Flipside Christian Church

in Scripture,

one of the most often terms

that Jesus uses for his people.

The church is a family,

and families function on the basis

of relationship, not rules.

And so what we've done
today is significant

because it's how this family celebrates
family.

We took a moment
and celebrate the promotions

and graduations of our,
you know, the younger generation.

That's what family does.

You celebrate that stuff.

When we honor Joey, it's
what the family does.

Say thank you to those who've served well.

You know that
one of the things that I didn't

mention about, about Zoe,

is the young lady
who was standing next to her. Ali.

Ali took Zoe under her wing

and became a mentor for young Zoe.

Not just musically,
but as a young woman of purity.

This is what I love about our church

is that we have young adults like Ali

and others in this church who are really,
like, willingly give of their time

and their energy and the love of their
heart to mentor young ones coming up.

If I had a young one coming up,
I would get them here every week.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

We got these young adults
who are willing to serve as mentors,

which is exactly the way the Bible says
the church ought to function.

Older ones mentoring younger ones
at every generation.

And so as we're doing that, I'm
looking at Ali thinking, Ali, this is like

she's part of the testimony of your faith,
part testimony of your life.

It's just beautiful.

We celebrate stuff.

And I see Jess back there.

There's Jess, Michael's wife,
with your new little baby.

Right, Levi?

Yeah.

How how old is Levi?

Six weeks.

Right on, man.

And so we celebrate that stuff, I guess.

You got three boys at home?

Yeah. We're going to pray for you.

I come from a family.

My my wife and I, we have three sons and,

keep good insurance.

We celebrate stuff.

And so in looking at the

at the book of First Timothy,

Paul has gone through great lengths

to talk about the family
called the church.

And this is our expectations.

Paul says
this is what you're supposed to do.

Timothy is a young man.

Paul is an old man.

And this old man is telling this young
man, I'm going to leave you in charge.

As the leader of this church in Ephesus.

And it was a tough gig for Timothy.

He was in this place called Ephesus,
that in the hills above

Ephesus had this temple of Artemus
or Diana, depending

on which time you want to give her same,
same, same, religion.

And every evening, about a thousand
prostitutes would infiltrate

Ephesus to get their grips
on the young men of the city.

And so it was just a it was a vile place.

And this young man, Timothy,

who had never done a job like this
before, is now out from under the mint.

Their direct mentorship of Paul.

And Paul says, look, as an old man,
I've been around the block.

Here's
how I want you to handle the family.

God, the family of God in your context.

And so that's what first Timothy
and second Timothy is all about.

So just as a recap, chapter one,
Paul talks

about the two important things of
the church is to guard and to guide,

guard the gospel and good doctrine
and guide people into it.

In chapter two, it's all about the order
within the church,

and there are definitely designed
roles of people in the church.

And in chapter three

he talks about those Christians in
general, but really those in leadership.

The idea that it's character over
skill set, like the character matters.

Chapter four.

He encourages us to train
hard in your faith.

Like like Take This seriously uses
a lot of athletic language.

And he says, push in, train
hard, don't be lax.

Don't be lazy.

Like a pursue this thing like an athlete
does being a world class athlete.

And then in chapter five that we'll look
at today he's going to talk about honor.

That's do
people and leaders in the church.

And in chapter six next week

he's going to round it out with his charge
to fight the good fight.

Now it is a war and it's a battle.

And you got to do it well.

So that's kind of the book in a
in a real brief snapshot.

We're going to look at chapter
five, and chapter five

is going to bring up some things that I'm
just like at the front end of this.

Some of you are going to argue
that you're going to feel like,

why are we this has nothing to do with me
and my life right now.

Like, what are we.

I'm going to I'm going to get there.

You just.

So just stay with or we'll get there
when we get to the end of this.

In the beginning of chapter six. Okay.

But it's going to bring up some,
some things that are maybe contrary

to the culture at large, and the culture's
perception of the church is supposed to

do, and it's going to bring up some stuff
about the honor.

Do people in the church and the pastors
and the pastoral staff.

And so I'm just going to I'm going
to read the Bible.

We're going to talk about what
the Bible says.

You know, that I don't shy away
from whatever's

in the Bible, like if if we got a problem,
what's in the Bible?

You take it up with God, don't
take it up with me like I didn't write it.

I'll take it up with the author.

And good luck with that.

But let me just jump in verses
one and two.

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.

So he's saying,
look at him. Here's the deal, man.

You're going to be in this church.

And there's a lot of people, honest people
you got to lead who are older than you.

Here's how this is good leadership stuff
with the guys older than you.

Don't rebuke them. Encourage them.

That word rebuke means don't talk to them
harshly in public.

Don't.

Don't unload
both barrels on them in public. Why?

Because older men don't listen to younger
guys, right, guys?

Right. I don't care how old you are.

There's someone younger than you,
and you don't listen to them.

We don't.

They haven't been where we been, right?

They're not lived like we live.

They ain't been around a block
like we have.

They haven't learned everything
that we've learned.

And so young man comes an old man
with some rebuke and correction.

That ain't going to go well.

So just as in a practical level,

you shouldn't look.

You're going

to have to lead people older than you.

It's going to be difficult.

And so encourage them.

Now here's the thing.

In our culture, elderly is not elevated.

Youth is venerated.

And so we've lost the importance

and the sacredness of growing old.

And our culture pushes against that.

And we resist that and we deny it.

And we try to not look at

biblically.

The instruction is to honor those

who are elderly, hold them at high esteem

to understand, to understand.

Okay, you younger people than
me. You understand?

No, I.

Like there's some there's some honor,
respect.

Like, we've been around the sun
a lot more times than you have.

And so there's some there's an honor
there.

It's the same thing in the home.

You children,
you better non-real respect your parents

like you. Just.

And so he's saying, honor,
I don't don't come out hard against you.

Honor them. Encourage them.

And he says the older women
treat them as moms.

They're not to be old ladies.

You just kind of push aside
and not like there's some incredible.

And regardless of the

of the generational age,
it's the same thing with Ali and Zoe.

Like there's some honor.

You treat them with some holiness
and some sacredness.

You older women in this church
like you, ought to be honored by everybody

as as mom, as mature, godly
examples of what it is

to grow up as a God,
as the woman hood of of godly character.

And there should be

younger ones
that you're mentoring in that godliness.

And then he says of Timothy, these younger
guys, than you treat them as brothers.

Now that's a double edged sword oftentimes
with brothers, right?

Like,

oh, saying is,
you have to have the attitude

with each other
that you have in a good, healthy family.

And for young women, Timothy,
you're a man.

You got young women under you.

You, you you don't treat them as objects.

You treat them as sisters with all purity.

You don't have those lingering eyes

and little innuendos
when you talk with young women.

We understand this just good stuff, right?

Right. Yeah.

And so I don't need
to explain a lot about that.

You should just honor the.

And so then he gets into a little bit
more practical stuff, and he's going

to address this issue of who
the church is responsible to take care of.

Now let me just say
on the front of this also

in our culture,
much of the community thinks it's

the church responsibility to take care of
the needs of the community.

The Bible doesn't necessarily say that.

The Bible says it's the church's job
to take care of the spiritual needs,

but not the physical
needs of the community.

There's a lot of churches.

There's a lot of social justice movement
in this, and a lot to say.

We have to make sure that all the poor
people in our community are taken care of.

Well, Jesus said,
you're always going to have poor people.

You're never going to get away from them.

Make sure, Your Honor in me
and so Paul sets out this

standard of care for what the church
is responsible for, and it's going to push

back on the common thought of what
the church's job really is.

Whenever there's
a pushback from the culture

about what the job is of the church

and what it with what
the the Bible says, the job of the church,

I'm going to go with what the Bible says,
the job at the churches.

That makes sense.

So as long as you understand where
I'm coming from, what the Bible says,

and draw conclusions.

Verse
three 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
or to make some return

for it to their parents, for
this is pleasing inside to God.

He says, honor
the widows who are truly widows.

So there's obviously a distinguished

or some distinction
between widows and true widows.

It doesn't have to do with a woman
being without a husband.

There's some

criteria of what a true widow is,
and according to Paul,

a true widow is a widow
who is truly needy in the sense

that she has no other family members

in the area to help take care of her.

It's not just that she's lost a husband
and she has.

She's she's over a certain age.

It has nobody else to help
take care of her.

And so what it says here

is that family takes care of family

and then if you have a family,

it's your family's
responsibility for your care.

It's not the church's responsibility.

And the way a younger generation
takes care of their,

the way they honor God and please
God is by taking care

of their aging parents
and responsibility for them.

Look at verse five.

She who is truly widow, left
all alone, has set her

hope on God and continues in supplication
and prayers night and day.

So he says, the one who's a true widow,
who has nobody else, no, no kids,

no relatives, no cousins, nephew.

And then like nobody,
they are the true widow.

And her first response, the one who has
nobody to take care of him.

Their first response is to spend night
and day in prayer.

That means two things.

It means their first response is not on
some other system to take care of them.

Their first response is real reliance
upon God,

the provider who owns a cattle
on a thousand hills to take care of her.

That's her first reliance.

And day and night she goes before
the father, saying, you are my father.

You meet my needs.

The second thing that means is this

because there was no welfare system
in this first century

and no social assistance

and governmental aid
for those who were truly in need, i.e.

widows?

No, he doesn't talk about men widowers

because they go out and get a job
and they should.

Well, he's talking about these women.

Women because women didn't
most of them didn't have jobs back then.

They couldn't go to, you know, McDonald's
and and and sling flop fries.

They just they didn't have.

And so he said because there's no social

assistance for them,
they have no other family

when they come to the family
that they're a part of at the church,

they go before
God night and day for their own.

And then, in essence,
they signed a contract with the church

to be on staff
for the reasons for the assistance

they're receiving to be what we would call
their prayer warriors for the church.

What he's saying

is you just don't give people money
and send them on their way.

If they're worthy of it, you help them
and then they owe the church

a contribution because they've received
from the contributions of the church

and the way they contribute to the church,

because they've received
from the contributions of the church,

is to contribute to the church and night
and day on behalf of the church.

There's no free lunches or.

Understand?

You understand.

Paul will say later
in Second Thessalonians,

that if you if you don't work,
you don't eat.

That's a pretty good rule.

And he's saying, look,
we're not saying that that these

these ladies have to have to do menial,
but they have to

work for the church in prayer night.

And day if they're going to receive
contribution from the church.

That's what he's saying.

Let me
give you some some other understandings

of, of why?

Well, let me, let me I'm going to do
six and seven.

Let me see.

I can get stuck.

I can go down rabbit holes.
I don't want to do that right now.

But she who is self-indulgent is dead
even while she lives.

Command these things as well,
so that they may be without reproach.

So he he he's saying

there there are some who
who can get themselves into trouble

because they start
taking advantage of the church.

He said, don't, don't permit that.

And when he says command these things,
that's a military word.

And what he's telling Timothy is, look,
Timothy, here's the deal.

You're going to start leading this way,

and you're going to draw some parameters
around how people are going to push back,

because they're going to think
that the it's the church's role

to meet all of the social needs
of their community.

He says you command them
as a commanding officer

because they're going
to push back against it,

and they need to know
that this is how we do things,

and you don't have the authority
to push back against this.

This this is a
this is a really strong term.

He's he's telling Timothy
to lead with press into your leadership,

your Tim, and make sure you don't
get push back from this.

At verse eight.

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. See?

And so, listen, it's not the church's job
to take care of

all the needs of everybody,
especially those outside the church.

But even with those inside,

if they have family members,
family takes care of family.

Your family takes care of your family
before you ask the church for anything.

That's what he's saying.

And he says,

for those who have family members in need,
who refuse to help them and assist them.

It's like we have denied the faith.

And worse than an unbeliever hears
how strong those words are.

An unbeliever, someone who just doesn't,
isn't convinced yet

someone who's denied
the faith and is worse than that,

is someone who has known the faith
and chosen to reject it.

You saying that's how

strong this is for you as a family member,
but not to take care of your family

and to just shove them off on a church.

And so he says,

let the widow be enrolled

if she is not less than 60 years of age,

having been the wife of one husband
and having a reputation for good works.

If she has brought up children
and has shown hospitality, has washed

the feet of the saints, has cared
for the afflicted,

and has devoted herself to every good work
you see.

And so there's there ought to be.

The church needs to help those in need,

but there's stipulations around
and there's qualifications for it.

So what he's saying
and he lists eight qualifications

of the women that the church
is supposed to help in this passage.

And what he's saying is this
we have to investigate

the life of anybody who is coming
to the church asking for help.

And the first question of investigation
is, are you a part of this flock?

Because this Imma tell you this,

as the pastor of this church,
you are who I'm responsible for.

I'm not responsible.

This church is a responsible
for people who aren't part of our church.

That's why it's so important
to be a part of a church.

And so the first question that we ask
when someone comes

and asks this church,
are you a part of our fellowship?

This here's why.

Because a
shepherd takes care of his flock,

and we take care of the flock
that God has given us.

You understand that?

It's just not an open door
for anybody who has a need.

And so there's there's quality,
there's qualifications,

and you have to ask these things.

The other reason we have to ask

for these qualifications
is because there's limited resources.

I mean, it's not like
we're the government.

We just charge more taxes on people.

And, you know, we print our own money
and go into debt and be okay with it.

Like, there's limited resources and
we have to be wise with those resources.

And so what Paul is saying here is you
contribute to those who have contributed.

It's what he's saying.

So all these qualifications are things
that she has done

on behalf of the life of the church.

So those have been contributing
to the life and health of the church.

That's who you are responsible for,
to help aid

those who have not are

not responsible to help.

And so the second question
that that I always ask with people,

they're asking for help, have they if they
been a contributing part of our church.

If they just come and sit and leave

and not served and not helped
and not given

and that like.

We're under no obligation.

And these, these these eight
see these eight criteria

when he says make sure she's really old,
because if she's not really old,

she can go out and, you know,
get married again. Like that's okay.

Like you go like live your life and,
and and just don't expect someone to

to do what's it called
when you just continue enabling.

You don't just don't be an enabler.

People will just
suck stuff out of the church

because.

Because

we all know once you give something

once, it's an open door to get asked
twice, right?

I'm just being like, right.

And so we say, listen,
there are some who need to be helped.

Help them.

But some people,
all they want is just more free handouts.

And they're going to go live their life
any way they want to.

And when you just enable ungodly

living by your assistance,
so that's wandering from the face.

Don't do that as a church.

Don't do that as people.

Make sure that she's,
you know, a wife or what.

Like she's been faithful at home.

Wife one has been a good reputation.

She's done
good work. She's brought up children.

It doesn't necessarily mean that
she's had her own kids, but she's invested

in this younger generation,
and she's been a mentor to young ladies.

You saw in hospitality.

She's washed the feet of Saint.
She's cared for the afflicted.

She's devote herself to every good work,

like there's some fruit
in the wake of her life.

On behalf of the church.

Church owes that to them

when they have need to step in,
when their family isn't around to help.

And he said,
you just don't give to anybody

if they haven't been contributed first.

Here's what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about compassion
with criteria.

That's what he's saying.

Have compassion,
but there's criteria around it.

We have to understand that.

Where am I?

I have no idea where I am.

Verse 11,
but refused to enroll younger widows

for when their passions draw them away
from Christ, they desire to marry

and so incur condemnation for having
abounded abandon their former faith.

Besides that, they learned to be idlers,
going about from house to house

not only been idlers, but also gossips
and busybodies, saying stuff

they shouldn't be talking about.

So I'd have younger widows.

Get me get married.

To live your life, manage your household,
give the offspring no occasion

for slander.

What?

He's saying is,

if you just keep giving and enabling
that, people take advantage of it.

They start talking, you know, smack and,
like, living bad lives.

And you're just enabling all that it says.

And what you're doing

is you're giving the adversary
the devil and occasion that word.

Occasion is another military term
that means a home base of operation.

And when you just the church
becomes a social organization,

it just has to meet all of the community's
ills with no criteria for what we do.

He says all you're doing is for finding
a home base of operation for the devil

to slander the name of God.

So just be wise about this stuff.

I mean, it's just making sense to us. Yes.

If any believing woman has relatives
who are widows, let her care for them.

Let the church not be burdened.

So let me care
for those who are truly widows.

So there's some true widows.

And you have to.

It's the idea that the compassion

without wisdom is chaos,

and wisdom without compassion is coldness.

Pull up that slide, Tom, would you please.

We have to understand that compassion
without wisdom is just chaos.

And unfortunately,
that's how a lot of churches function.

There's no criteria for what they do.

They just like all the needs
of the community.

And it's just chaotic.

As far as leadership
and finances are concerned.

It's just bad stewardship.

But wisdom
without compassion is just coldness.

And so he said, let's have balance here.

This is a family. Let's have balance here.

And he says that those who have family
take care of the family

so the church isn't burdened.

Years ago, years ago, we had this lady
in our church and she was elderly,

but she had family.

She had a husband,

she had sons, she had grandsons.

They're all employed.

But she was always asking our church

for help financially.

And it was some really hard

conversations with her and with her sons

that were my age.

And I had said, look,

yes, we love your mother,
but you're asking us

to do some things that aren't biblical
for us to do as a church.

It's your responsibility for your mom.

I mean, that makes.

Some real hard conversations

because it's so much easier just to fluff

our needs of our loved ones off
on somebody else or something else.

I think the church.

It was hard, man.

Leadership isn't fun most of the time.

Well, yeah.

And listen, some of you know what

this is like because you've done it
so well.

You've had elderly family, parents,

grandparents
that you've had to take care of

and you've done it so well
because it is not easy.

Right?

It's a grueling.

And there are times
when you just want to say,

could someone else
just please take the lead?

Because I'm.

But what Paul is saying here

is when we sacrifice like this,
it pleases God. Why?

Because God has stepped
into our incapability

and sickness and illness and care for us.

And it wasn't easy for him.

And when we do that to our family,

for our family, God's like, right on, man.

You get it

as much as you can.

Be good with us so far. Yes.

Okay.

Now here's here's
the here's the stuff that I

answer. This is tough.

This is tough to teach on.

But like I said, I'm not going to shy away
from this in the Bible.

I need to know it.

I need to live it. I need to teach it.

You need to learn it.

It is what it is.

So watch this.

Verse 17.

Let the elders who rule
well be considered worthy of double honor,

especially those who labor
in preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture
says, you shall not muzzle an ox,

treads out the grain,
and the laborer deserves his wages.

This ain't a fun passage for a pastor
to teach on, because it's about

the pastor

and how you take care of your pastors,

but how I'm shy away from anything else
in First Timothy,

so I'm not going to shy away from this
either.

He makes sure there's two different types
of elders in the church,

the elders
who do the administration of the church,

and the elders who do the teaching
preaching of the church.

Sometimes they're the same elder.

They're really gifted.

They can both administrate
and preach and teach.

And what he's saying here is

let those elders who do that
will be considered worthy of double honor.

Now, when when that word honor
is used in verse and verse three.

I think we have a slide for that
somewhere.

Tom but that word, it it's not time.

That should be a capital. It's to me.

And that word to me
literally means the financial.

You ascribe a financial value
or monetary care.

And that's what Paul saying
about these widows who are truly widows.

You just

decided
financial value for their well-being

and their sustenance in the world.

You just you discern what a monetary value
will be, a monetary care for them.

It's the same word here used for elders,
especially those who preach and teach

and do it really well,
worthy of double honor.

So a double portion
of whatever you have deemed

is the financial value
of the person doing that role.

Is that make sense?

So if that makes sense,
then that's your question

is if they deserve double honor,
the natural question is.

It's not natural to use natural.

I mean, what is double honor?

What does that mean?

So I don't know.

He doesn't tell us what it means.

He just says that the people who do this
job well deserve double of it.

And if it meant monetary care
for the widow,

it means double monetary care
for the ones who do this role. Well,

here's

here, here's tonight, here's just think
about here's what what is double honor?

Here's my suggestion

that the church is responsible
to pay for its pastor and its staff

enough for
they don't want to leave, but not so much.

They can't afford to leave.

And so what he's doing here is setting
protections for the church and the staff.

The pastor be saying you need to pay them
well enough.

They don't want to leave,

because if you drastically underpay them,
they're going to do it

until they get a better gig
and go somewhere else

and take care of their family because
they're supposed to with biblically.

So it sense,

okay, but he's saying don't pay them
so much they can't afford to leave.

Here's the problem.

There are some churches
and these pastors have done a good job

and it's gotten so big that they're paid

so well with so many perks.

They've stopped listening
to the voice of God.

They don't want to know
if God would call them anywhere else,

because they don't want to leave the perks
and the salary they're getting.

I don't want to leave the big campus.

I don't want to leave the coffee shop.

I don't want to leave the big fountain.

I don't want to leave my own
parking space. I don't want I will.

You know how much I would lose
if I went to another church?

So sometimes I have paid their pastors.

So will they can't afford to leave it
in being paid.

So will they start listening
to the voice of God?

They would dread it
if God would ever call him anywhere else,

because they can't afford to move.

You understand?

Move their.

And so Paul's like

the don't get yourself
or your pastor in a pickle.

Double honor whatever that may.

Look you're going to say what that means.

But if they don't want to leave
but not so much, they can't afford

to leave like, but

pastor like everybody else
think they've built the business.

They get all the perks for the business.

Why would ever leave a big old business?

I would be losing money
if I were to leave you.

You understand? I'm saying.

Is it like.

So was double honor.

I don't know, I know what it's not.

I know it's unless the pastor
has taking a vow of poverty.

He shouldn't use the church.

They shouldn't make their pastor
be in poverty

unless God's told them to be in poverty.

Then you better be in poverty.

As of yet,
God hadn't told me I had to do that.

I know what it's not.

I know it's not paying a pastor so much
he can't ever afford to leave.

So he never wants to hear
God say, go somewhere else.

It's certainly not that
that's so unbiblical.

There's got to be a place in there
somewhere.

So here's, here's here's the thing,

here's an idea.

You pay your pastor and your staff
what it cost to

to replace them of a pastor
or a staff of equal or better value.

That's what you do.

Double honor.

If I had to replace them,
what is it going to cost?

I mean, that's just good business sense.

In the end, even you

or you consider the quality of the staff

and their education and their experience
and you have those conversations.

What's double honor?

I mean, I've yet to sit
in any financial discussion about this

with leaders of the church
who say first, okay, first, pastor,

staff, whomever, this is my education,
this is my expenses.

This is how good I am at my job,
and this is how much I make. Now,

based on your

education, experience,
how good you are, here's what you see.

What I'm saying?

Most people
just don't mind talking about this, but

they don't ever want to reveal this first,

you follow this.

And so I don't have answers.

A double
honor means I know what it doesn't mean.

And so Timothy is like
Luke or Paul is like, look, Timothy,

just make sure that you're
you're going about this the right way.

But then he says in verse 19, do not,

do not admit a charge against an elder
except on the evidence

of 2 or 3 witnesses.

As for those who persistence
and rebuke them in the presence of all, so

that the rest may stand in fear, saying,
listen, leadership isn't easy and in fun,

and whoever is the tip of the spear
is going to take the brunt of the battle.

Whoever's leading
the charge is going to take the bullets.

So the bullets are going to fly.

For anybody in leadership.
This isn't just pastors and teachers.

This is any leader
in it's bullets are going to fly.

There's going to be accusations.

Don't consider just because

someone says something about a leader
that is automatically true,

like it pushes back
against the whole cancel culture stuff.

It pushes back against all this stuff
and it says you gotta have witnesses,

2 or 3 eyewitnesses
before you even entertain anything.

So here's what's going to happen.

There's going to be stuff said.

And these accusations
Paul talks about here

are accusations, complaints,
criminal stuff like it covers everything.

When you hear someone

gossip about another, especially a leader
here, here's what I like to do

when you hear some gossip
about some some accusations.

So I like to say this.

Look, hold on,
just let me get a piece of paper on a pin,

and I'm going to write down
everything you say, and you give me names.

I'm gonna write your name down
in case someone asks me about it.

I can quote you directly.

The moment you do that,
guess what happens to the gossip site?

It stops

completely.

So that's the first way
we handle that. Now.

The second way, though,
he says there will be leaders

who persist in sin and need to be rebuked.

And he says, for those who persistence
and not those

who have messed up and repented,
but those who persist

rejection of repentance, reject, shun

of admittance, they persist in sin.

They been corrected
and refuse to repent of it.

For those
he says, you rebuke them as publicly as

their offense has been made known.

You take it as big as it needs to be.

Don't over blow it, but don't undersell it

as big as it needs to be
so that they'll fall

under condemnation feeling that way,
and fall into repentance.

The goal in all of this is not to cause
pain, shame, or destruction.

The goal is to be in a position
for repentance.

Does that make sense?

Said for those who refuse to repent,
who persistent sin?

Yeah, you call them out.

And in doing so
you will show everybody else.

Here's the standard.

This is what we expect of everybody.

And if you're not living to that standard,
you should be in fear.

It's just good leadership stuff in it.

It's real good leadership stuff.

And so.

In the presence

and the presence of God and of Christ
and of the elect angels, I charge you

to keep these rules without, prejudging,
do nothing from partiality.

Do not be patient. Lean on a hamster.
Take part in the sins of others.

Keep yourselves pure.

Paul is. He's pressing and so hard.

And we miss.

How hard is pressing in is like.

Listen, Matt, listen.

In the presence of God,
of Jesus, of the elect angels.

Like he's pulling out all the stops,
you know, like you like the angels.

What are you talking about?

Probably is just the angels, like, wait,
the beginning that didn't fall with Satan.

They're

the ones who who weren't prideful
and arrogant and fallen.

Just angels.

But he's saying like.

And for the God
and for the Jesus and all the angels.

You command these things
because this is going to be hard

for the church, and you do these things
without prejudging,

like nobody gets a free pass
and nobody gets special,

you know, like treatment
because of simply because of who they are.

Like you.

You treat them, don't
do anything from partiality

and don't don't put people

in positions of leadership too soon
either.

Make them prove themselves.

What are you saying?

Let's see the fruit of your life first.

Don't take part in the sins of others.

Keep yourselves pure.

He's talking to a young man
and Paul knows the scriptures.

He know Psalm 199, which says, how does a
young man, Timothy, keep their way pure?

By abiding by the Word of God?

So, Timothy, this is the standard.

You stay true to this,
you keep yourself pure.

And then there's this little,
this little parentheses here no longer

drink only water,

but use a little wine for the sake,
your stomach and your frequent ailments.

This is so funny.

Like, it's like, look, Tim, I get it.

You're a sickly little kid.

Don't just drink water.

Put a little wine with it. Here's why.

Because in that

day, in that culture,
the water was really contaminated.

And mixing half and half water
and wine killed some of the contaminants

and says, look, you got bad gut health

and all that bad water is just going
to make your gut health worth.

So take a little wine with it.

Make your stomach better.

You know what I love about that?

Not just the wine part, but the

how many times you go back
through scripture, look at Paul's life.

How many times had Paul pray for healing
and people were healed

a lot, a lot.

God work through him miracle healing.

What does he say to Timothy?

Because though

he said there's some medicinal things
you need to pay attention to,

apparently I probably did,
but we don't have proof

that he ever prayed for Timothy's healing.

This is encouraging to me

because Paul knows that the healing of God

is at God's discretion, not our demand.

And there are some sicknesses
that will never be healed on this earth.

And we have to be able to get to the point
in our mature

to say, God, I'm
going to leave it to your sovereignty,

but you choose to do, you choose, do.

And your ways are higher than mine.
And I don't understand.

And it's really difficult

for me to get to that point
and still believe you're a loving God.

But I'm going to trust that,

and I'm going to ask for God's healing,
and then you're going to apply

human wisdom
and the wisdom he's given man for medicine

and take every step
you can medically for your own healing.

So make sense.

In. The
sense of some people are conspiracies

going before them to judgment.

The sins of others appear later.

So also the good works are conspicuous
and even those that are not cannot

remain hidden. Here's where he's saying.

He's saying that, that,
some people are living in

sin and it's going to be really,
really, really apparent to everybody

is going to be obvious.

Everybody's going to see

and God's going to call them
to the carpet on it publicly.

But he's saying there's others of God's
kids in his family

that nobody's known know about their sin
except for Jesus himself.

Nobody's going to know.

And we have to leave it to God for God

to discern
how he wants to handle his kids.

We don't go looking for, you know, demons
under every rock in people's lives.

Don't go looking for hidden sins

when they when God brings them to light,
you deal with them.

But we leave it to God. If he doesn't,

they'll answer to God.

But here's the point of all of that.

The point is not exposed and hidden sin.

The point is repentance.

And God knows that
some people will not repent

until it gets so painful and so obvious

that publicly they have to be broken.

And God knows that others.

There's enough internal conviction
by the Holy Spirit

that they're broken inside,
and they come before God

in great repentance and great remorse,
because the goal is not pain and shame.

The goal is repentance and renewal
that make you understand,

and we let God work that out.

Here's the point.

Don't be so.

Let's not be so stubborn and bullheaded

that God is forced to break us
publicly before we come to repentance.

Repent.

And in repentance, allow God

to give all that his grace allows

so he doesn't have to break us.

And the good thing he says all your good
works, those are all the parent.

So those are all good.

Now, I wanted to get through verse,

through, chapter six,

not through the chapters.

The first two verses.

I want to deal with this,

and the first two verses of chapter six,

let all her under a yoke of bonds

or as bond servants
regard their own masters

as worthy of all honor,
so that the name of God and the teaching,

may not be reviled.

Those who have believing masters
must not be disrespectful on the ground

that they are brothers.

Rather, they must serve all the better,
since those who, benefit

by their good service
are believers and beloved.

Here's what he's talking about
in most translations.

It doesn't use the word bondservant.

He uses the word slaves,
and he uses the term slaves and masters.

And he says that all of you
who are under the yoke of slavery

regard their masters
as worthy of all honor.

So that's the name of God.
And the teaching may not be reviled.

Sounds like a tough word.

Yeah.

Let me explain what's happening.

When in the New Testament

the writers talk about slaves and masters
don't think

American slavery, that's not what they're
talking about biblically.

American slavery that we practice
in this nation is evil to its core is.

And as a demonic act of Satan
by Satan himself.

Most of the trans-Atlantic slaves in
the United States

were first slaves
by their African brothers

in Africa and sold to Europeans
slave traders for money.

And so the issue of slavery is global

across every continent and every culture
and every race and every creed.

It is evil from the devil.

The issue is not just slavery.

The issue is there's
no there's never been a good human master.

And so,

so what he's talking about slavery,
as we know, in America

was, is never been condoned
in Scripture, ever.

Slavery at this time was very common.

But in this context,
Paul is writing to the people in Ephesus

in the Roman Empire, half is is estimated.

Half of the people in the Roman
Empire were slaves.

Half.

And so it's likely
the people Paul is instruct.

Some of them are slaves, and he's saying,
respect your earthly masters

and serve them well.

Here's
what slavery looked like in ancient times.

Some of it was brutal, no doubt,

but much of it was was debt slavery.

When I get myself into debt and can't pay
my dead, I give myself to my creditor

and I work for them during the day,
and I go home to my family at night.

But I work off my debt.

Okay?

It's much like lawyers, doctors or,

physical therapists who get their school
paid for by a business and then owe

that business their life for the next
ten years to pay off their debt.

You understand? Much the same.

There's also this, dowry debt

when the person couldn't
afford to pay the dowry for their wedding.

And so with in debt themselves
in a dowry debt

to pay off the right to be married.

You know what that teaches us?

Marriage is really expensive.

So consider it twice
before you get into it.

But it's dowry.

There's also this, this, this slavery
that I am.

I know that my family is taken care

of by you because you're a benevolent,
good, godly master.

And I'm going to end debt as to you,

because you will take better care of us
than I can take care of us.

It's a bond servant.

Will it so?

So there was a lot of different
slavery words thrown off

and Paul is instructing those slaves on
how they respond to their masters

in other places.

Paul will talk to masters
in the book of Philemon and the Bible.

Philemon is a master
and he has a slave named uneasiness.

Owner Decimus escapes.

Paul gets a hold of the Smiths
and leans on pessimistic Christ,

and then Paul writes a letter to Philemon,
the slave master, and says, listen,

uneasiness is now not your slave.

Now he's your brother, so I'm going
to send him back to you as his master.

But now you treat him as a brother
and an equal.

So Paul addresses
slavery and addresses masters,

and what he does is he elevates
and he lowers and he equals both.

Do you understand?

Some some

slaves in ancient times were more educated
than their masters.

Doctors in ancient times were most often
slaves, and wealthy,

benevolent people would hire their, would

hire their own
private doctor, would be their slave.

Luke,
the writer of Luke and Ax, was most likely

a slave as a doctor

in the church, slaves often held

positions of authority over their masters
in their church and in the church.

Their masters were commanded to obey
the spiritual authority of their slaves.

And so it's when he talks about this don't
think trans-Atlantic American slavery.

It's different in our context.

The best way to understand this is in
the employer employee relationship.

Now, regarding slavery, though,
it was the church that laid the groundwork

for the abolition of slavery
by demanding Christian biblical

and ethical treatment of humans,
never condoning the brutality of slavery.

It was the church that set the ground

for the abolition
of slavery around the world.

What the church did was it sought gospel
transformation before social reformation.

We have to understand that, pull
that up to complete

gospel transformation
before social reformation.

Never is it God's plan to to

to reform social society without gospel
transformation happen first.

It happens from the inside
out, not the outside. In.

That's why Christian

is not a government agenda.

It's a gospel transformation.

It's only by the gospel transforming
the inside can the outside be healed.

We get this so wrong in our culture.

We want this.

We want the government to solve the ills.

The ills are solved by the gospel.

Transformation of lives

that reform society.

Then so you understand this.

Now let me draw this in to a close here.

This context for us
is the employee employer relationship.

Here's the truth.

Christ, hear me, please hear me.

Christian employees should be the hardest
working employees on the payroll.

Period.

Christian employees
should be the hardest working,

most reliable, best, most credible

workers on any payroll,

period.

When a Christian employee

has a Christian employer,
that Christian employee should not think

because they're a Christian,
they should go easy on me.

And I have the right
to slack off on my job

because we're all Christians here
and we love each other

and we just get along that is contrary
to biblical standard and doctrine.

We ought to work harder,
especially for Christian bosses.

We we.

Colossians 323 and 24.

Whatever you do,

work at it with all your heart,
as though you're working for for Christ.

He's your real master.

He's the real master, your servant.

So whatever you as an employee
do in your job,

you work at it with all your heart,
with all your mind.

You be the best employee
that boss has ever had.

I don't care if you like the job or not.

You owe it to the reputation of God
to make society Christ.

Please give me more Christian workers.

That's how the society should look at us.

That's how the society should respond.

Please give me some Christians
on my payroll.

They're the hardest workers,
most diligent.

And then I waste time at the watercooler
they're not taking.

They're not taking vacation days
and calling them sick days.

There's none of that.

I can rely on them.
They're the best we got.

That's what he's saying.

And he's saying

if we neglect our duty
to our earthly boss, it

causes shame to the name of Christ
and to the faith we profess.

If that's true,

how much more implication for those of us

who work for the boss

to be us the hardest workers

sweating, the most, bleeding the most

given, the most sacrifice in the most

because we are working for

a heavenly master.

Saying, work your tails off, man,

because God deserves it.

Now let's make this transit translation
spiritually.

Jesus is our master.

We ought not slack off
our earthly employers

because they are Christian
and will give us grace.

How much more should we not slack off

on our duty to our Heavenly Master?

Just because he'll give us grace to

do you understand?

Yeah.

You know God will be.

You know, God's full of grace.

You know he'll go easy on me.

You might seem like I'm good with God
regardless of what I do.

Because of grace.

So, you know, how dare we?

We are slaves of Christ,

and he is worthy of all honor.

To be a lax
Christian makes the world reviled.

God reviled His word
and reviled the name of Christ.

If that's what a Christian's like.

We must serve our master, all the better.

Here's the deal.

He is our master,
and we work our hardest for him.

You understand? Yes.

There's a slide about that.

I know it's going to come up pretty soon.

He is our master
and we work our hardest for him.

So. Full circle. Now

you need to understand
what John 1515 says.

He says,

you, my dear kids,

I no longer call you servants.

Now I call you friends.

So Jesus makes this transition,

though I can demand from you duty

as your master.

Because of my life, death,
and resurrection.

I no longer relate to you
from master servant standpoint.

Though I could.

But now I've invited you into my family
now as friends.

And what does the Bible tell us?

That greater love has no man for this?

Someone laid down his life for his free.

And so Jesus has said, listen,
you owe me as your master.

You owe me as your mouth.

But I don't want to relate to you
as a master servant.

I have given my life for you
because I have.

There's, I haven't. I love you so much

that now
I invite you into this relationship.

As my friend,
I've laid down my life for you.

I could demanded of you,
but I don't want to lay that on you.

I want to invite you

as my friend. Yeah.

Do you understand?

And because of that, no greater love.

We work our tails off

for the one who loved our souls so much

that he died for us.

You get it?

I get that much honor.

We owe it to him as a slave.

But we do it for him because we're loved.

That's the point.

We owe it to him because we're slave.

Slave of Christ.

But we do it for him

out of love.

Love beats duty every time. Oh,

every time.

You okay? And.

Oh, great father.

Thank you. Thank,

thank you for the opportunity
you've given us

to open up your word.

Thank you

that by your word, you communicate to us
how much you love us.

Your sacrifice for us.

And you call us,

to wrestle with our honor of you
and what that looks like in real.

In real terms, in real time.

And I thank you, father, that even

in our failure, you don't cast us aside

and hold grudges that you've offered us
complete and utter forgiveness.

That's just so beautiful,

father.

I pray that you would encourage us
to give honor

to each other.

And to esteem

one another better than ourselves.

And I pray that you would call us into

a responsive life, not out of duty,

but out of love, because you loved us
so much that you gave your son God, that

any of us who would believe in
you would have eternal life.

You loved us

so much you proved your love on the cross.

Father, I just pray that those of us here
would not ever respond

just simply out of duty and obligation
as a slave to us.

Master,

but that we respond to you out of love
because you first loved us.

Yeah,

friends,
I want to invite you in this moment.

If you've never respond
to the love of God,

if you've never respond to him
out of love, you've been trying out a duty

and it's not worked and has drawn.

It's difficult

and it's just nothing but failure
after failure after duty after duty.

I don't invite you in this moment

to enter into this relationship,

to respond to the love of of the father,
sending his son to die for your sin.

Would you just simply

between you and this God who loves you

so. So, father,
thank you that you love me.

Jesus,
thank you that you died on the cross.

Thank you
that you've offered me forgiveness.

I receive it today.

I'm. I'm to follow you as best I know how.

And today I give myself to you.

What?

God, I pray that people wouldn't
leave this place

without responding.

Not out of duty, but respond to the love
that you've given us in your son.

We love you.

Help us to love you more.

In your name I pray. Amen.

Listen, I want you to go home this week.

Read chapter five and read chapter six.
Get ready for next week.

You do that?

Yeah.

Do that
and we'll wrap up first Timothy next week.

Then we'll get into second Timothy.

Real practical stuff. Real good stuff.

I'm proud of you. You did well.

There's a lot today.

You did a good job.
That's why we got comfortable. Chair.

So your tail end doesn't
get too sore while we sit here.

Listen, we're going to

sing a little bit more song a little bit.

Let's sing.