1 Timothy (Written)

Wednesday, 17 January 2018

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

In what could be considered typical apostle Paul abruptness concerning doctrine, he now introduces a thought concerning the worldly widow which contrasts with the true widow of the previous verse who “trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.” Instead of such a troubled soul, who has turned her whole hope for comfort to the Lord, there is another type of widow who “lives in pleasure.” The Greek word is used only here by Paul, and once by James (5:5). It is one who lives in a wanton fashion, or indulges in unneeded surplus. The idea is less of sexual indulgence, and looks more to wasteful living. Whatever she received from her dead husband is simply squandered away without a care or a thought. Fast living and excess define her situation.

For such a perverse soul, Paul says that she “is dead while she lives.” In Romans 8, Paul shows the contrast between living carnally and living according to the Spirit. In verse 13, he says, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” A person who lives for their flesh is fulfilling temporary, vain things. All food is temporary to the body, all clothes wear out, all purchases for indulgence can be stolen or burned up in a fire. In the end, when it is all gone, there is nothing left – not even a hope in God to sustain the body and the soul. The contrast is amazing, and yet it is a contrast which has been seen from one generation after the next for all of human history. There is nothing of learning for those whose minds are blinded by the temporary pleasures of this world.

Life application: We have two accounts running at the same time. There is our earthly existence which accumulates things for whatever purpose we think they will serve. And we can accumulate heavenly treasures in hopes of an existence beyond this life. The earthly things will all come to an end. If that is where our hope is, the filling of that account was a vain and pointless venture. For those who are wise, they will save what is right now (save for your children’s children it says in Proverbs 13:22), but they will expend their greater energy in saving up for that which is eternal.

Lord God, what point is heaping up treasure in this world? We can’t take a thing with us, and even while we remain, the things we have can be stolen, lost, or burned up. It is a vain and pointless thing to hope for abundant wealth on our deathbed. But there is treasure which is eternal. Help us to accumulate that. May we glorify You now, praise You now, pursue You now, and seek after You now – all in hopes of the great and true wealth to be found on eternity’s vast shore. Give us this wisdom. Amen.

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

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

Paul continues to explain verse 3 which spoke of honoring widows who are really widows. By definition, a widow is one who has lost her husband, but for the sake of care in the church, there is the need to ensure that it is not burdened with caring for someone who could otherwise be cared for by others. He continues now, describing the situation of one who is really a widow by saying, “Now she who is really a widow, and left alone.” This is a widow, but more than just lacking a husband, she has no one who is there to care for her. She lacks the care of “children or grandchildren” of the previous verse, and she may even lack friends. As the wife to a husband, her life may have been so dedicated to him that she didn’t really acquire friends close enough to say, “Come, live with us.” And so she now faces life alone, probably for the very first time.

Such a person “trusts in God.” The Greek more rightly indicates, “has her hope in God.” She has nowhere else to turn. She has never taken care of herself, her husband is dead, and there is no one else who can take care of her. In such a state, her hope of daily sustenance is found in God alone. Because of this, such a poor soul “continues in supplications and prayers night and day.”

When one has nobody else to trust in, even self, God will inevitably be the recipient of the strains of the heart. When she wakes, “O God, be with me today,” and when she lies down again, “Protect me, O God.” Throughout the day, He is the only One she can direct her attention to. Such is the life of a God-fearing widow who simply desires comfort, companionship, and support. One who followed this pattern well after the death of her own husband is Anna, the daughter of Phanuel. She is noted in Luke 2:36-38. In the loss of her husband, she directed her heart to the Lord, and faithfully prayed and fasted for the rest of her many years.

Life application: At what point in your life will you call out to the Lord? Will you wait until there is a family emergency? Will you wait till death leaves you alone and without any other help? Until your money is all lost in a financial collapse, do you feel secure enough to ignore God? Isn’t it better to ask Him to be near now? Should any calamity come when He is near, you have already obtained a place of refuge from the storms which lie ahead. Call on the Lord, and speak and pray to Him always. He is there, but have you acknowledged it yet?

Heavenly Father, truly You are but an afterthought (at best) to most of the world. Our last thought may be You, but You certainly aren’t our first thought. And yet, what happens when things suddenly go bad? “Help me O God. Don’t let this terrible thing happen!” Forgive us for only putting You first when You are the last resort. Help us to put You first now, tomorrow, and always. May our hearts and minds be filled with You at all times – both in the good and the bad times. Amen.

Monday, 15 January 2018

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. 1 Timothy 5:4

Paul had just instructed Timothy to “honor widows who are really widows.” Those who are really widows would be left destitute and in need of the care of the church. However, he shows how the church can be less burdened, and how the family should truly operate, by stating, “But if any widow has children or grandchildren.” Such a person may truly be a widow, but she is not without a source of help. Unlike a widow who is left alone to fend for herself, there are those to whom a moral responsibility is due. Upon them, he says, “let them first learn to show piety at home.”

It is one thing to come to church and act in a pious and giving manner, and it is another to act that way when only the family sees. People find satisfaction when others can see the great things they do, but the real heart of charity comes when we burden ourselves and get no credit for it from those around us. And so Paul says that such charity at home is “to repay their parents.” It is the parents through whom they came. It was the parents who spent their efforts and their earnings to raise them, etc. They may not have done the best job of it. Surely all parents learn as they go, but they were given the joys and trials in the birth of the child, and they followed through to the point where an adult was finally realized. This means many years of care and support. Now, the tables have turned, and the widow is in need of that same care and support. Such repayment is now expected because “this is good and acceptable before God.”

Honor of the parents leads to caring for the parents. It is a precept found in both testaments, and even one Jesus speaks of directly in Matthew 15. It is something God expects, and with such an attitude, God is pleased. Despite the normal times of difficulty which arise between families, there is to be a bond which is not set aside when the child reaches an age where those bonds can be cut. They remain, but the one responsible for guarding the bond changes. To break, or to neglect, this responsibility is to cast off that which God has ordained. To keep it intact is to do that which pleases God.

Life application: It is hard to find a family where the unit is so strong that what Paul mandates here would come naturally. It is much easier to pass off one’s responsibility in order to ensure that the next generation is properly cared for, instead of the previous one. But caring for the previous one is a duty which is not to be ignored. Let us take the words here to heart, and do our best to be pleasing in the sight of God in this way.

Lord God, thank You for our parents. They tended to us with each day as a new duty, and without an instruction manual. As the days unfolded, and as we tested and tried them, they did what they could with the resources they had. And today, we are the product of their efforts. They may not have been perfect, but here we are, bearing the decisions which they made, and which formed us in this way. Thank You Lord, for placing us into their care in order to form us as we are. Amen.

Sunday, 14 January 2018

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

Paul’s directive here is an important precept to understand. His words, “Honor widows,” indicate more than just giving them respect and attention, but actually includes care through either money or direct support. It is the precept seen in Acts 6 –

“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.” Acts 6:1

This is what Paul means through “honor.” The same thought is brought into our language with the term honorarium. The ideas are united. Paul meant that as the church had been caring for widows, this was to be the case with those in Ephesus as well. If they needed care, they were to be provided with that care. However, this was not a blanket admonition for Timothy to hand out money or food to every old lady who showed up at the door. He will set more restrictions on this type of thing in the verses to come. He also continues with, “who are really widows.”

His words here indicate what he will define in the next verses.

Life application: The church should be a caring entity that is willing to help those who truly have needs, but it is also to be an entity that expects standards of those it cares for. It is great that many churches head out and help the homeless, the downtrodden, and the like. It is noble indeed. But the church must always put Scripture first when handing out its resources in various ways. Much of what is done in the “social-gospel” churches of today has no basis at all in biblically-based Christianity. Be wise and discerning… know your Bible.

Lord God, help us as Christians to be kind, generous, and willing to help others. But Lord, help us to be wise and discerning concerning the extent to which we will do so. May our charity be in accord with Your word, and not simply an arbitrary type of charity that demands, or offers, unrealistic things. In other words, may we know Your word, adhere to what it expects, and follow through with those things in particular. In this, you will surely be glorified. Amen.

Saturday, 13 January 2018

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

Paul now continues with his directives for Timothy concerning interpersonal relationships within the church framework. He next says that they are to exhort “older women as mothers.” Like the “older man” of the previous verse, Timothy is instructed to show the same respect and care for the older women. No normal, respectful person would purposefully denigrate their own mother, and the same respect is to be extended to all older women. This is especially true if they have a lifetime of service and knowledge as Christians. That surely is to be given praise and commendation.

As a note, the word for “older women,” in Greek indicates only distinction in age. Some have tried to connect it to an official position which is referred to. This has no further Scriptural support, and must be read into the word, but this is done in order to justify the ordaining of women into leadership positions of the church. It is an unjustifiable, and improper twisting of intent.

Next Paul instructs that he is to treat “younger women as sisters, with all purity.” Unless one is a depraved person, he would never treat a sister as anything but a unique and special person, to be guarded, defended, and cared for. And in caring for her, he would do so “with all purity.” Paul is exhorting Timothy, and thus all pastors henceforward, that this is how women in the church are to be treated. If one were to get too close emotionally to a younger woman, the inevitable end is that inappropriate conduct will result. This should never be the case. Paul’s words are proper, and they are to be taken as authoritative in the church at all times.

Life application: Relationships between men and women in the church, and especially such relationships which involve church leadership, must be very carefully handled, and they should be done so publically so that there is no hint of impropriety. It may be that things start out innocently, but how easy it is for that to change. And how much damage has been done because this precept has not been carefully adhered to.

Dear and precious Lord, how easy it is for us to fail in our personal relationships because we allow ourselves to get a little too close to someone we have no right to be with. And nobody ever comes out of such things unscathed. Divorces, broken homes, devastated children… the list goes on in many sad ways. Help us to be discerning. Help us to use godly wisdom. Help us to be faithful followers of You, and to act in purity and holiness. To Your glory we pray. Amen.