The Unconditional Motivation, 1 Timothy 6:1-2

The Unconditional Motivation

1 Timothy 6:1-2

6 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. (1 Timothy 6:1-2)

“Bondservants”

Bondservants are slaves. And God does not smile upon slavery; in fact, the Word is filled with God’s heart for the oppressed and the call to His people to work for justice, and that would include slavery.

But, in the first century, Christians were slaves, at least some. And, Paul addresses them and brings to light the impact of their lives.

Why doesn’t Paul tell the masters to free their slaves? Paul has no authority over the unbelievers, and the culture of occupied Rome was not necessarily one of free speech. Hence, Paul’s imprisonment for preaching the gospel.

But, here Paul does address the believers in these relationships, and the book of Philemon (written by Paul) does speak to freeing a brother.

Bondservants were likely paying off a debt, and with that in mind, we find the masters and slaves who are believers instructed a little differently than the slaves who had unbelieving masters.

“Masters”

These are slaver owners, and they are referred to as masters because they are unbelievers… it’s different later in the passage for those who are Christians.

“Worthy of all honor”

All honor means sincere or inward, not just outward or visible. The honor that Christians show to others is sincere.

“The name of God and the teaching”

The name of God— is literally His name, but it also brings to light that it is the name of God that Christians represent.

The teaching— this is the Gospel, and it’s what the people of God believe and follow that represents the God they believe in.

“May not be reviled”

The world associates a god with those who worship it and with what they teach.

The world associates God with the way that Christians live.

In fact, Paul tells the Romans in 2:24 that God was being blasphemed because of their hypocrisy.

“Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers.”

This is worded differently than those who are under a yoke because the relationship is also different because it is between members of God’s household.

“Rather, they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

Those who serve fellow believers are serving all the better because they are a benefit to the kingdom. Both are told to be sincere in their honor, but brother to brother is different. Brother to brother glorifies God and provides a mutual benefit to each other through the service and goodwill that is exchanged.

When you consider the fact that the motivation for the servant of the unbeliever and the believer is the same, we find here the basis for the title of the message:

The unconditional motivation

The motivation for the Christian life does not depend on circumstances; it depends on a relationship with Jesus.

I understand that that is a condition, but the point I am hoping to make is that when it comes to our relationships with one another and with those who are not Christians, our motivation is the same.

The unconditional motivation for Christians in all of their relationships is the glory of God.

Look back at 6:1 where Paul says, “so the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.”

Every Christian has been called to do all that they do, including their good and hard relationships, for the same reason:

This motivation applies to our relationships with unbelievers, and it applies in an even greater way in our relationships with believers.

These verses are given to prevent the behavior of the church from brining disgrace to Christianity and to the name of God. Bad and hypocritical behavior can lead unbelievers, in this case unbelieving masters, to mock and revile Christianity.

The goal of our relationships with unbelievers is that they would praise the God we worship.

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11–12, ESV)

DC Talk released its Jesus Freak album my senior year in the fall of 1995. That album collided with my life at a great time. The album included songs that impacted my life like: colored people, in the light, the album title “Jesus Freak”, and song titled “what if I stumble?”

What if I stumble begins with a recording of Brennan Manning saying the following:

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” - Brennan Manning

the lyrics to the song begin with:

What if I stumble, what if I fall.

Is this one for the people? Is this one for the Lord?

Or do I simply serenade The things I must afford?

You can jumble them together My conflict still remains

Holiness is calling in the midst of courting fame

This was such a clear and transparent song from the POV of DC Talk and their rising fame.. but it applies to all of us and fits our passage today.

What if we stumble and what if we fall?

Well, we are going to stumble and we are going to fall. So, while we strive to live in obedience to the Lord, what do we do when we stumble and fall? We admit, humble ourselves, confess it, and repent. This glorifies the father through our repentance.

How do we handle one another when we stumble and fall? We demonstrate the grace and love God to one another. When one of us stumbles, the world should see the love and grace of God in the way that we handle it. They should hear it in what we say, see it in the way that we treat one another, read it in the way that we post on social media, and to a degree they should marvel at the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world.

The way that we handle things can give people cause for praising the Lord or for reviling the name of the Lord.

Why is this so? Because…

The name of the Lord is attached to the life of His people.

10 Commandments: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Exodus 20:2, ESV)

God teaches Israel in the wilderness, and he teaches us today that His name is associated with His people, and because of that how we live and how we relate to others and to one another bears fruit or it is in vain.

Exodus 20:7 is a famous verse given to God’s people and it says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7, ESV)

Paul writes to Timothy so that the household of faith would know how to live.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 says, “14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14–15, ESV)

Jesus demonstrated this in his life and death.

Jesus lived and died for the glory of the Father.

“Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.” (John 8:50, ESV)

“So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,“You are my Son,today I have begotten you”;6 as he says also in another place,“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:5–6, ESV)

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:1–5, ESV)

“Scripture leads us to suppose that Christ sought God’s glory as his highest and last end” Jonathan Edwards, The Freedom of the Will

Paul’s instructions to the church that we live for Jesus name regardless of our situation is rooted in the love God has for us. In the same way that God reminded the Israelites in the wilderness that He had brought them out of the land of Egypt…

The 10 commandments tells God’s people how they ought to behave… Paul writes to Timothy about how His people ought to behave, and the motivation for their behavior should be sincere, and it should be the name of the one who has redeemed them.

God’s redeeming love motivates us to live for the glory of His name.

Like God said in Exodus, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Exodus 20:2, ESV)

He has also said through the Spirit, concerning Jesus- 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15, ESV)

The unconditional motivation for living for God’s glory is the unconditional love of Christ.

Jesus’ love is unconditional because there are no conditions you can meet to deserve or earn God’s love.

It’s why Paul can say in 1 Timothy 1:16-17, “16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:16–17, ESV)

Paul, the worst sinner he knew, was loved and redeemed by Jesus. Paul didn’t meet some condition that allowed him to be loved… not Jesus loved first and Paul’s faith was the result of His love. This is the gospel, not that we have loved first, but that God has loved us first, and He has loved us first by dying for our sin.

Romans 5:8

And in dying for us to demonstrate his love, without condition he has redeemed us to then live for him unconditionally in each and every situation that we face.

Questions for reflection:

Have you trusted in the unconditional redeeming love of God?

What motivates your behavior in your relationships with unbelievers?

What motivates your behavior in your relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ?

The unifying motivation for what we do as Christians is the name and glory of God in our church and among the unbelievers around us.