1 Timothy 6 - Hold Firmly to Faith in Jesus
The truth of this human condition is that God designed us with free will. Each person can respond to God's call to admit and turn away from sin and reconcile with God. In the Bible we hear, "'O Israel,' says the LORD, 'if you wanted to return to me you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more'" (Jeremiah 4:1).
It is true. God gently draws us. He woos and invites and often goes to extremes to plead with us to return to Him through Christ. Free will.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God gives us His truth, justice, and righteousness. Because of God's free gift, given with love beyond measure, we have clear eyes, pure hearts, and clean consciences. Praise Jesus Christ for His Grace. Because of God's grace, we can be a blessing to others. We love and help others because God first loved us.
I love how this chapter says, "...these are the wholesome teachings of Jesus Chrsit. These teachings promote a godly life" (6:3). If so, then teach them! May God revive His church with these teachings.
Let's be intentional when hiring church leaders. Any organizational leader for that matter. We hear in 6:9 that some so-called leaders cannot lead well and cannot prosper in godliness because they are trapped by their overwhelming desire for power and wealth. Stay away from such people.
In 1 Timothy 6:11, we hear Paul’s final instructions to Timothy. He warns Timothy to run from the evil love of money that leads to wandering away from the true faith. Let’s encourage each other with the same admonition today.
Listen closely to what your church prioritizes. Is it laser-focused on what the Bible tells us pleases God. Or is it focused on lukewarm, relativistic, worldly pursuits? Is it prioritizing empire-building for a small group or is it feeding God's sheep as Jesus commands? Is it focused on celebrity worship and keeping up with the Joneses (sorry to our British brethren) or “pursuing righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness” (6:11). It is not hard to figure out the priorities. Follow the money.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a church website that says it doesn’t view the Bible as God’s inerrant word. Modern Christians certainly pay lip service to that core doctrine. I believe God’s word originally written is indeed inerrant. But I propose that if we examine how our churches operate, and how our pastors and congregants live, we’ll see many who care little for what God commands to be followed in the New Testament. Often we see clamoring for worldliness and striving for the world’s standards. It is not too late to change course. As C.S. Lewis explains, if you are on the wrong road, the best option is to turn around. Get on the right track.
The Old Testament should be continuously read in our churches. God never changes and we see the freedom He gives from creation to the day of Christ’s return. God calls those who stubbornly embrace the world’s ethics rather than a faithful relationship with Him a “brazen prostitute and completely shameless” (Jeremiah 3:3). Bang on. God seeks reconciliation. He actually calls us His ambassadors for reconciliation with God. God wants each person to sincerely return to Him. “‘My wayward children,’ says the LORD, ‘come back to me and I will heal your wayward hearts,’” (Jeremiah 3:22). Church, let us not squander salvation through Jesus Christ alone on a deceptive delusion of worldly grandeur.
We need a constant call to unity. Jesus wills for complete unity in His church (John 17:20-23). Instead, we see division; the priority is what camp we are in, what theological model we post on our website - no matter how deviant it is - what political party we join, and what pet issue we are devoted to.
Make no apology for teaching and encouraging the Church to follow Jesus' instructions. In obedience to Christ (1 Corinthians 5:12) properly assess your church. If your leaders are no more than WWE wrestlers, charlatans intent on becoming world influences, celebrities, and frauds, say so. It will ultimately be between them and God, but even a cursory review of the Bible shows how little many care for God’s standards and instructions and how much they are attracted to power wealth status, and false gods.
So here, my friends, we see Timothy charged by Paul to run from all these evil things. That is what a man of God does. A man that loves money and craves power will pursue all kinds of evil. One thing you do not see in Christ or in the godly characters shown in the Bible is a permit for Christian leaders to put themselves and their families first, to buy worldly mansions, nicer jets, a couple extra vacation homes, and every sort of extravagance. I’ve been in investment banking much of my career and I'm no socialist, but come on, what has become of our priorities? We easily justify the need for a new building spree. Our so-called servant leaders believe they are entitled to have no perk left behind.
Let’s talk for just a second about this important theological point that Paul makes to Timothy about wandering and waving. Persevering and staying faithful to God right to the finish line. We are long-haul truckers and marathoners. The same frauds who have dead consciences and who vainly amass wealth off the backs of the sheep also preach deceptive lies that are incongruent with the orthodoxy we see in this chapter and throughout scripture. They say it’s easy, just buy a simple ticket to ride then you are good. They brazenly sin and embrace evil as they fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction - exactly what Paul warns about here.
Lukewarm leaders, nay, lukewarm Christians, mock God. God says to hold tightly to our faith in Christ and to persevere. The false teachers preach by tickling their pets as they say, "don’t worry, be happy, do whatever you want." But beyond what they say, look at their actions. They prove they do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible by what they do and how they treat God’s people.
The Bible tells us here via Paul’s pen that we must hold tightly to eternal life. We are entrusted with this precious eternal gift and God says to guard what he has entrusted to us.
Over and over again in the Bible, we see people wander away, drift away, turn away, fall away, and shipwreck their lives by what they believe and what they do.
So yes, once saved God is faithful and just. No one can take away salvation from you. But please listen to God's warning here. We ignore Him and squander our eternal inheritance at our peril. As men and women, we are prone to wander.
Here’s my point that I believe is what the Bible teaches: No one can take salvation away from us. But we must guard it. We must run from evil. For we can throw it away ourselves. God made us free men and women. Free to respond to His call to eternal life. God’s will is clear (Jeremiah 3:19) - He wants every one of us to call Him “Father” and to never turn away from Him. Yet love requires freedom. We are free indeed to plunge ourselves into ruin and destruction by what we do with God’s gift of Grace.
Run from all these evil things! God gives life to all (6:13). God offers us salvation and He guarantees eternity for those who sincerely repent and turn to Him. But we must walk the walk and obey God’s instructions without wavering (6:14). We must hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called us. With God this is possible. We can do it and we need to encourage each other to grow in Christ today as Paul encouraged Timothy.
Lord God in Heaven. Please help us today. Help us to run from evil and not follow the foolish ways of the world. May we follow You alone. Amen.
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