They That Will Be Rich 1 Tim. 6: 6-10 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
“They that will be rich” [1 Tim 6:9] will never be rich. They are not rich because:
They have not gained —1 Tim 6:6 — The formula for true wealth is: Godliness + Contentment = Great Gain.
First, we must be godly. In I Tim 3:16 the mystery of godliness is that God was “manifest in the flesh.” So, basically, we are godly when God is manifest in us. According to 2 Pet 1:3 we can be godly because we have God’s divine power in us. A lost man doesn’t know God and, hence, doesn’t have his power within. So, he can only have “a form of godliness,” [2 Tim 3:5].
Second, we must be content. Contentment is something you learn as you live with Christ. He instructed Paul through abundance and need to be content [Phil 4:11-13]. His contentment was in Jesus Christ, and ours should be, too. With the combination of these two, godliness and contentment, you have great gain. There’s no other way to have it. Great gain is something that money cannot buy.
They can’t take it with them — 1 Tim 6:7 — you arrive in this world naked, in possession of nothing. You leave the same way. Job “was the greatest of all the men of the east,” [Job 1:3]. Yet, he knew that he could not retain his wealth past his lifetime [Job 1:21]. That’s why Jesus said that “a man’s life constisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth,” [Lk 12:15]. When your soul is required of you, your money will be worthless to you [Lk 12:20]. How much you gain down here has nothing to do with how rich you are. The question is. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” [Mk 8:36]. The answer is “nothing,” because he misses the eternal life required to enjoy his treasure in heaven forever [Lk 18:22-25].
They are not content — 1 Tim 6:8 — we are commanded to be content with food and raiment. Men that will be rich would never be content with just food and raiment. What they have is never enough [Ecc 5:10]. There is always the desire for more. You need food to nourish your body and you need raiment to cover your nakedness. The Lord wanted the Jews to be content with these two things in the wilderness [Deut 8:3-4]. That’s all his own Son had while he was here [Lk 9:58]. And he said that if his own people would just seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, they wouldn’t even need to think about their food and raiment [Matt 6:31-34]. He would provide [Phil 4:19].
They fall into temptation, a snare and lusts — 1 Tim 6:9 — they that will be rich are tempted to seek temporal wealth rather than eternal treasure [Ps 49:6-9; Prov 13:7], to trust in their riches rather than in God [Ps 52:7; Prov 11:4], to oppress the poor and give to the rich [Prov 22:16], to pervert their ways to gain more wealth [Prov 28:6; Prov 28:20], and so forth.
They are ensnared by their lenders [Prov 22:7] and by their agreements with those who helped them get rich [Prov 23:1-8]. You become obligated to them. They are tempted with foolish and hurtful lusts. They are foolish because they are fleeting [Prov 23:5]. They are hurtful because of the toll they take on your life and the life of your family [Ecc 5:11-16]. A miser is ‘miser’able.
Rich men commonly drown in destruction and perdition. Judas Iscariot, the son of perdition [Jn 17:12], sold the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver [Matt 26:15]. He was the disciple who “had the bag,” [Jn 12:6]. It’s more like the bag had him. The rich young ruler [Lk 18:18-27] went to hell with his money. The rich man in Lk 16:19-31 died and went to hell with his money. Ahab’s lust for Naboth’s vineyard was his undoing [1 Ki 21:17-24].