Today is the 3rd part of a 7 week series on instructions Paul is giving to Timothy, who was a young pastor serving a church in the region of Ephesus. Unlike today, where becoming a pastor can be a long time of preparation that includes a Master of Divinity degree, pastor’s licensing school, and a very in depth credentialing process, Timothy had to learn on the fly.
Actually, Timothy had spent a lot of time with Paul during his missionary journey and now Paul is giving Timothy important tips in what it means to be a pastoral leader of a church.
For the first Sunday of our Dear Timothy series, the pastoral tip was for Timothy to set a culture where God’s overflowing love and grace welcomes all people. Last Sunday, the pastoral tip was to emphasize the importance of prayer which includes praying for our needs, the needs of others, and offering prayers of thanksgiving. Paul wants Timothy to have a praying church.
For today, Paul’s spiritual tip to Timothy is for him to continue to pursue a godly life. We find this in the final part of his letter to Timothy. Paul uses the word, “godliness” twice in our scripture reading for this morning. In verse 6, Paul writes that “there is great gain in godliness.” And then in verse 11, Paul writes, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.”
One of the Bible commentaries that I read said that to pursue a godly life is to pursue an alternative way of living where we are seeking to live out God’s kingdom here on earth. This is why Paul uses words like “righteousness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness, and contentment,” in what it means to pursue a godly life.
Those are words that describe Jesus. Jesus sought righteousness in making this world a better place. He had faith in which he trusted God who was leading him. Jesus endured the many challenges that came his way. He showed gentleness with the people he encountered including his enemies and those who were marginalized. And Jesus was content and knew that what God had given him was sufficient to fulfill God’s purposes through him.
Pursing godliness means that we live our lives in such a way where we demonstrate a Christlike approach in how we live out our lives. I like this meaning of the word, “godliness” much more than what first came to my mind when I read that word from our scripture reading.
For many people, the word, “godliness” is associated with someone who acts holier than thou, who comes across as judgmental, and who has a very narrow way of interpreting scripture. Chances are that you have probably come across some Christians like that. And we all are susceptible to coming across that way as well.
I like Paul’s description of what it means to be godly which is rooted in who Jesus is; a seeker of righteousness and a person of faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
In this scripture passage from I Timothy, Paul also emphasizes the importance of contentment in living a godly life. He mentions contentment twice. Paul knows that the love of money can lead to a lack of contentment.
This scripture reading includes one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Paul writes in verse 10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” It often gets misquoted as simply, “money is the root of all kinds of evil,” but the phrase is “the love of money.”
Paul wants Timothy to know that being rich in good works, being generous, and being ready to share with others is what leads to contentment and a life that really is life. That’s actually how Paul puts it in verse 19; “Taking hold of the life that really is life.”
I know that downplaying becoming rich might not go over so well here in a university community where people come here in pursuit of hopefully making a lot of money in a future career. Paul even says how focusing on money above everything else can lead people to wander from the faith and lead to pain and a lack of contentment.
This reminds me of something my mom used to say a lot. She would tell me how she and dad were the happiest when they were poor. And then she would follow that up that with the punch line, “Which is why we’ve always been really happy.”
To this day, I don’t know how mom and dad who didn’t make a whole lot of money were able to provide for their four children, help us go to college, take us on vacations, gave us a wonderful place to live, and were also generous in helping others and giving to the church. Well, I did have to wear my brother’s hand me downs so there was that, but still, to this day, I still wonder how they did it.
My only answer is that they maximized what they had, they worked hard, they lived within their means, and they just really loved us. They certainly did what Paul writes in his letter to Timothy, “They stored up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they could take hold of the life that really is life.”
What a life we had while growing up. Full use of exploring the farm, building dams in the creek that ran through our meadow, making hay forts in the barn, not to mention tree houses. Drinking lemonade on our front porch after a long day of mowing our large yard. Playing croquet matches in the meadow. Going to church together. Just enjoying life!
Wow, did I have it good or what? Thank you mom and dad. Thank you for having a faith that pursued godliness in the best sense of that word. Thank you for making the best with what you had and for being content. I know that there are many people who didn’t have that kind of love and happiness growing up which is why I will always be thankful for their pursuit of godliness.
Beyond parents and family, God places people in our path who have lived a godly life and have taken hold of the life that is really life. I think of people in my home church who taught Sunday School, led bible studies, and served as pastors. These are the people who have made a positive impact on my life.
Sky McCraken is a United Methodist pastor in Jackson, Tennessee. He writes about Bette who was a member of his church and was an example of someone who lived a godly life. She lived on a very limited income and had a variety of health and mobility challenges. He said that she could also try his patience. Sometimes, Bette would bring him small trinkets, one of them being a cross that she had made out of clothespins.
During the funeral for Bette, one of the church members, Nancy who helped settle her estate shared how Bette had lived a godly life. She said that she had found a spiral noteback that was Bette’s ledger. It included her contributions to the church.
Bette had very little, but in comparison to what she had, she was a very generous giver to the church. During her eulogy, Nancy said, “I wept when I realized how generous this woman was, and how little she kept for herself.”
He also shared about a man in his congregation named, Morris. Morris had built up a very successful business during his lifetime. He was very generous in giving to the church and supporting the community.
Morris paid for a lot of college tuitions and funeral expenses over the years for his employees and their families who were financially challenged. Morris could have driven any car he wanted but instead drove old vehicles until they fell apart. He believed that the church and those who had been entrusted with much should live out what Jesus said to love and care for one another.
When I think of someone who lives a godly life, one of the first persons that comes to my mind is Bishop Gregory Palmer of our West Ohio Conference. Bishop Palmer oversees our 1,000 United Methodist Churches that extends from the western border of Ohio, much of the northern border of our state, and all the way over to southeast Ohio, including Marietta.
[Bishop Gregory Palmer, West Ohio Conference UMC]
Being a Bishop is a very challenging and demanding job because you are responsible for making sure that each church is matched with the right pastor. It’s really an impossible task, but he does his very best with the support of his eight district superintendents.
When it was first announced several years ago that he would be assigned as our Bishop, I called a pastor friend of mine in Illinois where Bishop Palmer was serving at the time. I asked him what kind of Bishop we would be getting here in West Ohio.
I was just expecting to hear some general thoughts about his leadership but he ended up going into great detail about him. He didn’t use the word, “godly” but what he described for me is exactly what Paul is telling Timothy to be a person who“pursues righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.”
He said that we would be getting a Bishop who encourages and prays for his pastors and who is open to the diversity of theological opinions that are represented in our conference. He also said that we would be getting one of the best preachers we have ever heard.
Some of you have heard Bishop Palmer preach. He’s been here at our church 2 or 3 times since I’ve been here as your pastor. He loves to preach in this great big sanctuary. And if you have heard Bishop Palmer preach, you know that he likes to raise the volume of his voice in order to make an important spiritual point. He is a powerful preacher. I refer to him as a holy freight train when he preaches.
But Bishop Palmer is also one of the most genuine and down to earth people you will ever meet. He called me one day to ask if I would serve on a conference committee but he spent most of the time asking about Penny and our family and ministry here at Athens First. When Bishop Palmer enters a room, you really can feel the presence of Jesus.
One of the pastors in our conference referred to him this way in which I heartily add my Amen. Here’s what she said: “Bishop Palmer's heart and passion can't help but bubble out and through. Grateful for his heart of deep and abiding gratitude and faithfulness!”
You can just tell when someone is living a godly life, a life where they are taking hold of the life that really is life. This is why Paul is telling Timothy in this last chapter of his letter to be that kind of pastor and that kind of church where people are pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. And then Paul tells Timothy to fight that good fight and to put his energy in living that kind of godly life.
And we are all invited to be people who live that life, a life that can fill up a room with the love of Jesus.
In his biography of St. Antony who inspired many through his faith during the 4th century, Athanasius wrote this rhetorical question about him where he asks, “Whoever met Antony grieving and failed to go away rejoicing?”
May people say that about us as well.
Dear Timothy, Pursue a Godly Life
Sermon Discussion Questions
I Timothy 6:6-19
September 25, 2022
We are in the 3rd part of a 7-week sermon series focusing on two letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy who was one of the young pastors of the early church. In addition to these two letters to Timothy, Paul also wrote a similar letter to Titus, also a pastor at that time. These three letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus have become known as “The Pastoral Letters;” I Timothy, II Timothy, and Titus. One bible scholar states that the reason Paul wrote these letters was to instruct Timothy and Titus in providing the pastoral leadership needed to help people in the church commit their lives to Christ, serve his kingdom, and to worship God.
If you were asked to offer some words of advice to somebody who recently became a Christian, what would you share with that person?
For this week’s word of instruction to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul encourages Timothy to pursue a godly life. Paul describes a godly life in this way, “pursuing righteousness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” A little later in this scripture passage, Paul adds this description, “take hold of the life that really is life.”
How are these descriptive words about a godly life similar to your definition? What other descriptive words would you add to the list?
Paul also describes godliness as being content and he specifically writes, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” This is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Many people leave out the phrase, “for the love of” in reciting this verse.
What do you think Paul means when he says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil?” How does this relate to being able to live a godly life?
Pastor Robert offered several examples of people living a godly life as described by the Apostle Paul. They live out their faith in such a way that they are seeking righteousness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness, generosity, and contentment. They are also taking hold of the life that is really life.
Share an example of someone who has demonstrated a godly life and how has that helped you in your own pursuit of a godly life?
Close by praying our Sunday worship prayer about being a person who pursues a godly life:
O Lord, we confess that we allow the cares of the world to rob us of our peace and contentment. Our anxieties and fears often get the better of us. We spend so much of our energy and time chasing after the pleasures of this world. Remind us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. May our love for you be our most cherished treasure in life. To you, be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
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