FIRST TIMOTHY

Chapter 5

Introduction

Since God is our Father in heaven, believers are brothers and sisters in His household on earth. You ought to treat fellow believers as you would your own family...

That is: You ought to treat them as you ought to treat your own family! That is why Paul told Timothy, in verses one and two,

1 Timothy 5:1 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,

1 Timothy 5:2 older women as mothers, younger as sisters, with all purity.

Timothy was a younger man, perhaps forty years old. He was to treat older men as he ought to treat his own father; likewise, he was to treat older women as he ought to treat his own mother. He was to treat other men and women and children as he ought to treat his own brothers and sisters.

Exactly how ought you treat the members of your family? In a word, you should honor them. Three times in our text Paul told Timothy to honor a particular group of men or women in the family of God:

1 Timothy 5:3 Honor widows who are really widows.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.

The word for "honor" can be translated value or worth or esteem or prize or respect. It also carries the idea of compensation or reward. Thus the idea is that you are to value others in the church as worthy of your esteem and respect and give them their due compensation or reward.

Why are you to honor them? According to Psalms 8:4-9, God has crowned men and women with honor. Men and women have value and worth because God has attributed or imputed to them value and worth. They have God-given worth. The sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the Cross to redeem mankind reflects the God-given worth of men and women. Thus we are to honor others.

As I mentioned, Paul singled out three specific types of people: Elderly widows, elders, and employers - especially Christian employers. The church at Ephesus was having problems properly honoring these three types of people. Paul wrote to correct their problems. We'll see these three things this morning: #1 Your Church Ought To Honor Their Elderly, #2 Your Church Ought To Honor Their Elders, and #3 Your Church Ought To Honor Their Employers.

The theological basis behind these first verses is biblical respect for the elderly. In verse four Paul said to "repay [your] parents"; that is, be ready to respect your elderly parents, both father and mother, by caring for them in their old age and infirmity. If you don't, according to verse eight you are worse than an unbeliever!

Among the elderly at Ephesus were widows. But there were younger widows as well. Apparently the church had an official welfare ministry toward widows - a benevolence fund to support widows. The only qualification was that your husband be dead. While that indeed makes you a widow, it doesn't necessarily make you a widow in need.

1 Timothy 5:3 Honor widows who are really widows.

This verse alerts you that not all widows are the responsibility of the church family to care and provide for. Paul will define who is "really" a widow in a moment - who is really a widow in need of the benevolence of the church family.

1 Timothy 5:4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.

Any widow with children or grandchildren should be cared for by them. It is their responsibility. It is also their reward. It is the way they "repay," or reward their mother or grandmother, the way they honor her. It is also their reward in the sense of it being a rewarding service as unto the Lord.

Drop down to verse eight and Paul finishes his thought about the responsibility of children to care for their elderly parents:

1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Even heathens took care of their elderly relatives. For the believers to expect the church to take care of their elderly relatives was to act worse than an unbeliever. It was a denial of their professed faith in God.

In an age in which euthanasia is becoming more and more popular, you ought to be planning to take care of your elderly relatives in a way that honors their God-given worth as people Jesus Christ died to save for all eternity.

Paul's final thought is in verse sixteen:

1 Timothy 5:16 If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.

The church is only to help the widows who have no relatives who can help them. There were too many widows on the welfare roll; this was welfare reform! Instead of "welfare to work," it was "off the roll and to the relatives!"

There are some other things to consider about widows. Go back to verses five through seven:

1 Timothy 5:5 Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

1 Timothy 5:6 But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

1 Timothy 5:7 And these things command, that they may be blameless.

Paul is going to contrast the deserving, older widows who should be on the church roll with the undeserving, younger widows who should not be.

Here are his qualifications:

1 Timothy 5:9 Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man,

1 Timothy 5:10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.

To be supported by the church family, the widow must be without any other human means of support from her family. She must be a believer with a faithful testimony. She must be at least 60 years old. She must have had a good marriage record, having remained faithful to her husband. She must have a testimony of doing good works - raising godly children, showing hospitality at home, ministering to the needs of believers, etc.

Contrast the younger widows:

1 Timothy 5:11 But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,

1 Timothy 5:12 having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith.

1 Timothy 5:13 And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.

1 Timothy 5:14 Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

1 Timothy 5:15 For some have already turned aside after Satan.

Here is what we think was happening in Ephesus:

When a widow was put on the church roll, it seems that she took a vow or pledge to serve the church. She and the other widows would meet together for prayer and to help with the ministry of the church; this was their retirement. The younger widows couldn't hang with this lifestyle; they were too full of youthful energy. They "grew wanton against Christ" by throwing off their vow to serve the church as widows. They went to find husbands; they had idle time which they filled going from house to house spreading gossip.

"Get them off the roll," Paul said, "and encourage them to remarry and channel their energy into their husband, children, and household." That way there would be enough funds to care for the real widows - the widows who had real needs.

"Elders" were mature men who were assisting Timothy in his pastoral ministry. The word in this context is believed by most Bible commentators to be a general word encompassing all the church leaders - pastor, elders, and deacons. Many of the problems in Ephesus were the result of erring elders teaching false doctrine. Paul had exposed them, even excommunicating two of them. He didn't want the believers to lose respect for the offices of leadership, so he instructs Timothy about honoring deserving leaders.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

1 Timothy 5:18 For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."

Honor your leaders and give double honor to those who teach the word. "Double honor" means respect for their office and remuneration for their service. If the funds are available, you should pay the pastor and others who assist him in the ministry of the Word.

1 Timothy 5:19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.

Really, you shouldn't receive unsubstantiated accusations against anyone. With leaders in the church we are unfortunately much more likely to believe hearsay. Respect them until you have reason not to.

1 Timothy 5:20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

If a leader is found to be in sin, his rebuke and restoration should be handled publicly. Church discipline is a healthy part of church discipleship.

1 Timothy 5:21 I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

In prejudice against a leader you sometimes are too willing to receive an accusation; in partiality toward a leader you sometimes are too willing to overlook his sin. Instead we ought to carry on fairly in plain sight of all, since we are in plain sight of God, Jesus, and the angels of heaven.

Read verses twenty-two, twenty-four, and twenty-five:

1 Timothy 5:22 Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.

1 Timothy 5:24 Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.

1 Timothy 5:25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

"Laying on of hands" was and is the way that leaders are officially recognized before the church. You should be in no rush to officially recognize leaders in your church. Hasty, superficial judgments - whether pro or con - can be inaccurate, leading to the enlistment of unqualified men or the overlooking of qualified men.

What about verse twenty-three?

1 Timothy 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.

Timothy was sick from drinking the water at Ephesus. Perhaps he had come under the influence of certain aspects of the false teaching elders at Ephesus and had decided to abstain from drinking wine. Please note he was only to drink "a little wine," and only for medicinal reasons!

Regardless the problems certain elders were causing, the fellowship was to honor the leaders who were right-on.

We don't have the kind of slave labor that existed in Rome. That's why I am applying these verses to employers and employees rather than to masters and slaves.

Slavery in first century Rome was nothing at all like our concept of slavery from American history. For one thing, it was rarely racially motivated. Most people became slaves through war or economic necessity, or were born into slavery as the offspring of slaves. The freeing of slaves, called manumission, was common, although in many cases slavery was preferred to freedom because it offered security and good position in a household.

At any rate, the Christians who were slaves were not showing respect for their masters:

1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed.

1 Timothy 6:2 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.

The problem was especially acute among Christian slaves whose masters were believers. Apparently they felt that spiritual equality canceled out the need to work hard for them!

Since you are a Christian, you ought all the more to honor your employer with hard work and a good attitude. If you're blessed to work for a believer, don't take advantage of his generosity and slack off. The name of God and the doctrine of the church is "blasphemed" by lazy laborers.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, society is losing respect for its elderly... Workers often have little respect for their employers... And even in the church there is a growing lack of respect for leaders.

When you honor these, and others, you offer a testimony to their God-given worth as those whom Jesus Christ died to save.