Explore the Bible Lesson Preview April 7, 2013 Pursue Spiritual Gain Background: I Timothy 6:3-21 Lesson: 1 Timothy 6:3-19 Motivation: In America we are bombarded with thousands of commercial messages each month. It s difficult to deny the messages we see and hear rather than accept the message God speaks to our heart. In this passage we see the contrast of earthly wealth with eternal wealth. (Heb. 13:5-6) Examination: I. Watch Out For Greed (3-5) A. Marks of the False Teacher (3-5a) If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth. Peter provides much of the same description of false teachers in 2 Peter 2:1-3, 9b-19: understanding nothing Being wrong about money is symptomatic of a lot of error. sick interest in disputes (diseased about questions and word-battles) A person who places the material over the spiritual has a heart issue that puts him on the defensive. 1 / 9
envy (jealousy) If one measures success by the material, then he will measure others by what they possess. (Col. 3:5) quarreling A lack of a spiritual outlook will result in strife. slander (defamations) If inordinate value is placed on things, then people will be treated like things. evil suspicions (insinuations, malicious innuendos) When people are treated like things, character-assassination will follow. constant disagreement among people whose minds are deprived of the truth The lack of truth (3) will result in constant friction by minds that are warped by sin. deprived of the truth The preceding characteristics are symptomatic of an unsaved person. B. Message of the False Teacher (5b) Who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain. Those who lack understanding about wealth practice bad theology. People who accumulate unsecured debt, who fail to honor God with His tithe and who think satisfaction and security comes through material gain rather than a spiritual relationship with Christ, do so apart from the doctrine of Jesus Christ. This is the negative side of the truth that spiritual maturity leads to obedience and generosity. Rick Warren said Nothing teaches character better than generosity. II. Be Content (6-10) A. The Truth But godliness with contentment is a great gain (6) 2 / 9
1. Our Lord godliness Our goal in life should be to become a fully devoted follower of Christ (Rom. 8:29, 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18). In fulfilling that goal, we should find contentment (Philippians 4:11). Augustine, who pursued an earlier life of dissipation, wrote of God, I found no rest until I found rest in Thee. (Jer. 23:5; Rom. 1:16-18, 25; 2 Thes. 2:10-12; I Cor. 1:12-2:14; I Tim. 3:16) 2. Our Lack For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out (7) This fundamental truth reminds us of the transitory nature of our lives. We are pilgrims here on earth for but a short time. Jesus wrote Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matt. 6:19-20 NIV) One never sees a U-haul trailer towed by a hearse! (Luke 12:21, 13:23-24; Pet. 2:9-11) 3. Our Lesson But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these (8) William Barclay ( The Letters of Timothy, Titus, and Philemon ), p. 130: It is not that Christianity pleads for poverty. There is no special virtue in being poor, or in having a constant struggle to make ends meet. But it does plead for two things. It pleads for the realization that it is never in the power of things to bring happiness, E. E. Simpson says: Many a millionaire, after choking his soul with gold-dust, has died from melancholia. Happiness always comes from personal relationships. All the things in the world will not make a man happy if he knows neither friendship nor love. The Christian knows that the secret of happiness lies, not in things, but in people. It pleads for concentration upon the things which are permanent. We brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of it. The wise men of every age and faith have known this. You cannot, said Seneca, take anything more out of the world than you brought into it. The poet of the Greek anthology had it: Naked I set foot on the earth; naked I shall go below the earth. The Spanish proverb grimly puts it: There are no pockets in a shroud. E.K. Simpson comments: Whatever a man amasses by the way is in the nature of luggage, no part of his truest personality, but something he leaves behind at the toll-bar of death. (Acts 2:41-47; I Pet. 3:14, 4:1-7) 3 / 9
B. The Danger But those who want to be rich... (9) HCSB, p. 2090: 6:9-10 What is condemned here is harmful desires, not he possession of things. The warning is not simply that love of money can be harmful, but that this craving has led some people to deny the faith and show themselves to be unbelievers. (Prov. 23:5; 30:7-9) 1. The Description of Such People want to be rich The Bible never condemns wealthy people. In fact, hard work and economic enterprise are praised (Prov. 12:14, 14:23, 22:29, 31:18). It is the desire which becomes a trap (10). We are commanded to set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2; Phil 4:8, 2 Cor. 4:17-18) 2. The Temptation They Embrace...fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction (9b) a. The temptation to test God By measuring life in U.S. dollars, such people become disillusioned with spiritual matters. Their heart s desire and mind s affection are turned away from God and toward material things. Harvard Business School has a course in business ethics that feature case studies on its own graduates (i.e. Enron s Jeff Skilling). (Jas. 1:13-15) b. The temptation to withhold the tithe Another foolish and harmful desire is the feeling that I can do better with God s tithe than He can. The love of money often manifests itself in a miserly attitude toward giving God His tithe (I Kings 3:5-14; II Kings 20:12-19, 2 Chron. 32:31, 2 Cor. 9:7-8) 3. The Origin of Their Problem For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil... (10a) William Barclay ( The Letters of Timothy, Titus and Philemon ) pp. 132-133 lists five dangers involved in the love of money : (i) The desire for money tends to be a thirst which is insatiable. There was a Roman proverbial saying that wealth is like sea-water; so far from quenching a man s thirst, it intensifies it. The more he gets, the more he wants. (ii) The desire for wealth is founded on an illusion. It is founded on the desire for security; but wealth cannot buy security. It cannot buy health, nor 4 / 9
real love; and it cannot preserve from sorrow and from death. The security which is founded on material things is foredoomed to failure. (iii) The desire for money tends to make a man selfish. If he is driven by the desire for wealth, it is nothing to him that someone has to lose in order that he may gain. The desire for wealth fixes a man s thoughts upon himself, and others become merely means or obstacles in the path to his own enrichment. True, that need not happen; but in fact it often does. (iv) Although the desire for wealth is based on the desire for security, it ends in nothing but anxiety. The more a man has to keep, the more he has to lose and, the tendency is for him to be haunted by the risk of loss. There is an old fable about a peasant who rendered a great service to a king who rewarded him with a gift of much money. For a time the man was thrilled, but the day came when he begged the king to take back his gift, for into his life had entered the hitherto unknown worry that he might lose what he had. (v) The love of money may easily lead a man into wrong ways of getting it, and therefore, in the end, into pain and remorse. That is true even physically. He may so drive his body in his passion to get, that he ruins his health. He may discover too late what damage his desire has done to others and be saddled with remorse. To seek to be independent and prudently to provide for the future is a Christian duty; but to make the love of money the driving force of life cannot ever be anything other than the most perilous of sins. (John 10:23-29) 4. The Deviation That Results...and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains (10b) Departing from the truth (3) in whatever form will always bring sorrow. III. Fight the Good Fight (11-16) A. Flee But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness (11) (3 John 2; Ecc. 5:18-19; Amos 9:11-15; Rev. 21:22) It s not enough to shun evil, we must also embrace the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) B. Fight Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold an eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (12) Paul never sugarcoats the challenge of the Christian life. We are involved in a fight, a war (2 Cor. 10:4-5), and a struggle (Eph. 6:12). Our primary weapon is our spiritual armor and armaments (Eph. 6:11-18) based on our profession of faith (Rom. 10:9-10). C. Keep the Faith Keep this commandment (14) Paul invokes the witness of God and 5 / 9
His Christ. Of those he lists eternal characteristics: blessed and only Sovereign Jesus is Sovereign ruler. King of Kings and the Lord of Lords Jesus is above all. the only one who has immortality Jesus is forever. He added humanity to His always existing Deity (Heb. 10:5) dwelling in unapproachable light, no one has seen or can see Him Jesus is Holy. (Jas. 1:17) to Him be honor and eternal might, Amen Jesus is omnipotent and worthy of all honor (Rev. 4:11; 5:12) IV. Use Wealth Wisely (17-21) A. Warning Against Self-Importance Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant (17) Pride precedes our punishment (Prov. 16:18; Ps. 75:5). B. Warning Against Self-Sufficiency or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. (17b) God is our source (2 Cor. 3:5 (KJV); 9:8) C. Warning Against Selfishness Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share (18) Here is an insight into the true purpose of wealth. (Eph. 4:28) 6 / 9
D. Warning Against Short-sightedness Storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, that they may take hold of life that is real (19) We don t live for the dot, we live for the line. (John 5:24) Application: 1. Contentment must come from God. 2. Christians are to avoid the temptations of greed. 3. Wealth is to be used for God s purposes. Explore the Bible Leader Pack Item 12: Poster: Doxology of Praise Biblical Illustrator: p. 10; Roman Governors in the First Century **You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: www.hfbcbiblestudy.org Dates: 3/24 M 1:8 Announcement Day; 3/29 Good Friday Church offices closed; 3/31 Easter Sunday (8-9:30-11 & 5:30)- no LBS; 3/31 Full Launch of Cypress and Sienna campuses; 4/5 Warrior Day; 4/11 FBA Spring Musical; 4/12 6 7 / 9
th grade Wax Museum; 4/12 Recreate: Date Night; 4/16 Imago tear down; 4/19-20 Apologetics Conference; 4/21 - LBS Leadership Lunch; 4/21 AMP Wired; 4/26-28 Summit Spring Retreat; 4/29 FBA Spring Fine Arts Fest; 4/30 FBA Spring Sports Banquet; 5/4 CBS Graduation; 5/5 HS Senior Celebration Sunday; 5/11 LeTourneau Graduation; 5/12 SPF Luncheon in FSC; 5/12 Mother s Day; 5/15 Last Midlink, Last week of NextGen Prog; 5/19 Parent Commitment Day; 5/19 MIYC Orientation; 5/21 FBA Pre K Promo Reception; 5/23 FBA 4 th Grade Promo Reception/8 th Grade Grad; 5/24 Last Day of School; 5/27 Memorial Day Holiday Church offices closed; 8 / 9
5/30-8/1 MetroLIVE in worship center; 5/31 HCHS Graduation; 5/31 Recreate Date Night; 5/31 Summer Kickoff Children and Students. 9 / 9