1 Timothy 6- Fight The Good Fight

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But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

If anyone thinks being a Christian is easy, they have never truly been a Christian. Jesus warned us to “count the costs” (Luke 14:28-29) Also Jesus warned “if anyone wants to be my disciple, they must deny themselves, carry their cross, and followJesus” (Matthew 16:24) So setting the context of this walk, lets dive into the instructions by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit

Paul says “Man of God, flee these things” this was in regard to our previous post about “Money being the root of all evil” which also leads to many other sins, greed, envy, lust, and you can go down a rabbit hole of depravity when your fully engrossed with the world. We have all probably seen it before, when people open the door to the world of its pleasures and traps, it will destroy your soul. That’s why the Apostle Paul is warning us, “Feel from these things!”.  Flee from sin, don’t hold hands with the devil, its not going to end well for your soul

But going back to Jesus instructions, if you truly are a Christian, a disciple of Christ, then you must deny yourself first. This is a very hard teaching for carnally minded creatures. This is why we need to be Born Again by the Holy Spirit. Your flesh and your spirit will war with one another on a daily basis (Romans 6) Be led by the Holy Spirit, Flee from these things and follow Jesus Christ your Lord

So what should we do? The Apostle Paul says “follow or pursue these things, righteousness, godliness, faith , love, patience, meekness” How can we possibly do this? By the blood of Christ, by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, by the sovereignty of our Heavenly Father. 

And this is when the war begins, when the scales are removed from your eyes, you realize you are in a spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6) as the Apostle Paul instructs us “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” Jesus and Paul never said this would be an easy walk, they said the opposite, you must fight the good fight!

Most people who claim to be Christians are being consumed by the sins of this world, FIght the good fight of faith, put on the Armor of God so you can stand against the schemes of the devil, Amen!

1 Timothy 6- The Love of Money

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But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:6-10

One question that is often asked “Is it a sin to be rich?” Now of course those who actually have money are usually the ones offended with any rebuke of this! It always amazed me how strongly people wanted to defend their ownership of money, and while I’m not explicitly saying being rich is a sin, there are many warnings throughout the Bible about being driven by it.

So lets walk through what the Apostle Paul says here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Lets remember Paul probably walked away from alot of money, or atleast a comfortable career as a Pharisee, to be become a poor Apostle of Jesus Christ. A calling that literally cost him his life, so if anyone understands this, its Paul. He begins by saying “But godliness with contentment is great gain” meaning if we learn to be content with whatever God provides for us, this will be very beneficial for our spiritual walk with Christ. As the Apostle Paul also said “I learned to be content in whatever state or situation” (Philippians 4:11) If your a Christian long enough you know there are going to be seasons of testing and seasons of abundance, and I’m not trying to sound like a prosperity preacher, I have experienced it in my own walk. 

The Apostle Paul gives a strong warning here “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare” this is the key to the context of this issue. It’s not a sin to have money, but if your desire is to become rich, you have now made it an idol in place of God. Also to me it demonstrates a lack of faith in God to provide, as I have learned in my walk also to rely on God to provide and not our wealth. Now this doesn’t mean we don’t work or sit back and be lazy, but it means don’t obsess over making money, God will provide for you just as He does for the birds (Matthew 6)

Another strong warning “The love of money is the root of all evil” This is a big statement, think about it, the root of all evil. But when you think about it, what is usually the driving force behind criminals and cult groups, its usually they are trying to make money. Money in this fallen world usually equals to power, and many will sell their souls to become a King in their false Kingdoms. As Jesus warned “What does it profit to gain the whole world, and to lose your soul”? (Mark 8:36)

Another strong warning by Paul is “they have strayed from the faith” We see this too many times in Christianity, how many Pastors or Bishops have fallen for the love of money? How many are like Judas, and have sold their Lord for 30 pieces of silver?Beware and be careful and remember Jesus is your Lord and not money, Amen!

1 Timothy 6- False Teachers

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If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 1 Timothy 6:3-5

The Apostle Paul once again is dealing with false teachers and false doctrine. As you can see this is very relevant to today as it was back in the 1rst century. As Paul warned extensively there would be many false teachers that would arise and preach a false gospel, as Paul said “let them be accursed” (Galatians 1:8) We are to not only call out these false teachers, but rebuke them in the witness of others, Paul addressed this earlier in the epistle. 

Paul states “if any man teachers and advocates not to wholesome words or a different doctrine, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to godliness” Does the Pastor/Elder/Teachers words align with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are they preaching a different gospel? Are they teaching different doctrine that was not taught by The Lord and the Apostles? In todays Churchianity there are many false teachers teaching doctrines of demons that were never taught by our Lord. Don’t be deceived, first you need to know the teachings of Christ by studying your Bible and being led by the Holy Spirit

The Apostle Paul then goes on to list the characteristics of a false teacher “they are proud and conceited, they dispute and argue over words from which come envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions”  It’s no coincidence many false teachers label themselves as “Proud” this was prophesied and its carnally minded in these apostates. And most false teachers spend their time arguing over the basic doctrines of Christianity, this is what we are seeing today. Majority of these false teachers deny the basic core doctrines of our Christian faith, and develop new heresies to deceive even the elect.

I like the KJV wording here “perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds” This can pretty much sum up the state of Christianity today. Most of the new doctrines created by these false teachers are perverse, some translations say “a depraved mind” it’s carnally minded teachings to justify their sinful lifestyles. But these teachings are blasphemous and contradict the teachings of Christ and the Apostles. They blaspheme our Lord and create a whole new religion.

So what should our response be? The Apostle Paul states “From such withdraw yourself” As the Apostle Paul taught “don’t be yoked to unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14) Those Christians that remain in these corrupt denominations are being disobedient to scripture and need to be set apart in Christ, Amen!

1 Timothy 6- Whos The Boss?

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Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things. 1 Timothy 6:1-2

Here again we see the Apostle Paul addressing the relationship between a bondservant and their master. I covered the commentary on Pauls teaching in Ephesians 6 on basically the same topic called Slaves and Masters. The original Greek word here is “Doulos” this word can be translated as slave but also translated a “bondservant” which is the way the NKJV translated it “Bondservants” Which I believe is the more accurate English translation of the word. This relationship between a bondservant and master is more like an employee and employer relationship of today. This is not the same type of slavery that is known by the Western culture, which by reading these scriptures of out of context brings you the incorrect interpretation.

The Apostle Paul , under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is telling “bondservants” to treat your Master with honor. In this context a Master could be anyone in authority over you. It could be your boss at work, it could be your teacher at school, it could be your Pastor at Church. One of the values of a Christian is to live in obedience to authority and demonstrate respect. 

As the Apostle Paul states here “So that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed” When you are obedient and respectful to authority, you are actually giving glory to God. Think about at work, there is a lazy employee who never listens to their boss, never shows up to work on time, never gets their job done, would this person be a good representation of Christ? Now I understand not all situations fit , however this is the basic principle. Now on the flipside, lets say you have a corrupted Master, you have a bad boss or teacher, does that mean you should join in when they dishonor God? No, the Bible says “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29) While we strive to “live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18) We also don’t want to corrupt ourselves with wicked leaders.

Now this whole concept of being a bondservant is a Biblical principle, as Jesus tells us “If anyone wants to be my disciple, they must deny themselves , carry their cross, and follow Him” (Matthew 16:24) Jesus Christ made himself a bondservant to God the Father, and was obedient even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:7-8) Amen