1 Timothy 6:3-10 Ambition Brunel Runnymede February 19th 2003
Intro
• “You never go further than when you no longer know where you are going” (Goethe).
• Jackson & Caroline story, including going south of the river! 4 hours for 45 minute journey.
• This illustrates: the need for a purpose [reaching heaven] and a good sense of direction [map].
• But do we need ambition?
Definition & importance
• AMBITION- philotimeomai, literally “to love honour” and so, actuated by this motive, “to strive to bring something to pass”.
• On the one hand…“Ambition is the last refuge of failure” (Oscar Wilde).
• On the other…“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” (Oscar Wilde again!).
• “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions” (Marcus Aurelius). Certainly seems supported by Romans 8:27 which says that God searches our hearts and in Romans 10:10 we are told that it is with our heart that we believe and are justified. In 1 Corinthians 4:5 it says that when the Lord returns He “will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts”. The thief on the cross did not get many hours into his Christian life- just as he was born again, he was about to die. But Jesus could see the ambition of his heart- to trust in the Lord- and so Christ was able to say, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 24:43). So the thief’s worth was equal to that of His ambition- to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and have his citizenship in heaven (as you were reminded last week in Philippians 3:20 and at your weekend away in Hebrews 11).
• So we can conclude from this than ambition is a necessary thing in the Christian life if we are to reach heaven!
• But what kind of ambition? How does this work in practice?
“If I was rich, surely everything would be OK.”
1. Worldly ambition- its causes (v3, 4a)
A. WRONG TEACHINGS- The Beatles said, “All you need is love” and lots of so-called Christians seem to agree with that sentiment. As long as you love Jesus, who needs doctrine or law? An Anglican called Joseph Fletcher wrote a book called Situation Ethics in which he developed the idea of love being the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10). And whilst Fletcher rejected cultural relativism, it seems perhaps he took the idea a little too far in letting people define what they thought was loving, at the expense of clearly revealed laws in Scripture. Let’s not forget that Jesus said three times in the Upper Room discourse “If you love me, obey my commandments.” There is a deep and unbreakable connection between loving God, believing God and obeying God. So the first thing Paul addresses as the root of the problem is wrong beliefs.
B. PROUD INDIVIDUALISM- “does not agree to” = does not come near to. Have you heard people say in Bible studies, “Personally, I think it works like this…” or “The God I believe in would never do that”? We are not called to invent doctrine; we are called to hear it, understand it and obey it. The Lord Jesus Christ is the teacher, He gives the sound instruction and we agree with Him! Or do we know more about God than His only Son? The word for “conceited” in verse 4 comes from the word tuphoo (there’s an oo with tuphoo!), which means “wrapped up in smoke or steam”!!! Amazing! Now, if you’re fumbling around in the smoke of your own pride, it’s hardly surprising you know nothing!
Note: Anti-Paul, pro-Jesus? Some people try to get round this by saying they agree with the Master’s teachings, but have a problem with Paul’s anti-Semitism, sexism or whatever. This is the same thing as to attack Jesus, as Paul was and is the Lord Jesus’ “chosen instrument to carry [His] Name before the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15).
2. Worldly ambition- its external symptoms (4,5)
A. STRIFE, PEDANTRY, FRICTION- arguing, and especially over words
"It depends on what the meaning of the word ’is’ is. If the--if he--if ’is’ means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."
The distinction between "is" and "was" was seized on by the commentariat when Clinton told Jim Lehrer of PBS right after the Lewinsky story broke, "There is no improper relationship." Chatterbox confesses that at the time he thought all these beltway domes were hyperanalyzing, and in need of a little fresh air. But it turns out they were right: Bill Clinton really is a guy who’s willing to think carefully about "what the meaning of the word ’is’ is." This is way beyond slick. Perhaps we should start calling him, "Existential Willie."
B. MALICIOUS TALK- blasphemia- attack against people = attack against God because every person is made in His image.
C. CONSTANT FRICTION- diaparatribe- paratribe means hostility and enmity, and the dia prefix is added to show intensity and completeness. There is nothing but friction when this person is around.
D. CYNICAL EXPLOITATION OF RELIGION- calculate that “godliness as a means of gain.” Simon Magus- Acts 8:20- “May your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money.”
3. Worldly ambition- its internal effects (4,5,9,10)
A. ENVY, the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others. Always evil. Ironic, because we are led to believe by our ambitious feelings that we will be satisfied when we achieve our aims, but worldly ambition leads to greater unhappiness and envy. “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance with increase. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
B. EVIL SUSPICIONS- the devil is Satan, the great accuser and slanderer; “Violent ambition and suspicion I have always seen going about hand in hand” (G.C.Lichtenberg).
C. TOTALLY FALSE, CORRUPTED MINDS- diaphtheiro- “decayed mind”. Destroy by means of corrupting; dia = thoroughly again.
D. GREED (v9,10) – like a trap which ensnares you or a wave that brings you under and drowns you or an arrow that pierces you through the heart. It’s not the absence of money that makes us unhappy; it’s the desire for it. In this respect, the Stoics and the Buddhists are right- desire is at the root of dissatisfaction and much evil. The difference between Stoicism and Buddhism on the one hand, and Christianity on the other, is that the former just say kill your desires, become nothing, merge with this cosmos, and the latter says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps.37:4). God does not say that desire itself is a bad thing (He created it), only that we should desire Him above all else: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Greed doesn’t only destroy the greedy one, it leads to many other evils which effect many other people. It’s not a solitary vice, or a vice without consequence. Indeed, all our sins are social sins and affect others sooner or later, even those ones we think no-one knows about.
E. LOSS OF FAITH (10). And since “the just shall live by faith”, this means loss of God, loss of salvation. By this I mean, losing that which has been made available, but has not ever been grasped, as the Bible teaches in many places (such as Philippians 1:6) that it is not possible for a genuine work of God’s grace to be unfinished.
4. Godly ambition- the remedy (v6-19) BUT YOU, MAN OF GOD!
[First two are Question number 10 of Cornhill application]
1. Lead a quiet life and work with your hands- great news for designers in an idyllic Surrey campus!
2. Preach the gospel where Christ is not known- get out of your idyllic Surrey campus and tell the world!
3. Be happy with what you’ve got (6, 8, 17)- discontent is unbelief! Trust God he knows how to provide. Aim for godliness and happiness is a natural byproduct- “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). Have your grub and gear (8)- what else is necessary? I truly believe Simpson lives by this dictum. Samurai did to the extent that they still picked their teeth even if they hadn’t eaten for three days!
4. Reckon with your future (7)- it’s all going up in the Bonfire! (Steve Buckeridge and my Motorola V50!). Lay up treasure in heaven (19).
5. Run away from bad desires (11a) and to good ones (11b)- the real belongings worth having are spiritual ones, not physical. Be rich… in good deeds (18).
6. Fight the good fight (12).
7. Keep the commands (14).
If I was rich, surely everything would be OK? No. It’s uncertain, and if it did happen, you may well become more unhappy. Be ambitious for heaven; be rich in God; be thankful for the amazing things He has provided for you and remember the greatest gift of all- new life in His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ: “He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Really, what could be better?
Soli deo gloria.
