I Timothy 6:1-10
October 4, 2009

Exordium: As you hear these words, they may seem like assorted topics which hardly belong together. But they are related to each other. The Blessed Holy Spirit who gave us these words has placed them like different colored beads on the beautiful neck of I Timothy 6. Together they speak of God’s provision for each of us along the journey of the Christian life.

Explication: We might call this section “our travel allowance” on the way to the Heavenly City. God gives each of us a different allowance, and watches to see what we will do with it.

The question is, “Can we live within God’s allowance with our name on it and be thankful no matter how it may differ from that given to others?” Or will we be discontented and push against God’s arrangement for us?

Your travel allowance is not only the material things provided for your journey, but also your calling – your station in life – your gifts and talents, your family background.

1. FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN SLAVE WHO IS PART OF TIMOTHY’S CONGREGATION?

This man or woman has a problem. They have found spiritual freedom in Christ and a new life, but they still wore the yoke of slavery, and that under a very wicked, oppressive system. They were often treated very cruelly, but Timothy is to teach them to give all honor to their masters. They are to do this for the sake of the name of God – that His name and His truth – not be blasphemed by unbelievers.

We all have a false opinion of our own excellence, these slaves included. But if a slave, known to be a Christian, rebelled or disrespected his master, he would not be a good testimony, for he would be breaking the Roman law about the conduct of slaves.

Now add the problem of his master becoming a Christian man or woman. The master had begun to treat him with kindness and respect and sat at the communion table with him. The temptation would be to take advantage of that kindness and love and lose a respectful distance and become familiar with him.

Instead the slave is to go to a new level of respect and honor toward his master because his service will result in benefits not only toward the master’s house but also to the kingdom of Heaven. What a teaching this is!

This speaks to us as well. The allowance the Christian slave was given was his food, clothing and shelter, and the necessities of life, with chains. His spirit longed for freedom and he could not help envying those who came and went at their own pleasure. But this was his allowance for the journey and his joy would come in finding contentment in it and using it for the glory of God and the building of His kingdom.

In our case we may not like our place in life. We would like to choose another, but for this reason, or that, we cannot. For the present, at least, we are to be satisfied with this part of God’s travel allowance for us. The Christian employee commends the gospel by the quality of his work and the respect he has for those who are over him.

1. TEACHERS IN THE CHURCH

Timothy is the leader of the teachers. He sets the standard for the instruction within the body. It is to agree with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and it must lead to godly living. All teaching in the church is to be tested by these two measures.

We have more than one would-be teacher today who could not pass this test. Some are setting dates when the Lord will return in clear violation of Christ’s words. They go on to say that the church of our Lord has been taken over by the enemy of Christ. And that one ought not to identify with churches any longer. These teachers fail on both accounts.

Heresy, false teaching, comes from pride and the desire to stand out with some new teaching. It comes from ignorance of what truth really is, and from a morbid craving for arguing and disputing with others about words.

It does not produce godly living but only envy, strife, reviling and evil suspicions. What these teachers do is futile. It will be thrown on the ash heap of heresies which have beset the church in other days and have been once again discarded. It builds nothing but tears down Christ’s church. They have wandered away from the truth as it is in Jesus and are confused themselves and confuse others.

What energizes these teachers to continue is money. They have lost sight of the real purpose of Christian teaching and preaching which is to nourish and instruct the saints. Instead they reduced their call to be a means of gain, a livelihood.

They had a travel allowance – sound words and the necessities of life – but they became dissatisfied with the provision of God, and brought about a shipwreck of their lives.

1. A MESSAGE TO ALL OF US

The goal of our Christian lives, of our journey, is not gain. It is heaven. That is what the allowance is for. Our goal in this world is godliness – that means to live in the atmosphere of eternal life – with the Spirit of Christ upon you. Godliness is a sign that we are in Christ and He is in us. If we make anything else the goal our travel allowance will not be adequate for us. We will be unhappy with it and discontented.

But true godliness is accompanied with contentment, because we know that God has already or will provide everything we need for our happiness and service to Him. This kind of contentment, godly contentment, is not merely being satisfied with your present possessions. It has no relation to possession. It is being utterly satisfied with God and His arrangements for you even in adversity and affliction.

Opposed to that is the desire to be rich. I don’t mean the occasional twinge of that but the settled policy, “I am going to be rich.” Wealth allures one. “Wouldn’t it be nice” and we decide to go for it. That will be my goal.

The second step in that downward decline is to fall into related temptations. That is to be willing to step outside our travel allowance, and our principles, to take short cuts, on our way to wealth. To cut corners in ways that may take us to our goal – wealth.

The third step outlined here is the trap- which again is called “desire” but that is a different word in the original – it is desire, but deeper, at a more intense level. It could be translated “lust”. Intense longing so that nothing must stand in my way of having that thing I want – wealth and riches. Is this the story of Bernie Madoff?

Is this Judas who could even betray his own Master for 30 pieces of silver?

It is the reverse of Jesus’ parable of the pearl of great price, where a person sells all the good things of faith and righteousness and reputation in order to get what he most wants – riches and all they bring with them. (Matthew 13:45-50)

It is the opposite of Paul’s great motivating principle, “the love of Christ controls me.” This is the “love of money” controls me. This love of money, this avarice, never loses its hold; everything must be sacrificed to feed it.

It is this depth of desire that plunges a person into ruin. He gets enmeshed in difficulties that require impossible choices of him. Shall I let this money go by or betray my Lord? So he is plunged, sunk into destruction and ruin as a ship is lost at sea, and with the same finality.

Then he finds his conscience produces a deep remorse for the wrong choices made. He is disillusioned when he realizes that gold has become his god. Money now is revealed to him as the root of his evil. It is not the root of everyone’s evil, but it is of this man. Others have different roots which produce the same kind of bitter fruit.

This root produces greed, theft, lying, shady deals, and extortions. It draws him away from faith because one cannot serve God and money at the same time. So he chooses money and his soul shrivels because it is not being nourished and challenged by the Word of truth.

Then his own wrong actions begin to pierce him through with great sorrows. He becomes impaled upon the thin stakes which he himself has driven into his life. Now he suffers upon each one of them. In this same way, our Lord was impaled upon the cross and the crown of thorns for the sins we speak of here. He was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. All because he would not accept God’s travel allowance, and giving thanks for it, walk with God toward the Heavenly City.

Application: What about your travel allowance?

• Your gifts,

• Your calling

• Your provision to make the trip.

Conclusion: Your travel allowance is for the trip only. Other arrangements have been made for the time after your arrival. But for now strive after godliness, accompanied by contentment. That is true gain, which lays up treasures in Heaven.

Glen C. Knecht