“Caring for the Widow” Part #2
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Welcome and start with Prayer:
Read Text:
9 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, 10 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. 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry 12 and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. 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. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. 15 For some have already strayed after Satan. 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.
Last week we began to see the first part of Paul’s instruction concerning those who are widows in the church. Does the church have an obligation to help the true widows in the church. Yes. What we learned and what we will continue to look at is how God has a loving and caring heart toward the women in the church who no longer have a husband, and also how we are to have a loving and compassionate heart toward our widows.
Let me just say this as we begin that our older women in the church and of course the older widows have so much wisdom to give the younger women in our church.
-They can pray for our younger ladies.
-They can give time and serve in many ministries around the church.
-They can teach the younger ladies and share the wisdom of what God has helped them to learn.
What Paul does here is he lays out some helpful guidelines for the church and specifically the widows ministry.
Verse 9 = The word “enrolled” here has the meaning of being on the list or recognized by the church as servants or members. Just like we saw in chapter 3 with the requirement for elders and deacons there were also requirements that Paul gives to Timothy that were a practical part of the ministry to the women and children in the church. The book of Titus sheds some light on this as well.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Even more practical than what i already shared some of the widows duties could be helping with baptism, visiting the sick, teaching and discipling other women, teaching children and even helping the orphans who were abandoned by death, war, or other reasons.
Again not all widows needed assistance from the church. There may have been some widows who were able to take care of themselves.
Those who were enrolled here had nothing to do with those widows who could be supported by the church. What Paul meant here was that these widows were eligible for ministry. So, Paul gives us some requirements for being on the list.
(Verse 9) First of all the widows had to be at least 60 years old. Now of course the church is to support all its widows who have no other family or means of finances no matter what the age. So, why the age of 60? Sixty was the age in this culture for people to retire from the work and focus on other things. This was typically the age that many believed where sexual passions were becoming less and less and so older women as well as men had more time to serve the church. Unlike a younger woman, an older widow would not be as tempted to abandon her commitment to the Lord and remarry.
(Verse 9) Another requirement Paul gives here is that a widow be the wife of one man. Just like those instructions given to elders and deacons to be a “one-woman man” a widow was to be a “one-man woman.” She was to be totally devoted to her husband while he was alive so much so that everyone around them knew this to be true. Everything here had to do with an attitude of purity and affection for her husband. If this was not true of the widow it would not be a right example and role model for the younger women to look after. So, she was to be a good example for the younger women within the church.
(Verse 10) Another requirement was that the widow have a reputation for good works. Her character was known to be great within the community that she lived in. People around her saw her love and kindness and good works which all pointed back to her love for God and righteous character. But what exactly did this reputation of good works look like. Paul mentions 5 qualities.
-First, Paul talks about the importance of bringing up children. The phrase here means to nourish children. This would look like a godly widow who was a Christian mother. Paul is not disregarding those ladies who could not have children or those who were single. So, those older widows that had children could now speak truth into those younger moms who had children.
-Another quality was that a widow show hospitality to strangers. Hospitality is not always easy and for some this is not a gift. However during this culture there were no hotels or Air B and B’s. If you were a Christian and you were away from your home you depended on the hospitality of other believers. Most generally a widow was someone who could open their home to a friend within the church, a relative, or even a stranger.
-A third quality that a widow was to have was that she should be someone who has washed the feet of the saints. What in the world does this mean? Of course during this time people traveled the dusty roads in their sandals and as they came to a home someone would wash their feet. What this shows us is that this would have been a very humbling service. A widow was to give of herself and serve those in need.
-A fourth quality is to care for those who are afflicted. As a widow sees someone struggling or in need of help she could assist with physical, mental or emotional guidance.
-Finally, a widow must be someone who devotes herself to every good work. This means that a widow should pursue righteous living by good deeds. As other women in the church look to follow godly examples hopefully this type of widow meets the requirements and qualities that Paul lays out here.
Verse 11 = 1 Timothy 5:11
11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry
Paul now transitions his thoughts to what things are to look like for the younger widows. You may notice here that it seems like Paul uses some strong language when he says, “Refuse to enroll younger widows.” The point Paul stresses here is that they should get married. They are still young and so the church should refuse them from putting them on the list to serve. Again this may seem harsh, but Paul goes on to list several reasons that they should not be put on the Most Valuable Widow Serving list. MVW
1.Their passions could draw they away from Christ, and they want to get married. A young widow as she was dealing with loss and heartache she could make a vow to God and remain single. But she may not be able to keep this vow. So, as a young, and now single widow she may begin to have sensual desires and so it would be better for her to marry. She could even desire to go after someone else’s husband if not careful and incur condemnation for having abandoned her faith and trust in God.
2. Another reason younger widows should not be enrolled is their lack of maturity. Verse 13 tells us that the younger widows learn to be idlers. In other words they go from place to place or house to house and nothing constructive takes place or even worse gossip and slander could happen. Gossip and slander are sinful things because even though the news can be true it can be hurtful and if we have an issue with a brother or sister we need to go directly to them instead of everyone else. The term “Busybodies” here means one who moves around. Someone who sticks his noise in other people’s business. If we don’t have any thing good to say we don’t need to say it. Here are a few cross references to help.
13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,
but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
So, Paul gets right to the point about the younger widows in verse 14. What are they to do???
-Paul says, “I would have.” “I want.” This carries the command or to highly encourage the younger widows to remarry. God’s good plan was that if a young woman lost her husband due to sickness or war than she had to right to remarry. This protects them from living a single life for the rest of their years.
-Another thing Paul addresses here is that they should bear children if they are able to do so. Have babies and in order to do this they would have to remarry. Psalm 127:3
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
-Manage their households. While the husband was off at his job the woman would be responsible for raising the children at home. She was to manage and take care of her husband and her children.
Verse 14 and 15 help us to see that when a younger widow remarries and begins to have children and takes care of the home she does not give the enemy occasion for sinful things to happen.
-She avoids reproach. Losing her testimony of Christ.
-She avoids slander and idle talk.
-She avoids falling into some type of sexual sin. If not careful some of the widows could give up on following Christ and abandon their vows to the Lord. As Paul says here some were already following Satan.
Conclusion: We should have a desire not only as a Church but as believers to help those who are widows. In fact, helping widows brings a promise of blessing from God.
29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
On the other hand, failing to do so can bring God’s judgment.
19 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
As we see God’s love for widows, we too should have a love and kindness to those who have lost a husband.
Questions?
Close in Prayer.