False Teachers and True Contentment

This bible study is part of a series on the book of 1st Timothy, in order to see the full series please check out our “epistle” page or alternatively please check out our page dedicated to the book of 1st Timothy for other studies in this book.

When I set this blog up my intention was to explore the epistles and do the occasional bible study based on what I had studied and learned, what you are reading below is notes I have made. I have to confess that this bible study is basic in its content and is not prepared by a pastor and I have to admit I have no theological training; my hope in prayer is that someone will be blessed by the notes below.

Let’s start in verse three of the sixth chapter of First Timothy.

False Teachers and True Contentment

Teach and urge these things. 3 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, 4 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, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 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. 10 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.

Even today we have the problem of false teachers in the church. Paul closes the letter in the same vein that he began, warning Timothy to be vigilant against those who would teach contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

These teachers would usually be subtle; they would teach a gospel similar to those who taught the truth and the changes would lead into heresy and false teaching. As Timothy was in charge of doctrines he was charged with controlling that only the truth was taught, both from the front of the assembly and crucially also in smaller group settings or individual conversations.

Timothy had to be careful to keep people and their doctrine straight, to deal quickly and decisively with the heretic who promotes his own ideas that are contrary to sound doctrine. Those types of heretics can usually be corrected with a correction of their doctrine. One does wonder on the study habits of those who do not understand or attempt to teach a bible study on a contravening fashion to what the bible actually says.

Here we get into the problem of opinion over God’s word, God’s word is infallible, inerrant and reliable and man’s opinion is simply not. (Even this one!) It is flawed, it can change and in terms of reliability it is a difference of night and day between the two, Gods work will always trump the opinion of man.

A modern day example of this is the ordination of people who were never meant to be ordained or even placed in the pulpit in the first place are allowed to go against Gods word due to a “shift in man’s opinion”. The word of God has not changed but man’s opinion, to quote the character Moriarty in the hit TV series “Sherlock” is “Soooo changeable.”

Paul goes on to say that even the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness” are not being heeded. This may sound obvious but surely if you are calling yourself a Christian then the words of Christ himself must be foremost in your life? Christianity is not a journey that ends at conversion but a daily battle between our flesh and holiness.

Some are not openly denying Gods word; some do more subtle things such as explain away God word such as trying to apply human logic to the truths of God. (An example of this would be the ones who try to explain the creation of God by adding science to stretch Gods word or link the two, and theories such as the “gap theory”)

God’s word is not to be ignored or used as a plaything to try to prove a point in contentious issues; it is not a toy to be used and abused as we in our human sinful heart does not appreciate its true worth. It is not to be ignored or denied, we are either in this life 100% or we are not. Yes we do fall off the horse and need to repent but a continual state of rebellion is just not on.

Here is the deal, we can be like the Pharisees and know the word of God to the letter and period, we can know what it says, and we know its truths and still miss the message. We have to believe that this book has the power to transform my life and is not just a book of knowledge or a historical factual book. This is why Paul writes about the proud man…

V4 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, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

Haven’t we all been there? Being proud of what we think we know or whatever miniscule achievement we have managed on our own wee puff of steam that we have gathered. A pastor once said to me when we were sharing a fast food meal “the man who doesn’t think he struggles with pride struggles more than you would think because he hasn’t admitted it to himself yet” and there is a lot of truth in that.

Yes by all means have confidence in your knowledge of the LORD but please make sure the word changes your life. We covered the man who has “an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” We covered this when we spoke about what the word was not, we all want to be seen as knowledgeable and in the worst case I have seen someone I respect lie about their credentials in order to try prove a point.

Paul speaks about these folks who do not ask questions or post scripture to help others or to be helped; they are doing this to flex their theological intellectual muscles. They wish to debate or show how smart they are in this chosen area that they wish to foist upon the folks who end up discussing it. Often times they cause more division than edification and end up splitting Gods children as opposed to bringing them together under a common faith.

Often times those folks will also attack those in the church who are serving for their own ends. Different people have different motivations so the motivations maybe as varied as follows…

Envy – they believe they should be up front instead of the leader
Dissension – the caused strife and contention with who they were
Slander – They would spread stories in order to destabilize the body
Evil suspicions – They would make assumptions about motives in the leadership
Constant friction – they would be the epicenter of any drama.

V5b imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Paul goes on to talk about the difference between heavenly gain (godliness) and material gain (man’s wishes) and let me assure you right off the bat that there is no material gain from godliness. Jesus never meant it that way and he stated that in the gospel of Matthew chapter 6…

Matthew 6:19 (ESV) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust  destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

God’s word and church is not a “get rich quick scheme” very few of us get paid by the church to do what we do and these people are motivated by how quickly they can secure a paycheck or “what can this faith do for me?” these people usually disappear when the going gets tough and the blessings are not raining down on them. We cannot be in it for what we get, we have to be in it for the faith that it is.

And I know we covered this before in a previous chapter but the saying is true regarding material wealth “you can’t take it with you” We have to be content with what God has provided us with, yes your brother at church may have a nicer car/pool/house/tech gadgets/whatever but we are commanded not to covet and this is exactly why.

This is why I talk about contentment, because the human psyche will convince ourselves that if we had “just a little more” we would be happy, if we could get to this financial landmark, if we could get this car in the driveway, if we could get a house with this square footage, if I could have this cell phone, this computer and this size of TV with these many channel package on the cable or satellite then I would be happy. That is a lie! Regardless of the material things that we have it will NEVER make us happy.

That is not to say we should “Go Amish” and reject all possessions. We have to stake our hope, our happiness and our life on something that is not moved by a barometer of success that only moves when we amass more stuff. This is only found in Gods committed relationship with us and finding contentment in a complete surrender in his will for our lives.

Really the kicker to whether it is a good thing for you individually is to ask yourself the honest question “This thing, it is bringing me closer to God or further away?” some people are not affected by the pull of materialism and do not have that drug inducted type compulsion to have it in the same way an addict needs their next fix. If that replaces God then we have a problem.

Contentment is tough; Paul goes further on this topic in the book of Philippians…

Philippians 4:10 (ESV) I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

And that is a bullet point of what I am trying to say “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” And that has to be the glue that holds our Christian life together is that sold out faithful dependence on the living Christ. Do I do it right all the time every time? Actually no, I am a sinful human who messes up more than I get it right, however I am praying for contentment in what I have.

There are no guarantees that God will bless you with more if you become content, it is possible but I would not like to second guess what God’s plan is in your life. But the root of what I am saying is that we have to take our eyes off the things we have surrounded ourselves with and find contentment in heavenly things. Really we have to “renew our mind” As Paul writes in Romans 12.

I hear it sometimes that I need this possession or that one “for ministry” and I am not suggesting that all comforts are wrong. For example in my agape bible study I use a laptop, my TV, my musical keyboard all for ministry. The use of these gifts also coupled with the use of my wife using our cooker to cook them a meal blessed these people. Those were bought out of our abundance and we are living above the “contentment standard” of just food and clothing.

V8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 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.

Here is what it comes down to and would you be happy in this situation, if you have clothes to wear and food to eat you are being provided for, there is no mention of that big house, big car, cell phone, tablet or whatever else we have made it so that we cannot “live without”,

This is an extreme obviously, but I think it would be a good idea to unplug for even a weekend and just get away from it, no cell phones, no computers and just get away from this arena of desire for more and more, to consume more than we need. To actually have a simpler life for a short time and just be in the Word of God. That to me would be awesome.

V9 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. 10 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.

Paul follows on with the adverse effects of the desire to be rich, it becomes an all-consuming passion and temptation to those who have fallen into it. Jesus states about serving money (or riches) in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:24 (ESV) “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Money itself is not evil; it is the love of money. We are warned in the next verse (verse 10) as well as in the book of Hebrews…

Hebrews 13:5 (ESV) Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If we are seeking after what we do not have and have this wanton lust or covetousness for temporary things we will never be satisfied. There will always be a bigger model, a newer model; a model with more features to whatever it is we covet. That goes for cars, houses, pools, TV’s, whatever you think of.

I don’t single out one particular vice as different people have different hot buttons. I would ask this question and say if you had $10,000 to blow in a day, how would you blow it? You are not allowed to invest it and you can only buy items that you have wanted. Once that day is gone, you lose what you have not spent and you cannot invest it. One man may want to spend his money of guns and sports pursuits, another may buy a jumbo TV and sound system, another may put down money on a sports car, another may pay down a bigger pool, another may put towards a house, put simply, what comes to the top of your mind and they possession that you long for in your heart is what I mean.

Is it bad to want nice things? No, if the LORD has blessed you with abundance then praise the LORD, it is the fruits of your hard work, and however you may want to check if you are using your funds to build your kingdom or Gods?

If you are poor it does not mean that you are less godly than the man who lives in a big house. This should not be the desire of your heart; the riches we have to go after are treasures in heaven. I have found that when I have stopped being so self-centered and actually just serve others and do what God has called me to do, in his strength then I am so much more fulfilled than if I just spent the last hour looking through a catalogue lamenting what I do not have. Jesus spoke on this in the gospel of Matthew…

Matthew 6:19 (ESV) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Paul explains that the money, the dollar bills, the pound notes or whatever currency you peddle is not the problem. It is our attitude and heart toward that money that is the issue. If we love the money and give it a place that it should never occupy then that is the root of all kinds of evil. This type of heart no longer thinks on a godly plain and there are many things that we would do for the reward of money that we would never consider otherwise.

I am reminded of this with a skit I saw on TV with two men and the first said to another “would you kill someone for me?” and the second said “of course not” first replied “if you wouldn’t get caught and I gave you a million pounds, would you?” Second man thinks and says “Okay then” first one replies and said “what about for a pound?” Second man said “Of course not” First man delivers a hammer blow by stating “Well I already know you could be a murderer, we just have to agree on the price!”

Paul then makes a list of how people have problems reconciling faith in Jesus with a love of money. He writes the following “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs”.

This is exactly what we have been talking about as far as the lack of satisfaction. I liken it to having a choice between grabbing a soda and grabbing a water when you are working outside when it is 104F. One of these drinks will satisfy your thirst and another will give you a brief respite before making you thirst again. Only the water will hydrate you and this is similar to the living water that we have access to.

John 4:7 (ESV) A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Which is exactly what Paul is writing about, we cannot have reliance on the temporary things of this world but our reliance must be on the one who delivers “living water”. We have to base our lives on that solid foundation, our messiah Jesus Christ.

Thank you again for finding this article and I pray these bible studies are a blessing. Please feel free to comment, like or share as the LORD leads you to.
TGBTG
TTE