Widows in the Church

Series on I Timothy

V Wisdom

B Relief, Text: 5:3-16

Title: Widows in the Church

Introduction

In giving the practical instructions of ministry to Timothy in Chapter 5 Paul now turns from spiritual need and exhortation to physical need and relief. These are the two great ministry responsibilities of the Church, the ministry of word and deed. In this section he is dealing with the subject of Christian widows. This was obviously a matter of primary concern in the early church. Indeed in Acts 6, the deacons were first instituted to assist the Apostles in Jerusalem because there were problems with the ministry to widows, and the Jewish widows were being provided for while the Greek widows were being neglected. This is still a real need in the Church but I think we can say that many of the principles which Paul lays down here ought to be applied across the board for those who are needy and destitute. The Apostle actually deals with two subjects. In verses 3-8 he is talking about widows in want, and in verses 9-16 about widows at work. Let us see what he says to Timothy about each of these.

I Widows in Want

We shall look at three things here, the fact of widowhood, the family and the faith.

A The Fact

Paul gives us certain facts which define widowhood. They must have real need according to verses 3, 5 and 6 as should anyone the church helps, Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. In the Greek the word widows is used twice in these verses because the word for widow is the same root as the word for being deprived, destitute and in need. In other words widows who are worthy of the name. Worthy widows display other characteristics, such as Paul indicates. In other words they are Christians, sisters, members of the household of faith and their need is so real that they are crying out to God for help.

B The Family

According to verse 4 the family is where that need should first be met, But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. Paul has no compunction about using the word repay. I want you to note that. It may grow tiresome when parents are constantly reminding children of all they’ve suffered for them, but there is an obligation here. As Paul says elsewhere, this is the essence of true religion, and it must begin at home. The word translated repay is a legal term in Old and New testaments and it often means there is a debt and obligation legally . So Paul is not mincing words here. He says let them learn that this is what religion is all about.

C The Faith

Thus we see at the end that this is an article of faith. In verses 7 and 8 Timothy is to warn people so that they will not be blamed, that is held accountable by God for not doing this, Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. If they have failed they must repent before God. In verse 8 in the strongest possible terms Paul lays it out. If you don’t care for your immediate family you are worse than an unbeliever. I like the word in the King James Version, “infidel.” It’s more powerful. The conclusion of the matter is that the truly needy in the household of faith, especially widows and orphans are of special concern to God who is a father to the fatherless and a judge of the widows as we read in Psalm 68. He gives them his special care, he provided for them under the offerings of the Old Testament law, and He blesses those that help them and curses those who do not. Apart from the resurrection of Christ there are just seven persons raised from the dead in the Bible. Who can forget that one was the son of the widow of Zarephath in the time of Elijah and another was the son of the widow of Nain in the time of Jesus. These are emblems of how God cares for widows who are exemplary and of those who are defenseless and needy.

II Widows at Work

As previously stated the second group of verses beginning at verse 9 deals with widows at work. Here were faithful women who helped in the ministry in the early church. The section may be divided simply into those who qualify and those who do not.

A Those Who Qualify

Paul talks first about those who are enlisted, that is are officially recognized as workers in the Church. The qualifications are set forth in verses 9 and 10, No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. There is ample testimony after the time of the apostles that such an order existed. Tertullian shortly after 200 AD refers to these widows as women experienced in all the affections who were capable of assisting others with counsel and comfort. These widows were called various names in the earlier church including intercessors of the church, keepers of the door, and the altar of God. They counseled, prayed, fasted, visited the sick, prepared women for the sacraments, and gave direction to the widows and orphans being supported by the church.

B Those Who Do Not Qualify

But what if you were not old enough to participate in this ministry? Verse 14 says there was still something you could do, So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. You could remarry or you could assist the widows in ministry some of whom were themselves supported by the Church according to verse 16, If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. Now in the process of describing the widows that do not qualify for the guild or the order Paul uses some hard words in verses 11-13, and 15, As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. Let’s understand a couple of important things. Paul is not saying that this will happen in every case but obviously he had observed such a tendency. Even more importantly, Paul is talking about people who do not have Christ first in their lives. The language of our translation carries a strong idea of sexual wantonness, but that is not the intent of the original. The word translated sensual desires is used in Revelation 18 where Babylon and the kings of the earth pursue wealth and pleasure and should be understood in the broad sense of wanting or preferring the whole range of worldly gratifications rather than following Jesus. This is affirmed by the fact that Paul goes on to speak of such people becoming idle busybodies and gossips. Such people are involved only with the affairs of this world. Specifically however there are many young people and even those of middle age who cannot get their minds off of what they consider to be a regular life. Many times i have counseled people in these circumstances to put Jesus first and let him supply our needs, but they are determined to pursue a course of finding a spouse and normalizing their lives in a worldly sense. The danger in this is not the normalcy, but the fact that Jesus is given second place. Paul sees nothing wrong with remarriage and rearing a family in itself.

Conclusion

Following our Savior is something we must do with all our hearts. The love that lead Jesus to Calvary for our salvation cannot be reproduced in those who put themselves first. One way to put ourselves first is to ignore our family responsibilities, or mistreat our parents or grandparents. I have heard people talk this way. Another way to put ourselves first is to desire the things of this world more than Jesus. In either case there is great danger. We open ourselves to Satan’s temptations. Our Savior died to save us and teach us that to embrace the world, and to love it, was to lose him, but to love him is to deny the world. As Augustine said, “The friendship of the world is fornication against Christ.”