My name is Michael Calisco, Elder here at the OPC of Rio Rancho. I will be reading from 1 Timothy, chapter 5, verses 1 through 16, a sermon entitled, The Household of God, prepared by Reverend Todd Bordeaux. So if you're read, please give the reading of God's holy word your full attention. Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father. Treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters in all purity. Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who is self-indulgent is dead, even when she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than 60 years of age, having been the wife of one husband and having a reputation for good works. If she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. but refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry, and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not, So I would have younger widows marry their children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. For some have always strayed after Satan. If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened so that it may care for those who are really widows. May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Let us pray. Heavenly Fathers, I read this sermon this morning from Pastor Bordeaux. I just pray, Heavenly Father, that you would open our hearts and minds to the understanding of your word, and most importantly, Heavenly Father, that you would help us, through your Spirit, apply it to our daily walk. We pray this in Christ Jesus' name. Amen. As has been the case in the past, many of Todd's sermons that he gives us are untitled. So often we have to read through them several times before we come up with a title, but this title this time around was very easy to find. So if you read the sermon that God has intended you to hear today, Paul has likened the local church to a household in 1 Timothy. Our theme verse in 3.15 called the church the household of God. It is in and through this new household of God that God will build his kingdom. At the cross, our Lord created a new family that even transcended normal blood kinship. Remember that Jesus looked down on his mother and John, disciple, and said, Behold your mother, and behold your son. The new family is the household of God, the new covenant church. But how is this new family to look and to act? This is the question Paul addresses in this letter. In chapter 5, the apostle continues to mold and shape God's temple in its local expression. Timothy has been instructed as to his role in the household. He is to preach the word and refute those who would oppose the word, whether in doctrine or in living. But now Paul reminds Timothy that he must approach the other members respectfully. In verses 1 and 2, he uses family language. Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father in younger men as brothers. You might have expected Paul to say exhort older men as father and younger men as sons, but Timothy was to treat even the youngest as brothers equal to him in the faith. In the same way, he was to address the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters. This applies not only to Timothy, but to also all of us. Here is how we should consider and address one another as God's people that he has redeemed, as fellow members of God's family. You naturally protect your own family's name and reputation. You normally would not allow someone to speak evil of your spouse or child, especially one that does not know anything about your family. You become rightly indignant at that, and even if what they say bears some truth, you still normally will not allow your loved ones to be spoken about in a disrespectful manner unless they have done something so obviously bad that it is publicly known. For God has even stronger jealousy for every member of His family. He would have them all treated honorably as fellow members of His household. But God's people are not to care for fellow members of the household in word only, but also in deed. The Church of Jesus Christ has been redeemed for good works, that we might give God glory in our deeds, Even in the Old Testament era, Israel was commanded to love one another, especially taking care of the orphans and widows. The orphan and widow were the two categories of people utterly dependent on others for their survival. God has always revealed himself as the father of the orphan and widow in the covenant community. Although the Israelites were constantly commanded in the law to care for its widows, we read in Isaiah that one of the reasons the nation was destroyed by Babylon was that it was not caring for its widows. After the exile, the people returned to Jerusalem and pledged under Nehemiah that they would finally obey God's law. And yet, what do we find when our Lord Jesus Christ visits Jerusalem? In the center of Old Testament religion, we find a widow offering her last two coins in the temple. Where was the care for the widows in this city of God? Jesus does mention widows, but he does in the context of how the Pharisees were taking advantage of the widows for their own gain. Thus Israel would be destroyed again, this time for their final disobedience. Surely the law of God must be written not only on paper, but also on the hearts of the people. When the Spirit descended on the Church in Acts, the commands of God were emblazoned on the Christian hearts as the Holy Spirit entered into each believer. What do we find as a result? The Church caring for widows. As a matter of fact, the problem in 1 Timothy is not the lack of care, but too much care. There is actually a lack of discrimination and discernment as to who to care for. Not a bad problem, all things considered. Paul instructs Timothy to honor widows who are truly widows. He means truly in the sense of those who truly need special care. In the church, there was a special class of widows who received regular financial support from the church. These widows on this list would make a vow to spend their time serving the church through helping others. The church would support them to free them up to focus on this special service. Apparently, the church's generosity, though commendable, was lacking in discernment. So Paul must specify which widows are to be in this special group. The first qualification that she must be one who has no other family members who can support her. If she has any children or grandchildren, they are responsible first to provide for her. This is good in God's sight. Paul says in verse 5 that she must have no other means of support. If she has no other earthly means of support, she must be a woman who trusts God for her support. And because she cannot make a living, she spends time in prayer for herself and others. In verse 6, Paul gives an example of a widow who should not receive this support. And it is the woman who lives to indulge herself. Ephesus was a very, very wealthy town. And the majority of the people were rather well off. We might find a parallel with the church in Ephesus and the church in America. Some widows were left with large sums of money and spent their days enjoying the good life, getting as much pleasure out of life as she could. While the world might describe her as living it up, Paul ironically says that she is dead even as she lives. There is no spiritual life evident within such a person. Whether there were actually widows on the list living like this is hard to tell. Paul may be dealing with the problem hypothetically at that moment. The apostle instructs Timothy to command the adult children to provide for their parents and grandparents, if they could not provide for themselves. To do this was a horrible sin in the eyes of the apostle, as it is in the eyes of God. Paul says if anyone does not provide for his own, meaning relatives, especially for his own household or immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. These are strong words. They are worse than unbelievers because even unbelievers know by virtue of being in God's image that this is right, even though they don't always do it. In ancient Athens, no man was allowed to be a statesman if there was anything on his record that revealed that he had not provided for his parents. You young people live in a culture that does not show much respect for elderly. You must not be conformed to the patterns of this world. There will come a time when you will be called upon to give back to your parents what is due them. If they come to a point where they cannot take care of themselves, you are responsible to take care of them. Yes, it will be inconvenient. You will have made many plans for that extra money, but your goal in life is not to experience as much pleasure as possible. You will have all eternity for that. You are to sacrifice whatever is necessary for those who gave you life. And you parents, you parents must not become so prideful as to not allow your children to provide for you when and if the time comes. You must allow them to do what God has commanded them. Caring for our parents is a wonderful expression of our faith in Christ and that we do not live for the pleasures of this world. In verse 9, Paul moves on to other qualifications for widows to receive regular help from the church. The one who is to be put on this list must be 60 years old. In the Roman culture, 60 was the age where there was no expectancy for remarriage. Also, she was to have been the wife of one man. Paul is not saying that if her first and second husband both died, she is disqualified. For he has said in other places that remarriage after the death of a spouse is good. The NIV rightly translates this phrase, been fateful, to a new husband. In other words, when she was married, that she did not commit adultery. To be among this special group, the widows must be an example of good works. Paul lists some of those works she should be known for. She has brought up her children well. She should not expect to be provided for if she has not provided for her own children. She has lodged strangers, that is, she opened her home to other believers who were traveling through. She has washed the saints' feet. When she did watch these saints, she served them, the washing of the feet being symbolic for servanthood. She has relieved the afflicted when the saints were in need, they knew they could call on her and that she would indeed be there. In general, she has been diligent to pursue good works. Thus, you see the reciprocal nature of this special arrangement. As the Church supports these widows, they, in turn, through prayers and service, are freed up to serve the Kingdom people. We are not talking about charity. We are talking about service. Now in Paul, setting the limit at 60 years old, he is not forbidding temporary financial help to other ages or other people. But as far as this special class of widows on regular support goes, he is setting the standard very high. Verse 11, Paul disallows younger widows to be on the list. You see that these widows in this group would take a vow of celibacy. They would pledge their devotion exclusively to Christ and the service of the church. But the young widows, maybe from despondency over the death of their husband, would often make rash vows not to remarry or become part of this group. But as time wore on, they would begin to desire intimacy again. They would be tempted to break their vow, or to keep their vow, they would be tempted to commit fornication. This is what Paul means in verse 12 when he writes that they are tempted to cast off their first faith. Again, the NIV rightly translates this as breaking the first pledge. Also, the young are not always disciplined enough to make the best use of their free time. Thus, they begin to abuse the church's support and spend their time gossiping instead of serving, speaking of things they shouldn't. The apostle encourages the young girls to remarry and to raise children if they are not ready for a life of singleness. Then, at least, they would be doing something important with their time, which is nurturing a family. Paul says that if the church is not careful, these younger widows will do something that will cause the adversary to reproach the name of Christ. Again, we see the covenantial nature of our witness. One member who falls into sin can destroy the whole church's witness. In the family of God, everything you say and do either advances or hurts the whole church and the cause of Christ. We are not isolated individuals, even in our so-called private sin. Sadly, some widows had turned aside to a life of sin, as Paul relates in verse 15. He describes them as having gone after Satan. Presumably, Paul is speaking of those young widows who have wandered from the faith to pursue a life of pleasure. Paul knows that Satan himself has taken advantage of the carelessness of these young women. The adversary would seek to ruin your church witness, and he may use your lack of careful deliberation and following God's instruction here to damage you. In verse 16 is Paul's summary statement. of this whole section on widows. He is basically saying if any Christian woman has a mother or grandmother in need, let her especially provide for her relative by whatever means necessary. Let not the church be financially burdened because the church's diaconal money must relieve those who are truly needy widows. Again, if you make a mistake, if we miss the forest from the trees, what do we have here in Ephesus? We have a body of believers in the midst of the wealthiest town in Asia Minor, sacrificing their money for their own relatives. And as a church, sacrificing their money to care for those saints who cannot care for themselves. And we have elderly widows who do not know the meaning of retirement, at least when it comes to service to the body of Christ. These widows spend their last years serving their brethren and relieving the afflicted. Here is a community where the external things have transcended the temporary, where the gospel of Christ resulted in tangible good works and sacrifice, and where the world could see by their actions that God is truly among them. God has done more than simply prescribe a law. What the law could not do because of our weakness, God did. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has put our old sinful nature to death on the cross. He has then written his perfect law on our hearts through the Holy Spirit. He has formed a new spiritual family amidst the family of the earth. This family does care for their widows. They are a pilgrim family, giving up the riches of this world for that which they have been promised. This is the big picture you are to catch, even as you focus on obeying the details. May God be glorified in us today as we respond in obedience. Amen.