Thank you for selecting this message by Dr. James Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman preaches verse by verse through the entire book of the Bible. From all of us at Living Water of Lapine here in Central Oregon, we hope that it will encourage you and feed you spiritually. And if you would like to leave a message after the sermon, our contact information is found on the sermon page where you found this sermon. Now may God richly bless you as you listen. You know how it goes. It starts as a feeling of mixed emotion. You're angry with yourself. And at the same time, you are very thankful that a near tragedy has been avoided. You see, you had been safely driving down the freeway in the right lane. And just as your parents taught you when you were learning how to drive, you responsibly check your rear view mirror, and then your side mirror, and the left lane looks wide open. So you put on your blinker, and you begin easing over. But suddenly, and at the very last second, you see the car right beside you. The driver of the other car lays on his horn and yells something at you, which you're glad you cannot hear. Startle, heart pounding through your chest, you swerve back into your own lane and you attempt to catch your breath. Immediately, you begin to wonder. Where did that car come from? But an understanding comes almost as quickly. You failed to account for your blind spot. Last week in our discussion of 1 Timothy chapter six, verses one and two, we considered one of the most glaring blind spots For American Christians in history, it was the acceptance of slavery. Christians in the South would gather on Sundays and they'd sing and study God's word and think nothing at all about mistreating men and women and children as their slaves. That's scary. It's scary to think that well-intentioned regular worshipers who love God's Word and study it would have such a blindness. Now, before we become too critical of them, there's something very important that we all need to realize about ourselves. We're not much different. Just like them, part of our sinful nature instinctively chooses only to see what we want to see and to ignore what we want to ignore until it's too late and the damage is done. You see, there is something I did not mention last week, but I will now. The example of American slavery beckons us to ask the question in our own lives, where do I have blind spots? Are there areas where we as individuals or as churches, are blind to our own sin, even such harmful sin as slavery. Today we move on from the tragic blind spot in the American South of the 1800s, and where we go next is to the next set of verses in our study through 1 Timothy. We are gonna pick up today 1 Timothy chapter six, verses three through 10, which places a clear focus on one of the glaring sins that many Christians, especially American Christians and churches hear in America today. choose to ignore. It is our tragedy-inducing blind spot that results in the treatment, mistreatment actually, of men, women, and children all over the globe. Materialism has blinded many of us from seeing the things God would have us see. In our culture, in our churches, and in our own lives, we have failed to take notice of some of the pressing needs around us. Our passage today is like a car that suddenly appears beside us. and it is intended to jolt us into being where we should. I pray that it's gonna have that effect in our lives. Now, our passage today can be divided into two sections, and initially it might look as though Paul is writing about two different subjects, but he's not. In 1 Timothy 6, verses 3 through 5, Paul seems to land both feet on the necks of false teachers who were in Ephesus, with some harsh criticism of them. In these verses, we learn how do we spot a false teacher? Then in verses 6 through 10, Paul seems to move on to a different subject, and that would be how Christians are to view their wealth and possessions. These look like two different subjects, don't they? But after studying this passage, I've concluded that Paul presents the entire passage much like a jeweler displays a diamond. Verses three through five are a dark background, the black velvet, against which the contrast, verses six through 10, display the beauty of what correct doctrine will produce in a believer's life. And that's the diamond. Now first, we'll get a feel for all of the ugliness of false teaching. And then, by contrast, we'll see what good doctrine produces. Okay, so here's the ugly. 1 Timothy 6, verses three through five, where we pick up where we left off last week. If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness. He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions. and a constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth. Imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Okay, so what distinguishes a false teacher? First, they marginalize Christ. They push him off to the side, who he is, what he taught, what he accomplished. Jesus is minimized and overshadowed with man-centered efforts and systems, like denying certain human pleasures, or at the other end of the spectrum, enjoying unrestrained sensualities, or the propagation of contrived mysteries and secret knowledge. You see, one of the best ways to identify false teaching is to examine its treatment of Jesus. Is he minimized? Is he overshadowed? Has he been minimized in any way? Who he is, what he did, what he taught, replaced by something else? Is Jesus central or is he replaced with human effort and understanding? Second, we've seen in these verses that they marginalize scripture. In Paul's day, believers received Christ's teaching from the apostles, the Lord's appointed representatives, both verbally and in writing. Today, we have God-breathed words preserved for us in the 66 books of the Bible. Is scripture then this teacher's highest authority of faith, life, and practice. Because if it isn't, you know it's false teaching. Third, they exhibit ungodly behavior. And verses four and five that we just read describe their very ungodly behavior, their attitudes, and their character. Verse four tells us they were conceited, They felt that they had special knowledge of God, better knowledge than the apostle had. However, they did not, and the arrogant air about them betrayed their unregenerate nature. Gentleness, the quality of true spirituality was totally absent. These teachers were not simply misguided, they were totally ignorant. Ignorance and arrogance is such a deadly combination. If you're ignorant, but not arrogant, you can fix the problem of ignorance. But they were both. And so apart from divine intervention, their problem was unfixable. They took perverse pleasure in controversy and quarreling. Quarrels about words comes from a rare compound Greek word meaning, get this, word fight. You ever been involved in a word fight? This so marked their behavior that Paul describes them as sick with it. having unhealthy interest in disputes. As this dangerous sickness spreads, it produces poisons that destroy relationships and church unity. Paul goes on to list five church-killing effects of a false teacher's ungodly behavior. Envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction in the church. At the end of the verse, he finally mentions what was at the core behind all this word fighting and prattle. Greed. Greed was their core motivation. Imagining that godliness is a means of gain, craving material possessions will produce such horrible ugliness. A lot of famous pastors today have figured out a way to build giant churches, to sell a lot of books, and to market themselves, imagining that godliness is a means of great gain, which has led them straight into false teaching. I'm not saying that every famous pastor of a large church who sells books is one of these. But I won't hesitate to tell you that are in time air tickling preachers on television and radio who tell you that God wants you to be physically healthy and rich. These are good examples of what Paul is expressing here. Name it and claim it theology. The health and wealth gospel of Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen is false teaching. Human effort. Anything that pushes Jesus aside and puts you right in the center of it and says, here's what you do, like the power of positive thinking, is also false teaching. These fit right into Paul's description here in 1 Timothy. Any teaching that decentralizes Jesus, pushes him aside, minimizes scripture, or does not produce Godly attitudes and behavior is what Paul condemns in our passage today. What a dark picture. Paul is painted of false teachers. And then he says behind it is the fact that false teachers try to use God for what they can get. Craving material possessions is what drives them. Now that we have our black velvet background, let's now bring out the diamond. and let's set it in contrast against it. Our diamond is the result of right doctrine, correct teaching. You see, this diamond is contentment. Contentment, which is the opposite condition of materialism. Materialism stays hidden in our blind spot. and then emerges to justify our selfishness, which harms others. So we see this in verses six through 10 here. 1 Timothy chapter six, now verses six through 10. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. Okay, let's take a look at what these verses tell us. Number one, wealth does not bring contentment, verse six. The noun contentment, autarcheus, is a compound word based upon self, autos, and to be sufficient, archaeo. It denotes an inward satisfaction that is not affected by outward circumstances. It's rooted in faith of divine sufficiency. It's an inner peace in spite of outward circumstances. A Christian's gain and what the false teachers sought to gain are two different things. The false teachers were trying to make a buck using religion, a method that can never, ever produce a gain because there will always be a craving for more. A person who depends on material things for peace and assurance will never be satisfied because material things have a way of losing their appeal after a while, once we have them. Contentment doesn't stay. When we try to obtain it by possessing material things, it will be elusive. Now, what we need and what truly satisfies is contentment. But you might be thinking, hey, wait, hold on here. Is not a contented Christian, a Christian who stops striving, who stops pursuing excellence? If they're content, do they stop the pursuit? Let's not make the mistake of confusing contentment with complacency. They look a lot alike. Both contentment and complacency, they both experience satisfaction and both bring us to joy of our status in life. However, contentment and complacency are not the same. Two crucial differences. separate them. Number one, contentment thanks God for everything, while complacency congratulates self. Number two, complacency rests on its accomplishments, while contentment doesn't rest. It passionately pursues excellence. Paul displays this. He displays what contentment looks like. Look what he wrote in Philippians chapter three. Philippians three verses eight through 11. Look how this describes contentment and yet he's pursuing. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." No sitting back on his laurels here. The healthy Christian doesn't waste time on self-satisfaction. Paul showed that he was content, and yet he passionately pursued excellence. Contentment is our antidote to materialism. And verse 6 makes it clear that wealth does not bring contentment. And then in verse 7 we read, wealth is not lasting. When someone's spirit leaves his body at death, he can take nothing with it. just as when that person came into the world at birth. He brought nothing with him. Whatever wealth we amass goes to the government, to our heirs, or whatever beneficiary we have. You know, we always know the answer to the question. Have you ever heard this question? After somebody dies, how much did he leave? The answer's the same in every case. Everything. Verse eight brings out that our basic needs are easily met. Food and covering, clothing and shelter. These are our basic needs. Now, if I was to quote Henry David Thoreau, none of you would think that I ascribe to his naturalist philosophies or to his transcendentalist beliefs, would you? Good. Because he does have this good observation, which I think says the same thing that Paul is declaring. Here's what he said. A man is wealthy in proportion to the number of things he can afford to do without. Even a non-believer can say something that's so right on and true, huh? I'm reminded of the simple living Quaker who was watching his new neighbor move in and taking stuff off the U-Haul and he was leaning over his white picket fence watching his neighbor as he was bringing in all the furnishings, very nice lush items and all these expensive toys that successful people collect. And the Quaker finally went over to the house of his new neighbor and he says to him, neighbor, If thou dost need anything, come and see me, and I will tell thee how to get along without it." A contented attitude gratefully receives the basic necessities of life and doesn't have to order steak and lobster whenever eating out. doesn't have to wear designer clothing or the latest fashion, doesn't have to desire that 55-foot luxury yacht or a nine-bedroom opulent house right on the beachfront property. This is not to suggest that a believer shouldn't have those things if they can afford them. What? Now listen, The Bible never condemns the rich for their abundance. God never calls money or wealth evil. Are you still listening? Contentment has nothing to do with the circumstances and everything to do with attitude. The fundamental question is not, what do you have? But what do you want? Verse 9 and 10 lead to the next point. The desire for wealth leads to destruction. They that will be rich is an accurate way of translating the Greek here. In other words, they that will not be denied it. It describes a person who has to have more and more material things in order to be happy and feel successful, and by any means, they're going to go after it. But such a pursuit is a trap. It leads to bondage, not freedom. Instead of giving satisfaction, the accumulation creates additional desires, and boy, those have to be satisfied. Instead of providing help and health, the pursuit of material things hurts and wounds. The result Paul described very vividly here is found in verse 9. It's the picture of a man drowning because so much water has come into the boat. He trusted his wealth and sailed along, but the storm came and he sank. Health fails. Contentment flees. Marriage comes unraveled. Children rebel. Addictions take over. Financial collapse happens. Desperation follows. The consequence is unavoidable, as we read verses 9 and 10 here. The love of money eventually causes a person to exchange his or her faith in God, who is limitless in loving, in order to seek satisfaction and safety in wealth, which is limited and loveless. This inevitably leads the poor soul to many griefs. Materialism is dangerous. We have a blind spot that is so dangerous. It leads people into many senseless and harmful desires. The love of money and things will send you down a path that is fraught with danger. Here are some of its deadly fruits. Selfishness, cheating, fraud, perjury, robbery, envy, quarreling, hatred, violence, and murder. Or simply think of some other effects of materialism. We can go on and on. Others come immediately to mind. Pornography, blackmail, exploitation of the weak, oppressing the poor, immorality, and injustice. Listen, here's what I'm saying. Materialism is a breeding ground for thousands of other sins. Are you, Christian, foolish enough to think that you are immune to such things that spring from this root? Speaking of root, before we move on, I must say some things about the most misquoted verse of the entire Bible. 1 Timothy 6.10 here. You may already know what it is that I have to point out, but please indulge me for just a minute. Paul is talking about the love of money, not money itself. It takes money to sustain churches and missionary work. Everyone from atheists to committed Christians have to pay bills. But another piece of misinformation is that 1 Timothy 6.10 teaches that the love of money is the root of evil. Now, that was popularized by the King James Version, but that article, the, is not in the original Greek. And so the ESV from which I was just reading has it right. The love of money is a root of all evil. In other words, the love of money is one of many roots that wickedness can spring from and invade our lives. Listen, if we want to rid a garden of weeds, the roots of those weeds must come up, don't they? In the exact same way, if we want to rid ourselves of materialism, we must not simply treat the problems caused by our greed. We must tear out the root that is producing the problem. The question is how? As usual, Chuck Swindoll offers some profound thoughts here. You're probably getting the idea he's my favorite author and you'd be close to the truth. Let me set up what he wrote at the end of his commentary on this passage by first giving you three reminders from today's passage that we've got to understand. And then I'll present Swindoll's insights about what God will give us when we accept and live by the truths of our passage. Number one. It is not up to the world through its luring advertisements and the entertainment industry's display of popular trends to tell us what will make us happy. That boat will sink and the passengers will drown. Number two, we will never find happiness in the acquisition of more, more, more. Number three, oh, I hope you hear me now. Number three, contentment is not something we find It is something we decide. When we make a choice to be content, Swindoll mentions that there will be three priceless gifts that we'll receive. Okay, here's Swindoll on this, number one. Current enjoyment instead of constant striving. At some point in the past, you decide that the acquisition of what you have today would be fulfilling. When you choose contentment, it is. On the other hand, if you're always seeking fulfillment from the future, you'll never find it. will never be satisfied. You'll never enjoy what you have. Enough is never enough. Number two, here's the second gift God gives. Complete freedom to recognize and applaud another's achievement without envy. When I choose to enjoy what I currently have, envy finds no place in my life. As a result, I multiply my joy. I am happy with my own lot in life, and I genuinely delight in the good fortune of those around me. Furthermore, when I choose contentment, I never view the advancement of another as something taken from me. Contentment drains the fuel. from my tank of competition, allowing me to rejoice with those who rejoice. And here's the third gift God gives, the cultivation of a genuinely grateful spirit. When we choose contentment, anything we receive in the future becomes an unexpected gift. This allows us to live in a constant state of surprise. finding delight in the smallest blessings. Close quote. Isn't that good? Make the choice to be content. Adopt three short statements and resolve to make them true of your life. Here are three statements. Number one, I'm grateful for what I have. Number two, I'm satisfied with what I earn. Number three, I'm generous to those in need. I began today by comparing the blind spot of American Christianity of the South back in the 1800s with a blind spot of contemporary Christian America today's blind spot. materialism. Was that really a fair comparison? The blind spot of slavery hurt a lot of people here on earth, but our materialism may be hurting people for all eternity. Our materialism keeps us from giving to God's kingdom work. Those who love their money don't give it away. The resources needed to win the world to Christ will be kept in our second homes and in our ever-accumulating but not really necessary nice possessions. A materialistic world will not be won by materialistic believers. We will not show the world that Christ is all satisfying as long as we are in the sinking boat of materialism. How will we lead people to abandon the things of this world if we in the church are attached to the same things? We will be accumulating And by that, communicating that Christ plus our stuff equals satisfaction. It's a false gospel that declares Christ plus all our stuff equals satisfaction, the gospel we want to continue proclaiming to the world. Decide to be content. Cultivate a genuine grateful spirit. Be generous to those in need. Can I hear an amen? Let's pray.