1 Timothy 6:6-19.                             Take hold of the life that is truly life!!!!   25/9/16

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Take hold of the life that is truly life. This is the challenge that is laid before us today. At a time when all kinds of ideas are floating about as to what constitutes life; while a truly Godly and Christian life is decried and actively discredited in our nation; we here are encouraged and challenged to grab hold of the true life, for dear life’s sake.

At the present time we are having all kinds of changes thrust into our midst as being good and acceptable, even though throughout history they have been roundly condemned. Homosexuality, same sex marriage, living together, drug taking, and the list could go on. Not to mention the self-centred, hedonistic lifestyle that is regularly espoused by many.

Then to add to all of this is the complacency toward things that are important and valuable. We all have become very comfortable in life; and as long as things don’t make life too difficult for us we will go along with almost anything. As long as we are getting our entitlements as freebies we are happy. So selfishness is espoused to the detriment of those less fortunate than we ourselves.

In our readings this morning all these things are being addressed. In fact, God has some pretty harsh things to say in this regard. In the reading from Amos he told us very clearly that complacency is a major downfall for many. Particularly when there is no concern for the things that are important in life. God declares woe for these people.

In the Gospel reading we see again how wealth has distracted the rich man from his concern for the poor and the things of God. The result is that he goes on to suffer eternal torment in hell where there is no relief. Only then does he realize his stupidity; but it is too late. So then he wants to warn his brothers back here on earth, so that they do not make the same mistake.

Then even more tellingly, God goes on to state that those still on this earth:  ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” So they too like the rich man will burn in hell.

The truth of this statements is very clearly seen today. We have Jesus risen from the dead and clearly attested to, so that all can be sure of the fact. Yet so many do not want to take any notice. They are hell-bent on going their own way, totally ignoring or rejecting what God has clearly set before them.

In fact, we even now have many who are doing their utmost to destroy the Christian faith and God’s Word. Many in the media and academic sections of society are using everything at their disposal to get rid of Christianity altogether.

But even within ‘christianity’ there are today many who are changing and downplaying what God has to say in his Word so that they can be free to make Christianity what they would like it to be. Sin is downplayed and so also then Jesus death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. So ‘christianity’ then become a human, moralistic religion.

God’s Word is quite clear that those who willingly and wantonly go down this track will suffer the same fate as the rich man in the Gospel reading. Jesus Christ is to accepted as Lord; that is the one who determines what is right and good for his people. If we reject him as such, his Word again is clear, that we will suffer the same result as the rich man.

So the challenge is laid before us this morning to Take hold of the life that is truly life.  It is time for us to be ‘fair dinkum’ when it comes to the Christian faith. Since God challenges us against complacency, we need to look to him and seek what he would have for us, so that we can live the life that he would have for us. So let us look at what he tells us here in Timothy.

Firstly, he says:  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

So we see that this true life firstly recognises the realities of life in our world around us. We come into this world with nothing, and we are here but for a short time – at best a hundred years – and then we leave this world again with nothing. Not matter how much we have strived, cheated or whatever to gain our wealth and possessions, in the end we will leave it all behind.

So as long as we have the basics we can be content. So we are not to seek to get rich by fair or foul means as if they are going to give us everything. Loving money and possessions as all important leads to all kinds of evils. Most significantly it has led many people away from the faith and caused all kinds of griefs in their relationships with other people and with God. So a true life is not centred on the accumulation of wealth as being that which is all important.

In fact, this reading tells us: But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. So rather than chasing wealth we will pursue other qualities in life. A right relationship with God and other people will be important. Living a godly life – that is a life that is centred on doing what God would have done. It is a life of faith that trusts in God and his provision, rather than the things of this world. Instead of a self-centred, selfish life we are to love others by putting them and their needs, before our own. In the midst of life, we will ‘hang in there’ enduring the rough and tumble of life in this world. As well we are encouraged to take a gentle approach to life.

This true life also entails, Fighting the good fight of the faith. That is, that we will recognise that in this world we are in the midst of a deadly battle between good and evil – between God and the devil. The devil has infiltrated all around us and is peddling his false propaganda in order to lead us down the wrong track. The devil, the world and a sinful self constantly seeks to get rid of God from our lives.

So we need to fight the good fight of the faith. That is to constantly look to Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us through his death and resurrection. Constantly recognise that he has defeated the devil through his death on the cross and the forgiveness of sins. So we trust in him alone rather than to look to ourselves or things around us.

We also are to, Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In our baptism and then in our confirmation our allegiance has been given to believe in and trust in our Lord and all that he has and is doing for us. In connection with him we do have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. He has ensured us that eternal life with God is ours, as long as we don’t turn our backs on it. So we will constantly seek to hold firmly to this throughout our life.

We will do so recognising that God is both Lord and Judge. He knows what truth is and it is he who also has the power to give eternal life to those who trust in him and what he says. We are told here in this reading that:

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time.

So in light of all of this we will seek to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way we will lay up treasure for ourselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that we may take hold of the life that is truly life. So in light of who God is and what he has done for us through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross we will seek to hold firmly the life that he has for us both here and in eternity. Let us take hold of the life that is truly life.

To God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might forever. Amen.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish