The Worship of Money

1 Timothy 6:1-19

INTRODUCTION: In the days of Gideon, the Israelites had been living under the Midianite culture, religion, and control for too long. When God’s people got tired of living in fear, they began to seek the Lord. The Lord’s first admonition was to tear down the altars of Baal and to build new altars. The sad truth was that the Israelites had been worshiping at these altars and the decision to tear them down was going to be difficult for them on every front.

I. THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF MONEY (1 Timothy 6:1-8)

A. As it Pertains to Labour (1 Timothy 6:1-5)

1. The call to honour masters (1 Timothy 6:1-2)
a. Unsaved masters (1 Timothy 6:1)
b. Saved masters (1 Timothy 6:2)
c. Note: One would think our constant pursuit of wealth would make us impeccable employees, but this is just not true. As a whole, we have become more deceptive and manipulative than productive and because of both employee and employer we feel as though the only way to get ahead is to change employment.
2. The prevalence of false teachings (1 Timothy 6:3-5)
a. The character of the false teacher (1 Timothy 6:3-5a)
b. The supposition of the false teacher (1 Timothy 6:5b) – “supposing that gain is godliness”
c. The responsibility of the believer (1 Timothy 6:5c) – “from such withdraw thyself”

B. As it Pertains to Contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

1. Gain equals godliness with contentment (1 Timothy 6:6)
a. Godly work
b. Contentment with God’s supply
2. Remembering that we depart with nothing (1 Timothy 6:7)
a. We brought nothing into this world
b. It is certain we can carry nothing out
3. Understanding the true necessities (1 Timothy 6:8)
a. Having food and raiment
b. Let us be therewith content
c. Note: Somewhere along the way, we became convinced that necessities included much more than food and raiment. The increase of our necessities has created a larger demand for income which requires more hours spent on work and less with family and Christian faithfulness.

II. THE DANGER OF MONEY (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

A. The Danger of Possession (1 Timothy 6:9)

1. Falling
a. Into temptation
b. Into snares
c. Into many foolish and hurtful lusts
2. Drowning
a. In destruction
b. In perdition

B. The Danger of Pursuit (1 Timothy 6:10)

1. The progress of danger
a. The love of money
1.) The root
2.) Of all evil
3.) The modern perversions try to help God out on this verse by suggesting that the love of money is A root of all KINDS of evil. God knew what He was writing! Somewhere at the root of all evil is the love of money.
b. The coveting of money
2. The product of failure
a. They err from the faith
b. They pierce themselves through with many sorrows

III. THE BIBLICAL ADMONITION (1 Timothy 6:11-19)

A. The Admonition for the Poor (1 Timothy 6:11-16)

1. Flee the perils of covetousness (1 Timothy 6:11)
2. Fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:11b-12)
3. Keep these commandments (1 Timothy 6:13-16)

B. The Admonition for the Rich (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

1. Trust in God (1 Timothy 6:17)
2. Do good (1 Timothy 6:18-19)

CONCLUSION: It is high time that God’s people tear down the altars the world built. For far too long, we have become convinced that we have no choice but to follow the world’s lead.