The Gain of Godliness with Contentment vs. False Teaching with Greed
Notes
Transcript
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
What would your natural response be if I were to tell you someone here tonight doesn’t know it yet, but they have the corona virus. Initially you just may move away from any one sneezing or coughing. But eventually, like Jesus telling the 12 apostles, one of you will betray me, you would have to ask yourself, is it me? And as this letter arrives from the Apostle Paul just released from his first imprisonment in Rome, and soon to die as a bout a 70 year old man in his second imprisonment, sensing that the church between the apostolic age and the age - where the apostolic teaching of Jesus Gospel and what it means and how the church is to do gospel minsitry until Christ returns again, you can bet they would especially be asking - have I fallen into deceptive false teaching - even apostoasy. This church you remember when Paul left them some 15 years before, heard the message:
So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.
Now its a decade and half later, the church is in a state of dissarray conflict, decline, and Paul’s opening words in chapter one are
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,
He says in 1:19 By rejecting the true gospel, some have made shipwrecked of their faith. He even names two Hymenaeus and Alexander - excommunicated to learn not to blaspheme. So now as Paul comes to his closing exhortation, he moves from all the way truth is unto godliness in relationships - so God’s Name, his gopspel not profaned among us - but truth transforms us, powerful testimiony through godliness of the gospel, now Paul says again:
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
And then he goes on to describe rotting cancerthat results from false teacing and by which we can identify it. TBut even more helpfully he is gooing to describe the fruit of true gospel teaching, true godliness that springs form it, and its incredible fruit of CONTENMENT, and we are to be asking ourselves: As I have both of these types of teaching, both of these ty=pes of resultin “godliness” before me, can I say I am in the faith? As he said ot the Corinthians:
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Tim Challies, made phone calls with Bank of Canada officials, made his way to the nation’s foremost experts on counterfeit currency. And this what he found out: There are certain identifying characteristics that are added to each bill printed by the Bank of Canada. These characteristics are necessarily difficult to reproduce. She summarized the approach to distinguishing a genuine bill with the phrase, “touch, tilt, look at, look through.” The first step then, is to touch the bill. Because currency is printed on unique cotton-based paper, a false bill will often feel false. She described the most common reaction to the feel of a counterfeit bill as “waxy.” A person may not quite be able to describe it, but it just feels wrong. There are also two areas on a bill where raised print provides a tactile clue to a genuine bill. Tilt - holograph - but each tiny maple leaf is colour split - and tiny numbers of what ever denomination the bill is appear. Lastly hold it up to the light and look through a small ghostlike image of QEII appears beside a more pronounced portrait. There is gold thread woven through the bill solid in a real one and broken in a counterfeit. Successfully id’d a whole stack!!Wasn’t so hard, when you knew the features. Well that’s what Paul does here and calls us to discernment of the teaching we receive and the teaching we receive and the type of gain or godliness it produces.
The Key Truth: True Godliness produces contentment, false teaching produces a wasting rot and greed that ultimately destroys!
But unlike Tim Challies goal of just sorting bills, Timothy’s goal is counteract the slide into counterfeit godliness with all gentleness and authority.
A. The Manner: Get Some Serious yet Personal Teaching
That’s what we are to expect here too, as a church and individually, that the gospel ministry is targeted to us, and received by us in the manner of . When Chaliies walked downtown - actually walked bpast the building several times, blacktinted glass no signage - security gaurd. This was official real deal, had to go out of this way to get. YOu and I need teaching of God’s Word in the same manner -
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. Teach and urge these things.
The tense is present continuous - in an ongoing way Timothy was to patiently keep on teaching - gentleness of setting forth truth - elsewhere Paul says, Timothy even those who oppose you correct with gentleness. But not only teaching - PARAKALEO - urging, running beside and shouting out instruction - gentleness with AUTHORITY.
But notice also in v.3 what it is that is the big difference between false teaching and true gospel teaching, hetrodoxy and orhtodoxy - between the source of a fake godliness and a true godliness.
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
What is implied here is two source of authoritative teaching in the apostolic church - one is based on the sound, the wholesome, soul-health giving words of and look athte official title: THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Sayings of Jesus whetehr orally or wirtten copies, body of truths of Jesus words in the early NT church; but their where also begining with Thessalonians and Cornnthians then Galatians, 1 Peter … the official teaching of the Apostles circulating and will be compoeled and canonized, fuiflililng Jesus prhpeshy that these are the authroized persnoal agents of Jesus - that he would bring into rememberance, but also His SPirit would teach all things, - and that teaching of the apostles - founataion of the church, with Christ as the corner stone. And that teaching not just speculative thinking, quiblling about words, brings about a strong and real relatinoship with God in Christ, indwelt by the HOly Spiriit working by the apostilic words, as declare the whole counsel of God that Paul mentioned to the EPhesians elders it - brings about GOOD RElIGION - EUSIBIA! Study the contonour,touch, tilt, look at, look through. Because now we are going to look at some charactersistics of the counterfeit. And it’s not necessarily that the false teacher’s contradicted the gospel and apostlic teaching - though someitmes that was the case, other times - they kind of set that to the side and teach DIFFERENT teachings. Let’s see waht marks them!
B. The Marks of False Teaching
Here we need to look at v.4-5. And we find as much as there is something wrong with the content of the false teaching (which he’s tackled through out the letter), Paul is now emphasising there is any equally great problem with the teachers. Their motivation, as well as the result of their needs especial attention. So frist of all with the content of what they’re teaching - what’s the problem? Is Paul overstating the case when as one modern translation (REB) puts it he is basically calling them POMPOUS IGNORAMUS’s? How could that be when they have so much so-called knowledge about genealogies, and a whole system of rituals and rites. This early gnosticism at Ephesus seems to stress knowledge of a sort. So how can Paul say: , he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing... people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth
he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
The knowledge that these false teachers teach is not the Word of God with its full council, nor the wrods of Jesus, nor the teaching of the apostles, remember it is other than that or contrary to that. It is knowledge that leads to personal relationship of reverence awe, faith, and obedience to God - but is more knowledge that has to do with self-help, with entertainment, with speculation. It is knowledge that is separated from godliness This is why the very last point of Paul instruction to Timothy in this letter says:
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.
ANd it is tempting to preach what’s relevant according to the fallen human nature, preach the in “concepts of the day”, to preach what tickles the ears. But think about what Paul has don ein this letter. Frist gospel recovery, then get the right activity in the church - prayer, humble listening and heeding to the Word of God, then character of God appointed leaders. But then do you remember what happened at the hinge in the book? Paaul, takes all the relationships in the church - says this is what godliness looks liek - this is how you adorn the truth - that right knowledge of God and His Will with beauty - so his Name, isn’t prfaned and blasphemed but witnessed to.
C. The Results of False Teaching
And this brings Paul to contrast the motivations of false teachers. Why is their knoweldge and teaching irreverent babble - its because it doesn’t register with the authroity and gentleness of God’s Word, but it’s for their conceit. Their pride.
It makes me think of the 1985 movie The Mission, Jersuit priest, Gabriel, behind line of Spanish protetion - bring the Bible and a mission to Guarani warrior culture in NE Argentenia and E Paraguayan jungle. Part of it they are captivated by the music. Part of it they are captivated by the gospel message. And do remember after the line of protection changes, and the Proteguese conquistaodrs come to shut down the mission. You have violent mayhem, breaking into a a Christian comunity and you have the voice of the main character who was a Spanish converted slave trader - reading . That whole comjuntiy living above the falls, had put the gopsel truth into practice- that’s what Paul has just outlinesd - with widows, sinners under the law, leadership, servants and masters.
But these false teachers as v.4b put
he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
They want to quibble about words and phrases -they hhave a craving for intellectua wrangling. But Paul says, that is not sound, its not healhty. That kind of teaching spoils, and rots and consumes. It is like a moth eating away at all your clothes in the closet.
C. The Results of False Teaching
And look what that produces- addicted to debate and controversy a cancer develops that breaks out in division in the congregation. I don’t relish contraversy of classis or denoniatinal fights, go and speak but gaurd myself to keep the main thing the main thing. That gospel transformation, that repentance and obeddience, that joy in the Lord, and hope for the borken - remains the main thing. Deeply suspicious of a person - who like a hockey arena crowd, so eager to yell fight fight fight fight. Suspicious of one who is eager to drop the gloves. A bitter jealousy and party faction mentality sets in, and quarrels and fights will lead to slander and evil suspicions, and deep division. But that’s the result with people around you. Look at what Paul says has happened to such a person:
But that’s the result with people around you. Look at what Paul says has happened to such a person:
and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
The arrogance and conceit of false knowledge - so focused on self and position, that makes a person blind - so they loose sight of their true condition, not humbled a siners clinging to the gospel, and shutting themselves off from true gospel self knoweldge, Paul says they commit a scam on themselves.
My Dad almost scammed, pretending to be bank. But you get caught up in teaching that doesn’t have the gospel of Christ, could be end times, could be one aspect Christian living, could be mad-made tradition, could be social activism not only does it bring constant friction with people (over something that’s not in God’s Word and you can’t require others to do), but your own mind becomes depraved and you deprive yourself of this truth - that’s your entitlement! That’s how that word is used in the NT - you dfraud someone of rightful property, or you deprive your spouse of intimacy, or you deprive a harvester of wages. You fall into false teaching, you deprive yourself of God’s life transforming truth - truth unto godliness.!
And that brings us to the contrast in restults at the end of v.5
and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
The result that someone who is spiritual, religious , but not with truth unto godliness, the result these false teachers were looking for with their false godliness is GAIN. Worldly gain, maybe in popularity, but ultimately in terms of worldly stuff, money. For instance, I am working for a D.Min, have three degrees behind my name. Some would say 3 degrees above zero. But others have said - do we have to pay you more. I want to reiterate doing this just so take courses and write papers that help the minsitry, both me, but together, but if I wasi doing it so go to another church get paid, more, try to get more moeny out of you - just because hey I’ve got all this knoweldge. If I think that godliness is for my self-gain -and if you think like many helath and wealth gospel preachers teach that - the reason you should turn to God, is that so he will blessyou materially in this life. We got a big problem, And Paul says that idea - that good circumstances mean God’s blessing you for being spritiual, and hard circumstances means God is cursing you.. is plain wrong - and anti-gopsel teaching!
False teachers and those that follow them, only have a show of glodlienss, a form of godliness, denying its power.
But that brings us to the contrast and the very best part of our passage.
D. The Results of True Godliness
To whatever degree, dear frineds do you have true godliness in your life, do we have it here in our congregation together? What’s the result? What gain do we have here because of godliness? In your home In your life?
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
That phrase makes e think of Jesus parable, about this guy who foudn the peral of great worth - sold everytyhing went back to the market and bought. It reminds me of Jesus parable of the man who finds a budired hidden treaure in a field, wow what is this goes buys that field. It reminds me of Jesus saying, Seek first His Kingdom and His righteosuness, and then don’t worry all these other things, all other necessities will be added utno you as well. Do you have a gain like taht in your life?
Paul says get some perspective of gain by
for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
Physical stuff, and money is needed and important. Paul even has just said the church must honor, and the word is pay for solider selected for speacial mission, those who bring the word. Butstuff and money, “earthly gain” must be kept in perspective. Like wealthy Job, now seeing great lossess, need to ask yourself how did I come into this world, how will I leave it? Naked, with nothing nota nil. Perahps heard the story of a wealthy wealthy man dying, neighbour asks a friend at the funeral, I wonder how much he left beind. What’s the answer all of it. Hearses, don’t have trailer hitches. DOn’t Pull Uhaul trailers with all our stuff. Paul is saying the great gain of the gospel is stuff you have in life that lasts - the kingdom of God - relationship with your Lord, relationship with others, a chracter - joy peace, a righteousness, Rev says our deeds will follow us - well done good and faithful servant - that not one drop of water given in Christ name will be misssed. These are things that last - is your life right now - leaning into what is lasting?
Pauls says
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Paul says, the kgnodom of God right now among us, and one day coming in fulness
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
You know this about those in your life who have really added great gain - they are people who leaned into what was lasting. They had a persepctive unlike most of this world that says: I want all this stuff, I want it now, I’m enttitled to it, this is where my joy is, and the power I want is the power to get stuff I want. I want the world, and then 10% more too.
But look at v.8’s perspective on the stuff of this world. Its what we call a merismus.
But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
That word for food in Gk is both food and drink, victuals. And the word for clothing, is actually covering - both shelter - a home, and clothing for your body. Christinaiity isn’t anti-body and all spirit. It does not call as most form of monasticism - retreat from the world in a vow of poverty - own nothing. But it recognizes those are gifts God supplies his people - necessities to be sought, used, even enjoyed - but they are not our great gain! Our great gain is found beyond the earthly stuff - in Christ.
Godliness is great gain. Do you remember what the mystery of true godliness is?
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
It is Christ, and now Christ by His Spirit bringing the heavenly kingdom, bringing the restoring , healing power of God to all our brokenness, it is iChrist from heaven giving you a purpose mission, and a kingdom. And look what that godliness has its source in, and it also results in more of this - contentment!
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
Paul began this section saying - these people, they don’t agree with their lives don’t agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. That actually isn’t strong enogh that word agree, may leave you thinking that false teachers and their followers don’t nod their heads about Jesus - and say yes Jesus is God’s Son and imoprtant. But that word is actually come over to, its stronger than just assent, but the person gets up and joins the group, falls in with those wenthusiastically carry out Jessu words and seek his godlienss.
False teacherss and their followers and passively assent to godliness of whatever sort, but their lives are still fundmanetally selfish lives - they may have smarts of speculalitive knowledge, they may have rituals and a moraltiy - but blinded to the gospel they live in a mental, moral and spiritual world of their own making - but their yearnings and desires are for the stuff of this world.
But Paul says, when you have the truth of Christ, when you are living in the house of God which is the church of the living aGod a pillar and butress of the truth, you know that earhtly stuff, no matter how much is stored up can’t satisfy the soul.
So you don’t just assent to godliness, clinging to the truth of Jesus you practice it! You have a life free from covetousness, livied growing in a true devotion to God. And Paul says that kind of Christaini living srpings from and is accompanied by CONTENTMENT!
Now that’s a word all the Epehssians and the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century would know inside out. The philosophers of their age - constantly - espcially Eipcurean and teh Stoics - using this phrase. Self-sufficiency. Better a soul-sufficiency. That your happiness and peace is not governed by circumstances and earthly possessions, that you can weather any storm and livee with unchanged character through any success. Paul uses that same term, but breathes new Chrsitain meaning into it that you and I must get. Yes, in the same way we won’t live focus on our possessions looking for meaning and pursing them for happiness:
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
Jesus tells our life cannot consist in the abusndance of our possessions. But that doesn’t mean iving with a God sufficieincy we abstain from all possessions. Paul says
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Paul criticizes not having posssessions, or money, or even wanting these things for good purposes. He is not criticizes being rich. He is not criticizing desire and ambition in general. And what he says next applies as much to those who have a little and desire much as those who have much and desire much. He critices the inordinate desire to be rich.
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. 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.
Money isn’t the root of all evil. It’s the love of money. Nor is it that the love of moeny is the only root of evil. Other crazy inorinate desires also the root of evil, think of pride, think slef-ish pleasure seeking. But look what that desire for riches does to epoople. And I think Chrystsotom is right, it does this to all people, its just a matter of whether little or much, we all wrestle withthis temtpation, even Christ in the desert for 40 days. Through the craving - fall into the worst possible method to find soul-satisfation.
Look at the progression there. First you desire wrong, then you fall into numerous trials and cravings, test, temptations . Then like the Houter brothers who used to make traps and snares for rabbits back inthese woods, Like a fish in a net, or the rabbit in the snare, when you heart is captured by this desire - you started panting after the stuff of earth, and now you are trapped by thyose desires. Like and Jesus saying of the borad and wid ehighway that leads to destruction, moenetum picks up, stumbling down hill. Wander like ancients thought of stars ina set orbit - and look where the final plunge will take them. Just like this false teaching, and this goal of the stuff of earth capturing your heart, leads to an ultimate and utter destruction. RUINATION. HELL. The picture is like a man at the brink of Niagra falls in a little canoe. About to make the plunge. Paul says taht kind of gainn - leads to that kind of end. Its a life that you will pierce yourself with pangs of unrest, boredom, disatisfaction, gloom and envy.
Like suicide victim, found with 30,000 in his pocket and a note. Used to be a labourer in NYC loved his life and was truly happy. Became rich, couldn’t live with the loneliness, the boredom. Infinitley sad, so he prefered death to this life.
But listen to the punch line of this text:
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
Come over to the sounds owrods of Jesus, sign up, fall in with those taking in that whoel councsel of God, the apostolic teaching, but then pursign godliness - truth utno godliness. Give yourself to this inner attitude of contenment in Crhist of joy in the Lord, conform to the relationsips of lvoe for the Lord - the outward conduct - that is the professio of our faith that is rooted in and brings true contentment.
In conclusion, let me tell you that one of my dearest relationships is with man, that though he likes to read, he doesn’t speak often of what he has read, or the knwoedge he’s aquired, he deosn’t have much stuff, even has the same oragne couhc in the small bunblago home that we had when I was a child, board unddr it will stay there utnil we carry him out of that house. Only wirtten me one letter to my recollection. But this one verse is what his life has taught me. And I think of all that my anxious, ambitius life tempts me to live for, and I think to HIs life and the influence he has on the people around him. And I think yah, godliness with contenment that is the wintess I want to!