Of Churches and Truck Stops – Part 5
But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge [1 Timothy 5:11-12].
Christians were persecuted for refusing to worship all the pagan gods along with Jesus. So financial times were hard for them. The churches established a list of their needy members, and they tried to aid them with food and other necessities.
Paul told them not to include certain widows on the list. If the widow had adult children or other relatives around, they should take care of her. That was simple Christian love in action. If the widow was still young, she was not a candidate for the list either.
“Huh?” someone is flummoxed. “How’d that get in here? Why would Paul not want a widow to be helped just because she was young? Age discrimination ‘tis!”
Uh, that would be a no, dear brother. Paul didn’t make the rule up. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write it, so God is responsible. Listen to the various clauses in Paul’s explanation:
1. they feel sensual desires (i.e., youth)
2. this is in disregard of Christ
3. so they want to remarry
4. they incur condemnation by remarrying
5. they are condemned for breaking their pledge
A careful reading of those five points teaches us how the list functioned. Those on the list pledged themselves to Christ and the work of the church. Otherwise they sought their livelihood on a regular job or in a marriage. Or they moved back in with dear old dad or another relative.
They committed themselves to this arrangement, when they accepted their name on the list of the needy. They gave themselves to the church and were cared for by the church. It was a mutual pledge.
Since they were still young, their biological clock ticked increasingly louder as time went by, and they sooner or later wanted to remarry. To remarry they had to renege on their pledge to Christ and His church, in order to pledge themselves to their husband.
Keeping our word is an absolute must for Christians! The Lord cannot tolerate us breaking our oaths, whether we call them oaths or promises or pledges or whatever. The Lord never breaks His Word, and His kids must emulate Him.
Paul’s teaching reveals the principle that we Christians must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus said so and Paul taught it too. We mustn’t let guilt lead us. “Leading us” is in the job description of the Bible, not in the job description of guilt.
We must accept responsibility for our actions, including the act of giving charity. Don’t be a participant in the sins of Christian freeloaders. Don’t encourage them to continue their lives as leaches on the Body of Christ. Be wise, intelligent, sagacious in giving aid to folks.
We don’t want to be afraid to help. We just mustn’t be too lazy to be sure we are helping the needy, rather than enabling the freeloaders. After all, it is Christ’s money we are spending…or wasting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Christians were persecuted for refusing to worship all the pagan gods along with Jesus. So financial times were hard for them. The churches established a list of their needy members, and they tried to aid them with food and other necessities.
Paul told them not to include certain widows on the list. If the widow had adult children or other relatives around, they should take care of her. That was simple Christian love in action. If the widow was still young, she was not a candidate for the list either.
“Huh?” someone is flummoxed. “How’d that get in here? Why would Paul not want a widow to be helped just because she was young? Age discrimination ‘tis!”
Uh, that would be a no, dear brother. Paul didn’t make the rule up. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write it, so God is responsible. Listen to the various clauses in Paul’s explanation:
1. they feel sensual desires (i.e., youth)
2. this is in disregard of Christ
3. so they want to remarry
4. they incur condemnation by remarrying
5. they are condemned for breaking their pledge
A careful reading of those five points teaches us how the list functioned. Those on the list pledged themselves to Christ and the work of the church. Otherwise they sought their livelihood on a regular job or in a marriage. Or they moved back in with dear old dad or another relative.
They committed themselves to this arrangement, when they accepted their name on the list of the needy. They gave themselves to the church and were cared for by the church. It was a mutual pledge.
Since they were still young, their biological clock ticked increasingly louder as time went by, and they sooner or later wanted to remarry. To remarry they had to renege on their pledge to Christ and His church, in order to pledge themselves to their husband.
Keeping our word is an absolute must for Christians! The Lord cannot tolerate us breaking our oaths, whether we call them oaths or promises or pledges or whatever. The Lord never breaks His Word, and His kids must emulate Him.
Paul’s teaching reveals the principle that we Christians must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus said so and Paul taught it too. We mustn’t let guilt lead us. “Leading us” is in the job description of the Bible, not in the job description of guilt.
We must accept responsibility for our actions, including the act of giving charity. Don’t be a participant in the sins of Christian freeloaders. Don’t encourage them to continue their lives as leaches on the Body of Christ. Be wise, intelligent, sagacious in giving aid to folks.
We don’t want to be afraid to help. We just mustn’t be too lazy to be sure we are helping the needy, rather than enabling the freeloaders. After all, it is Christ’s money we are spending…or wasting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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