Family Matters | I Timothy 5:1-6:2

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HOW TO TREAT PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH

I.OLDER MEMBERS AND WIDOWS (5:1–10).

II.YOUNG WIDOWS (5:11–16).

III.CHURCH LEADERS (5:17–25).

IV.SERVANTS AND MASTERS (6:1–2).

A. A SUMMARY OF HOW TO TREAT ALL PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH. (5:1–10).

1. (1) HOW TO TREAT THE MEN IN THE CHURCH.

A. Do Not Rebuke An Older Man:

Paul Directed Timothy That Older Men Are Generally Not

To Be Rebuked.

A Young Pastor Such As Timothy Must Shepherd Them

Faithfully, But With Due Respect For The Years And

Presumed Wisdom Of The Older Men.

Any Godly Person Will Show A Deference To Those Who

Are Aged.

You Shall Rise Before The Gray Headed And Honor The

Presence Of An Old Man, And Fear Your God: I Am The

Lord (Leviticus 19:32).

The Silver-Haired Head Is A Crown Of Glory, If It Is Found

In The Way Of Righteousness (Proverbs 16:31).

There Is Another Reason To Exhort Rather Than Rebuke An Older Man: He May Simply Not Receive A Rebuke.

B. Do Not Rebuke:

Timothy Was Told To Not Attack Older Men With Words, But To Treat Them With Respect – As He Would Treat The Younger Men With Respect As Brothers.

The Command Was Not That Timothy Must Never Rebuke Older Men, But That He Was Not To Strike At People With An Overly Harsh Rebuke.

Apart From This Particularly Severe Word, In General Rebuke Is An Important Duty Of A Pastor.

It Is The Simple, Clear, Presentation That Someone Is Wrong, Either In Their Conduct Or Thinking.

Its Main Goal Is Not Encouragement As Much As To Clearly Confront Someone With Their Wrong Behavior Or Thinking.

In Another Letter To A Pastor, Paul Made The Importance Of Rebuking Clear: Rebuke With All Authority. Let No One Despise You (Titus 2:15).

C. But Exhort Him As A Father:

Exhortation Is Encouragement To Do What Needs To Be Done. It Has The Manner Of An Encouraging Coach Or Trainer, Helping The Athlete To Achieve Their Best.

D. Younger Men:

These Were To Be Treated As Brothers; That Is, As Partners And Friends In The Work Of The Gospel, But Without The Same Deference Due To Older Men.

2. (2) HOW TO TREAT WOMEN IN THE CHURCH.

A. Older Women:

These Were To Be Treated As Mothers, With The Respect And Honor Due Their Age. A Young Pastor Must Accept – And Appreciate – Some Amount Of Mothering From Some Of The Older Women In The Church, And It Is Proper To Give Them Honor As Such.

B. The Younger:

These Younger Women Were To Be Treated As Sisters; Timothy, As Any Godly Man, Was To Always Make Certain His Conduct Towards Younger Women Was Always Pure And Above Reproach. A Godly Man Is Not Flirtatious Or Provocative And Does Not Use Double Entendre’ (witty Words That Can Be Taken In A Flirtatious Or Provocative Way).

B. How To Treat Widows And Those In Need.

1. (3) The General Principle: Help The Needy Who Are Truly In Need.

A. Honor Widows:

In The Days The New Testament Was Written, There Was No Social Assistance System From The Government. In That Day There Was One Especially Vulnerable Class: Elderly Widows, Who Were Usually Without Support From Husbands Or Grown Children, And Without Means To Adequately Support Themselves. These Are Those Who Are Really Widows.

The Principles Revealed Here Are Extremely Relevant Today, When Many Look To The Local Congregation As A Place Where The Poor And Needy Should Be Able To Come For Financial Help.

B. Who Are Really Widows:

Those Who Were Really Widows Were To Receive Honor – Which In This Context Means Financial Support Yet Given In A Dignified And Honorable Way.

2. (4-6) HOW TO TELL THOSE WHO ARE REALLY WIDOWS.

A. If Any Widow Has Children:

Those Who Should Be Legitimately Helped By The Church Should Not Have Family Who Can Assist Them. If They Do Have Family To Assist Them, It Is The Responsibility Of The Family To Do It.

First Learn To Show Piety At Home And To Repay Their Parents Reminds Us Of The Ongoing Responsibility Adult Children Have Towards Their Parents And Grandparents.

B. Trusts In God And Continues In Supplications And Prayers Night And Day:

Those Who Should Be Legitimately Helped By The Church Should Serve The Church In Some Way. In This Case, The Widows Would Be Given The Job Of Praying For The Church.

C. But She Who Lives In Pleasure:

Those Who Should Be Legitimately Helped By The

Church Must Have Godly Lives.

It Is Appropriate To Say, “You’re Not Living A Godly Life,

So You Won’t Receive Financial Assistance From The Church.”

Is Dead While She Lives:

The Life Lived For Mere Pleasure And Ease Is No Life At

All.

It Is A Living Death, Whether Lived By A Young Widow Or

Anyone Else.

3. (7-8) WHERE PROVISION SHOULD COME FROM.

A. These Things Command:

A Good Pastor Will Teach These Things, So All Will Know What God Expects Of Them.

B. If Anyone Does Not Provide For His Own:

God’s Normal Way Of Providing For The Needy Is Not Through The Local Congregation, But Through Our Own Hard Work.

C. He Has Denied The Faith And Is Worse Than An Unbeliever:

In The Strongest Terms, Paul Emphasized The Responsibility Of A Man To Provide For His Family – To Do All He Could To Support Them.

This Is The Minimum Required Of A Christian Man; If He Does Not Do Even This, His Conduct Is Worse Than An Unbeliever’s.

This Is Why When Someone Is Out Of Work, We Can Pray With Such Confidence, Knowing It Is God’s Will For Them To Provide For The Needs Of Their Family Through Work.

4. (9-10) HELPING OLDER WIDOWS.

A. Do Not Let A Widow Under Sixty Years Old Be Taken Into The Number:

The Idea Is That If Someone Is Under Sixty, They Could Still Support Themselves Or Get Remarried. They Did Not Need To Be Added To The Support List Of The Church.

B. Well Reported For Good Works… If She Has Diligently Followed Every Good Work:

Those Widows Who Were Accepted Into The Support Of The Church Must Not Only Be True Widows, But They Must Also Have Godly Character. They Were Called To A Job, Not Merely To A Handout.

5. (11-16) HELPING YOUNGER WIDOWS.

A. Refuse The Younger Widows:

As A General Rule, These Were Not To Be Added To The Support Roll Of The Local Congregation, Because They Generally Could Provide For Themselves And Could Remarry.

B. They Desire To Marry, Having Condemnation:

Paul Did Not Condemn Young Widows For Wanting To Get Married, Only Observing That Many Unmarried Women Are So Hungry For Marriage And Companionship That They Don’t Conduct Themselves In A Godly Way In Regard To Relationships.

Many People Get Into A Bad Romance Or Spoil A Friendship, Because They Are Desperately Needy For Relationship. It’s A Common Occurrence That Paul Warned Against.

Paul Did Not Condemn A Young Widow’s Desire For Romantic Companionship; But He Insisted That It Be Pursued And Expressed In The Purity That Should Mark All Believers.

C. If Any Believing Man Or Woman Has Widows, Let Them Relieve Them:

Paul Concluded With A Principle He Alluded To Three Times In This Section (1 Timothy 5:4, 5, And 8). The First Responsibility For Support Is At The Home; The Local Church Is To Support The Truly Destitute Who Are Godly.

C. HOW TO TREAT ELDERS.

1. (17-18) ELDERS ARE TO BE HONORED ACCORDING TO PRINCIPLES FROM SCRIPTURE.

A. Elders:

The Word Here Is To Be Understood In A Broad Sense Of Those In Leadership. The Focus Is On Elders Who Rule And Elders Who Teach (labor In The Word And Doctrine). Not Necessarily Will Every Elder Who Rules Will Also Be An Elder Who Teaches.

B. Be Counted Worthy Of Double Honor:

If An Elder (such As A Pastor) Does Rule Well And Does Labor In The Word And Doctrine (clearly Speaking Of Hard Work), That One Is Worthy Of Double Honor.

C. For The Scripture Says:

The Principle That Those Who Serve God’s People Should Be Paid (when Possible, Of Course) Is Supported By The Passages Of Scripture Quoted By Paul: Deuteronomy 25:4 And Luke 10:7.

Paul Explained In 1 Corinthians 9:11 That If One Sows Spiritual Things (such As Labor In The Word And Doctrine), It Is Entirely Appropriate For Them To Reap Material Things Among Those Who They Do The Spiritual Work. In Galatians 6:6 Paul Wrote, Let Him Who Is Taught The Word Share In All Good Things With Him Who Teaches. In Philippians 4:17 Paul Said That Such Giving Abounds To The Account Of The Giver, Sharing In The Reward Of The Spiritual Ministry Supported.

It Is Also Significant That Paul Quoted Luke And Called It Scripture, Just As Much As The Passage From The Hebrew Scriptures That He Referenced.

2. (19-20) HOW TO TREAT A LEADER ACCUSED OF SIN.

A. Do Not Receive:

In These Verses, Paul Hit The Balance Between Believing And Acting On Every Bit Of Gossip That Comes Along About A Leader In The Church, And Ignoring Serious Sin In A Leader’s Life. Either Extreme Is Wrong.

B. Do Not Receive An Accusation Against An Elder Except From Two Or Three Witnesses:

Any Accusation Against A Leader Should Not Be Automatically Received. The Accusation Should Be Carefully Verified By Two Or Three Witnesses – Not Just Two Or Three Others Who Also Heard The Gossip. Timothy Should Not Receive Or Promote Unsubstantiated Accusations About Church Leaders.

C. Those Who Are Sinning Rebuke In The Presence Of All, That The Rest May Fear:

However, If Leaders Are In Sin, It Must Be Addressed Forthrightly – With Public Rebuke, To Promote A Fear Of Sin Among The Leadership And The Entire Church.

Many Congregations Have Had Great Trouble Because Sin In The Leadership Was Not Forthrightly Dealt With. It’s Important That Everyone Understand That Leadership In The Church Does Not Shield One From Accountability; It Makes One Even More Accountable.

According To John Calvin, In The Middle Ages The Church Protected Its Corrupt Bishops Against Accusation By Demanding That 72 Witnesses Be Brought Forth To Confirm Any Accusation Against A Bishop. This Is An Extreme Example Of Corrupt Leaders Protecting Other Corrupt Leaders.

3. (21) DO NOT BE PREJUDICED OR SHOW PARTIALITY.

A. I Charge You Before God And The Lord Jesus Christ And The Elect Angels:

This Strong Statement Reflects The Serious Nature Of The Job Of Leaders In The Local Congregation. They Serve An Eternal God And Must Please Him First In Everything They Do.

B. Observe These Things Without Prejudice, Doing Nothing With Partiality:

Prejudice And Partiality Are Grave Sins Before God. In The New Testament, The Emphasis Is On Partiality According To Class (James 2:1-9); But Partiality According To Race And Gender Is Also Included (Galatians 3:26-29) And Regarded As Sin.

D. HOW TO TREAT POTENTIAL LEADERS IN THE CHURCH.

1. (22) BE CAREFUL ABOUT APPROVING THE MINISTRY OF ANOTHER PERSON.

A. Lay Hands On Anyone:

This Is Used In The Sense Of Ordination. Paul Cautioned Timothy To Let A Man Prove Himself Before He Was Recognized In Ministry. There Should Not Be A Rush; Time Must Season A Man And His Ministry.

Some Think The Admonition Do Not Lay Hands On Anyone Hastily Has To Do With Receiving Repentant People Back Into The Fellowship Of The Church. It Seems That In Some Early Church Circles, Those Who Had Fallen Into Scandalous Sin Had To Be Received Back Into The Church With The Laying On Of Hands And Prayer By Church Leaders. If So, Paul Meant, “Don’t Go Too Fast. Let Them Demonstrate Their Repentance First.”

B. Lay Hands On:

Since Ordination Simply Recognizes God’s Calling, It Is All The More Reason To Not Be In A Hurry – Time Should Be Given To Allow Those Gifts And Callings To Demonstrate Themselves.

It Isn’t Uncommon For A Young Man In The Ministry To Be A Bit Impatient; He Wants To Do Great Things For The Lord And Is Anxious For Pastors And Elders To Lay Hands On Them In Recognition Of God’s Work In Them.

Yet, There Is Danger If Anyone Waits To Give Themselves Fully To Serving The Lord Until They Are Recognized With A Title Or The Laying On Of Hands. This Means They Are More Concerned With Image (how It Appears To Others) Than With Substance (what They Can Really Be Doing For The Lord Right Now).

C. Keep Yourself Pure:

This Connects To An Important Idea. If Timothy Was Called To Observe And Assess The Lives Of Others, It Was Important That He Pay Even More Attention To His Own Life.

Nor Share In Other People’s Sins: We All Have Enough Sin Of Our Own; We Do Not Need To Add To It By Partaking In The Sins Of Others. There Are Many Ways We Can Do This.

· We Can Share In The Sins Of Others By Setting A Bad Example Before Them.

· We Can Share In The Sins Of Others By Approving Of Them Or Ignoring Them.

· We Can Share In The Sins Of Others By Joining A Church That Spreads Dangerous Teachings.

2. (23) PAUL’S MEDICAL ADVICE TO TIMOTHY.

A. Use A Little Wine For Your Stomach’s Sake:

Water In The Ancient World Was Often Impure And Timothy Probably Had Problems From The Impure Water. Since The Fermentation Process Would Eliminate Some Of The Harmful Things In The Water, It Would Be Better For Him To Drink A Little Wine Rather Than Water All The Time.

B. Use A Little Wine:

Timothy Was Probably Abstaining From Alcohol For The Sake Of Setting A Good Example. However, This Abstinence Was Hurting His Health – Wine Was Safer To Drink Than Water. So, Paul Told Timothy That It Wasn’t Wise To Sacrifice His Health For The Sake Of This Abstinence – He Would Do More Good For The Jesus And His Kingdom By Taking Care Of His Body In This Circumstance.

C. Your Frequent Infirmities:

Timothy Was The Victim Of Frequent Infirmities; Yet Paul Did Not Simply Command A Healing On Apostolic Authority, Or Even Send Him A Handkerchief With Healing Power (Acts 19:11-12). This Demonstrates That Paul Did Not Have Miraculous Powers At His Own Command, But Only At The Prompting Of The Holy Spirit. Apparently, There Was No Such Prompting In Timothy’s Case.

If It Is God’s Will For All To Be Healed Right Now, Then Paul (and The Holy Spirit Who Inspired Him) Here Led Timothy Into Sin – Calling Him To Look To A Natural Remedy Instead Of A Divine Healing. God Uses Natural Remedies And The Work Of Doctors In Healing, As Well As The Supernatural Power Of The Holy Spirit – They Don’t Contradict One Another.

3. (24-25) THE DIFFICULTY IN LOOKING AT A MAN’S SIN AND HIS GOOD WORKS.

A. Some Men’s Sins Are Clearly Evident… But Those Of Some Men Follow Later:

It Is Easy To See The Struggles And Sins Some Have; But With Some Others, The Sins Are Hidden.

We All Have Areas Of Our Lives God Is Dealing With; And Sometimes The Area Is Something Clearly Evident To Others. But Sometimes The Sinful Area Is Not Evident; Some People Are Regarded As Holy Just Because They Are Good At Hiding Their Sin.

B. Otherwise Cannot Be Hidden:

Good Works Are Always Eventually Revealed; But Sins Are Sometimes Hidden And Will Be Evident Only At The Judgment. These Words Are Meant To Be A Caution To Timothy In His Appointing Of Leaders. Sometimes What One Sees On The Outside Isn’t Really An Accurate Picture, So We Need To Take It Slow, So We Can Wait On God For Discernment.

1 TIMOTHY 6: 1-2

RICHES AND GODLINESS

A Word To Servants.

1. (1) A Word To Slaves In General.

A. Let As Many Bondservants:

Paul Called Upon Slaves To Count Their Own Masters Worthy Of All Honor – To Be Good, Respectful Workers For Their Masters. He Did This Not Out Of A General Approval Of The Institution Of Slavery, But So That God Would Be Glorified (so That The Name Of God And His Doctrine May Not Be Blasphemed).

Christianity Arose In A Social Setting Where Slavery Was Commonplace. There Were Some 60 Million Slaves In The Roman Empire. Some Slaves Held Privileged Positions; Other Slaves Were Treated With Great Abuse. While The Bible Never Commanded Slavery, It Did Permit It And Regulate It.

Jesus, Paul And Others In The New Testament Did Not Call For A Violent Revolution Against The Institution Of Slavery (which Perhaps, Humanly Speaking, Might Have Failed Miserably). Yet Through The Transformation Brought By The Gospel, They Did Effectively Destroy The Foundations Of Slavery – Racism, Greed, Class Hatred – And Made A Civilization Without Slavery Possible.

The Church Itself Was A Place Where Slavery Was Destroyed. It Was Not Uncommon For A Master And A Slave To Go To Church Together, Where The Slave Would Be An Elder In The Church, And The Master Was Expected To Submit To The Slave’s Spiritual Leadership! Such Radical Thinking Was An Offense To Many, But Glorified God And Eventually Destroyed Slavery.

B. As Are Under The Yoke:

These Same Principles Apply To Our Occupations Today. When We Work Hard And Honor Our Employers, It Glorifies God. But When We Are Bad Workers And Disrespectful To Our Supervisors, It Brings Shame On The Name Of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:22-24 Gives The Sense Of This: Servants, Obey In All Things Your Masters According To The Flesh, Not With Eye-Service, As Men-Pleasers, But In Sincerity Of Heart, Fearing God. And Whatever You Do, Do It Heartily, As To The Lord And Not To Men, Knowing That From The Lord You Will Receive The Reward Of The Inheritance; For You Serve The Lord Christ. No Matter Who We Work For, We Really Work For The Lord – And We Should Give The Lord Both Honor And A Hard Day Of Work.

C. So That The Name Of God And His Doctrine May Not Be Blasphemed:

People Will Judge Christianity

• Who God Is (the Name Of God)

• What The Bible Teaches (and His Doctrine)

• Based On How Believers Conduct Themselves As Workers.

Each Christian Should Ask If They Are Leading People To Jesus By How They Work, Or If They Are Leading People Away From Jesus By Their Bad Work And Testimony At Their Job.

2. (2) A Special Word To Slaves With Christian Masters.

And Those Who Have Believing Masters, Let Them Not Despise Them Because They Are Brethren, But Rather Serve Them Because Those Who Are Benefited Are Believers And Beloved. Teach And Exhort These Things.

A. And Those Who Have Believing Masters:

Perhaps It Was Easy For A Slave To Say, “My Master Doesn’t Know Jesus. That’s Why He Expects Me To Work So Hard.” But If The Master Were A Christian, Or Became A Christian, The Slave Might Think, “My Brother Shouldn’t Expect Me To Work So Hard Now; He Will Show Me Christian Love, And Perhaps Favor Me Above The Other Slaves, Because I Am A Christian Also.”

B. Let Them Not Despise Them Because They Are Brethren, But Rather Serve Them:

We Can Almost Imagine A Slave Saying, “My Master Is My Brother! We Are Equal Before The Lord. He Has No Right To Tell Me What To Do.” This Attitude Ignores The Fact That God Calls Us Into Many Relationships Where Submission Is Commanded – In The Home, In The Church, In The Workplace. Our Equality In Jesus Doesn’t Eliminate God’s Order Of Authority.

C. But Rather Serve Them Because Those Who Are Benefited Are Believers And Beloved:

Upon This Principle, Christian Slaves With Christian Masters Were Not Free To Despise Their Masters For Expecting Them To Work, And To Work Hard. Rather, The Slave Should Be Even More Dedicated To Work Because He Served A Brother.

We Should Never Expect Special Treatment Because Our Boss Or Supervisor Is A Christian. Instead, That Should Motivate Us To Work All The Harder, Because We Can Then Be A Blessing To Another Brother.

D. Teach And Exhort These Things:

This Teaching Was Especially Important In The Ancient World, Where Slaves Might Be Treated Very Differently From Master To Master, And Where There Was Sometimes Intense Racism And Hatred Between Slaves And Masters.