(The Issues of
Money)
1Tim
6:1 ¶ Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy
of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed
·
Blasphemed- Two
words Blax-stupid: Pheme –speech
2 And they that have believing masters (Greek: despot), let them not
despise( Greek:
think down) them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service( Greek
: serve them as a bondservant or bond slave) , because they
are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and
exhort.
3
If
any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
·
Service
– The scriptural terminology here is defined
as rendering service as a “slave.”
·
A slave, who
had become a slave by force, or one, that continues as a bond or “love” slave of
his or her master even after their due time of release, have no rights. Slaves exchanged all of their personal
rights for the security of being totally provided and taken care of by their
masters.
·
Paul
considered himself as the “love slave” of the Lord Jesus, and so
must we.
Romans
1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the
gospel of God,
Philippians
1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons:
James
1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2
Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to
them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Jude
1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of
James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus
Christ, and called:
·
The above
five scriptures do not utilize the word “diakonos” for servants of Jesus Christ, which is the identification
of a minister according to his or her spiritual gifts and callings. The word “doulos”
is used instead, which is the simple terminology for a slave.
·
In every
case the apostles of the Lord recognized themselves first as slaves of Jesus
Christ, secondly,as ministers. We can never
become effective ministers of the gospel unless our rights to career,
reputation, wealth, and our future plans, have been taken to the cross.
1
John 2:15 Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him.
·
First John
two and fifteen is an example of what I call a “proportional scripture.” In other words, to the proportion that the
love for the things of this world fills the limited space of our heart, is to
the same proportion that the love of God has no more room within that limited
space, and must leave.
·
If we see
the importance of our ministry as greater than that of being simple slaves of
Christ Jesus without any rights, save the right to obey, the things of this
world will not have been taken to the cross, and our ministry will take place
in the bondage of vainglory, jealousy, bitterness and the likes. True ministry
is never about numbers, money, fame, glory or recognition. It is simple moment-to-moment obedience to
the Lord as He tells us where to go and what to do, whether it would be to the
small or the great, the exciting or the mundane.
1Tim 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
·
Teach
otherwise - Literally “Another doctrine”. Let us further study what Paul means by “another
doctrine” by going to Ephesians four and fourteen.
·
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
·
Greek: By the “spiritual dice playing” of men in which they work
around you with the goal of implementing the methodology of error.
·
When we
teach, or are taught the “supposed word of God” that does not line up with “wholesome
words” of scriptures, we end up teaching the “doctrines of men.”
·
As you may
remember from a previous study “wholesome”
is a medical term that means to be “healthy”.
Only a thorough and accurate knowledge of the Word of God promotes healthy
teaching that will make us whole in the Lord.
Romans
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; ( Greek: Suppress the truth)
·
“Doctrines
of men” activate the methods of error, and suppresses the righteousness of God. God’s righteousness is the visible manifestation
of His glorious deeds upon the earth. If
we teach, or are taught what is wrong, the activity of the Spirit of God is
restricted in proportion to the error.
1Tim
6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt( thoroughly corrupted) minds, and destitute (defrauded) of the truth, supposing that gain is
godliness ( esteeming as the law or the custom of the land that material acquisition brings
godliness): from such withdraw thyself.
·
We
must beware of the “financial prosperity” message! (By
the way the Lord Jesus never spoke about financial prosperity, did He?) I thought He said;
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall
supply(shall
fill up) all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
·
I more than any one else would like to have millions
if not billions of dollars for the sake of kingdom of God. The responsibility that the Christian must
have in regards to money is to keep for him or herself and likewise disperse
every penny according to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is
always in dire need of finances. However,
if our motive for seeking financial prosperity is believing that God wants us
to be selfishly rich because we are His rightful sons and daughters, or to
protect ourselves from learning to walk on water by faith, or shunning the
cross in the name of comfort, let us beware that we have not fallen into
thinking that part of our Christianity has to do with the right to selfish material
gain or acquisitions because the Lord wants us to prosper,
·
True
prosperity must first be spiritual as the Lord works it out into the physical.
3 John
1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things
that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
·
New Testament
prosperity comes from two words that mean a “good road” or a “good path”.
This implies success or accomplishing
in an expeditious matter what we have set out to do. If we desire to have true success in our finances as believers, our
success must start with spiritual things.
Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon.
·
Greek:
You cannot be a slave to two lords… You will hate one, and love the other one
unconditionally…you will embrace one; and think little of the other…Ye cannot
be a slave to God and to material acquisitions.
·
Matthew six
and twenty four is another one of those “famous” proportional scriptures. To the extent that we embrace material gain
for the wrong motives is to the same extent that we will think little of, and
hate the Lord. By hating the Lord, I
mean to say that we will hate what He requires from us that regard the yielding
up of the material wealth that we dearly embrace. Our ability to obey the Lord,
as Lord, will be restricted likewise to the extent that we are submitted to the
lordship of material gain.
·
Today, my
wife and I own nothing. The house that
we live in, and the van that we drive, belong to a trust fund that will
eventually go to our children. It is
the Lord that has done this, and I am forevermore eternally grateful to him, as
well as to the Cistercian monks to whose writings I am indebted, and laid a
good foundation in my life.
·
If I own nothing, I have nothing to hold me
down from becoming one with the Lord in the fullness of His revelation in my
life. The Cistercian monks as well as
other outstanding Catholic monks write that we must own nothing, so that as
birds that are free, not held down by anything worldly, have the ability to fly
and become married in union with the Lord Jesus in the fullness of His
revelation within us. There is nothing
greater than this!
·
1
Tim 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.
·
Greek (paraphrase
& my thoughts) What
is great gain is (not
selfish material acquisition but) godliness with contentment.
·
Contentment
- Is a most interesting word. It is defined as the state of being so
filled with the Spirit of God that the believer is self sufficient solely in
the fullness of the Spirit. By this self-sufficiency
I mean, that the Christian is totally free or independent from being swayed or
trapped by the sufficiency that comes from external circumstances and worldly
affairs. His or her sole sufficiency is
in the Lord and not upon external means. This type of believers are content
with having little or much, because they independently self sufficient from the
world, and solely dependent and self sufficient in the revelation of the Lord
Jesus.
·
The
cultivation of godliness must be found in the gardens of contentment and the
absolute freedom from being dependent on anything else but the Lord.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
·
I
love how the Greek NT scholar Marvin Vincent translates this scripture; “ We
brought nothing into this world because we can carry nothing out.”
8
And
having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Greek: And having food and covering we shall be self
sufficient in the Lord.
9
But
they that will(to plan for and deliberately purpose to )
be rich fall into temptation(
the trials of the devil and sin) and a snare (the same word used for a snare used to
catch birds and beasts, unaware), and into many foolish(void of understanding) and hurtful( injurious) lusts, which
drown men in destruction and perdition.( which cause men to sink
into destruction and perdition)
·
Destruction: Destruction has to do with numerous types
of earthly calamities, bondages, and illnesses that come to plague people as
they make it their chief aim to become rich.
·
Perdition
– Perdition can also
be termed as destruction, but many times it is the outcome of the destruction
brought by the love of money. Perdition
can contain within it both spiritual and eternal aspects. The calamities
brought by the love of money on many occasions send people to hell because the
lord mammon has taken the precedence over the Lord Jesus.
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
·
The name Appollyon, which the angel of
the bottomless pit, comes from the same root word for perdition. Both are defined as “destroyer” and “destruction.”
I believe that that the danger of the Christian seeking material acquisitions
is self-explanatory.
10
or
the love of money (a fond love) is the root of all
evil: which while some coveted
after( to stretch out after in order to grasp) they have erred from the faith
( to be led astray from the truth and into idolatry), and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
(grief, distress and pain.)
Greek: For “a”(not
“the”) root of all types of what is injurious,
destructive and harmful is the fondness of money
·
The TDNT
reference book has the following definitions for the “erring from the
faith” that comes to some Christians who have a fondness for material
gain. Secular deceiving, leading into
idolatry, or offending the will of the Lord, is some of them.
11
But
thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
·
I simply
love the word “flee”! Our English word for fugitive
comes from this word. Several dictionary definitions such as a runaway, a
person who is fleeing, or someone who takes to flight describes the fugitive. My friends, we must be fugitives from the
love of selfish material gain.
·
Likewise, I
love the word “follow after”, which is none else than the word
for persecute!
·
My friends, we
must be fugitives from the love money and persecute instead righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness!
·
Righteousness:
The visible and righteous exhibitions of the works
of the invisible God through our lives.
Likewise, righteousness is also the outward results of the grace or
labor that the Lord performs within us. We must be “living molds” of the image
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the outcome of the super human labor of the revealed
Christ, and not the bondage brought through our own efforts by the works of the
law. Persecute this!
·
Godliness
A life that is
entirely pleasing to God. Persecute this!
·
Faith Living by “the faith of God” which is
found in His rhema word, as we restrict our lives to the voice of the
Spirit. Persecute this!
·
Love Unconditional, sacrificial love, for our neighbor
and brethren. Persecute this!
·
Patience
Loving endurance
with the quirks and hang-ups of others.
Persecute this!
·
Meekness This is the conclusive mark of the “love
slave” of God! It is the yielding up of
all of our rights to the Lord. Persecute
this!
12
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also
called, and hast professed
a good profession before many witnesses.
· Greek: Athletically agonize in the beautifully athletic conflict of faith.
·
Grasp and
make for your own eternal life now on earth.
·
In which
you have confessed a beautiful confession. (Confession is the reality of what lies inside
of us as expressed outwardly through an honest
mouth. A beautiful confession can only
come forth from a beautiful life.)
13 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Greek Guard,
and watch over carefully, in order to fully perform, the commandment without
blemish, free from vice, and with nothing that the devil or man can take a hold
of, or point an accusatory finger at.
17
Charge
them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to
enjoy
·
Nor
trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, “Nor to hope in the riches of uncertainty.”
·
Who
giveth us richly all things to enjoy Who supplies us richly from His own
resources.
18
That
they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate;
·
Ready
to distribute Always
ready to impart with openhanded liberality.
·
Willing
to communicate The TDNT defines this rare New Testament word as “belonging or
appointed to society” or “gladly giving others a share.”
·
“Willing
to communicate” comes from the word for fellowship, which
is to “have in common.”
·
In America
we understand fellowship to mean Christian brothers and sisters getting
together at Denny’s for pie or coffee.
Fellowship also means our getting together for church or a Bible
study.
·
However the
notion of “Christian fellowship” goes further than this. To fellowship in the NT fashion is to hold
things in common. Christians must be
ready to hold things material, emotional, and spiritual, in common with each
other, as the Lord directs. “What is mine is yours” is what I am saying.
·
My wife,
Mary, has a wonderful story that has made a substantial impact upon my
life. When she was a missionary with
Youth With a Mission in England, there were many young people that virtually
had to pray in their soap, toothpaste, and the expenses for the school. Mary came into the organization with a trust
fund that paid her monthly expenses. The Lord had prior to this revealed to her
that everything belonged to Him. Everyone
that was attending the school was just the same as Mary; God loved then equally,
and wanted to bless them in the just same way as Mary had been blessed. She was simply the steward of the trust fund
as the Holy Spirit directed. This
my friends is the meaning of “New Testament” fellowship.”
·
New
Testament fellowship must supercede religious tithing! This is a very important
truth!
·
Today, we hear
more and more what I consider as sound doctrinal arguments regarding that
tithing is not taught by the Lord Jesus.
I believe that there is soundness in tithes and offerings. For twenty-two years I have tithed and have
never lacked anything. Today, I still usually
tithe and find that there is strong spiritual safety in doing it. However I
find myself being governed much more by the law of fellowship. In other words at any, and in all occasions,
I must be ready to impart great or small, from all my possessions whether
physical, emotional, or spiritual as led by the Holy Spirit, knowing that
nothing belongs to me, and that God loves and wants to bless everyone equally
to me.
·
If American believers
would follow the “law of fellowship” more than the “religious tithe”, many more
ministries and missions would be amply taken care of.
·
Please observe
with me the amazing Greek translation for Second Corinthians nine and six
below.
2 Corinthians 9:6
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and
he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
·
He
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Greek: “He that soweth upon a blessing shall reap
upon a blessing.”
·
What the
apostle Paul has in mind when he tells us to sow bountifully is that our sowing
must be of such quality and in such quantity that it will reach to produce a
real blessing upon someone else. Such a
man or woman will reap a blessing back from the Lord. Mother Teresa said, “We must love until it hurts.”
19
Laying
up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that
they may lay hold on eternal life.
·
Greek: Treasuring up for themselves a beautiful foundation
into the future so that they may be free in the present time to grasp and make their own eternal life.
God Bless You,
The Complete
Greek New Testament Library
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