Several years ago, Lillie and I had a distant family member live with us for the summer – She was a college student at a different university and she was doing an internship in Wichita for the summer, so we offered for her to live with us for a couple of months
We saw it as a way to be generous with our home and to help her save money on rent for summer, but we also saw it as a ministry opportunity because we didn’t think she was a Christian
Throughout summer, we made it our goal to give – To give a room in our home to her as a place to stay – To give our time to her – To give our food to her by sharing meals around table some evenings – And to give greatest gift we had to offer her: Good News of Gospel
Throughout summer, we made it our aim to give – But there came a time that summer when we could not give – And, instead, we had to guard – We were planning to go out of town for long weekend and she asked if her boyfriend could come stay with her at our house while we were gone
We knew that, as much as we wanted to be generous, our generosity had to have boundaries – Biblical boundaries – Boundaries of conscience – Boundaries of what it means to be faithful and responsible stewards of what God had entrusted to us – Boundaries that, whether she realized it or not, were actually for her good
There were many ways we could and did give that summer but there was a clear point at which we could not “give” but, instead, needed to “guard” – To “guard” our biblically informed conscience – To “guard” stewardship of or home – Even to “guard” her from what would be best for her – So, with kindness but clarity, we told her “no”
And she didn’t really understand that – She didn’t agree with it – She was frustrated by it – But it was what we needed to do – Because Gospel and God’s Word doesn’t simply tell us to “give” but also to “guard” – And it continues to compel church in this very way
We’ve been slowly working our way through 1 Timothy this year – Today, wrap it up by looking at 1 Timothy 6:17-21 – We’ll start into 2 Timothy next week – You’ll remember that 1 Timothy is a letter written by Apostle Paul to his young protégé, Timothy, who was pastoring church in modern-day Turkey – Throughout letter, Paul has instructed and encouraged Timothy in how to conduct his own life and life of church there in Ephesus
And Paul continues on with this instruction and encouragement to very end of his letter – And, broadly speaking, what we see in final five verses of 1 Timothy are two Gospel imperatives: Give and Guard
Read 1 Timothy 6:17-21
I want us to focus on two Gospel imperatives in final five verses: Give and Guard
Let’s talk about them, starting with the imperative to Give
Starting in verse 17, Paul gives Timothy instructions on how to instruct those who are rich – He begins: 17 As for the rich in this present age…
And let me just stop there and acknowledge fact that we might be tempted to tune out when we hear Paul address those who are “rich” – Some of us might be tempted to think, “I’m definitely not rich, so this doesn’t apply to me” – But reality is, if you are a middle-class American, then statistically speaking, you absolutely are among those who are “rich in this present age”
I did a little research on global poverty this past week – Many different factors to consider when calculating global poverty and wealth, so interpreting different studies often requires a lot of explanation – But every recent report I could find would put middle-class American in “rich” category, globally speaking – There are billions of people, almost half world population, live on under $7/day[1] – We sometimes spend that on our morning drive through Starbucks – So, this is an important message, specifically for us, American church, those who are “rich” in present age
And Paul starts with two negative instructions for rich – He starts by telling us what not to do – He tells Timothy, “…charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches…”
First instruction: “don’t be haughty” – “Don’t be arrogant” – “Don’t allow your riches to promote a sense of superiority” – “Don’t look down on those who are poor”
Our wealth can make us proud – We might become arrogant because we believe we earned our money by outhustling every else – Our money becomes trophy by which we prove we prove our superior skill, savy, or status
Or we might become arrogant because we believe that God blessed us with money because we were especially obediently or especially faithful – Our money becomes trophy by which we prove our superior belief, behavior, or blessing
In either case, our arrogance can lead us to believe that people with less wealth are less valuable – And people with more wealth are more valuable – As if monetary worth and intrinsic worth were linked together
Now, most of us would never outright say we believe that because we know that all people are made in God’s image and are equally worthy of dignity and respect – So, we wouldn’t say that monetary worth determines intrinsic worth, but we might tacitly function as if it were true
During 18th-19th centuries, many churches raised money through pew rentals –Families could pay in advance to reserve seats for Sunday morning service – Of course, more expensive seats were toward front and less expensive seats were at back – You can imagine how this practice tacitly divided church along economic lines and promoted arrogance and inferiority among its members – We’ve done away with pew rentals, but we must be cautious of ways that we might privately, in our hearts, or publicly, in our actions show partiality to rich (James 2:1-7)
19th century bishop J.C. Ryle reminds us that, “Wealth is no mark of God’s favor. Poverty is no mark of God’s displeasure.”[2] – The rich must not be arrogant because of their riches – The poor must not be insecure because of their poverty
Paul warns rich: One, don’t be arrogant – Two, don’t set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches
To be human is to hope – All of us place our hope on something – And one specific temptation of those who are rich is to place their hope on their wealth – “Here is my big, comfortable home, I’ll place my hope on that” – “Here is my ability to purchase finest medical care when I get sick, I’ll put my hope on that” – “Here is my IRA, I’ll put my hope on that” – “Here is my leisure and luxury to travel and golf and sit on beach, I’ll put my hope on that”
Listen to what Solomon says: 4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. 5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. (Prov. 23:4-5)
Here’s question for those who place their hope on their wealth – What happens when your big, comfortable home sprouts wings? – What happens when your ability to purchase great medical care takes off like an eagle toward heavens? – What happens when your IRA soars for the clouds? – Your hope, if you have put it on your wealth, will come crashing back down to earth – And you will be crushed
Now, I’m not saying that planning ahead with your finances is foolish – I’m not saying it’s unbiblical – To a certain extent, it is wise – But I am saying that if “planning ahead” only means investing for retirement, your investment strategy is way too short-sighted because it doesn’t account for eternity
All of us put our hope on something – Rich are tempted to set their hope on their earthly wealth and what it can get them – But earthly riches, like tides of ocean, are always ebbing and flowing – They are not a stable foundation for hope – There is but one stable foundation for hope: Living God
“…charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but [to set their hopes] on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
In world full of fake foundations, there is but one solid foundation for hope: our unchanging God – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8) – He never changes – Nor do His promises
And, in Christ, through Gospel, God has promised that He will save us from the consequences of our sin (Rom. 5:6-11), that He will restore us to relationship with Himself (Gal. 4:4-7), that we will dwell securely with Him, as His children, by presence of His Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) – That He will always be with us (Matthew 28:30) – That He will give us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3) – That He will meet our daily needs here on earth (Matt. 6:33) – And that He will give us eternal life of abundant joy in His presence (John 3:16)
And all of these promises rest not on our achievement or our character or our status or our circumstances – All of these promises rest on Christ’s achievement, Christ’s character, Christ’s status, and Christ’s circumstances – In Gospel, our foundation doesn’t change because Christ doesn’t change – And our salvation doesn’t change because Christ doesn’t change – Christ Jesus is one firm foundation in a world full of fake ones
And if we place our hope on Him, we can be sure of this – He will not sprout wings and vanish to heavens because He’s already seated there, ruling from His Righteous Throne as Sovereign King of Universe – Tried, Trustworthy and True
And so this is what I want us to see – For the Christian, Christ, Himself, is our riches – His Kingdom is like pearl hidden in a field, which, when a man finds it, he sells all his worldly goods to purchase it – And when that man lays his head down in dirt of that field with no home, no shelter, no possessions left to his name, he looks up at stars above with a smile and wonders how we ever found such an incredible bargain
And, if you don’t believe that’s possible, go visit some Christians in incredibly poor parts of world and be challenged by way they worship with joy while they have nothing – There are Christians all over this world who experience a financial poverty that I’ll probably never understand, and yet spiritual richness than I may not grasp this side of heaven
God, Himself, is our riches – And any earthly blessing we receive is from Him and to Him and for Him – When we come to God, when we set our hope on Him by enjoying who He is, by believing in what He has done, and by trusting in what He has promised – We will discover that God, Himself, is our riches – And that all earthly riches pale in comparison to knowing Him – That’s why I call these Gospel imperatives
This is not about modifying your behavior in order to be your best – This is not about a vow of poverty to prove your righteousness – This is about relinquishing your life in wonder to worship Christ Jesus, richer than all riches – And it is only as we come to know abundance of heavenly riches we have in Christ, that we are set free to live generously with what we have on earth, which is where Paul goes next
He’s instructed rich what not to do – Don’t be arrogant – Don’t set your hope on your riches – Now he will instruct them what to do:
Read 6:18-19
Most generally, rich are to “do good” – In other words, we are to live in line with God’s revealed character and will – In this way, rich are to “do good” like all other Christians
We are “to be rich in good works” – This communicates much same thing as “doing good” but it strategically reframes riches as a Gospel imperative – As God is rich in good works toward His people, so Christians who are rich are to be rich in good works toward their brothers and sisters in Christ – Paul doesn’t condemn riches – He’s not saying it’s evil to be rich – He’s reframing riches as a means of exhibiting godly generosity, to be rich toward others as God is rich toward us
Thus, those who are rich are “to be generous and ready to share” – “Generous” here refers to idea of being big-hearted and community-minded – And it is a generosity of both hand and heart – Of both resources and love – A generous person doesn’t simply share his money, he shares his very life with others – Generosity is not simply giving a person some money, it’s inviting them into your life
Rich are not to be stingy, but big-hearted and community-minded – Eager to share not only their resources but their whole lives with others in congregation – Not simply giving hand-outs, though that may certainly be appropriate at times, but also giving brothers and sisters a hand-up by helping them develop skills and resources needed to become contributing members of community, themselves
And, in these things, in generously sharing both their resources and their lives with others, those who are rich are “storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
Paul is not saying that good works of rich somehow contribute to way they secure salvation – But he is saying that their good works will contribute to way they experience it – See, it’s possible to be secure in salvation of Jesus but not enjoy fullness of blessing He offers because we are too engrossed in ways of world – It’s possible to be a citizen of heaven and, at times, live for life on earth – To live outside our Divine lineage and miss out on fullness of life Christ has won for us – In this regard, one of greatest stumbling blocks for rich are their riches
For this very reason, Paul urges Timothy to urge those who are rich to Give – To give generously of their resources as they humbly set their hope on Christ, so that they might bless others, yes – So that they might serve mission of God, yes – But, ultimately, so that they might taste and see how much better are the unsearchable riches of Christ
Paul issues Gospel imperative for rich to Give – And then he issues one final Gospel imperative for Timothy to Guard
Read 6:20-21
Last week Terry mentioned emphatic way Paul summoned Timothy by writing, “O man of God” (1 Tim. 6:11) – And we see that same interjection here – Paul summons Timothy with urgency – With an exclamation mark – “Timothy!”
And then, once he’s got Timothy’s attention, he draws letter to a close with one final Gospel imperative – And imperative is to “guard the deposit” – “To keep a watchful eye on the deposit that was entrusted to you”
“Deposit” is only used three times in NT – Once here and twice in 2 Timothy 1 – Word refers to whole system of sound doctrine that Paul had passed on to Timothy – To whole package of Divine revelation that Timothy had learned through Paul’s instruction[3] – Timothy is to guard the Gospel – He is to guard the Word – He is to guard sound teaching
And what is he guarding it from? – He’s guarding it from those who might distort it, dilute it, or destroy it – Specifically, in Timothy’s context, from false teachers who had become caught up in irreverent babble – In godless chatter – In empty talk – False teachers who claimed to have special “knowledge” but, in reality, had wandered off path of sound teaching and shipwrecked their faith (1 Tim. 1:19, 1 Tim. 4:16)
Paul commands Timothy to turn away from this nonsense – To deliberately stay away from it – And, instead, to guard sound teaching he had been given
And Paul concludes letter with a blessing: “Grace be with you.” – And that final pronoun “you” is plural, not singular, reminding us that this letter was written to Timothy, but it was not strictly a private letter – It was a letter to be read by whole church – Because, in much that Paul writes, church as a whole is to mimic what pastor models
And this is true, I think, even in how we guard the deposit
Pastors do have a unique role and a unique stewardship to guard Gospel and Word of God – One of unique qualification of the pastor / elder is that he be able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2) – He should be trained in the words of faith and good doctrine (1 Tim. 4:6) – Be devoted to the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13) – He should keep a close watch on his teaching (1 Tim. 4:16) – Rightly handle word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) – He should preach the Word in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2) – He should give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9)
Yes, pastors, as pastors, must guard the deposit
But if church history teaches us anything, it’s that sometimes pastors don’t – And that the church is always safer and healthier when whole church assumes some form of responsibility to help guard the deposit
Vast majority of you will never be pastors – Vast majority of you will never preach a sermon – But I hope and pray that every single one of you obeys Great Commission – I hope that every single one of you sees it as your great privilege and responsibility to share the Gospel with your neighbors – To invest in younger people in our church – To make disciples, teaching them everything Jesus has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20)
And it’s true that an important part of making disciples happens on Sunday mornings when we gather as body of Christ – It’s true that part of teaching people to observe all that Jesus has commanded happens on Sunday mornings when a pastor opens God’s Word
But it’s also true that an important part of making disciples happens Monday through Saturday in living rooms and coffee shops, around dining room tables and piles of laundry – It happens when you share Gospel with your neighbor – It happens when you share Gospel with your children – It happens when you sit with a grieving small group member in hospital room – It happens on all those car rides to and from soccer practice
Everywhere we go, we are making disciples of one kind or another – Everywhere we go, we are teaching one thing or another – People are watching and listening and learning from us all time, whether we are aware of it or not – And if we are living as salt and light, people are going to ask questions – They are going to look to us for answers
And so we have to accept reality that calling to make disciples comes with some responsibility to guard truth and to communicate it accurately, which is why it’s important for us to be consistent in reading our Bibles – To be studying God’s Word – To be learning basic Christian doctrine – To be learning to articulate those things – And to be able to differentiate between what God’s Word says is true, and what isn’t
Because anyone who takes seriously call to make disciples will, at some time and in some way, need to “guard” truth – And that doesn’t mean you need to have a seminary degree – That doesn’t mean you need to have memorized whole books of Bible – That doesn’t mean you need to be answer every single question a person may ask you
But it does mean that we should take God’s Word seriously – That we should strive to know what it says and what it means – That we should learn to test all cultural messages that come flying at us by content of God’s Word – And that, in our relationships with all people, we should seek to guard it against those who would distort it, dilute it, or destroy it by standing firmly in truth and, with love and respect, letting it speak to lies of world
This is how Paul draws this letter to a close – With two Gospel imperatives: Give and Guard
And I think it’s valuable for us as a church to look at these two imperatives together and to think about what it looks like to hold them both – Because you can find churches that really emphasize generosity – They emphasize generosity of resources and generosity of heart – But, unfortunately, many have also become generous in their doctrine and ethic – In name of “generosity” they have succumbed to cultural pressures and distorted, diluted, or destroyed biblical and historical Christian truths – They give, but don’t guard
On other hand, you can find churches that really emphasize guarding – They emphasize keeping watch over every theological detail, even the peripheral ones, the ones that don’t have to divide people, but do
And, unfortunately, they become so focused on guarding the deposit that they effectively shut doors of generosity – They stop being generous toward one another – They stop being generous toward brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree on peripheral matters – And they stop being generous in how they think about evangelism and how they approach non-believers – They stop being big-hearted and become cold-hearted – They are guards, yes, but grumpy ones
You can find churches on both ends of spectrum – But it’s possible, and necessary, to do both – To both give and guard – To have a soft heart and a stiff mind – To guard, but to guard with a smile
Most of us tend to be inclined one way or the other
Maybe you have a knack for generosity and loving people, but you don’t naturally think theologically – Maybe you don’t enjoy thinking that way – Maybe it’s difficult for you – Or maybe you can think that way but then, in moment, you wrestle with people pleasing and it’s hard for you to guard the truth when it will possibly be misunderstood
Maybe you have a knack for guarding the deposit, but your weakness is pursuing, loving, and caring for real people – Maybe social interactions feel awkward for you, especially social interactions with people who look or think differently than you – Maybe people annoy you and its difficult for you to have conversations about the deposit because you constantly feel need to be “right”
Whatever case, lean into wind that blows in your life – Remember that, despite polarization and hatred you see in almost every arena of our culture, it is possible, and it is necessary, for church to both give and to guard – To have a soft heart and a stiff mind – To guard, but with a smile
Prayer
[1]Marta Schoch, Samuel Kofi Tetteh Baah, Christoph Lakner, and Jed Friedman, “Half of the global population lives on less than US$6.85 per person per day,” World Bank Blogs, published December 8, 2022, accessed April 20, 2026, https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day#:~:text=According%20to%20the%202022%20Poverty%20and%20Shared,US%5C$2.15%20per%20day%20live%20in%20this%20region
[2] Ron Rhodes, 1001 Unforgettable Quotes About God, Faith, and the Bible (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2011).
[3] Ralph Earle, “1 Timothy,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 389.