Treatment Of Church Members Series

Scripture

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with false teaching and to instruct church members about living in God’s church. In chapter 4, Paul set down the qualities of an excellent minister and the dos and don’ts of Christian ministry. Then, in chapter 5, he went on to instruct Timothy about how to treat the various kinds of members in the churches in Ephesus.

Let us read about treatment of church members in 1 Timothy 5:1-16:

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. (1 Timothy 5:1-16)

Introduction

About a decade ago, writer and NPR commentator Heather King, a recovering alcoholic, came to faith in Jesus. She reflected on her initial experience with the church:

My first impulse was to think, I don’t want to get sober (or in the case of the church, worship) with THESE nutcases! (or boring people, or people with different politics, taste in music, food, books, or whatever). Nothing shatters our egos like worshipping with people we did not hand-pick…. The humiliation of discovering that we are thrown in with extremely unpromising people!—people who are broken, misguided, wishy-washy, out for themselves. People who are… us.

Being a member of a local church is similar to being a member of a nuclear family. You don’t get to choose your parents or siblings. Similarly, you don’t get to choose who joins the local church. Everyone who believes in Jesus belongs to the same universal family, and must connect to a local church. Getting along with parents and siblings is not always easy. Similarly, getting along with brothers and sisters in Christ in the local church is not always easy either.

Timothy faced opposition in the churches in Ephesus. Some of it had to do with his opposition to the false doctrine. And some of it had to do with his relative youth. So, the Apostle Paul gave Timothy advice on how to treat various members in the churches of Ephesus.

Lesson

1 Timothy 5:1-16 shows us the proper treatment of various church members.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Advice Regarding Everyone (5:1-2)

2. Advice Regarding Widows (5:3-16)

I. Advice Regarding Everyone (5:1-2)

First, let’s look at advice regarding everyone.

Paul wrote in verses 1-2, “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” Paul turned his attention to how Timothy was to deal with people of different ages in the churches in Ephesus. The Greek word for “rebuke” (epiplesso) occurs only here in the New Testament and it means “to censure severely or angrily.” That was not the approach Timothy was to take with an older man. Instead, he was to come alongside and “encourage” him. The Greek word for “encourage” (parakaleo) occurs 111 times in the New Testament and here it means “to earnestly support or encourage a response or action.” Paul wanted Timothy to treat an older man as a father and, if the older man had done something wrong, Timothy was to come alongside him and support him in doing the right thing. Moreover, Timothy was to treat people of various ages in the church as he would his very own family members.