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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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May 5, 2013
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Contents:
1) 1 Timothy 6:9-11 (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
1 Timothy 6:9-11
by Tom Edwards
As Paul spoke of those who seem to have had only material gain in
mind -- rather than spiritual -- notice the warning he then gives in
1 Timothy 6:9,10: "But those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which
plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is
a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have
wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs."
Paul is not focusing on the industrious man who works hard and makes
a good income; and, as a result, is wealthy; but, rather, on the man
who is greedy for riches. As the passage shows, it is not
money per se, but the love of money that is the root of all sorts of
evil. If, however, wealth in itself were evil, then why did
God bless some people with great riches, such as Solomon (1 Kings
3:11-13) and Job (Job 42:12; 1:3)?
Notice what Paul says happens to those who want to get rich: First
of all, they "fall into temptation." Greed or covetousness is
a type of lust, and James shows the dangers of this in James
1:13-16: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by
God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not
tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away
and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth
death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren."
Paul also metaphorically describes the one who wants to get rich as
falling into a "snare." So greed can become a trap for
the soul.
We need to also remember that greed is equated with idolatry in
Colossians 3:5. For in greed or covetousness, a person, in a
manner of speaking, has made an idol out of what he has this
inordinate desire for.
We think of wanting to get rich as being just one desire, but look
at what Paul says about it in this passage. It leads to "many
foolish and harmful desires...." Therefore, greed or
covetousness can involve various transgressions. For instance,
because of it, some men lie, cheat, steal, and even murder. In other
words, they will forfeit their eternal souls for their temporary
love of money. And these desires "plunge men into ruin and
destruction."
Paul also shows this in verse 10, where he points out that the "love
of money is a root of ALL SORTS of evil...." This is also true
of greed or covetousness in general. For example, what did it do in
the case of Ahab toward Naboth's vineyard? It caused Ahab to
go along with his wife's wicked scheme to have an innocent man lied
about and put to death, just so Ahab could acquire the man's
property (1 Kings 21).
James also speaks of the dangers of covetousness in James 4:1,2:
"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the
source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust
and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot
obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not
ask."
Covetousness is not only detrimental to one's spiritual life, but
can also be to one's physical life. Though this following
example might sound extreme, I wonder how many other occurrences
could be cited that would be fairly similar? It was said that
a ragged peddler once told his friend that he didn't even have the
money to pay a $5 debt. And the next day, he was found dead,
among the littered filth in his apartment. ...Also found was
$61,000 in bonds and currency. $3,000 of currency was found in
tobacco cans; a $1,000 government bond was found sticking in a door
sill; $40,000 in bonds was found in a dresser drawer -- to mention
just some of his wealth. (And this was many years ago, when this
amount was of even greater value.) Oh, I forgot to mention
what this 48-year-old man died of -- it was malnutrition! Was
he too greedy to even feed himself?! Yes, covetousness can do
terrible things to the one so possessed -- and even if not to the
same degree as to this previous fellow. No wonder Jesus warns,
"Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed..." (Luke
12:15).
Perhaps many of us need to re-evaluate what greed is. For it
is said that "La Salle, the most popular confessor of the Middle
Ages, has left it on record that of the tens of thousands that
confessed to him their sins, not one ever confessed the love of
money. Yet the prevalence of this sin is taught from one end
of the Bible to the other. In Isaiah's time, what sin was it
that brought the chastisement upon Israel? God tells Isaiah:
'For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote
him.' In Jeremiah's time, what was the prevalent sin?
God tells Jeremiah: 'From the least of them even unto the greatest
of them every one is given to covetousness'" (Egbert Smith in the
Western Recorder). (This, of course, is not to endorse
confessions made to a priest; but to point out that out of the many
confessions this man heard, not even one referred to the love of
money.)
Not only does greed lead to many foolish and harmful desires, but
those desires will then lead to "ruin and destruction," as Paul
informs in 1 Timothy 6:9. James Strong shows that the Greek
word for "ruin" (olethros) also means "death" and
"punishment." And "destruction" is from a word (apoleia) that
has as one of its meanings, "the destruction which consists of
eternal misery in hell" (Thayer). In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul
speaks of those who will receive "the penalty of eternal destruction
[olethros], away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of
His power," when the Lord returns (v. 10). And this will
happen to those "who do not know God and to those who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (v.8). So this
"destruction" is not temporary. Jesus warns and urges, "Enter
by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that
leads to DESTRUCTION [apoleia], and many are those who enter by it"
(Matt. 7:13). It requires faith, determination, and endurance
to avoid this destruction, as the Hebrew writer shows in Hebrews
10:36-39, in which he also indicates that those who lack that faith
and endurance will "shrink back to destruction [apoleia]."
After speaking of this great danger in having a greedy love for
money, Paul then urges Timothy by saying, "But flee from these
things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, perseverance and gentleness" (1 Tim. 6:11). In living
for God, there is always a turning away from sin and a turning to
the Lord in all that we do. We flee from the evil, but pursue
the good. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 6:18, Paul exhorts the
brethren to "Flee immorality"; and in 1 Corinthians 10:14, to "flee
from idolatry." We are reminded of the time in which Joseph
had literally fled from Potiphar's wife when she began making
improper advances (Gen. 39:12). In writing to Timothy, Paul
urged him to "...flee from youthful lusts..." (2 Tim. 2:22).
But not only was Timothy to flee from these things, but also to
strive after that which is good -- as Paul shows in the rest of that
verse: "and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those
who call on the Lord from a pure heart." So turning from the
wrong is just part of it. Turning to the right is the rest,
but pursuing righteousness involves knowing what righteousness is --
and the Psalmist shows where that can be found. He declares of
the Lord, "all Your commandments are righteousness" (Psa.
119:172). This principle, therefore, is also true concerning
God's commandments in the New Testament, as Paul, in addition, says
of the Gospel: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from
faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE
BY FAITH'" (Rom 1:17).
Going along with that, note what we see God saying to Israel in
Isaiah 48:17,18: "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel, 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who
leads you in the way you should go. If only you had paid
attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been
like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the
sea.'" Had they paid attention to God's commandments, they
would have maintained righteousness.
We are also to pursue "godliness." Thayer defines the Greek
word (eusebeia) as "1) reverence, respect 2) piety towards
God, godliness." The dictionary defines "piety" as "1.
reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious
obligations." So "godliness" involves faithfully serving the
Lord. The English word "godly" is defined primarily as
"obeying and revering God; devout; pious."
We are also to pursue "faith" -- and Jude shows how: "Beloved, while
I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I
felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the
saints" (Jude 1:3). The phrase "contend earnestly" comes
from just one Greek word [epagonizomai], which Strong defines as "to
struggle for." W.E. Vine shows that it means "to contend about
a thing, as a combatant." And, according to the Scriptures,
Christians are in a spiritual battle, as seen in Ephesians 6:11-13:
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand
firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take
up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the
evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." Also, as
we will soon see in the next verse, Timothy was to "Fight the good
fight of faith..." (1 Tim. 6:12).
In addition to righteousness, godliness, and faith, the Christian is
to also pursue love. Love is certainly to be an important
characteristic of the Christian. Without it, our life is vain,
as Paul shows in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: "If I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and
know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as
to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And
if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my
body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."
To pursue love is to also pursue the various facets of love, as Paul
sets forth in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: "Love is patient, love is kind
and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not
act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does
not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love
never fails...."
Faith is important. Without it, we cannot please God,
according to Hebrews 11:6; nor can we be saved. Hope is also
important. Paul shows in Romans 8:24 that we are saved by
hope. But I want you to notice how Paul compares faith and hope with
love in 1 Corinthians 13:13: "But now abide faith, hope, love, these
three; but the greatest of these is love."
The importance of love can also be seen in 1 Corinthians 16:14,
where Paul instructs, "Let all that you do be done in love."
So these are just some of the reasons why it is important to pursue
love, as Paul exhorts in 1 Timothy 6:11.
Paul then shows the need to pursue "perseverance" (hupomone) in the
same verse. Jesus also speaks of its importance in Luke 21:19, where
the same Greek word is used, but translated as "endurance." He
states, "By your endurance you will gain your lives." In
Hebrews 10:36, the writer declares, "For you have need of endurance
[hupomone], so that when you have done the will of God, you may
receive what was promised." It is also the same Greek word
that is used in referring to the "patience" or "endurance" of Job in
James 5:11. He certainly demonstrated much endurance in his
life. Though he suffered so much that his own wife wanted him
to simply curse God and die, Job endured. He also told his wife in
Job 2:10, "...'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall
we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' In
all this Job did not sin with his lips." Thayer shows one of
the definitions for the Greek word of "perseverance" is "in the NT
the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate
purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest
trials and sufferings." He also refers to it as "a patient
enduring." The need for perseverance can also be seen in
Revelation 2:10, where the Lord states, "Do not fear what you are
about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into
prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten
days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of
life." To be faithful unto death, especially if that would
involve persecution and martyrdom, would definitely require
perseverance.
Paul then includes one other thing to pursue in 1 Timothy 6:11, and
that is "gentleness." Thayer defines the Greek word (praotes)
as "mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness."
Paul had also exhorted the Colossians to add this virtue to
themselves: "So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and
beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience..." (Col. 3:12). This is also needful
when striving to win back a Christian who has wandered from the
Lord: "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who
are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each
one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted" (Gal.
6:1). A similar thought can also be seen in 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
Whereas Galatians 6:1 focuses on brethren who have fallen into sin,
it appears in 2 Timothy 2 that it is referring to how we are to be
toward anyone who opposes the truth. Compare also 1 Peter
3:15: "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account
for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and
reverence...." And notice, too, that they were to maintain
this gentleness and reverence even if they were suffering for the
sake of righteousness and being reviled, as the passage mentions.
Just like righteousness, godliness, faith, love, and perseverance,
gentleness is also something we need to work at -- and especially
during those more challenging times. One of our great examples
of this is Jesus, who not only refers to Himself as being "gentle
and humble in heart" (Matt. 11:28-30), but also demonstrated that
throughout His life -- especially during the mock trials, the
beatings, the scourging, and the crucifixion. He had the power
to protect Himself and destroy all His enemies; yet, instead, He
remained compassionate for them, and even interceded on their
behalf, through prayer (Luke 23:34) -- as well as died for them
(Heb. 2:9; 1 Jn. 2:2). So while they are wanting to give Jesus
death, He is fervently wanting them to have life -- and that
eternally. This needs to be part of our nature, too. As
Paul states in Philippians 4:8, "Let your gentle spirit be known to
all men. The Lord is
near."
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News & Notes
On May 8, Jean Calloway, who has been in poor health for a
long time, suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing
dialysis. She was then given CPR and taken to the nearest
hospital, where she now is in ICU. The right side of her heart
is not working as it should, and other organs are also not
functioning properly. She also has a leakage in her heart,
fluid build-up, and is having to use a tracheal tube to help her
breathe. I am requesting the prayers of the saints for her --
and for her family.
Let us also be remembering the following in prayer:
Pam MacDonald's back
surgery went well. Though her doctor had been reluctant months
ago to perform it, after having done so he saw just how much she
really did need that. For it involved adding 16 pieces of
metal to her spinal column. So he was glad to have gone ahead
with that. He did tell us, however, that Pam will be
experiencing pain for about 2 weeks from the surgery itself that was
performed May 1.
I'm glad to say that Virginia Fontenot, who had been having
a difficult time with the chemo therapy she recently began, has been
feeling better the last few days. Her daughter prays that her
mother "will continue to improve with her strength and not relapse
with her next chemo which starts Monday." Let us be praying
that, too.
Bill Barfield (Virginia's brother) was recently moved to a
Regency Hospital. He has now been continuously in a few
different hospitals for more than a year. But it was here at
Regency that Bill was able to stand on his own for the first time
since about March 2012. So it would be good if he could remain
there and continue receiving their treatments until he is able to
return home, but Medicare will approve of only three weeks.
Prayer, therefore, has been requested that Medicare will allow for
Bill to be there as long as needed.
* Let us also be remembering the following
in prayer: Linda
Blevins who has been diagnosed with bilateral renal
artery stenosis and will be undergoing some more tests in May;
Tom Smitherman (Lee's father) who has been diagnosed with an
aggressive prostate cancer; Cheryl Crews who has
some chronic ailments; and Shirley Young who suffers from
fibromyalgia.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)