It is war—not a war fought with conventional weapons, but one that can only be fought by sound teaching and godly living. The early church was in a for its life against those who were trying to combine God’s truth with popular human ideas. (This deadly mix that would later result in something called Gnosticism.) There were people who taught “false doctrines”, devoted themselves to “myths and endless genealogies”, and promoted “controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.” For us, the situation hasn’t changed. The fight has continued right down to this very day. Paul wrote, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
To help Timothy, a young church leader in the front lines of this battle, Paul passed on a series of dependable truths:
- Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1:15)
- For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. (2:5-6)
- He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. (3:16)
- We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (4:10)
This is a “good confession”—it glorifies God and is beneficial to our neighbor. Why would anybody want to deliberately teach anything that goes against it? In other words—have you ever wondered why there are so many deceptive cults and false religions in the world today?
A) In our text, Paul uncovers an underlying cause of why false teachers knowingly distort the truths of God’s Word. People often do this simply because they are overcome with a desire for worldly wealth. In so doing they rob themselves of God’s true heavenly treasures, both in this life and in the life to come. They also rob all who believe their lies. Their kind of “godliness” is merely a false front that they put up in order to benefit themselves. Do you know someone who goes to church just to “look good”—to gain better standing in the community or advance a career? Are there churches that only seek those who can afford to pay big offerings? It is this kind of two-faced unbelief that leads to false teaching.
If there is any doubt that greed motivates false teaching, just look at television.
1) It often undermines the preaching of the Gospel by portraying pastors, churches, and Christians as being ignorant and out of touch. For example, if a Christian leader is caught in a moral lapse, it’s on the news.
2) In the name of cultural diversity and tolerance, it often promotes religious pluralism and relativism. It denies the unique nature of Christ, and the universality of the salvation he came to bring.
3) It often diminishes the seriousness of sin, either numbing us to it or actually promoting it as an alternative lifestyle. It makes sin look good, because, as they say, “sin sells”.
4) In commercials and in programming, it promotes the values of materialism, constantly flashing material wealth and possessions before our eyes as an essential ingredient of “the good life.”
Don’t be deceived by that appliance sitting right in your living room! There is a war going on. There are people who are actively engaged in using television (and other media) to shape our popular culture, and they are doing so with one goal in mind: to gain wealth for themselves—no matter what the consequences for themselves and others might be. The cleverness of this plan is that they can do so without anyone seeing who they really are. In such a world, it is more important than ever to heed the warnings in God’s Word to avoid not only the teaching of the false teachers, but also their lifestyle. Just as Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife, and Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah—and just we also are to flee from idolatry and sexual immorality—God tells us to flee from false teaching and the sinful love of earthly riches.
False teachers, on the one hand, corrupt the faith to chase after worldly riches. God’s people, on the other hand, are called to pursue the true treasures of heaven! Some of these are listed in our text. If I can pass these things on to my children, I’ll know I’ve done a good job. Worldly wealth is temporary and quickly disappears, but God’s kind of riches stand the test of time and hardship: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
B) There is a problem, though. False teachers aren’t the only ones with a sinful desire for money. I was born with the same desire, and so are you. It is part of our sinful nature! A “sweet” little two-year-old daughter and a “cute” little six-month-old baby girl are not always so sweet and cute. These qualities disappear very quickly when they both decide they want the same toy. When that happens—look out! There is plenty of screaming, hitting, and sometimes even crying in the end—not a pretty picture. St. Paul describes for us a progression, or cycle, that is deadly serious—and one that we all can get caught up in:
1) Step one is the trap. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap.” Temptation can take the form of a house, car, purchase, business opportunity, or whatever. You get the picture. It can look relatively harmless. We can rationalize it to ourselves by saying “everybody does it” or “everybody has one” or even “I deserve it.” It need not necessarily be something evil in itself, but it is something that can be used in a sinful way or for sinful purposes. At this point, we need to ask ourselves some key questions: is this something God really wants me to have? Do I really need it? Do I plan on using it for his purposes? Is there an underlying flaw in my character that is causing me to want it? Is it going to cost me something else down the road—more than I really want to pay?
2) Step two is our desires. “And into many foolish and harmful desires.” It isn’t the trap that is the problem. It’s the desire to have what’s in it! Desire can get us into trouble because the more we have, the more we want. By feeding our desires, we only make them stronger. Samson was the strongest man around, but his desires put him into a position where he suddenly became helpless. The last two commandments both deal with the subject of desire. Remember God’s warning to Cain? “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
3) The final step is destruction: “that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” There is a fine line between contentment and complacency. Contentment is good—it means being satisfied with whatever God gives you. Paul commends this virtue to Timothy. Complacency (or smug self-satisfaction) on the other hand, is deadly… both to our faith and to our soul. If we have everything our sinful nature could possibly want, we may be missing out the most important thing of all. Our OT lesson brings this out very clearly:
“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. [These were places that had fallen in military attacks] Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.” (Amos 6:1-7)
Our Gospel lesson illustrates this truth as well. In this life, the rich man had everything he wanted. Meanwhile Lazarus, his slave, was suffering horribly. Only the dogs would show him compassion. When these two men died, however, the tables were turned. Lazarus was safe in heaven, but the rich man was in hell where no one could comfort him. There was no way he could even warn his brothers to repent. Too late he learned the lesson Paul was teaching Timothy: “We brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
C) Today, are you fighting against God and his good and gracious will for your life because you think he is only out to take something from you? Like Jacob, do wrestle with God when it seems like he isn’t giving you the blessing you want? Are you sometimes angry with him because it seems that even though you have tried to “delight yourself in the Lord” he hasn’t given you “the desires of your heart,” like it says in Psalm 37:4? If so, there’s good news for you today.
1) When we flee from that which would harm our soul, we have someone to whom we can flee. In the words we often use when we confess our sins to God, “we flee for refuge to [His] infinite mercy, seeking and imploring [His] grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.]” Money and possessions can’t bring us true safety and security—these only come through the blood of Christ, shed for us on Calvary’s cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
2) Yes, life can be a struggle. But the struggle of faith brings true contentment. When Paul neared the end of his life, he could say by the grace of God,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
3) In this struggle, we are not fighting for something that we don’t have. In fact, the opposite is true! When we “fight the good fight of faith,” we are simply doing nothing more than taking hold of the free gift that God has given us—eternal life. In another place Paul says,
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12-13)
In Baptism, Christ “takes hold of us.” He calls us to eternal life. He gives us His Holy Spirit who works in us the faith we confess. The Holy Spirit also helps us to live within our heavenward calling with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23) In Christ, we have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
4) One day the fight will be over. In a way, it has already been won! But one day—a day of God’s own choosing—our Savior will appear: Jesus Christ, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Paul can’t help but end with praise; so do we:
“And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song.
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia! Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west; Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest.
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!”
