1 Timothy 6:10-21 Flee from greed, pursue Christ

1 Timothy 6:10-21

This morning’s message will probably be painful for most of you to hear. It will be uncomfortable. Some of you will be angry with me after this message. How do I know this? Because that is how I have felt in preparing this message. I have felt angry as the Holy Spirit has poked me right in the idol of love of money.

Because it is a trap. And we have all fallen into it. We long to be rich! Our society shouts at us “Get all you can get all you can, spend all you can, spend all you can”. All too often we willingly put our foot into the trap. Smile as we hear the click, and keep on smiling as the trap slams shut. Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And we willingly give ourselves over to it.

Just one note of warning. You may be thinking “oh, here we go! Christians again going on about money”. You may have seen white suited frauds, false teachers, on so-called Christian TV talking about seed giving, and releasing blessing, and how we’re royalty and royal live in the best houses and so on. Really, where was Jesus born? Where did he live?

That kind of “Christianity” is called the prosperity gospel or the name it and claim it. It’s based on New Age ideas and is completely unChristian. It is a lie. A lie based on the love of money. Because those “preachers” promising material wealth – you’ll be rich. You’ll be successful – are focussing us on the idol of money instead of God. Our eyes are on the gifts instead of the Giver. What we need to do this morning is put our eyes on the Giver, not on the gifts.

We need to stand before God and say search my heart O God. Make me clean. Take away this idol.
God is shaping us to be a church to reach Notodden, to reach Norway. That will not come without a cost, without throwing off every selfish thing that weighs us down, greed and pride and selfishness – but oh what joy to see what he will do with us – a shining light of hope and gospel glory, a church that loves each other genuinely cares for each other and for the lost, generous with money and time. That’s what we are to become.

1. Love of money destroys us and takes our eyes off Christ.

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. 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.

The longing to be rich is such a trap. Why? What’s wrong with wanting to be rich? Being rich is cool!

However, why do we actually want to be rich? What lies beneath that desire? Is it not selfishness? Is it not the desire to have the world bend to your whim – to have the car you want, the house you want, to have people do things for you, say “Good evening Mr Garratt” and meet your needs? Is it not the desire to be God in your life? Not satisfied to be dependant, to be in need, to have to pray, to ask God. Oh, you may throw out a bit to the church, give a bit to gospel work – but probably a lot less than you imagined you would.
Surveys continually show that the richer people get, the less they give!

Do we really, truly, want to be rich so that we can share our wealth with others and glorify God? You know, the “I’d love to win the lotto so I could share it with everyone” fantasy.
The reality is that if that was really our desire we would already be doing it. We would already be sharing it! Why do we imagine that we would suddenly be more generous if we had more money? Does money have the power to change your heart?

Jesus says “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10

When faced with this trap of love of money, what should we do? God’s word, spoken through Paul to Timothy, and indeed to all of us who want to be a man of God, is clear: 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things.

Run! Run from love of money. Oh, the “evil things” are more than just money – 1 Timothy has warned us about many more traps that we can fall into – but I think there’s a reason that Paul has placed love of money right next to the command to run from these things. It is the one we overlook so easily and therefore the most dangerous.

There’s an old Christian word which is mortification. Mortification – putting to death the sinful desires of the body. We need to put to death the love of money in our hearts.

John Wesley, a preacher and teacher in the 1700’s, and passionate about obeying Christ said this: "Money never stays with me, it would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it finds a way into my heart."

Jesus illustrates this in Luke 12:16–21 “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Impossible application: flee to money. Keep all you’ve got. Gather it for yourselves, for your children, for your legacy. Save more and more against a rainy day. Build bigger barns!

But most of us live like that!

Application: Kill the love of money in our hearts. How? By having our eyes fixed on the Lored Jesus. By storing up treasures in heaven. We invest in eternity every time we give generously, every time we share our things, every time we borrow instead of buy so we have more to give away. Be generous and trust God.

Love of money destroys us and takes our eyes of Christ. Kill it before it kills you.

2. Love of money is idolatry

17 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. 18 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. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

What is the temptation for rich people like us? Oh you didn’t think you were rich? Sorry, but we are. We have access to clean water, sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house or apartment, and have reliable transport which puts us all among the top 15% of the world’s wealthy. Plus we have free medical care, free unemployment insurance, free schooling, natural beauty to enjoy, and much more. We have no worry about starvation or being homeless. We are rich beyond many people’s wildest dreams. When was the last time we sat down and thanked God for that?! Thank you for the water in my tap. We don’t see it. It is a gift from the Lord. Thank you Father for your gracious provision.

So these verses about the rich – in fact, wherever you read in the Bible about words to the “rich” think that’s me, I need to listen.

So, what is the temptation for rich people like us?

V17 To be proud and to trust our money. You know, my friend McDonald has very little, yet without hesitation opened his ONE-BEDROOMED home to another family. That’s 5 of them PLUS now a lady and her two children. Me? I would have calculated that it isn’t possible to do that. I don’t have the money. And I would have prayed a prayer like that: Sorry Lord, I wish I had the money, or Please Lord bless me with lots of money and a big house so that I can take people in.
You know what? That prayer is just greed dressed up in Christian language. If I really wanted to bless, I would.

See, what does McDonald understand? No.1 that money is unreliable (v17). You cannot trust in money. The stock market could crash. The oil price could suddenly drop… Tinfos and Hydro could close down and you lose your job. Many here in Notodden know about the unreliability of money.
Instead, McDonald v17 trusts in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

And so he is free to share all that he has with others. 18 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.
And his reward? He is 19 storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

Why is he able to do this? Is he more godly than us? Well, maybe! But he is poor. And being poor is to be vulnerable, to be dependant. And so all of MCDonald’s life is lived in dependence on God. So when the call comes to be a little bit more dependent he says sure.
But for us who are rich it is easy for us to live as if we are indepedent from God. And that is to believe a lie. And if God is gracious to us, he will take away whatever we are trusting in, in order to show us that we have placed our trust in it – that it has become an idol.

How do you know if love of money, greed, has found a place in your heart? How do you know if it has become an idol? How do you know if you place your trust in money instead of God? Try giving it away.
And see how you react. If immediately you get angry – but what about this thing I was going to buy – or worried – but what if things go wrong and I need that money – then that shows you where your trust lies. You’re trusting in money, and not in God. And that is a very dangerous place to be. V10 And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Do we really believe that? We don’t, do we. We think that money = happiness. And that God is a killjoy.
You know what – that’s the lie of the devil. Right back in Gen 3. Did God really say. This fruit is good… God just wants to keep from you what is good. He doesn’t want you to be happy.
And we all know how that turned out.

When Christian and I were in London now we saw a beautiful Aston Martin. Ooh, it was gorgeous. And the engine. What a sound- And the man inside was beaming with the sheer joy of owning such a fantastic car…. Actually, he wasn’t. He looked utterly miserable. And the lines on his face were all down. Amazingly wealthy, fantastically unhappy.

The Beatles were right when they said “I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love”

If money really could make us happy the richest people in the world would be the happiest. Movie stars would be full of joy – not falling into drink and drugs and often dying broken and alone.

And yet we still believe the lie.

Only Christ can fulfil us. Only in him do we find true contentment, deep joy. Aim at happiness, pursue fulfilment, and you will fall short; give yourself to Christ, pursue Him – and you will find happiness and true contentment thrown in.
is that not true? Those of you who have been Christians for a while, is that not your experience?

Love of money is idolatry. Love God. Use money for his glory

3. We love not money, but Christ, the eternal, immortal, almighty King

This is a duty and a privilege only for Christians. Oh, giving your money away will have some benefit – the Lord has designed the universe like that and so following his moral laws has moral benefits. You may feel better about yourself. You are doing good. And maybe your good deeds will come up before the Father and he will send someone to you to tell you the gospel. Because your good deeds will not save you. Instead, they will condemn you to hell because your actions are done to glorify and satisfy...YOU, and not God. You need the perfect obedience of Christ. You need him to swap places with you, take on your sin, your idolatry, your greed – and he will give you his righteousness, his perfect love for the Father, his generosity.

To give your money and receive the many blessings of provision, contentment, and joy, you must know the Lord. Because it is an action of throwing ourselves deep into the mercy of God, saying “Father I trust you”

This is joy and privilege for us. It is a blessing for us. God doesn’t need our money. It’s not like he’s waiting thinking oh I need more money, oh I wish they’d be generous come on please.

Like prayer, like evangelism, like obedience, giving money is not to bless God to bless ourselves. Because as we give, we declare “I trust God”. It is a deep act of faith. We tear down the idols of greed, self-trust or trust in the state – and say I trust you and you alone, Father.

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.

Oh and it’s a fight. And if you’ve tried to be faithful in giving, you know it is a fight that has to be fought again and again. But fight the good fight. Battle yourself. And you can win. Why? Because you already have the new life, the eternal life
v12 continues: Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

We have been saved brothers and sisters. We are declared righteous in Christ, perfect, faultless. 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.

Follow Christ. And here is our motivation. Because we do not live for now, or tomorrow – but the future. Chapter 1 of the Great Story that goes on forever. This is just the introduction.
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 honour and power to him forever! Amen.

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” ― C.S. Lewis

So let’s put some flesh now on these bones. How do we do it? How do we stop this love of money grasping at our hearts?

“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” ― John Wesley

Four implications from today’s passage

1. Give thanks. Look around at all your blessings and give thanks. It is much easier to give when you realise how blessed you are. Both physical blessings and spiritual blessings.

2. Remind yourself of where you are going. Our home is not this world. We are made for the new creation. Let us store up treasures there. And the only way we can invest in the new creation is to give away our money here to gospel work. He is coming. Amen. Come Lord Jesus come.

3. Ok. I want to give. But how much should I give? Well, as much as possible. A good place to start is with the minimum under Jewish Law: Decide to give at least 10% of your income. 10%???? Yes, 10% of what God has given us, we give back to Him as a symbol that all we have comes from him.
I’ve recently been challenged by this, as I’ve always seen it as guideline, rather than minimum. But reading Malachi 3:8–10 “8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
For the Jewish believer, to refuse to pay the full tithe was robbing God. As believers in Christ, with so much more blessing and understanding, should we give less? Is it not robbing God to give less than 10%?

If 10% seems like a lot, then think to yourself: would I die if I had to live on 90% of my income?
It may be hard to start with 10%. Why not commit to giving 1% more every month? Build up to it.
How do we do this? Take 10% of whatever income you get in, and give it away immediately. Don’t wait until the end of the month – do it first. Set it aside, and bring it in.

And trust God. He will not abandon you.

4. Check your motivation for doing this. Thankfulness. Future focus. Obedience. But if you’re doing this in the hope that God will give you more… it will be wasted. The Lord loves you

Impossible application: Be stingy. Give nothing, or very little. Give less than 10%.

Application: Give. And as you give, rejoice. What a privilege to have money to give. How we have been blessed! Think carefully how much of God’s money we are going to keep for ourselves, and how much to give away.

All we NEED is found in v7 and 8.

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.

Let us end by focussing not on money, but on the Greatest Treasure, the Desire of the Ages, the Beautiful One of Heaven by reading v15-16 together.
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 honour and power to him forever! Amen.

May God’s grace be with us all.

1 Timothy 6:1-10 The secret of contentment

1 Timothy 6:1-10

Who or what masters you?
What dominates your thinking?
What determines how you run your life?

Could it be money?

Do you find yourself running after money and what it promises? Holidays, nice house, big car, boat, cabin? Is that what drives you?
Because money is a cruel master, promising what it cannot deliver – satisfaction, contentment – and delivering headaches, stress, and an ever-moving target.
Repairs, worry I might lose it, and Oh, you’ve got a new car… well you should have got THIS one, it’s even better, and just kr60 000 more. And you sit and look at your new car which you were so excited about.. and now it doesn’t seem so great.

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 masters us?
1. Are we a slave to slavery, or a slave to God?
2. If we’re a slave to God, do we obey him and so experience a godly life, or not?
3. Is money our master?

1. Am I a slave to slavery, or a slave to God?

All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. 2 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.

Slavery is brutal. But it was (and still is) a fact of life. In the first century up to half the population worked as slaves. In many places in the world today, people live and work as slaves. We might joke that we are “slaves” to our bosses, or we “slave away” at home. But the reality is that we are extremely free!

Slavery was handing yourself over to total control by someone else. They could decide what you wore, what you ate, when you slept, who you slept with, even whether your family would live with you or if they would be sent off or sold off to someone else. Every detail of your life was subject to your masters whim. A slave had no rights.

So you were very dependent on your master. A good master would look after you. A bad master would abuse you.

So, as Christians, how should slaves of their earthly masters now act? They are free men and women in Christ – and if their master is a Christian, then brothers and sisters! Party!!

No. We are to respect our masters, says the Lord through Paul. What? And 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!

Why? So that v1 they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. What message would it send about Christianity if the slaves who became Christians became lazy, avoiding work, complaining about everything, and mouthing off to their master? Would that make people sit up and say “Oh, I’d like to become a Christian”. No!

Like Jesus, our focus is on the good of others, and on the life to come. What joy to serve, even suffer, in this life if through our suffering we can win one to Christ. How brief this life is – gone in an instant – compared to all eternity with our Lord!

And if your master is a Christian – well, then you should be motivated to work harder, not less! This is your brother in Christ. You should long to please him, to serve him with joy. It is a loving submission – I know we are equal, but I choose to serve you. It is the same joyful submission with which the wife submits to the husband – we are equal but I submit to you; the husband joyfully serves the wife – I will lay myself aside to do what is best for you; and how the Son of God submits to the Father – though equal, He chooses to obey.

See, who is the slave actually a slave of? Is he just a slave of his master? Or is he a slave of Christ, joyfully choosing to love God in the way that he serves his earthly master.
Are we ruled by circumstances – what is happening around us – or do we choose to serve Christ, to allow him to be our master in this situation?
To be a first century slave was not a great situation to be in. But instead of moaning and complaining about your work, your life, you could choose to serve Christ in the way you work, in the way you view your master. No longer is he your master, but a person who needs the gospel of Christ – or if already a Christian, a brother in Christ.

It is something that changes within us. I will not serve that thing, that circumstance. But I will serve Christ in this difficult time, at this job, with this thing. Maybe your child is sick – how can I glorify God in my suffering? Maybe your children have been taken away by Barnevernet? How can I cling to God? What difference does it make that I belong to Christ?
It is an attitude of the mind. I choose to see this through the eyes of Christ, not through my eyes. And as we turn to him, as we obey him, that produces godliness – we experience the wonder of the Spirit at work in us in that situation.
You know, when I became a Christian it was like the sun rose in my life. I woke up the next day, and everything was bright and full of life. Nothing had changed – except me. Gone was the shadow, the moaning, the complaining – because, no matter what happened, the Lord was with me – and nothing could change that. I belonged to Him, and that is a deep joy that has never left me.

We are not slaves to the world, but slaves to Christ.

2. As slaves to Christ, let us obey him: Obedience produces godliness

Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. 3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.

Teach these things Timothy, for these teachings promote a godly life. What things? The gospel. Everything we’ve been learning in 1 Timothy! It’s hard to give yourself over fully to someone. Can I really trust God? That old selifishness and pride rise up within us. I don’t want to obey God.

So we need the gospel. What have we learned so far in Timothy. Let’s remind ourselves of that, and be encouraged to follow our loving master – the only master who will not lead us on the path to death. For every other master will.

Chapter 1 we saw the power of the gospel to transform sinners – even the greatest of sinners like Paul. Following the law does not work – keeping rules, being good. You can’t be good enough, it doesn’t work! The law is like a thermometer which measures if we have a fever. It diagnoses the problem. The law reveals our unrighteousness, our sin. But the thermometer is not the cure. Imagine if the doctor said, oh yes, you have a fever – now go home and every day take your temperature with the thermometer. You’d think what an idiot! That can’t help me. I need medicine! The gospel is the medicine. The gospel, that Jesus has swapped places with us, that he takes our sin, and he gives us his perfection… that’s the medicine. In Christ, we are declared righteous, perfect. So, let’s live like what we are.

Remember the key verses in 1 Timothy? Turn back to 3:14 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

How we behave matters! We need to know the truth – hear it preached, get to Bible study, read the Bible, know the real truth, so false teachers cannot turn your head. You need to see the truth lived out in the lives of your church members. So often we see how someone deals with a situation and we think “ah, that’s how it’s done”. We see how they deal with sickness, or tragedy, or how they use their money or their possessions. We see how they parent. How they use their time. See the truth. And we ourselves need to live the truth. Chapter 2 showed how we as men and women should behave in church – learning quietly and in joyful, willing submission. Chapter 3 our leaders, who we are to submit to. Those following the Lord, obeying Christ, and who can teach the Bible – they should lead. Men need to take responsibility in leading the church as in leading the family. As chapter 4 says train yourself to be godly. We work hard at obeying Christ. Not to earn salvation – that would be trying to use the law – the thermometer – as our salvation. No, we work hard at obeying Christ because we are already saved. We are children of God. Chapter 5 went through how we deal with each other and particularly the problem the church at Ephesus had with the widows, and, indeed, church leaders.
Basically what Paul is writing to Timothy and his churches, inspired by the Holy Spirit is this: in Christ live like Christ.
We are not our own. We belong to Him. He is our new master, and we follow him.

These teachings produce a godly life – that is, a life in line with God. What a joy!
You want to grow as a Christian? Listen. Listen to the Word of God. And then obey it (or at least try to!) Jesus says the same thing over and over again in Luke. Listen. Be careful how you listen. Those who hear my words and put them into practice are the wise. Luke 8:18 “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Lk 8:21 (NLT) Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

Pay attention indeed. Because if you listen to the wrong people, to false teachers…what is the result? 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.

A church not full of loving submission, joyful service, looking out for the interests of others and pointing each other to Christ – but arguments, jealousy.

Is it going too far to suggest that the reason many of our churches are marked by arguments, jealousy, division and so on is because they have stopped teaching the gospel? That they have stopped proclaiming the sinfulness of man and the glory of forgiveness in Christ. So that it becomes a competition in piety – who can follow the rules the best and get one up over everyone else.

Listening to the gospel produces godliness. Listening to lies produces ungodliness.

What you listen to, matters. Who you listen to, matters.

Hear the truth and obey it.

3. Is money our master? Beware the siren song of greed

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. 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.

Why would these teachers become false? Why would they, as 1:19 say “deliberately violate their conscience”? Why are they 1:4 wasting their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. And v4 stir up arguments. Why would you do that?

v5 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.

Day after day we read or hear stories of corruption, nepotism, favouritism – people using their power, their leadership positions, not for the good of the people but for their own selfish gain, and their family members. And the church is not immune! We are a club for sinners, not a holy huddle.... J

In the old days of seafaring, sailors used to talk of the sirens. Those were mythical creatures who sang such beautiful bewitching songs that the sailors would steer the ship towards them – and then be smashed to bits on the rocks, and die either from starvation or from the sirens feasting upon them, depending on which myths you read! In Greek mythology there were only two who avoided the sirens: one was Odysseus, who stopped his ears (and the whole crew) with wax so that he could not hear the siren song.
The other who avoided the sirens was Jason (Jason and the Argonauts) who hired Orpheus to play a more beautiful song and drown out the siren song.

Brothers and sisters, let us cling to Christ. Be so filled with the gospel that these lies do not lead you astray. Only by knowing the genuine, the real, can we be kept safe from the false. There’s an old song which goes “Keep your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face; and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

Our society shouts at us: happiness is through buying things. Accumulate things. Have this experience, that experience – there is true happiness, true contentment. But what does God say? And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

How many do we know who have done this? How many of us are in danger of this? And as for Christian ministers.... just turn on a “Christian” TV channel and all too often you’ll find false teacher peddling their wares – send me money and I’ll send you blessing. It is a wicked corruption of the gospel.

Who you listen to, matters. Beware of the wealthy or those who are always going on about money. 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.

Beware of “Christian” ministers who have become exceedingly wealthy through the ministry. Be especially wary of those who tumpet their wealth as a sign that they are blessed by God. Because I think 1 Timothy 6 would see it as a sign that they are false teachers? And what about the constant theme in Luke of care for the poor, of selling your possessions, of not serving two masters God and Money?

Many Christians have shipwrecked their faith on the rock s of greed. It’s easy for us to be lured in by greed because our society is immensely greedy. You may find that siren song in your heart as you are dissatisfied with what you have now. Always looking to buy the next new thing. Never content.
Do you thank God for your daily bread – the food you have, the job you have, the home you have – or do you think “of course, that’s what I deserve” or “but I work for this” not realising everything we have is a gift from our Heavenly Father? In the next Bible study we’re going to look at the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11, where we ask God for his daily provision. It comes from him!
Do you find it difficult to be generous, gripping on to what you have, unwilling to share, to give?

The antidote to this poison of money-love is found in v17-18 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. 18 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.

Giving money to gospel work kills the greed in our heart. We show ourselves that we trust God to provide for us. We don’t have to store up wealth – trust God. We show that we serve Him, not Money, not the World.
Hospitality (having people in your home, for meals, etc) is another great way to counteract that call of greed. Sharing what you have – food, cars, tools, whatever.

Thanksgiving and praise for all that we have is essential. If we do not recognise that all we have comes from the Lord’s generosity, we will be angry and disobedient when He asks us to share it! So go through what you have and thank God for it. Thank him for his many blessings. And then be generous and bless others as you have been blessed. And, since we all live in Norway, we have all been MASSIVELY blessed! And the result of all this. Ironically, as we share, as we give away, as we set our sights not on things, but on Christ, we will finally be content with what we have. V6

Take a moment now to ask the Lord to examine your heart for that call of greed. And let us fix our eyes on Jesus, and be filled with him instead of filled with greed. Let us give ourselves to him as willing slaves, joyfully submitting, and let us see the fruits of godliness he will produce in our lives!

1 Timothy 5:16-25 Leading the church

1 Timothy 5:16-25

Today’s passage is all about church leaders.
Who should lead the church?
How should we respond to our leaders?
What do we do when a leader does wrong?
Let’s get straight into it in v17

1. Good church leaders should be respected and paid well

17 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”

First question is: what’s an “elder”? An elder is the Bible’s word for the church leader – the one responsible for teaching the church the Bible, for praying for the church, and for leading the church by example (that means the elder should be a picture (an example) of how to live as a Christian). In this church we have three elders: myself, Jack, and Christian. We are responsible for leading the church.

And a good elder – that is, one who teaches the Bible, prays, and leads by following Christ – should be listened to, respected, supported – paid well. It is the church’s responsibility to look after their elders.

Let’s spend a bit of time reminding ourselves of what an elder, or church leader is, and what they should be. How should they lead? Where should they lead us? What’s the elder’s job that we should be supporting them to do? Let’s turn back to chapter 3 :

1 Ti 3:1 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honourable position.” 2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

An elder has authority to shepherd God’s people, through teaching the Word (the Bible) and obeying the Word himself, so that he leads by example. Did you notice that all the requirements of church leadership was “character”. Who you are. And also that nothing in that list is anything more than expected of every Christian? An elder or church leader is someone with a track record of following Christ. They’re a Christian.
An elder is not some kind of super-Christian with “heavenly anointing” or any such nonsense. God does not say that here, does he? He does not say “v2 An elder must be a man who has been filled with Holy Ghost fire” or “who sees visions” or “has a special anointing”. Equally it does not say “v2 An elder must be a man who has completed his Bachelor in Theology”. Because a man who has a degree or a man who appears to have a direct link to the Holy Spirit may not have the character to lead. I’ve met plenty of people who “prophesy” who I wouldn’t have anywhere near the leadership of the church – and I’ve met many with degrees who are so arrogant and full of themselves because they have a degree that they disqualify themselves from leadership!

Let us not be fooled by outward appearances when considering our leaders. Even who we listen to online – because you are putting them in authority over you. What’s their character like? That’s why God, through Paul, commands Timothy (and all of us after Timothy) to 5:22 Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Why? Because v24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. 25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

Basically, eventually character will out. Over time you will see what type of man that potential leader is. That’s why if you want to be a church leader - well that’s a good thing 3:1 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honourable position. But you will be tested, over time. Your character will be evaluated. We will have to know you – or at least talk with the people who do know you. We’ll chat to your wife – what are you really like at home, in everyday life? Because character will out. And a godly character is the most important requirement of a church leader. Because as you go, the church goes.

People follow what you DO rather than what you say. So you may be a genius in the pulpit, you may be eloquent in speech and able to dazzle people with your charm, you may be up there with Augustine, Calvin and Luther in your theological expertise – but if it’s all up here and not in your heart. If it’s external not internal. If you don’t truly know Christ – your church will be full of bitterness and arrogance and fakery.

By the way, that’s why you’ve got to be really careful with listening to people online. Because you don’t know them. There’s a reason we have a local church. We know each other! We carry each other. We see each others’ struggles. We rub each other up the wrong way and annoy each other – which is a great opportunity to grow more like Jesus and forgive each other. No-one grows in a church of one! You’re never challenged – your sinful, selfish heart is never exposed. But come to church for a bit, and oh yes, you’re challenged!
And loved. And forgiven. And taught. And prodded. And have the joy of serving. And encouraging. Church is fantastic! God’s a genius for creating church.

Pity the elders who have to steer this ship! However, we are not alone. We have the Word of God, and the Spirit of God. The Word teaches us, the Spirit through His Word, drives it home and changes us from the inside out.

If you look at our organisational chart here of our church leadership structure, you can see how it works:

God the Father

Gives all authority in heaven and earth to his Son 

Our Lord Jesus Christ

Who is also head of the Church 

And leads through his 

Holy Spirit

Who speaks powerfully through his Word, the Bible. 

The elders (trainer of ministers)

Teach the Bible faithfully and prayerfully to 

the ministers (congregation)

Who will witness to and serve all people, and the elect will respond. 

An elder’s job is to lead the church, and the primary way he does that is through the Word of God, the Bible. That’s why we emphasise so heavily teaching the Bible in this church. And not teaching you “this is what it says” but actually getting you to read it and unpack it for yourselves. We are not interpreters, standing between you and the Bible, saying “this is what it really means” – and then giving you OUR thoughts. We’re like tour guides, making sure you don’t get lost or miss anything important, saying “keep your eyes on what is in front of you”.

As my friend Justin Mote says “The key to understanding the Bible is reading”. He introduces the two-year church apprenticeship program in the North-west of England with these words “Over these two years we are going to teach you to read”.
Because simply reading the Bible – reading what is there rather than what we think is written or what we want to be written – that takes discipline and hard work.

And that’s why the elder needs to be paid well so that he has time to read the Bible. Because it is so easy for us to twist Scripture to what we want. As I struggle with the text to preach on or teach a Bible study – my struggle is not with the commentaries or with understanding the words. My struggle is with myself. Can I move myself, my prejudices, my framework, my sins, my excuses for my sins, my desire to be popular – whatever it is – can I move that to the side and let God speak. That’s the struggle. And that takes time. Because it’s not just understanding the text and packaging it into a 20 minute talk…40 minute talk. That’s easy. It’s letting the Spirit loose on your heart and mind, turning yourself inside out. Being brutally honest with your own heart so that the Word can be sharp and real and you the congregation can hear the very word of God every Sunday. That’s the real work of the elder. It is unseen, but vital. Without the word, we die. And that’s why we support the elder. That’s why he is worthy of respect and should be paid well. Because it takes time. If he’s preaching regularly he does not have time to work a full-time job and prepare to preach as he should.

And it’s hard work. It is labour. And as v18 For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”

The ox quote is from Deuteronomy 25:4 and is the picture of the ox walking back and forth, working hard treading grain – which was separating the grain from the stalk and the chaff. So the ox would walk back and forth, back and forth, and would get hungry... and so would probably start to munch on the grain. Let the ox eat, says God, don’t muzzle it. It deserves payment (food) for the work it does. It deserves to be looked after.
Likewise the human labourer – the worker deserves his pay. Paul is quoting Jesus here, when Jesus sends out the 72 which we’ve just read on Wednesday in the Bible study. It’s in Luke 10:7.

So the elder deserves to be paid. 17 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching Especially those or perhaps a better translation would be namely or that is. Elders should be respected and paid, that is those who work hard at preaching and teaching (since that is what an elder does).

How much do you pay? Enough! He should not be distracted by worry about providing for his family. But equally not too much that eldership becomes a pathway to riches – because someone who loves money should not be an elder.

So, elders, church leaders, respect them and pay them well. Honour their God-given authority over you. Give generously to support them.

But what happens when an elder goes bad? What happens when they abuse their power? Good church leaders should be respected and paid well, and

2. Bad church leaders should be disciplined

19 Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others. 21 I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favouritism to anyone.

When I first read those verses I wasn’t sure whether v20 meant the whole church or not. You know – one of you sins so I call you up here... come up here and confess your sins... CONFESS!

In fact this whole section from v17-25 has church leaders, specifically elders, as its focus. And v19-21 is about elders gone bad. See, the Bible is pretty realistic about us, about people. It recognises that elders will sin. It recognises that people might have less than pure motives for accusing elders, and it recognises what effect the elder’s sin can have on the whole church.

Firstly 19 Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. This again is an Old Testament principle, it’s from the Jewish law courts, and where we in our courts today get a lot of our thinking about evidence and evaluating witnesses. It comes from Dt 19:15–21 “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 “If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, 17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the LORD by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. 18 The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, 19 you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. 20 Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.

A case with only one witness is a weak case. Because we recognise that a single witness can be a liar. We’ve been through a case just recently where the court has taken the evidence of just one witness. Now that’s a bad court! Especially when the rest of the evidence doesn’t match her statements. Not good. So that’s why accusations should not even be heard unless there are further witnesses or confirming evidence - and especially accusations against elders. You don’t have to have been in ministry long before someone accuses you of something, I can tell you!

Why? Because being a church leader means that you will offend people – particularly if you’re a good church leader. Because the gospel is offensive. It is good news, fantastic news – but also offensive news! We are sinners – how dare you! Saved by grace. We cannot save ourselves, only Christ can save us. How dare you! It nails our pride, hits right at the heart of sin.
The heart of sin is selfishness, that desire to do away with God, to be God in my own life. If I believe that I am God – well, I’m certainly not sinner, I haven’t broken God’s laws, my laws, and He’s not angry with me. And if he is, well then I can just bargain with him because I’m also a God, and so I’ll do a few good things and be a nice man and he’ll be ok with that!
No, we are sinners. We have ignored God. We disobey him. We rebel against him. And that can make us angry and so we lash out at the messenger – the man in leadership. Start spreading rumour, saying false things or just being nitpicky and critical.

And you can imagine in Ephesus, Timothy’s church, how some of the false teachers who are told to be quiet or asked to step down as elders; and indeed some of the widows who were removed from the widows list and told to get married and have babies instead of being idle and meddling and making nuisances of themselves in the church – you can imagine some of them wanting revenge. So there must be confirming witnesses, and the whole matter must be judged impartially. Listen to the strong language in v21 I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favouritism to anyone.

So just because you may dislike someone you cannot condemn them – but equally just because you like someone and know them well does not mean that they’re not guilty. Weigh the evidence, make a decision – and if they have sinned, they must be v20 reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.
An elder who sins is serious because his life affects the church. Character matters – as he goes the church goes. So an elder who is habitually sinning and covering up that sin is going to affect the church badly. Scriptures will be twisted or the volume turned down to cover over his sins. People will do what he does – so they will need to be told that the way he was living was false and not to be copied.

Eldership, church leadership, is a public matter – and so the sin needs to be dealt with publically, as it affects all of us. It’s like getting married. One of the worst things I found about getting married is that my sin now affects my wife as well. It’s heartbreaking. And then you have kids. And you see you impatience, your short-temper, your jealously – reflected back in them. Oh no! So too with the church leader.
So because his leadership is public and connected with his character, any serious sin must be dealt with publically as well. It is not for everyone who sins in the church to be hauled up to the front to confess - otherwise we’d be here all day!

Good church leaders should be respected and paid well. Bad church leaders should be disciplined. So…

3. Be careful who you appoint as church leaders

22 Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

Because character is what matters in church leadership, more than skills or gifting, well, that takes time to evaluate. How do you know what type of man a man is unless you spend time with him: see him in different situations and in different relationships. See how he is with his wife, his children, his friends, at his workplace. Is this a man who follows Christ? There is no rush to appoint a leader. Take the time that is necessary. Because, Paul says, you may end up sharing in their sins. It seems v22 is talking about appointing a bad leader too quickly, and you either get associated with them or you then have to deal with the mess they’ve made! It may also be referring to reappointing the elders who have sinned and been disciplined. They will need to go through a reasonable time of proving themselves. So keep yourself pure.

V23 Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often. seems pretty random – although many think that Paul, thinking about Timothy’s purity, remembers that Timothy’s stopped drinking wine, probably to be different to the false teachers who were often drunkards – or maybe there had been some accusation against him. So for whatever reason, to maintain his purity, he’d stopped drinking alcohol. Unfortunately this was in the days before purified water and so water without alcohol would often make you sick. And being sick all the time makes it difficult to lead a church! So Paul says to Timothy - be pure, yes, but in this case I think you’ve taken it a bit far.

And then he rounds off this whole discussion on elders, church leaders with these words:

24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. 25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

You know, some people can fool you for some time, but eventually the real person will come out. I remember a well-respected lady at a previous church who seemed to be godly- but one day she was put under pressure and this vicious snake appeared, such venom and bile and anger – suddenly her façade of godliness was revealed to be just that: a façade, a fake front covering the sinfulness within.

Others I have known who I have heard terrible things said about them – which as time has gone on have been shown to be completely false. Character will out.

That’s why we can’t as Christians, fake it til we make it. There is only one way to follow Christ: fall before him, cry out “help me Lord, I am a sinner” and allow Him to change you from the inside out.

And your new character will start to shine through in all sorts of surprising ways.

One of the guys in this church said to me “I’m the same, but I just can’t do the bad things I used to do any more. I don’t know why, really”. Ha! There’s the Holy Spirit at work.

Good church leaders should be respected and paid well. Because a good church leader will be spending a great deal of time reading and reading and reading the Word, battling with himself to bring you God’s life-giving word.
Bad church leaders must be disciplined. Elders are sinners like everyone else – and sometimes that sin is serious, and needs to be dealt with publically. Publically, because an elder, a church leader, leads by example.
So be careful who you appoint as leaders! Take time to get to know them, because character matters.

A couple of weeks ago we read 4:16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

So dear friends, pray for you elders. Support your elders. Give generously so we as a church can pay our elders as they need it – and appoint new ones! If we’re going to grow enough to reach only 10% of Notodden – that’s 1200 people, 1200 baby Christians who are going to need a lot of shepherding! Being a church leader is an awesome responsibility! The days are short. The work is vast! See, the fields ripe for the harvest. See, how many need to hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus – and to see that gospel lived out.