1 Timothy 6

1 Timothy 6:1

D. Bondservants and Masters (6:1, 2) 6:1 The conduct of slaves is now brought before us. They are spoken of as bondservants who are under the yoke, that is, the yoke of slavery. The apostle, first of all, speaks to slaves who have unsaved masters. Should slaves in such a case act insolently toward their masters? Should they rebel or run away? Should they do as little work as possible?

On the contrary, they should count their own masters worthy of all honor. This means that they should give them due respect, work obediently and faithfully, and in general seek to be a help rather than a hindrance. The great motive for such diligent service is that the testimony for Christ is involved. If a Christian slave were to act rudely or rebelliously, then the master would blaspheme the name of God and the Christian faith. He would conclude that believers were a worthless lot. The history of the early church reveals that Christian slaves generally commanded a higher price on the slave market than unbelievers. If a master knew that a certain slave on the auction block was a Christian, he would generally be willing to pay more for that slave, since he knew that the slave would serve him faithfully and well. This is high tribute to the Christian faith. This verse reminds us that no matter how low a person’s position may be on the social scale, yet he has every opportunity for witnessing for Christ and bringing glory to His name. It has often been pointed out that the institution of slavery is not openly condemned in the NT. However, as the teachings of Christianity have spread, the abuses of slavery have been abolished. Every true believer should realize that he is a bondslave of Jesus Christ. He has been bought with a price; he no longer belongs to himself. Jesus Christ owns himspirit, soul, and body, and deserves the very best he has. 6:2 This verse deals with slaves who have believing masters. Doubtless there would be a very great temptation for such slaves to despise their masters. It is not at all unlikely that when the local church met together on Lord’s Day evening for the breaking of bread (Act_20:7), there would be Christian masters and Christian slaves seated around the tableall brethren in Christ Jesus. But the slaves were not, on this account, to think that the social distinctions of life were thereby abolished. Just because a master was a Christian did not mean that the slave did not owe him honor and service. The fact that the master was both a believer and a beloved brother should influence the slave to serve him faithfully. Christian masters are here spoken of not only as faithful (believers) and beloved, but also as those who are benefited. This is generally taken to mean that they, too, are sharers in the blessing of salvation. However, the words might also be understood to mean that since both slaves and masters are interested in doing good, they should serve together, each trying to help the other. The words teach and exhort these things doubtless refer to the preceding instructions to Christian slaves. The present-day application would be, of course, to the employer-employee relationship.

1 Timothy 6:3

VI. FALSE TEACHERS AND THE LOVE OF MONEY (6:3-10) 6:3 Paul now turns his attention to those who might be disposed to teach new and strange doctrines in the church. These men do not consent to wholesome words. Wholesome here means health-giving words. Such were the words which were spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ when He was here on earth and which are found in the Gospels. Such also is the entire body of teaching found in the NT. This is doctrine which accords with godliness in the sense that it encourages and promotes godly behavior. 6:4 Such men are proud. They profess to have superior knowledge, but actually they know nothing. As Paul mentioned previously, they do not know what they are talking about. They dote about disputes and arguments over words. The word obsessed literally means to be sick. These men are not spiritually healthy, and instead of teaching healthful words, as in the previous verse, they teach words that produce sick saints. They raise various questions that are not spiritually edifying and strive over words. Since the things they talk about are not matters of Bible doctrine, there is no way of settling them decisively. As a result, their teaching stirs up envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions. Lenski says: In their questions and word battles, one envies the other because of the proficiency which he develops; there is strife as they vie with and contradict each other; blasphemies result, namely, denunciations couched in sacred words. 6:5 These wranglings come from men of corrupt, that is, diseased, minds. Lenski comments trenchantly: The diseased state of the mind consists in a corruption and a disintegrationthe mental faculties no longer function normally in the moral and the spiritual field. They do not react normally to the truth. All reality and its presentation in verity ought to produce the reaction of acceptance, especially the saving divine gospel realities should have this effect; all lies, falsities, perversions ought to produce rejection, most of all those in the moral and the spiritual field. … When it meets the truth, the corrupted mind sees and seeks only objections; when it meets what differs from this truth, it sees and seeks reasons for accepting this difference. Also, these men are destitute of the truth. At one time, they had acquaintance with the truth, but because of their rejection of the light, they have been deprived of what truth they once had. These men suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Apparently, they choose to be religious teachers as a profession in which they are well paid for a minimum of work. They make the holiest of vocations a money-gaining craft.This not only reminds us of the hireling shepherds who pose as Christian ministers but have no real love for the truth, but it also makes us think of the commercialism which has become so common in Christendomthe sale of indulgences, games of lottery, bazaars and sales, etc. From such withdraw yourself. We are commanded to steer clear of such ungodly professors. 6:6 Just as the previous verse gave a false definition of gain, so this verse gives the true meaning of the word. The combination of godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness without contentment would give a one-sided testimony. Contentment without godliness would not be distinctively Christian at all. But to have real godliness and at the same time to be satisfied with one’s personal circumstances is more than money can buy. 6:7 This chapter bears a close resemblance to the teachings of the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Verse 7 reminds us of His instruction that we should trust our heavenly Father for the supply of our needs. There are three times in life when we have empty handsat birth, at the time we come to Jesus, and at death. This verse reminds us of the first and the last. We brought nothing into the world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.Before Alexander the Great died, he said: When I am dead, carry me forth on my bier, with my hands not wrapped in cloth, but laid outside, so that all may see that they are empty. Bates comments on this: Yes, those hands which once wielded the proudest scepter in the world; which once held the most victorious sword; which once were filled with silver and gold; which once had power to save or to sign away life, were now EMPTY. 6:8 Contentment consists of satisfaction with the basic necessities of life. Our heavenly Father knows that we need food and covering and has promised to supply these. Most of an unbeliever’s life revolves around food and clothing. The Christian should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and God will see that he does not lack the essentials of life. The word translated clothing here means covering and can include a place to live as well as clothes to wear. We should be content with food, clothing, and a place to live. 6:9 Verses 9-16 deal directly with those who have an insatiable desire to be rich. Their sin lies not in being wealthy, but in coveting to be so. Those who desire to be rich are people who are not content with food, clothes, and lodging, but are determined to have more. Desiring to be rich leads a man into temptation. In order to achieve his goal, he is enticed to use dishonest and often violent methods. Such methods include gambling, speculation, fraud, perjury, theft, and even murder. Such a man also falls into a snare or a trap. The desire becomes so strong that he cannot deliver himself from it. Perhaps he promises himself that when he reaches a certain figure in the bank account he will stop.

But he cannot. When he reaches that goal, he has the desire for more. The desire for money also brings with it cares and fears, which entangle the soul. People who determine to become wealthy fall into many foolish … lusts. There is the desire to keep up with the Joneses. In order to maintain a social level in the community, they are often driven to sacrifice some of the really worthwhile values in life. They also fall into harmful lusts. Greed for wealth causes men to endanger their health and jeopardize their souls. Indeed, that is the end toward which they are drifting. They become so occupied with material things that they become drowned in destruction and perdition. In their ceaseless quest for gold, they neglect their never-dying souls. Barnes warns: The destruction is complete. There is a total ruin of happiness, of virtue, of reputation, and of the soul. The ruling desire to be rich leads on a train of follies which ruins everything here, and hereafter. How many of the human family have thus been destroyed! 6:10 The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Not all evil in the universe springs from the love of money. But it is certainly one of the great sources of many varieties of evil. For instance, it leads to envy, strife, theft, dishonesty, intemperance, forgetfulness of God, selfishness, embezzlement, etc. It is not money in itself which is spoken of, but the love of money. Money might be used in the service of the Lord in a variety of ways where only good would result. But here it is the inordinate desire for money that leads to sin and shame. One particular evil of the love of money is now mentioned, that is, a wandering from the Christian faith. In their mad striving after gold, men neglect spiritual things, and it becomes difficult to tell whether they were ever really saved at all. Not only did they lose their grip on spiritual values, but they pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Think of the sorrows connected with the greed for riches! There is the tragedy of a wasted life. There is the sorrow of losing one’s children to the world. There is the grief of seeing one’s wealth vanish overnight. There is the fear of meeting God, either unsaved or at least empty-handed. Bishop J. C. Ryle summarizes: Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is perplexity in the disposing of it. Two-thirds of all the strifes, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world arise from one simple causemoney! The richest man in the world at one time owned oil wells, refineries, tankers, and pipelines; also hotels, a life insurance company, a finance company, and aircraft companies. But he surrounded his 700-acre estate with bodyguards, vicious dogs, steel bars, searchlights, bells, and sirens. In addition to being afraid of planes, ships, and crackpots, he feared disease, old age, helplessness, and death. He was lonely and gloomy and admitted that money could not buy happiness.

1 Timothy 6:11

VII. CLOSING CHARGES TO TIMOTHY (6:11-21) 6:11 Timothy here is addressed as a man of God. This title was often given to prophets in the OT and described a man who was godlike in his behavior. It may indicate that Timothy had the gift of prophecy. The opposite of man of God is man of sin, as found in 2 Thessalonians 2. The man of sin will be the very embodiment of sin. Everything about him will make men think of sin. Timothy is to be a man of God, a man who will make men think of God and glorify God. In his service for Christ, Timothy should flee from conceit (v. 4), impurity (v. 5), a discontented spirit (vv. 6-8), foolish and harmful lusts (v. 9), and the love of money (v. 10). He should cultivate Christian characterthe only thing he can take with him into heaven. Here the elements of Christian character are given as righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.Righteousness speaks of justice and integrity in our dealings with our fellow men. Godliness is Godlikeness. Faith might also mean faithfulness, or dependability. Love speaks of our affection for both God and our fellow men. Patience has been defined as steadfastness or endurance under trial, whereas gentleness is a kindly and humble disposition. 6:12 Not only is Timothy to flee and to follow, but he is also to fight. Here the word fight does not mean to combat, but rather to contend. The word is not taken from the battlefield but from the athletic contest. The good fight spoken of here is the Christian faith and the race connected with it. Timothy is to run well in that race. He is to lay hold on eternal life. This does not mean that he is to strive for salvation. That is already his possession. But here the thought is to live out in daily practice the eternal life which was already his. Timothy had been called to this eternal life at the time of his conversion. Also, he had confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Perhaps this refers to his baptism, although it might also include his whole subsequent testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:13 The apostle now delivers a solemn charge to Timothy, and he does so in the presence of the two greatest Witnesses. First of all, the charge is given in the sight of God who gives life to all things. Perhaps in writing to Timothy, Paul was conscious that one day he might have to lay down his life for his confession of the Lord Jesus. If that is the case, then it is good for this young warrior to remember that God is the One who gives life to all things. Even if men succeed in killing Timothy, yet his faith is in the One who raises the dead. Secondly, the charge is given in the sight of Christ Jesus. He is the great example of the good confession. Before Pontius Pilate, He witnessed the good confession. Though this may refer to all the Savior’s words and actions before the Roman governor, it perhaps points particularly to His statement in Joh_18:37 : For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. This unfaltering confession was held before Timothy as an example to be followed in bearing witness to the truth. 6:14 Timothy is charged to keep this commandment. Some think this refers to the command to fight the good fight mentioned above. Others suggest it might refer to the entire charge which Paul has given to Timothy in this Epistle. Others think of the commandment as the message of the gospel, or the revelation of God as given in the word of God. We believe it is the charge to maintain the truth of the Christian faith. The expressions without spot, blameless apply to Timothy rather than to the command. In keeping the commandment, Timothy is to maintain a testimony that is without spot and that will be unrebukable. In the NT, our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing is constantly held before the believer. Faithfulness to Christ in this world will be rewarded at the Judgment of Christ. These rewards, in turn, will be manifested when the Lord Jesus comes back to the earth to set up His kingdom. It is then that the results of faithfulness or unfaithfulness will be clearly revealed. 6:15 Bible scholars are not agreed as to whether the pronouns in this verse and the next refer to God the Father or to the Lord Jesus Christ. Taken by itself, verse 15 seems to refer to the Lord Jesus, because He is definitely called King of kings and Lord of lords in Rev_17:14. On the other hand, verse 16 seems to refer particularly to God the Father. In any case, the meaning of verse 15 seems to be this: When the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to reign upon the earth, men will realize who is the blessed and only Potentate. The appearance will manifest who is the true King. At the time Paul wrote to Timothy, the Lord Jesus was the rejected One, and He still is. But a day is coming when it will be clearly shown that He is the King over all those who reign and He is the Lord over all those who rule as lords. Blessed means not only worthy to be praised, but One who has in Himself the fullness of all blessing. 6:16 At the appearing of the Lord Jesus, men will also realize that it is God alone who has immortality or deathlessness. This means that He is the only One who has it inherently. Angels have had immortality conferred upon them, and at the resurrection, believers will receive bodies that are immortal (1Co_15:53,1Co_15:54, but God has immortality in Himself. God is next spoken of as dwelling in unapproachable light. This speaks of the bright, shining glory which surrounds the throne of God. Man in his natural condition would be vaporized by this splendor. Only those who are accepted in the Beloved One and complete in Christ can ever approach God without being destroyed. In His essential being, no man has seen God or can see Him. In the OT, men saw appearances of God, known as theophanies. In the NT, God has perfectly revealed Himself in the Person of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. However, it is still true that God is invisible to mortal eyes. To this One, honor and everlasting power are due, and Paul closes his charge to Timothy with this ascription of homage to God. 6:17 Paul spoke earlier at length about those who desired to be rich. Here he deals with those who are already rich. Timothy should command them not to be haughty. This is a temptation to the wealthy. They are apt to look down on those who do not have a great deal of money as being uncouth, uncultured, and not very clever. This, of course, is not necessarily true. Great riches are not a sign of God’s blessing in the NT, as they were in the OT. Whereas wealth was a token of divine favor under the law, the great blessing of the new dispensation is affliction. The rich should not trust in, literally, the uncertainty of riches. Money has a way of sprouting wings and flying away. Whereas great resources give the appearance of providing security, the fact is that the only sure thing in this world is the word of God. Therefore, the rich are exhorted to trust in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. One of the great snares of riches is that it is difficult to have them without trusting in them. Yet this is really a form of idolatry. It is a denial of the truth that God is the One who gives us richly all things to enjoy. This latter statement does not condone luxurious living, but simply states that God is the Source of true enjoyment, and material things cannot produce this. 6:18 The Christian is reminded that the money he possesses is not his own. It is given to him as to a steward. He is responsible to use it for the glory of God and for the well-being of his fellow men. He should use it in the performance of good works and be willing to share it with the needy. John Wesley’s rule of life was, Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.Willing to share expresses the idea that he should be ready to use it wherever the Lord may indicate. 6:19 This verse emphasizes the truth that it is possible for us to use our material things in such a way in this life that they will reap eternal dividends. By using our funds in the work of the Lord at the present time, we are storing up … a good foundation for the time to come. In this way, we lay hold on the life which is life indeed. 6:20 Now we come to Paul’s final exhortation to Timothy. He is encouraged to guard what was committed to him. This probably refers to the true doctrines of the Christian faith. It is not here a question of Timothy’s soul or of his salvation, but rather of the truth of the gospel of the grace of God. Like money deposited in a bank, the truth entrusted to Timothy was to be preserved entire and whole and unharmed.He is to avoid the profane and idle babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. Idle babble or chatter is empty talk about matters which are not profitable. Paul realized that Timothy would encounter a great deal of teaching which posed as true knowledge but which was actually opposed to the Christian revelation. Bishop Moule writes: The Gnostics of Paul’s day claimed to lead their disciples past the common herd of mere believers to a superior and gifted circle who should know the mysteries of being, and who by such knowing should live emancipated from the slavery of matter, ranging at liberty in the world of spirit.From all such Timothy should turn away. This would refer, in our day, first of all to false cults, such as Christian Science. This system claims to be Christian in character and also claims to have true knowledge, but it is falsely so-called. It is neither Christian nor science! This verse may also be applied to many forms of natural science, as taught in our schools today. Actually, no true finding of science will ever contradict the Bible, because the secrets of science were placed in the universe by the same One who wrote the Bible, God Himself. But many so-called facts of science are in reality nothing but unproved theories. Any such hypotheses which contradict the Bible should be rejected. 6:21 Paul realized that some professed Christians had been taken up with these false teachings and had strayed concerning the faith. These closing verses bring before us the great dangers of so-called intellectualism, rationalism, modernism, liberalism, and every other ism which disregards or waters down Christ. Grace be with you. This benediction is Paul’s trademark, because only God’s grace can keep His people on the strait and narrow way. Amen