1 Timothy 6

Notes

Ver. 1. As some judaizing teachers, to the discredit of religion and the violation of natural rights, encourage slaves or other servants, when converted, to renounce their servitude, I earnestly admonish you, on all proper occasions, to instruct and urge servants, however enslaved, to honour, reverence, and obey their heathen masters; that so the honour of God and credit of the gospel may not be reproachfully stained, as if it discharged men from their just obligations, and the natural or civil duties of their station. 2. And if any Christian servants are so happy as to have masters of their own religion, let them prize it as a great privilege, and honour and obey them the more cheerfully, affectionately, and diligently, because they are faithful believers, beloved of God, and partakers of all the blessings of redemption through the blood of his Son. 3. If any man teach what is contrary to these directions, and does not, in heart, speech, and behaviour, embrace and practise the pure and salutary doctrines of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, concerning his person and offices, which is formed, designed, and blessed for promoting practical religion in all the branches of piety towards God, and relative duties towards men, from regard to his authority; 4, 5. Notwithstanding all his pretences, profession, or station in the church, he is but a haughty, self-conceited creature, puffed up by the vanity of his own mind, who knows nothing aright of the truth of the gospel, or of his own duty to God or to men; but, like a brain-sick person, is madly fond of impertinent, useless, and entangling questions, and empty disputes about words rather than matter; and which are fit for nothing but to kindle and inflame invidious thoughts and passions, angry debates, blasphemous and reproachful railings, injurious and ill-grounded jealousies, preposterously curious, vain, and froward disputings—proper only for persons of erroneous minds and vicious inclinations, who are utter strangers to Christ and the gospel, and to the reality of grace in their hearts, and reckon religion only so far valuable as it is subservient to their carnal views. Have nothing to do with such persons; abhor their principles and practices; and if they continue obstinate therein, let them be excluded from the church.—6. But whatever such carnal men think, true practical godliness, in which all suitable graces are exercised, in worshipping and serving God through Jesus Christ, under the influence of his Spirit, according to the gospel, attended with a holy and gracious contentment and satisfaction in the disposals of Providence towards us in this life, is the most pleasant, satisfying, and profitable course that can be conceived, and incomparably preferable to an affluence of temporal enjoyments, which at best are empty, precarious, and perishing; 7. For as we brought none of these earthly enjoyments with us into this world in our birth, but hold them by the mere bounty and gracious disposal of God, so we must quickly leave them all behind us at death. 8. If then the kind providence of God supply us in this world with necessary food, raiment, and dwellings, we ought to be fully contented with our lot, and thankful for what we enjoy, as very good, nay, best for us. 9. But they whose hearts are set upon riches, and resolve to have them at any rate, as if they were their chief good, plunge themselves into manifold temptations to dishonesty and other wickedness, and into the deep defilement of many foolish and hurtful lusts and passions, which will effectually swallow them up in temporal and eternal destruction: 10. For an inordinate esteem of and affection for wealth is the pregnant source of all sinful, injurious, and miserable principles and practices, in which, while some have indulged themselves, they have apostatized from their Christian profession and practice; and, instead of finding the satisfaction they expected, have plunged themselves into the most painful agonies of mind and distress of body.—11. But do you, Timothy, whom God hath so richly endowed with the gifts and graces of his Spirit, and who have solemnly devoted yourself to his service, abhor and flee from these corrupt principles, inclinations, and practices, and, in the strength of grace, earnestly endeavour after the richest attainments of the knowledge and exercise of righteousness in all your behaviour towards men; and of strict and evangelical piety in all your dealings with God; of faith in Christ, and in God through him; of that love which is the fruit of faith; of patience amidst wants, perplexities, and sufferings; and of a humble and gentle temper towards all men. 12. In this manner contend earnestly for the doctrines of faith; and, in the exercise of faith, fight, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, against the devil, the world, and the flesh: press forward in faith and holiness, till you obtain the full possession of that eternal life to which you are tenderly called by the gospel, and to the honour of which ye have, in your ordination, preaching, conversation, and sufferings, borne the most public and solemn testimony. 13. And as this matter is of infinite importance to the glory of God and the salvation of men, I solemnly charge you, in the name, and before the face of that all-seeing and almighty God who quickens dead souls, and will quickly raise the dead to the last judgment; and by the authority and in the presence of Jesus Christ the great Messiah, at whose awful tribunal you must quickly give an account of your conduct; and who, when arraigned before Pontius Pilate the Roman governor, set you a glorious example of courage and steadfastness, in bearing a free and open testimony to the truth, when he knew it would cost him his life,—14. That you faithfully and diligently, and to the end of your life, perform your ministerial work, and sincerely and exactly follow the instructions which I have given you, in the full expectation of the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the world, and of the account we must give to him of our whole conduct; 15. Which appearance he will make in the most public view of angels and men in the appointed season thereof—who in himself is the infinitely happy and all-sufficient God, the only supreme and almighty Ruler over and source of all authority to all kings and lords on earth, being infinitely more glorious and excellent than any of them; 16. And who alone has an absolutely eternal life of glory and blessedness, originally, necessarily, unchangeably, and independently in himself, and is infinitely pure and inconceivable in his nature, and manifests himself on his heavenly throne in inexpressible and unapproachable glories. 17. In view of the importance of your trust, and of that awful account which you and others are to give of your conduct, solemnly and faithfully charge those Christians who have some share of worldly riches to beware of being lifted up with pride, self-sufficiency, and contempt of others, or of trusting in earthly possessions, which are so precarious and fleeting; and teach them to put their whole confidence in the only living and true God, who, through active faith, freely bestows upon us all the blessings of time and eternity. 18. Charge them also that, instead of hoarding up their riches, or lavishly misspending them on themselves, they do all the good they can with them; and study to abound in better riches, to their own and others' advantage, even in every good work which their affluence renders them capable of—cheerfully and liberally bestowing it in supplying the necessities of the poor, and promoting the cause of Christ: 19. Making Christ, and him crucified, the sole foundation of their hopes of eternal life, as a blessed possession, and proving and exercising their faith in works of liberality, which, through Christ, shall be for ever graciously rewarded in heaven, when they shall have obtained the full possession of eternal life.—20. And, as it is a matter of infinite importance, let me conclude with solemnly beseeching you, my dear son and brother in Christ, carefully to maintain and hold fast the doctrines of the gospel pure and uncorrupted, and employ to the utmost all your gifts and graces in fulfilling your ministerial office according to the directions I have given you, as a sacred trust committed to you by the Lord Jesus, to be managed in his name and for his glory, and of which you must give him an account; and for this purpose avoid and detest the impious, trifling, and noisy talk of judaizing teachers, as well as the vain philosophy of the Greeks, by both which, under the name of knowledge, they wickedly carry on an opposition to the gospel of Christ; 21. And by an attachment to which, some professed Christians have already lost sight of and renounced the doctrines of revelation.—And to direct, establish, and prosper you in all your important work, may the love and favour of God through Christ, in all its manifestations and fruits, be abundantly vouchsafed to you.

Reflections.—It is a great honour and encouragement to believing servants, that in Christ and the new kingdom they are on a level with the highest. But it is base and reproachful to their profession to abuse this privilege as a reason of disregard to their masters, whether profane or religious. The gospel was never designed to destroy civil distinctions, but to make men truly adorn them in performing the duties thereof. And the more kind and condescending masters are, the more respectful and obedient servants ought to be. Relative duties make a very important article of true Christian religion. And they who teach otherwise, or propagate any doctrine contrary to a holy practice, are evidently but troublesome, selfish, and worldly-minded seducers. But they who are fond of disputes in religion are seldom tender in their practice.—There is no true godliness but what springs from gospel principles; no true contentment with our lot but what springs from true godliness; no true care but where our soul is our first and chief concern.—What a poor empty world is this, where no enjoyment is certain to us for a moment! Nature is satisfied with little, grace with less, and covetousness with nothing, however much! The love of money, and hastening to be rich, is very ruinous to men's souls and characters, and even to their estates. What need then have the rich to be humble amidst their affluence which tempts so many to pride, and to place their faith, hopes, and delights, not in wealth, but in God through Christ!—And carefully should they prove the sincerity of their faith by such genuine charity as will entail a gracious but everlasting reward. Large measures of gifts, grace, cares, and labours are necessary for ministers, to render them duly useful and faithful. For the opposition they will meet with is great, and their account very awful and solemn.

Concluding Remarks on the First Epistle to Timothy.

There is generally in the human mind a strong desire to pry into the private life of individuals, especially of distinguished characters. Hence, on the death of such persons, every source of information is explored; and especially every letter, to any person, or upon any topic whatsoever, is sought out and published as a memorial and mirror of the mind of the dead. And when the eye of curiosity has discovered such relics, and they are published to the world, how many trifles do they often contain! how many 'unthought-of frailties' do they often reveal! and how many occasions do they furnish for the exultation of malice, the tear of pity, or the veil of charity!

To this ordeal Paul is here subjected. This epistle furnishes the first specimen of his private letters to his familiar friend. It admits us as to a mirror in which we can discover the most secret workings of his spirit. And oh, what a glorious discovery! What love, what holiness, what self-sacrifice! And then the church! Its most secret springs, its entire spiritual machinery, all laid bare! Its bishops and deacons, its old and young, its unmarried and its widows, its masters and servants, its rich and poor!—all are arrayed, not for public exhibition, but for private, most secret, and confidential inspection! And if any one can read this secret disclosure, without acknowledging the unparalleled holiness of the Christian system, his eyes may be blinded by the practical imperfections and sins of its professors, but he has not examined the glories of the system itself! Indeed, if any one will read this epistle, and thereby observe, not the outward garniture of the temple, but penetrate into its most secret chambers, it would appear impossible for him to deny that its 'builder and maker was God.' C.