Faithful Interaction
1 Timothy 5
We should understand
as Christians we must certainly share in the responsibility for each
other in times of need.
Gal 6:10 As we have
therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, "especially
unto them who are of the household of faith".
Just as we have this
responsibility in times of need, we have this same responsibility,
"in times of discipline".
The truth of the
church is the fact that we are all in the same family, the family of
God, the household that has Jesus Christ as the Head!
The one thing we
must always remember is, that the preaching and the teaching of the
"Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ is always the first
priority over any so called "social gospel" of its members.
The church must get
out of the social gospel business, and the political truth business
and get back to teaching the "Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ"!
Those who know the
Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, will be more suited in
obeying all the Word of God!
Those who are right
with God, will know what to do in most all circumstances and all
questions will be answered by the Scriptures!
The Word of God is
alive and even more true today because it was written for the latter
days, the days we now live!
*****1Ti 5:1 Rebuke
not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as
brethren;
1Ti 5:2 The elder
women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
Paul is still
writing to Timothy about church organization and simply "how we
are all to act in the house of God".
The "elders"
in this Scripture refer to the older Christian men. It is normally
true that older Christian believers have more wisdom in dealing with
life.
Not only Christian
life, but also of the things of this world.
We must also be
aware that they may not be right all the time!
We must not forget
that a false "Gospel" was being preached in the Church at
Ephesus and those doing so, were to be rebuked and excommunicated if
need be!
We simply cannot
allow those who reject the truth to bring their own false message
into the House of God!
Timothy might
certainly have to rebuke some elderly men in this church. These
elders may have had many years in the Scriptures or very little, but
they still had the wisdom of experience more than this young Pastor.
Many say that
Timothy was only 23 years old at this time, but he was on fire for
God!
In a real sense,
Paul was saying to respect those who are older than you, Timothy and
at the same time, even some of these may need to be rebuked.
The elder members of
any church are never to be ignored, nor neglected, nor bypassed, not
overlooked nor ever be set aside as useless!
They should be
treated as fathers, with respect and honor.
The church needs to
know their opinions and they need to be involved in all decision
making.
It is true that many
of them may be set in their ways and close-minded to new ideas or new
ministries.
The point of the
Apostle Paul is that, if and when one of these elders needed to be
rebuked, they still needed to be treated as a father and not as an
enemy.
We should understand
that the Holy Spirit must always be followed!
Lev 19:32 Thou
shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old
man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Those that respect
their elders will have a better chance respecting our Heavenly
Father!
The younger men are
to be treated as brothers. It is our younger men and our younger
generation who one day will keep the church going so they are also
never to ignored or bypassed.
These younger men
many times will need direction and they may not accept it, if they
have not seen this in the family at home.
The church is to
always function as the family of God because we belong to the Lord
Jesus Christ freed us from the chains of Satan.
God the Father holds
all the answers to the prayer life of the Church!
The Lord Jesus
Christ as the Head and the Foundation of the Church, and our
Intercessor between each member and Our Holy Father.
The Lord Jesus is
the only Advocate to defend us from the continuous accusations of
Satan.
The Holy Spirit is
the power behind the church because He not only abides in each
believer, but He also causes conviction of sin to the lost!
The church is a most
powerful weapon against evil when it functions properly! This is
where the problems lie today as the church gives in to political
correctness, which goes against the Word of God.
Joh 13:34 A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.
Just as the elderly
men are to be treated as fathers, then the elderly women are to be
treated as mothers!
We all have a mother
who in most cases keeps our family functional and it will be no
different in a working church!
God will hold the
church responsible for those who mistreat its mothers!
If some of these
need to be rebuked, it must not be done in contempt but in total
respect.
Mat 12:50 For
whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same
is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Younger women are to
be treated as sisters, but in all purity remembering they are also
"born again" onto a new life.
There must be no
immoral thoughts, when thinking about the physical attractiveness of
these younger women!
Not many men will
cause harm to their daughters nor their sisters!
They are all to be
protected and guarded and nourished with the Word of God, just as all
others in the House of God!
It is the church and
the family that are to prepare those future virtuous women.
Pro 31:10 Who can
find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11 The heart
of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no
need of spoil.
Pro 31:12 She will
do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
When there are young
and old of each sex, there will many families but as time goes by
there will also be more widows!
It seems that the
women will normally live longer than the men! We men need to find
this secret of longer life, but it matters not to the child of God.
*****1Ti 5:3 Honour
widows that are widows indeed.
Many times, there
are church mothers who no longer have families outside of the church.
Many of these become
desolate when they have no one to help them meet their needs.
Deu 14:29 And the
Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the
stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy
gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy
God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
We all think about
the blessings of God but when we do not do right in the church, we
are losing those precious blessings that we could have had as a
church and as a family!
A widow indeed, is a
widow who has no means of support outside the church. It is these
women of the church that the church is to help.
BUT, this widow
should, if able, still be involved in the ministries of the church!
*****1Ti 5:4 But if
any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew
piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and
acceptable before God.
Just so we are
clear, God began the family before He began the Church. Every family
is to operate as a miniature Church.
Children are to take
care of their elderly parents!
The very first duty
of any child, is to honor their parents! Nothing that is done in the
church by these who are children of widows can take the place of
honoring their parents.
The true believer is
to be a Christian at home before he is a Christian anywhere else!
There is no other
action by children where is says that it "is good and acceptable
before God".
There is also this
of the parents. Widowed parents are to live their remaining years
above reproach!
They must be true to
Christ and still trust in the Lord for their provisions!
God will meet the
needs of His older children and His younger children alike!
*****1Ti 5:5 Now
she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and
continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
1Ti 5:6 But she
that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
1Ti 5:7 And these
things give in charge, that they may be blameless.
A true widow is that
person male or female who have no relations to provide for them and
are wholly devoted to God. These dear people can be the greatest
prayer warriors in the church!
A widow, male or
female, who has not been faithful to the church all their days should
not be considered a "widow indeed"!
We must understand
that no matter our age we are still to place our faith in our Savior
and every added day can still be a blessing!
We see that Timothy,
the new in Pastor in Ephesus, is to preach the whole counsel of God,
to whoever sits in the pews of this church, young or old.
It is a sad thing,
but many widows seem to feel blessed that they no longer have that
partner in life!
It is sometimes
understandable when there has been much time with bad health, but the
blessing comes from know that they no longer suffer!
These are those who
live in pleasure, being released have given themselves over to the
world.
The truth is, the
world of pleasure is a region of death and a life of pleasure is
living in death!
We must understand,
that we are to obey these instructions in the church and God gives us
a very good reason.
"That we will
be blameless" when the Lord returns, and we meet Him at the
"Judgment Seat of Christ".
We will all meet
Jesus either at the Judgment seat of Christ, or at the White Throne
Judgment and we make this choice ourselves!
The church that
knows the truth of the Scriptures and makes application of the truth
of God, is the Church that is a weapon against the evil of this
world!
We will all be held
accountable for the things we have done after we are saved! Not for
punishment but for the loss of rewards we cannot lose the free gift
of our salvation at any time!
It is so easy to
lose a reward by the actions we take in the treatment of our elderly
parents! Those who are widows indeed have no one to support them!
These things are
written to the Church and to the Pastors of those churches!
Those children of
the church, who do not take care of their elderly parents, especially
those of their immediate family, are denying the faith!
They are worse than
and an infidel or an unbeliever which is the truth of God! These are
very strong words from the Holy Spirit!
*****1Ti 5:8 But if
any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own
house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Again, we must
remind ourselves that God created the family before He created the
Church!
The responsibilities
of the Christian family are to never cease as long as we are alive.
In the Old Testament
all transgressions against the family were severely punished and
these things were not to change in the New Testament.
What did Jesus say?
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
When we deny our
parents, we have denied the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ,
because we have rejected true love!
*****1Ti 5:9 Let
not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old,
having been the wife of one man,
1Ti 5:10 Well
reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she
have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she
have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every
good work.
1Ti 5:11 But the
younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against
Christ, they will marry;
It should be obvious
that the early church put those who were "widows indeed" to
work in the ministry. I'm sure that there were the children because
there are always children in the families but there are always other
things these widows could do to spread the "Gospel" of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Once a widow has
recovered from the loss of that spouse they could give themselves
fully to the ministry!
Today we do not see
these things that often, but it does still happen.
Threescore years old
would be 60 years of age. In the time of Christ, the life span of the
people was not as long as it is today.
You may not be aware
of it this number is slipping backwards today and this is because of
the trend of Insurance and Medicare to pull back from the care of
those over 70 and in bad health. This is the truth of Obamacare, feed
them with medications and ignore major surgery of the elderly.
These would only be
those who are already active in the church before the loss of their
spouse.
These are those who
had lived in a lawful marriage whether it be with one person or more
successively but even that person has died.
These were to be
women of good character and there is no one more special than that
godly woman who has stayed by the Lord even when all her family were
gone.
These are the same
widows who treat the children of the church as their own.
These are the same
ones, who can comfort all those in the church because they know what
to be comforted really means.
These are the same
ones who come to help others when there is a need.
Mat 25:35 For I was
an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,
and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw
we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the
King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me.
These are the same
ones that the young people of the church should look up to as those
who have stuck by the Lord since the time of their salvation!
Heb 13:16 But to do
good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is
well pleased.
The Holy Spirit
suggest that those under 60 years old may not devote themselves to
the Church because they are looking for someone else to wed, whereas
those above 60 years old may not be interested in seeking another
spouse.
The older widow
would find all comfort in just God Himself and devote herself to Him.
The younger widow
may also find all comfort in the Lord and devote herself to just the
Lord but as time goes by she finds a new spouse it would be as if she
had broken a vow to the Lord.
Deu 23:21 When thou
shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay
it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would
be sin in thee.
As we see, it could
be very hard for a young widow keep a vow she has made to the Lord.
We will see that
this is the sin of the Church in Ephesus in the end, leaving their
first love.
*****1Ti 5:12
Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
When we pray in
faith for the Lord to come into our heart and save us, we are making
a vow to the Lord and when we break that vow we will suffer the
consequences as the Scriptures have said.
This does not mean
we have loss our salvation for that is impossible. We may forsake the
Lord, but He will never forsake us, and He will never leave us
because this is also what the Scriptures teach.
1Pe 4:17 For the
time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it
first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner
appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore
let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping
of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
The best thing that
can happen to these younger widows is that they remarry but only in
the church!
*****1Ti 5:13 And
withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house;
and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things
which they ought not.
1Ti 5:14 I will
therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the
house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
First, it is not
wrong for anyone who has lost their spouse to stay single, but it is
sometimes hard to do so without sin!
These younger
widows, if supported by the church, would soon find the work of the
church boring as they go from house to house in visitation.
These visits would
become more about gossip, than contributing to the work of the
church.
The Jews called
these "gadding widows", having nothing else to do but
gossip and tattle everything they learned of people.
They would always
have some news to tell about others as they try to interfere in
matters which did not concern them.
These things would
not be written if they were not true!
We must understand
God knows more about us then we can know ourselves!
Idleness is not good
for anyone and the purpose of the church is not to be involved in
such things and certainly not to support those widows caught up in
those things.
They would go from
being useful to becoming useless in the work of the church. Those
outside the church would take notice of these things and ruin the
name of the church. The church must never support such things as
these!
These women had
become widows through no fault of their own and certainly they would
need some help.
The Holy Spirit says
that they should remarry, bare children and be the head of that
household and this would keep them busy enough to stay out of
temptation.
Notice here we have
another place where God does not condemn a second marriage in the
church but actually encourages it.
Above all the things
we do, let us never give occasion for Satan to exploit the church or
the work of the church!
It is also a sad
thing that many widows will leave the church when their spouse dies.
Some just get mad at God and reject their salvation and reject their
Christian life.
*****1Ti 5:15 For
some are already turned aside after Satan.
We should understand
Satan is that roaring lion, walking about to see who he can destroy
and when we get mad at God we open the door for Satan to step in.
Eze_16:49 Behold,
this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread,
and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither
did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
We seem to forget
that God simply does not do bad things, and He will never tempt us to
do evil.
Jas_1:13 Let no man
say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas_1:14 But every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
As Paul is inspired
by the Holy Spirit, he says some in the Church have already turned
aside after Satan and there are some of these in most every church.
It is we who give
into the works of Satan. Keep the inner doors of your heart to the
outside world closed and locked always and do not provide even a
crack where Satan can enter in.
2Pe 2:20 For if
after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had
been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them.
It is the Church
family that is to come to the rescue of the widow whose only help is
the church while they are still living.
*****1Ti 5:16 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.
If you believe in
the truth of the Scriptures, then we are to take care of the widows
in our own families and never send them to the responsibility of the
church!
We must always keep
in mind that it is the family that God created first and the actions
of that family are to carry over into the church.
When believing
families do not obey God in these things certainly the church cannot
function as it should!
The family is to
operate as a church within the church for the church to be the true
"Bride of Christ"!
Isa 1:17 Learn to
do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
*****1Ti 5:17 Let
the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour,
especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
1Ti 5:18 For the
scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the
corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
1Ti 5:19 Against an
elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
We began this lesson
talking about elders. Those were mainly just the aged.
Here as we begin
this Scripture we see the elders of the church, those who preach and
teach in the house of God and deacons and other who hold offices in
the church.
We must remember
that after Christ Jesus ascended back to Heaven, the 12 Apostles
chosen by the Lord were the foundation of the Church!
The Church of today
is still to preach the Apostles Doctrine, given to them by the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Act_2:42 And they
continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Since these 12 men
chosen by the Lord are now in Heaven, it is the job of the elders of
the church to assist the Pastor in teaching the Apostle's Doctrine.
We must also
remember these words of Jesus:
Joh 8:31 Then said
Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The modern-day
church is now rejecting the Apostle's Doctrine because these words do
not set well with those sitting in the pews nor does this doctrine
fit in with the political correct societies of today.
It is these elders
of the church (Pastors, Teachers, Leaders) that will be held
accountable for the words they teach!
Act 14:23 And when
they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with
fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Those elders who
have been faithful stewards of the true Word of God and have proven
to above approach, should be counted worthy of a double honor and
respect, but only if they rule well by the Scriptures.
It is the job of
these men to be on guard against any error of the teaching of the
Word of God!
Each one will be
held accountable at the Bema Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, any who
are not saved will go to Hell having no excuse for not believing of
the truth.
When we see this
word "honor" we should understand that means payment to
that Pastor that and it says double honor or double the salary!
God will always
deplore the money grabbing Pastor:
1Ti 3:3 Not given
to wine, no striker, "not greedy of filthy lucre"; but
patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
God also deplores
those churches that do not take care of that Pastor financially, when
they are able to do so.
Every true Pastor is
called and approved of God, if he preaches the whole counsel of God
then he should be rewarded for his effort!
Deu 25:4 Thou shalt
not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Those that labor in
the Word of God and preaching, making sense of the Word of God,
should be as that ox and taken very good care of.
The true Pastor is a
treasure to any true church!
1Co 9:9 For it is
written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the
ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
1Co 9:10 Or saith
he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is
written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that
thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
1Co 9:11 If we have
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap
your carnal things?
No doubt the church
that has such a Pastor, that Pastor could be accused of wrong doing
in an attempt to be rid of him.
God says there must
be two or three reliable witnesses to that wrong doing or it should
not be brought before the church!
And if these
accusations are found to be true, they need to be brought before the
church!
*****1Ti 5:20 Them
that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
We should clearly
understand the instructions of the Lord should be followed at all
costs or the church will be just as guilty as that one who had done
that evil.
Disobedience is
disobedience no matter who does the evil!
We should keep in
mind, Timothy is going to Ephesus to root out false teaching!
We should also
remember that we all are sinners only saved by the "Grace"
of God.
If the honor of the
true Pastor is being double value, then the rebuke of the false
Pastor should also be of double value!
Then those who have
heard and even approved of that false teaching may then repent and be
restored to the truth of God.
*****1Ti 5:21 I
charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect
angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before
another, doing nothing by partiality.
We will all stand
before God one day and be judged for the things we have done since
being saved by the "Grace".
Each Pastor is to
minister without showing partiality in the church and to rebuke
without showing partiality.
With Timothy being
so young, Paul cautioned him to not shrink back from reproving men of
weight and influence, which means those who were of high standing
outside the church.
This may the biggest
problem in the church today, Pastors who refuse to preach all the
truth of God because of influential men in the pews.
Timothy like all
Pastors will answer to the Lord when He returns.
When Timothy stepped
up to the podium and looked out over his flock, he must not
immediately judge his congregation, he was to preach to them what God
had laid on his heart.
Our first thing to
do in the church is to worship the God of the Bible, in Spirit and
Truth because this is the only worship that God will accept!
God says many times
that He does not show partiality and we are to do the same!
Deu 1:17 Ye shall
not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well
as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the
judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it
unto me, and I will hear it.
Deu 1:18 And I
commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
The Church should
never make decisions or choices because some powerful man in the
church insist on it!
The Pastor must
preach all the Word of God without being partial to a few in the
church.
The Pastor must not
accept the favor of men just because of their wealth or their
standing.
The Pastor must not
give his attention to one group of people above another.
Pro 24:21 My son,
fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are
given to change:
Pro 24:22 For their
calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
Pro 24:23 These
things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of
persons in judgment.
Pro 24:24 He that
saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people
curse, nations shall abhor him:
Pro 24:25 But to
them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come
upon them.
The Pastor must at
all costs keep himself pure!
*****1Ti 5:22 Lay
hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins:
keep thyself pure.
When Timothy gets to
this church in Ephesus, it is very probable that he does not know who
is distorting the Word of God until he has been there for a while.
The laying on of the
hands was used to ordain Pastors and maybe some elders.
Paul is teaching
Timothy that he should spend some time there before he could be able
to ordain a Pastor, or Deacon, or other man by the laying on the
hands.
We also know that
the laying on of the hands is done for the sick.
There is no power in
"the laying on of the hands" because the power is in that
prayer that is made during the laying on the hands!
The best example of
one who is partaking of another man's sins would be Paul himself at
the death of Stephan.
Act 7:56 And said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the
right hand of God.
Act 7:57 Then they
cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him
with one accord,
Act 7:58 And cast
him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down
their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
Act 7:59 And they
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.
Paul was just as
guilty of the death of Stephen, as was those who threw the stones
that killed him.
This church in
Ephesus was a young immature church that probably did not have a
mature Christian in their group.
The truth is God
will hold us responsible for the failures of unfaithful workers and
any false teachers we have approved!
Each Pastor is to
keep himself pure not only inside the church but outside the church!
According to some,
these passages also prove that a fallen Pastor can be restored to his
ministry or at least to some ministry in the church.
Again, let’s look
at that word "wine".
*****1Ti 5:23 Drink
no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and
thine often infirmities.
This is one of the
most favorite passages for those who insist that God approves of
drinking alcohol.
I personally
disagree that this wine was used as a medicine, when combined with
water.
Those who traveled
outside of America have found that the drinking of water will cause
terrible stomach problems, and this is what was happening to Timothy.
The fruit of the
grape, grape juice, was made drinkable buy mixing one-part grape
juice to two parts water to drink when traveling in those days.
The Roman soldiers
would take the left over from wine that had turned to vinegar and had
no alcoholic value and add water to drink in every nation for this
same reason.
The Lord said not to
even look at wine:
Pro 23:31 Look not
thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the
cup, when it moveth itself aright.
The point Paul is
making is, that it was very important for each Pastor to take good
care of their health.
Rom 12:1 I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
What would Timothy
expect to see in this church?
*****1Ti 5:24 Some
men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some
men they follow after.
1Ti 5:25 Likewise
also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that
are otherwise cannot be hid.
Paul told Timothy
that many of the men in Ephesus did not hide their sinful ways and
certainly none of these should be chosen to serve in the ministry.
Timothy was not to
judge them, except to know that they were not fit to serve the Lord
at this time!
It is God Himself
who will judge the sinner and He already has:
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Why would we even
try to judge anyone who is already sentenced to death?
Timothy was to also
expect to find men who would try to hide their sin. This is what we
all have done in our past!
These men would not
be able to hide their sin for very long once Timothy preached the
whole counsel of God.
We should also
understand that the good works of some are clearly seen, while others
have good works that are not known to others or to just a few.
As we live in the
church family we still cannot see into the hearts of other believers,
it is their actions that we can see.
The only judgment we
can make on others is by the Word of God and even then, we must be
certain.
It is God who will
Judge this world and even then, He can only judge by the Written Word
because this is what He said Himself!
What was Paul saying
to Timothy?
Rom 14:13 Let us
not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that
no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's
way.
We can also know
that there some of God's people who would work in a ministry but are
just never able for some human reason, but God knows these also and
they will still receive a reward.
1Ki 8:17 And it was
in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the
LORD God of Israel.
1Ki 8:18 And the
LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to
build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine
heart.
King David truly
wanted to build a Temple but because of David's bloody hands, God
would not allow it.
But it was well that
it was in the heart of David to do so!
Amen
Let's Pray!
