For the Church

Introduction: Pray for the nations!

So often we think about the church based on what we’ve experienced. But around the world, the way the church looks and acts, it broadens our idea of the church and shows that it is so much bigger than we thought.

The Church is God’s big program to take the Gospel to the nations. It extends from Pentecost to the return of Jesus.

But it’s small enough to be able to be a family of people who love one another. Our view of the church must include both.

In September 1934, the RMS Queen Mary was launched. It was the most luxurious cruise ships ever built. It was about 134 feet longer than the Titanic (RMS had learned by this time to make sure they had enough life boats). WIth a capacity of 2,139 passengers and 1101 crew members, it was built for luxurious comfort as well as speed. But it was capable of so much more! And a few years she was given a chance to prove it.

When World War 2 broke out there was a great need to get troops from place to place. The British navy wasn’t ready. Rather than building transport ships, they took cruise ships and made them into transports ships. Not only were they big enough but they were faster than anything the royal navy had. The queen mary was so fast that german u-boats could not catch them.

Retrofitted for war, no longer made for comfort, their capacity bloomed to over 15,000 soldiers.

You think about this, a cruise ship built for the comfort and luxury was easily able to accommodate so many more. Feeding them, caring for them. No more servants. Everyone had a job to do. And they ultimately were a part of winning the war.

Many people feel like the church building is a cruise ship built for their comfort for them and a few of their closest friends and family. When the church building really s a troop transport ship that helps us win the spiritual war.

Some people over the last few years have felt like COVID has forced us to redefine what it means to be the church. But the truth is that we’ve actually gotten back to the original meaning of Church.

Biblically speaking the church is not the building. It’s not the worship center or sanctuary. It’s not even something we do or go to.

The church is the people who are gathered to worship and scattered to serve. But the building helps us do what we’re called to do.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your bibles to 1 Timothy 5. Having discussed the false teachers and teaching that endanger the church and gives encouragement to Timothy on how people ought to act in the kingdom of God. Now Paul turns his attention to what the church is and does.

The church is a family that serves others.

Introduce:

Authentic Principle: The church is a diverse group of people who serve one another.

Read:

1 Timothy 5:1–25 (ESV)

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,

2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

3 Honor widows who are truly widows.

4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,

6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

7 Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach.

8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

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.

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)

24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

Authentic Principle: The church is a diverse group of people who serve one another.

1. Serve the whole church. (1 Timothy 5:1-3)

Explanation: From the outset Paul talks about how Timothy is to relate to the church as a family.

Older men are to be treated like you would your father.

Depending on your relationship with your father, this might be confusing. But the principle is the same. Treat them like fathers. Don’t sharply rebuke them. Don’t treat them with disdain. Treat them with respect and honor.

Younger men are to be treated like brothers.

Now Younger men would refer to those Timothy’s age or younger, because the contrast is not between them and Timothy but between the younger men and older men.

Timothy can’t feel like he is better than them or look down on them. Paul has already said, “let no one look down on you because of your youth. The same is true for Timothy.”

Also, younger people can sometimes be neglected because they typically don’t have money to pay the bills.

Older women are to be treated like mothers.

Timothy needs to treat these older women as mothers. This would likely resonate with Timothy as Paul writes of Timothy’s positive relationship with his mother and grandmother in

2 Timothy 1:5 ESV

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

When you see these women in your church, think of Lois and Eunice! And treat them like you would them!

Younger women are to be treated as sisters. Again these are women Timothy’s age and younger. With regard to younger women, there is an additional instruction that they be related to “in all purity.” So often we assume that probably shouldn’t need to be said. Don’t act inappropriately with women in your congregation. But 2,000 years have church history have shown us that it needs to be said over and over again.

Now I want to say something with regard to this. Pastors are encouraged to put a lot of boundaries around interactions with women who aren’t your wife. Don’t be alone with them. Don’t drive alone in a car with them. Don’t travel to conferences alone with them.

And while there is some wisdom in this, we must be careful not to go to the extreme where we see women as a threat to our ministries. But this idea is dangerous because it cane make a portion of the congregation feel neglected and unimportant.

Illustration: Sometimes people in the church can be so infuriating. You come in on a Sunday morning and someone is parked in your spot! You come into the worship center and someone is sitting in your seat! The horror.

The truth is there are some things that need to be addressed. False teaching. Sin.

But not every error is worthy of church discipline. Sometimes people need gentle guidance.

But remember people, especially in the church, don’t care about what you think until they know that you care about them.

Fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters.

Treat people like family and they will become family.

Application: I think this is a good place to stop and ask how connected are you to different groups in the church? Do you only connect with people like you? Do you need to try and expand your group to include the whole church?

2. Take care of the less fortunate. (1 Timothy 5:4-16)

Explanation: Paul turns his attention to give special instructions for supporting the older women that can’t take care of themselves. Now any church has limited resources so it’s important that those resources be allocated for those who really need help.

This is difficult for so many churches because it should be in our nature to want to help.

However, we must prioritize those who really need it.

Paul talks about widows who are truly widows. And what this means is not just that they don’t have a husband, but a true widow in Paul’s mind is someone who has no family to take care of them at all.

Paul is especially hard on those who fail to take care of widows in their own family.

He has denied the faith.

He is worse than an unbeliever.

Back then this would have been extremely harsh considering that the secular world didn’t care about widows.

But today we live in a world where their secular organizations, who don’t care about Jesus, who are dedicated to serving people. And sometimes they do it better than the church. So it would be easier to say someone could be worse than an unbeliever.

First, it’s ok to be in need, but we should do our part to make sure we aren’t in need.

Young widows should seek to marry. This goes alone with what Paul said earlier about not forbidding to marry. This might even be in reaction to the misapplication of Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor 7:8 where he commends singleness as a way to serve God better.

But in this case, to marry is better. Part of it has to do with a burden to the church and on the other hand it has to do with keeping your vows. Some people think the one way you can serve the church is by abandoning all and serving the church full time.

But a wife who raising her children in the lord and manages her household well is a good service to the church as well.

Paul says only those who are over 60 can be enrolled as widows in support of the church. And their qualifications are seemingly greater than that of elders and deacons.

A faithful wife to her husband while alive. (A one man woman. The exact opposite of the qualifications of pastors and deacons)

Have a reputation for good works.

Having brought up children.

Shown hospitality

Washed the feet of the saints.

Cared for the afflicted.

Devoted to every good work.

This might seem unloving. Shouldn’t we do our best to help everyone we can?

Well, not so fast. If we try to help everyone, especially when they don’t necessarily need help as much as others, we can’t help those who really need help.

So when Paul says take care of widows who are truly widows, he’s doing what’s best not just for the widows but also for the church.

So often family who can help refuse to help and let their responsibility become a burden to the church.

As a church we help widows by helping them get help whether its from the church or encouraging them or their family in certain directions.

All this to say that church is called to help those who can’t help themselves.

Application: Now while Paul’s specific instructions related to widows, this principle applies to any different group of people who might need help.

Homeless, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, prisoner, etc...

Paul is calling the church to take care of those who truly need help. And we have to figure out how to do that. Who are the people that we need to specifically care for?

3. Honor your leaders. (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

Explanation: The final people we are to serve are the leaders. Sometimes we fail to see that pastors and even other staff members are church members first in just as much need of encouragement and service. They are in just much need of God’s grace and love as others.

Elders or pastors are worthy of honor especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

There is something really interesting in vs. 18 that we may not see.

Paul gives 2 scriptural proofs for why a pastor should be supported by the church.

Don’t muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain is a direct quote from the OT law. (Deut 25:4)

The laborer deserves his wages is a quote from Luke 10:7 (a travelling companion of Paul) as he recorded the words of Jesus.

Notice that Paul calls both scripture. This is evidence that Paul believed that the gospel of Luke was scripture.

Another way that you serve elders is by not recklessly admitting a charge except on the basis of 2-3 witnesses. This is because Elders deserver the benefit of the doubt.

I was reading about how in 1 Timothy Paul says not to entertain an accusation against an elder unless there are 2 or more witnesses.

And how Jesus said the same about church discipline in Matthew 18. And further the Mosaic law was the same with regard to civil law as well.

And I was thinking, how interesting it is that God’s standard for confirming guilt is greater than our American judicial system

It’s like God was ok with a guilty person going free to make sure an innocent person isn’t wrongly condemned.

Naturally God knows that all accounts are settled in the end.

But notice that if something can be proven, they are to be publically reprimanded.

This is followed by again a warning not to hastily ordain someone to be a pastor.

Pastors have a target on their back from Satan and the world.

Finally Paul instructs Timothy to care for himself. Wine in this case a medicinal. Timothy has frequent ailments.

Now obviously North Hills has 2 pastors and 9 deacons. How can you serve them better?

But don’t forget about the Leadership Team members as well as the committee members or other staff.

So often it’s easy to forget that before being staff or in leadership positions they are first of all members of Christ’s church. How can you serve them?

A phone call? A card? A passing comment of appreciation.

Response: How are you serving those in your church?

Summation: Authentic Principle: The CHURCH is a diverse group of PEOPLE who serve one another. 1. Serve the WHOLE church. (1 Timothy 5:1-8) 2. Serve the less FORTUNATE. (1 Timothy 5:9-16) 3. Serve your LEADERS. (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

Closing Illustration: i want to return to the idea that we are at war. Not a war like world war 2.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

But I think how connected soldiers are in war. Regardless of, culture, race, background, socioeconomic status. They become united in a common mission.

They sacrifice for one another. They put the needs of the mission ahead of their own agenda.

Everyone plays their part. And of course there are certainly reprimands for failing. But the punishment is not meant to necessarily punish as much as it is to keep everyone focused on the mission.

We need to be for the church as we follow Jesus in this life.

Love God and have each other’s back.

But let’s not forget that we are called to help Jesus win the hearts and minds of those who are far from him.

Paul talked about how he was an enemy of Christ, but through grace God invited him into his family.

Maybe that’s you today. You know that you are currently an enemy of Christ. But Jesus is calling you to abandon all to follow him.

Will you cross the battle line of your faith as you are welcomed into the great family of God.

Let’s pray.

Week 8 of 2020-2021 Sermon Series: Authentic

Servant Hearts: For the Church

1 Timothy 5:1-25

Authentic Principle: The CHURCH is a diverse group of PEOPLE who serve one another. 1. Serve the WHOLE church. (1 Timothy 5:1-8) 2. Serve the less FORTUNATE. (1 Timothy 5:9-16) 3. Serve your LEADERS. (1 Timothy 5:17-25) Response: How are you SERVING your CHURCH?

Opening Discussion:

How would you define the church? What shapes you understanding of the church?

What negative impressions of the church have you heard from the world? Why do you think this is?

Sermon:

What familial terms does Paul use with regard to those in the church? Why do you think Paul uses such language? What light does this shed on the nature of our church relationship?

Why is it important to take care of widows who can’t take care of themselves? What role does biological family play in supporting their parents/grandparents?

How does Paul’s instructions to younger widows compare to Paul’s correction of the false teaching related to marriage in 1 Timothy 4:3? How might this false teaching have adversely affected the church?

How does Paul instruct the church to treat elders? Why might he emphasize the importance of honoring those who labor in preaching and teaching?

What does Paul teach Timothy about his role and the effect that role will have on him?

Application:

How can heeding Paul’s words regarding the familial relationships of the church help us to grown stronger as a church family?

What role does the church play in taking care of widows? How does this compare to James’ instructions in James 1:27?

How can the church determine who really needs help from those who don’t?

What can a church do to show its pastors honor and respect?

In vss. 24-25, what does Paul say about the importance of knowing that nothing we do, whether good or bad will remain hidden? How might living this out change the church?