On Gain and Godliness (Part 2)

1 Timothy 6:10-12,17-21

Scripture

“10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil

This NKJV translation, and I think most others in English, is a bit off. A better literal translation would be:

“For the love of money is a root of all these evils [1,2].”

I don’t think that Paul was making a general philosophical statement about the love of money in this verse, but sharing a specific truth about the root cause for that which he described in the preceding verse. The love of money is the root, from which grows the desire for material accumulation of wealth, which then causes a person to fall into temptation, a trap, a lack of thought, passionate desire, and harm, which ultimately results in ruination and a cutting off of that which could have otherwise been (such as a fruitful life in Christ).

Why?

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).”

How is this problem manifest in the “Christian” community?

In general, many authentic Christians make decisions based on money / mammon rather than on the discernment of God’s will. For example, some people decide to uproot their families in pursuit of career advancement, with little or no consideration for the impact on spouses and children. While clearly the Lord can call an individual or even an entire family to relocate for His purposes, and He can use a new job opportunity in order to accomplish this relocation, if said relocation is not God’s purpose for said individual or family, then the uprooting of a family (from friends, school, the church community, etc.) for sole personal desire for career advancement is most likely detrimental and perhaps even sinful. But I don’t think that Paul had authentic Christians in mind in these verses. Paul was concerned that the love of money was something …

for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Which way are you going?

Early Christianity was referred to as “The Way (Acts 9:2, 18:26, 19:9, 19:23).” A vital question for anyone is this: which way are you traveling in life? Are you following The Way — which is an obvious allusion to Jesus, who is “the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)” — or are you following some other way? It’s not possible to follow both. Yes, an authentic Christian will periodically stray from the Way for a time, but he/she will overcome and return to the Way. However, for many nominal (in name only) Christians, such as the purveyors of different doctrine referred to by Paul in 1 Timothy 6:3-5, their choice is between following Jesus and following greed (the love of money and desire for accumulation of wealth). Of these, some nominal Christians will stray and “some have strayed from the faith” in order to pursue “their greediness.” These people will and have made their choice.

What’s the consequence of choosing greed over God?

These people who have chosen greed over Jesus drown in destruction in perdition (1 Timothy 6:9); they have strayed (wandered away) from the faith, and as a result receive many sorrows (that pierce through or permeate their being). How tragic, in particular because the choice of greed didn’t have to be made. They could have chosen to follow Jesus. Note that these people who choose (and have chosen) greed don’t lose (and haven’t lost) their faith in Jesus. Their choice to love money instead of God merely exposed the fact that they never had faith in Jesus. For more on this topic see Can You Lose Your Salvation?

What should a Christian along the Way desire (plan with full resolve) to accumulate?

“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 (Matthew 6:19-21).”

How should a Christian do this?

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

• Flee from greed, the love of money, and the driven desire to accumulate material wealth!

• Actively pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness!

• Actively fight the good fight of faith! Wage the good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18)! “Please him who enlisted (you) as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4b)!

• Lay hold on — have a focused resolve for [3] — eternal life!

• “Be even more diligent to make your call and election sure (2 Peter 1:10)!”

• Be “a (witness) to (Jesus) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)!”

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

• Don’t be haughty (proud [4]), watch your attitude, for “God resists the proud (James 4:6)!

• Don’t trust in uncertain material wealth but in the certain living God – “for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!”

• Recognize that God gives us richly all things to enjoy and that while “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above (James 1:17a),” “for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more (Luke 12:48)!” Therefore:

• Do good!

• Be rich in good works!

• Be ready to give, and give!

• Be willing to share, and share!

• Lay hold on — have a focused resolve for [3] — eternal life!

• Lay a good foundation that moths and rust shall not destroy! As the apostle Paul has elsewhere written (1 Corinthians 3:9-15):

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you.

This charge originally given to Timothy is also applicable to Christians today:

• Guard (have an “uninterrupted vigilance” to protect [5]) the truth, the “wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and … the doctrine which accords with godliness (1 Timothy 6:3)!”

• Avoid different doctrine, such as profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge!

• Walk in God’s grace. Receive it, and dispense it to others!

Amen!

May it be so!

End Notes

[1] http://studybible.info/interlinear/1%20Timothy%206:10
[2] http://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/6-10.htm
[3] http://biblehub.com/greek/1949.htm
[4] http://biblehub.com/greek/5309.htm
[5] http://biblehub.com/greek/5442.htm

Bibliography

[i] J.R.W.Stott, “The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus,” Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 1996.
[ii] J.MacArthur, “The New Testament Commentary : 1 Timothy,” Moody Press, Chicago, 1995.
[iii] A.Duane Liftin in J.F.Walvoord and R.B.Zuck (Editors), “The Bible Knowledge Commentary,”Chariot Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs, 1983.

The Financial Trappings of False Religion

Mark 12:41-44

“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.’”

This same incident is also recorded in Luke 21:1-4:

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’”

Just prior to Jesus’ observations in this text, in Mark 12:38-40, He was warning people to beware of the scribes, meaning: observe something physical that has implications about the spiritual, so that you can properly understand and take any needed action (see Beware of the Scribes). In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus appeared to apply His own teaching. Specifically, while Jesus was seated in the temple, He didn’t just see people making donations, He was studying how people made donations. Firstly, Jesus saw, i.e., He concentrated on observed actions to discern meaning (see Do You See?). Secondly, He saw how people were making donations, i.e., he concentrated on the manner in which people were making donations (see How Do You Give?).

Now, we know what Jesus saw, for it’s described explicitly in the text: Jesus discerned a difference between those who gave to the Lord out of their abundance (surplus) and a woman who gave sacrificially (“all that she had”). But what was Jesus’ point?

Remember, Jesus’ observation about the widow’s donation was immediately after his warning to “beware of the scribes … who devour widows’ houses (Mark 12:38-40).” Therefore, it seems that this sacrificial gift by the widow was an example of how the scribes were devouring the assets of widows to enrich themselves. But let’s dig a bit deeper.

The Law required Jews to tithe (i.e., to give one tenth) on several occasions for different reasons. For example: one tenth was to be provided annually to the Levites for their sustenance (Numbers 18:21-24), one tenth was to be used annually to effectively throw a huge party to rejoice and celebrate the ways in which God had blessed the Jews (Deuteronomy 14:22-26), and every third year a tenth was to be given to provide for the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). So, while it can be inferred that widows with assets were expected to tithe, there was an understanding that widows were to be recipients of tithes and offerings.

The scribes, as teachers of the law, should have known this. They should have practiced this. But they apparently didn’t. They devoured widows’ houses. Therefore, in Mark 12:41-44, Jesus was likely implying something like this:

“Woe to you scribes! For while you should be collecting offerings and distributing them to those in need (such as the poor widow), you take every last penny from the widows in order to enrich yourselves! ‘Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble (James 1:27a)!’”

This is thus a prime example of the financial burden of false religion. False teachers often prey upon people to extract assets and enrich themselves. Therefore, Jesus said of the scribes (Mark 12:40b):

“These will receive greater condemnation.”

In addition, Jesus subsequently spoke of the temple in which the scribes profaned God through misrepresenting Him to His people (Mark 13:2):

“Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Jesus pronounced judgment on the scribes and their false system of worship. And as it was then, so it is today. False teachers continue to prey on people to extract their assets and enrich themselves, and they shall be judged with a great condemnation unless they repent (for more on this topic see False Teachers).