Sermon Tone Analysis

– Slaves and Masters

6:1 Those who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and the teaching will not be brought into disrepute.

2 And those who have believing masters are not to show them less respect on the ground that they are brothers; on the contrary, they should serve all the more diligently, since those benefiting from their service are believers whom they love.

Teach and exhort people about these things.

When we think of slavery we think about the American past and the enslavement of people of African descent and the horrors of life in the South under slavery.

Slavery is part of human society from millennia past to today.

It is one of the great sins of humanity.

In the Roman world slavery was part of everyday life.

In the Bible Background Commentary on these verses we read:

This advice was important because a religion that the Romans thought might incite slave discontent would immediately be labeled subversive and subjected to outright persecution; Paul wants the slaves who are Christian, as well as free Christians, to engage in a culturally relevant and intelligent witness.

When Paul says that masters “benefit” from their slaves (v. 2), he employs a term especially used of wealthy benefactors who bestowed gifts on social inferiors.

Thus Paul, like the philosopher Seneca, possibly portrays the slaves as persons free in God’s sight who can choose to bestow a gift on their masters by serving them freely.

Paul here as in Philemon, understands that slavery was part of society and that the best way for believers to live was to seek to live with the situation in which they were placed, slaves being faithful servants and masters being good to their slaves.

Paul understood that the time to change this system was not for his time and that the message of the Gospel could be hindered by taking a stand against slavery while under the dominance of Roman rule.

– Sound Teaching

3 If anyone teaches differently and does not agree to the sound precepts of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and to the doctrine that is in keeping with godliness,

4 he is swollen with conceit and understands nothing.

Instead, he has a morbid desire for controversies and word-battles, out of which come jealousy, dissension, insults, evil suspicions,

5 and constant wrangling among people whose minds no longer function properly and who have been deprived of the truth, so that they imagine that religion is a road to riches.

It could be said that Paul is commenting on the above instructions to masters and slaves to live as followers of Messiah rightly within the established norm of slavery.

He can also be moving on to a more generalized call to sound teaching.

In verse 3, we see Paul warning of those not teaching “sound doctrine”.

6:3.

“Sound” means “healthy”; Greek and Roman writers often used medical imagery to describe the spiritual state of people’s souls or beliefs.

Perhaps Paul refers here to Jesus’ teachings (cf.

Mt 6:19–34).

4 he is swollen with conceit and understands nothing.

Instead, he has a morbid desire for controversies and word-battles, out of which come jealousy, dissension, insults, evil suspicions,

As to word battles, Dr. Stern refers us back to Chapter 1:3-8, where Paul spoke out on false teaching in the beginning of the letter.

1 Timothy 1:3-8

3 As I counseled you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus, so that you may order certain people who are teaching a different doctrine to stop.

4 Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies; these divert people to speculating instead of doing God’s work, which requires trust.

5 The purpose of this order is to promote love from a clean heart, from a good conscience and from sincere trust.

6 Some, by aiming amiss, have wandered off into fruitless discussion.

7 They want to be teachers of Torah, but they understand neither their own words nor the matters about which they make such emphatic pronouncements.

8 We know that the Torah is good, provided one uses it in the way the Torah itself intends.

and constant wrangling among people whose minds no longer function properly and who have been deprived of the truth, so that they imagine that religion is a road to riches.

6 Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have.

For how many people is religion discredited because those who profess it demonstrate by their lives that they consider it a road to riches!

The sad thing is that by their greed they have been deprived of the truth, of the riches of true religion

Sadly this can be seen in the many TV preachers and others that may have started off well, but became caught up in the financial rewards of religion.

Ministry and religious service are first and foremost for spiritual goals and for extending God’s kingdom.

As we learned last week in :

1 Timothy 5:17-18

The leaders who lead well should be considered worthy of double honor, especially those working hard at communicating the Word and at teaching.

18 For the Tanakh says, “You are not to muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,” in other words, “The worker deserves his wages.”

It is a Torah principle that those who work in ministry like rabbis, pastors, chaplains, others should be paid for their service, the problem that Paul is confronting is those who’s sole focus is to do religious work for financial gain and aggrandizement.

This is wrong.

– True Riches

6 Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have.

6 Now true religion does bring great riches, but only to those who are content with what they have.

7 For we have brought nothing into the world; and we can take nothing out of it;

8 so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these.

In verse 6:

Paul here in contrast to those seeking worldly wealth for religious service, makes clear that there are spiritual riches to divine service and this is grounded in being content with whatever conditions in which one is serving.

Verse 7 echoes :

Job 1:21

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will return there naked: Adonai gave, Adonai has taken away; blessed be the name of Adonai” (Job 1:21).

Job who had lost everything understood that all he came into the world was himself and all he will leave this world is just himself.

On an eternal state there is no such things as wealth as it is of earthly use only.

In verse 8 we see:

8 so if we have food and clothing, we will be satisfied with these.

Here Paul contrasts the desire for wealth from religious service with a simple reflection on basic needs, food and clothing.

We can look back to to see Paul making the same point:

Philippians 4:11

Not that I am saying this to call attention to any need of mine; since, as far as I am concerned, I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances.

– The Love of Money

Furthermore, those whose goal is to be rich fall into temptation; they get trapped in many foolish and hurtful ambitions which plunge them into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a root of all the evils; because of this craving, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves to the heart with many pains.

Verse 9 echoes Yeshua’s parable about the seed sown on various soils (rich soil, rocky soil, thorny soil):

Luke 8:14

14 As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life’s gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures.

In verse 10, the issue is not money but the love of money that leads to evil.

We can see this in , where Ananias and Sapphira hold back some of their gift for themselves while lying and saying that they gave all they had to the community:

Acts 5:1-11

5:1 But there was a man named Hananyah who, with his wife Shappirah, sold some property

2 and, with his wife’s knowledge, withheld some of the proceeds for himself; although he did bring the rest to the emissaries.

3 Then Kefa said, “Why has the Adversary so filled your heart that you lie to the Ruach HaKodesh and keep back some of the money you received for the land?

4 Before you sold it, the property was yours; and after you sold it, the money was yours to use as you pleased.

So what made you decide to do such a thing?

You have lied not to human beings but to God!”

5 On hearing these words, Hananyah fell down dead; and everyone who heard about it was terrified.

6 The young men got up, wrapped his body in a shroud, carried him out and buried him.

7 Some three hours later, his wife came in, unaware of what had happened.

8 Kefa challenged her: “Tell me, is it true that you sold the land for such-and-such a price?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is what we were paid for it.”

9 But Kefa came back at her, “Then why did you people plot to test the Spirit of the Lord?

Listen!

The men who buried your husband are at the door.

They will carry you out too!”

10 Instantly she collapsed at his feet and died.

The young men entered, found her there dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 As a result of this, great fear came over the whole Messianic community, and indeed over everyone who heard about it.

Their desire to keep some of their riches for themselves while claiming to have given it all was their sin that cost them their lives.

It is when desire for money leads us into sin that the desire for money becomes wrong.

Dr. Stern gives an alternate translation of verse 10 to be:

Or: “Loving money leads to all kinds of evils.

– The Right Way to Live

11 But you, as a man of God, flee from these things; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you testified so well to your faith before many witnesses.

13 I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before the Messiah Yeshua, who in his witness to Pontius Pilate gave the same good testimony,

14 to obey your commission spotlessly and irreproachably until our Lord Yeshua the Messiah appears.