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"False Teaching and True
   Riches"

1 Timothy 6.6-19

Good News Translation (GNT)

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  6  Well, religion does make us very rich, if we
   are satisfied with what we have.
  7  What did we bring into the world? Nothing!
   What can we take out of the world? Nothing!
  8  So then, if we have food and clothes,
   that should be enough for us.
  9  But those who want to get rich fall into
   temptation and are caught in the trap of many
   foolish and harmful desires, which pull them
   down to ruin and destruction.
10  For the love of money is a source of all kinds
   of evil. Some have been so eager to have it
   that they have wandered away from the faith
   and have broken their hearts with many
   sorrows.

   Personal Instructions
11  But you, man of God, avoid all these things.
   Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
   endurance, and gentleness.
12   Run your best in the race of faith, and win
   eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life
   that God called you when you firmly professed
   your faith before many witnesses.
13  Before God, who gives life to all things, and
   before Christ Jesus, who firmly professed his
   faith before Pontius Pilate, I command you
14  to obey your orders and keep them faithfully
   until the Day when our Lord Jesus Christ will
   appear.
15  His appearing will be brought about at the
   right time by God, the blessed and only Ruler,
   the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
16  He alone is immortal; he lives in the light that
   no one can approach. No one has ever seen
   him; no one can ever see him.
   To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
17  Command those who are rich in the things of
   this life not to be proud, but to place their
   hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches,
   but in God, who generously gives us
   everything for our enjoyment.
18  Command them to do good, to be rich in good
   works, to be generous and ready to share with
   others.
19  In this way they will store up for themselves a
   treasure which will be a solid foundation for
   the future. And then they will be able to win
   the life which is true life.

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Taken from
'The Applied New Testament
Commentary' (Kingsway)

'False Teaching and True Riches'

   1 Timothy 6.6-19

Certainly, godliness does produce much gain - but the gain is spiritual, not material.
The gain that comes from godliness does not depend on outward or material circumstances. Only when we are content do we become free of greed, anxiety, and the love of possessions; and only then can we obtain the full benefit and blessing of godliness.

It is vain to try to store up possessions on earth.
On the day we die, we shall lose them all.

If we have necessary food, clothing, and shelter, we should be content. To desire to obtain more than we need is not right. God has promised to meet our needs. To be discontent with the material gifts that God has given us is a sin. To be discontent is to grumble against God.

However, we should not be "content" with the spiritual gifts we have received; we should earnestly desire to receive more and more
(1 Corinthians 14:1).

Possessions themselves are not evil. What is evil, however, is the love of possessions and the desire to accumulate them. Three things happen to people who love and accumulate possessions: first, they fall into temptation; then, second, they fall into Satan's trap - that is, they are entrapped by many foolish and harmful desires; and finally, third, they are plunged into ruin and destruction, from which their lives cannot be restored.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. When that root grows, it produces all kinds of evil fruit. Notice that Paul says it's the love of money, not money itself, that leads to evil. Those who love money will always wander from the faith.

It is not possible to love both God and riches at the same time.
Not only that, no matter how rich a person gets, he will never be satisfied. One can never find true peace or joy or contentment through riches. Instead, riches lead to anxiety; the person with riches will constantly be worried about losing them.

His riches will be a curse, not a blessing. He will be pierced ... with many griefs.

Paul's Charge to Timothy
Paul here writes not only to Timothy, but also to all of us who believe. ... flee from all this - and pursue spiritual "possessions" - namely, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Paul here uses the strong word flee. Flee - run away - from the love of things of the world. Flee from every kind of evil. Satan is always seeking to lead us into temptation - into his trap - where he can then devour us

At the same time we are fleeing from the love of material possessions, we must eagerly pursue spiritual possessions. It's not enough to say, "If spiritual blessings are given to me, I'll accept them."
No, we must actively pursue spiritual blessings, and then God will give them to us.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Christians are engaged in a continuous spiritual battle. In this verse, the word faith means the teachings of Jesus, the Gospel. But it can also mean our personal faith; Satan is always seeking to destroy our faith by creating doubt in our minds.

In our battle against Satan, faith is one of our main weapons . Doubt is Satan's weapon.

Take hold of the eternal life. Our eternal life begins from the time we believe. However, we must "take hold" of it through faith. Satan will try to take our eternal life from us; but if we hold on to it by faith, Satan will not be able to succeed

Timothy was called to eternal life when he made his good confession - that is, when he was baptised.

Paul charges Timothy to keep this commandment without spot or blame. Paul gives this commandment to Timothy in the sight of God ... and of Christ Jesus. God is always present as a witness of everything we do.

Jesus is also a witness. who made His confession as a witness when He suffered for our sins at the hands of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Let Timothy follow Jesus' example and faithfully confess Jesus and be prepared to suffer for Him.

Timothy must keep this commandment without spot or blame until Christ's second coming. Timothy must not only keep this commandment perfectly, but he himself must remain blameless.

God will send Jesus back to earth in his own time, and other than God Himself, no one knows when that time will be.

Here in these two verses, Paul interrupts his practical instructions and praises God.
Paul's God is not a stone, not an idol, not a myth. Instead, Paul's God is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

This same name is also given to Jesus, because he and God are one God is immortal. He has no beginning and no end; He lives forever. God is so great, so high, and so holy that we cannot even approach His light.

No one has seen or can see God. But Jesus the Son of God, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. To him be honour and might forever.

How big is the God you worship? If we believe in a small God, our faith will also be small. If we believe in a weak God, our lives will also be weak.

But our God is not small and weak. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the God who gives life to everything. Let His name be praised!

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever
In verses 9-10, Paul wrote of those who wanted to get rich. Here Paul speaks to Christians who are already rich. Let them not be arrogant. Everything they have has been given to them by God. They must not put their hope in their wealth.

Money and wealth are not in themselves evil.
God has provided us with everything for our enjoyment.

Therefore, we can receive His material gifts with thanksgiving. But if we begin to love our material possessions, it would be best to sell them; otherwise, we risk losing the spiritual possessions stored up for us in heaven.

Let a man be rich in good deeds rather than in money.
The riches of this world will perish, but every good deed done for God will remain forever. By doing good deeds in this life, the believer stores up for himself treasures in heaven.

Therefore, let the rich believer be generous and willing to share. If he heeds this, he will receive life that is truly life - that is, eternal life in heaven.

When Paul talks about the rich of this world, who does he mean?
He means all those who have more than they need. By New Testament standards, anyone who has more than he needs is rich.

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