Run the Race of Faith
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of God through which the Holy Spirit works contentment in our hearts today is 1 Timothy 6:6-12 [Read the text]
Dear friends, who find contentment in Jesus:
A story is told about New York City. There are millions of pets in New York. However when a pet dies there’s no where to bury it unless you have a jack hammer. So the City offered to dispose of your pet for $50.
A woman thought she could make easy money. She placed adds offering to do the job for only $25. How did she dispose of the pet? She would go down to the Salvation Army store and buy the best looking suitcase she could for under $5. She would place the deceased pet in the suitcase and then take a ride on the subway.
Without fail, as she sat dosing, someone would come running along and snatch the suitcase. Sometimes she would even call out: “Stop! Thief!” They just kept running. But what a surprise they had later on! They had run and snatched the suitcase looking for happiness but found only a dead animal.
How often don’t we run after things in life, thinking that they will be a suitcase of happiness, only to be disappointed in the end?
The Word of God for today does urge us to run, but it doesn’t urge us to run after happiness. Rather it urges us 1) to run away or flee from the love of money, 2) to run after or pursue true godliness, and 3) to run striving with the strength of God’s promises. This is the race of faith. Our theme today is Run the Race of Faith
1.
Run away from the love of money
1.
Who needs this warning?
Run the race of faith. Run away from the love of money. The Holy Spirit gave Paul these words to write: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV).
Who is this warning for? Is it just for the rich people, those who have lots of money? How can money hurt us if we don’t have it? But notice that Paul is not warning us against money, but against the love of money. That can include rich or poor.
You see, there is nothing wrong with having money. The Lord blessed Abraham with wealth. He blessed Job as well. He may bless us with earthly wealth. Money is not a root of evil, but the love of money is.
Paul does not say that only people who are rich fall into temptation. Rather he says “people who want to get rich,” whether they actual become rich or not doesn’t matter. He warns us against wanting riches and being eager for money. No matter how much or how little someone has, if they love money they will always want more. This warning is for the poorest and the richest person in the world and all of us in between.
So when Paul says “But you, man of God, flee from all this” (1 Timothy 6:11 NIV), he’s talking to you and to me. “Man of God” doesn’t only refer to people how are especially spiritual. It refers to everyone who belongs to God through faith in Jesus. It means you, who have been reborn into God’s family through the water and word of Baptism. You and I have been called to be his child. Flee from the love of money. Run away from it.
2.
What’s the danger in the love of money?
Why? What’s the danger in the love of money? Why do we need to run away from it? Let’s take another look at Paul’s words: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV).
Not a pretty picture, is it? One of the worst things that can happen to a runner is to fall. As you and I run the race of faith, one of the worst things is to fall into the love of money.
The love of money leads to all kinds evil. It’s like a root. Think of creeping Charlie or crab grass. The roots lies hidden. They spread and infect the lawn and then they sprout and grow all over the place. So also the love of money by itself can’t be easily seen from the outside. Like a root it grows and infects our heart. Then it sprouts and produces all kinds of sins: greed, worry, selfishness, cheating, stealing, lovelessness, self-centeredness, anger when we feel short changed, stepping on others to get what we think is ours. Like a weed the love of money crowds out time to serve our Lord, read his word, talk to him in prayer, join him worship.
What is the ultimate outcome of the love of money? Just as weeds kill the lawn. The love of money kills our faith. Jesus put it clearly in the reading from Matthew earlier: “You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24 NIV). The love of money will plunge you and me into the ruin and destruction of hell and pierce us with grief for all eternity.
3.
Where is our hope?
Look at your life. How often do you think about money? How much of your happiness is built on what you can buy or what you can do because you have money? How often do you feel disappointed because you didn’t have enough money to do what you wanted? Are getting money, spending money, or saving money the most important factors in your decisions?
Those kinds of questions help me see that I, too, have fallen. My sinful self wants to love money. And even though you and I fight against it and run away from it, we still fall into that sin. We deserve to be pierced through with many griefs in this life and in the life to come.
But take heart, dear friend. Take heart. Jesus was pierced with all the griefs that you and I deserve. On the cross, it wasn’t only the nails that pierced him, but God’s justice punished him in our place. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us piece was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). Jesus became poor to make you rich. He became poor to make you rich, not in earthly goods, but rich towards God. In Jesus you have the riches of forgiveness, peace, joy, and eternal life. These riches will not fade away, for Jesus has risen from the dead and rules over all
Run the race of faith. Run away from the love of money, for Jesus has loved you and his blood has purchased for you the greatest riches.
2.
Run after true godliness
1.
What kind of life do we run after as Christians?
Believing what Jesus has done for us, has changed us. Instead of running after the love of money we run away from it. But want do we want to run after as Christian? Let’s see what God says through Paul: “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6: 11 NIV).
What kind of life do we pursue and run after because Jesus has purchased us to be his own? Pursue righteousness that strives do what is right in God’s sight. Pursue godliness that stands in awe of the Almighty ready to serve him in heart-felt devotion. Pursue faith that trusts in God more and more each day no matter what you see happening. Pursue love that seeks what is best for others no matter what the cost. Pursue endurance that patiently bears up beneath hardship. Pursue gentleness that deals kindly with others even if that are harsh in return. Run after this kind of life of true godliness. Run the race of faith that confesses your faith by the way you live.
3.
Run striving with the strength of God’s promises
1.
What are God’s promises to help you run the race of faith.
Where do we find the strength to strive and strain to live such a life of godliness with contentment? We don’t find the strength in ourselves. The strength comes through God’s promises. He makes these promises to you through his Word, through Baptism and through the Lord Supper. God to his Word. Remember your Baptism. Receive his Holy Supper. Through these he brings you his life-giving, invigorating promises.
Paul reminds us of some of these promises. He writes: “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (2 Timothy 6:7 NIV). Although that is not a promise but a statement of fact, it reminds that all that we have belongs to God. Even the body we were born with was a gift from our God. God promises that he is able to provide. Think of what Psalm 145 says, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15, 16 NIV)
Now combine that truth with the next statement Paul makes: “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” This reminds us of the promise that God will certainly take care of us. In Matthew 6, Jesus reminds us that our heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air and clothes the flowers of the field in beauty. You can be confident that he will take care of you, his blood-bought child. He will provide you and me with what we need.
Final Paul writes: “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12). This reminds us of God’s greatest promise. You have eternal life through Jesus Christ. Paul doesn’t want you to think that you take hold of this life because of your strength and striving or because of your choice and effort. So he adds, “to which you were called.” Through Baptism God called you. Through his Word he called you. We didn’t have the power to follow the call. We were dead in sin. But the Lord’s gracious calling made us alive. Just like when Jesus called dead Lazarus out of the tomb, all the power and glory belonged to Jesus who called, not to Lazarus who was raised from the dead. So also, when you were called through Baptism and the Word you were raised from being dead in sin, you raised to eternal life.
How does the promise of eternal life lead us to strive to live in contentment? The promise reminds us that our greatest need has been taken care of. Our sins have been taken away. You have life with God. So no matter what happens during the brief time we are alive on this earth, even if all our earthly wealth and goods and family are taken away, you still have Jesus. You still have eternal life. You still have heaven and all its riches. What a promise!
Run the race of faith. Run striving with the strength of God’s promises
Conclusion
Happiness does not come from money. That is just a fleeting hope. Running after the love of money doesn’t just get us a dead animal, it gets us eternal death. You know what Jesus has done for you. You trust in him for forgiveness and life. Live a life of godliness with contentment. Live a life that knows that all you have is from God. Freely give back to God lavishly just as he has given to you. Live a life that knows that your heavenly Father will take care of you. Give to your Father generously confident that he will supply all your needs. Live a life that knows that you have eternal life. Give to your Savior joyfully because he has purchased heavenly riches for you. Amen.
