Good morning. Please turn to 1 Timothy, chapter 5. We're moving along. Not much remaining. Last time we covered 11 through 16 in chapter 4 and the main point if you remember was this Let no one despise you for your youth But set the believers an example in speech and conduct and love and faith in purity Until I come devote yourself to the public reading of scripture to exhortation to teaching first Timothy 4 and verses 12 and 13 and what we discussed is Timothy was young and there was a consideration that his youth could be a stumbling block to people especially am I gonna follow this guy am I gonna obey him listen to him he's so young Paul says basically don't worry about your age just be righteous and holy and it will quiet down all that talk whatever it is show them your faith and your age won't be a problem and listen let it be an example for us however you old you are now let your faith and your actions be what speaks for you, not your age, whether you're young or old, or somewhere in between. All of us in our youth. If you think about it, those of you who are 60 plus, comparatively speaking, you are older than Lydia. But if your life is but a vapor, and you're 70 years old, you're not that old. Your life is a vapor. Here today, gone tomorrow. It's gone by like that. Hasn't it? In your youth, set an example to others around you. Be above reproach, and speech, and conduct, and love, and faith, and purity. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you again for this hour that we can look to your word. We can think your thoughts after you. We can read the letter written by your apostle to Timothy. And Father, we believe that these are not merely the words of Paul, but they are the words that you wanted the church to have for all time. Would you help us to listen to the teaching of the Scriptures? And Father, would you help us to not just know what the right thing is, but would you help us to do it by the power of the Spirit working in us, Father? Even overcome that old flesh that's still in us, warring against us. Help us, Father. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, today we'll read verses 1 through 16 in chapter 5. Please stand while we read the Word of God. Chapter 5, verse 1. Do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father. Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as 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 while 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 the 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 sixty 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 the 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, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. For some have already 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 truly widows. Amen. May God bless the reading of Holy Scripture. You may be seated. Well, today's section, as we just read, is going to cover how to respectfully interact with church members of different genders, different ages, and also passage dealing with instruction for the church in supporting widows with church funds. And listen, really, well, we'll get there. Verse 1, Do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father. So you can think about this and you know this in your own experience too. He's younger. He has knowledge of the scriptures. He's been walking around with people that know Jesus very well. He is knowledgeable and he wouldn't rebuke this older man for no reason. The implication is the older man needs correction. His point is Tread lightly. Be careful. Respect. Be gentle with the older brother. Treat him as you would your father even. And how you would speak to him. Be gentle. Encourage him. You won't win him over by rebuking him as you would a child. What would happen is he will be even stronger in whatever it is that he needs correction for. Instead, be gentle. Be careful. Tread lightly. Encourage him. Don't offend him. And you can see that. Then it says, younger men as brothers. So it's different between the ages. You can think that people that are For example, similar age as me or similar interests, we might have more fellowship in a just common interest of the world. And so that I might be able to approach that person in correction differently than I would somebody in the church who was 70 years old or 60 years old. There's just a different way that we interact with each other. And isn't that true in your relations in the church? Don't you speak to the young people in our church differently than the older? Do you speak to Frank differently than you speak to Elliot? Both members of the church? You probably do, and one way is not... Those ways are right for those particular ages, right? It would be wrong if you flipped it around and talked to Frank the way that you might pal around with Elliot. It's just a little different. Paul is teaching Timothy, as you deal with people in the church, all people will need some correction and exhortation at times, but you'll deal with them a little bit differently, depending on who it is. Women, treat them as mothers. You can see the same way as you wouldn't rebuke an older man, but encourage him, the same thing would apply for women. younger women as sisters in all purity. Now this is interesting, this in all purity. It seems that he's not forbidding that elders can hang out, or that's the wrong term, talk with women in the church. Right? It is appropriate. I can sit and say, hey, I've noticed something, or let's talk about this or that. But there's a way to do it that's appropriate and there's a way that's not appropriate. I've mentioned this before. Edward and I are careful about interactions with women in the church. We love you. We don't think anything would happen. But sometimes there's a need to communicate with you either by phone or by text or by email. And if I do, I usually CC the husband of that person or if it's a young lady, their father. They know if I've sent something to their wife or daughter. It's wise to do that. It is wise. And there are sometimes that people are unwise and they will want to talk to somebody and counsel them in a room alone. And it's just unwise. It's unwise. Women, older women, treat them as you would your mothers, younger women, as sisters in all purity. Verse 3. Honor women who are truly widows. Now, you've heard this before, but we'll review it again. The context shows he doesn't mean respect, even though that wouldn't be excluded from his teaching. Honor widows. The context is that he's meaning support them financially, with a condition, if they really are widows. The word widow means really desperate or destitute. Yes, what it means to us too, is their husband has passed. But if they're really widows, I don't think the definition is, can you verify that their husband actually passed away? Not that. But are they really desperate? Do they really need the church to support their living? And Jesus said something similar to this. If you remember in Matthew chapter 15, Jesus is trying to show the Pharisees how they set aside God's word because of some tradition that they've invented themselves. And God's word says, honor your father and mother. Jesus said but you set aside that and you say now it's better if we just put a gift by the offer by the altar Instead of helping out our poor parents and Jesus said you err Honor your father and mother. Oh It seems like a funny transition well you went from talking about respecting your parents and And now talking about gifts? I don't understand. And the point is, Jesus, and it's always been included in the command to honor your father and mother, is to support them when they get old. If you think about all that your parents have done for you, right? Encouraging and supporting you, even Even you ask your parents for advice in your late 40s and 50s. Even your parents are still walking alongside you and helping you. It's evil if you refuse to support them as they get old and need help. Listen, if you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and you will not help your parents, God help you. It is fitting and proper that Christians would honor their father and mother with what with money With food with clothes with with a room and a place to live if they can't afford it For the Pharisees and others listen this in our culture is I know you guys, and I know that you love your parents, and I've seen how you love your parents, and I'm glad. But in our culture, it's not that way. The parents are not with the children. The parents, maybe rightly so, they say, I don't want to live with my kids. I'll live anywhere except with them. And that's their prerogative. But if they don't have anywhere to live, those kids should not be arguing over who's going to support the parents. They all need to pitch in and love and honor their father and mother. So the question in our text is, how do we know if they qualify to be on the list? Like those who, if they're really widows, honor them. What do you mean honor? Support them. Pay for them. Well, how do we know? Well, we get some details there. Verse 3. So, she's not qualified as a widow to be put on the list, if she has children or grandchildren. Let them first learn how to show godliness to their own household, and make some return to their parents. Right? This is exactly what we've been talking about. Her husband's died. She maybe has requested to be put on the roll and they say, you have three kids that live in town. You need to tell them to take care of you and we will too. You don't qualify to be put on the list. You are not desperate. Will your children face some sort of financial burden to take care of you? Yes, they will. Just like they took care of you when you were a baby and bought you everything you ever owned. It's the circle of life. If they have kids or relatives, they should support them. We will not put them on the list. Let those family members support them. And listen to what the Word of God says there. 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. You want to be pleasing in the sight of God? Take care of widows and orphans in their distress. And do you know what? Sometimes the widow is your own mother. Take care of them. Do what they need. It is pleasing in the sight of God. You want to be a good Christian? Honor your mother. Verse 5. She who is truly a widow, left all alone. You see? You see the desperate state that she's in? Maybe she had children, but they're not alive anymore, or not in the area, or they don't talk to them. She who is truly a widow left all alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. There is something that happens when you are desperate and you have no idea where your next meal is going to come from. That puts you in a place to be wholly dependent upon God. We are already, we just don't know it. But widows are intimately acquainted with how much they are depending on God to provide every single meal. Especially in ancient times. She continues in supplications and prayers night and day. Verse 6. But she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. So the point of these widows being put on the role for people that the church should support is not so that they can be idle and lazy and take money and enjoy themselves and just go back and forth between the houses of their friends and drink tea and eat crackers. It's not the purpose. If they're on the church role, she's going to be praying night and day for the church and helping and serving. It's not a retirement program for idleness. Verse 7, Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, especially for the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So if we think about this, like denied the faith is worse than an unbeliever. I mean if you think about James chapter 2, talking about faith with works, faith without works, and the type of faith that would say, go in peace, be warm and filled. And he says that kind of faith is dead faith. And it seems like that's the point here. You won't provide for your relatives and especially members of your household. You're not a Christian. How could you possibly love God who's unseen, but you don't honor your own mother who raised you up? You're worse than an unbeliever. And how bad is an unbeliever? Terrible! The enemy of God is the unbeliever. All things that God is doing to fulfill righteousness and bring peace to the world, the unbeliever is against it. God says He declared it and it is so, and the unbeliever says, no you didn't. That did not happen. If you won't help your own family, you're worse than an unbeliever. And then he goes back to how we know who qualifies. Verse 9. Let a widow be enrolled if she's not less than 60 years of age, having been the wife of one husband. So, pretty easy. Are they older than 60? Then they have a chance to be on the roll. Have they been the wife of one husband? I don't think the point is if that it's wrong if their first husband died and they remarried again and then that husband died. I think the point is there's a lot of relatives in that case. If you've already been married twice, you've got extended family, lots of family, probably. Let not that one be on the list. We want women who are desperate and all alone. And women that have a reputation for good works. and have brought up children. So in that case it must be that the kids are not available to help at this point. If they were, that would disqualify them from being on the list. They must be women who have shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints. And what's the point? I think the point is that they served the believers. Not that she had a little water pail and she went around from house to house washing all the feet of the saints. The point is that she served them and loved the church. She cared for the afflicted. She devoted herself to every good work. Who qualifies? Widows that don't have family members who can help. are over 60, been married once, have a good reputation, brought up children. Verse 11, 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. This is difficult to understand. I'm not sure exactly what he means. It is not wrong for them to remarry because a few verses later he says, I would that younger widows would remarry. So the problem there is not that their passions drive them away and that they remarry. Some people have thought maybe it has something to do about marrying non-believers. that they've committed themselves to the faith and to serve in the church and then they're drawn away by an unbelieving man and marry that person and in ancient times usually the wife would take on the religion of whatever the husband was. Not sure, not sure exactly why they would incur condemnation if they were widows and decided to remarry. I need some find something different than what I did read because they weren't clear on it either. But you get the point. Younger widows, they're still young in life. They'll probably remarry. If you think about the pool of money that's available to help, every widow that's on the list that is not in a desperate state, that reduces the total amount of money and the amount that you can help each one with. You see the point? You can give them all a little, and it's not enough to sustain any of them. They want to whittle the list down to truly the ones that are in real need. Verse 13. 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 listen moms and you're really busy and it's probably a good thing right men too too much free time is not good you want some free time because you don't have it very often but if you had it all the time it's not good for us it's not good for women it's not good for widows They're being supported by the church, too much idle time, and they start to talk about things that they shouldn't talk about. And why? Because they had too much time on their hands. Verse 14, So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. And if you think about it, if they're young enough to remarry, let them remarry and have kids. Those kids will provide for their future. That husband will provide for them. Listen, if they're young, you know, she's 35 years old, her husband got kicked in the head by an ox, let her remarry. Do you see? I mean, it's unexpected. He was a young man, but things happen. Let her remarry. The church cannot provide for her for the next 50 years. Paul says, I would that younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. Listen, women, when you marry and you bear children, listen, it's a godly thing. Do you know this? And this is why it's so evil when people won't care for their families. Even the wicked have some love for their family. But if you call yourself a Christian, you don't love your own family? That's contrary to common sense. Everyone should love their own families. And as you raise up your family and train them in the way of the Lord, it is pleasing in the sight of God. You know, I mean, we want to preach the gospel to those that we don't know and people who are not in contact with the gospel. We want to let them come in contact. But you're home. You have the opportunity to preach Christ daily. And not just in what you say, but how you live. It's a challenge. Isn't it? Sometimes your family is the people that see the worst of you. Right? That's the place you have the most influences at home. And that's the place where you might have the least patience. And people that you hardly know, you're very patient and work with them slowly over time. And that's a good thing. God bless you for it, but may God help us that we would love our own families And listen this I I hope that Well in my mind as I look at our church, and I know things that are going on in the church. This is a very Timely text Our parents are getting older Soon, they can't live where they're living now anymore. How soon? Soon. Sooner than you think. And we have to prepare our minds now and say, whatever it is that we have to do, I'm going to do it. Because God tells me to honor my father and mother and help them. Right? If you need to sell your car and buy a cheaper car so that you can pay for your parents, you need to. If you need to move from your house, you need to. Those are not valid excuses before God. You can afford it. You have to make changes probably, but you can afford it. Verse 15, for some have already strayed after Satan. So maybe this is what we were talking about before, that these widows desired to be supported by church benevolence, but then were chasing after non-believers. Not positive what it is that happened, but it was a temptation that had already happened to some who had lost their husbands. Verse 16, 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 truly widows. So as we've discussed, the burden and the responsibility to care for the widow is on the surviving family members, if possible. And they'll show godliness to their own household, and they will make Quote, make some return to their parents. And it's pleasing in the sight of God that this happened. Well, it's not real difficult, but it's important. Very important Paul's instructing Timothy in the church there. There's gonna be widows and we should help them God is pleased that we help them, but let's make sure there aren't people on the list who are watering down the money When their families could be bearing the burden and not the church benevolence fund And we have benevolence at this church. I don't know if you know that but time to time we help people in the church. Usually no one knows except for the people that are helped and Edward and I and Grady who wrote the check. Otherwise it's not mentioned. And you can think back to other times in the church when we've done this. There are times when people were out of work because of health concerns for months and months and we helped them. We knew that there's a burden that's happening. But we wouldn't give money if we thought, no, you need to work. It's in a situation where people, it's not in their control. And that's part of the reason why we collect our money together so we can help each other and other people connected to us. Well, may God help us that we would honor our father and mother that we would honor widows. It's pleasing in the sight of God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your instruction to us. And it is our desire that as we encounter this in our lives, that we would obey you, that we would take care of our families, that we would make changes and do whatever we had to do to provide for their living and not put the burden on the church. Father, would you help us? Not just now that we know the right thing that we ought to do, but help us to do it and not even reluctantly, but with joy and gladness and to make some return to our parents. Help us the rest of our day as we fellowship and discuss May we be pleasing in your sight. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.