Turn in your Bibles, if you close them, back to 1 Timothy chapter six, and we'll look together at verse 10. And the title of the sermon, not to be surprising in any way, the title of the sermon is Godliness with Contentment. Now as we begin this sermon, we need to remember two things, or be aware of two things. First of all, Paul leads off with a principle, and it's really the foundation of everything he says down through verse 10. And we'll come to see that there is embedded in these verses a kind of trajectory. That is, that it moves from one point to another. It's all connected, and it has to do with godliness. And by extension, godliness with contentment. And so we'll want to see that. In fact, you might imagine, and I don't know if this is done anymore, since it's not my line of work, but in the old days, businesses had flow charts. And so there were these lines drawn across a chart. If the company was doing well, the arrow went up. If the company was doing poorly, it went down. Well, this is a kind of spiritual flow chart, if you will, having to do with gain and loss. Gain and loss to be felt, observed, experienced by the people of God. Which leads me to two words that Paul reintroduces in this context. And the context, or the two words, are first of all, gain or profit. And Paul contrasts two different ways of gaining, and the one really isn't gaining at all, but it's on the flow chart, it's loss. And Paul has dealt with that in verse five, where he says, or he speaks of those, And in the context, in particular, false teachers, but he says that there are those supposing that godliness is a way of gain. Commercializing, we saw this last week, commercializing There are many ways that that was done in the ancient world and many ways that it's being done today as well. But there's a contrast. In verse six, Paul introduces gain once again or profit. And the second word that he reintroduces is the word godliness. That godliness for some is a means of gaining something. But the real purpose of godliness or the real extent of godliness or the result of godliness has to do with godliness and contentment. So keep those two words in mind because there's this contrast with regard to gain and with regard to godliness. Now, just to remind ourselves of what verses three through five were all about, Paul was dealing there with false teachers. And as a result of that, or in keeping with that, false teaching. And he said three things about these false teachers and that which drove them. First of all, they deviated from the truth, or from the faith, excuse me. There's deviating from the faith, departing, moving away from that. Secondly, it had the effect of dividing the church. False teaching always divides the church. We're not at liberty to believe whatever we want to believe. We are compelled to believe what is laid down for us by God himself in the word that he has given to us. And the third thing he says about these false teachers is that they are devoted. But what are they devoted to? They're devoted to money. They're devoted to advance. They're devoted, in a sense, to themselves. And several things to keep in mind about this. This isn't the only place in the scriptures that Paul mentions this. In fact, it's not the only place in the first century world where this was not a problem. In the day, there were wandering preachers and philosophers. And they made their way by moving from town to town, place to place, and lecturing and earning money for it. I suppose the same thing is true today, isn't it, for wandering philosophers writing books and then promoting their books. Same kind of thing, I suppose. But anyway, there were wandering teachers and philosophers. But as we come to the scriptures themselves, we realize that it was a problem in the first century world. In Acts chapter 19, as the gospel came to Ephesus, there were these idol makers who made a living and they wanted to tear Paul apart. They wanted to get rid of him because it was affecting the bottom line. It was affecting their livelihood. Simon Magus, remember from Samaria, thought that he could buy the presence and the power of the spirit in Acts chapter eight. Paul had to, or Paul found it necessary to mention that he coveted no man's wealth in Acts chapter 20. And in fact, in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, that he refused to receive payment. Demas left Paul having loved the present world. In the Middle Ages, the church suffered from false teaching with the selling of indulgences. As soon as the coin in the coffer clinks, the soul from purgatory springs or something along those lines. And today we have everything from health and wealth gospels more subtle examples of ministers moving from smaller churches to larger churches, one that pays better. In fact, I was talking to someone the other day who found it very, very difficult that men might be doing something like that. So there are all sorts of ways in which this has been implemented or understood with regard to false teaching. Or as John Stott says, they, the people that are in view, have no interest in godliness itself, but only if it proves to be financially profitable. So false teachers are introduced or that's reintroduced and developed in verses three through five. Now in the verses before us in verses six through 10, Paul introduces what we might call faithful living. Faithful living. And at the very center of this faithful living is godliness. And notice, again, godliness contrasted, reintroduced in verse six. And so let's look at this and look at the trajectory that Paul introduces in the passage. And the principle at large and the principle that is fundamental and foundational is godliness. Well, what is godliness? Well, there's several things that can be said about godliness without exhausting its meaning. But notice, godliness has what at the center? Godliness has God at the very center of faith and life. And of course, godliness is the one who brings us or brings his grace to us. The ultimate cause of godliness is God himself. We might say then that the proximate cause of godliness is the gospel. There is no godliness without the gospel. There is no godliness without God himself. And so compliance with the gospel The comprehension of the gospel, conviction with regard to the gospel, and confession of Christ in the gospel is absolutely necessary to godliness. Now, that should go without saying. But again, we live in a world in which so much changes and so much is altered and The gospel has been reduced to morality and moralism, those sorts of things. And so there's a place for God. He is at the center of godliness. Without him, there is no such thing as godliness. And without the gospel, there's no such thing as godliness. Furthermore, godliness requires conformity to his truth. And that ought to be clear, because Paul has been talking about false teachers, now he wants to talk about godliness, which is rooted in the word of God. And communion with God. Fellowship with God. Adam had it. and then lost it, and now through the seed of the woman, godliness may be restored. In fact, our confession in the second chapter entitled Of God and the Holy Trinity closes, that chapter closes with these words. Which doctrine of the Trinity, God, which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all of our communion with God and comfortable dependence upon Him. And so here is comfort, comfort in confidence, confidence in God and in the gospel. Now we move from that principle to what we might call the perspective that is embedded in that principle. And the principle or the perspective is contentment. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Well, what's the source of contentment? How is it that we can be content even in the midst of great difficulty? Well, that contentment begins with confidence in God, with trust in Him, with godliness in all of its ramifications. And contentment doesn't just drop out of the sky. Not they're automatic. Remember what Paul says in Philippians chapter four, I have learned to be content. Contentment is a learned skill or attitude. And Paul says in that context, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And the context has to do with contentment. And contentment is rooted in godliness. And so the source of contentment is God himself. And assurance certain confidence in the character of God, in the will of God, in the love of God. The subsidy of contentment, if we look at the source, first of all it's God, the subsidy is contentment. And this word contentment was used regularly in the ancient world. It was used by the cynics and the Stoics. And to them, it meant self-sufficiency. You can be content if you feel self-sufficient and you are, or at least you perceive yourself to be. But Paul replaces self-sufficiency in these two contexts here in Philippians, with what we might call soul sufficiency, or Christ sufficiency. This was a favorite virtue of the cynics, but it's reinterpreted and redefined by the Apostle Paul. Paul turned it into Christ sufficiency, and that the soul has everything it needs in Jesus Christ. Jeremiah Burless, in that great little book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, perhaps you've read it. And he says, actually early on, on page 19, he says, Christ develops Christian contentment. And then there's this quotation, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. The source of contentment is God. The subsidy of contentment is gained. According to Hendrickson, soul sufficiency. According to Patrick Fairbairn, Christ sufficiency. Saying pretty much one and the same. We over the years have been in the habit of quoting or singing a hymn that was written by Samuel Rodegast who was a Lutheran pietist in the 17th century. And you know these words. Whatever my God ordains is right. Holy his will abided. I will be still whatever he doth and follow where he guideth. He is my God, though dark my road, he holds me that I shall not fall. And so to him I leave it. And so you have the principle, which is godliness, and the perspective, which godliness brings, contentment. And then Paul says, thirdly, that this is gain. And we've already touched on that, so I'll say very little about it here, but here is a reason given for adopting this particular perspective. It's gain, it's profit, it's not loss. whatever loss we may feel at the moment. And it's not just gain, but it's great gain. What greater gain can there be than to have Christ and to have the salvation and the redemption that is offered to us in Jesus Christ? It's gain. Everything else is lost to be compared with the soul before God. And that's where Paul is going with this. Now the fourth thing that we need to see here is what we might call pragmatism. There's a practical effect of adopting this perspective. And it ought to be a perspective that everybody has, at least to some degree. It's a common sense perspective. And Paul introduces it in verse seven when he says, for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out. This is self-evident, but not to very many. in the world in which we live. I don't know what most people think is going to happen to their stuff, but they're not going to take it with them, as valuable as that stuff is. In the 19th century, John D. Rockefeller was, if not the richest man in the world, certainly close to it. And he was the founder of Standard Oil, for example. And he was worth millions and millions of dollars, probably in today's currency, billions of dollars. Then he died. And so somebody asked him, either a relative or I think it was one of his aides, one of his workers, and asked him the question, he said, how much did he leave? Now, when we use that phrase, and we do, more often than not we mean, what's the extent of that person's estate? And so, that's probably what this man was looking, how much was John D. Rockefeller worth? What did he leave behind? And the person answering the question said, everything. Get the difference? He left everything behind. Now, without getting too personal, I have some things that I value highly. My favorite room in the house is my study. Four walls filled with books. That's my favorite place. That's heaven on earth, almost. And I also have some pieces of furniture that my grandfather one of them that he made, the desk that I use every time I sit down I think of my grandfather. And then I have a rocking chair that was given to him on the occasion of his wedding in 1910. And I'm not sure why it's still in one piece. We've hauled that thing all over the United States. Here to California, California to Ohio, Ohio, two places in Ohio, three places actually, then from Ohio back to Seattle and two places here. I value those things. And I take great pleasure But you know what, the day is gonna come when I'm gonna leave all of that behind. Now, I suspect that a couple of things, maybe no more than that, my children or grandchildren will want. But I suspect that some of that stuff is gonna go to the goodwill or perhaps even to the dumpster because nobody else is gonna want this stuff. What am I gonna leave behind? Small as my estate is, it's valuable to me. What am I gonna leave behind? Everything. And that's exactly what Paul is saying in this verse. It's self-evident. It's a sobering concept. You're not gonna take anything with you. It's your soul alone before God and His Christ. And notice, fifthly, what we might call the prerequisite, the necessity or the measurement of our desire. And Paul mentions that and introduces that in verse eight when he says, but having food, and this translation says covering, or raiment I think is other translations, with food and raiment, we shall be therewith content. If godliness is a focus, If godliness is the focus and God is at the center of godliness, then we learn to be content with the necessities and not the luxuries. And this word coverings or raiment is also used in the ancient world to refer to housing or the place where one lives. So it could be a bit broader than just clothing, but certainly the idea again is necessity. Desire nothing, Paul says, but what is necessary for sustaining life. Matthew Henry says that this way, the necessities of life are the bounds of a true Christian desire. And again, Patrick Fairbairn, if one, therefore one has these two essentials for the bodily life, more may be dispensed with, that is more, you may have more and to dispense it or spend it. Nature has the little it can do with. Whatever besides is given may be thankfully received and found available to usefulness and comfort, only not necessity. I dare say that in the 20th and now 21st century, few live by that. And the more stuff we have, the better off we are the richer we are, and that's good. Calvin said, not that to use them is more largely ought to be condemned on its own account. In other words, we don't have to refuse using them. But lusting after them is always sinful. You see the trajectory, we're on this trajectory that's heading Depending upon you look at it, if it's gain, we're rejecting these things. If we embrace these things, it's taking us into the loss category. And so verse nine, notice the problem that is introduced. But they that are minded to be rich, here's the loss, not the gain, They that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. The problem that Paul introduces begins with the desire. Paul speaks of those who want to be rich. And so the desire shifts from godliness and contentment to being rich. Again, thinking in terms of verse five that godliness is a means of advance. Now when we think of this again, and I've already cited Fairbairn and Calvin and others, the destiny of some is that they will be rich. And so having is not the sin. Matthew Henry put it this way, people who have money and not love it. That's a kind providence. And it's not a sin to have it. And in fact, those who have great resources may use their resources to the help and to the benefit of others. And so, if we have more than necessities, we ought to be thinking beyond ourselves. The danger is, the desire is wanting, the danger is in drowning. That's an apt metaphor, is it not? Drowning and we'll notice this in just a moment, being shifted from our moorings. Paul speaks of temptation, of a trap, and of course what would come to the mind of anybody in the ancient world would be setting a trap to capture an animal. A temptation, a trap. drowning, cravings that are never satisfied. And as we'll see in the next verse, it may well mean a departure from the faith. Think of some in the New Testament, Demas for example, who loved the present world. And that was what moved him, and it's what shifted his interest and moved him away from biblical faith. Now, seventhly and finally, we notice how persuasive, again, thinking of trajectory and now the loss column, the persuasion of this perspective without God and without contentment. And there are three things that Paul says in verse 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Now I find alliteration easy and it's the way my mind works. So you'll forgive me for alliterating once again, verse 10. But I think it makes it easy or helpful in understanding what Paul is getting at. Notice three things that are introduced here. First of all, the wanting. That is, the love of money. Money is not only a necessity, and it's necessary for us to provide for ourselves and for our families, but here speaks of an adverse desire for money, the love of money. Not a love for God, a love for Christ, a love for things that are good, but a love for money. And Paul says that the love of money in our translations usually is a root of all evil, but the idea here is a root of all kinds of evil, all categories, any category you can think of. The love of money is a root. It's not the only root, perhaps. Paul doesn't say that it is, but it is a root of all kinds of evil. Clearly what Paul has in mind here is that it is a prominent evil, a striving, a reaching, a love, a word that we might reserve for our relationship to God or our relationship to a spouse or our relationship to our children is now used to describe and to define this wanting. Secondly, this issues in or results in, there's a connection here, again, a trajectory just even within verse 10. The wanting results in a wandering. and a straying from the faith. The word used here is the word from which we get our word planet. And so in the ancient world, it appeared as if the planets were wandering in the heaven. And even if you think of orbits, it's still wandering across the horizon. And Paul uses that word or the New Testament uses that word to refer to those whose desires for God, for godliness, for those things that they begin to wander because of their desire for more wealth, for example. Not everyone ends up as Judas, but Judas certainly comes to mind as the keeper of the bank account, as it were, in the day. And I think that this is a very subtle, subtle danger. And it's a danger that invades our homes and our families, especially as we begin to have children. And our children, rightly so, want to be involved in a great many activities. Or even one activity that requires a lot of time and attention, and so we let them do that, and rightly so. It's good for them, and it's fun, but it also teaches them how to work with others. But I've observed over the years that often this sort of thing takes over. And so you come to the Lord's day and there are services that are missed because of an activity. When our boys were playing basketball, coach was a professing Christian, it was a Christian school, but he got it into his head that they ought to have practices on a Sunday, if I remember the story correctly. And so we went to, or Chris did, she was teaching there, to the superintendent. And so the superintendent, this was basketball, took a piece of paper and drew a basketball on the piece of paper and then drew a slash mark through it and handed the piece of paper to the coach. Now that's how I remember the story. I hope it's accurate enough. Chris will probably have to correct it later, but that's how I remember the story. And of course, for many people, church is over at noon and the rest of the day is a free day. But that's just one example, and perhaps not even the best example, but it's one that came to mind as I was preparing the sermon, how easy it is to wander from the faith. And I don't think Paul has in mind necessarily here a total abandonment of the faith. I don't think he's necessarily talking about a heretic here, but he's talking about those who begin to wander, whose desires are not after godliness with contentment. And Paul ends verse 10 with the concept of wounding. There's the alliteration. wanting, wandering, and wounding, wounding the soul, wounding the Christian. After they had been led astray from the faith, there's the wandering, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Calvin says that This refers to innumerable evils that lay claim to the person and are destructive. They pierce themselves through, impale themselves is the idea as if a spear were driven through their very soul, bringing distress, grief, and innumerable evils. Well, there's the trajectory, and it's an interesting one. And in fact, if I were to evaluate this text and say, what's the most important text that I've preached in the last 10 years, I'm not sure, but this would certainly be up near the top. I think this has so much to do with life in a fallen world that affects us, affects God's people in so many ways. And once we depart from that chief principle, we're on a dangerous track downward. And so it's important for us to remember the place and the role and the necessity of godliness. Riches are not evil, only the desire for them. The desire for them prompts the person to give himself or herself as a captive. It's interesting that this very concept is embedded in the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not covet. Covet is another word for desire. There's a close connection between these two nouns, godliness and contentment. George Knight puts it this way, hence, and then he uses the Greek word for contentment, or godliness, excuse me. Hence, godliness, true Christianity, provides the contentment that each individual must appropriate As Paul says in Philippians 4.11, I have learned to be content. When the source of godliness is combined with the inward result, then there is great gain. He actually puts some muscle on the bones from the text itself. Now, to abandon godliness with contentment is to embark on a course that is necessarily, fundamentally, and fatally downward, and nothing can arrest it but grace, but God's grace and the gospel. George Knight again says, the implied conclusion is that the acquisition of things has no ultimate or final benefit despite what the false teachers supposed. Returning again to that contrast. And finally, George Knight again, whatever exceeds these basics can be gratefully received and enjoyed Nothing wrong with wealth. Whatever exceeds these basics can be gratefully received and enjoyed, but should never be conceived of as a necessity so that it can destroy true contentment when it is lacking. Paul's teaching here, Knight says, reflects that of Jesus. And he's thinking here, of course, of Matthew chapter six. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. As we think of our church, as we think of our testimony, And as we think of how we relate to one another, may we never ever lose sight of the centrality of godliness in the Christian life. May we pursue it and may we help each other to pursue that as well. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we do indeed commend ourselves to you And we look at this text, and we think of this text, and we preach this text, and we reflect upon this text, and we ask that indeed you would make us a godly people. As a church, and as so many individuals that make up the church, forgive us for wandering, which we do, We live in a world that is filled with all sorts of attractions. We pray that not only will you forgive us, but that rather, but also that you would help us to keep these things in mind. And as we come to the Lord's table, we have a very ready reference, very, the perfect, illustration or example, the perfect element of godliness for us to reflect upon, and that is Christ. Help us, O God, to remember Him in the moments that lie ahead, to be thankful for Him, and to have communion with Him. For we pray this in Christ's name, amen.