Well, let's turn to 1st Timothy, chapter 6. We are now in the final chapter of this letter. Written around 62-63 AD, Paul had been in Ephesus after his first Roman imprisonment, had left there and had gone to Macedonia. He's been giving Timothy instruction on the way that Christ desires that we conduct ourselves in His church. So, 1st Timothy chapter 6, verse 1. All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these things. If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing. But he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy and strife, abuse of language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of gain when accompanied by contentment. For we've brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some, by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. thus far the reading of the Word of God. Lord, thank you that you teach us. Thank you that you have given us the true doctrine of heaven. Thank you, Lord, that we know, we know your will. We know the way of salvation, that we are not And have been rescued from all that is false out there. Thank You, Lord, that You've drawn us to Your Word. And You've caused us to look to Your Word as our one and only source of truth. Well, throughout this letter, Paul's been giving instruction to Timothy, whom he had left in Ephesus, as to how things are to be conducted in Christ's church. He's written words of encouragement and exhortation to Timothy that he may continue to strive for godliness, all for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the gospel. And in this final chapter now of this letter, Paul touches on five subjects. First, the relationship between slaves and their masters. Second, the necessity of preaching sound doctrine and the harm that arises from false doctrine. Now this has been a prevalent theme throughout this letter. Third, the need for a man of God to keep himself pure and to fight the good fight of faith. And fourth, the danger of the love of money. And then a final word of exhortation, guard what has been entrusted to you. So, in chapter 6, Paul's first direction to Timothy is in regard to slaves, some of whom had pagan masters and others of whom were serving Christian masters, men who had come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, had come into the assembly of the church. And Paul gives Timothy these instructions, as you see at the end of verse 2, to be taught in the churches. So he says, all who are under the yoke as slaves. Under the yoke. Now this phrase has a negative connotation for us. I mean, you can talk about yoke, the oxen being under the yoke. But it appears that he's using this term to speak of all who are under the authority of a master, all slaves. Whether it's slaves who are being treated harshly or who are being treated well. But he says all who are slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor. Now we've seen honor is to be afforded to widows, honors to be afforded to elders. Now he says slaves are to regard their masters as worthy of all honor. Now, in glory, we anticipate that these earthly distinctions are going to be over. They'll vanish. These earthly distinctions between the people of God. But even now, we're all one in Christ Jesus. But the earthly distinctions, male and female, parent and child, slave and master, today for us employer and employee, these earthly distinctions still remain. So we're living a Christian life, but with these relationships all still in place. And in his letters, you notice Paul often addresses these relationships. In Ephesians chapters 5 and 6, extensively, in Colossians, he addresses these relationships. And how we, as the people of God, as the body of Christ, are to live with and serve one another in the reality of these relationships. And here in 1 Timothy 6, Paul begins by addressing this relationship between slaves and masters. And how, within that relationship, one can best manifest the Spirit of Christ. This is a subject that Paul has addressed, as I said, in at least three of his other letters. And I want to read you what he has written in some of these other letters. 1 Corinthians 7.20, he says, each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. Called to faith. So, this isn't a letter where he's saying, look, we need to abolish slavery. This is a letter where he's saying, each is to remain. Were you called while a slave, he asks? Don't worry about it. But if you are able also to become free, rather do that. The issue is how we are to live as Christians, not what your situation is and whether you should try to extricate yourself from it, but how you honor the Lord in the situation you're in. So he says, for he who was called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freed man. Likewise, he who was called while free is Christ's slave. So then in Ephesians 6, 5, slaves, he says, "...be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ." So we're obeying those in authority over us. In reality, we're obeying Christ. That's His command. "...not by way of eye service," he says, as men-pleasers, "...but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." With good will, render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And then in Colossians, he writes pretty much the same thing. Colossians 3, 22. Slaves, in all things, obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart. So he's talking about our heart attitude here. And nobody wants to be a slave. Now again, we need to understand slavery in the first century in the Roman Empire was very common and it was not the same thing as the slavery that took place in Europe, Africa, and America in the last two or three or four hundred years. It wasn't based on race. It wasn't based on any ethnicity. But rather, slavery was a means of support for many slaves. It was something they voluntarily, in some cases, entered into. It was a way of paying off a debt, if you'd fallen into debt. If you were captured in war, you might have been taken into this indentured servitude. Now, sometimes it was harsh, just as it was in recent times in the Western world and in Africa and elsewhere, in China. But it wasn't always. It wasn't automatically something that was harsh. Sometimes some slaves were doctors, some were cooks, some were barbers. They served in many different kinds of capacities. And for many people, they say that at one time, as many as maybe a third of the people in the world were slaves. that that's how they received their sustenance. So, you know, we have to try to get an understanding of what the circumstance is there. Now sometimes, again, the slavery was just as brutal as what we think of in our own experience here. But it wasn't always. And it was far more prevalent, and it was a way of life for many in the first century. So he says, whatever you do, in Colossians 3.23, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men. So the idea has been all along, we do not allow our circumstances or what other people do to change who we are and how we live. I mean, that's really what this boils down to. We're here serving the Lord no matter the circumstances we're in. And we're going to see that that's what Paul has been saying in many of his letters. And he'll say it in this one tonight. And he says, "...do your work heartily as to the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance." It's the Lord Christ whom you serve, for he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong. So, then in Ephesians 9, Paul gives instruction to masters. In Colossians 1, he gives instruction to masters. Grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a master in heaven. If you are a Christian now, and if you've been a master, you have slaves and you've become a believer, your approach to them must reflect Christ. But in this particular letter, and in the letter to Titus, Paul does not address masters. So, here's the situation. Apparently, many slaves had become Christians. Some had non-Christian masters. Some had masters who had become believers. And in the first two verses here, Paul is going to address these two circumstances. But he says, in terms of all of them, you are to regard them with honor. Now why does he say this? Well, if we think back to Paul's discussion of the roles of men and women in the church, chapters 2 and 3, and of his instructions concerning the marriage relationship in Ephesians chapter 5, remember there Paul cited the creation order. That's the basis of the designed roles for men and women in the church. In speaking of parents and children in Ephesians 6, Paul looked back to the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother. But regarding this relationship between slave and master, he gives a different reason. And he says that this relationship should be such that, so that the name of God in our doctrine will not be spoken against, literally will not be blasphemed. He is saying to the slaves, I want you to honor your masters so that the name of God will not be blasphemed. Why would He say this? It's a simple answer, really. What is it? If you are a professing Christian and you are dishonoring to your master, how will that reflect upon the church? Well, it will reflect badly on the church. Look at what those Christians are like. The unbelievers do that at every opportunity today, whenever a Christian leader falls, or a Christian falls. So Paul is looking here not to the creation orders he had, not even to a commandment, but he's saying, look, you've got to behave in a way and conduct yourself in such a way that God is honored and that His name will not be spoken against. Paul here emphasizes what really is an evangelistic and apologetic aspect of the Christian slave's conduct. You're representing God here. You're representing Christ, and your conduct should reflect that. In Titus 2, verse 10, he makes the same point. He says the slaves should honor their masters, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. So it's important we understand, as I said it earlier but I'll say it again, our circumstances and the conduct of others should not dictate our conduct, should not dictate what flows out of our mouths, what happens in the way we behave. So we have the word slave here. By the way, it means slave. It's not servants. It's all who are under the yoke. And we have to remember, Paul's writing from this first century perspective, and the power of the master over the slave was pretty much absolute. like the yoke, holding the animals under yoke. And as I said, many slaves in the Roman world, they say maybe a third, which is remarkable. But look, there were different ways you would come into this kind of indentured servitude as a prisoner of war, as if you were condemned. And of course, debt and kidnapping. This goes on, this kidnapping thing goes on today. They talk about human trafficking. Well, what do you think the human trafficking is all about? What do you think happens to the one who is trafficked? He becomes a slave of whoever it is. Sometimes it's sex slaves, sometimes it's other things. Some were sold into slavery by their parents, some were born into slavery, and others sold themselves into slavery. So again, it wasn't the best life possible for most maybe, but it wasn't what we think of slavery here. And as I said, many did jobs that were of the higher level on the chain. On the other hand, some were severely treated, and there's no escaping that. Now, slaves also could maybe buy their freedom. If you had money, if you were able to come up with money, maybe you could do some extra work. And sometimes a slave would be set free in the master's last will. A non-Christian master might well treat his slave badly. This term under the yoke certainly implies that, but it doesn't always have to mean harsh treatment. But it does imply this authority. And the Christian religion really made life a challenge for this slave, didn't it? Here I am. I'm hearing that we're all one in Christ, and yet I'm supposed to be under this man's yoke. Well, it has to come back to what does God say is honoring to Him. It really boils down to that and to nothing else. And God says, it's honoring to me if you are honoring even this oppressive master. So, one who was under the yoke of another might harbor a negative attitude. And there's a pretty good chance that was the case. I mean, he might want to render limited service to him. He might want to steal from him. Well, here's the instruction from the apostle. This is not how you are to deal with this. So, all the unbelieving are to be viewed as what? How do we view the unbelieving? The mission field. And really, what is that master to the Christian slave? He's the mission field. You know, it's a lot harder in some circumstances to realize what it is that Christ wants and to be able to do it from our heart. And this is certainly a very difficult circumstance, but this is why we're here. That slave has been converted and his calling is to represent and reflect Christ to this even harsh or severe master. He's the mission field. So Paul doesn't encourage the slaves to be in outright revolt. He doesn't say try to run away. He's worried about the glory of God and the gathering of the flock. So in effect, Paul was encouraging slaves that the very essence of this relationship was now going to undergo a change. Because if you were a slave and you weren't a Christian, how would you look at that master? Would you have any, yeah, would you have any reason to look upon Him kindly, especially if He was harsh? So you see what changes when Christ changes you, when the Spirit of Christ comes to you. And this has application for all of us somewhere in our lives. Paul's not dealing with the abolition of slavery here in any direct way. But you know, what happens? I mean, the whole idea of us living in a God-honoring way among the unbelievers is to impact them, that they would see Christ in us, that they would see something different in us than they see in the unbelievers, than they see in the mirror. Ultimately, slavery has been abolished in many places, including in this country. And where did it come from? I think it came from teaching in the Scripture. And there's a lot of evidence that the Christian church was behind the abolition of slavery more than any other factor. So, you're a slave. You're unhappy. You've got ill will toward the master. You might try to steal from him. You might want to not give him all of your best effort. Now Paul says, give him willing service. Do it with integrity. Be industrious. So, maybe that that cruelty, if there was, in the master would dissolve into kindness, love, maybe even faith. Well, verse 2, Paul turns to the relationship between Christian slaves and Christian masters. Now, our first thought when we see Christian masters is what? Yes. Why doesn't he set them free? Doesn't he know this is wrong? Well, at some point, hopefully, he's going to learn that. He's come to faith. And his reason, Paul's reason here, is not an evangelistic one. So, before, he wants the name of God to be honored with the unbelieving master. Well, that reason doesn't apply here. This man is a believer. But what are these two now? The master and the slave are now what? They're what? Yes, they're Christian brothers. They're brothers in Christ. Should that change the nature of the master-slave relationship? Absolutely. Now, again, Paul isn't saying, let them go. He's not even giving any instruction to the masters here. Remember, how did they both become believers? Who caused them to become believers? God did. God poured out His grace, mercy, and love on both of them and made them brothers. Now, here they are. The relationship's still there. You still have a master. You still have a slave. You're in the congregation. You leave the church service. The next day, you go back to your work. If you're the slave, what are you thinking? A couple possibilities here, you might think. One, you've already mentioned, maybe you ought to let me go. But what else? Well, you're not going to let me go, but since we're brothers, Yeah, be a little easier on me here. Take advantage of the fact that we're brothers. Well, both of those are not what Paul is encouraging here. For brothers in Christ, do I really need to regard Him as in authority over me? Do I really need to honor Him as my authority since we're both brothers? What's the answer? Yes. The answer is yes. And so Paul admonishes. Look at the word he uses. Don't be disrespectful to them just because they're brethren. Don't take advantage of the fact that you're brothers. And don't be disrespectful. And it's hard to understand exactly which angle Paul was working here. But both are appropriate. Don't be disrespecting them since we're brothers and now you don't have to respect him. And don't be disrespectful thinking he shouldn't be owning me. So whichever way you look at it, he's urging them to let this brotherhood be an incentive for even better and more heartfelt service. This is a very different passage, isn't it? Slave and master. But this does apply. I mean, he's not talking about employers and employees, but it certainly does apply. So we're all going to where our employer is. And who do we want to reflect? Jesus Christ. Amen. If it applies here, it certainly applies in our more comfortable circumstances. Slaves who have Christian masters are commanded not to despise and not to look down on them just because they're brethren. If he's in this position with a believing master, this ought to be a blessed circumstance. He says in the other letters, remember, obey your masters. Masters, be good to your slaves. The brotherhood in Christ is even more reason to render honor to the master. And so, you know, what this shows us in these first couple of verses, one can live as a Christian and bring glory to God in any circumstance, even as a slave. You can always do that. And whose choice is it whether you do that or not? It's your own choice. That's right. Timothy is being told by Paul teach and preach these things I want you to go into the congregation and this you need to explain this why because Think about it. They needed to be taught about this Timothy had to teach these things And the word preach here is interesting. It has a number of kind of meanings. It might mean to call to one side. It might mean to entreat them to do these things. Admonish them, exhort them, urge them, encourage them to hear these things and to live according to them. Impress them not only on their minds, which we do with teaching, but on their hearts, which we do in preaching. And, you know, back in chapter 5, verse 7, he said the same thing. Teach these things to all the people. What we have here, when he comes down to the end of this discussion and says, teach and preach these things, he is making these things an established ethical doctrine concerning slaves in all the churches. That's what's happening here. This is how this was to work. And this is throughout the Roman Empire. But again, I find it difficult not to see this as applying to every employer-employee relationship. And really, even beyond that, I think it's even broader. Alright, now we come back to what seems to me to be Paul's favorite subject here, and that is preaching sound doctrine. And really, without sound doctrine, what do we have? We have nothing. So he says, if anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, He is, among other things, conceited and he understands nothing. This is what Paul says of false teachers. They are conceited and they understand nothing. The absolute necessity of standing against false teaching and false teachers has been perhaps the major theme of this letter. It was especially critical in 62 AD when it was very difficult to go and check a man's spoken word against the written word. Why would that be? Because they didn't have the written word yet. There were some Gospels written, it appears. There were some of these letters of Paul's that were being circulated, but everybody didn't have them. We hear somebody preach something, and what can we do? We can go right back to the Bible and study it and check it and see if these things are true. Sometimes all they heard was what they heard, and that was the only source of information they had. And everyone didn't have access to the apostles' writings. So it was critical That the Apostles and those who had been taught the true doctrine by the Apostles and of the Apostles, people such as Timothy and Titus, held firmly to that doctrine. It was critical that they hold to the doctrine that Christ taught the Apostles and that the Apostles had taught them. And how important is it that men hold to the words and doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ? Sometimes we can, I suppose, lose sight of the fact that it's only by this Word that He's given us that we even have any idea how to escape hell. So here's what Jesus said, Matthew 7, 24. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and slammed against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. More succinctly in John 12, 48, Jesus said, He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, My words, has one who judges him. the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day if you don't believe Christ you have no hope of eternal life that's what he said the word he spoke will judge him and Paul assigns not just ignorance but sinful motives sinful motives to those who would come in among the people with doctrines that were contrary to the doctrines taught by Jesus and the Apostles. He's not just saying they're wrong. He's saying they are evil. Jesus prepared these men, remember, for three years. He filled them with His Spirit on Pentecost. He would guide them into all truth, who would give to them of Him, who would teach them of Him. And He sent them into the world with a divine saving truth. And any doctrine contrary to that doctrine that they taught, that they wrote down here in the New Testament, any other doctrine, Paul says, must be influenced by evil motives. And certainly, Satan is behind all falsehood. And Paul identifies some of these motives now of the false teachers. Here's what he says. He who advocates a different doctrine does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness. He's conceited, he understands nothing, but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words. I find this discussion of eschatology oftentimes drifts into this category of morbid interest in controversial questions, disputes about words and symbols. Paul here identifies three negative traits of the purveyors of false doctrine. And we might not recognize them. You know, many of the men who preach false doctrine seem very pleasant. Many of them are very popular. Many of them are very wealthy. Many of them have several Rolls Royces. Many of them can stand in front of several hundred or several thousand people and tell them, look, I need a new plane and I need you to provide the money so I can buy it, so I can reach more people. These are purveyors of false doctrine and they are conceited. They are prideful, Paul says, egotistical. They are lovers of self. Look back to chapter 3 verse 6 when he talks about the qualifications of a man who would be an elder. He must not be a new convert so that he will not become conceited and fall into condemnation. Well here Paul says those who do not hold to the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ are conceited. Second, they understand nothing, he says. They do not know the truth. So what they teach is not the truth. And this is obviously true of all false teachers. If they knew the truth, we'd like to think they would teach the truth. But if you don't know the truth, how can you teach the truth? You cannot. Third, they are preoccupied, not with the simplicity of the gospel, but with the minutia that has little bearing on the fallen condition of all men and on all men's desperate need for an atonement in Christ. They are more interested in arguing, disputing over words and symbols and things. The simplicity of the gospel is why we're here. The simple gospel is what saved you. He's talking here about these novelty teachers and hair-splitters. He talked about them back in chapter 1. And Paul ran into these kind of men all the time. They were men who, in his words here, were blinded with conceit, full of smoke. Be smoked, be fogged, be clouded, the words might be rendered. And this isn't the first time Paul's dealt with this in this letter. Look back to chapter 1 again, verses 3 and 4. as I urged you upon my departure from Macedonia. This is, I mean, he's in the greeting part of this letter. Remain on it, Ephesus, so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation, rather than furthering the administration of God, which is by faith. And this third sentence of the letter. Verses 6 and 7, Paul says, For some men, straying from the truth, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. Chapter 4, verse 1. But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. In chapter 4, verse 7, but have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." Paul denounces purveyors of false doctrine. Now, it's one thing to make a serious and honest effort to understand Scripture and make a mistake. We all, I'm sure, fall into some erroneous interpretation at places. But to hold to false doctrine, to that which is not taught by Christ, is not taught by the apostles, which means it must come from your own self, is a great crime against God. That's what Paul says. And here's what he says, if anyone does not agree with, does not come over to, does not join, does not fall in with sound doctrine, does not take sound doctrine into his heart and boldly proclaim the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is what he is. He's conceited. He has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words. So the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word alone constitutes the doctrine conforming to godliness. The doctrine that harmonizes with godliness. This doctrine is the expression of the inner attitude of complete devotion to God. Godliness, again, is an inner quality, but it's expressed in our lives. It manifests devotion to divine truth, to sound doctrine, the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the apostles who were taught by Christ during His earthly ministry. And so, this doctrine includes, as Paul said in the first two verses, A call to honor those in authority over you, even masters if you're a slave, so that the name of God and His doctrine will be upheld. That's the emphasis here. And Paul writes, those who refuse to receive and teach the doctrines of the apostles are conceited without understanding. They take enjoyment not in edifying others with the sound doctrine, but in disputing about words, the meanings of symbols and such, genealogies. Now, these words, a morbid interest in controversial questions. The teacher, the false teacher, is said to have a morbid interest. This means a sick or unhealthy craving. You know, we tend to think of false teachers as just false, but Paul's a lot stronger in his language here. When a person rejects sound or healthy words, sickness results. This sickness reveals itself in this morbid craving for controversies, for word arguments. The man's stricken with such a mental illness, and that's what this is. A mental disease will make mountains out of molehills. That's what all this speculating about genealogies and myths and all was all about. Here's an illustration from the Talmud that one writer writes, he will get all excited about questions like this. Is it permissible on the Sabbath to throw away the pit of a date? You breaking the Sabbath? Suppose there's still some of the date on the pit. Does that change? There were people who actually talked about these things for hours and wrote about them. This commentary on the Old Testament. The diseased state of the mind consists in a corruption. Paul's showing us we can't overstate. what the wickedness and the disintegration of the mind that is involved in false teaching. Because if somebody is teaching falsely about Christ, say he didn't come, didn't come in the flesh, his mental faculties get to where they don't function anymore. We saw this back in Ephesians chapter 4. People don't react rightly to the truth. Why not? Why don't people react rightly to what's obviously true? God created the world. What do they say? They say, it just happened. It just happened. All these systems in your body, the hundreds of thousands of little pieces of information that make your eyes able to see, make you able to hear, these little things, little receptors. Did you ever take apart somebody's brain, take a look inside, and wonder how is it they can think? How is it they can understand things? In this thing, this blob, what keeps my heart beating? Why does it keep beating? Am I doing something to make it? We're not doing anything to affect any of this. It is so obvious that we are creatures of a Creator. And what do they say? It just happened. That's a mind that does not respond rightly to the truth and conceit, which is always at the root of those who reject Christ. It leads to a spiritual blindness. Remember how we see it every Sunday, it seems, with these Pharisees, these Jewish religious leaders. Here's Christ doing works that nobody but God could do, and they will not believe. They'll find whatever reason, I mean they'll manufacture reasons, or they'll just not look for a reason, they'll just kind of set the whole thing off to the side and say, we got to do something to stop this guy or we're going to suffer because of it. This is true. with respect to every dissenter who does not come over to and take into his heart the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. When these people encounter the truth, their corrupted mind, you know what it does? It sees and it seeks only objections. That's what's so vividly portrayed by the Jewish religious leaders. They are struggling to find some way to not believe. And finally, the only thing they could do was have him killed. That way they didn't have to listen to this truth anymore. Except God had another plan. Oh, here comes the Twelve. Here comes the Spirit of God poured out at Pentecost. Now they're surrounded. It's all over the city of Jerusalem. And people had come from everywhere because it was the Feast of Pentecost. And they're hearing, He is risen. He's gone back to the Father. He's ruling and reigning right now. He'll come back to judge the world. All preached on Pentecost. And we are witnesses to the fact that He was killed and that He rose. The God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they cannot believe the truth of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4, 4. They find reasons. But behind it is Satan. And these motives, now Paul says, lead to envy in the church. They lead to conflict, not unity. If these people come in the church, and the problem was, he's writing to Timothy because these kind of guys were in that congregation and spouting this stuff. There wouldn't be any unity. There'd be envy. There'd be strife. Paul says abusive language, evil suspicions. Because it leads to all of this. Constant friction between men of depraved minds and those of the truth. So this selfishness is also clear from the fact that Paul describes them as being men who imagine that the practice of religion or godliness will make them wealthy. Know any guys trying to get wealthy off of an alleged ministry of the gospel? It's not merely for the sake of gaining a livelihood either that we're talking about. For the sake of becoming rich, they outwardly practice godliness. That's what he's talking about here. They make a show of their religion. Turn on the TV. Well, don't. Don't do it Sunday morning because we need to be gathering to worship the Lord. But if you did, this is what you'd see, a big show. Some of these guys come out, $3,000 suits, $4,000 suits. If you take the money you earned or were given from preaching and go buy four Rolls Royces, It kind of exposes your motive. Your motive wasn't over here in the spread of the gospel. Your motive was the four Rolls Royces or the new airplane. This is trying to cash in on godliness. Paul's condemning this here. They make a show of their religion. Some will charge exorbitant fees for instruction they impart. Here's Titus 1.10. companion letter, for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they're upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach. Why? For the sake of sordid gain. Luther mercilessly exposed the greed of the papacy. The issue was the gospel. They were preaching a false gospel from Rome. But what really incensed him was the Pope sending these men out with their little buckets and telling people, if you'll put your money in here, the Pope will help get your relative out of purgatory a little earlier. By the way, there's no purgatory. That's just not sound doctrine. It's something contrary to the teaching of Jesus. Religious charlatans, Lenski writes, infested the Roman world as they do today, attaching themselves to men of power and wealth. You see any preachers out there attaching themselves to men of power and wealth? Yes, we do. We see them circling around the president-elect right now. As far as I can tell, certainly a number of them are false teachers who have become very wealthy with their TV ministries. In Corinth, the Judaizers devoured them with rank mercenariness. So the object here was great personal wealth and Paul's saying that you're going to have men here and you may have them right now in Ephesus who are out there preaching their false doctrine in order to get rich. But then he tells us what true godliness is and the fact that it really is a means of great gain. He says in verse 6, the practice of true godliness of religion actually is a means of great gain when it's accompanied by contentment. True godliness is a means of great gain, but in a far different sense. In chapter 4, verse 8, Paul wrote that true godliness is profitable for everything. having a promise for this life now and for life to come. Do you suppose that a true devotion to sound doctrine, a true devotion to godly living would help a slave to manifest Christ in the presence of his master, even if he's an unbeliever, the master? The truly godly person isn't interested in being rich, although Paul does not condemn that, nor does the scripture condemn wealth. It matters what you do with it. I read the other day Warren Buffett, he gave a lot of money to something. I don't know what it was, but last year he gave 0.05% of his wealth to charitable causes. Now that's more money than all of us will accumulate in a lifetime maybe. But it was something he wouldn't even notice. Boy, look at the amount he gave. We're to be good stewards. Our mission here is the gospel, is calling people to Christ. It's serving one another, it's serving those in need. Godly living springs from, first of all, faith. But then it springs from a source of and is accompanied by an inner contentment. No matter one's circumstances. And the truth is, this is what I always hope to see in all of you, is that inner contentment. It's what I pray for all of you. Because we're all going to have hard times. But, you know, Paul, look what he wrote here, 4.11 of Philippians. I've learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means. I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstances, I've learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. What's the secret? I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. See, true contentment is not found in self-sufficiency. That's what the Stoics thought. I just don't need anything and I'll be a Spartan type guy. No, contentment is found where? In Christ, yes. You know, that was the word that I used to use when I had become converted, when God converted me. Contentment showed up, where there was a lack of contentment, where there was discontent. Contentment. Why, what am I missing? Nothing. Nothing. It doesn't, I mean, it doesn't even matter. I mean, we don't want painful experience, but the person who joyfully submits to the will of Christ knows he has peace with God. Through Christ. He possesses a spiritual joy even in the face of great difficulty. He has the assurance of eternal life and glory with God. And it's going to happen for all of us sometime within the next 50, 60 years. He knows that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. And so, earthly blessings will come and go, but they can never satisfy the soul, and we all know that. There's no earthly blessing that can satisfy our soul. Christ alone can do that. And to make his point, he goes back to Job in Ecclesiastes. For we've brought nothing into the world, we can't take anything out of it either. Job's words, naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked I shall return. Ecclesiastes 5.15, as he had come naked from his mother's womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. So, having arrived naked because we're going to leave that way and can't possibly leave any other way, The few things that we really need during our short stay here in this world aren't going to disturb the minds of Christ's people. We're content in Christ. I want you all to have that. I just, more than anything else, to have that contentment in Christ. Because this is the source of spiritual gain. Paul equates this to godliness, contentment. If we have food and shelter, he says, verse 8, or food and covering, or food and clothing, it depends on your translation, with these we shall be content. So it's our dwelling, our clothes, our food. Anybody lacking any of these? None of us are. I suspect few of us know what that's even like. Matthew 625, Jesus said, For this reason I say to you, don't be worried about your life as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body as to what you'll put on. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? In Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 18, He executes justice for the orphan and the widow. He shows His love for the alien, how? by giving him food and clothing. The truth is, that's all we actually need. Now, whatever blessings he gives us beyond that, we can gratefully receive them and enjoy them. But they're not necessities. Two of us were talking about maybe a new driver we might get. And that might be a blessing God would provide for us, but it's not really in that category of necessity. It's not one of those things that might provide us with inner contentment. Paul's teaching what Jesus teaches. He's not opposed to seeking to accumulate wealth. He is going to say, look, now you want to return much of what God has given you, that which you don't need, to his purposes. It's the yearning for material riches as though those could satisfy you. That's what he criticizes and condemns. And that's the way of the world. Gratitude to God for his provision breeds contentment in a man. And I didn't try to arrange this study to come to a Thanksgiving message at the end, but it is exactly what it is. When we are genuinely grateful to God for what He's provided us, and for the inheritance that He's laid up for us, that's what breeds contentment in us. So it is apropos as we come upon another Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. Thanksgiving gratitude and contentment, they belong together. You can't really separate them. A person who is not grateful is not going to be content. And a person who's filled with gratitude to God, truly filled with gratitude to God, will have this contentment that Paul's talking of. And so again, it's my, I pray that we would all be blessed with this gift of contentment. Well, Father, thank you that you teach us, that you show us divine truths that we couldn't possibly understand or come to know apart from your word. Thank you, Lord, for the apostles you sent. Thank you for the writings that we are blessed to have here in both the Old and the New Testament. Thank you for sending Christ. Thank you for sending your Spirit into the world and for indwelling us by your Spirit even in this life that we may hear you, that we may desire to and seek to live according to the way that you have instructed us here. that we would honor all men. Not for their sake, but that Your name would be exalted. That all that we would do would be for Your glory. In Christ's name, Amen.