Sermon or Lesson:  1 Timothy 6:2 (NIV based)
[Lesson Questions included]

TITLE:  Teach And Exhort Directly From The Scriptures, Including About Respect For Authority

INTRO:  When you go to your job each day, what determines how you respond to various situations throughout the day?  Do you usually respond in a manner that is determined by whatever comes natural to you at the moment?  Or do you usually respond in accordance to whatever good or bad thing that most recently happened to you?  Or do you usually respond in accordance to the amount and type and time frame of work that awaits for you to complete?
     The point here is that within our employment, most of us employees utilize a standard of conduct that is determined by various aspects of life rather than utilize a standard of conduct that is determined by God.  And for whatever reasons, we are oblivious to how our responses at our employment affect God's program.  But, God has a solution for our lack of awareness of what He wants to accomplish through us when we are under an authority person.
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READ:  1 Timothy 6:2, with vv.5:22,24-6:1 for context

BACKGROUND:
- - In previous verses 5:24-25, the discussion revolved around the topic pertaining to the sins and the good deeds of men being obvious or being hidden.
- - Then in these next verses 6:1-2, the discussion branches into the topic pertaining to the behaviors and deeds of believers are visible and produce results that have an effect on God's program.
- - To review verse 1, the same biblical principles that govern how slaves are to respond to their masters are appropriate for and thereby applicable to how employees are to respond to the authority persons at their employment.
- - By extension, God obligates us employees to have and extend full respect and honor to our employers and work supervisors, just like slaves are to do to their master (v.6:1) and church congregants are to do to their ruling elders (v.5:17).
- - Believers witness to their faith through how they respond to the authority of their employer, work supervisors, and other authority persons who are over them.
- - God instructs us believers to regard and extend full respect to our employers, supervisors, and other authority persons over us, which will then reflect positively on the credibility of our God and our faith.
- - Now, let's study verse 2 to learn what else God has to say about what we believers need to learn and know when we respond to authority persons over us.

v.2 - READ

[Lesson Question:  What is the nature of the exception that is being disapproved here?  Clarify.]

SECTION POINT:  God does not approve of us refraining from extending full respect to believer authority persons over us.

"Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers."
- - Within God's mandate that we believers are to regard and extend full respect to our employers, supervisors, and other authority persons over us, God is now "additionally" specifying that He does not approve of us making an exception for authority persons who are "brothers", fellow true believers in Jesus Christ.  (Strong's #1161, omitted in NIV; #4103)
- - There is no appropriateness or any valid justification for harboring and extending less respect for an authority person who is a believer.
- - By definition in the Greek, this includes "thinking against" them, "despising" them, and regarding them with "disesteem".  (Strong's #2706)
- - Therefore, partially extending respect is not approved by God either.
- - The mandate here is to extend full respect (v.1) in all ways at all times, even to authority persons who are fellow true believers in Jesus Christ.
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[Lesson Question:  Analyze and describe why the reasons cited here are valid, and why they should motivate believer workers in this regard.]

SECTION POINT:  God says that believer authority persons over us deserve our extra respect and extra corresponding benefiting good service distinctly because they are fellow dear members of God's Kingdom.
 
"Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them."
- - "Instead" of "showing less respect for" believer authority persons over us, to the contrary, we are to extend extra respect and corresponding extra effort "to serve them even better".
- - Theoretically, believer authority persons would be more compassionate and lenient to their workers than would unbeliever authority persons.  Thereby, workers would likely be inclined to take advantage of that compassion and leniency by slacking in their exerting of a full work effort.
- - "But" "rather", workers are to possess and extend even "more" respect and "serving" of believer authority persons because those authority persons are fellow true believers in Jesus Christ.  (Strong's #0235, #3123)
- - There should exist a natural bond and camaraderie between fellow believers, which consequently should foster an above-normal or increased mutual regard of care, concern, and "love".  (Strong's #0027)
- - This naturally-occurring above-normal mutual loving regard is to be recognized by the believer worker, translating into a deep genuine appreciation that their "good service" (Strong's #2108) to the believer authority person "benefits" a fellow believer of Jesus Christ, a fellow "dear" member of God's Kingdom.
- - The conclusion, then, is that a believer worker who maintains extra respect and consistently exerts corresponding extra effort in serving and benefiting a believer authority person is directly contributing to the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
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[Lesson Question:  Analyze and describe why "teaching and urging on" of "these things" warrants being ordered by God here that ministry leaders are to do.]

SECTION POINT:  God orders ministry leaders to "teach and urge on" "these things" because this process is necessary for the accomplishing of His spiritual objectives.

"These are the things you are to teach and urge on them."
- - Respect for persons in authority over us does not come naturally to believers, and more so neither does exerting extra good service to benefit our slave-driving employer or supervisor.
- - But God has spiritual objectives He wants achieved in the midst of our laboring and toiling.
- - And caught up in the stresses and strains of our work and of life, we believers naturally fail to recognize these and other spiritual objectives that God has for us.
- - Consequently, we need to be "taught" what God's spiritual objectives are, as cited in this verse for example, and then we need to be "urged" to put them into effect in our life.
- - If we believers are not taught and urged on about these spiritual objectives, then most of us will never comprehend enough of what and how God works to achieve His spiritual objectives so that we gain sufficient motivation to consistently and persistently implement our role in the accomplishing of His objectives.
- - Therefore, both teaching and urging "these things" on believers are vital and crucial for the successful accomplishing of God's objectives.
- - Teachers and preachers of the Word of God are hereupon ordered to teach these biblical principles contained in the Book of 1 Timothy and other principles contained in Scriptures to their congregants and group attenders.
- - 1 Timothy 4:6 "If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus," and you will be "bringing up" your flock "in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed."
- - And be aware that by implication, God does not approve of selectively choosing not to teach and urge these and other principles in Scriptures.
- - And also be aware that God does not approve of wandering from the biblical principles, "godly teaching", and "sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ", deviating into "teaching false doctrines".  (v.6:3)
- - Believers are to be taught and urged on about "these things" that are of God, that directly come from God through His written Word.
- - Teachers and preachers would do well by always being careful not to insert or substitute into their messages content that they generate, that comes from themselves rather than from specific Scriptures soundly interpreted and biblically-aligned.
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BIG IDEA:  To accomplish God's objectives, believers must be taught directly from Scriptures on how to always behave in a godly manner in life situations, for example when under the authority and orders of a believing supervisor.

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APPLICATIONS:

-- Of what quality is your performance at your job?
- - - - Are you maintaining personal integrity - putting in a good and complete day's work every day?
- - - - Are you always fully respectful and fully compliant to all of your supervisors, whether they are a believer or an unbeliever?  Even when your supervisor receives the credit for your hard work, extra effort, and excellent results?
- - - - Do you hold a special favorable regard for every believer that you work with or under?  Or do you harbor some disrespect, envy, or rivalry against them?
- - - - Do you keep God's perspective and objectives in mind when you are at your job each day?  Or do you quickly launch into survival mode - "dog eat dog", "every man for himself"?  Or self-serving mode - "don't give any respect unless you first get respect", "look for ways to avoid having to do extra work"?

-- Of what quality is your performance in other situations when you are under someone's authority and orders?
- - - - Are you always fully respectful and fully compliant to all of the authority persons over you, whether they are a believer or an unbeliever?  Or do you manifest rebellion?  Or do you manipulate to exert some control that you are not authorized nor entitled to?
- - - - Are you teachable from Scriptures in this aspect of respecting authority over you?  Or is your heart hardened - you sit and listen to this teaching but you refuse to implement it in your life?

-- For those of us who teach or preach God's Word, are you in fact teaching God's Word?  Or are you in actuality teaching something else?
- - - - Are there actual quoted Scripture verses, words, and phrases throughout each of your messages, predominantly featured, thoroughly explained, and extensively applied to the lives of your listeners?  Or do you instead briefly mention snippets from Scripture and then proceed to talk about something else that in reality contains little or no distinct content from Scriptures? 
- - - - In each of your messages, do you clearly identify and "urge on" or "exhort" specific biblical principles that have been properly derived directly from the Scriptures verses you are using (Strong's #3870)?  Or do you essentially promote concepts from some other ideology - like socialism, or humanism, or psychology, for examples?
- - - - Do you have adequate academic Bible training or access excellent resource materials in order to teach the Scriptures well at the level that is necessary to be very good for your listeners?  Or are you operating and/or producing at a minimum or sub-minimum level?
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[Additional Lesson Questions to ponder (optional, if time allows):
- - Is there any kind of situation in which God would approve of us believers not extending full respect to an authority person over us?  If so, in your answer be sure to provide an applicable verse that properly supports your answer.
- - Is there any kind of situation in which God would approve of us believers not exerting full effort and "even better" "service" to a believer authority person over us?  If so, in your answer be sure to provide an applicable verse that properly supports your answer.]
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Works Cited:
Bible. “The Holy Bible: New International Version.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.

“Strong's Greek Dictionary.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.
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Translation used: NIV, quoted or referred to in various places within this document
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Updated:  December 15, 2017