Give thanks to God, enthroned on high, His love endures forever. Amen. Let us turn to 1 Timothy chapter 5. As we continue to work through this letter, 1 Timothy 5 verses 1-8, that's page 1264 in the blue ESV Bibles under the seats. 1 Timothy 5. Let us begin our reading there at 1 Timothy 5, verse 1. We'll be reading and considering verses 1 to 8. Do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father. Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters in all purity. honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow left all alone. has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters in the household of God. In the household of a family, the three-year-old is not to be held to the same standard, the same level of maturity as the 15-year-old. The 10-year-old does not need the same kind of hands-on care and attention as the 18-month-old. Young boys and young girls require different types of care, even as each individual will need their own kind of care. Quite simply, different persons have different needs. And so different people should be cared for in specific ways. And so when we grow through infancy and through childhood and into adulthood, those differences, they're not seen in exactly the same way. The difference between a 50-year-old and a 30-year-old is not the same as the difference between a 15-year-old and an infant. But still, it is true that different people need care in different ways. Specifically, we have in our text the young and the old, the men and the women. They need to be cared for specifically, purposefully, not in exactly the same way. And there should be special safeguards in some situations that are not needed in others. Brothers and sisters, this immediately practical advice from the Apostle Paul to young Timothy, on the one hand, Some of it seems so obvious. It's one of those, why should it even be said out loud? And often in scriptures, it's not said out loud. This is one of the things that's just assumed from one page of scripture to another. On the other hand, we live in even this evil generation when even such basic and straightforward truths are being bent and rebelled against and broken down. Young and old are different. Old should be given special measures of respect. Men and women are different. Young women should be given special safeguards of care. It is immediately practical seemingly obvious, but even these distinctions are under attack. And so this morning, let's consider these things. We consider it with this theme from our text. There is a need for specified or purposeful care in God's household. When we look first at that call to specific care, the first two verses, which really introduce not only verses one to eight, but a theme that continues all the way through the first verses of chapter six, And then we'll look at an example of specific care given. There will be more examples through the beginning of Chapter 6, but we'll look at that first example in verses 3 to 5. And then we'll look at commands in matters of care in verses 6 to 8. Well, here is the apostle. He's instructing Timothy in how to care for the church and in this way he's instructing the whole church through Timothy. He's instructing us as a church here today. And he begins with this need to speak to an older man in a respectful way, to give a special measure of respect to the elderly. And again, this should be something which is straightforward and not too complicated but what are the evils of our age where even even such evil as youth in Asia creeps into the hard attitudes and has begun to be expressed in parts of the Western world. So the Apostle reminds Timothy of something that is always true and we should always remember the elderly should be given special measures of respect and honor. And so for Timothy, as a young minister, now this doesn't mean that he can't say anything to the elderly members. No, he is still to encourage or to exhort, as that word in the middle of verse 1 could be translated. He's to encourage everyone. And looking ahead, jumping ahead for a moment to verse 7, As a minister, he gives commands even. We have that stronger type of language for what he speaks, for what he preaches to the congregation. But he is not to speak to an older man in a disrespectful way. He cannot rebuke an older man. This is one of those times we have a Greek word that probably should have been translated by two English words. He should not sharply rebuke an older man. You should not strike at, verbally, an older man. John Calvin, speaking about this verse, speaks about how all correction, every exhortation, comes with a certain bitterness to it because it's difficult to hear encouragement, correction, something that we're doing wrong. And so since any correction already comes with a certain level of bitterness, let's be sure that we don't add to that by speaking in harsh or sharp ways. We should seek to deliver exhortations with a spirit of gentleness, to use the language of Galatians 6, 1 and 2. And this is especially true when speaking to the elderly. who need a special measure of respect. But really it's true for all persons. And so how is Timothy to speak? Can he then look down as younger men, as inferior? No, he is to encourage all and to address them all as though they are family members. And so then we have this family language. The older man, encourage him as a father. The younger men don't Don't just think because they're younger, now you can think they're inferior. No, the younger men as brothers. And then the family language continues into verse two. Older women as mothers, younger women as sisters. And then we have a little addition at the end. Younger women as sisters in all purity. Or it could be translated chastity, for it's a word which can relate especially to that call for purity. Young and old are not the same. Men and women are not the same. These are basic truths and distinctions that we must know and which must impact life in the church. So what's one practical example of how this works itself out? Well, in our church, we have policies for counseling and discipleship from the minister and from any office bearer, from any elder. Well, those policies, because men are, because office bearers are going to be male members, those policies are written in a different way with relationship to women in the church than they are with relationship to men in the church. And so this practical advice from the apostle works itself out in the way that we have agreed as a church how counseling and discipleship will take place. So if I as a minister or if any of the elders are ever counseling, discipling any women in the church, that needs to take place in specific places, namely at the parsonage with the wife of the minister present or in a public place. We do not have the same safeguards in detailing how an elder or the minister can disciple or counsel young men in the church. This is practically wise, straightforward carrying out of the practical wisdom of the apostle to young Timothy. Young men and women are not the same. Men and women are not the same. Old and young are not the same. These are straightforward things we should not forget. And there is matters of practical wisdom which must therefore be carried out. Now, if a young minister cannot and should not care for young women in the church the same way as he can care for young men, What does that mean? Does that just leave young women out as a group that can't be cared for and encouraged in the same way? Not at all. We're not going to read all of Titus Chapter 2 right now. But what is the basic outline of Titus Chapter 2? That older women have a special responsibility to love and care and encourage and support younger women. And that older men in the congregation have a special responsibility to care and love and encourage younger men. in the faith. And so the whole church family comes together then and recognizes these distinctions and recognizes them in the carrying out of spiritual care and encouragement and all these things. There is then only one place the distinction between men and women is broken down. Please turn with me to Galatians chapter 3 and we'll read verses 27 to 29, which may be familiar to you in a moment, but let's start with the broader context and start with Galatians 3 verses 11 to 13. Galatians chapter three, let's begin at verse 10. Galatians 3 verse 10, for all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified by God, by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith. All, everyone, young, old, man, woman, we are all sinners who cannot save ourselves by our own works of the law. But the law is not of faith. Rather, the one who does them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. And now the focus, the first focus in Galatians is the whole Jew-Gentile distinction, but how does the chapter continue? What are all the distinctions that are broken down in the context of salvation, in the context of our need for salvation, in the context of Christ being the savior for sinners, That is where distinctions are broken down. Verses 27 to 29 of the same chapter. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. We have real distinctions between men and women, young and old. And that practically straightforward, should be obvious distinction, should never be missed. It should be worked out in practical ways in church life and in our life in general from day to day. The only place the distinctions are broken down are in Christ, where we are all sinners and where we all have salvation in the one God-man, Jesus Christ. And so we move now to our second point. An example then of specific care given. And with the introduction really of verses one and two, introducing this theme that will continue through chapter six, we have our first specific example. And if we remember our Old Testament scriptures, it's exactly the first example that we might expect. Because when we think of those who need special care, at the top of the list, is widows. Mentioned again and again in the Old Testament and then into the New Testament. There needs to be special and purposeful care for widows. So this is where Timothy goes, where Paul goes in his instructions to Timothy. Honor widows who are truly widows. Now there's a certain responsibility for care which begins in the widow's own household even before it comes to the household of faith. So once again the apostle is being immediately practical here. The church needs to care for widows, but the widow's own family has a first responsibility. And it's not a, I have to do this, it's not a burden, it's an opportunity for godliness. But their family have the first opportunity to show godliness and to make some return to their parents. Infants, children in the home, you cannot live without the care of your parents. I mean, an infant is hour by hour, almost minute by minute, in need of the care that falls first on the parents. And what is the picture? It's that there's some return when the parents become old, when the older generation stands in need of special care. Now I said that the scriptures mentioned widows again and again. Let's turn to just one of those texts. Please turn with me to Psalm 68. Psalm 68. Just one, just one of the many places where the widows are mentioned in a special way as getting special attention from our Lord God. I'm going to read Psalm 68 verses 5 and 6. Come and see what God has done. That's Psalm 66. Psalm 68 verses 5 and 6. Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity. But the rebellious dwell in a parched land. What is one of the trials of being a widow? It's that you are so solitary that you are lonely. It's the pain of loneliness. God promises his care to the widows specifically and specially in a number of places. And God knows the pain of loneliness. God specifically gives a promise about the pain of being solitary and lonely. There is special care for the widows and by extension the widowers. That was so much less common to have a widower in those days. There is special care for the elderly, for the lonely, from God. And so with even just that one psalm in our minds, let's go back to our text and to verse five. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set Her hope on God. What is her hope in God? Well, it begins with the one hope we all have. Hope in salvation from sins by Jesus Christ. Do not let the sins of your youth or of old age drown you. Repent of your sins. Bring them to Christ. Trust in Him. He has saved you. That's another trial of old age. You have all this time, and you sit there, and you think, and you ponder, perhaps, even specific sins of youth. And you say, has Christ really saved me? And those who have had assurance of salvation and have trusted Him for decades can begin to waver and to doubt. He is your Savior, your only hope in your youth and all the way through the end of your days. And what about the setting of your hope upon God? What about the pain of loneliness and the other trials of widowhood, of elderly age? The true widow pleads upon those special promises, knows them, meditates upon them, and comes before God and says, I know your care through all my days. Help me to remember your care. Help me to feel your presence, to know your love, your loving kindness. The true widow sets her hope on God. We think of even those who reach a point of being shut in. You reach a point you cannot even come out of your house. Perhaps church was the last place you went. You cannot even go to church anymore. You cannot even attend to the ordinary means of grace, but what has God done? God has promised extraordinary care to those who are in those extraordinary circumstances. God is the God of the widow, of the elderly, of those who set their hope on Him. Now, there is one means of grace, which even the shut-in will still be able to continue in, and that is prayer. And God gives a special call then to those who are in such a place to can be continuous in supplications and prayers night and day. Children, as you know that your faithful grandpas and grandmas are warriors breaking down the gates of hell. For as the true widow sets her hope on God and continues in supplications night and day, even if her physical strength or his physical strength is such that he can no longer walk from one side of the room to the other, yet continuing in this kingdom work, God uses the prayers of his saints to break down the very gates of hell and to build up the very foundations of his church. I want our young persons to know that their faithful grandparents are warriors in God's kingdom. Now, what should we do? Well, there's one thing I want to say about verse five that we might say is a negative thing to say. or verse, yes, verse five. There's this special word about prayer that the elderly can continue in. And we should know this, and we should encourage those who are shut in and remind them, you say your hope on God, you continue in supplications and prayers night and day. But then there's a temptation to say something like this, while my grandma is a prayer warrior, while my grandpa is a prayer warrior, I'm just too young and too busy, I can't pray. Okay, we're gonna say something on the negative side, Do not take that attitude. We are all called to continue in prayer, even in the busier seasons of our life. But let's say also something more positive. That as God has promised special care to the widows, to the elderly, to those who are lonely, what is one of the means that God uses for that? God uses his people to show godliness, going back to the language from earlier, to be his hands and feet to give that care. And so more positively, the call to each and every one of us is to love, to show care and attention to, to show godliness to our older generations, especially in your own family, but also in the whole church. And finally, it is a command to each and every one of us, James 1 verse 27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Be present with the elderly. Encourage them in the truths of God's Word. Hear their wisdom and be encouraged by them. It is a rich encouragement to visit with someone who is shut in, whose mind is going, who may not even recognize you when you step into their room, and yet they know what? They know that God is with them. They know that Christ is their Savior. And even in the very end, they can still sing the doxology. They can still pray the Lord's Prayer. These are the very last things to go. It is not only to go to encourage them, it is to be encouraged yourself, to be built up yourself. to see that faithful witness. Now it can include, and so we speak of just being present. Do you have healthy patterns in your relationship to the older generation? Do you see them week by week? Do you contact them perhaps day by day? Are you a grandchild separated by distance from a faithful grandfather, grandmother? Do you at least have a monthly phone call? Do you have that pattern? Do you have those things set up, even reminders to yourself to have those good kinds of patterns? These are all things. We can go on and on. There's more specifics. There's financial care, which Jesus speaks about specifically in Matthew chapter 15, rebuking the error of the Pharisees. And then there are times when the older generation is not living in faith. And then there's a whole other pain, and a whole other challenge, and a whole other call. And there's times when they need help with their medication, and we can go on and on. There is much need of care. And we seek to give that care, showing godliness, even as even as we seek to not be overwhelmed by it, as it can be from one situation to another. Well, with this, brothers and sisters, let's come then to our third point, commands in matters of care. And what we basically have, we can outline verses six to eight in this way. Verse six, is a word to those who would be unfaithful care receivers. Verse eight is a word to those who would be unfaithful care givers. And verse seven is a reminder that the whole church needs to be commanded, needs to hear preaching and teaching on these subjects. Now, what about the unfaithful care receivers in verse 6? As the Reformed commentator George Knight once put it, they are seeking to live it up, which only shows that they are spiritually dead. Now, what kinds of sins are going on here? No, there's no sins explicitly listed. But if we sit back and say, well, what kind of sins could an elderly person be getting into? that the human heart can think of sins in any stage of life. And we'll speak a little bit more about this, Lord willing, in a couple of weeks when we get to verses 11 to 13. But if we do see one specific sin mentioned in our chapter, it's probably right there in verse 13. Being idlers, going from house to house, gossips, busybodies. Of course, there are many other kinds of sins which young and old alike can fall into. Many forms of self-indulgence. What is this? This is evidence of spiritual deadness. And there is an implication that when one is an unfaithful care receiver, when one is showing that they are not setting their hope upon God, the church does not have the same responsibility to care for such a one. Then there is address to the unfaithful caregivers in verse 8. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, You cannot even provide for your close family members, especially the members of your own household. How strong is the language of rebuke? You have denied the faith. You are worse than an unbeliever. Worse than an unbeliever. What does this mean? Please turn to page 271 in the Forms and Prayers. Page 271 in the Forms and Prayers. This is from the 3rd and 4th main points of doctrine in the Canons of Dort. Head 3-4, Article 4. Or just Article 4 there on page 271. And I'm going to read it in full and then I'm going to speak to how this relates to chapter 5, verse 8. The inadequacy of the light of nature, there is to be sure a certain light of nature remaining in man after the fall, by virtue of which he retains some notions about God, natural things, and the difference between what is moral and immoral, and demonstrates a certain eagerness for virtue and for good outward behavior. But this light of nature is far from enabling man to come to a saving knowledge of God and conversion to Him. So far, in fact, that man does not use it rightly even in matters of nature and society. I'll just paraphrase that slightly. Even in matters of his own family. Instead, in various ways, he completely distorts this light, whatever its precise character, and suppresses it in unrighteousness. In doing so, he renders himself without excuse before God. Now with that in mind, brothers and sisters, let's look again 1 Timothy 5, verse 8. He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Now let's use the language of Canon 3, 4, Article 4. In short, care for family members is a virtue whereby even the unbeliever who retains a certain light of nature will often demonstrate a certain eagerness. This is one of the last things to go in the depravity of man. Even those who are lost in the spiral of Romans 1 will often recognize the moral evil of children neglecting, at least after their infancy and their time in the womb. And so what do we do when this understanding of morality, where even the unbeliever will often demonstrate a certain eagerness. What do we do when someone who claims to be a believer, and that has become the context here, right? We're in the context of the church, in the context of the household of the faith, and we're in the context of someone who's claiming to be a Christian. What do we do when someone claims to be a Christian and they cannot even demonstrate any godliness in such a basic thing as caring for their children? then we say he has denied the faith. He is worse than an unbeliever. So the exact words, church discipline, are not used in these few verses. But whether you're an unfaithful care receiver, verse six, or an unfaithful caregiver who has showed himself to be worse than an unbeliever, there will be spiritual discipline. There must be commands about these things. If there's no repentance, And such one has shown that they have denied the faith. They cannot remain in the household of God. And so, brothers and sisters, let us hear these straight forward, back to the basics commands. Let us know that young and old, men and women are different. And we're called to give special care to those close to us. As the apostle said it in a different place in Galatians 6, verse 10, so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. And in that household of faith, we are all sinners with the same hope, hopefully learning from true widows and where their hope has been set. hope set on the firstborn among many brothers, our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Our great God and Heavenly Father, we thank You for making man in Your image male and female. We thank You for your sustaining hand by which we have not only young but also old. Old whom you may give many decades to upon...