Two Things Needed for 2025

Good evening.  Let’s take our Bibles tonight and turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 3 through 10.  But before we do that, will you join me in prayer?

O Lord, tonight as we come to an end of Thanksgiving season, as a country we want to thank You again for the freedom that allows us to gather here tonight and to worship You  in spirit and truth.  I pray, O Lord, tonight that Your Holy Spirit will be present in our lives and anoint thy servant tonight, that he would minister in Your name and You would be lifted up.  We pray now that You would meet with us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.   

1 Timothy, chapter 6, verses 3 through 10.

Can you imagine in 30 days we will enter 2025?  We don’t know what will come our way next year.  We know that it will be another year yet closer to our Lord’s return.  We pray that our Lord will bring revival to His Church next year.  We know it’s another year where we must be vigilant and keep a close watch on our life and our doctrine.

And tonight we find Paul’s words speaking into our lives as we prepare for 2025.  In 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 3 through 10, Paul speaks to us about two things we need as we enter into the coming new year.  Follow along as I read. 

“Teach and urge these things.  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, 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, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is great gain.  But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  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.  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.”

There is a young pastor, Timothy, at the church in Ephesus and he needs guidance.  He needs direction in leading his sheep.  He’s faced with so-called teachers, preachers, whom Paul calls all throughout 1 Timothy as false teachers, seeking to lead astray many within his flock.  Who better than this veteran of the cross, who has faced many hardships, who has been in prison and has dealt with many false teachers all through his ministry, to instruct Timothy than the Apostle Paul?

In our text, Paul instructs Timothy of the need of two things; in verses 3 through 5, the need of sound doctrine, and then in verses 6 through 10, the need for godliness with contentment.

The need for sound doctrine.  Paul brings that to our attention in verses 3 through 5.  Paul brings us back to the topic of false teachers.  Ever since we started the series in 1 Timothy chapter 1 up until today, we have heard repeatedly the emphasis on false teachers.  This is about the fifth time already that Paul has mentioned it.  He must think that it’s very important to go over and over and over again.  In fact, you would say that verses 3 through 5 Paul gives us a summary of the false teachers that he’s been bringing to the attention of Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1 through 6.

Paul gives us a summary here of false teachers.  Notice four things that he brings out.  He brings out the concern for false teachers.  That is followed then by the character of false teachers.  Then following the character flows out the consequences that spreads out all over in Ephesus.  Then he gives us the calls of false teachers.

Paul has a concern for false teachers.  Notice that he begins in verse 3 making this declaration:  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teachings that accord with godliness, he is puffed up.

Paul’s concern is this – false teachers do not agree with sound words.  The word “sound” means healthy, really is related to and is qualified by Paul’s statement “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  False teachers do not agree with orthodoxy.  They do not attach themselves to truth, to sound doctrine.

So sharing that concern, he then exposes to Timothy a summary of their character.  Notice what he says about them.  Four things.  They’re insolent, they’re ignorant, they’re immature, and they’re irrational.

He says 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, he is puffed up with conceit, number one.  Number two, he knows nothing.  Number three, he has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce and that’s the consequences – envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicion, and constant friction among people.  People who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

Let’s look at that word here, “puffed up.”  It’s another word for proud.  It’s arrogance.  They are wrapped up in their own conceit.  Their blinded by their own importance.  They’re puffed up with their own self-importance.  These false teachers place themselves and their sense of authority over the Word of God.  They deny the truth of it and they claim to have the truth in and of themselves.  This is what Paul wants to make sure Timothy understands. 

Paul speaks of a false teacher as a proud person, one who thinks he is something when he is actually nothing.  The NEB refers to him as a pompous ignoramus.  That’s a good description of a false teacher.

Eugene Peterson in The Message refers to them as ignorant windbags.  False teachers certainly do fulfill that title, professing to be wise they actually play the fool.

Not only are they insolent, but they’re ignorant.  They know nothing.  They have no understanding of the great truths of the Christian faith.  They’re ignorant of the Gospel.  Paul states emphatically here that such a person has a very limited knowledge.

They’re insolent, they’re ignorant, they’re immature, and irrational.  Unhealthy craving for controversy and quarrels about words.  They’re fixated on controversial questions and they dispute about words.  They will teach about it every time you turn around.

An old preacher described these false teachers as having an abundance of words and a famine of brains.  They battle with words.  They fight over words.  They argue over words.

You know what?  The Pharisees also had that problem.  Our Lord said that they would strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.

He sums up, Paul does, the character of these false teachers as depraved in mind, deprived of the truth.  Their whole mental and moral attitude of their way of thinking and perspective is corrupt, deviant.  They don’t understand the Word of God.  They don’t understand the Word of God they’re supposed to be teaching.  You know without the truth of God, people often have a distorted idea of life and that certainly is the case with false teachers, those that Paul was describing to Timothy here.

Out of their character flows the consequences, how they affect and how they live and how they get along.  We see here five things about the consequences of their character.

Number one.  They’re envious.  They’re annoyed at the success of those who are their rivals.  They cause dissension.  They struggle against those who oppose their false words.  They’re slanderers.  They use abusive language regarding those who will not concede to their point.  Notice here constant friction, persistent and obstinate friction with others. 

Paul reveals to Timothy that the consequences are very severe, not to their followers but outside of their followership to the Body of Christ.  He gives us one of the key causes of false teachers.  It says here, in verse 5, “imagining that godliness is a means of gain.”  These men suppose that godliness is a means of material gain.  These false teachers acting as preachers certainly have a distorted view of ministry.  They suppose that godliness is a means of gain.  So for them, the ministry is a business making.  They collect fees from those who follow them and cause them to fill their coffers for listening to them.  They think they’re going to be rich off the people that follow them, that they’re going to get material wealth through disguising as preachers and teachers of the Gospel.

Their motivation here, Paul says, is for material gain.  They’re religious hucksters.  These were the folks that young Timothy had to confront and deal with, protect his people from.

Regarding these verses, Ligon Duncan comments, “These verses could well have been written yesterday.  If you were to turn on television today or any day of the week, four out of five programs that claim to be Christian proclamation of the truth are doing what Paul’s about here.  They’re turning Christianity into a means of gain.  The most common false teaching in churches in the English-speaking world today is the false teaching that God wants you to be physically healthy and materially wealthy all the time, and if you’re not, it’s because you don’t have enough faith or you haven’t made the commitment to the secret teaching of whoever it is that’s teaching that particular message.”

I met a dear brother here at the pastors’ conference from Malawi.  In fact, he visited us here a couple of months ago and he shared with us how he got entrapped with the health and wealth gospel over there in Malawi and how he sent that preacher money and he relied on this preacher for instructions about his son who was sick and the reason why his son was not getting any better was because he didn’t have enough faith.  Thank the Lord that that dear brother was delivered from that false teaching.

Well, Paul brings out this about false teaching so that Timothy could be a faithful preacher but also he gives to us here in verse 3 the antidote we need to false teaching, and that is sound doctrine.  Sound doctrine in the Church, sound doctrine in the life of its members.  Notice here in verse 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.” 

Three things here.  Paul tells us why we need sound doctrine.  He says sound doctrine will provide Christian values.  That is, sound words will build the Christian up and make him strong in his faith and will give him understanding to the truth of who God is and who he is in Christ.  Sound words.  The word “sound” means healthy.  False teachers were not giving sound doctrine; they were giving unhealthy false teaching.

Sound doctrine will promote Christ teachings.  He says here that sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness.  These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, these are the words of the Apostle Paul, and they are the words of the whole Word of God because Jesus Christ is the Word.

So sound doctrine promotes Christ’s teaching.  That’s what we have here in this church and Sunday school and the morning and evening service and in the Bible studies throughout the week.  The teaching of sound doctrine to instruct, to strengthen, to build our faith, to embrace Jesus Christ in our everyday walk.

Then sound doctrine will also produce Christian practice, and that word here is summed up in the word “godliness.”  Teaching that doesn’t promote and produce godly living is false doctrine.  True doctrine comes from a careful study of Scripture, and when doctrine is embraced not just in the head but in our hearts and lived out, it will produce the fruit of holiness to the glory of God.  

In our New Testament reading, Brother Zach took us to 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 16.  If you look at that, you see here that Paul says “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.  Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Reading the Word, believing the Word, obeying the Word, puts us in the position to hear God.  How good is your hearing tonight?  Do you hear Him?  Am I in the Word to hear Him?  Yes, it’s our duty to get into the Word, but that should take us only to another level of delight, that we delight to read His Word.  The psalmist says it’s like honey in a honeycomb.  The psalmist wrote in Psalm 119, “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against thee.”

We must be careful as God’s children not to allow for relaxing of our vigilance in the Word and in our pursuit of godliness, for when we do we’re just setting ourselves up for our adversary the devil to take advantage of us. 

So Paul tells us here, yes, false teachers are around, but we’re to have sound doctrine as our base of operation and we’re to grow in the Word and we’re to know the Word.

How are you growing in the Word?  In your walk with the Lord?  Let me encourage you as you start looking at the new year to consider something to help you in your study of the Word of God.  Kevin didn’t give me any commission off of this, but this is a good book for you to help in your understanding of what sound doctrine is.  It’s called Daily Doctrine and taking the great truths that we hold dear and making it understandable and applicable to our lives as Christians.  So as you start 2025, the need of sound doctrine, here’s a good study tool to help you in your study of the Word.

Paul then takes us to verses 6 through 10.  Paul points out the contrast of true godliness in verse 6 with the pseudo-godliness of the false teachers in verse 5.  Notice what he says – godliness with contentment is great gain.

The word “contentment” can be translated into self-sufficiency.  It’s a common word used by Greek philosophers referring to being independent of circumstances.  But it’s more than that.  It is an attitude that accepts gratefully the gifts that God has given and is satisfied.  In fact, we understand that whatever comes to us in life ultimately is a gift.  We know that from Romans 8:28 – and we know for those who love God that all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. 

So if we are a child of God, we’re under the constant care of God.  His eye is never off of us.  He neither slumbers nor sleeps and everything that comes into our lives should be understood as a gift, so there is this self-sufficiency, let’s call it Christ-sufficiency, meaning this contentment that should characterize our life.  Godliness with contentment.

Paul is an example of this.  Take your Bibles and turn with me to Philippians chapter 4 and look at verse 11.  Paul was writing this from a Roman prison.  Notice what he says here – not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  Contentment.  How do you get contentment in a Roman prison cell?

Well, Paul tells us the answer there in verse 11 – for I have learned to be content.

Paul learned contentment.  It is a discipline and you have to learn that.  It helps to have good theology to help in the understanding of contentment.  You see, for Paul in the prison cell in Rome, he knew the great truth that his God is sovereign.  He governs everything in  our lives.  You know, that’s sound doctrine.  That’s words that lead to spiritual health and it helps you to make it through those times when we would say that are hard and testing.  Paul says, “I’ve learned to be content.”

Are we that way?  Are we learning contentment in our lives?

Job is also another example of contentment.  You know Job’s story.  He knew in the midst of losing everything, being overcome with suffering, he knew that God was by his side and he said in chapter 1, verse 21, he makes this statement:  Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return.

You know, folks, Job had an understanding that took him through those times when he lost it all, when he was overtaken with suffering and physical sickness.  He understood that God was in control and that God was there by his side.  Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return.  The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth, blessed be the name of the Lord.

But you know what?  As Paul brings to our attention that godliness with contentment is great gain, we need to be on guard that that contentment is not interrupted nor taken away nor interfered with what he mentions here in verses 7 through 10.  He says, “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  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, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It’s through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, especially susceptible to the allurement of riches and money.

So Paul brings to the attention of Timothy that contentment needs to be guarded against the allurement of money and the things of this world.  He brings out this thought of greed.  Greed is the danger to contentment, not being satisfied with what you have, wanting more. 

Paul says here in verse 9, verse 10, that greed will do three things to you.  One – it will destroy you.  Second, it will deceive you.  And the third thing is it will disappoint you.

Verse 9 says “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.”  Those who continually desire resolve to be rich will always be in some sort of temptation, there will be snares.  They will be caught up in the allurement of all that money can buy.  What happens is that their love for the things of the Lord and their heart for the Lord grows cold.  Money and riches soon become their god and their god does not satisfy them; it destroys them, that’s what Paul says here in verse 9.  It plunges people into ruin and destruction.

But greed will also deceive you.  Verse 10 says, “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.”  The god of money always promises one thing but eventually gives you something altogether different and totally unexpected.  You love it, and you give it your heart.  It’ll bring about all kinds of evils.  You see greed in one area will certainly lead to greed in another area.  It’s no accident that money and sex often go together.

You see, at the root of a love for money is an idol.  It’s a false god and false gods never satisfy and they never give you what you want and what they promise that they will deliver.

Money is not condemned here, but the love of it is.  The love of money has been the downfall of many people.  It’s caused many heartaches at home and in the business world and in personal life.

But not only will it deceive you, it will disappoint you.  It says here, “it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierce themselves with many pangs.”  Greed will lead you away from God and dependency on God.  It will lead you away from the Savior and satisfaction with Him.  Instead, the heart is inflicted with pain, sorrow.  Conscience will not allow one to sleep at night or know the peace of God.  Greed will rob you of joy and happiness and peace and contentment that you have with the Lord.

Paul tells Timothy you need to guard your heart against the greed, the love of many, for it will jeopardize the contentment that you enjoy.  Paul also says to guard your heart with sound doctrine as to be protected and not to allow yourself to be swept by the false teaching that is in the culture today.

As 2025 is upon us, we need to guard our hearts.  We need to grow in the Word of God, not just to read it.  It’s great to read the Bible through in a year, but we have to go beyond that.  We need to know and understand what we’re reading and sometimes that doesn’t allow for us to read the Bible through in a year.

Paul is going to soon pass off the scene here and he knows what the battle really is.  He pours out his heart to Timothy, to take special care of his heart, to be steeped in the Word of God, and to realize that these false teachers are no friends to grace.

We need to protect ourselves and our families and our church from the likes of the false teachers that Paul makes mention of here in 1 Timothy, particularly verses 3 through 5.  But we also need contentment, godliness with contentment. 

Certainly this weekend we’re going to be, we already have been plummeted with ads to buy more and to consume more and to have more.  Paul brings to our attention that if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

How are we growing in our contentment?  It’s a battle.  It’s something we learn.  Is it that I need this or do I want this?  Am I trusting the Lord to see me through in this situation knowing that He is in control?

If we love God and we pursue godliness, we will have a very contented life.  May God give us the grace to do that and to invest our lives, which are all too brief, in the things of God and His kingdom.  May we know the Word, may we have a life that overflows in godliness, enjoying the contentment that comes with it. 

Let’s pray.  Our Father, this evening we thank You for Your Word.  We thank You for Timothy, who is instructed by Paul to lead his people, to lead them in knowing Your Word.  Lord, it’s our desire tonight to know more of Your Word, to grow in the understanding of it and to live in light of it.  Lord, we ask that in this world that is just so full of things that they tell us we need to be content with knowing what we need and that is we need You, that our lives would be centered around You and that whatever comes our way, Lord, that You’re there to see us through and whatever we have, food and clothes, teach us, Lord, to be content.  Help us to learn that, to guard our hearts against the temptation to own more, to hoard more, to not be content with what we have but always thinking the grass is greener on the other side.  O Lord, You’ve blessed us in so many ways and we thank You for that in this time of the year of thanksgiving, that we know that every good thing comes down from the Father of lights.  So as we enter into 2025, O Lord, we pray these things would be a reality in our lives, that we might go forward.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.