1 Timothy 6

1 Timothy 6:1

In chapter 6, Paul addresses the ministry of the church to the world vocationally, materially, and intellectually. Employeesthose who are under the yokeare to be “good eggs.” When the whistle blows, they’re not to “scramble.” When things get hot, they’re not to get “fried.” I have gotten calls not infrequently from people saying, “I don’t even go to your church, but I need an honest plumber or a trustworthy mechanic, and I know I can find one at your church.” Be a witness for Jesus Christ by being the best worker, the best athlete, the best student you can be. The world is looking for reasons not to believe in God. Don’t give them one.

1 Timothy 6:2

If your boss is a Christian, be careful you don’t exploit your relationship by saying, “He’ll understand if I don’t show up today because I have to pray with my wife,” or, “I can’t keep my commitment at work because the Spirit is calling me to go to the lake and meditate.” Don’t be one who takes advantage of a boss who is a brother or sister in the Lord. Instead, take care to esteem them even higher.

1 Timothy 6:3

“Gain is godliness,” said some in Paul’s day. “Don’t worry about being faithful at work, but rather learn to work the faith. You don’t need to work hard. Just Name It and Claim It.” Ever hear teaching like that?

1 Timothy 6:6

Today’s “faith teachers” say “Godliness will bring gain which will make you content.” That’s not what Paul said. He said, “Gain lies in godliness with contentment.” Why? Because no good thing will God withhold from them that walk uprightly (Psa_84:11). “I don’t think that’s true,” you say. “I’m walking with the Lord and I don’t have a new car.” If that is the case, a new car would not be good for you. God knows that toys and hobbies and bigger houses would be distractions for too many of us. So if things that seem wonderful don’t come your way, you can trust that He knows they wouldn’t be good for you.

1 Timothy 6:7

If you have something to eat and a shirt on your back, be content. This is neither a suggestion nor a principle. It’s a command. 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.” God is so good to us, gang. Statistically, the poorest person in this congregation is wealthier than 90 percent of the world’s population. Think about that next time you feel inclined to grumble about a lack of soap!

1 Timothy 6:9

The love of money can lead to pointless pursuits and persistent pain because those with money can indulge themselves with possessions and in places they wouldn’t otherwise be. God’s Word says wanting to be rich, many people get wiped out.

1 Timothy 6:11

Although we use the phrase “man of God” rather freely, the Bible uses it quite sparingly. Therefore, Timothy must have been something really special. Man of God, keep eternity’s values in view. Lay hold on eternal life. Keep focused on the fact that you’re going to heaven.

1 Timothy 6:13

“Art thou a king?” Pilate asked Jesus. “You said it, Pilate,” answered Jesus. “And if you really desire to hear truth, you too will hear My voice” (see Joh_18:37).

1 Timothy 6:14

In light of who God is and where we’re going, it’s ludicrous to think highly of ourselves.

1 Timothy 6:17

Unlike the game of musical chairswherein there’s only one chair too fewif the music in the financial world stopped today and every government, corporation, financial institution, and private individual called in their debts, only three out of ten would get a chair. In other words, the entire world economy is built on faith that the music’s not going to stop. But when it doesand it willthe world will be shocked to realize how many chairs are missing. Thus, the reason the Bible calls riches uncertain is because they are! I could tell you story after story of things I thought I just had to have. So I bought themonly to find that they bought me as I was held captive paying them off and maintaining them. Possession brings problems, indeed. Yet Americans persist in thinking they must own something in order to enjoy it. Not so. A walk on the beach, a picnic by a stream, and a bike ride through the park are all free. Thus, God has given us freely the best things to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:18

If God blesses you with wealth, become the most generous, magnanimous person you possibly can be, for the funny thing about money is that often the more wealth a person amasses, the more stingy he becomes. I have a sneaking suspicion that God desires to bless us even more in the realm of finances if we would learn to be channels through which His blessing would flow. How do we learn this? The best way is to do what God says: to tithe. The first tenth of every single penny that comes your way is God’s. If God has made you a millionaire, you need to tithe on that million. It’s His. If God has given you one dollar per year, then a dime of that is His. Become people who tithe, for with every tithe, you give far more than money. You give away a part of your selfishness.

1 Timothy 6:19

The old adage is true: You can’t take it with you. But you can send it ahead through tithing, giving, and sharing. Oh, that we would understand the truth of this!

1 Timothy 6:20

After telling us that professionally, we’re to be good workers, and financially, we are to be content and generous, Paul moves to his third and final exhortation concerning the church and her ministry to the world when he says that intellectually, we are to be true to the Word. If you want to navigate life now and eternally without being embarrassed, study the Scriptures and do what they tell you to do. Without exception, the times of which I’m ashamed are the times I didn’t do what the Word said to do. When I violated the Word, when I did my own thing, when I chose to ignore a command or a principle, my actions always resulted in error and shame. May the Lord continue to help us walk wisely in these dark and treacherous days. May the Lord give us a heart to continue to study the Wordnot academically only, but with a determination to obey it practically. Science Fiction A Topical Study of 1Ti_6:20-21 As a sophomore in high school, I listened as Mr. Flanner, my science teacher, gave us reason after reason why evolution is so certain, so factual, so undeniable. This intrigued me because at the beginning of the semester, he had taught us that all of science is built not upon a theory, not upon a hypothesis, but upon a lawthe Second Law of Thermodynamics, which says that everything goes from order to disorder, that everything is winding down. We know this to be so. Every second of every minute, the sun loses 1,200,000 tons of mass. As a result, scientists tell us that eventually the sun will burn out. This means that if we go back fifteen million yearsthe length of time required by the evolutionary process to bring life as we know it to our planetthe sun would be substantially larger than it is now, causing the average temperature on earth to exceed three hundred degreeswhich would kill the very life forms that were supposedly evolving into men. It just doesn’t add up! And scientists are increasingly coming to this conclusion. A best-selling book in England, entitled, The Facts of Life: Shattering the Myth of Darwinism, was written by an eminent scientist who doesn’t believe in God but who, nonetheless, says there are too many problems with Darwinism to make it a viable theory. Among them are the following… Dating Scientists at the Hawaiian Institute of Geophysics collected rocks from a lava flow that had hardened and dated them according to the most sophisticated, scientific systems. According to the most advanced computer models, the sample was said to be three billion years old. The problem, however, was that the scientists at the Hawaiian Institute of Geophysics had actually seen the volcano from which the rocks were taken erupt only two years previously. Fossils There are fossilized trees in Indonesia that are forty feet high. Because it has been established that it takes centuries to produce a fossil only one inch thick, it would take countless centuries to fossilize an entire tree. The problem is that the tree couldn’t stand that long without breaking down under its own decaying process. Therefore, for the tree to be fossilized to a height of forty feet, it had to be fossilized in a way other than the evolutionist suggests. There had to be an instant cataclysmic eventlike, for example, a flood. Transitional Forms When Darwin wrote his theory, he stated categorically that paleontologythe study of fossilswould verify the theory of evolution because in them we would see transitional forms linking together two distinct species. The problem is that since Darwin presented his theory, scientists have studied fossils by the ton. And they have yet to find a single transitional form. One Gallup poll found that only 9 percent of Americans believe man came into being apart from God. Why, then, do scientists continue to propagate the theory of evolution? Why do academicians continue to stand by evolution? Why does our public school system continue to teach evolution when it clearly violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics and other empirical evidence? The Bible gives us the answer in Romans 1… For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.Rom_1:20 God’s attributes, His power, His creative ingenuity, and His presence are seen in all of creationfrom the circulatory systems within us to the stars above us. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.Rom_1:21-23 Even though nature attests to God’s reality, man chose to believe a lie and to change the glory of the incorruptible God into man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping thingswhich, interestingly, is the evolutionary order in reverse. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.Rom_1:24-25 “Because there is no God; because we came from slime, we can act like slime,” says the unbeliever. And that’s the issue, gang. The issue is not scientific, academic, or intellectual. The issue is moral. People innately know there is a divine design to the universe. They know it in their hearts. They see it in the sky. It rings true in their souls. But because the so-called intellectuals don’t want to be accountable to a Creator, they simply remove God from the picture. Guns, rape, and profane behavior of every type have replaced chewing gum, un-tucked shirts, and talking in class as the prevalent problems in our high schools. And educators are stymied. “What’s wrong with the culture?” they ask. They give lectures and bring in motivational speakers to try to instill values in their studentsall the while blind to the obvious fact that if kids are taught they came from animals, they’re bound to act like animals. Understanding what they innately know to be truethat they were created by Godwould affect the way students would view life, one another, and themselves. But take away that underpinningand we are currently reaping the result. And if you are one who says, “I know God created the earth and everything in it,” my question to you is this: Do you live as though that were true? God created you for one reason: To bring Him pleasure (Colossians 1). Therefore, if you please God this week, you will fulfill the very reason for your existence. It is in bringing joy and pleasure to the heart of God through worship, Bible study, family devotions, personal contemplation, prayer, meditation, and submission that we disarm Darwin, expose evolution, and silence the skeptic. Mr. Flanner had a Master’s Degree, but I, a lowly sophomore, understood the Decree of the Masterand that made all the difference.