1 Timothy 5:17-21

B4 Support the ministry

C1 Elders and honorarium

D1 Unless agreed upon, there should be some honorarium given for the time served.

D2 Especially for those laboring in word (Scriptures) and teaching.

D3 It takes time to prepare and time to present.

D4 Scripture supports this:

E1 Deuteronomy 25:4 NRSV You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

E2 Luke 10:7 NRSV Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

D5 An honorarium is not to make the elders rich.

D6 That there is a honorarium needs to be known to the congregation.

C2 Elder misdeeds/sins

D1 This deals with the leaders, not individual Christians as Matthew 18.

D2 The accusation needs to be 2 or more witnesses. See also: 2 Corinthians 13:1-2 NLT This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, "The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses"). 2 I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.

D3 The word elder would include pastors, deacons, and deaconesses.

E1 Spiritual respect carries responsible for Biblical morality. There is honor and influence, hence the higher standard expected of them. Honor:

F1 Romans 16:2 NLT Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God's people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.

F2 1 Thessalonians 5:12 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

E2 Pastoral abuse is rampant.

F1 These fake pastors love money. Beware of pastors who are at frequent conferences. Just saying.

F2 And often love power. 1Pe 5:3 ESV not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

F3 When people start questioning what they are doing, they abuse to shut them up.

F4 They have a certain respect, so they love to cover up their evil. John 3:19-21 “This is [the reason for] the judgment, because light is come into the world and people loved darkness rather than light, because their actions were evil. 20 “Everyone who does evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light, so that his actions may be discovered and reproved [discovered and reproved is one word in Greek]. 21 “But the one who does the truth comes to the light, so that his actions may be plainly seen that they are done for God.”

F5 Imagine an abused person or even a child coming to meet their sexual molester, rapist, or abuser in private (Matthew 18). This would be a very great evil, and it MUST not be allowed.

D4 The rebuke needs to be public, not private. Public means to everyone in the congregation and outside it.

D5 Rebuke is needed.

D6 Fake pastors will not be ashamed or in godly fear. They will not repent or confess their sins usually.

D7 Some articles:

E1 Our pastor has sinned. The elders will not take action. What should we do? (I know nothing about this site).

E2 Lesson 18: Church Leadership: Keeping It Godly (1 Timothy 5:19-25)

E3 Nine Ways Church Elders are to be Held Accountable (I’m not familiar with this site).

C3 Both of these activities must be without prejudice or favoritism.

C4 God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels are watching and will testify against us if we do otherwise.

C5 Questions:

D1 How can church leaders take advantage of the brothers and sisters?

D2 Why is exposure of the evil actions of church leaders necessary?

D3 Why do a number of pastors work to cover up evil and start a campaign to silence those who reveal their evil?

D4 Does this rebuke rarely happen today?

1 Timothy 5:3-16

B3 Widows

C1 Most widows can be and must be assisted by family. A family who will not help is judged to be more evil than a nonbeliever. It is understood that the family of God (believers) do need to be aware of other’s needs—any type of needs. If we are able, we must help.

C2 Some widows have no family or that family will not help because the widow is a Christian. This is the true widow, the widow indeed, etc. They have no human to help, but they do trust in God to help them.

C3 Qualifications for the congregation to help.

D1 60 or greater is age.

D2 One-woman wife. This is only one husband at a time.

D3 Has and is doing good works. For example, raised children, hospitable to strangers, washed the feet of God's people, helped the afflicted, and diligence in doing so. These examples are for family first, Christians second, and non-Christian last. That is the order of priorities.

C4 Younger widows must be rejected, in most cases, because they might give a pledge, a promise, of serving others full time. If and when they want to get married, they forsake their promise.

C5 Be careful. A widow who is accepted in the registry, might, for whatever reason, turn against God and follow satan.

D1 Consider Paul’s assistant: 2 Timothy 4:10 PickNT for Demas, loving this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica—Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

D2 Clarke adds: Some of these young widows, for he appears to be still treating of them, are turned aside to idolatry, to follow Satan instead of Christ. Slight deviations, in the first instance, from a right line, may lead at last to an infinite distance from Christ.

D3 A slight deviation for sure. A deviation over time usually develops further and further from the standard.

C6 Some concerns about widows

D1 Needing assistance from house repairs, family issues, financial, etc.

D2 Helping protect from abuse, being taken advantage of

D3 Needing assistance to help with loneliness

C7 Some verses about widows

D1 God cares for widows and those suffering: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

D2 He is judge Psalm 68:5, Deuteronomy 10:18

D3 Raised the dead widow's son Luke 7:11-15

D4 God curses those who thwart justice for widows, non-Jews (in Israel), and orphans Deuteronomy 27:19 (an example in Isaiah 10:1-4)

D5 Against God's law to cause trouble or take advantage of widows Exodus 22:22-24

D6 Corrupt prophets (today we would understand these as church leaders) who taken financial advantage of widows Ezekiel 22:25 and Mark 12:38-40

D6 God required a special tithe in Israel for Levites, non-citizens, and widows Deuteronomy 14:28-29

D7 Example of caring for non-Jewish widows in the book of Ruth

D8 Taking care of the widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon and Elijah (1 Kings 17:13-14)

D9 Office of deacon started in part due to need for helping widows (Acts 6:1)

D10 Example of helpful widow named Tabitha (Dorcas) Acts 9:36-41

D11 God observes how we treat orphans and widows/widowers: James 1:27 NIV Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

C8 Some suggestions

D1 Start a support group. This should be organized, headed, and maintained by widows and widowers.

D2 Listen. Do not give advice unless asked.

D3 Respect their opinions and decisions. They don’t need you to run their life.

D4 Understand that there are spiritual needs, emotional needs, physical needs (including sex). There should be means of discussing these and understanding Scriptural principles for these needs. There might even be a need for professional counseling. Grief has no timeline. There is always grief of some degree for life.

D5 Review Stephen Ministries resources. (Recommended).

C8 Articles

D1 Caring For Widows

D2 Widows in Ministry, Widows in Misery (This is a Bible study by Melanie Newton on Bible.org).

D3 Widows in Jewish Tradition

D4 10 things I wish someone had told me about becoming a widow (non-Christian article)

D5 Distinct Financial Concerns of Widows. See here (pdf).

D6 Financial Advice for Your First Year as a Widow (Secular)

C9 Questions

D1 Why does God care about widows?

D2 What does God’s care show about His kingdom, attributes, worldview?

D3 What doesn’t God help directly as making them rich or something? (Consider that God delegates, so maybe God opened the eyes of one who could help but refused. We shouldn’t blame God when it was some human who could have helped but refused).

A Few Thoughts on the Epistle of James—James 1:19-25

C3 The Christian life—listening and actions James 1:19-27

D1 Believers Should Listen Quickly, Hesitate Speaking James 1:19-25

James 1:19-25 WEL So too my beloved brothers, all must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 Because the anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filthiness and all types of wickedness. Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 Be doers of the word, not just hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror. 24 He looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But whoever looks at the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, is not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed for what he does.

7 rules=

• 3 Attitudes and actions
  • Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger

• Good listening requires slow to speak.
• Slow to speak is to listen until the other has finished speaking, except for those who talk continuously.
• Slow to speak has the idea of thinking before talking.
• Slow to speak has the idea of not offering advice until asked.
• Slow to anger is to be angry slowly.
  • The next verse points out that our anger does not achieve (bring about, bring to reality). Arguing to prove doctrine or pressuring one to believe the Gospel, will not bring about God’s righteousness. So this leaves out bullying, verbal abusing, controlling, etc. behavior. These actions will not bring about God’s righteousness. In fact, often it makes things worse.
  • There are 2 wills: God’s will and any other will.
  • God’s way is best. Being angry at God’s thoughts, desires, words, and deeds does no good. Fighting it is wrong. The Pharisees were guilty of this (John 16:2, for example).
  • Our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds do not bring righteousness. Building a church, do it God’s man, not with man’s philosophical or business practices. Encouraging spiritual growth, same. 1 Peter 4:3 NIV For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
  • JFB: Man’s angry zeal in debating, as if jealous for the honor of God’s righteousness, is far from working that which is really righteousness in God’s sight. True “righteousness is sown in peace,” not in wrath (James 3:18).
  • It is not debating as Stephen did (Acts 7). It is an anger that destroys as Acts 15:2 NIV This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
  • Proverbs 15:1 NKJV A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
• Anger is not necessarily a sin. There is both an anger that is not sinful and a type that is. Consider, Mark 3:4-5 and John 2:13-16.
• Unrighteous anger leads to sin
  • Psalms 37:8 NRSV Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
  • Proverbs 15:18 NIV A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
• 4 duties
  • No moral filthiness
    • This is specifically referring to James 1:14-15)
    • It refers to dirt as opposed to clean.
    • Acts 15:20 NIV Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
    • Galatians 5:19-21 MKJV Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness,  20  idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,  21  envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
  • No wickedness
    • Breaking God’s laws in thoughts, desires, words, and/or deeds
    • See Romans 1:18, Romans 1:29, Romans 6:29.
  • Read and study Scriptures especially the New Testament. Understand it, believe it, and live it.
  • Be doing what the New Testament teaches
    • This is what we believe and why
    • This is how to live and why

Implanted word= the Gospel and God’s law which is written on our hearts by God Himself. (Romans 2:29 and Hebrews 8:10).

Law of liberty= the opposite of Old Testament law which could not bring righteousness and reconciliation with God. The New Testament contains God’s rules for us (Galatians 5:1).

Reading the Bible brings blessings, but the Bible is not just to be read but to be lived. We live what we believe.

Questions

• How can we change our lives?
• If we can’t, who can?
• How do Christians cooperate with God to live more God’s way?
• Which law is greater, Old Testament law or New Testament law? Defend your answer.
• Why do Christians have to live by God’s New Testament rules?