1 Timothy 6

In chapter 6, Paul addresses the ministry of the church to the world vocationally.

1 Timothy 6 (NLT)

1 All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Employees—those who are under the yoke—are to be “good eggs.” When the whistle blows, they’re not to “scramble.” When things get hot, they’re not to get “fried.”

I have gotten calls not infrequently from people saying, “I don’t even go to your church, but I need an honest plumber or a trustworthy mechanic, and I know I can find one at your church.” Be a witness for Jesus Christ by being the best worker, the best athlete, the best student you can be. The world is looking for reasons not to believe in God. Don’t give them one.

2 If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them.

If your boss is a Christian, be careful you don’t exploit your relationship by saying, “He’ll understand if I don’t show up today because I have to pray with my wife,” or, “I can’t keep my commitment at work because the Spirit is calling me to go to the lake and meditate.” Don’t be one who takes advantage of a boss who is a brother or sister in the Lord. Instead, take care to esteem them even higher.

Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 1393.

3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.

4 Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.

5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

“Gain is godliness,” said some in Paul’s day. “Don’t worry about being faithful at work, but rather learn to work the faith. You don’t need to work hard. Just Name It and Claim It.” Ever hear teaching like that?

1 Timothy 6:6

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Today’s “faith teachers” say “Godliness will bring gain which will make you content.”

That’s not what Paul said. He said, “Gain lies in godliness with contentment.” Why? Because no good thing will God withhold from them that walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).

“I don’t think that’s true,” you say. “I’m walking with the Lord and I don’t have a new car.” If that is the case, a new car would not be good for you. God knows that toys and hobbies and bigger houses would be distractions for too many of us. So if things that seem wonderful don’t come your way, you can trust that He knows they wouldn’t be good for you.

7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.

8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

If you have something to eat and a shirt on your back, be content. This is neither a suggestion nor a principle. It’s a command.

In the mountains of Mexico lie two adjacent springs. One sends forth hot water, the other cold.

“Your people must thank Mother Nature for hot and cold water right next to each other,” said a travel guide to an Indian as he washed his clothes in the springs.

The Indian wisely answered, “No, we grumble because she didn’t supply soap.”

God is so good to us, gang. Statistically, the poorest person in this congregation is wealthier than 90 percent of the world’s population. Think about that next time you feel inclined to grumble about a lack of soap!

9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

The love of money can lead to pointless pursuits and persistent pain because those with money can indulge themselves with possessions and in places they wouldn’t otherwise be. God’s Word says wanting to be rich, many people get wiped out.

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Although we use the phrase “man of God” rather freely, the Bible uses it quite sparingly. Therefore, Timothy must have been something really special.

12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Man of God, keep eternity’s values in view. Lay hold on eternal life. Keep focused on the fact that you’re going to heaven.

13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate,

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Art thou a king?” Pilate asked Jesus.

“You said it, Pilate,” answered Jesus. “And if you really desire to hear truth, you too will hear My voice” (see John 18:37 ).

John 18:37 (NLT)

37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

In light of who God is and where we’re going, it’s ludicrous to think highly of ourselves.

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

Unlike the game of musical chairs—wherein there’s only one chair too few—if the music in the financial world stopped today and every government, corporation, financial institution, and private individual called in their debts, only three out of ten would get a chair. In other words, the entire world economy is built on faith that the music’s not going to stop. But when it does—and it will—the world will be shocked to realize how many chairs are missing. Thus, the reason the Bible calls riches uncertain is because they are!

Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

I could tell you story after story of things I thought I just had to have. So I bought them—only to find that they bought me as I was held captive paying them off and maintaining them. Possession brings problems, indeed. Yet Americans persist in thinking they must own something in order to enjoy it. Not so. A walk on the beach, a picnic by a stream, and a bike ride through the park are all free. Thus, God has given us freely the best things to enjoy.

18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

If God blesses you with wealth, become the most generous, magnanimous person you possibly can be, for the funny thing about money is that often the more wealth a person amasses, the more stingy he becomes. I have a sneaking suspicion that God desires to bless us even more in the realm of finances if we would learn to be channels through which His blessing would flow.

How do we learn this? The best way is to do what God says: to tithe. The first tenth of every single penny that comes your way is God’s. If God has made you a millionaire, you need to tithe on that million. It’s His. If God has given you one dollar per year, then a dime of that is His. Become people who tithe, for with every tithe, you give far more than money. You give away a part of your selfishness

19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

The old adage is true: You can’t take it with you. But you can send it ahead through tithing, giving, and sharing. Oh, that we would understand the truth of this!

20 Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge.

21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 6)

After telling us that professionally, we’re to be good workers, and financially, we are to be content and generous, Paul moves to his third and final exhortation concerning the church and her ministry to the world when he says that intellectually, we are to be true to the Word.

If you want to navigate life now and eternally without being embarrassed, study the Scriptures and do what they tell you to do. Without exception, the times of which I’m ashamed are the times I didn’t do what the Word said to do. When I violated the Word, when I did my own thing, when I chose to ignore a command or a principle, my actions always resulted in error and shame.

May the Lord continue to help us walk wisely in these dark and treacherous days. May the Lord give us a heart to continue to study the Word—not academically only, but with a determination to obey it practically.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Science Fiction)

SCIENCE FICTION

A Topical Study of

1 Timothy 6:20–21

As a sophomore in high school, I listened as Mr. Flanner, my science teacher, gave us reason after reason why evolution is so certain, so factual, so undeniable. This intrigued me because at the beginning of the semester, he had taught us that all of science is built not upon a theory, not upon a hypothesis, but upon a law—the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which says that everything goes from order to disorder, that everything is winding down.

We know this to be so. Every second of every minute, the sun loses 1,200,000 tons of mass. As a result, scientists tell us that eventually the sun will burn out. This means that if we go back fifteen million years—the length of time required by the evolutionary process to bring life as we know it to our planet—the sun would be substantially larger than it is now, causing the average temperature on earth to exceed three hundred degrees—which would kill the very life forms that were supposedly evolving into men.

It just doesn’t add up! And scientists are increasingly coming to this conclusion. A best-selling book in England, entitled, The Facts of Life: Shattering the Myth of Darwinism, was written by an eminent scientist who doesn’t believe in God but who, nonetheless, says there are too many problems with Darwinism to make it a viable theory. Among them are the following.…

Dating

Scientists at the Hawaiian Institute of Geophysics collected rocks from a lava flow that had hardened and dated them according to the most sophisticated, scientific systems. According to the most advanced computer models, the sample was said to be three billion years old. The problem, however, was that the scientists at the Hawaiian Institute of Geophysics had actually seen the volcano from which the rocks were taken erupt only two years previously.

Fossils

There are fossilized trees in Indonesia that are forty feet high. Because it has been established that it takes centuries to produce a fossil only one inch thick, it would take countless centuries to fossilize an entire tree. The problem is that the tree couldn’t stand that long without breaking down under its own decaying process. Therefore, for the tree to be fossilized to a height of forty feet, it had to be fossilized in a way other than the evolutionist suggests. There had to be an instant cataclysmic event—like, for example, a flood.

Transitional Forms

When Darwin wrote his theory, he stated categorically that paleontology—the study of fossils—would verify the theory of evolution because in them we would see transitional forms linking together two distinct species. The problem is that since Darwin presented his theory, scientists have studied fossils by the ton. And they have yet to find a single transitional form.

One Gallup poll found that only 9 percent of Americans believe man came into being apart from God. Why, then, do scientists continue to propagate the theory of evolution? Why do academicians continue to stand by evolution? Why does our public school system continue to teach evolution when it clearly violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics and other empirical evidence?

The Bible gives us the answer in Romans 1.…

Romans 1:20 (NLT)

20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

God’s attributes, His power, His creative ingenuity, and His presence are seen in all of creation—from the circulatory systems within us to the stars above us.

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptmible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Romans 1:21–23

Even though nature attests to God’s reality, man chose to believe a lie and to change the glory of the incorruptible God into man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things—which, interestingly, is the evolutionary order in reverse.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Romans 1:24, 25

“Because there is no God; because we came from slime, we can act like slime,” says the unbeliever.

And that’s the issue, gang. The issue is not scientific, academic, or intellectual. The issue is moral. People innately know there is a divine design to the universe. They know it in their hearts. They see it in the sky. It rings true in their souls. But because the so-called intellectuals don’t want to be accountable to a Creator, they simply remove God from the picture.

Guns, rape, and profane behavior of every type have replaced chewing gum, un-tucked shirts, and talking in class as the prevalent problems in our high schools. And educators are stymied. “What’s wrong with the culture?” they ask. They give lectures and bring in motivational speakers to try to instill values in their students—all the while blind to the obvious fact that if kids are taught they came from animals, they’re bound to act like animals. Understanding what they innately know to be true—that they were created by God—would affect the way students would view life, one another, and themselves. But take away that underpinning—and we are currently reaping the result.

And if you are one who says, “I know God created the earth and everything in it,” my question to you is this: Do you live as though that were true?

God created you for one reason: To bring Him pleasure (Colossians 1). Therefore, if you please God this week, you will fulfill the very reason for your existence. It is in bringing joy and pleasure to the heart of God through worship, Bible study, family devotions, personal contemplation, prayer, meditation, and submission that we disarm Darwin, expose evolution, and silence the skeptic.

Mr. Flanner had a Master’s Degree, but I, a lowly sophomore, understood the Decree of the Master—and that made all the difference.