thankfully, that happens at the moment a person repents and trusts in Christ. God will not accept any human goodness.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.