Session 4 Godly Contentment
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Intro
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Start with
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
How does ; tie to this?
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 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. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians
The Apostle Paul values contentment because it indicates Christ’s sufficiency.
6:6 godliness with contentment is great gain. Moralists sometimes used “gain” figuratively, contrasting it with material wealth. Jewish teachers sometimes portrayed present wealth as paltry compared with the true wealth of the world to come. Many philosophers and those influenced by them emphasized contentment; by this philosophers normally meant that people should be self-sufficient, recognizing that they need nothing other than what Nature has given them.
How then should we view individual success and prosperity?
6:6 The Greek word used here, autarkeia, refers to satisfaction with one’s circumstances. Stoic philosophers valued contentment because it indicated self-sufficiency. The Apostle Paul, however, values contentment because it indicates Christ’s sufficiency (see Phil 4:11, 13).
6:6. Paul had just shown how the false teachers equated gain, success, and personal well-being with money. They promoted a form of outer godliness and intricate academic systems in order to draw people into their influence and so secure their financial support. Religion brought them prestige and profits.
But … This little qualifier is an important word. Paul negated the premise and goal of the false teachers. Success and personal well-being have nothing to do with rules, crowd adoration, or material prosperity: it is godliness with contentment [that] is great gain.
Material possessions are irrelevant. The human soul was not created to find contentment in the accumulation of stuff. This is a phantom that too many people chase. Personal peace is found in intimate relationship with God—this is great gain.
6:7 Paul cautions the believers in Ephesus against prioritizing material wealth over godliness (see 1 Tim 6:17; compare Job 1:21).
Is Paul saying the material world is evil?
So in the interim, if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. For Christians, God’s “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Add clothing, given man’s need for covering and protection; then add food, given the human need for physical development and health. Now we are set.
Paul was not developing a philosophy that equates the material word with evil. He was not advocating a Christian culture that requires poverty. He was drawing a definite line between possessions and true contentment. The former has no bearing on the latter.
Move to
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
Who gives us our riches? Look at
19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.
What does the Bible say about riches? Look at ; ;
6:9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation. Ancient writers who warned against seeking to become rich normally addressed those seeking to accumulate wealth (cf. Pr 28:20) rather than those who had already become wealthy through inheritance or industry (v. 17). rich. A relative term; the highest elite displayed extravagant opulence, but even artisans would have been astonished at the lifestyle of middle-class Westerners who own their own lot, home and car.
RICHES CANNOT SATISFY:
RICHES CANNOT SATISFY:
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
RICHES CAN PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD WORKS:
RICHES CAN PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GOOD WORKS:
33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
6:9 This is not a pronouncement of judgment on all wealthy people. Paul’s point is that the pursuit of riches is spiritually hazardous and does not contribute to contentment and godliness (compare 1 Tim 6:6–7). Paul warns the rich about the dangers of self-sufficiency (vv. 17–19). The Bible presents God as the giver of riches (Eccl 5:19); while riches cannot satisfy (Eccl 5:10; Luke 12:18), they can provide opportunity for good works (Luke 12:33).
Tie to this discussion
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Once we become vulnerable to temptation, it is easier to fall into many foolish and harmful desires. Compromise leads to participation.
These “things” can be kept in balance, but it requires a constant critique of our daily living and choices. Balance demands an objective understanding of our culture’s values and the ways money can entice us. If extreme care is not taken, the temptations that money can buy can entrap us into the values and pleasures which Satan peddles.
Many people have lost their integrity or abandoned their faith for fifteen minutes in the spotlight or for a little sensual pleasure.
Once we become vulnerable to temptation, it is easier to fall into many foolish and harmful desires. Compromise leads to participation. James outlined this same process: “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (Jas. 1:14–15). Many people have lost their integrity or abandoned their faith for fifteen minutes in the spotlight or for a little sensual pleasure.
Such things plunge men into ruin and destruction. Just as true gain is spiritual in nature, true ruin and destruction are spiritual as well.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He was not talking about houses and lands, bank accounts or cars. Though he is the giver of all good gifts (Jas. 1:17), his dearest gifts are of the soul.
6:10 the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Paul draws here on a widely cited principle in antiquity that had even become proverbial, with similar wording.
6:10 Love of money (not money itself) is the root of all kinds of evil. Paul here describes a deep desire and commitment to possess money over and against loyalty and love for God. Like the young widows who put their desire to remarry before Christ (see 1 Tim 5:11 and note), those who love money allow their allegiance to Christ to be compromised because of selfish desires. Jesus also spoke on the idolatrous pursuit of riches (Matt 6:24).
6:10. This verse begins with some first-century folk wisdom, a saying common in Paul’s day: the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Money is not the only cause of misfortune and evil, but it is a powerful one. Love of money is the root, the life support for a variety of wrongs and destructive behaviors.
What are some ways we can wander from the faith?
• The businessman determines to secure advancements and higher salaries, neglects his family, and loses their love and affection.
• The dreamer thinks he can gamble and make a fortune, hoping never to work again. He keeps trying, wasting his resources in hopes of a big win, losing friends and dignity instead.
• The housewife habitually buys new furniture and redecorates her home, neglecting to tithe or give to others because her comforts have made her insensitive to those in need.
• The pimp sells drugs or sex for the sake of money, fancy cars, expensive clothes.
• The guy down the street steals from others, his desire for things ruining his sense of personal worth.
• The mercenary kills for the sake of cash.
• A woman complains, gossips about a neighbor, snaps at her children and husband, making herself and those around her miserable because she is envious, bitter over what she does not have, always wanting more.
In order to end the evil behavior, each person must dig out its root—the love of money.
The drive for money can destroy relationships, resulting in immoral decisions and compromise. It can also bring spiritual ruin. Paul noted that some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith.
It is easy to put Christian ministry, personal godliness, acts of justice and charity, and sacrificial giving on the peripheries of life—to see no connection between these Christian “ideals” and life as we experience it. The truth is that there is no compatibility.
Are we much different than the rich young ruler?
Paul’s warning should not be minimized. Those who love money and wander from the faith have pierced themselves with many griefs.
Where do we place our trust?
God allows us to make the choice. The young ruler decided to keep his riches. He walked away a wealthy man … but sad (). There is always a price to be paid.
Paul was not against the drive to accomplish or the ambition to make a difference in the world or on the job. The Bible states clearly that we are to work hard, to be model employees or employers.
But money should not be the driving force. It should be God’s glory that pushes us—love of people, the mission of the church, our devotion to Christ.
How does relate?
We are told to put off the old nature and put on the new ();
6:11 This ot expression referred to prophets (i.e., a man who speaks on behalf of God), such as Moses (Deut 33:1), David (Neh 12:24), and the other prophets (1 Sam 9:6). Timothy serves in a similar capacity because he preaches the word of God (2 Tim 3:17).
6:11. Paul made an impassioned plea to Timothy—you, man of God, flee from all this (ungodliness). He was to live differently. So are all Christian believers.
Those who have chosen to follow Christ have an obligation to him. They are to run away from all the false teacher represents, the pride, the misguided thinking, the greed.
But God never calls us to give up something without instructing us to embrace its alternative. We are told to put off the old nature and put on the new ();
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
What does verse 11 sound like?
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:11
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
These six qualities mark the life of a Christian. But they must be pursued with purpose. We are to “run with perseverance … [fixing] our eyes on Jesus” (). Paul’s list of characteristics closely matches the fruit of the Spirit described in
.
Finish with
17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
What does Paul mean by being Haughty?
Who do we have in Scripture as examples of haughtiness?
Lucifer:
Lucifer:
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
Isaiah 12
Nebuchadnezzar:
Nebuchadnezzar:
30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
Haman:
Haman:
6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
Esther 6
6:17 those who are rich in this present world. Most of the wealthy elite profited from renting out inherited land, or from produce that slaves raised on the land. A socially inferior but nonetheless wealthy class of merchants also arose, especially of ship owners; urban Ephesus, with its major harbor, contained more of this latter, newer form of wealth.
6:17 Refers to the present time, with a negative connotation (2 Tim 4:10; Titus 2:12). Paul reminds Timothy that material wealth is temporary and that believers must not adopt the world’s values concerning wealth.
Some false teachers promoted an ascetic lifestyle, denying good things for the sake of what they claimed was holiness (or piety). Paul argues that true godliness leads to gratitude and generosity toward others, not asceticism.
Christianity does not require a vow of poverty or the forsaking of wealth
What do you think of this?
“The less you have, the less you will be distracted”
Compare
12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,
It is how a person behaves in their circumstances that makes the difference—either glorifying or discrediting the name of Christ. However, there are inherent dangers in having wealth.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
But Why Do We Need Good Works as mentioned in v. 18?
But Why Do We Need Good Works as mentioned in v. 18?
Abundance breeds pride—toward God and others. The person who has much begins to credit himself with his wealth. Creeping into his heart is the notion that he has done well on his own, that he can get by without God. Wealth also creates an economy of false values. Beneath the class wars and the tensions between rich and poor simmers the deception that worth is determined by possessions.
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Another danger which confronts the wealthy is that they easily place confidence in what they see—their stuff. Paul told them not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain. Jesus cautioned us about the uncertainty of money (Matt. 6:19). Each day we see the evidences of his warning—bankruptcy cases increase, the stock market fluctuates, governments fall and their monetary systems fail, prices escalate, and money drains away. There is no predictability when it comes to money; trusting it is risky.
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The Christian must never invest trust in things but in relationship—particularly with God, maker of all that exists (John 1:3).
Instead, wealthy believers are to hold their money with an open hand; they are to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Putting hope in money is no different from the primitive man or woman who bows to an idol of wood or stone, expecting it to protect or provide. This is worshiping the creation instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25). The Christian must never invest trust in things but in relationship—particularly with God, maker of all that exists (John 1:3).
Galatians
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
A stronger, clearer statement about worthy trust could not be made than that given by Jeremiah: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: ‘that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 9:23–24). Riches are unworthy to be the center of our hearts.
Good works are not the means to salvation, but evidence of it
6:18 be generous and willing to share. Jewish teachers emphasized the Biblical principle (cf., e.g., Pr 14:31; 21:13) of generosity toward those in need.
6:18 The rich must seek to be rich not only in wealth, but in good deeds that benefit others (see note on 1 Tim 5:10: Good works are not the means to salvation, but evidence of it (see 2:10 and note; v. 25). Throughout Romans, Paul denotes faith as something that requires action (see Rom 3:20, 28; Gal 3:10–11).
The treasure which accumulates in the life to come is not money, stock portfolios, or real estate. The treasure of which Paul spoke is spiritual, and it lasts for eternity.
How we invest ourselves and our time is more valuable than money. God desires that we spend ourselves in doing good, helping others, benefiting those around us. It is a tendency of the wealthy to think that others exist or their benefit, to do their bidding. In God’s eyes it is just the opposite. Those who have been richly blessed must give abundantly. Once again, God desires that we imitate him. Just as he richly provides us everything for our enjoyment, just as his mercy and love are without limit, so his people are to live with the same extravagance.
6:19 lay up treasure … for the coming age. Jewish people sometimes spoke of heavenly rewards as treasure in heaven (cf. Mt 6:20–21).
6:19. By imitating the generous nature of our Lord, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age. The treasure which accumulates in the life to come is not money, stock portfolios, or real estate. The treasure of which Paul spoke is spiritual, and it lasts for eternity.
How we use our time and our resources indicates where our heart truly belongs. If it is directed by the values and compassion of God, we take hold of the life that is truly life.
Questions for Self-Reflection
Questions for Self-Reflection
• Which concerns me more: how much money I have or how much of me God has?
• Do I pray more about God supplying material items than I do about developing my character?
• Do I spend more time and money caring for my house and lawn than I do helping others?
• Am I confident about the future because my bank account is healthy or because my spirit is secure in Christ?
