1
Timothy 6
Contemporary
English Version (CEV)
6
If you are a slave, you should respect and honour your owner. This will keep
people from saying bad things about God and about our teaching. 2 If any of you
slaves have owners who are followers, you should show them respect. After all,
they are also followers of Christ, and he loves them. So you should serve and
help them the best you can.
False
Teaching and True Wealth
These are the things you
must teach and tell the people to do. 3 Anyone who teaches something different
disagrees with the correct and godly teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Those
people who disagree are proud of themselves, but they don’t really know a
thing. Their minds are sick, and they like to argue over words. They cause
jealousy, disagreements, unkind words, evil suspicions, 5 and nasty quarrels.
They have wicked minds and have missed out on the truth.
These
people think religion is supposed to make you rich. 6 And religion does make
your life rich, by making you content with what you have. 7 We didn’t bring
anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. 8
So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. 9 People who want to
be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by
foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. 10 The love
of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they
have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
Fighting
a Good Fight for the Faith
11
Timothy, you belong to God, so keep away
from all these evil things. Try your best to please God and to be like him. Be
faithful, loving, dependable, and gentle. 12 Fight a good fight for the faith
and claim eternal life. God offered it to you when you clearly told about your
faith, while so many people listened. 13 Now I ask you to make a promise. Make
it in the presence of God, who gives life to all, and in the presence of Jesus
Christ, who openly told Pontius Pilate about his faith. 14 Promise to obey
completely and fully all that you have been told until our Lord Jesus Christ
returns.
15
The glorious God
is the only Ruler,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
At
the time that God
has already decided,
he
will send Jesus Christ
back again.
16
Only God lives forever!
And
he lives in light
that no one can come near.
No
human has ever seen God
or ever can see him.
God
will be honored,
and
his power
will last forever. Amen.
17
Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that
is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with
everything we need to enjoy life. 18 Instruct them to do as many good deeds as
they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what
they have. 19 This will lay a solid
foundation for the future, so that they will know what true life is like.
20
Timothy, guard what God has placed in your care! Don’t pay any attention to
that godless and stupid talk that sounds smart but really isn’t. 21 Some people
have even lost their faith by believing this talk.
I
pray that the Lord will be kind to all of you!
Opposing
False Teachers (6:2-5)
The
Christian leader must not forget the responsibility to protect the faith. Those
of Paul's readers who fell into this category, including Timothy, were to
discharge this duty by teaching and urging the true faith (v. 2). The command
that sets Timothy in this mode again (see also 3:14; 4:6, 11; 5:7, 21) also
reminds them that in this operation the Christian leader is not unarmed. Paul
has given specific teaching (these . . . things) for confrontation with the
false teachers.
Having
repeated the command, Paul issues a kind of "wanted poster." It is
the counterpart to the "job description" given in chapter 3. Notably,
each begins with the general if anyone (compare 5:4, 16; Tit 1:6). Here, verses
3-6 consist of one long sentence in the Greek, beginning with the
"criminal" and the "crime" and going on to give identifying
characteristics in a list of vices. By using the list (compare 1:9-10; 2 Tim
3:2-4; Tit 3:3) Paul meant to create a strong stereotype or caricature of the
false teacher that would communicate primarily two things: an authoritative
denunciation and a solemn warning. Readers, after seeing this
"poster," would not be likely to form or maintain casual attitudes
about the false teachers or their doctrine.
IVP
New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity
Press.
The
words of Christ are the best to prevent ruptures in the church; for none who
profess faith in him will dispute the aptness or authority of his words who is
their Lord and teacher, and it has never gone well with the church since the
words of men have claimed a regard equal to his words, and in some cases a much
greater.
2. Whoever teaches otherwise, and does not
consent to these wholesome words, he is proud, knowing nothing; for pride and
ignorance commonly go together.
3. Paul sets a brand only on those who consent
not to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine which is according
to godliness; they are proud, knowing nothing: other words more wholesome he
knew not.
4.
We learn the sad effects of doting about questions and strifes of words; of
such doting about questions comes envy, strife, evil surmisings, and perverse
disputings; when men leave the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, they
will never agree in other words, either of their own or other men’s invention,
but will perpetually wrangle and quarrel about them; and this will produce
envy, when they see the words of others preferred to those they have adopted
for their own; and this will be attended with jealousies and suspicions of one
another, called here evil surmisings; then they will proceed to perverse
disputings.
5. Such persons as are given to perverse
disputings appear to be men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth;
especially such as act in this manner for the sake of gain, which is all their
godliness, supposing gain to be godliness, contrary to the apostle’s judgment,
who reckoned godliness great gain.
6. Good ministers and Christians will withdraw
themselves from such. “Come out from among them, my people, and be ye
separate,” says the Lord: from such withdraw thyself.
Matthew Henry's Commentary