We will not have a service Wednesday
before Thanksgiving. We found out the first year that
we existed as a church and began having Wednesday evening services
that traffic is such that it was almost impossible for people
to get here on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I guess so many
people are leaving town. For about 40 years now, we've
not had a service on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. And it's
certainly not because we're not thankful. Thanksgiving is one
of my favorite holidays, if not my favorite holiday in the year.
But just keep that in mind. Now let's open our Bibles to
1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Paul, the apostle, began this
letter to Timothy, revealing to us that he had besought Timothy
to remain to abide in Ephesus. Paul had been able to spend very
little time in this church that God raised up there. And in this
letter, he gives Timothy a number of things to set in order. He began with the most important,
as far as I'm concerned, the most important, and that concerned
the message that was to be preached. Paul said to charge some that
they teach no other doctrine. God has determined that his son
in all things have the preeminence. In creation, all things were
created by Him and for Him. And in salvation, He has redeemed
His people by His blood and made us kings and priests unto God. He is to have preeminence in
all things and any message in which the Lord Jesus Christ is
not preached, is not declared, is a message that should never
have been preached. We preach Christ and him crucified. Paul said, charge some that they
teach no other doctrine and it is the glorious gospel of the
blessed God. He mentions further down in that
first chapter. Paul also, to this point, has
dealt with prayer, how that we are to pray for all sorts of
men. And also he has dealt with public worship, the place of
men in public worship and the place of women in public worship. And then he's given qualifications
for pastors and deacons. and spiritual dangers that God's
people encounter as we go through this world. Now tonight, William
Hendrickson said with this chapter, he begins to direct his attention
more especially to individuals and groups within the Christian
community. So we're going to go through
the whole chapter of the Lord willing this evening. Special
instructions to individuals and groups within the Christian community. First, Paul's instruction about
ministers correcting believers. Rebuke not an elder, but entreat
him as a father and the younger man as brethren. the elder women
as mothers, the younger as sisters with all purity. No age or sex
is immune from the need of correction. A church is made up of men and
women, old and young, and Paul would have them all dealt with,
taking into consideration their ages. None, whether they're young
or old, none are to be dealt with harshly and correcting.
The word rebuke, the word that's translated rebuke, means literally
to strike at, to strike at. And the word entreat, rebuke,
don't strike at an elder, but entreat, the word entreat literally
means to call aside. The pastor, in admonishing an
older man, then he should do so as he would his own father,
with respect, gentleness, and moderation. Then to the younger
man that he must correct, he must do so like he would a brother,
an equal, equality. And then to the older women,
as a loving son would admonish an erring mother. That's the
way he used to deal with the women, the older women, and then
with the younger women as a sister, as a sister. And you notice he
said, in all purity, in rebuking or dealing with a younger woman
in all purity. So that's the first thing we
see in this chapter, instructions about ministers correcting It's
sad, but true, as we saw just a moment ago when we read in
3 John, that third epistle, John names a man in that congregation
that he was writing to. And he said this about him, he
seeks the preeminence. And John said, he will not receive
us, but when I come, I'll deal with him. And he would deal with
him, no doubt. as Paul instructs Timothy to
deal with men and women according to their ages. Now second, Paul's
instruction about the church and widows from verse three through
verse 16. This is all his instructions
concerning the church and widows. In reading the scriptures, reading
the word of God, it becomes very apparent that God has special
concern for widows. That God has special concern
for widows. We see this all through the Old
Testament. If we divide the Old Testament
into the law and the wisdom literature and the prophets, we see that
in every place in Scripture, every part of Scripture, God
speaks concerning widows. And I'd like for us to look tonight,
before we look at what Paul says here about widows in this place,
to look at several passages in the Old Testament, in the law,
the books of the law, in the books of wisdom, and in the books
of the prophets, as to what God declares concerning widows. First, in the law, let's go back
to Exodus chapter 22. Exodus chapter 22. And beginning in verse 22. Exodus
chapter 22 and beginning with verse 22. You shall not afflict
any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise
and they cried all unto me, I will surely hear their cry and my
wrath shall wax hot and I will kill you with the sword and your
wives shall be widows and your children fatherless. Men, God
in his law took special notice of widows and exhorted men not
to take advantage of them, not to maltreat. mistreat a widow
or an orphan. Also, if you will, in Deuteronomy,
in Deuteronomy chapter 24, in verse 19, These verses concern supply,
supplying the need of widows. When thou cuttest down thine
harvest, this is Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 19. When
thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot
a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it. It
shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow,
that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine
hands. When thou beatest thine olive
tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again. It shall be
for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou
gathers the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward.
It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the
widow. So there's other places, but
those two indicate God's special attention in the books of the
law for widows. Also, if you will, in the wisdom
literature, in Psalm, in Psalm 146, there's a verse here I want to
read, and then in the book of Proverbs. In Psalm 146 and verse 9, the
Lord preserveth the strangers, he relieveth the fatherless and
widow, but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. He relieveth
the fatherless and the widow. And then in Proverbs chapter
15, And verse 25, the Lord will destroy the house of
the proud, but he will establish the border of the widow. And now in the prophets, let's
look first in Isaiah chapter one, and God is reprimanding
the nation of Israel for their sinful actions. And one of the
ways they manifested their sin was in the way they treated widows. In Isaiah chapter 1, verse 17, learn to do well, seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow. And then one other verse in Zechariah,
the prophet Zechariah, close to the end of the Old Testament.
I think it's the next to the last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter seven. Verse 10. And oppress not the
widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor, and let
none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. Oppress
not the widow. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
spoke against the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, and one of the
things he Mention that they did was you devour widows houses
You devour widows houses and for pretense make long prayer
That that made their sin even worse That they were so hypocritical
making these long prayers, but they would devour the houses
of widows that is they would take advantage of a widow and
remember A widow at that time was much different, the society
in which they lived, than it is today. I recognize that. But
the point is that God especially takes care of the widows and
would have men to look out and care for the widows. And I wouldn't
expect anything else of God, would you? I wouldn't. I wouldn't expect anything else
of our God. who is a God of love and compassion,
that he would especially take care for the widow and for the
orphans, for the fatherless. Now, if you will, turn back with
me to 1 Timothy chapter five. From verse three through verse
16, he deals with this matter of the widows in relation to
the church. Honor widows that are widows
indeed. But if any widow have children
or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home and to
requite their parents, for that is good and acceptable before
God. Now she that is a widow indeed
and desolate trusteth in God and continueth in supplications
and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure
is dead while she liveth, and these things give in charge that
they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his
own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied
the faith, and is worse than an infidel. Let not a widow be
taken into the number under three score years old, that's 60 years
of age, having been the wife of one man, well reported of
for good works, if she hath brought up children, if she hath lodged
strangers, if she hath washed the saints' feet, if she hath
relieved the afflicted, if she hath diligently followed every
good work. But the younger widows refuse,
for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will
marry, having damnation, because they have cast off their first
faith. And with all they learn to be
idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle,
but tattlers also in busy bodies, speaking things which they ought
not. I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear
children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary
to speak reproachfully, for some are already turned aside after
Satan. If any man or woman that believeth
have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church
be charged that it may relieve them that are widows indeed. Now I've read this passage over
the years, as I'm sure all of us have, and I've read it in
preparation for the message tonight several times, and I've read
several different commentators, and I've come to the conclusion
There's very good reason to believe that Paul divides the widows
into two groups. He divides the widows in the
church into two groups. One group we might call widows
indeed. In verse 3, honor widows that
are widows indeed. And then the second group we
would refer to as widows taken into the number. Verse nine,
let not a widow be taken into the number. Uh, I believe that
we can see how, how Paul deals with widows by taking the widows
into two groups, dividing the widows rather into two groups.
Now widows who are widows indeed are to be honored. That's what
he says, first of all, honor widows that are widows indeed.
And by honor, he's speaking of support, financial support. Honor widows that are widows
indeed. Widows indeed are to be honored,
but notice, first of all, they should be supported by their
family. by their family, by their children.
If they have children and have family that are able to support
them, to help them, then that's what should be done. That's what
the Apostle Paul tells us. Honor widows that are widows
indeed. And he goes so far as to say
that if a man professing to be a child of God, a believer, and
he will not honor, he will not help to support a widow who is
a woman, a widow indeed, then he's worse than an infidel. He's
denied the faith. In other words, even infidels,
those who do not profess to know Christ, to believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ at all, even they Many times, most of the time,
I would think, they take care of those who have need, their
mothers, those who are widows, and in that situation. One Dutch proverb, I read this,
I'll give it to you because I don't believe it's true among believers,
but anyway, it goes like this. One poor father is able to raise
10 children. And yet 10 rich children are
not able to take care of one poor father. You get that? One poor father, he's able to
raise 10 children. It's difficult, it's hard, but
he's able to do it. And yet when his children are
grown and rich, they can't take care of one poor father. That's
sad, isn't it? But I don't believe that would
be true of believers, of a child of God. Like the Apostle Paul
said here, if a person doesn't take care of those who are widows
indeed in his own family, then he's worse than an infidel. He's
denied the faith. A widow indeed who is to be honored
by the church, according to verse 5, notice this widow is desolate. Notice that in verse 5. Now,
she that is a widow indeed and desolate. The first group, a
widow indeed is a widow who is desolate. She needs help. She
needs help. And if she has no family, or
her family is not willing to provide for her, then the church
is to honor her. She's desolate and we see not
only is she desolate, but her trust is in God to whom she prays
and depends on for help. And she has every reason to trust
in God. The widow does, even though she's
a widow indeed, she has every reason to trust in God because
we've looked at scripture In the Old Testament where God declares
that He especially takes care of the widow and would have the
widows to be taken care of. And a widow woman who is in need
and desolate, she has a great encouragement as she prays and
asks God to supply her needs. And the way God is going to supply
her needs is through the church. The church will honor her. In
this group, one who is a widow indeed. Now, other widows, the
Apostle Paul speaks of, who are not widows indeed, but as he
says in verse 6, but she that liveth in pleasure, she's not
desolate, She's not praying and seeking God's face for her needs,
no. She that liveth in pleasure,
and this word pleasure could be translated voluptuously. A widow who lives in wanton,
loose, and yes, even a licentious life. Whatever interest she may
have had in the gospel, She's lost it. She's like the seed
that is planted among thorns. And thorns have come up and choked
out whatever life that she appeared to have. Of course, we know she
never really had any. But now there's a second group.
The second group of widows are those who are, he says, taken
into the number. They're put into the registry,
actually. These are widows who have qualifications. They have qualifications for
performing spiritual and charitable functions in the church. But
the apostle gives certain requirements, certain qualifications. First
of all, now, and they're going to be supported. They're going
to be honored by the church. First of all, she must be at
least 60 years of age. and she must have been a faithful
wife. And as one of the commentators
pointed out, who better, who better than a woman of this age
who has been a faithful wife, who better to fulfill the exhortation
that Paul wrote to Titus concerning the older women when he said
they should teach the young to be sober to love their husbands
and to love their children. Now who better qualified for
that than an older woman who is a believer and has been a
faithful wife and has raised children. I believe it tells
us she's born children. Who better to do that than a
woman of this age? She's got the qualifications.
She's got the experience. She's got the wisdom to perform
this function. And yes, she should be taken
into the number and supported by the church. Now verse 10, he mentioned several
other things that must be true of her, not only her age, and
having been the wife of one man, a faithful wife, well reported
of for good works. And that's what she's going to
be doing, good works. And she's brought up children. She's got that experience. You know, a person, we learn
a few things as we go through life, don't we? As we get older,
at least we should. And a lady who has raised children,
she's got the experience and the wisdom to help a younger
woman who is raising her children. And that experience and that
wisdom should be used to be a help. And this woman who's taken into
the number, she has brought up children, she's lodged strangers,
And she's, I would imagine that means that when her husband was
alive, before she became a widow, that they entertained strangers
in their home. At this time, you know, there
was a lot of evangelists and preachers moving, carrying the
gospel. And when they didn't have motels
in places like we have today for lodging, so they would take
them into their home. And here's a woman who did that
when she had the means. She lodged strangers. I think
of Lydia. Remember Lydia in Acts chapter
16. And it's always impressed me, I believe the scripture there
says she constrained us. Paul said she constrained us
to abide at her house. I mean, she was forceful. She
constrained us to stay at her house. Paul and Silas, I believe
it was, and maybe Luke also. But the Lord has saved her and
I don't, she's not, mentioned as having a husband. I don't
know for sure about that, but I've always thought that was
interesting, the way that's recorded there by Luke. She constrained
us. She just insisted that while
we were in Philippi, we were going to stay at her house, and
she was going to entertain her. She was showing her love, wasn't
she? Her appreciation that they had brought the gospel to her
and the Lord had mercy upon her, opened her heart that she attended
unto the things spoken by Paul. Now, in verse 10, as I said, there
are several other things that are mentioned, but notice younger
women, those under 60, are not to be taken into the number.
They're not to be taken into the number of those who are who
are serving in the church and being supported by the church.
And Paul has two reasons for this. Two reasons. First of all, in verses 11 and
12, he says, but the younger women refuse, for when they have
begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry, having damnation,
because they have cast off their first faith. In other words,
they've They've made a vow to do this work, but as time goes
on, they're going to cast that off. And then the second reason
in verse 13, he said that they learn to be idle. These widows
that are being supported in this way, learn to be idle, wondering
about from house to house, and one thing leads to another, and
eventually they become busybodies, speaking things which they ought
not. What would Paul have the younger
widows to do? Well, look in verse 14, he tells
us, I will therefore that the younger women marry. That's it. I will that they marry, bear
children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary
to speak reproachfully. Consider that at least that these
widows are divided into two groups and their instructions for both
groups and their widows. Indeed, they're desolate and
the church is going to help them if their family doesn't help
them and their family ought to, Paul said. And then there are
widows who are taken into the number. In other words, they
are enrolled in the, in the service of the church. Now, here's the
third thing in this chapter, Paul's instruction about the
church's responsibility to their pastors in verses 17 through
25. There are three things I would
mention here. First of all, the church is to
provide for its pastor. In other words, a man who preaches
the gospel is to live of the gospel. This is what he says,
let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the
scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out
the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. That's the first thing he tells
Timothy to teach the church there at Ephesus is the church is responsible
to provide for their pastor. And we see here that there's
not two offices. There's not a ruling office and
a teaching office, that the same man, he rules and he teaches. He's the pastor of the congregation
and he is to be taken care of. accounted worthy of even double
honor, the scripture says. Isn't it amazing how the apostle
Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, I know that takes away the amazing
part, guided by the Holy Spirit, but how he could use that Old
Testament scripture where God commanded Israel not to muzzle
the ox that treaded the corn. There's that ox, he's treading
over that corn, however they did it. And some men were so
mean and even hard on their animals, they would muzzle them and the
ox couldn't eat some as he was going around on treading on,
threshing out the wheat. God said, don't do that. Don't
do that. It's amazing to me how Paul realized
that what God was talking about really is to take care of the
pastor, the preacher. And I believe it's, you know,
I've often thought about this, even if a man was a very wealthy
man and did not need the financial help of the church, I do not
believe that would be the best for the church or for a pastor. I believe the pastor must be
dependent upon the church and as the church is dependent upon
the pastor. There's just something that goes
together in my mind, my way of thinking. As a preacher, as a
pastor, we need a congregation, we need sheep, and sheep need
a pastor. It goes together. Now the second
thing he mentions is the church is not to receive an accusation
against a pastor unless it can be supported by two or three
witnesses. Just as in the Old Testament,
something had to be substantiated by two or three witnesses. And
verses 19 and 20 said, against an elder, receive not an accusation,
but before two or three witnesses. Don't even entertain an accusation
unless there are at least two or three witnesses to support
whatever the accusation is. And if it is so, if it is established,
in the mouth of two or three witnesses, then them that sin
rebuke before all. Their sin is before all, it's
public, then rebuke them before all that others may learn to
fear. The conduct and character of
a pastor is at stake, and so an accusation should not be heard
unless there are these witnesses. But once it is witnessed to,
it's the truth, then Timothy don't show any partiality. This
is what the apostle tells him. I charge thee before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that thou observe
these things without preferring one before another. Don't show
any partiality in these things, Timothy. If a man is guilty,
then deal with it. Doing nothing by partiality.
And then he says, laying hands on no man suddenly. That's the
third thing that I would mention these instructions. A church
is to proceed with diligence and caution in ordaining a pastor. Failure to do so, Paul says,
may mean that we partake of other men's sins. If you skip over
verse 23 and look to verse 24 and 25, some men's sins are open
beforehand. In other words, there's some
men you can tell by their life, by their conduct, they're not
qualified. They're not qualified to be a
pastor. Don't lay hands on any man suddenly. You observe. You do due diligence
to make sure, because if you don't, you lay hands on someone
suddenly, then we may be partaker with them in their sins. Some men's sins are open beforehand,
going before the judgment, and some men they follow after. Likewise,
also the good works of some are manifest beforehand, and they
that are otherwise cannot be behed. Lay hands, look back at
verse 22, lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker
of other men's sins, keep thyself pure. It's a serious matter for
a church to call a pastor, for a church to ordain a man to be
their pastor, and it should not be done Lightly, it's something
that should be done with caution and time. People don't need to
be in too big a hurry. And fourth, the last thing, Paul's
instruction about caring for the body. You know, the Lord,
he redeemed our body and soul, didn't he? And the body, Paul
says, drink no longer water. That was a third world country
then. And you know today in third world countries, you have to
be careful with the water. You really do. Microbials, I
mean. They're different, let me put
it that way. They don't have purified drinking
water in most places. And so this was for medicinal
purposes. Timothy evidently, he knew what
Paul taught about one of the qualifications for a pastor is
that he tarried not long at the wine. And so evidently he just
was a total abstainer from wine and only drank water and Paul
cautioned him and told him to take care of his body. Drink
a little wine for thy stomach's sake and then often infirmities. This teaches us that we should
care for our bodies as well as our souls. You know, some people
have the idea that to use any kind of medicine or any doctors
is a lack of faith, but the scriptures, in my opinion, teach just the
opposite. God has given us these means,
and we should use them for the good of our bodies that we might
serve Him. Well, I pray the Lord would bless
this word, all of us here tonight. Let's sing a verse of a hymn
before we're dismissed.