1 Timothy 6: A Final Reminder

Introduction

Paul’s first letter to Timothy comes to a close in a similar way to how it started. Back in chapter 1, Paul began with a blessing, a warning, and an encouragement.

The letter ends with a warning, an encouragement, and then a blessing. In fact the case could be made that in the span of this short letter Paul has repeated these themes at least 3 times now - especially the encouragement part.

Why would Paul repeat himself so much? Any good father knows that a child needs to hear things multiple times to really “get the point”. He knows Timothy, and other church leaders, struggle in ministry and often the best antidote is continued encouragement. Over and over and over.

We’ll also see that the final section of this letter ends with the same theme as the rest of the letter: pursuing godliness.

1 Timothy 6:3-10: A Warning

Paul once again turns his focus to false teachers within the church. But this time he shines some more light on who these people were: they were smooth talkers who were full of themselves and loved to talk for talking’s sake - and make a dime off of it, too!

Timothy is encouraged to “teach and urge these things”, and Paul is probably referring to both the preceding sections which laid down rules for holy living in the church, as well as what he’s about to tell Timothy about these false teachers.

This is similar to what he said in 1 Timothy 1:3 “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,”

Here Paul specifically contrasts their “different doctrine” with that of the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness”.

Christ’s words were truth, through and through. He never taught anything for selfish gain or money. The Lord’s teachings were always meant to encourage his disciples to grow in godliness.

And yet, it’s all too easy for shrewd people to take advantage of an eager audience who want to hear the word of Truth, and then are bamboozled by a silver tongue - or worse just an empty talker.

Paul says that people like this are “puffed up with conceit and understands nothing”.

As we’ve already discussed, at Ephesus it seems like these men, false teachers, loved to sit around and argue and talk about things that didn’t really matter. They were “know-it-alls” who sounded good, but as Paul says, understood nothing. Paul makes the same point in 1 Timothy 1:7 “desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

The most annoying kind of people are those who act (confidently) like they know something, when they don’t know at all.

Paul adds that these people have an “unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people.”

We all probably know people like this. They like to argue. You’re listening to one right now! It’s an unhealthy habit that I’ve really had to break and ask the Holy Spirit to continue to purge from me! This is especially the case on social media!

It’s probably not hard to imagine people who are like this in the church (maybe you know one or two!) They love to get people worked up, or cause confusion with the things they say. They come across as “I’m smarter than you” and make people feel bad about themselves.

They are doing the opposite of loving their neighbors and brothers and sisters. They certainly aren’t creating unity, but division. I have to wonder how many church splits happen because of people like this?

The final characteristic Paul gives of these kinds of people: depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imaging that godliness is a means of gain.

Hear the truth comes out: they are just in it for the money.

The ancient world was fascinated by public speaking. This started with the Greeks and continued under the Roman Empire. It didn’t really matter what you had to say, as long as you were good at saying it and convincing, people would eat it up.

There was even a specific group of “traveling talkers” called Sophists. The greatest philosophers hated sophists, because a sophist could draw huge crowds with their silver tongues....but not talk about anything. Nor were they that particularly convincing to someone with true knowledge. But to the average person, a sophist could spin up a clever argument that could entice people for hours. For the speaker, his ego and his wallet got bigger!

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for people like this within the church to realize they could do something similar. And that’s what Paul is worried about. The Church isn’t a debate hall! It’s a worship hall!

I think of today how there are plenty of “celebrity” pastors who write books that sound and look good, but are truly hollow - and yet, their fame increases, and the bring in a pretty penny from it, too.

In our own day, Joel Osteen may be the most infamous of this type of false teacher. Just the other day I saw a clip where he bragged about how his church never actually asks for money, and that he doesn’t technically take a salary. And yet he admitted, “We don’t ask, but they still send, and they send a lot.” and he said this while pointing to his newest book which is no doubt full of garbage, yet probably paid him millions!

For Paul, the secret to godliness isn’t money. It’s contentment!

This echoes what he says in Philippians 4:11–13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Paul understands several things:

All we really need is food and clothing. And God provides both. Jesus makes this clear in the Sermon the Mount. God takes care of us.

Proverbs 30:8 “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,”

“Desiring to be rich” is a trap, and “the love of money” is the root of all kinds of evil.

This passage is often misquoted. Money and wealth themselves aren’t evil. But the desire and love of money are very much dangerous.

When we allow this unhealthy craving to overtake us, it causes a lot of harm, both to ourselves and others.

For others: “senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction”

For ourselves: “some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

This is just sound advice for everybody, but remember Paul is talking about it in the context of false teachers who are causing problems in the church. And he encouraged Timothy to “teach and urge these things”. For as frustrating as a trouble maker in the church can be, I think Paul is holding out hope that they can see the error of their ways and repent. It’s the same attitude we should have towards people like this. Rebuke them, pray for them, and hope they stop “wandering from the faith”.

1 Timothy 6:11-19: An Encouragement

Having given his warning, Paul now ends with a final encouragement to Timothy. And it is a big one. As I was reading this I envisioned Paul giving it like a Braveheart speech. It’s meant to relight that fire in Timothy, and in us.

First, Paul calls Timothy a “man of God”. A quick look through the Old Testament shows that this is no small title. Moses was called “the man of God”, and so were countless prophets. In fact, some of them we don’t even know their names - Scripture only calls them “men of God”.

Through Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we really are elevated to the same level as the prophets of old. Especially our leaders. As men and women of God, we’ve been given a great power.

With great power comes great responsibility. Which is why Paul says to “flee these things” - all of those things he just warned Timothy about! Don’t become an idle talker. Don’t become conceited. Don’t cause problems in the Church. Don’t be in this for the money.

Instead

Pursue righteousness: giving both to other people and to God their due. To pursue righteousness is to truly love God and love others.

Godliness - the theme of the entire letter, but is to live a life that is totally in the presence of God (and I’d say imitating Him)

Faith - Fidelity and loyalty to Christ, no matter what even to the point of death

Love - This is agape love, or God-love. “is the virtue possessed by those who, even if they tried, could not forget what God has done for them nor the love of God to all people”.

Steadfastness/Patience - Not passive, but a victorious endurance that conquers the experiences of life

Gentleness - a hard word to translate, but it’s a virtue that in part considers others compared to ourselves. “It describes the spirit which knows how to forgive and yet knows how to wage the battle of righteousness. Someone who walks in humility and yet also in pride of their high calling from God. It’s a virtue that enables people to keep a true balance between concern and respect for others and self-esteem.”

Next, Paul wants Timothy to remember everything that has led to this moment. I think this is something that everyone should do on a regular basis:

Remember our calling, baptism, and confession that all led to our saving faith and eternal life. And hold onto them for dear life. “Fight the good fight”. Paul told Timothy to do this same thing in 1 Timothy 1:18 “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,”

Timothy, like all Christians, had made his great confession in the presence of many witnesses. This great confession was apparently similar to the “good confession” that Jesus Christ himself gave to Pilate.

What was that confession? Matthew 27:11 “Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.””

Ultimately our confession is, “Jesus is King.” or to put it another way, “Jesus is Lord.”

With the reminder of his confession in mind, Paul tells Timothy to “keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach” until Christ returns. What is the commandment? I think, as John says, it is the same commandment we’ve had since the beginning: to love God and love one another.

This is the greatest commandment, and whether or not we are leaders in the church, or just “ordinary” Christians. The truth is still the same: We have declared that Jesus Christ is Lord and out of that confession comes a life of godliness and love that we cannot allow to become tarnished. Our lives, words, and actions, all reflect on who Christ is - which is why they are so important.

And speaking of who Christ is, Paul ends this section with just that: a description of our Lord. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.

Notice how Paul blends the description of Jesus and God here. That’s because they are the same person!

Jesus is the only Sovereign! There is no other King but him, and he is in complete control.

He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (according to John, Jesus even has these titles tattooed on his thigh!)

He alone is immortal - it is true that God will bestow immortality on us, but He is the only one who is in and of Himself immortal. Nobody has given it to Him.

He dwells in inapproachable light whom no one has ever seen or can see: again Paul is blending the attributes of Christ and God. Christ is the light of the world, a light that until He made the Father known, was unapproachable and unseen. Even now, we still cannot see Him face to face until He chooses to show us.

To him be honor and eternal dominion - all of this shows the very real political implications of the Christian confession. We are declaring that Christ is Lord over all governments, presidents, kings, prime ministers, and rulers - and that He has eternal dominion over all. It should come as no surprise that they feel threatened by this confession.

One last thing: the rich

Paul’s worship of Christ gets him a little off track (as we saw back in chapter 1!), and how can it not? Our worship should probably always derail our lives and thinking.

He quickly gives Timothy advice on what to say to those in the church who are rich. Contrary to popular belief, the early Church wasn’t just full of poor people! It was full of all people.

Again, having money wasn’t/isn’t the issue. What people do with it is. Paul has already established that everybody be careful not to “desire” and “love” money. To those who are blessed with wealth he charges them:

Don’t be haughty - think yourselves better than others just because you have money.

Don’t set your hopes on earthly riches, but on God, who provides everything

To do good and be rich in works - when people see rich Christians will they think of the money, or the good deeds that they did?

Generous and ready to share

By doing all this they will truly store up treasure for themselves (just like Jesus said!) setting a good foundation for what is truly life - something earthly money cannot buy.

1 Timothy 6:20-21: Blessing

The letter comes full circle in these last two verses. Paul gave Timothy this charge back in 1 Timothy 1:18 “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child”

Now in his closing remarks, he encourages Timothy: guard it.

These are words for us, too. Paul charged Timothy, who charged others, who charged others, and on down through the centuries each Christian has been entrusted with the charge of the Gospel.

Not only have we also been entrusted with this deposit, but it is our responsibility to multiply it. Just as it was multiplied in us. Christ tells the parable of the talents - when He returns will He find that we have multiplied the deposit entrusted to us?

The practical way Paul tells Timothy to protect his faith is to focus on Jesus. In this case that means “avoiding the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”.”

As Paul has been telling us the entire letter: don’t get caught up on things that do not matter. When we start focusing, and arguing, on those things, we lose sight of Jesus Christ and therefore we “swerve from the faith”.

Conclusion

The final note of this letter is fitting for us. “Grace be with you.” except in the Greek, “you” is plural. Which is curious because the letter is addressed to one person. Or is it? No, this letter was never just about or for Timothy. It is for the Church. It’s for us, you and me. So I hope and pray that we all take the words of Paul to Timothy and continue to reread them and grow from them and God’s grace be poured out upon us.

Grace be with you all. Amen.