Written ~ 10-29-2024
Read 1 Timothy Chapter Six
1 Timothy 6
Today we have the conclusion to the first letter written to Timothy. We will start off with just two verses which instruct godly behaviors of both the slave (employee) and the master (employer). Paul will talk about the pursuit of money and wealth. Then we will hear Paul’s final instructions (in this letter) to Timothy.
1 Timothy 6:1-2a…
1 “All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and His teaching. 2a If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved.”
Paul also spoke about the conduct of employees in the letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians, it is very important to make the conscious effort to work as though you are working directly for the Lord. It’s difficult at times, jobs can be stressful, there might even be things you don’t like doing… but God asks us to work diligently and faithfully. And Christian employers are given the same type of instruction here. There is no reason to be harsh or disrespectful to your employees, both the employer and the employee should have the same goal, serve the Lord while helping to make the business successful. Look what Paul had to say in Ephesians and Colossians…
Ephesians 6:5-9…
5 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.”
Colossians 3:22-4:1…
22 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites. 4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master – in heaven.”
Wouldn’t a workplace be so much better if we all adhered to these instructions? The common goal would be to serve the Lord!
The rest of verse 6:2 in 1 Timothy ends with this, “Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.” If we look back in this letter to everything Paul has instructed Timothy to encourage the people to do, it would seem the church should run smoothly, right? But look at the very next verse…
1 Timothy 6:3…
3 “Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.”
There will always be people who will contradict the truth of the Bible. The most important thing to remember is for us to stay faithful to the truth of Jesus Christ. When we stay strong in our faith and stand firm even though contradiction may try to throw us off pace, Paul says that the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are wholesome. And the reason we teach the church, the body of Christ, to adhere to all of the instructions laid out for us in the Bible is because they “promote a godly life.” If we didn’t have the Scriptures, we would be left to fend for ourselves and that would be a disaster!
1 Timothy 6:4-5…
4 “Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.”
When a body of believers gather together and there are people in the midst of them who seem to make it their life’s mission to contradict everything that is taught from the Bible, what is the best course of action? Engaging in constant arguing or debating what truth is… well… it’s just not productive. It is better to be wary of those who teach with arrogance and lack understanding and don’t wish to turn their hearts to the truth. It’s better to stay away from them when you can. Paul says in verse 6:4b, “Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words.” Can we all agree that there are still mysteries in the Bible that are yet to be revealed? And when interpreting certain things, different people can form their own opinion, get as many other people as possible to entertain their train of thought, then cause dissention within the church. When these minute details are the cause of these kinds of arguments, you must stop and look at what really matters! Does whatever you are fighting over have anything to do with the fact that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, rose again and brought Salvation to anyone who calls upon His Name? When the solid foundation of Salvation is not being debated, the other things that are left for personal interpretation should not be the cause of division within the body of Christ.
One way you can distinguish between a truthful teacher of God’s Word and a false teacher, is their motive. If the motive of a Pastor or a Bible teacher is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and not gain anything for themselves, instead point only to Jesus, it would be unmistakable that their hearts are united with Christ. A false teacher, however, their primary goal is to show just enough truth to get you hooked then lead you down a path full of jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicion and what do they hope to gain by doing this? Their goal is to fill their pockets with your money and continue to promote their false godliness. Wealth is their primary purpose, not the spreading of the Gospel message.
Let’s see what Paul has to say about finding contentment in godliness and also what happens when the pursuit of wealth becomes the thing that consumes you…
1 Timothy 6:6-10…
6 “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
What brings you contentment? When you look at your life, what brings you the most joy and satisfaction? Think about it… the things that come to your mind first will give you a pretty good idea where your desires lie. Is the Lord at the very top of that list? Is reading the Bible also at the top? Is worshiping the Father with all your heart, mind and soul the number one thing that brings you contentment?
Quite often the verse 6:10a is misquoted, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” A lot of times you’ll hear or see that verse as a quote which says something like, “Money is the root of evil.” But no, it is the love, the craving, the greed of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. There is nothing wrong with being successful and being blessed with the abundance of wealth. But it is the craving of money, it’s the foolish and harmful pursuit of money that causes a person to fall. Your life can be led down an evil path when the pursuit of money is all you can think about. In the second part of verse 6:10 it says, “…some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced with many sorrows.” This kind of love for money clouds everything else in your life. Nothing is more important to you than making money, everything else is put on the shelf. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, 24 19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Jesus also said in Luke 13:15, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” When we are content with what we have, Paul says, it is there we find true godliness. Going back to our text for today, this is what Paul said to Timothy in verses 6:17-19… “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.
Let’s look now at the final instructions Paul gives Timothy in this letter, let’s really take a deep look at the things Paul is encouraging Timothy to maintain in his life, these are things that we should hold dear as well…
1 Timothy 6:11-16 and 20-21…
11 “But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. 13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 15 For,
At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and He lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach Him. No human eye has ever seen Him, nor ever will. All honor and power to Him forever! Amen.
20 Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. 21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness.
May God’s grace be with you all.”
Let’s highlight the things Paul is exhorting Timothy to do:
- Run from all evil things
- Pursue righteousness
- Pursue a godly life
- Pursue faith
- Pursue love
- Pursue perseverance
- Pursue gentleness
- Fight the good fight for the true faith
- Hold tightly to eternal life
- Obey these commands without wavering
- Guard your heart
- Avoid godless, foolish discussions
- Stay strong in your faith, do not follow foolishness
When life is all about the pursuit of foolish understanding, debate, arguments and the chasing down to gain riches and notoriety, it becomes empty, and contentment will never be fulfilled.
Find contentment in the Lord. Soon the Lord will reveal Himself to the world, we will see Him in all His glory! It will be at that time that all the wealth of this world will melt away, so for those who place their contentment in earthly possessions and not in the Lord Jesus Christ, a sorrowful realization that the wrong path was chosen will pierce the hearts of those who choose money and possessions over Salvation. Let’s look at one more example Jesus gave about the pursuit of wealth before we close… Mark 10:20-25, “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” He told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
It’s up to you and to me what we decide is the most important things to pursue in this life. Are we actually willing to only store up treasures here on earth? Or is our focus on storing up treasures in Heaven?
Let’s all heed the advice given to Timothy by Paul, pursue the type of contentment that can only be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
~AMEN~