Pride & the Love of Money

1. Pride & the Love of Money I Timothy 6:3-16

2. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. • Watch out for prideful money driven teachers—vs. 3-5 • A. Paul again warns Timothy of false teachers who think they know something, but really know nothing. • I Timothy 1:7, “They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.”

3. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. • Watch out for prideful money driven teachers—vs. 3-5 • I have a suspicion that Paul was warning Timothy about those who had been attacking Paul’s apostleship and leading the Corinthian church astray with false teachings. • II Corinthians 11:1-7, 13-15

4. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. • The church must guard against unhealthy controversies which usually are based upon opinion and lead to disunity. • Envy—against the one who won the argument • Strife—bitter discord—seeks to bind opinion as law • Malicious or abusive language—blasphemies, insults • Mistrust & evil suspicions—suspect every action of your opponent as evil • II Timothy 2:23, “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”

5. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. • The love of money is driven by discontentment. • Paul said that the false teachers in verse 3 thought that godliness was a means to financial gain. • But, he says in verse 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain.

6. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. • I Timothy 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it.” • Real joy in this life comes from being content no matter your circumstances. • “Don’t become discontent when those around you appear to be better off than you.” • Rather you continue to live a godly life, and be content that God will take care of you. • Hebrews 13:5-6

7. Love of money can be understood like this, “An unreasonable desire for what we do not have and a dissatisfaction with what we do have.” Covetousness

8. The Bible gives us many examples to learn from. Achan’sfamily—Joshua 7 Judas Iscariot—Matthew 26 & 27 Ananias & Sapphira—Acts 5 Rich Young ruler—Luke 18

9. Godliness and contentment are key to a healthy church. True life and riches only come through faith and obedience to Jesus Christ!