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 5:16 (ESV)
The following excerpt is by Dr. and Pastor J. Ligon Duncan. It is entitled Caring for the Church. He preached this message September 29, 2004.
The Christian life is never a
matter of merely taking, getting or receiving — it is a display of giving.
Finally, look at verses nine to sixteen. Here Paul
makes it clear…it’s fascinating…hat those who are supported by the church
are to give back to the church’s ministry. And at the same time, he makes it
clear that those who minister alongside the elders and the deacons of the church
are to be held to the highest standards of Christian living. You see, the
Christian life is never a matter of merely taking or giving, or receiving; it is
always a display of giving, even if we have very little, materially speaking, to
give.
He speaks in verse nine of a widow being put on “the
list.” Now, what in the world does that mean? Well, it’s clear from this
passage that “the list” involves a widow who is in the situation of material
need described in verses three through eight. She is a widow indeed. She has no
one else to care for her. But this widow indeed is also one who performs
spiritual and charitable functions for the church. In other words, she assists
the deacons and the elders in the ministry of the church. She’s over sixty
years old. She pledges herself that she will serve the church for the rest of
her life, and she will assist in the ways that the church deems best. She will
be an intercessor for the church. She will pray. She will give counsel to
younger women. She will visit the sick. She will prepare women for baptism and
communion. She will give guidance and direction to other widows and orphans
supported by the church. She will serve in all these ways.
Isn’t it interesting…this woman, who has had no
means for material support of herself, is supported by the church. And yet, she
is viewed as a person who has something to give back to the church. She’s not
simply the recipient of welfare. She, in receiving the outpouring of the
church’s support for her in time of need, will turn around and do what? Give
back to the church, of herself.
And so, in this passage Paul establishes a
principle that the Christian life is never merely a matter of receiving, of
taking, of getting; but it always entails giving back that which we have
received. Paul gives some strict warnings about putting younger widows on this
list. You can see the obvious difficulties of a younger woman making a pledge
to serve the church in exchange for the church’s support of her in her time of
need, and then deciding later on that she’d rather re-marry. And so, Paul gives
again the very practical, common-sensical advice: “Younger widows, don’t make
this pledge. Instead, re-marry. Have a family. Be involved in the normal
trends and stations of life. Don’t make this extraordinary commitment to the
church.”
Again, do you see the wisdom of Paul here? Paul
isn’t just looking to fill a slot of ministry. He’s always thinking about the
well-being of those who are ministering. And so, he says to the younger widows,
‘Don’t do this to yourself. If God be pleased, re-marry, and you go ahead and
have a family and a life that would have been normal.’
And he says, of course, that those who are
going to serve on the widows list must not simply be widows in need, but they
must be those who have practiced hospitality, who reared children and rendered
service to traveling ministers, and assisted the afflicted, and been devoted to
every kind of good work. So those who are going to serve the church are going
to meet qualifications.
How wise this is. In our day and time, we tend to
think of volunteers in terms of what they have to offer to us, and apart from
their character. And Paul says look at the character of all those who are
volunteering in the church, and unless they meet these marks of character, don’t
allow them to minister.
And secondly, care about them. Don’t just use them.Care about their station in life. If this is a younger widow, don’t let her
do this to herself. Let her have the opportunity to re-marry, and to serve in
the normal courses of life. Paul’s words of wisdom give us principles for how we
ought to operate today. And as we operate in these ways, we manifest the
tangible love of Christ for His people to a watching world.
Let’s pray.
Our heavenly Father, You have promised that You
will provide for us in time of need. And in this passage, You have shown how the
church itself is to show Your provision. When we provide for one another in
time of need, we show that You are indeed the Lord who provides. We pray,
heavenly Father, that as a congregation we would become more tangibly loving in
this way; that everyone in this community would say ‘Look how they care for one
another. Look how they look out for one another in times of need, and even of
destitution.’ We pray as well that we would show this same kind of love
increasingly towards many other Christians in this community, and that the
Christian churches of Jackson would become this kind of local church; that we
would manifest the love of Christ actually and really, in ways that one can
sense not only in the hearts of those who are around them, but can see in their
deeds. We pray, O God, that You would change us to be like this through the
workings of Your Holy Spirit. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 