I TIMOTHY
Listen to this study with Real Audio TH2170
Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I Timothy chapter 6 as we continue our study through the Word of God and we finish up Paul’s first letter to Timothy, a young pastor in Ephesus. Remember, Timothy stayed in Ephesus, encouraged by Paul, so he could correct, rectify some of the problems that came into the church, he was to bring order back into the church that had been in disorder. In I Timothy 3:14-15 Paul said, “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
As we have seen in this letter, Paul is instructing Timothy how the church is to function, the role of people in the church, church leadership, church discipline and-so-on. Continuing that thought here in chapter 6, Paul is going to deal with slaves or in our day, employee’s – I Timothy 6:1-2. Then false teachers in the church – I Timothy 6:3-5. Then he speaks to the rich or those who are seeking after money – I Timothy 6:6-19. And Paul will conclude with remarks to the educated, those who think they have knowledge - I Timothy 6:20-21. So with that said, let’s begin reading in I Timothy chapter 6, starting in verse 1, and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
It has been estimated that in the Greco-Roman world of the first century, there could have been over 60 million slaves, and now that Christianity has impacted the world, some of those slaves were Christians. Now when we think of slaves and slavery we tend to put it in the context of pre-Civil War of the American South, but that was not what it was like. Yes, there were evil masters, but there were also good masters and slavery back then, for the most part, was a job, an occupation, they were cared for by their owners.
Now here in I Timothy Paul’s point is simple. If you are a Christian and a slave, do your best, serve your master faithfully, be respectful to them. Why? Because if you don’t the name of God will be dragged through the mud, God will be dishonored. You see, you represent the Lord in all that you do and thus, at work, if you are lazy, disrespectful to your boss, it sheds a bad light on God. Paul, in Colossians 3:22-25 tells us, “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” How is your light shinning at work?
Here is a problem not only in Paul’s day but I believe it is a problem today. The thinking of a slave or employee who is a Christian might go something like this, “Because I am working for a believer, he will cut me some slack. I don’t have to work as hard. He’ll understand that I can’t make it into work that early.” And the excuses for laziness can go on-and-on. Paul says, “Not so, if your master/employer is a Christian, you are to serve him just as hard, be just as faithful, bless him by your work ethics.” I have seen this with one brother who helped several Christian men out, getting them a job at his business and most of them were let go because of their poor work ethic, they didn’t show up for work on time or didn’t show up at all! That should not be! We should not expect special treatment or favors because our boss is a Christian, we should work hard, do our best and bless the brother because of our work ethic!
How come God doesn’t condemn slavery? Because it truly is part of the fall and God put safeguards on it to protect slaves, but men’s hearts are evil. Why didn’t Paul call for a violent uprising against slavery? Because that would not have worked! What worked was the influence of Christianity upon a society that put an end to slavery, greed, racism, hatred! We see these things coming back into the world and it is because we are not an influence upon the world anymore, our faith is not making a difference, we are not a light!
This must have been a problem in Ephesus because Paul is telling Timothy to teach and exhort the people with these principles. And folks, I am doing the same here this evening. If any of you have poor work ethics, think you can lay back because your boss is a Christian, you are wrong. You need to repent and serve your boss faithfully for the reality is, you serve the Lord! Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” In Paul’s day, Christian slaves would go for more money because, for the most part, they worked harder, were more reliable than non-Christian slaves. In Ephesus, things were not going well, though, probably because of the poor leadership there and now Timothy was to lead them in the right direction once again.
In this section Paul is dealing with false teachers in the church. How do we recognize error? Do you study all the varieties of errors that are out there, all the deviations from the truth? No, you study the truth, what is right so that when error comes, the light of the truth will expose it. Thus, we need to be students of God’s Word!
Now these people who teach in error don’t have signs saying they are false prophets – but if you listen to what they are saying, if you see the confusion, the division, the chaos that comes when they are trying to promote these lies, then that should be a red flag that something is wrong. Sound doctrine, healthy doctrine are words that build up, edify, exhort, comfort and correct people. On the other hand, on the other end of the spectrum, unsound doctrine, unhealthy words weaken the spiritual lives of people like any disease would. It is dangerous and that is why Paul is warning Timothy to be on guard, to pay attention and deal with those who are teaching false doctrine, and remove them from the church if they refuse to repent and put aside these false doctrines they are trying to promote. And here is a point we should remember, truth produces godliness, while error tends to lead a person towards immorality! False doctrine is not healthy and what is manifested in our lives will not be healthy then. It is as Paul said in II Timothy 2:15-19, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’”
Why do they depart from the faith? Pride, greed are the most motivating factors. What makes us think we are right and they are wrong? Isn’t that prideful on our part? Folks, it is not that I am right and you are right and they are wrong, but God is right and what He says in His Word is truth, we don’t have to guess what are the Words of God in the Bible, they all are! From Genesis through Revelation God, by His Spirit, is speaking to us!
Also, greed is a big motivation, making a profit off of God, but that is not how they would speak of it. “Hey, I’m the Kings kid and the Father doesn’t want me to be poor, to drive around in a old car or have a old house. If you sow your seed faith offering to me, then God will bless you a hundred fold!” And the only one who gets rich is the one promoting this false doctrine. If a person is in the ministry for the money, they are in for the wrong reason and they truly need to get out. It is as Calvin said, “For these men all Christianity is to be measured by the gains it brings . . . Paul forbids the servants of Christ to have any dealings with such men.”
One last point before we move on. When you speak of Jesus to people do you do so with the idea of what a person will gain if they do? Like success, wealth, possessions, a secure life, the easy road, health and-so-on? To some extent this may be true but we don’t market God or the Gospel message as a cure for what ails you. When people come to Christ on that basis, when things get tough, when life is hard, they are totally unprepared because they are focused on the blessings instead of the blessed one, Jesus! Thus, you present Jesus as God the Savior of the world who loves us and as our Creator we owe Him everything, even our life! You see, the focus is on what glorifies God not what benefits me, not a “Show me the money!” mentality!
You see, it is not just living a godly life but being content with the life that God has given you. Paul not only taught that but he lived it! Paul, in Philippians 4:11-13 tells us, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” You see, there is great gain in a life lived that way because your life is not dominated by bigger, better, newer things. Whatever God has given to you, you are content and thankful because God has given it to you. You are content and thankful because the reality is, we don’t deserve anything and yet God blesses us exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think!
Barclay comments on this word “contentment” and says, “The word used here for contentment is autarkeia . . . by it they meant a complete self-sufficiency. They meant a frame of mind which was completely independent of all outward things, and which carried the secret of happiness within itself. Contentment never comes from the possession of external things.” Now, as you turn on the television and watch some of these televangelists you see they are not content but want more and they want you to pay for it! That is what we are not to do, we are to be content in what God has given to us.
I like what Paul said in II Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” God will give to us all that we need to accomplish the work He has called us to do – we are sufficient in Him and we need to be content in Him!
I like Paul’s perspective here, because what was true 2,000 years ago, is still true today. When you are born, as you come into this world, you don’t have a penny with you or even a pocket to put it in, you are born naked! When you die, you can gain all the material possessions in the world, but you can’t take it with you! So what are you living for? Where is your treasure? May it be in the Lord and with the blessings He has given to you in this life, may you use it for His glory and send those treasures on ahead!
In our society there are many people who are not content with their life and Paul’s point is that if you have food and clothing what more do you need? And think about this, the poorest person in this congregation here in Manitowoc is wealthier than 90 percent of the world’s population- and we are not content! Jon Courson tells us:
In the mountains of Mexico lie two adjacent springs. One sends forth hot water, the other cold. “Your people must thank Mother Nature for hot and cold water right next to each other,” said a travel guide to an Indian as he washed his clothes in the springs. The Indian wisely answered, “No, we grumble because she didn’t supply soap.”
You see, there is always something to complain about if you are not satisfied in the Lord and what He has provided!
“But if I only had more money I could . . .” And that is a big driving force for people today in America as evidenced by the huge increase in gambling, Lotto and-so-on. But is it true, that money brings happiness? Listen to what some who have money have said about it:
John D. Rockefeller once said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” Cornelius Vanderbilt added, “The care of millions is too great a load . . . there is no pleasure in it.” Millionaire John Jacob Aster described himself as “the most miserable man on earth.” Despite his wealth, Henry Ford once remarked, “I was happier doing mechanic’s work.” And John D. Rockefeller commented, “The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.” These are people who have had money and they saw it as emptiness and yet, look at the people who are trying to get rich, if they only see their treasure is in the Lord!
Folks, this is not a suggestion or a principle, it is truly a command. And we all probably need to deal with this at some level in our life, give it to God and be satisfied in what He has given to us, because, as I have said, our treasure is truly in Him and if we have the Lord, there truly is nothing that we need and yet, He will supply us with what we need to accomplish the work He has called us to do!
The Greek word for “fall” is EMPIPTO, (em-pip’-to) and it is in the present tense, which speaks of a continual falling into temptations and traps so they can be rich. Think about it, all the scams that are out there to make you rich, and as foolish as they sound, people go after them with the hope of making it rich. Case in point. Over the past year or so I have received several e-mails and faxes with the following general story line and I am paraphrasing, but you will get the idea, they go something like this:
“I am a Christian woman living in the Middle East (or Africa) and my husband, a Christian businessman died. He left me millions of dollars and now I am dying. Before I die I would like to give my money to a Christian organization so they can continue the work of God.” And the story goes on but the idea is to get into your bank account, give her that information so the money can be forward to it. Do you realize that many bite into this trap so they can become rich and this goes for non-Christians as well, as scams are perpetrated upon them and they bite so they can make some money, get something for nothing! You see, greedy people are entrapped by their desire to be rich and that is why these scams work!
The tragedy for the Christian is it ruins their spiritual life as they take this plunge into greediness, the love of money. You see, the pursuit of riches drowns people and Paul wants Timothy to not only understand this, but to warn others of it!
Now is money evil? No, money is not evil, it is paper or metal, but it is not evil. But the love of money is! Why is that? Because who are you going to serve, who are you going to love, the Lord or money because you can’t serve two masters! And when you think about it, the love of money and contentment are mutually exclusive! Maybe you heard of the old Roman Proverb that says, “Money is like sea water, the more you drink the thirstier you get.” I think Solomon, the richest man in the world, summed it up correctly when he said in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with gain. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!” And listen to how The Living Bible puts Ecclesiastes 5:10-12, “He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness! The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income. So what is the advantage of wealth-except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your fingers! The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.”
Bishop J. C. Ryle summarizes:
Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is perplexity in the disposing of it. Two-thirds of all the strifes, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world arise from one simple cause – money.
To sum this up, James tells us in James 5:1-5, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.”
And folks, the reality is, “Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD's wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:18. Why do we go after that which does not satisfy, that will be no good in the end, instead of what does satisfy, the Lord! In fact, if you had all the gold in the world and in death you could take it with you, someone will ask you, “Why did you bring all that asphalt up here?” You see, the streets of heaven are made of gold! (Revelation 21:21).
Now Paul is going to show us what a man of God is to be in comparison to a man who seeks after money or is controlled by anything other than the Lord.
The idea here is to FLEE these ungodly, worldly things and FOLLOW after godly things, after the Lord. You see, it is hard to be greedy when you are seeking to be righteous, seeking after godliness, trusting in the Lord by faith, loving people unconditionally, patient and having a gentle spirit!
Folks, it is a battle that we are in, make no mistake about it. Don’t go AWOL, but continue the good fight. A good example of this is seen in salmon as they are swimming upstream, against the current, fighting forward, making progress with the goal of finishing the swim in mind. On the other hand, if they don’t fight, if they don’t work they will float back downstream and so will Christians if we just give up. We will become more like the world and less like Christ. You have made a decision for Christ, now live accordingly as Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26, “ . . . ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’”
Why should we live this way? Paul tells us here in verse 13. First of all God the Father, the One who gives us life will hold us accountable for not walking accordingly. Secondly, Jesus Christ, our ultimate example of how we are to live will also hold us accountable. And Paul shows us the example of Christ as He stood before Pontius Pilate. In John 18:37 we are told, “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’” Jesus did not back down but stated the truth no matter what the consequences might be and so should we! Our life should match our confession of faith.
This commandment is not just one specific thing, but it encompasses the entire Word of God. And the evidence is seen as our life is without some big spot, some big blotch that would dishonor God, we are blameless. Again, our life should match our confession of faith and our life is to be lived this way, we are to fight the good fight of faith until the Lord comes! It is as John admonishes us in I John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Having a correct perspective on God is important. We need to understand that He is coming back. We need to understand that He is sovereign, He is in control, He is holy and so much so that our sinful bodies of flesh can’t see God and live. Thus, God has taken the form of a man, Jesus and dwelt among us at one time. We see Old Testament appearances of God, or Theophanies. But no one has seen God in full, in all of His glory and lived but one day we will as we go to be with Him. Thus, in knowing who God is, His holiness, that He alone deserves our worship and praise, that He is coming back, it motivates us to live lives that are pleasing to Him no matter what we are going through, no matter what comes our way. It is as Paul said in Hebrews 13:6, “So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Perspective is everything!
Is it wrong to be rich, to have money? Not at all. If God has blessed you with money there is nothing wrong with that, Paul tells us this. He also warns though, to use what God has blessed you with not for earthly gain but for the building up of God’s kingdom. And folks, that truly goes for all of us here. I like what John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” It is the CAN-CAN approach to life! Sorry.
It is as Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And as I said, that goes for all of us, where is our treasure? May it be in the Lord!
Let me add this little note. If the world’s economy collapsed today, and it could, 70% of the people in this world would have absolutely nothing! Again, where is your treasure, where is your faith – in the riches of this world or in the Lord who owns everything and gives to us what we need?
This call is not to Timothy or pastors alone, but to all of us, that we are to guard, protect the truths of God from a world that is trying to water them down, negate them. You see, we are, as a church, as a body of believers, “the pillar and ground of the truth.” I Timothy 3:15. Thus, we are responsible to hold onto and proclaim the truth! May we keep that trust that has been committed to us, let us not drop the ball!
You see, there are attacks out there by the highly educated people regarding what we believe. They call us Creationists, “Flat-Earther’s” because they think we are backwards, we don’t believe in science, and we are just as foolish as those who use to believe that the earth was flat! Guess what, it was not Christians who believed in a flat earth, because the Bible clearly tells us the earth is a sphere, not flat! Folks, they will try to sway you to their thinking because they are so educated, but I have news for them, I know the author of the Book, the Bible and I think He knows what He is talking about. I am going to trust Him rather than trust those who are trying to negate Him! And if you check out what they have to say, it is nothing more than hot air, empty words, idle babblings. Let the Word of God by the Spirit of God and with the Grace of God guide you and you will be all that God wants you to be!
As we conclude Paul’s first letter to Timothy and our study this evening, I hope you have seen that it was a letter of encouragement to this young pastor and one of direction, to set things in order there in Ephesus and truly in the church in general. And as important as this was in Paul’s day, it is also important in the days we are living in, to know how we should conduct ourselves in church. As I close, let me leave you with these words showing you what the church, the early church was all about. In Acts 2:42-47 we are told, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” May we learn from their example!