2 Timothy 1:1-5

Click here for the 2 Timothy 1:1-5 PODCAST

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.~ 2 Timothy 1:1-5

When Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy, his situation had changed drastically. The Apostle was now a prisoner in Rome and was facing certain death. However, Paul’s concern was for Timothy. As in his first letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged him to remain faithful to the One who died for him. This second letter was probably written about four or five years after 1 Timothy.

In v.1 we read, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus."

Although Paul’s own circumstances were difficult, he was granted a really big view of God. That is the way it works: we gain a big view of God at the expense of the trouble that we go through in this life. I have found that my most profound observations about the Lord and life have come into my purview through the hardest moments. Like Paul, I am discovering that whatever happens in my life, I am in the hands of God, and I have no reason to fear. This is possible, because like Paul, I have “the promise of life that is in Jesus Christ."

Everybody, everywhere, has a hunger for this kind of life Paul references here. Nobody wants meaninglessness or emptiness. We all want to experience excitement and to feel alive. This is what makes us vulnerable to the appeals of the world, which constantly reminds us that we only go around once and we must grab it while we can. The problem with the world's proposition, it doesn't come near to delivering what it promises. It is amazing how desperate we all are for this world's lies.

In v.2 we read, "To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

This verse literally reads, “Timothy, my dearly beloved son.” This greeting is much stronger than the one the Apostle gave in his first letter to Timothy which was: “Timothy, my own son in the faith.” It is not that Paul loved Timothy less when he wrote that first letter, Paul's ability to love has increased and that increase parallels the depths he has gone through with the Lord Jesus. As Paul’s life drew to a close, he realized in a deeper way how dear the Lord Jesus was to him. And, when the Lord Jesus becomes more dear to us, those that are most dear to Him become more dear to us.

Sixty-five year old Paul, wished grace, mercy and peace upon thirty-five year old Timothy. “Grace” is God’s undeserved favor given to rebellious at heart sinners to free us from sin, enabling us to live a life from eternities view. “Mercy” is God’s undeserved compassion in freeing us from the misery that our sin created. And “peace” is the heart tranquility and settled relationship with God that results from grace and mercy. It is God's grace that covers our sin, His mercy that overrules our misery, and, it is His peace that guides us through this distracting world to the things that are most important.

In v.3 we read, "I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers."

Paul was in prison in Rome and he had a lot of time on his hands to pray. This is usually the way it works: we experience isolation like imprisonment, hospitalisation or retirement, in order to get to the most important. If we lack the wisdom to see God's design in this, we will not pray. But, when we embrace Him through it, we become a player in the cosmic battle which rages. Knowing that he would soon die, Paul factors in most greatly in the advancement of the kingdom of God in the hearts of people through prayer.

Incarcerated in that dark dungeon, crowded with criminals, facing an unjust execution, Paul thinks about Timothy. Sweet memories flood his heart. No complaints. No bitterness. No anger. No vengeance. He writes, “night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” 

Prayer is the cornerstone of the Christian life because it acknowledges God's presence in our lives. It also recognizes our utter dependence upon our Father in heaven. Prayer is the cry of a beloved child to his faithful father. Frequently it is the cry of a lost child who does not know his way, who is lost in dark woods, with strange and frightening noises. The child may cry out to be led to an open road or to be home safe in bed or at least to see a light in the distance so he can know his way. Yet this prayer is not always answered that way, for God is our Father and, as the Lord Jesus once said, He knows already what we have need of before we pray. 

In v.4 we read, "Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy." Sometimes, our tears are necessary. It is often our tears or the cause of them that we are made more ardent in prayer through which we gain an angle that enables us to see the heart of our Father better. This is when joy is often heightened in our lives. In fact, Nehemiah reminds us through the most stressful time of his life that "the joy of the LORD is our strength." God's joy comes most often into our lives through our tears.

In v.5 we read, "I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

Timothy had a sincere faith, the type of faith that was authentic and believable. He had this sincere faith because his mother and grandmother had seen to it that he was taught the Scriptures. Integral to the development of our faith is our consumption of the word of God. Augustine said it well when he said, "The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home."

Prayer and the Word of God go hand in hand in framing up a better understanding of our calling in this sin-sick world. Tim Keller says that prayer is “helplessness accepted and given to God.” Prayer is connecting with God almighty who is faithful to make His word come alive to us in a way that is eternal, exciting, and impactful.

1 Timothy 6:20-21

Click here for the 1 Timothy 6:20-21 PODCAST

20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all. ~ 1 Timothy 6:20-21

Today, we come to the final two verses in 1 Timothy. In these two verses the Apostle Paul issues us a call to guard the truth which is a fitting way to end this letter.

When the Apostle Paul wrote, "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care," he was speaking of the truth as is set forth in the Bible. Just like Timothy, we have all been given the truth, but we tend to take the truth for granted. It is the truth which enables us to know the difference between right and wrong. We live in a world full of deceit and many are being deceived and they do not have one idea of the deception that they are under. 

We "guard" the truth by living by it, and by not allowing anybody to take it away from us, or to water it down with false teachings. The Bible is the self-revelation of God. This is our primary source for all that we know about God. If we say we believe it and we don’t live it, then we are not taking His word seriously. But, the Bible is the most sacred thing we will ever hold in our hands. This is the ultimate sacred trust.

Guarding the truth is not only a matter of right interpretation, it’s a matter of right living. When we think about the sacredness with which people treated the Bible who gave their lives for it, martyrs whose literal blood was poured out in their guarding of God's truth. And then, we have people who treat it flippantly by using the Scriptures to get rich.

In the remainder of v.20 we read, "Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge."

Paul commands us to “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas.” The word "godless" is the Greek word  bebēlos which originally was used by the Greeks to refer to everything outside the sacred grounds of a temple. It then came to mean anything unsacred. So these so-called intellectual musings that attack the Bible are unsacred, and have no connection with God. All that stuff, Paul says to us, keep turning away from it. 

It seems in America today that education is spending our whole life learning error. To combat this, we must preserve the truth. We must guard and protect the truth. The word there for chatter is meaningless talk unrelated to the truth. Professors, who use “science” to oppose the words of God, say that God didn’t create the universe, it evolved.  However, when applying science to this hypothesis we find that their theory of how we got here cannot be true. It takes more faith to believe in their "science" than in the intelligent Creator who created us all.

In v.21 we read, "knowledge which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all."  

Those who picked up on this "knowledge" have deviated from the faith. And they have led a lot of other people with them. The word Paul uses for departed brings with it the idea that they have lost their way or they have lost sight of the Lord.

The final words in this epistle are: “Grace be with you all.” Paul uses no verb here. It literally reads, “Grace with you all.” The Apostle is very abrupt in this ending, because he knows we can’t do any of this unless the grace of God enable us. We must believe the Word of God to the point that it defines us. Then, we must defend it with our very lives. If we do, we will preserve all that keeps us and our culture from spinning out of control.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Click here for the 1 Timothy 6:17-19 PODCAST

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. ~ 1 Timothy 6:17-19

The city of Ephesus where Timothy lived was a center of travel and commerce. Situated on the Aegean Sea, the city was one of the greatest seaports of the ancient world. Three major roads led from the Ephesian seaport. This made commerce explode in that day and it explains why Ephesus was so wealthy.

In today's text, the Apostle Paul reintroduces the subject of money which is a big deal in the Bible. We’re given more instruction in the Bible about money (about 2,000 verses) than almost anything else. 

You will remember that back in 1 Timothy 6:5 Paul described the motive of false teachers: material gain. And then, in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, he underscored the possibility of the rich being more susceptible to falling into the temptations and traps that ultimately could lead one to destruction. And then he made this point: the love of money is the root of all evil. Hosea 13:6 sums up this tragic disparity: “Being satisfied, their heart became proud; therefore, they forgot Me.”  

The Bible does not condemn wealth nor does it teach that all wealth denotes the blessing of God. We must be careful not to equate material blessing with the blessing of God, because riches have a way of pushing us up in our own minds above those who have less. That’s just part of our fallen nature. We tend to look down on people who are lower on the economic ladder than we. 

In v.17 we read, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

When Lucifer placed himself on par with God, he rebelled against Him. This was the first sin ever committed and pride inaugurated sin. Pride is the most difficult of sins because it makes us think we are better than others. If wealth makes us proud, then we do not understand the purpose of wealth. When we are given by God material wealth, we ought to increase in humility and seek for ways to use our wealth to glorify Him for this is its ultimate purpose.

The word enjoyment at the end of v.17 is one of the recurring themes in the Bible. In Ecclesiastes we are told “Enjoy the blessings of life now, because life will end one day.” It is not a sin to enjoy the abundance the Lord chooses to give us.

In v.18 we read, "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." 

The real enjoyment that riches bring us is that we might be a blessing to others. God created us with two basic needs: to be loved and to love. This is what creates a sense of joy and gladness in the heart, to know that we are the object of His love and that we have been used by Him to bless others.

In v.19 we read, "In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

There are two things in this world that will survive: the Word of God and the souls of people. When we are used of God to bring these two together, we are laying up treasures in heaven. The Lord Jesus taught us to use our money to win friends so that when the money fails our friends will be there to greet us when we get to heaven.

The best investment strategy on earth is putting stock in heaven! In Matthew 6:19-21, the Lord Jesus affirmed this investment strategy when He said to store up treasure in heaven where nothing can destroy it. Godliness that overcomes the craving for material wealth produces great spiritual wealth.

Using money to help people now, makes it more possible that they may come to the Lord Jesus now. When we are used of God to bless others we will experience the excitement and adventure of the life that the Lord Jesus Christ came to give us. Nothing in this world, even prosperity, puts the paddles to the chest of our spirituality. It is when we are living in concert with God's for our lives will we truly be resuscitated by Him.

1 Timothy 6:13-16

Click here for the 1 Timothy 6:13-16 PODCAST

13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. ~ 1 Timothy 6:13-16

We return to the Apostle Paul's instructions to Timothy on how to be a man of God. Nothing helps us to flee sin, to follow the Lord and to fight the good fight more than a closer walk with the Lord Jesus. Our problem is we want to see Him with our eyes, but in order to get this deeper glimpse of Him we must learn to look for Him with our hearts. This is what faith is, the ability to see God with our hearts. 

In v.13 we read, "In the sight of God, who gives life to everything." 

We find ourselves often arriving at the corner of beaten, dejected, and defeated at the same time. Good thing that the God of the Bible is the giver of life. We all have experienced the infusion of new strength, new purpose and new courage from God when we have turned to Him in prayer in the moments of pressure. Why does it require amped up pressure for us to seek Him more diligently? We must learn to live in the sight of God or avail ourselves to Him in the good times, as well as the bad. We do this by seeking Him daily by being in His word daily and by being in prayer or conversation with God as much as we can. This will amp up His presence in our lives and we will see the world anew.

The remainder of v.13 reads, "and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you."

When we remember the good confession of the Lord Jesus as He stood before Pontius Pilate, we gain a perspective that causes us to conclude that God has everything in His sovereign control and we have no need to be discouraged. In sight of Christ's good confession, we gain an endurance which enables us to persevere according to God's calling on our lives. It is at this point that the Lord God provides an infusion of life into our mortal existence, and then we recognize the Lord Jesus is always at the center of all that God does. The Lord Jesus was the Word who spoke all things into existence. The Lord Jesus speaks life into our mortal lives more than we know. As our awareness of Him heightens, the more we will recognize Him and His way of thinking and living. 

By the way, Christ's good confession was His silence. While He didn't defend Himself, He was defending us. He didn't resist the will of God, He embraced it so that He could embrace us.

In Colossians 2 we read, "16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

It is He who is holding us together, so we need not fear. He is like laminin in the human body, the rebar in a sturdy foundation. 

Stanford University is the site of a linear accelerator, a two-mile long atom smasher. It is a great lever with which scientists try to pry the lid off the secrets of matter and discover what is in the miniature world of the atom, the neutron, and the proton. Linear Accelerator scientists have discovered a complexity they never dreamed of, and they have found particles that they cannot even invent enough names for. But one thing they are consistently discovering is that there is some strange force that holds everything together. They call it the cosmic glue that holds things together. This force has a name and it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.14-15 the Apostle Paul charges Timothy "to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Christ's confession produces a continual genuine confession of the gospel in the life of the yielded man of God. Although the Lord Jesus was put to death, He is coming again as the Lord of life. The One who was here in weakness is coming again in great strength and He will exercise His sovereignty over all at that point. When we keep our eyes on Him, we will not be daunted by the distractions that this life throws at us.

The Greek word translated “appearing” in v.14 gives us our English word epiphany, which means “a glorious manifestation.” In Paul’s day, the word was used in the myths to describe the appearing of a god, especially to deliver someone from trouble. Paul used it of the first coming of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 1:10) and of His return (2 Tim. 4:1,8). 

The commands to flee from sin that hinders the gospel from being heard and believed, to pursue the Lord will all of your soul, and to fight the good fight of the faith as mentioned in v.11-12 take on a whole new focus with this fresh infusion of life from God. We live in a volatile world and we are tempted to be overly concerned about what may happen. The believer in Christ has no reason to worry for God has all things in His control. 

In v.16 we read, "who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen."

To be “immortal” is to “not be subject to death.” Man is subject to death, but God is not. Only God has immortality as an essential and inherent part of His being. Since God is not subject to death, He is Life and the Giver of life. He is incorruptible and not subject to decay or change. In this world, we are in mortal bodies, but when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, we shall share His immortality.

For God to "live in unapproachable light" means there is no one remotely like the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can draw near to His light apart from the provision He has made through His finished work on the cross. The great message of the gospel is that the invisible God became visible in a Man. No wonder the Apostle Paul ends this section with worship: "To him be honor and might forever. Amen."

In Isaiah 42:16 we read, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” The question which must be asked at this point is: Are we blind enough to this world to see beyond to this great God whom we serve?

1 Timothy 6:12

Click her for the 1 Timothy 6:12 PODCAST

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ~ 1 Timothy 6:12

In 1 Timothy 6:11-12 the Apostle Paul gives to Timothy a threefold formula that will enable him to do the ministry the Lord called him to do there in Ephesus. Having considered the first two imperatives in 1 Timothy 6:11, today we consider the third. These imperatives, when heeded, distinguishes one as a man of God. 

Before we get to this third imperative, though, let me be clear, 1 Timothy 6:11-12 is not justification teaching, this is sanctification teaching. This teaching has nothing to do with us getting into heaven. You will remember that it is only the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross and our trust in that alone which justifies or makes us right with God. 

Sanctification, on the other hand, is the process that we entered into after we had trusted Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. This process is the changing of our souls: our minds, our wills, and our emotions. And, God's goal in our sanctification is that others would see our changed lives and turn to God for salvation for themselves.

The third imperative that leads to a man being called the man of God is he fights the good fight of the faith. The man of God is engaged in a relentless war. He battles the kingdom of darkness which yields its ground very reluctantly. He faces many unseen adversaries, and, he is preoccupied with this unseen battle that is waging every moment of every day.

The greek word that the Apostle Paul uses for fight is agōnizomai, from which we get our English word agonize. It describes a level of concentration, and a level of effort, coupled with discipline and conviction that leads to success. 

In New Testament days, Greek boxers had gloves lined with just a little fur. There was just a little fur and leather, no padding. They were made generally of ox hide. And stitched into the glove at the knuckles was lead and iron. When Paul talks about fighting the good fight, he’s talking about some serious action. And in a Greek boxing match, the loser had his eyes gouged out as emblematic of his failure. Boxing was a death/life struggle. Serious conflict from which you could emerge dead or lifetime blind. 

Notice the second half of today's text, "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 

This means "get a grip on the fact that you’re dealing with eternal issues. This is war, and eternity is at stake." The man of God is called to eternal issues. Having confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, he publicly commits himself to a battle over eternal issues. As long as he lives, he fights the good fight, the noble fight for the souls of men against the kingdom of darkness and against the world, the flesh and the devil. The man of God is marked by what he flees from, by what he follows after and by what he fights for.

This fight is not between believers, it really isn't a fight with the forces of darkness. This fight begins and ends with knowing God. Paul writes, "Take hold of the eternal life." All too often we are preoccupied with Satan more than we are with God. Here, the Apostle Paul writes, "Take hold of," which means grasp and hold on for dear life. The man of God had a dogged determination to know God for himself. 

The story is told of a young man who went to a wise old man for advice. When he found the wise man he was sitting on the banks of a large lake. The young man sat down next to him and asked, "How can I become as wise as you, sir?" At that point the wise old man raised up and plunged the young man's head down into the water and the young man fought hard to raise his head up but to no avail. The young man feared that he was going to die. At the last moment the wise man lifted the young man's head out of the water and said, "When you fight as hard at fighting the good fight as when I held you head under that water, it will be then that you will be wise."

The man of God flees sin, follows God and fights the good fight of faith. The result of this is the man of God is laid hold of by that which he is trying to lay hold of; he is laid hold of by God Himself. And, as the Potter, He shapes us and equips us to fight the good fight of faith. It is this faith or our heart's ability to see God for ourselves which enables us to beat a path to knowing Him for ourselves, and it is this faith which enables us to fight for those who have yet to enter into a personal relationship with God.

1 Timothy 6:11

Click here for the 1 Timothy 6:11 PODCAST

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11

We come today to the final section of Paul's first epistle to Timothy. In today's text, we discover what it means to be a "man of God." There are three imperative verbs here in 1 Timothy 6:11-12 that enables one to be a man of God. First, "flee," second, "pursue," and third, "fight." Today, we are  considering the first two of these three.

In the Old Testament the title, man of God, was reserved only for the prophets. In fact, it is used seventy times in the Old Testament, always referring to someone who speaks God’s Word. In the New Testament this term is only used of Timothy.

You will remember that Timothy is one of the leading Elders in the church in Ephesus. There were false teachers there who were pointing people away from God. As a result, sin was rampant. Where truth is not holding sin in check, sin will run wild. There was doctrinal confusion there because the false teachers were undermining the truth. Thus, the people there were abandoning the truth and it was diminishing the ministry of the gospel. 

As we learn later, this led the church at Ephesus to be referred to by the Apostle John in the book of the Revelation as having left their first love. In all of this, while caring for the needs of God's people, Timothy needed to care for himself as well, so Paul gives him these instructions.

The first step toward being a man of God is to “flee from all this.” 

Paul is here referring to what he has just covered in the previous paragraph about false teachers. Timothy is to flee false teaching and the characteristics associated with it including selfishness, arrogance, conceit, pride, the love of controversy, and the love of money. 

In today's text, the Apostle Paul commands the man of God to "flee" which means "to run from." It means to flee like a fugitive. During our whole life here on earth, the man of God is on the run from sin. This doesn't mean he will not sin, but it means that he will be aware of and stay away from those certain sins that hinders the furtherance of the Gospel. 

Next, the man of God is to pursue which is to run hard after something. His first pursuit is righteousness not as a behavior, but as a belief. When we came to know the Lord Jesus Christ, He gave us His righteousness, and, as we understand that this is the way God sees us, we are to see ourselves as no longer guilty, no longer tied to evil, but made righteous by God. We are to therefore live out of our righteous standing in Christ.

This is what gives a sense of security and stability in life. If we are always focusing on our behavior, trying to get a sense of worth because we act right, we will end up becoming legalists, feeling that our behavior is what makes us acceptable before God. But if we understand that God has already made us acceptable in Jesus Christ when we believed in Him, and, therefore, that God loves us with the same love He has for the Lord Jesus. This means we are as righteous as the Lord Jesus is in the eyes of God. This is the basis of stability and of proper functioning in life.

This leads us to the next pursuit which is godliness which means balanced wholeness. The Apostle is speaking of a mind that views life the way God sees it. Our minds, wills and emotions are brought under His control so that we are not off balance all the time. This means we are not merely living for the visible things of life, but we see our relationship with God as the most important factor in life. That is godliness, balanced wholeness.

Next, the man of God pursues faith which is having confident trust in God for everything. As a result, we literally put our lives  into God’s hands, and we trust Him with everything. We will then find ourselves living under His gracious sovereignty. When we look to Him for our needs and not others, we will genuinely love others. 

The next pursuit of the man of God is love which is agape love. This is the type of love that is commitment love. Agape love sacrifices for the sake of others. It seeks to give, not to gain.

The man of God's next pursuit is endurance which is perseverance or patience. This quality carries the idea of sticking to it when the going is tough. It is not a complacency that waits, but a courage that continues in hard places.

The final pursuit of the man of God is gentleness which is meekness or power under control. A courageous endurance without gentleness would make the man of God a tyrant, but this will not be so if He lives out of His relationship with the Lord for He is most gentle with His children. Those who have experienced the gentleness of God, render it to others.

When we flee sin and we pursue God amazing things can happen. In actuality, when we do these and the third thing Paul tells us to do, we find ourselves being conduits for God to work amazing things into and through our yielded lives. Today is the the day to enter into the fray of the man of God. Will you do it?

1 Timothy 6:9-10

Click here for the 1 Timothy 6:9-10 PODCAST

9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ~ 1 Timothy 6:9-10

We return to the final chapter of Paul's first epistle to Timothy. The Apostle opened this letter with warnings about false teachers, and now, he closes with deeper explanations for how the false wrecks our lives if we are defined by it.

In v.9 we read, "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction."

Paul describes a person who has to have more and more material things in order to be happy and feel successful. But the riches of this world can be a trap, leading us into bondage away from freedom. Instead of giving satisfaction, the riches of this world create additional lusts which are never satisfied. The result is "ruin and destruction." 

When we set our hearts on money, we expose ourselves to powerful temptations that have ruined many people. Money is a great servant but a terrible master. If we set our hearts on money, it will break our hearts. We will not keep what we gain. We will give into powerful temptations that lead us to those places that we can check in to but we can not check out of. In fact, we may wander from the faith. 

The picture given here is of someone who gives his heart to the things of this world, and then can not resist its lure, and then we find ourselves being plunged into the greatest depths from which we may never recover. 

When we resist bringing our desires down to the level of our possessions, we enter the process of arriving at that which God calls "great gain." This is why godliness with contentment is great gain. When we have less, we must learn the art of contentment. It is at this point that we will begin to discover that having less is really more.

No one gets to ruin and destruction in one large step. No, we get there through a series of little, small baby steps, not realizing what is happening to us until it is too late. No temptation appears as temptation. No one ever deliberately steps into a trap that they know in advance will destroy them. Temptation always carries with it bait that appeals to our natural desires. The bait not only attracts us, but it also hides the fact that yielding to it will eventually bring death and destruction. The bait is always that which keeps us from seeing the consequences of living beyond God's definitions of things.

In v.10 we read, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Experts tell us that the average person thinks about money fifty percent of the time. Now, having money is not wrong in itself. Money, in and of itself, is neither moral or immoral. It is what we do with it that determines whether it is moral or immoral. The key is that we seek His kingdom first, then everything else, including money, will be seen by us from His view point.

Our hearts will always be attached to that which we give them. The term "love of money" is one word in the Greek, and means affection for silver. The issue is our affection. The issue isn’t money, the issue is how we feel about money. And the sin here is the sin of greed. When we find ourselves spending more time thinking about how to get more money, we are probably guilty at loving money. This leads to trying to find ways to acquire more money. And, those who love money in order to get money will be tempted to take bribes, distort justice and take advantage of the poor to get it. This leads to lying, cheating, deceiving, stealing, robbing and abusing to get more money. Those who love money will never be satisfied and therefore they will commit every imaginable sin if they think it will gain them more money. The love of money is a mad exercise that pleases its appetite never.

Understanding the principles the Apostle Paul is giving here helps us to understand Judas Iscariot who chose thirty pieces of silver over the greatest person to ever walk the earth. And, this drove him suicidally mad.

In Psalm 17:15 we read, "As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness." This is the wise man's pursuit. And anything we possess is only to be used to advance His kingdom in this world. Money love is deadly love. It ignores the true gain; it focuses on the temporal; it obscures the simple joys of life; it leads to sinful entrapment; it succumbs to harmful lusts. To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the way of the truly rich.