It may surprise you to stop and
consider how much of God's word is written specifically to give
instruction to preachers. You might think, well, why do
we need instruction for preachers? There are lots of reasons. One
is that everything that applies to the preacher surely applies
to you. Another is that you need to know
what's expected of those who preach the gospel to you so that
you may pray for them. You need to know as best you
can those things with which your pastor, our missionaries, other
preachers, contend continually as they preach the gospel and
labor for your souls. Paul says, know then that labor
among you. And he would have us to know
those who preach the gospel and know the cares they have as they
carry the burden of the word of the Lord for your souls. Now
up to this point, all of Paul's epistles have been addressed
specifically to one local church or another. Now we come to three
epistles, 1st, 2nd Timothy, and the book of Titus. And these
three epistles are what's called pastoral epistles. They are addressed
to two pastors, two preachers. who were particularly men under
Paul's instruction and guidance and supervision, and in those
days under his authority, because Paul was an apostle. We don't
have that hierarchical type of church government that speaks
of apostles and preachers being under other preachers in our
day. But in that day, the apostles were an exceptional office, and
Timothy and Titus and other preachers were sent here and there to preach
at the command of the apostles, and they gladly obeyed those
things. This epistle, 1 Timothy, is an
epistle full of instruction about how we are to behave ourselves
in the house of God. Paul says to Timothy specifically
in chapter 3 and verse 15, I'm writing this to you so that you
will know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God. It is the pastor's responsibility. It is the pastor's responsibility. It is the pastor's responsibility,
every pastor's responsibility, in taking oversight of God's
church. It is his responsibility to see
to it that everything done in the house of God and everything
taught in the house of God, for which he is responsible, is done
and taught according to that which is written in this book. I often hear preachers make statements. They only make it to me once.
They say, I would give anything to have a free pulpit. And my
response is, if you don't have one, it's your fault. It's because
you're not willing to take it on the chin. It's because you
don't have any backbone. It's because you speak for men
rather than for God. Those who speak for God speak
according to God's word and speak with the authority of God's So
these three epistles are addressed to Timothy and Titus, because
they were responsible to lead the churches over which they
were given care in the worship of God, to see to it that things
were done in accordance with the New Testament. These first
two epistles are very, very important, these pastoral epistles. They
were written to Paul's friend, his faithful co-laborer, Timothy. Let's look at chapter 1, verse
1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of
God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope, unto
Timothy, my own son in the faith. grace, mercy, and peace from
God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord, as I besought thee
to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou
mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions,
rather than godly edifying which is in faith. So do. I told you what to do. Stay there
and do it. Timothy had enjoyed a rare, rare
privilege. What a rare privilege. He was
raised as a child under the influence of the gospel. I don't know about
his father, he was a Gentile, but his mother and his grandmother
were both Jewish women who believed And from a child he was taught
the holy scriptures which are able to make one wise unto salvation."
Oh, how blessed is that man, that woman, that boy, that girl
who had such a privilege, being raised by people who believe
God and love him. being raised by someone who cares
enough about your soul to teach you the word of God. Now, many
have imagined, in fact most do, that because Paul speaks of Timothy
as his son in the faith, that Paul was the man used of God
to first preach the gospel to Timothy, that he was the instrument
by whom Timothy was converted. But that's not the case. Come
back to Acts 6.10, I'll show you. When Paul first met Timothy,
he was already a disciple. He was already converted. He
was a young man, probably not more than sixteen, seventeen
years old, maybe a little younger. But he was a man well-reported
of by the brethren, even at that early age. Look at Acts 16. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,
and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus. the son of a certain woman, which
was a Jewish, and believed, that is, this disciple believed, but
his father was a Greek, which was well reported of by the brethren
that were at Lystra and Iconium." Well, why does Paul call Timothy
his own son in the faith, if Timothy was not converted under
the influence of his ministry? Because of the tender, blessed,
dear relationship they had. Timothy had been taught much
by Paul. Paul took him under his wings,
treated him as his son, and endeared him to him, looking upon him
as his son in the faith, providing for his soul as he would his
son. And Timothy loved Paul as he would his father, and he ministered
to and labored with Paul with loyalty and love as he would
his own father, or as a son would his father. Paul had sent Timothy
to Ephesus, but for some reason, I don't know why, we're not told,
Timothy wanted Paul's approval, if not his permission, at least
his approval, to leave Ephesus and go somewhere else. And I've
got some suspicions, but I don't deal in suspicions. I don't have
any idea why he may have wanted to leave. But Paul urged him
to stay. to stay there that he might charge
those who were wavering in the faith, that he might pick up
and buttress those who were wavering in the faith. Timothy was not
like your pastor. He wasn't a big fellow. He was
obviously a small, frail, sickly man. Paul urges him to take a
little wine for his stomach's sake. He was not a man who was
given to be bombasted, but rather he was naturally a little timid.
But Paul says, Timothy, I want you to stay right where you are.
Right where you are, and I want you to there teach that men should
teach no other doctrine than the doctrine you've heard. Now,
before we look at the six chapters and their contents, I want to
be sure I get the best part of the book delivered to you. I
want you to see how our Lord Jesus is set forth in this book.
The book is written to preachers, and it is about the message God's
preachers are sent to preach. It is about the message of the
church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth. Paul begins
in verse 1 of chapter 1 by telling us that the Lord Jesus Christ
is our hope. All our hope. We have no hope but him. If your
hope is somewhere else, you don't have a good hope. He is our hope. Our hope of life everlasting,
our hope of acceptance with God, our hope of eternal life, is
not in our experience, it is not in our feelings, it is not
in our knowledge, it is not even in our faith. Bobby, our hope
is Christ. His blood, his righteousness,
his obedience, his power, his accomplished redemption, his
grace, his salvation, he is our hope. Our hope is not an experience,
and our hope is not a doctrine. Our hope is a person, Jesus Christ
the Lord. And then we're told in verse
15 of chapter 1 that Christ is the Savior of sinners. Look at
this. This is a faithful Paul said, Timothy, now be assured,
this is not a con job. This is a faithful saying. I'm
not giving you something you can sit down and think about
and decide whether or not it's true. This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation. That is to say, this is a saying
that everybody ought to accept. Everybody ought to receive and
embrace that Christ Jesus came into the world. for one glorious
purpose, to save sinners, of whom I'm chief. That's the business
of the Son of God. He saves sinners. He saves sinners
by his blood, saves sinners by his grace. He came here to save
somebody, and save them he has. And then in verse 17, we're told
that Christ is the eternal King. This one who came to save sinners,
this one who is our hope, he is the king eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God. Now, you can trust him. This
Christ whom we preach, he is the king eternal. He is the king
immortal. He is the king invisible. He is the king, the only wise
God. To him be honor and glory forever
and ever. Now, look at chapter 2, verse
5. Everybody knows that if we come
to God, we've got to have somebody to go between us and God. We've
got to have somebody. And so people everywhere look
for somebody to represent them to God. The Papists have their
priest and they have Mary, and they have angels and they have
saints. And the Baptists have their preachers and their pastors
and their social counselors and their Christian counselors. And that's what they are, they're
just priests. They have you lean on them and depend on them as
men depend on priests. And God's people have a mediator. God's people have somebody to
stand between them and God. God's people have somebody to
give them access to and acceptance with God. God's people have somebody
on whom they can lean for acceptance with God. Watch this. There is
one God, just one, and one mediator, just one, just one. There's only
one who can lay hold of God in his glory, and lay hold of man
in his utter corruption and depravity, and bring God and man together
in perfect union and reconciliation." Just one. One mediator between
God and men, and that mediator is the man, Christ Jesus. This one we've been talking about,
who's the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. This man is himself God, he's
the mediator between God and man, because he's both God and
man, he is able to be mediator between both God and man, and
having satisfied all the demands of God's holiness, justice, and
truth, he brings man whom he represents into union with God,
and he is our advocate with whom the Father must be well pleased,
for he is Jesus Christ the righteous, and he's the propitiation for
our sins. How is he a mediator? Look at verse 6. Who gave himself
a ransom. A ransom. A ransom for all, not
for everybody in the world, no. For men out of all the world,
every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue. He gave himself a
ransom price to the hands of divine justice. gave himself
a ransom price to God's holy law. And having given himself
a ransom for us all, all for whom the ransom price was paid
must go free! Justice demands it. Now, look
at chapter 3, verse 14. This all-glorious Christ, our
great Savior, has been received up into glory as our ransom and
our mediator. Chapter 3, verse 14. These things
write I unto thee, hoping to come to thee shortly. But if
I tarry long, I am writing these things, that thou mayest know
how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is
the church of the living God. We've come here together tonight.
The house of God. Not the building. the house of God, the church
of the living God, which is the pillar, the mainstay, the pillar,
that which upholds, and the ground, the foundation, the solid bedrock
of truth. That's the purpose of God's church. It is the purpose of this To
stand in this community, in this place, in this world, in this
generation, at this hour, as the pillar and ground of the
truth. We have no other function. I
wish, men and women, I hope you have learned this. I hope I've
learned this. I wish I could get preachers
in churches everywhere to learn this. It is not our business. to build the church. Just as soon as a preacher, any
preacher, sets it as his goal to fill the pews. Just as soon
as a preacher, any preacher, sets it as his goal to get folks
to come. Got to build this thing. We got
to do something. We got to do something. He'll
compromise the message. Not sometimes, not he might,
he'll do it every time. And the result is wood, hay,
and stubble that must be burned. Now remember that. What's the
church for? We're to hold forth truth. That's
all. Christ builds his church. Not
us. Not us. We measure success by
things we see. Don't do it in the kingdom of
God. Don't do it in the kingdom of God. Christ builds his church. Now watch this. It's the pillar
and ground of the truth. Well, what is that truth? It's
Christ. We've been talking about it.
And without controversy, this is not a debatable matter. Great
is the mystery of godliness. Godliness, what is that? God
manifest in the flesh, salvation by Christ. God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit. Our Lord Jesus was made to be
sinned when he was made to hang upon the cursed tree. When I
sinned upon him, justice poured out all its fury upon him, and
he was buried as one condemned and cursed and dead under the
law, three days later. He came forth justified in the
Spirit. The Spirit of God raised him
from the dead and declares that he has put away sin, and in him
is no sin. Read on. The sin of angels. The angel saw this transaction,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
in the glory. He who came here to bring in righteousness
and satisfy justice for the saving of sinners, had been received
up into glory. And by this, he declares, judgment
is done, redemption is accomplished, my people are redeemed. Now,
look in chapter 4, verse 9. Our exalted Redeemer, the Savior
and Preserver of all men in providence, is especially That is to say,
he is distinctly the Savior of them that believe. I couldn't
tell you how many times folks throw this verse up and say,
there, you talk about special grace and special love and election
and limited atonement. What do you do with this? Well,
let me show you what we do with this. This is a faithful saint, and
worthy of all For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach,
because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all
men, especially of them that believe." Do you know why you're
living tonight? Because Christ continues to give
you breath. That's why you're living. That's
all. Because he continues to keep
you from eternal damnation. That's all. And he keeps all
alive, exactly as long as he has purpose to keep them alive,
because he is especially, distinctly, the Savior of them that believe. And he's going to save his elect. That's who they are that believe. And the reason we believe is
because he is distinctly our Savior and preserver. Look at
chapter 6. He in whom we trust is the blessed
and only potentate. Now look at this. I give thee
charge, verse 13, chapter 6, in the sight of God, who quickeneth
all things, That is, he is the one who continually gives life
to all things, and before Christ, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed
a good confession. That is, he stayed right with
them, right to the end, having loved his own and loved them
to the end. He did his Father's will until at last he said, It's
finished, and said, Father, into thy hand I commend my spirit.
that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his time shall
show, sooner or later, he's going to make everybody see, who is
the blessed and only Potentate." You know, I have read that word,
Potentate, for years, and look at it and think, I'm going to
look it up someday. And I never looked it up. It sounded like
something important to me. Now notice what it says, it's
a blessed and only potentate. You know what a potentate is?
You won't remember it in a little while. You know what a potentate
is? That is a possessor of power. Now watch this. He who is God
our Savior is the only possessor of power. He said all power. is given unto me in heaven and
in earth. Well I've got power. No you don't.
That's just Christ exercising his power in you. So Satan's
got power. No he doesn't. That's just Christ
exercising his power. He is the blessed and only possessor
of power. That means he's the king of kings.
He's the lord of lords. This one who only hath immortality
dwelling in life, which no man can approach unto, whom no man
has seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. Now how can this be? How
can we be talking about a man who has immortality, who possesses
immortality, dwelling in light that no man can see, that no
man has seen, can see, and no man can approach unto. How can
we say that concerning a man? This man is God. God the Eternal
Son. And the only way we'll ever know
Him, experience Him, and be with Him and embraced by Him is because
He has assumed our nature. And now Godhood joined to manhood
is Christ our Savior. All right, now let's go back
to chapter 1. And let me give you just a brief
summary of these six chapters. In chapter 1, Paul tells Timothy
to charge. The word is command. To charge,
to command, to order, to demand that those under his care teach
no other doctrine than the gospel of God's pure, free, sovereign
grace in Christ. The errors and heresies that
Timothy had to face. The errors and heresies that
the church at Ephesus had to deal with. are exactly the same
as the errors and heresies that God's church and God's preachers
have to deal with in every generation in every part of the world. They
never change. Let me show you. He speaks of
these things in chapter 1, verses 3 through 20. Let me just give
you some of it. There were some who added to
the revelation of God, that is, they added to the word of that
which God had spoken in his word, moral fables, religious fables by which they
sought to get men and women to make themselves righteous. Others claimed to find secret
codes and secret meanings hidden away in the genealogical records
of the Old Testament. Did you ever read these lists
back in the book of Numbers? Oh, you ought to compare these
things and look carefully. If you look real deep, you can
see them real clear. If you've got to look real deep,
you're not seeing them real clear. Oh, look at the genealogies.
Let's ask questions about that. Let's debate that. Someone said
to me one time, he said, I think we ought to preach about some
of those things we don't know anything about. I looked at him
and I said, you got any idea what you just said? Genealogies. They taught nothing that was
comforting. Nothing that was edifying. But
rather they sought to impress men with what they did and what
they knew. That's all. Raising questions
that gender strife. To sit around and debate. Well,
what do you think? Well, what do you think about
this verse? Well, what do you think about that? Well, what
do you think about what Brother Don said about this verse or
that? So we can sit around and fuss, fuss, and fuss, and watch
hell laugh while the world goes to hell. Read on. Then there were legalists. Legalists
at Ephesus, as there are everywhere, who tried to put God's saints
back under the yoke of bondage to Mosaic law. And Paul tells
us that such people have turned aside, now look at it, to vain
jangling. I couldn't have said it better
myself. Vain jangling. Noise that doesn't
make any sense and doesn't have any value. Vain jangling. Desiring to be teachers of the
law. They simply don't know what they're talking about. They try
to put righteous men and women, the saints of God, under the
terror of God's law, not knowing that the law was never made for
God's sakes. It was never made for the righteous,
but for the unrighteous. Look at verse 8. We know that
the law is good. Now, don't let anybody tell you,
Brother Don, that the law is bad. It's not. The law is good
if you use it for what it's meant to be used for, if men use it
lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is
not made for a righteous man. Well, who's that talking about?
A righteous man? Bobby Estes, are you a righteous
man? Yes, sir, he's a righteous man in Christ Jesus the Lord.
A righteous man. A righteous man made righteous
by grace. A righteous man. The law is not
made for a righteous man. Who's it made for? For the ungodly,
for sinners, for unholy, for faint, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves in mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that's contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. Paul tells
us, that all such doctrine is contrary to sound doctrine, contrary
to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. And then after telling
Timothy to command that no one in the church of God be allowed
to teach such frivolous nonsense, having just mentioned the glorious
gospel of the blessed God, Paul couldn't help but to tell what
the gospel had done for him. He says, I obtained mercy by
this great God our Savior. And then he gives his first charge
to Timothy. Now in these six chapters he gives four charges,
four distinct charges to Timothy, but they're not just to Timothy,
they're to Don. They're not just to Don, they're to all who preach
the gospel. He charges Timothy first He charges me first to
war a good warfare, holding the faith with a good conscience. Verses 18 through 20. I'm a man at war, all the time at war. not only
at war with myself as a believer, not only at war with this world
and its system as a believer, not only at war with the ungodliness,
moral perversity, the blind corruption of the age
in which I don't care if they sit in court
benches and wear black robes and the whole world bows down
and says it must be right. The court said it's right. The
perversity of this age is indescribable. But I've got something else I'm
at war with. I'm at war with hell. And I'm at war with all
the religion of this world that calls the moral perversity that
comes down from the high courts of the land. And the cause is
the religion of the world. That's the cause. Read Romans
chapter 1. That's the cause. Where men worship
and serve themselves as though they were God, wherever real
worship stands, moral corruption and perversity falls as the judgment
of God upon the land. And I'm at war with it. All the
time. War and good warfare. Holding
the cot, the faith. the faith of the gospel, the
faith of Christ with a pure conscience. That's the charge. Then in chapters
2 and 3, Paul gives instruction concerning orderly worship. And
he deals with three things in particular. First, in the opening
verses of chapter 2, he tells us something about prayer, and
he's dealing specifically with the matter of public prayer. When you men are called on to
lead the assembly in prayer. Don't forget you're praying in
public. That means I want to hear you. It doesn't do any good
for you to stand here or stand up back there or sit down somewhere
and lead the congregation in prayer and the congregation not
hear you. So when you stand up here to read scripture, if you
have to cleave your throat and shout real loud, do that. We
need to hear you. But he's talking here about public
prayer. And he says, pray for everybody,
for all men. Not the whole world. That's kind
of senseless, isn't it? That kind of senseless. Well,
Lord, we pray for everybody, but you'll save them all. No,
that's not what we're talking about. Pray for men in high places
and low places. Don't allow your prayers to be
focused on this group or that, and especially don't allow them
to be focused on yourself. but pray for God to be merciful
to sinners, especially to kings and those in the authority in
high places, those who make decisions that trickle down to the rest
of us. those who sit on the benches
in the courts, those who enact laws, those who make decisions
the rest of us have to be tortured with or enjoy the rest of our
days. Pray for them. Pray for them.
And then he speaks to women. This time he doesn't give it
equal, fair treatment. He's just talking to women. And
he says that, you dear ladies, ought to display in the house
of God a conscientious awareness that you belong to God, that
your lady is professing godliness. And so you ought to be always
filled with modesty, observing God's order in creation. When
you come to the house of God, dress modestly. Don't walk in here in mini skirts
and tank tops and such things. Don't do that. Dress modestly. I honestly wish you'd put on
dresses. Dress like you're going to go
see the President. Not like you're going to a ball game. Dress modestly. Dress honorably. Not showing
off. Not showing off. Somebody gave
Shelby a fur coat. I appreciate the gift. It's real
nice. She put it on top. I can't wear that. Give it to
somebody who can. Modesty. Modesty. Not showing
off. as women professing godliness,
learning silence. Well, what do you think about
women preachers? I don't think about them. The
book says women learn in silence. Well, don't you think women have
a say in things? Not in the house of God. Not in the teaching of
God's house. No, sir. Oh, I don't like that.
Sorry, I'm glad it's the way it is, because you dear ladies
need to be taught not to be teachers. Women are to learn in silence,
being in subjection to their husbands, and showing the same
reverence with regard to all men, understanding it was Eve
who got us in this mess by being blinded. Adam did it knowing
exactly what he was doing, and that's exactly what Paul says
here. And then Paul deals with those who lead the congregation,
pastors and deacons. and tells us that they must be
men of proven faith and faithfulness. He doesn't say these are the
kind of men they ought to be. He says these are the kind of
men they must be, must be. Proven faith and proven faithfulness. I promise you, I promise you. No man will ever make a good
pastor who doesn't make a good church member. No man will ever
be faithful in the study who is not faithful in the view.
It won't happen. It won't happen. No man will
ever be faithful in things that you don't see. who's not faithful
in the things you do say. It won't happen. He says pastors
and deacons must be such men. And then he gives instructions
to preachers. The whole last half of this book
is taken up with instructions to preachers. Instructions to
preachers about how they are to behave and how they're to
teach others to behave. In these last three chapters,
4, 5, and 6, Paul tells Timothy, and all who have been trusted
with the blessed work of preaching the gospel of God's grace, the
kind of men they ought to aspire to be as the servants of God. He begins in chapter 4, verses
1 through 5, saying, Timothy, now buddy, you're going to have
to quit whining. And you're going to have to quit
being so sensitive, and you're going to have to quit thinking
that you just can't go on, and you're going to have to put a
little steel in your back, a little grit in your craw, and face it. As long as you're in this world,
you're going to have to constantly deal with an ever-increasing
departure from the gospel by those who claim to believe it. You're going to have to deal
with it constantly. And then he tells us that a good
preacher will both constantly put the brethren in remembrance
of these things, and steadfastly resist those who would turn him
away from the message of the gospel. Look at verse 6. If thou
put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be
a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in words of faith
and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. but refuse
profane and old wives' fables." I wonder why he said that. Because the religion of Babylon
is always a whorish effeminate religion. Always. Profane and
old wives' fables. just stuff women conjure up when
they're sitting around sipping tea, gossiping. Gossiping about
the Bible, gossiping about Jesus, gossiping about God, but gossiping
nonetheless. And exercise thyself rather unto
godliness, unto godliness, Jesus Christ and him crucified. For
bodily exercise profiteth little. Now, he's not talking about jogging
or running the push-ups. He's talking about He's talking about doing things
religious. Bodily exercise doesn't profit
much, but Godliness, faith in Christ, is profitable unto all
things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that
which is to come. And then he gives another charge
in verses 11 through 16. He charges Timothy and me, all to whom God gives
this blessed privilege of preaching the gospel, to give ourselves
wholeheartedly, entirely to the work of the ministry. God give me grace to do so. Give thyself wholly to prayer,
to the doctrine, to the word, to study, wholly to preaching
the gospel of God's grace, wholly to this. The third charge is
in the fifth chapter. Here we're told how we must respect
and care for God's saints. Particularly, he tells us that
we're to respect and care for those who are widows. Now he's
not talking about just somebody whose husband is dead. You ladies
forgive me if I offend. But Paul gives clear instruction.
Read 1 Timothy chapter 5. So I don't see how on earth she
could have gotten married again if she really loved him. She
couldn't have married somebody else. Paul said get married. That's
exactly what he said. You ladies, you lose your husband,
get married. If you're not 70 years old yet,
get married. How come? Because otherwise you'll
sit around and gossip and whine. I know. I've been fasting for
35 years. Get married now. If you don't
have any children, you don't have a husband, don't have anybody
else care for you, then the widow's indeed, you take care of them.
You take care of them. You sons take care of your own
mamas. You brothers take care of your own sisters. But those
who have none to care for them are to be cared for by God's
church. And those who labor in the Word and in doctrine are
to be cared for as those who labor in the Word and in doctrine.
And Paul says in verse 21, this is his charge, I charge thee
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels,
that thou observe these things without preferring one before
another, doing nothing by partiality." And then he talks about preachers
and money. And I could spend a little time here. But one of
the greatest difficulties preachers have to deal with in this world
is the handling of money. nothing more likely to get them
in trouble. Faithful men are often in a position to abuse
the gifts of others, and greed and covetousness are difficult
lusts to resist, but they must be resisted. I just read the
biography of William Gadsby, lived in the 1800s, time of great
poverty, famine in England. The poor folks were starving
to death, starving, literally starving to death. Men sent him
20 pounds, the equivalent today of $1,000. And Gadsby lived with
what the poor folks did. And the man said, take half for
yourself and give the rest to the poor to buy bread for the
poor. Gadget wrote him back, and he said, I have plenty of
bread. I dare not take any for myself. This will go to the poor
as is needed and intended. That's what he's talking about.
Preachers must not be men of greed, desiring wealth. Paul urges Timothy, flee from
the love of money and the will to enrich yourself. Look at verse
6. Godliness with contentment is
great gain. Now he's talking to preachers
more than anybody else. You know why, Larry? Because preachers
need it more than anybody else. Godliness with contentment is
great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And having
food and raiment, let us be there with contentment. You've got
something to eat and something to put on your back, you don't need
anything else. Oh, but you don't need anything else. But I just
have to, you don't need anything else. But you don't need anything
else. But they that will be rich, they
that have a will to enrich themselves, fall into temptation and snare,
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all which while some coveted after, they have erred
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But
thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness, fight the good fight
of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also
called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.