Godliness With Contentment
Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6Devotional Series: Money: Not the Root of All Evil
Teaching: Money: Not The Root Of All Evil pt. 1 (WED 2024-09-25) by Pastor Star R Scott
As we’re coming into these last days, I believe there’s going to be more and more of this caste system mentality within the church. And that’s why we see a gravitation to many of these churches that are so big and successful—friends of the world. Longing to be recognized by the world’s system. But a very well-known ministry, a ministry that I personally have always been fond of—the pastor said just the other day in one of his messages, and he told his congregation, “If you don’t vote, it’s a sin.” That’s big today in America. This promotion, “Get out to vote! Christians, you have to vote.” Get out and vote; amen? How many of you are hearing that by a lot of ministries today? It’s very common. There’s only one problem. You see, that pastor is not worried about you getting out and voting. He’s worried about you getting out and voting for the person he thinks should be elected.
So, now that admonition takes on another level of meaning; doesn’t it? And the real problem is this: the presupposition is that one of those two groups is good and the other one’s evil. They’re both evil. Now, which one does the Bible tell us we would prefer to be in place? The one that enables us to live more peaceably. Isn’t that what the Bible says? Pray for those that are in leadership so that we could live more peaceably (1 Timothy 2:2). I’m for the guy that allows the church to live more peaceably. What about all the other moral issues? What about abortion? You can’t legislate righteousness. You can’t pass laws that make people good. Those are non-issues. The pagans will send their children through the fires of Molech; amen?
You want to know what the last days are going to be like? The Scripture makes it very clear. The perversion of the minds. This environment where good is called evil and evil is called good. A people that will be without natural affection. A thought process that causes our middle-class society to think it’s fine to kill their children so they can keep a lifestyle. Tragic! That’s the thought processes that are out there that we go out and get vexed by them every day. Who are these people? They’re a people that try to promote that God is on the side of the wealthy because of the ideology that if you’re good and right, God will prosper you. It’s a pagan thought; isn't it?
A church thinking in this last era that is promoted by Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland and those guys, is this very thought process: that the more godly you are, the more God gives you and the more you possess. Kenneth Copeland today—I think the last estimate—his net worth is somewhere between $700 million and $1 billion. He would attribute it to the blessings of the Lord. Well, how blessed are you when you turn and blatantly begin to teach false doctrine to build your bank account? Some of you have heard him. I’ve heard him with my own ears. “I would rather be in unity with my brethren than to be doctrinally correct.” That’s a quote. Heard it with my own ears. “Supposing that gain is godliness: from such”—what? Turn away. We can’t even listen or entertain any of those people. Like Jesse Duplantis and Creflo Dollar—and the other guy who’s is dead now. Fred Price.
But here’s the truth of God. Here’s the doctrine of God. We saw—that’s why I took the time to go through all these chapters, that we would know that false teachers are arising, that we’re to defend and protect sound doctrine and that we’re not to listen to all this foolishness that causes strife and division. But here’s what the Scripture tells us. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). So, now we’re living in this place where God has blessed us with stuff. We’re not talking about whether we have an abundance of resources as the main issue. It’s us knowing in our hearts how and where we got it and are we using it properly for the kingdom; amen? That’s the whole issue. That’s what this whole Chapter 6 is all about. And so, we have one side that is trying to make us think that possessions, abundance, and wealth is evil. It is not. “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22); amen? But it can also bring you, he says in this sixth chapter, great sorrow.
So, now that admonition takes on another level of meaning; doesn’t it? And the real problem is this: the presupposition is that one of those two groups is good and the other one’s evil. They’re both evil. Now, which one does the Bible tell us we would prefer to be in place? The one that enables us to live more peaceably. Isn’t that what the Bible says? Pray for those that are in leadership so that we could live more peaceably (1 Timothy 2:2). I’m for the guy that allows the church to live more peaceably. What about all the other moral issues? What about abortion? You can’t legislate righteousness. You can’t pass laws that make people good. Those are non-issues. The pagans will send their children through the fires of Molech; amen?
You want to know what the last days are going to be like? The Scripture makes it very clear. The perversion of the minds. This environment where good is called evil and evil is called good. A people that will be without natural affection. A thought process that causes our middle-class society to think it’s fine to kill their children so they can keep a lifestyle. Tragic! That’s the thought processes that are out there that we go out and get vexed by them every day. Who are these people? They’re a people that try to promote that God is on the side of the wealthy because of the ideology that if you’re good and right, God will prosper you. It’s a pagan thought; isn't it?
A church thinking in this last era that is promoted by Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland and those guys, is this very thought process: that the more godly you are, the more God gives you and the more you possess. Kenneth Copeland today—I think the last estimate—his net worth is somewhere between $700 million and $1 billion. He would attribute it to the blessings of the Lord. Well, how blessed are you when you turn and blatantly begin to teach false doctrine to build your bank account? Some of you have heard him. I’ve heard him with my own ears. “I would rather be in unity with my brethren than to be doctrinally correct.” That’s a quote. Heard it with my own ears. “Supposing that gain is godliness: from such”—what? Turn away. We can’t even listen or entertain any of those people. Like Jesse Duplantis and Creflo Dollar—and the other guy who’s is dead now. Fred Price.
But here’s the truth of God. Here’s the doctrine of God. We saw—that’s why I took the time to go through all these chapters, that we would know that false teachers are arising, that we’re to defend and protect sound doctrine and that we’re not to listen to all this foolishness that causes strife and division. But here’s what the Scripture tells us. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). So, now we’re living in this place where God has blessed us with stuff. We’re not talking about whether we have an abundance of resources as the main issue. It’s us knowing in our hearts how and where we got it and are we using it properly for the kingdom; amen? That’s the whole issue. That’s what this whole Chapter 6 is all about. And so, we have one side that is trying to make us think that possessions, abundance, and wealth is evil. It is not. “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22); amen? But it can also bring you, he says in this sixth chapter, great sorrow.