SB#6
30 July 1999


Making your life count:
A formula for spiritual success

1 Timothy 6, Deuteronomy 6:1-9




0. Introduction.
At the end of your life, what do you want to have achieved? How will you evaluate how worthwhile your life has been? Do you think you will be satisfied?In what way do you want your life to be successful? How do you define 'success', and how will you accomplish it?
Consider 2 Tim 4:6-8. At the end of your life, do you think you will be able to say the same thing? How can you make sure that your life will count for God's kingdom?

A famous catechism, the Westminster Catechism of the Scottish Presbyterian Church, contains the following statement:

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
What does this statement mean for you?
Do you have specific spiritual goals for your life that motivate your current studies, your career choices, or your everyday life? Think for a moment, and write down some specific spiritual goals for your life of spiritual service. How do you plan to accomplish them?


1. The Here and Now.
Read 1 Timothy 6:3-21.
What advice do you see here specifically for your life now, and for your future?
What pitfalls does St. Paul warn us about, and why?
What antidotes does he prescribe for these pitfalls? Why are these effective and necessary antidotes for us to heed?

You should identify the following items and briefly discuss them:

pitfalls antidotes
  • materialism & worldliness [chapter 6]
  • unsound beliefs, teaching, & behavior [v3-5]
  • thinking of godliness as a means to financial or personal gain [v5] — Can you think of specific examples of this?
  • love of money (covetousness) [v10]
  • wandering from the faith due to greed [v10] — Can you think of specific examples of this?
  • false hope in wealth, arrogance [v17]
  • false knowledge —> wandering from the faith— Can you think of specific examples of this?
  • godliness, contentment [v6, 8] — How do we achieve such contentment?
  • humility [v7]
  • righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness [v11]
  • fight (fight what?) [v12]
  • living out one's salvation ("take hold of the eternal life...") [v12]
  • praise, worship [v15-16]
  • sharing, generosity [v18]
  • rich in good deeds [v18] — What does this mean?
  • lay up treasures in heaven [v19] — What does this mean?

Does this mean we have to give up everything and become monks? (cf. v17b) What extremes should we avoid?
While we are students here, how can we share with and help others, Christian and non-Christian?
Most of us will leave here to end up in well paying professional careers and good positions. How can you serve God there, and how can you use your time, talents, and wealth to help others and to spread God's kingdom?
Share how you as a Christian should approach your field of study and career, what kind of attitude to have towards your field, and how you can glorify God while in that field.

Notes.
See also: Eph. 5:16, Col. 4:5 ("make the most of every opportunity...").
In Genesis 1, God pronounced every aspect of His creation as good, and He created us in His image. Therefore, every career or field of study is the study (or application thereof) of some part of God's creation. Hence the concept of the "priesthood of the believer" as Martin Luther so well articulated it, based on 1 Peter 3:9. We can serve God just as well in any profession, secular or sacred.
6:20 does not condemn studying or secular knowledge, but refers to false forms of human "knowledge", i.e., false belief systems and teachings that are opposed to the gospel; here Paul is especially alluding to the heresy of gnosticism, which was common then.


2. Your formula for spiritual success.
Read Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
You've probably heard this taught as a set of moral principles for godly living, and more profoundly, as principles of proper worship. But there's even more to it. Moses preached this as the Israelites were about to start a new life in the promised land. In this context, it is a set of principles for spiritual success in life.

Discuss: (1) what these principles mean, (2) how they can impact your everyday spiritual life in a practical way, (3) how to follow them, and (4) how following them can ensure spiritual success — that you will serve God faithfully — in life?

Task: Devout Jews know this as the Shema ("hear!"), and memorize it in Hebrew. If they memorize it, we should too! (though not necessarily in Hebrew). Spend a moment to memorize it together in your small group.

Notes.
Here we don't need to make a strong distinction between "head" and "heart", as these were considered synonymous in Hebrew culture. In fact, "heart" and "soul" may not be so very distinct, either. Thus, this may be a case of merism here — a literary device, a type of metaphor, in which the parts listed stand for the whole (see below), i.e., all of our being and essence. Nonetheless, it is important to focus on how we are love God with all of our being — our minds, volition, emotion, intellect, spirit, body, vigor, etc. in a way that is balanced, integrated, and totally given to God.
6:7 definitely uses merism, in which the contrasting parts figuratively stand for the whole. The phrases "at home and when you walk along the road" and "when you lie down and get up" simply mean 'at all times'.
I think that "hands" in v8 probably refer figuratively to one's actions, one's behavior, as "hand(s)" do elsewhere in Scripture. I believe that the forehead in ancient Near Eastern culture represented identity. So this means making God's commandments a natural and practical part of our daily behavior and identity. The Pharisees interpreted this verse hyperliterally, and some of them actually wore phylacteries (little Scripture boxes) on their foreheads!


3. Reprise: God's will for your life.
Review the material from the earlier study on wisdom and finding God's will, e.g.,:

How do we seek and learn God's will in our lives? What principles do we follow? What are some areas in your life where you need to find and obey God's will? How can you claim these verses as promises for your life?


See also: Rom. 8:28 ("all things work for good..."); Phil. 4:6 ("He who has begun a good work in you...").