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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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April 7, 2013
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Contents:
1) 1 Timothy 5:1-8 (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
1 Timothy 5:1-8
by Tom Edwards
In 1 Timothy 5:1,2, Paul instructs, "Do not sharply rebuke an older
man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as
brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as
sisters, in all purity."
In this passage, Paul shows the attitude that we are to have toward
various age groups. The KJV renders the beginning of this as,
"Rebuke not an elder...." And though some folks might take
that to mean a "pastor" or an "overseer," the NASB makes it clearer
by using the phrase "older man." It has been pointed out that
the Greek word for an "elder," in the sense of "pastor" or
"overseer," indicates an older man. So this term is sometimes
used in the Scriptures to refer to that -- rather than to the office
of an elder. For example, "presbuteros," the same term for the
office of an "elder," is also used in Acts 2:17; but translated
there as "old men." The passage states, "'AND IT SHALL BE IN
THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON
ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND
YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM
DREAMS." It is also obvious from the passage itself, in 1
Timothy 5:1, that the "elder" of the KJV would be referring to
simply an older man; for he is seen along with the younger men, the
older women, and the younger women.
We can also point out, however, that when the older man happens to
also be an overseer or pastor, then specific instruction is given in
1 Timothy 5:19,20: "Do not receive an accusation against an elder
except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who
continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest
also will be fearful of sinning." And to see that this is
referring to an overseer, and not merely an older man, consider the
two prior verses: "The elders who rule well are to be considered
worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching
and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE
THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,' and 'The laborer is worthy of his
wages'" (vv. 17,18).
Paul shows that an older man is not to be "sharply rebuke[d]."
That phrase is from just one Greek word, which Thayer shows the
primary meaning to be "1) to strike upon, beat upon." And
knowing that probably helps us to better understand the severity of
its second meaning, and how it is used in this passage: "2) to
chastise with words, to chide, upbraid, rebuke." To "chastise"
is to "criticize severely," and to "chide" is to "scold." The
instruction in the KJV to "Rebuke not an elder," does not mean that
the faults of an older man can never be pointed out to him, but it
must be done so with the proper respect -- such as the respect shown
to one's father -- rather than harshly. And though rebuke can
sometimes mean to "reprove" or "correct, esp. gently," it often
denotes severity in the sense of expressing "sharp, stern
disapproval of," which, according to 1 Timothy 5:1 is not the way
the older man should be dealt with. Rather, he is to be
appealed to as a father.
Paul then begins instruction concerning the widow in 1 Timothy
5:3. He states, "Honor widows who are widows indeed."
Though all people should be given the proper respect, honor is also
used with an additional meaning in the Scriptures. For
instance, in Matthew 15:3-6, honor denotes more than merely an
attitude of respect toward one's parents. It also involves
providing for them when they have needs. Honor is also seen,
in 1 Timothy 5:17,18, as remuneration or pay for the elder who works
hard at preaching and teaching. In addition, consider Acts
28:10: "They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we
were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed."
Supplying them with all they needed was one of the ways in which
these islanders had shown their honor and respect. The RSV
renders this verse as, "They presented many gifts to us; and when we
sailed, they put on board whatever we needed." So the honor
shown to these widows would involve benevolent assistance in meeting
their needs. This can also be inferred from the next verse:
Paul then says in 1 Timothy 5:4, "but if any widow has children or
grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to
their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this
is acceptable in the sight of God."
According to a 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey, parents
spend about $10,010 to $15,460 a year for one child, two-years old
and under; while for a 17-year old, it was between $11,840 and
$17,900. Others have averaged the entire period under
parents' care to be about $250,000 (not including college
costs). It has also been estimated as much as $500,000 from a
high-income family, $300,000 from a middle-income, and $212,370 from
a low income family (Mary Caraccioli of "We Owe What?" on the Live
Well Network). Findings also show that the cost per child
decreases as the number of children increase. But whatever the
total cost (for all those clothes, food, medical bills, creature
comforts, and other expenses), it is certainly not to be taken for
granted. So in helping out their parents when they have
need is one way that children can show their appreciation for all
that was done for them.
The KJV begins this verse by saying, "But if any widow have children
or nephews...." The Greek word for "nephews" (ekgonon) is
defined as "1) sprung from one, born, begotten. 2) a son,
daughter, offspring, children, descendants 3) grand-children"
(Thayer). It has been said that the English word "nephew" had
formerly meant "grandchildren, or descendants of any description,"
but would not "properly include nephews and nieces" (Albert
Barnes). For it involves just those in the direct line of
descent.
In 1 Timothy 5:5, Paul states, "Now she who is a widow indeed and
who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in
entreaties and prayers night and day."
This might remind you of that widow spoken of in Luke 2:36-38: "And
there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe
of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband
seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of
eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with
fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and
began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all
those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." She
truly does appear to have been greatly devoted in her service to
God.
In 1 Timothy 5:6, Paul then speaks of that widow who would not be
devoted to God. He states, "But she who gives herself to wanton
pleasure is dead even while she lives." Here, "wanton
pleasure" comes from just one Greek word, which Thayer defines as
"to live luxuriously, lead a voluptuous life, (give oneself to
pleasure)." It is also rendered as "self-indulgence" in
various other Bible translations. The English word "wanton"
has for one of its meanings, "extravagant or excessive," which would
very much apply to how it is used in this passage. That the
one who would give herself to this would be "dead even while she
lives," doesn't mean that she is some type of zombie, but that she
is spiritually dead while very much alive. Sin will always
lead to spiritual death. For instance, Paul declares, "And you
were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons
of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the
lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:1-6).
As Christians, we want to always strive to be dead to sin, but alive
unto God. Sadly, however, many today often have this
backwards. They are dead unto God, but alive unto
iniquity. Notice, for example, Colossians 3:5-7: "Therefore
consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality,
impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to
idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God
will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once
walked, when you were living in them." Also Romans 6:11-19:
"Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in
Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of
your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present
yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be
master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present
yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the
one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience
resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though
you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that
form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed
from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in
human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you
presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,
resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as
slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification."
As we know, this epistle of Paul to Timothy wasn't merely a personal
letter from one friend to another. Rather, it is part of the
gospel that provides instruction for all. As Paul states in 1
Timothy 5:7, "Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be
above reproach." Living "above reproach" is what God wants all
His people to do -- and to continue doing until Jesus comes
again. Compare, for instance, 1 Timothy 6:13,14: "I charge you
in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ
Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that
you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Paul then shows how wrong it is for one to not provide for his own:
"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" (1 Tim. 5:8). Though it emphasizes "those of his
household," note, too, that it also makes mention of "his own,"
which could be his parents who had been living elsewhere. This
is also a continuation of the instruction in verse 4 of the need for
the children or grandchildren to provide for their needy parents or
grandparents. A failure to do this will make a person worse
than an unbeliever -- and what could be worse than that?
Also, we can point out that there are some things that even many
unbelievers would view as being dishonorable or wrong, such as in
not taking care of one's own. So that, too, would be a sense
in which the one who fails to do so would be worse than an
unbeliever.
Paul, however, always strove to set forth the proper example toward
all -- and not just the believers. Notice what he writes in 2
Corinthians 8:21: "for we have regard for what is honorable, not
only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men."
Paul shows in 1 Timothy 5:8 that the one who does not provide for
his own has "denied the faith." Regardless of how much belief
that person might have in the reality of God and the truthfulness of
His word, it will not substitute for one's need to also submit to
what the Lord requires. This can be compared to Titus 1:16:
"They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being
detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed."
1 Timothy 5:8 is in stark contrast to what many scribes and
Pharisees believed and practiced. Jesus points out, concerning
them, in Matt. 15:1-9 that they had disregarded God's command to
honor their parents (which included helping them in their time of
need) by giving -- what they might have given to them -- to God
instead. Jesus, however, rebuked them for doing
so. He also told them that they had invalidated or nullified
the word of God through this tradition of theirs. For example,
suppose their parents were destitute, in need of food; but these
scribes and Pharisees -- instead of helping them -- put that
money into the temple treasury as a freewill offering that hadn't
been required of them. Though they might have viewed this as a
righteous deed, they actually neglected a prior obligation toward
their parents that they should have been concerned about.
Paul has more to say about the widow that we will look into next
week, Lord willing.
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News & Notes
Let those of us who are Christians be remembering Virginia
Fontenot in prayer. About 6 AM today (April 13), her
daughter took her to the hospital, due to severe pain. From a
cat scan, it was shown to be metastatic cancer. In
talking with Virginia this morning, she sounded in good
spirits. The pain had been alleviated. She might
possibly have surgery today; but, if not, she will most likely have
it by Monday. Let us pray that all will go well for her.
* Let us also be remembering the following
in prayer: Linda
Blevins who has been diagnosed with bilateral renal
artery stenosis and will be undergoing some more tests; Tom
Smitherman (Lee's father) who has been diagnosed with an
aggressive prostate cancer; Bill Barfield
(Linda Blevins' uncle) whose health is very poor; Pam MacDonald
who has major back trouble; Cheryl Crews who has some
chronic ailments; Shirley Young who suffers from
fibromyalgia; Jean Calloway who has health problems; and
Peggy Lefort who has not been feeling well lately.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)