The Greatest Treasure

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

(Mat 6:20 ESV)

This Sunday we will be looking at the last section in 1 Timothy. At my first look at the passage it seemed that there were three separate topics. First, there is an encouragement to fight the good fight of faith. Then, it moves into a doxology of praise to God. Next, there are specific words of instruction for the rich. Finally, Paul closes the letter with an encouragement for Timothy to guard the Gospel deposit. I spent some time thinking about how these three things are related and I think I've found at least one way that they are. Each of the parts to this text relate to the most valuable thing in the world.

How to Take Hold of the Greatest Treasure

1 Timothy 6:11-15a is where Paul is telling Timothy how he is to take hold of the most valuable thing in the world.

  11But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time.

The first things Paul tells Timothy and us to do is to run away and to run forward. We are to flee something--specifically, the love of money and false teaching. This takes intentional effort. Paul doesn't want us to take these things lightly. He says, run away. Then he tells us to run forward. We are to pursue certain characteristics. We are to chase after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. This list has overlap with the fruits of the spirit. The Christian is to pursue all of these qualities in order to take hold of the most valuable treasure of all. Next, Paul tells us to fight the good fight of the faith. The Christian life involves struggle and wrestling. We fight, and the biggest enemy we fight is within--the flesh. Next, Paul tells us to take hold of the eternal life to which we were called. God has initiated here. He has already done the calling. In response to the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, believers then take hold of eternal life. We grab it and we hold it tightly. Finally, Paul tells Timothy, and us to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach. In the context of 1 Timothy, I think that this is talking about Timothy's charge to the Gospel ministry. How will Timothy take hold of the greatest treasure? He will do all these things, in the power of the Spirit, and he will faithfully carry out his ministry. 

What is the Greatest Treasure?

1 Timothy 6:15b-16 is where Paul tells Timothy and us of the supreme value of and the greatness of God.

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 

 Paul then turns from explaining how to take hold of the greatest treasure to describing that treasure. God is the greatest treasure. He breaks into an expression of praise and states that God is the blessed and only Sovereign. He is blessed--he is happy. He is the only Sovereign--he is in a class by himself. he is Sovereign--he rules over all the universe as the omnipotent creator. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--a term that appears in Daniel 4 in the LXX and in the book of Revelation to describe Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar used this language to say that the true God rules over all the kings of every nation. In revelation this designation is applied to Jesus Christ. God is the only one with immortality. While believers have been promised eternal life, we are not truly immortal because we are dependent on the sustaining power of God. We will face death in this life unless we live to the return of Christ, but we will be raised to live with him forever. However, we will not be independent. Our eternal life will forever be dependent upon God. He dwells in unapproachable light. Like the experience of driving into the sun and being blinded by the light, except multiplied by a million times--the light of God is so bright we cannot look upon it, yet he dwells there in the middle. No one has ever or can see him, and as John 1:18 says, Jesus is the only one who has, and Jesus has revealed to us what we are not able to see on our own. To him be honor and dominion. He is worthy of all of our praise and honor. He is the king of all creation.

Our Attitude Toward All Other Things in Comparison to the Greatest Treasure

Finally, 1 Timothy 6:17-21 tell us how we ought to think of everything else due to the surpassing value of God.

 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge," 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

 God is so valuable, that the rich in this life who are believers are to live in a way that shows that He is their greatest treasure and not their money. They are to not be proud. They are not to trust in their money, but in God. How often are we looking for money to answer all our problems? They are to do good with their money. They are to hold their money loosely and to give it away generously for Kingdom purposes--so that they can send their greatest treasure on ahead of them to heaven.

 Finally, Timothy wasn't rich; he was a pastor. Paul's instruction to him was to guard the deposit of the Gospel. If God is of supreme value, then the gospel is to be guarded like an armored truck with armed security guards. Don't be fooled by false teachers who try to be impressive by their so called knowledge, but stay firmly planted in the Gospel as it was passed on to us.

The Love of Money and the 10 Commandments

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. (1Timothy 6:10 ESV)

This text tells us that all types of evil are rooted in the love of money. One might relate this to the Marxist claim that man is essentially an economic being, yet I think it goes deeper than this. While economics plays a major part in motivating human behavior it cannot be the ultimate motivation. Rather, man is essentially a worshiping being. God created human beings to bring him glory. Money comes into the picture because, as fallen mankind is apt to do, we create an idol out of it. We worship the security and the pleasures that money can bring. As I thought about this reality, I wanted to see how the 10 Commandments fit into this equation. The 10 Commandments are a summary of the moral law, so if the love of money is the root of all evils, then we can expect that it may motivate the violation of each of the commandments.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

According to Jesus, the whole law is summed up in the commands to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Yet, as sinful human creatures we fall short. We do not love God as we ought to love him. When we find our security, our comfort, or our meaning in something other than him we have committed idolatry. We are worshiping something other than the one true God. Money is easily worshiped. You don't have to bow down or have religious ceremonies to worship money. You just have to treasure it more than Jesus.

2. You shall not make for yourselves any graven image.

 Initially, this commandment seems more difficult to tie to the love of money. Yet Jesus asked whose image was on a coin in his day. It would be wrong to claim that the minting of coins violates this command; however, when our devotion is to money, our hearts care more for the image on a coin than the image of God in our fellow man.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

 If we say we worship God, yet we really only treasure the gifts that He gives. If we value His gifts above Him, then we take his name in vain. Taking God's name in vain is more than just using it as a curse word, it is using God's name emptily. To claim to worship Him when He is not our highest treasure is to violate this command.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.

 How often do we let our service of money stand in the way of our observance of rest and worship? The principle of the Sabbath is not easily transferred to New Testament believers. Not everyone understands the application of this command for today in the same way. However, at the very least we can say that when we allow the constant pressures to work stand in the way of making time for rest and worship we have allowed money to be our God.

5. Honor your father and mother.

 Jesus connects this command to money when he confronts the religious teachers about holding their traditions above God's word. To honor one's father and mother means to care for their needs and to provide for them in their old age when necessary. The love of money might keep some from fulfilling this duty.

6. You shall not murder.

The love of money might motivate some to kill for it.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

 One might not easily connect the love of money and the sin of adultery; however, when one considers that the from 2001 to 2007 the pornography industry in the US alone went from a $1 billion a year industry to a $3 billion industry, it is easier to see the connection. Young women who were created in the image of God, to worship him, and to bring him glory, are selling their bodies for the sake of the love of money.

8. You shall not steal.

This may be the easiest to relate to the love of money. People will take what does not belong to them because they love money more than they care about another human being created in God's image.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

It is often the idol of security that may cause someone to lie for the sake of personal gain or protection from material loss.

10. You shall not covet.

Coveting = Loving money (or material things) more than God or neighbor.

There are some of the commandments that are easier than others to relate to the love of money. I am sure that there are many aspects that I left out. I merely tried to show that there was some kind of connection to each of the commandments. Beware of the love of money. It is an internal enemy that is capable of pulling us into a pit in which we will be impaled upon many sorrows.