If you're not aware of what that is, 506 years ago is when Luther, Martin Luther, who was a monk of the Augustinian order, was reading scripture and just felt this heavy, heavy, heavy weight. on the doctrine of justification, or what we in Latin terms would say, sola fide, where he recognized that salvation comes by faith alone, not of works. Essentially, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast. And during this time, he nailed his 95 theses on the church in Wittenberg, which was a protest against the Catholic order. And some of his students had seen this 95 theses that was written in Latin, translated into German, turned it into pamphlets and distributed them accordingly. Well, later on, he was called down to the Diet of Worms. It's spelt Worms, but in German, it's pronounced Worms. And he thought he was going to have a theological debate with the church. Unbeknownst to him, it was a coup d'etat of sorts, if you will, against him, where he had to defend his position on the doctrine of justification by faith alone to the Pope and Emperor Constance V. And in that is his famous quote that we all say when they said, recant, recant, recant. And like a solid strong man should respond in these times of adversity in the spiritual realm. He says, unless I am convinced by sacred scripture, I will not recant, for it is not good to violate my conscience. So here I stand, I can do no other. And he went into exile and hiding and a whole bunch of other things. And because of what he did in breaking away, reforming the church back to what it was always supposed to have been, we now stand in that lineage of being Protestants. And the whole term Protestant means we are protesting against that. And the whole thing, the crux of the church and the crux that the church will rise and fall is the doctrine of justification by faith. And that is this Sunday, Reformation Sunday. And so I wanted to bring up a hammer and some nails, but I didn't wanna ruin this nice pulpit that Chad made and hammer some things to show an illustration, but I thought that was too corny. We're not that kind of a church. But welcome to Five Bridges Church. We are an expository teaching church. What does that mean? It means we go verse by verse, section by section, and explaining and teaching what is it that God's word says. Just like Luther then, he wanted to know what God's word says. And the great thing about expository teaching and preaching is that I'm not given the ability to just skip over difficult passages of scripture. I'm not afforded the luxury of just picking my own hobby horse and preaching on items that are concerning to me, which may not be concerning to you. What Paul says in 1 Corinthians is that, I did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God to you, for I'm determined to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified. That's what he says in Acts 20 in 1 Corinthians 2. And so today, as we continue our expository sermon series through the book of 1 Timothy, we're gonna be picking up in chapter five. So if you have your Bibles, please open them up to 1 Timothy 5. Last week, we looked at the household of God in confronting sin and understanding that we as a church are a household, we are a family. And in this section in chapter five, verses three till verse 16, Paul takes additional effort and time in explaining a unique category that happens within the confines of the church. And so this morning, we're gonna be looking at the household of God caring for widows. Now, what Paul has been doing systematically through the book of 1 Timothy is giving church the operating instructions or the blueprint manual for how the church is supposed to conduct itself, how the church is supposed to find men qualified to become elders and deacons, the proper behavior for women within the church, the proper context for disciplining individuals within the church, for confronting sin within the church. And then he gets to this point, That is, depending on how your Bible is laid out, where it might say, honor widows. And so what we have to understand is that everything that is being written from Paul to Timothy, I wanna be very clear with this, and you'll understand why here in a second. Everything being written in 1 Timothy is within the confines in the context of the local church. This isn't for all people to follow. This is the household of God, the family rules, how the church is supposed to take care of its own. And I say this because this section here is not applicable to any widow that lives in the area, nor is this for a widow who is not a member of the church. Now to understand this section, a couple questions came up in my mind that I think might be coming up in your minds as well is, well, who is a widow? What qualifies someone as a widow who needs financial support from the church? How does God view widows? And what is in fact the church's responsibility in caring for widows? Now let's go back in time in the first century to where this is being written, which was in the city of Ephesus, and in the first century, roughly around 50 to 56 AD. We have to understand what was happening contextually, socially, politically within the confines of the city of Ephesus. Why is Paul feeling it's so necessary to address widows for such a large amount of length here? Wouldn't it be of just simplicity for Paul to just say, oh, and take care of widows? Well, one, we have to understand the biblical understanding and theology of widows. The first mention of the term widow is found in Exodus chapter 22, verse 22, where it says, you shall not afflict any widow or orphan. That word afflict means allow a widow or orphan to be living in a poverty stricken state. The Lord gives us this command to take care of widows and orphans within the context of the church. Why? Because God has compassion on widows and orphans. Psalm 68, five says, a father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows is God in his holy habitation. And in Psalm 146, nine, it says, Yahweh keeps the sojourners. He helps up the orphan and the widow, but he bends the way of the wicked. Proverbs 15 25 says Yahweh will tear down the house of the proud but he will cause the boundary of the widow to stand meaning the widow what is owed to the widow and what belongs to the widow will remain and should remain and shall remain and anyone who goes against that will be destroyed. Isaiah 117 shows us that God has compassion on widows. And so then too, we as the church, we as Christians should also have compassions on widows. Isaiah 117 says, learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, execute justice for the orphan, plead with the widow. And then finally, James 127 says, pure and undefiled religion before our God and father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Now we must understand all of those prescriptions is done within the context of the local body, is done within the context of the local church. And I say this because a lot of churches through their mercy ministries have an exuberant amount of their budget dedicated to those not inside of the church. And what we see as prescriptive as well, and also descriptive in the book of Acts, is when the famine happened, and we see that Agabus had prophetically described that this is what was going to happen. The church sent down food to the church in Jerusalem. The church needs to take care of its own. The church needs to protect its people, both physically, financially, and economically, and resourcing them with whatever they need to have. But sometimes men and women within the confines of the church, I think, and I truly believe with genuine good natured desire, desire to set up ministries that is taking care of almost every person in that community if the church is able to do so. But what happens when that usually goes on is that those within the local body, those faithful women that are widows within the local body are neglected because we've got to seek and save the lost. The Great Commission absolutely is imperative and crucial and necessary for us to go and share the gospel with those who need it. I don't care if this church was to build 1,500 homes for widows and orphans and provide them with an economic status to not be in a poverty stricken state. If they do not hear the life transferring and transformation of the gospel, that does absolutely nothing for the eternal soul. The business of the church that happens outside of the confines of the church is evangelism. And then what should happen within the confines of the church is discipleship, spiritual growth, and monetary provisions for those who are in need, but there are qualifications for this. Now, when we understand the term widow, I also wanna understand what does the Old Testament say about widows? Because God is not silent on these issues. There is special care. For those two groups, as we've already seen, for the orphans and the widows, this morning we're gonna focus mainly on the widows. But what does the Bible say should happen if a woman loses her husband? The tribe of Israel was given commands and instructions on how to protect the women within their tribe should a woman's husband die. Men, we are the protectors, we're the advocates, we're the leaders of the home. And without a husband, a woman is left in an extremely vulnerable state, both physically, spiritually, and economically. So in order to prevent the women in the Old Testament from remaining in this poverty, or what we would see as the afflicted state, God instituted a way in the Old Testament in caring for widows. This is found in Deuteronomy chapter 25, verse five through six, as it says, if brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, then the wife of the one who died shall not be married outside of the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall go into her and take her to himself as a wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it will be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. As I was reading this, I don't know who here has brothers. I am blessed that I do not have a brother. I was thinking, you know, they probably had a lot of say in who the brother married. That if the brother was marrying a knucklehead of a woman and the brother who may be 10 years younger might be thinking, if you die, I do not wanna have to take on the responsibility of marrying this woman. And so there was a seriousness with this. That was the responsibility. So the two item or the three items in Deuteronomy is that if a widow dies, she shall marry the brother if he has one. The brother will now take on the role of protecting her, being her head and taking her children in as his own children, which then immediately addresses the issues of widows and orphans and taking care and providing for them. And then thirdly, if she has a child with a brother, the firstborn shall be named after the deceased in order that the family name can continue. Sadly in our society today, the family's name and legacy doesn't have as much weight as it once did. That there is not just much of a thing where we care so much about our family's name, not in the reputation of like, oh yes, well, the Jago family is a very notable family. No one's even heard of the Jago family before. But what should be thinking about is the reputation and the good standing in Christ of that family, and specifically within the Old Testament context here, that that family takes care of their own. That's really what we need to understand, principally speaking. I'm not saying that Deuteronomy 25 is prescriptive for us today. So if you've got an older brother and you're single and he passes away, that you're now, I guess I gotta marry her. That's not what this is saying here. But what it is saying, as we're gonna look here in 1 Timothy, is that the family, physical family, must first have the ability to take care. And then secondly, if there is no family to take care, then the church must be that family that takes care. I think a beautiful example of this is found in the book of Ruth, which we may or may not be going through for our Christmas series this year. In Ruth chapter four, verse nine through 10, it says, then Boaz, the son of the elders, to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses today that I have acquired all that belong to Limelech and all that belong to Shilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi. And also I have acquired Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the one who had died on behalf of his inheritance, so that the name of the one who had died will not be cut off from his brothers or from the gate of his birthplace. You are witnesses today. The whole point in the book of Ruth is a type of understanding that Boaz is the Redeemer kinsman, following in suit with what Deuteronomy prescribes of what should happen. And throughout the book of Ruth, you will see that Ruth refers to Boaz as, you are my Redeemer kinsman. You see Naomi saying, you are the Redeemer kinsman. And the greatest Redeemer kinsman that we see shooting forward a bit is that Christ was our Redeemer kinsman. Christ took us in and made us a part of his family, as Boaz did with Ruth here, and he followed this to the letter and to the T. Boaz took on what he did not need to take on physically, but spiritually and committedly, he did. Boaz took Ruth to be his wife and would raise the son to continue in the name of Elimelech and his son Mahalon. To me, what humility does that show? A lot of families, when they become blended, and the wife has children, and the husband has children, and they come together, and then the husband brings those boys and girls into his family and treats them as his own, gives them the same prestige and prominence and blessings and guidance as he would his own physical blood. My goodness, that is a beautiful picture of what we as the church should be doing here. So we see the importance of taking care of widows. And in so doing, when we do take care of widows, both within the familial context of our bodies and then with the familial context of the church, we honor the Lord and we will receive a blessing in doing so. Deuteronomy 14, 29 says, and the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you in the sojourner, the orphan and the widow who are within your gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied in order that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. So now as we move into the New Testament, what does that look like in the New Testament concerning widows? Well, the first time we see this being addressed is in Acts chapter six, verse one. Where it says, now in those days, while the disciples were multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. Right there in Acts chapter six, verse one, demonstrates that the church is providing for their own and giving them the necessary provisions for sustenance. Again, I wish to reiterate, within the own body of the church. It is their own church widows that they're helping. Now, we have to understand that because when we move into chapter 5 of 1st Timothy, and everything that Timothy is being told and instructed to by Paul, we cannot be looking at the term widow with our 21st century eyes, for we would be doing a disjustice to this text. Now, getting into the context of 1 Timothy chapter five, we're gonna be starting in verse three, and we're gonna make our way down to verse seven. I wanna give you some background cultural context within the city of Ephesus to really paint a beautiful picture of the issue of widows. And there was a prevailing problem with widows in this era, in this city. Now, most, if you will, women at this time were married in their late, excuse me, their early teens. Individuals on a less higher society, outside of the senatorial, if you will, family context, were married in their late teens. So think about that. Without getting into too many details, when a woman becomes of age, and you know what I'm speaking of, she is eligible to be married off. My daughter will never marry a man. She's 12, and heaven forbid, it will be a dark day when this man comes into my home. He's got to meet some high criteria. But they would be married off in their early teens. And how old were the men who were getting married at this time? They were in their late 20s to early 30s. So we see at a minimum, a 10 to 15 year age gap. And what would happen as time would happen with these men and women, the men would die and there was a surplus of widows in the city of Ephesus. It's estimated that 40% of the women between the ages of 40 and 50 were widows in antiquity. And as a group, listen to this statistic, as a group, they comprise some 30% of all women in the ancient world. So men had ample pickings is what that tells me back in this day. But what it also tells me is that there was a lot of widows, a lot of need, that Timothy needs instruction on who, what kind of a widow am I supposed to help? What type of a widow is the church supposed to support? Because if you have this gigantic amount of widows, in your area, the church will never be able to provide for the widows who need the provision. And that's what the context is that I wish to shape in your mind, is that widows wasn't in the onesies, twosies, threesies, foursies in the elderly age. These were women essentially in the prime of their life that were widows. And that's why Paul goes to an extensive description here on what kind of a widow, what qualifies a woman as a widow, what are the characteristics and qualifications for her to meet the criteria that the church should be providing for her economically. So if you have your Bibles, let's start in 1 Timothy 5, verse 3. I hope that background historical theology understanding really sets us up to understand what's going on here. Because otherwise, if we just read this, we're like, all right, yeah, honor widows. Got it, Paul. Ethan, we get it. We're supposed to honor the widows. Okay, if I see a widow, I'm gonna bow to her and say, thank you for being a widow. That is not at all what is being said here. Look at verse three. Paul starts with, honor widows who are widows indeed. "'But if any widow has children or grandchildren, "'they must first learn to practice piety "'in regard to their own family, "'and to make some return to their parents, "'for this is acceptable in the sight of God. "'Now she who is a widow indeed, "'and who has been left alone, "'has fixed her hope on God, "'and continues in petitions and prayers night and day. But she who lives in self-indulgence is dead even while she lives. And command these things as well so that they may be above reproach. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this morning. We thank you for this text. We thank you for your word. Your word is truth. Be with us this morning. Bring clarity to our minds and understanding to our hearts that we may apply this into our own lives. Remove any distractions that we may have, Father, and may we leave here understanding what this means and what we are to do about it. We love you, Father, in your name, amen. So the first item we're gonna look at, number one, is caring for widows. Start in verse three here. Paul jumps into the text. He says, honor widows who are widows indeed. The first item we see is that widows, number one, without qualification, are to be honored. And what does that mean? They are to be showed high regard, not merely because they are widows, but because of the quality and character of the type of widow that Paul has in view here. Paul provides the requirements and stipulations on who and what a true widow is. Paul's instruction here is not merely just the care of all widows, but rather to provide guidance on how to do so with what specific types of widows. And depending on these items, the church needs to determine if it is obligated to monetarily provide for that widow, And it's specifically for those widows who are in need. In chapter five, verse four, we see this checklist. So verse three tells us honor widows who are widows indeed. And then look at verse four as more of a checklist item. If a woman, if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family. So hit pause right here. So what Paul's immediately saying, if a husband dies and it leaves a woman of any age, The children and or grandchildren must and are obligated to take care of the widow. See, in Roman society, outside of the church, it actually was a law that the family needed to be the responsible one, specifically the son, and he would be called the lord of the dowry. And he was supposed to take his mom in and take care and provide for her, physically with the home, economically with some form of income to be able to purchase necessary items, and then also obviously for sustenance. So if a widow has children or grandchildren, the children and grandchildren are responsible to help. And I know many individuals in this church have actually lived this out. And the one couple in particular, I don't wish to embarrass them, I'm not going to say their names. Every time that I hear, as the mom was failing and she had severe medical issues, their life was literally almost put on hold as they were caring for the mom. And they were honoring their mother. And when they honor their mother and how they're taking care of her, who also are they honoring? God. My goodness, there's nothing more difficult than taking care of an aging and failing mother or father. But notice the prescription here is for women, from widows. I'm not saying you can't take care of your fathers. I definitely want my kids to take care of me because I'm gonna be a train wreck when I get to that age. But what it's saying here is that if they have children or grandchildren, it is their duty to take care of their parents. Why? He gives us the reason. They must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents. What he is saying here, that phrase, they must first learn to practice piety. This is assuming that the children and grandchildren are believers. The culture is being reprimanded and there was fines if the parents were not being taken care of by the children. So they had a legal obligation to take care of their parents. So the church though, the men and women of the church, if you're a child of a father and a mother who is alive or a widow who is widowed, you must take care of them and we must look completely different than that of the culture. What Paul's saying here is put your religion into practice. It's one thing to have the information in your head, it's another thing to actually walk it out. It's another thing to actually take care of them and not just put them in a home and hope they don't ever reach out to you again. You may think, well, that's me taking care of them. Maybe, maybe not. Learn to practice piety in regard to their own family. This is talking not in the church family, this is talking within your biological family. Whether your mom or dad deserve for you to take care of them, if you're a Christian, more even importantly, if your mom and dad are not a Christian and you are, what do you think the testimony is of you taking care of your parents if they are not? If they treated you like a dirt bag, if they beat you when you were growing up and you're thinking, I owe them nothing, not one thing. They are a reprobate, they're an atheist, they hate God, they hate me. That does not free you of your obligation to take care of your family. That does not free you of the obligation to take care of the widow, because in you so doing, you do not know how much your actions and testimony and your faithfulness, even though they may not even admit it, but they know they probably do not deserve it, but you humbling yourself and taking care of your mom or your widow or whoever that is, that is outstanding and it honors the Lord. And if we are looking to practice godliness, if we are looking to live a life centered on godliness, that exudes godliness, that is pursuing after holiness, we obey the precepts of Scripture. And this is a precept of Scripture that we need to obey, that most oftenly gets glazed over. We must put into practice what we believe. Now, what else are they to do? I like what it says here, and to make some return to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. I like what Paul says here, to make some return to their parents. You can never pay back your mom and dad exactly what they need to be paid back with. Our student pastor just had the most beautiful little girl that I have self-designated myself as her guardian protector. When you have babies, It's everything in your power to try and keep them alive, is it not? Especially when they start to get wheels, and they're starting to walk. The kid, I don't know what it is, they're attracted to water. They're attracted to traffic. They're attracted to danger. And as a parent, you're sitting there following them around. Now, I never leashed my children. If you do, I'm not judging you. I would actively restrain them by holding them because the kids are trying to consistently kill themselves by exploration. And that's good for the kid to have unsupervised time at a certain age, but not at the age of six to 12 months. So your kids can never return back to you the self-protection. You essentially owe them your life. And so Paul says to make some return, By you doing this, you're paying back to your parents a small measure of what they have given you. You may think, well, I didn't grow up very well. And are you alive? Well, yeah. Who brought you into this world? They did. You owe them something. You owe them something. Making some return. And the reason why we do this is found at the end of this verse. For this is acceptable in the sight of God. Now, what I like to see here in verse four is that this gives us the prescription that the children are not to outsource the care of a widow to the church. The family, if the widow has family, has a duty and an obligation to take care of that widow. And I say this because I have heard some individuals, some pastors tell me that they have had dilemmas within this specific context where they have called the son or the daughter of the surviving widow and say, hey, your dad passed, your mom needs some help. Isn't that what the church is for? And trying to convince that young man or that young woman, or may not actually be that young or old, it might be an older individual. No, you owe it to your mom to take care of her. It's your responsibility. No, no, no, that's what the church is for. Now granted, if that happens and the family has completely written them off, that's a different story entirely. But if the individual has a family member, Paul is saying, they have the first duty and obligation to take care of a widow. So immediately we see a qualification. of who is it that the church should be providing financial and physical assistance to. Now, I'm also not saying either that if a widow has a family here, the church is like, if the widow's like, hey, this happened in my home, good luck, that's on your son. That's not what this is saying either. What this means is like a true provision where they're taking care of the rent, they're taking care of the maintenance, they're taking care of the doctor's appointments and everything else in between. That's what Paul has in view here. Not the everyday maintenance. That's what we as a church do through our deacons. Our deacons are the servants of the elders who go and help, and the elders help as well. We have to understand this. Now let's look at point number two, the qualifications for providing widows. We already are being seen here, we're vectoring in the window here to come up with these answers or what is a widow, what's the type of widow, what's the character qualities of a widow. Now look at verse five here on the qualifications for providing for widows. Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, meaning this woman has nothing, she has no one. Maybe her kids have completely written her off. She may have children, but they wouldn't douse her in water if she was on fire. This is a woman who is alone. So if you're a widow and you're thinking, well, I have kids, but they hate my guts, so I guess the church isn't gonna help me. Incorrect, that is the exact opposite of what I am saying. What I'm saying is the family's first duty and obligation, but if she is left alone and there's no one there to help, no one there who desires to help, that is who Paul has in mind here. She is a widow indeed who has been left alone. And there's two types of widows that Paul is about to address in this section that I want us to understand because he kind of plays between the two. The first type of widow is one who has access to resources and family members. The second type of widow is a widow who has no access to resources or relatives. The second type of widow is the one that Paul has in view here in verse five. The first type of widow is the one that he has view in verse four. If the church is obligated to take care of any widow who comes in the doors that has no connection of the church, has never been an active member of the church, then the church would cease to be able to function as all the resources would be tied up in this venture. That's why Paul has the second view in mind, which we're gonna look at the qualifications. Paul uses similar logic later on in this chapter, specifically in chapter 17, in providing financials for the pastors of the church. It's not just open for anyone. There's specific criteria that one needs to meet in order to receive assistance from the church in what it is that they are to be doing. Continue on looking at verse 5. Now, she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone. I like this right here. This immediately eliminates a ton. Has fixed her hope on God. So this is immediately talking about a believer. And continues in petitions and prayers night and day. This is a woman who is dedicated to Christ. This is a woman whose life is immersed in Christ. Petitions and prayers. Petitions and prayers, or some translations will say in supplications and prayers. Prayers is just praying and thanksgiving. Supplication is a request. So this is a widow who has fixed her hope. Her focus is on God. And she does this by living a God-centered, God-fearing life in her prayer life. Now, if you skip down to verse nine real quick, I wanna look at this real fast. Because it says here, this is the first set of qualifications for this type of widow to receive. Financial assistance. Look at verse nine. He gives us more of a qualification list. And what's interesting here too is this qualification list almost reads very similarly to what Paul was saying in 1 Timothy chapter three on the qualifications for elders. Look at verse nine. A widow is to be put on the list if she is not less than 60 years old, having been the wife of one man. Now, look at this. Now, I wanna stay at pause here right now, because if you are married, and let's just say you're a young married, you've only been married a year or two, or let's just say you've been married for 15 to 40 years, or you've been married for 50 years, and your husband's still alive, and you're thinking, well, this doesn't apply to me. I wish you to look at this and understand this. Having been the wife of one man, meaning she is loyal to that one husband only, she doesn't have wandering eyes, she is loyal to that one husband, Verse 10, having a reputation for good works, does it not take a while for someone to earn a good reputation? She has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints feet, if she has assisted those in affliction, if she has devoted herself to every good work. That right there is seven qualifications that women, that starts now. That starts now. So as you are in this church, within this household of God, these should be qualifications you should be striving for. Often we jump to Titus 2 and like that's it in Proverbs 31. I suggest that 1 Timothy 5.10 is a very beautiful picture and verse five on what it is that a widow and a woman for that matter needs to be conducting her life. She is loyal to her husband. She's got a reputation for good works. She's actually brought up children. Now let me hit pause here. This is not saying if you do not have the physical ability to have kids, you're disqualified. That's not what this is saying. This is saying that they had children and they did not neglect the raising of those children and outsourcing of those children to somebody else. This is a woman who is active in her children's life. This is a woman who knows her children, guides her children, leads her children, directs her children, teaches her children, and brings them up in the way of the Lord. That's what is in view here. Then it says, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, This is specifically within the context, when you read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, what is in view here is this isn't, let me be very clear here. This is not saying that as someone posts an ad on Facebook Marketplace looking for a place to stay for the weekend in Panama City Beach, the wife's like, you can stay with us, I wanna show hospitality to strangers. That is not what this is saying. If I came home and I saw some strange family in my home that is not from this church, my wife's like, we're showing hospitality to strangers. I would say, get out of my house, please. I do not know who you are, nor do I trust you, nor do you want to be around me. What this has in view here, within the context of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, there were a lot of traveling pastors and ministers at this time in the first century. And so what Paul has in view here is that the family opens their house up to a pastor or a traveling missionary or someone who needs a place to stay. If Christians are traveling to come speak at this church, or if we find out that a missionary is coming, the last place a missionary or a pastor should have to do, especially if they're coming and ministering here in this region or anything else, is to have to go to a hotel. Now granted, the pastor needs to be a biblical pastor, the pastor needs to meet the qualifications, but what is in view here is that this is a woman who shows hospitality to the traveling pastors and ministers of the word of God. And what that looks like may vary from just making food for them, maybe mending their clothes. Who knows what that might be like? Maybe helping take care of their kids for a time being. That's what hospitality to strangers is. It's not strangers in the generic sense, it's strangers in the specific sense as it relates to the household of God. Because as we all know, we are a local church here, but there is still the universal church where we have brothers and sisters in all four regions of the U.S. and the world. They are our brothers and sisters. They may look different than us. They may speak differently than us, but we have been united in the same spirit, through the same gospel, with the same Christ. Therefore, we should show hospitality to them. And then it says, if she has washed the saints feet. Now ladies, let me be very careful here. This is not saying anytime someone comes in your house, you gotta wash their feet. That'd be weird. What this is talking about is this is a woman who has a servant's attitude. This is a woman who wants to be of service. No matter what large scale that looks like or how small this look like, this is a woman who serves within the church. serves within the church. She's assisted those in affliction, served those in affliction, meaning that they are helping other believers when they go through difficult times. This is a woman when she finds that there's another family going through need, that there's another mother or family that is in desperate times, Whatever that may look like, maybe she cooks up a meal and she just brings it over them without even asking, unless there's health, allergic allergy stuff, this is a weird culture we live in these days, and drops off a gluten-free item at that family to take care of that family, those who are in affliction. And then finally, it says, in generic sense, if you will, if she has devoted herself to every good work. Now, women, I wanna put you in the hot seat real quick. Go through that list. Is that you? Take widow context out of this and just ask yourself, is that me? Am I loyal to my husband? Do I have a good reputation? Am I known for my character? Do I have a type of humble service? Do I help other believers who go through difficult times? Am I devoted to good works? Because sadly, the war on women is ridiculous right now. where it drives women deeper and deeper and deeper into themselves, where it's all about taking care of my physical appearance, taking care that I have the most beautiful, ornate, structured furniture everywhere, taking care that my feed is the most aesthetically pleasing feed known to man, taking care of all this other stuff, which is a very selfish, inward-reflecting-looking thing, and they have not done a thing to contribute to the church, and then when stuff happens, they're saying, hey, aren't you guys gonna help me yet? Where have you been? That's the problem we see. That's why when we have our membership class, we wanna make sure very clearly that people understand when you become a member of this church, you don't just get your name signed up on a list and then you sit and you consume for the rest of your time here. If you're a member of this church or if you're visiting from another church and you're a member there, you must, you need to be involved in serving and praying and working in that church. Instead of deferring it and say, well, that's why we have staff. That's why we have that. I don't need to do anything. I give my offerings. Well done, you're doing what you should. Well, I pray. Well done, you're doing what you should. but don't you dare ask me to serve, why? I don't have time. A lot of family come in to visit, I have to take care of my family first. Fair enough, but when they're not here, are you here serving? Or is church more convenient and it's a convenience for you? Because I cannot stand how much people take advantage of the church. At my last church, it was in a very homeless, dense, populated area, and my office was right at the entrance. And it was almost every week, three, four times a week, individuals would come into the church, not just homeless, just any other people, and they would come in and be like, hey, I need money for rent. Oh, are you a member here? No, I just drove by, I saw your church, I got paid my rent. Okay, and I want a million dollars in a cyber truck, but that's not in the cards, baby. Now, some of you may think, well, that's not very loving. Aren't we to be the hands and feet of Jesus? I must be the hands and feet of Jesus in sharing the gospel. If they're a believer and they're a member of the church, 100% there needs to be help. But if just any old Joe off the street comes up and looking for a handout, and I see this happening, where people will church hop to church hop to church hop to church hop, and immediately upon hearing individuals start to tell me their story, I can probably finish the story, because I've heard it about 30,000 times. And I always like to ask them, I said, do you believe in Christ? No, no, no, but you guys do, and you guys are supposed to help me out, so don't you give me money? Isn't that what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus? No. That is not what that means. What it means is let's share the gospel. Let me talk to you about salvation. I don't want any of that. Well, that's the only thing that's really gonna help you out right now. You may think that your need is rent, but really more deeper than that, your need is Christ. That should be the focus. If this church somehow managed to pay off the debt of this church, and then we created a $200,000 fund to just fund anybody who comes into the church, that is not good stewardship of your offerings. That is horrific stewardship. But don't we feel good about ourselves? We served 500 meals to the needy in Bay County, and glory to God, but we packed it out. We packed it out. They have 500 meals. Did you share the gospel with them? No, but we're breaking down the barriers. No, what you just did is they're gonna go to the next church that's doing the free handout, then the next church that's doing the free handout. Some point in time, the buck's gotta stop, and they need to hear the gospel. That's why I love how we operate our food pantry here. Our food pantry is first and foremost for our members. And when we live in this time of insane inflation, and we have an incredible food pantry team that dedicates, I don't know how many hours, honestly, I don't wanna know how many hours, because I'll probably get sick thinking about all the work, but I know there's a ton of work. And every Wednesday night, we have available meals and food for the people in this church that need it. But yes, we do also open it up for other individuals within the community, but we know what's happening when they're coming in. It's not just them coming in and coming out. I know that they're being presented with the gospel. I know that they're getting confronted and invited into church. And we know that they're not just coming in, grocery shopping our food pantry, and then leaving with nothing. They might come in and leave physically filled but completely spiritually empty. And so I say this because if there is people in this church who need groceries, who need food, who need meat, who need clothing, do not be embarrassed, ask us. We have a form if it's not live on our website, it shortly will be where you can fill that out. and we will help you with your food. In addition to that too, how we like to operate our food pantry, is that if you know that there's a neighbor in need, and you've been looking for this opportunity to serve that neighbor, you can fill that out on behalf of your neighbor, come and pick up what you think that they need, and then you bring it to them, and you build the relationship with them, and then you share the gospel with them. That's an entirely different approach than what most food, and I'm not condemning other churches' food pantries. I'm just saying how we as the elders here at Five Bridges feel, we feel very strongly that everything that the church has is for its people, monetarily wise, but everything that we have spiritually is for everybody of all nations regardless. That is the true item that we need to continue and fully distribute out as much as we can, specifically in Bay County, in Walton County, in the surrounding areas. I don't care if we feed people to their fat and dumb. If they don't have Christ, that does nothing for them. That will never sustain them. That is not preparing them for an eternity with Christ, because they will stand condemned before Christ. And guess what? We will have to give an account for us not doing what the church is supposed to be doing. and reaching and saving the lost, Acts 1.8, to go into all the regions and to share the gospel. So now let's get back to the text here. I want us to understand that, and ladies, I want you to work this through as a checklist for yourself, because when Paul is saying this in verse five, in verse 10, it gives us those qualifications, and that takes time to earn that type of a reputation, where when a woman is becoming a widow and they have no one, and the elders discuss the widow's name, it's like, that's our qualifications. Hey, there's a widow who needs assistance, cool. Let's go through this checklist. Okay. Does she fix her hope on God? Check. Does she pray and petition? Yes. Does she have a good reputation? Was she loyal to her husband? Did she bring up children? Did she show hospitality to strangers? Did she serve in the church? Did she assist those in affliction? Did she devoted every good work? Yes. She meets the qualifications. It's no different than in 1 Timothy 3. So if you get upset with me over this, then you need to also get upset with me over the qualifications for elder 1 Timothy 3. Because I can't have one item in view of 1 Timothy 3 of like, that's the type of pastor that I want. And then I can't come over here and be like, no, that's not what a widow needs to be. It's more just if she meets the qualification of just being a carte blanche widow, she's good. No, it takes time for that character to develop. It takes time for the church to see that this woman is deserving should her husband pass. I hope that makes sense. Now, these requirements, as I said, is very similar to the ones in 1 Timothy 3. And what I love about this section here in verse five and verse 10, and what's being described here is that the people of the church should be completely different than that of the surrounding culture. The type of woman being described here in verse 10 and in verse five is a woman who has a history of faithful and godly living and how she honored her husband while he was alive, and how she is also actively using her gifts within the church. Because what was happening within the context in the city of Ephesus is that a lot of the young widows, which we're gonna get to next week, were running sexually rampant. Left unchecked, not devoted, and Paul says have nothing to do with them. One of the early church fathers says this about church, about how the God-fearing woman who becomes a widow, how she is revered within this culture. John Chrysostom, who's an early church father in the fourth century, in a letter to a young widow describes how people observed the church and how the church treated the widows, but then also the character of a widow as well, which stands in complete opposition than that of the cultural widow. He says this, quote, heavens, what women there are among the Christians, end quote. That's what the culture was saying about the women of the church. Heavens, what women there are among the Christians. That is a worthy, pure, God-fearing woman. And Paul gives these qualifications for all women to strive for. Now let's look at an ungodly widow, verse six. But she who lives in self-indulgence is dead even while she lives. Hoo-wee! Can you imagine Paul reading that out? He probably had one or two widows in mind as he's looking dead in their eyes. I'm leaving the church. Good, you weren't gonna get support anyway. I had to bring some humor here, guys, come on. So Paul gives this comparison because most likely Timothy is dealing or has dealt with or will deal with this exact issue. The verse six here is describing a woman who has completely disqualified herself from receiving the full resources the church has to offer. This might be a type of woman who has been involved in the church while her husband was still alive, but after his passing and leadership, she resorts back to her sinful desires. She's like, I'm free of that, now I can go live how I want to. Timothy is not to use kingdom resources for a woman who is living in a sinful manner and with a sinful lifestyle. Because if the church was supporting a woman like that, the church is an enabler. The church is giving her fuel for her fire and ammunition to continue living in such a manner. That type of a woman is a leech on the church. She is not to be helped or assisted in any way through the resources of the church. And that's an item that is most often neglected today. Because most likely churches do not have qualifications for who receives what, when, how, and why. Paul ends this section with an ungodly widow. And then look what he says in verse seven. and command these things as well, so that they may be above," what does that word say? Reproach. These items are given so that women will live their life in an item, in an arena, in a way that is above reproach. Meaning nothing will stick. Meaning that the church of God will not be reproached. That there is no mud that they can sling at a woman who is living for Christ, where those accusations will stick. These items are not only to be followed, but Timothy is to command these. And if there is a command, that means there needs to be a followed obedience. And it's not just the widows here. The widows must obey these, the families must obey these, and the church must obey these to not cause any stain or dirt to come upon the church. Oh, that widow's a part of Five Bridges, but she's living in a teepee hut under a tarp off 98. I guess that five bridges sure is taken well of her, far be it that that should ever be the case. If the church lives and conducts herself in this manner, man, it will be an incredible testimony to those who watch us, who know we are Christians to see if we are actually different than that of the culture. We may talk a big game, but do we live it? Do we play it out? There must be a stark contrast between the church and the culture. Sadly, though, it seems today as though the church has become one with the culture under the premise that we're trying to reach the culture. The church never has nor never will reach the culture through the cultural means. The church reaches the culture through godly means. That is how we reform this area. That is how we begin to show the love of Christ and push the barriers in the borders of the church into the county, into the state, is by living, breathing, and acting differently than the church, than the culture, excuse me. But if the church, you can't tell if it's a church or a pop show contest, if the church is trying to reach the culture by doing cultural things to draw people in, that is not a true church. That's just a lazy excuse for people who are unwilling to pursue after godliness. So what Paul is telling us here is that, are we to honor widows? Yes. But we are to honor widows and take care of widows who meet the qualifications for widows. And women, I pray that no one will become a widow, but we never know when God will call any of us home. I joke with my wife all the time, you have to die first. I don't wanna live if you're not alive anymore. And she says the same thing. I said, well, let's just go together. I don't know what that looks like. I don't like the thought of that. And I hope God comes back before any of that happens for any of us. But what we need to understand though, is that how you live women, has ripple effects. Your decisions now affect your future. How you behave now affects your future. How you serve in the church now affects your future. So I'm not saying this to just strong arm someone into service. You should have a desire to serve. You should have a desire to show hospitality. You should have a desire to be a one-man woman. You should have a desire to do good deeds. You should have a desire to help others in affliction. So let's start acting more like a family of God than individual members in our own silos. And I am happy to say, does our church do it perfectly? No. But I mean this from the deepest portions of my heart, that I have never been in a church like this one, where I see this happening. Unbeknownst to me, what I love even more is that no one comes up to me and says, hey, pastor, can I go do this and this for this person? That's ridiculous. They just go and do it, and I love it. And then later on, I'm told stories, hey, we just went and we did this and this for them, and we did that and that for these people, and we brought meals to them, and we got them Christmas gifts here, and we did this and this. I'm like, you get it. I love it. We need more of that. We are a family, and I love what Chad was saying, too, in the new members class, hearing the testimonies. When I look at the new members coming through the room, I'm like, these are my new brothers and sisters that I didn't even know existed, but now I know existed, and now they're coming into our family. And I love the church. I love every single one of you. And we need to have this kindred brother love, this brethren mentality that we are all one. Everything that we have belongs and has been given to us from God, and he has given us to be good stewards of it. And if anyone has need, I give that away. Acts 2 42, that's how we're supposed to be living. Acts 5, it's all throughout scripture. So I pray that this is an encouragement to you. If you have gone through this season already, and both parents have passed on your other side of this, know that God sees your service. know that God will bless you because you have honored your parents, and in so doing, you have honored God. And if you're a family that is about to enter this season, and sometimes you don't even know when you're going to enter into the season, this should be your motivation and your preparingness. I've got to stick this out. I got to do this. I know this is going to be tough, but I'm commanded to do so, especially if you did not have the best relationship with your mother or father. May we all honor God in our actions and our words and our behavior, and may we follow the precepts of scripture. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this text. God, I pray for the women and men in this church who may currently have a father or mother that they're assisting right now during their time of need, God, that you will replenish their spirit, that you will Fill them with perseverance that you will help them through this difficult time. And God, may they know that they in honoring their father and mother, they're honoring you. God, may we as a church continue to operate as a family and as a household of God and how we take care of our widows. Father, we love you. We praise you. We ask all these things in your name. Amen.