Church Relations
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Welcome
Glad to see everyone tonight
I hope everyone has a had a good week
We will be continuing our study through 1 Timothy tonight
If you have your Bibles you can turn to there to chapter 5
I have titled this series “An Overview of the Church”
And thats really what we are doing
We are going over Paul’s instructions to Timothy about how a church should function and operate
The subject tonight is “Church Relations”
Sunday we learned how to treat our neighbor
Tonight we are going to learn how to treat each other inside the church
It is important that we treat each other in a biblical manner
We are going to talk about the young and the old
The widows
The pastor
The leaders
And why all this matters
1 Timothy 5:1-2
The pastor must treat all people with respect
The pastor must treat all people with respect
This is Paul speaking to Timothy who is a pastor
And he is telling the pastor to treat the people respectfully
Now we could skip this part because it is instruction to me, but it is important that the church knows how a pastor should act!
Just because the pastor has the highest office in the church does not mean he can treat others poorly
“Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father”
A better translation is, “do not rebuke an older man harshly”
The word rebuke describes a severe verbal reprimand
He is not to treat older men with disrespect
Now it is part of his job to rebuke
preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
But even in rebuke, a pastor can still be respectful
He is to treat an older man with respect just as he would treat his own father
The pastor must respect the age of an older man
“younger men as brothers”
The pastor should not look down upon the younger men
He should treat them as his own brothers
They are to be an equal to him, not less than
“older women as mothers”
He should treat the older women in the church with the same love and kindness as he would show his own mother
He is to listen to them
Exercise a true love towards them
“younger women as sisters”
He is to be protective over the younger women
He should seek to keep them from harm and train them in godliness
Protect them in any way that he can
The church has a responsibility to honor true widows
The church has a responsibility to honor true widows
“Honor widows who are really widows”
What does the word mean to honor them?
In Acts 6 the church was feeding them
It means the church is to meet their needs
It is to take care of them when they need it
The church is to help them financially if they are in need
The church must show them honor
They become a responsibility of the church when they become widows
WHAT IS A TRUE WIDOW?
One who has no children or grandchildren
The church is not to take over the responsibilities of the family
If you have a mother or a father who is a widow they are your responsibility
A true widow is one who is left alone (v 5)
This is speaking about a widow who has no one around them
If a widow has children but they live in another state, or are unable to help them then this would not disqualify them
“let them first learn to show piety at home”
In other words give the children or grandchildren a chance to do what is right
The church shouldn’t step in unless there is no one else
A true widow must also trust in God (v 5)
“trusts in God”
Notice it doesn’t say “believe in God”
She must trust in God
There must be evidence that she is a believing woman
To claim the faith but not walk the walk would not fit the category of a true widow
Her trust must be evident in her life
She must be one who has a regular prayer life (v 5)
“trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day”
How do you know if you trust in God?
It will show in your life by a vibrant prayer life
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways Acknowledge HIM!
Trust manifests through prayer
When we truly pray it is an expression of trust in God
If we pray and wait for God’s answer it shows we are truly trusting in God!
For a widow to be a true widow she must be a woman of prayer!
She must not be self indulgent (v 6)
“But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives”
A true widow lives for something other than the pleasures of this world
It doesn’t mean a widow cannot get a new car or get her hair done
But if she is more interested in pleasure rather than the church she is not a true widow
(v 7) “And these things command, that they may be blameless”
The reason for these requirements?
So the widow will be above reproach
To keep the widows from falling into the lifestyle of verse 6
verses 9-19
Treatment of younger widows
Treatment of younger widows
The church is not to take care of a widow under 60
She must also be a woman of one wife
And she must have a good reputation in the faith
brought up her children well
shown kindness to strangers
humbled herself among other believers
she must have shown empathy to those in distress
The purpose of these commands is to protect the church
The purpose of these commands is to protect the church
(v 16) “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows”
Paul put these commands in place so the church would not become a well-fare center
Because even in his day, people were taking advantage of the church
Yes the church really does need to step in and help the true widows but only the true widows
If it helps all the widows then it becomes impossible to carry outs its mission
and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows
When it takes care of all the widows, then it no longer can take care of those who truly need the help
When the church bends on some of the smallest issues, compromise of larger things are sure to come
When the church turns into a help center rather than a worship center it becomes burdened
When the church is burdened it becomes ineffective in all that it does
God put these principles in place to protect the church
“Do good to others whom good is due”
A church was never meant to be a well-fare institution
We must never let it become something other than what Scripture teaches us
The church has a responsibility to take care of it’s pastor
The church has a responsibility to take care of it’s pastor
(v 17) “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine”
As uncomfortable as this is to talk about it is an important issue for the church to follow
That word honor here is used the same way it is for the widows
It speaks of finances
“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” and “the laborer is worthy of his wages”
When a pastor has to work to make a living and try to lead the church he becomes a muzzled ox
A bi-vocational pastor is a very difficult position
He does not have one responsibility but two
And anyone who serves two masters will love one and hate the other
For a church to have the money to pay a pastor properly and refuse to do so is really juts shooting themselves in the foot
They are muzzling their ox
I am grateful for the salary I receive at this church
I am blessed with the ability to go to school and the church to pay for that also
Please don’t take this as me complaining
It is just a matter of biblical teaching of the church
The church also has a responsibility of rebuking it’s leaders
The church also has a responsibility of rebuking it’s leaders
(v 19-20) “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear”
The word elder here is the same word for overseer or pastor
Paul is telling Timothy that one person complaining against a pastor is not enough
There must be at least two and possibly three
Any charge that does not come by at least two witnesses should not be recieved
A witness is not someone who heard something from another person
It is someone who experienced it for themselves
They heard it from the pastors mouth
They saw the pastor do it with their eyes
Notice when a leader is sinning he is to be rebuked in the presence of all (v 20)
Its a little different from the Matt 18
When a leader sins then he is to be rebuked in the presence of the entire church so all will fear
(v 21) all this is to be done without partiality
In other words, there is no grandfathering in
There is no good ol’ boy system
Timothy is not to show favor to one over the other
All members are to be treated the same
Sin is sin and we need to call it what it is
Never ordain hastily!
Never ordain hastily!
(v 22) “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure”
How important is it for the church to follow this truth!
Never ordain anyone that does not meet the qualifications of this letter!
Regardless of the situation!
Regardless of how nice they are!
Regardless of how gifted they seem
Never ordain a pastor that is not absolutely sure of his calling, meets the qualifications, and the entire church is absolutely sure of his conversion!
Never ordain a deacon that has not been chosen by the church and tested by the church, and meets the deacon qualifications
I am telling you Satan can highjack a church when he gets his man in leadership
Church you better know who you are following
You better know your man
One of the tools of Satan is to get you to make quick decisions!
Do it now!
Get it done!
Ordination should never be rushed!
All sin and good deeds come before the Lord
All sin and good deeds come before the Lord
(v 24) “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden
The sins of some people are clearly evident
These who clearly sin may be in need of a rebuke
There is no mistaking the sins of some
There are some, who’s sins are not so evident. They are hidden
Just as some people’s obvious sins receive judgement, so do the hidden sins of others
Whether sins are visible or invisible, God sees them all
There may be someone in the church who is sinning out right and everyone can see it…judgement awaits them
And there may be others who’s sins are hidden and secret, but God sees them
Sin receives judgment whether its open or hidden
This is a comforting word to Timothy, the young pastor that it is God who will take care of them in the end
Whether the sins are evident or hidden it is God who will bring judgement to them all
Also “Good deeds are evident” (v 25)
Just as there will be sin in the church, there will also be good deeds done
It’s a reminder to not get discouraged
It’s a reminder to always point out the good things that are happening and not only look a the bad
God has His people in the church and they are evident by their deeds
But it’s also a reminder that not all good deeds are evident
Some people truly do their good deeds in secret as Matt 6:4 tells us to
“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Do right and do not tell others about it
Do your good deeds only for the Father to see
AND HE WILL REWARD YOU!
~PRAYER~