Trinity Presbyterian Church North Bay — Sermons & Sunday School

Sermon preached on 1 Timothy 5:9-16 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/26/2017 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Timothy 5:9-16

3/26/17

“Taken into the Number”

In today’s passage, we continue to think about honoring the widows who are really widows. Last week we saw that the widows we are to particularly support as a church are those Christian widows who are truly destitute. They need to be all alone in terms of not having any family to take care of them. They also need to be Christians who were looking to God for help. These are the widows that the church needs to prioritize in terms of its help and care.

As we come to today’s passage, we delve deeper into the topic of honoring certain widows. Here we have further qualifications of widows who are to be enrolled on some official list. These extended qualifications and the details herein suggest that these widows are being added to a list not only to be supported, but also to be officially recognized in a position of some service or ministry. All of this reminds us that while we desire to honor such widows, these widows themselves are a blessing from God to his church. And so today we’ll be thinking both of this idea of a list of widows along with the description and qualifications of such widows for this list.

Beginning then in verse 9, it begins by speaking of taking certain widows “into the number.” It goes on to list a number of qualifications for these widows to be able to be on this list. This immediately makes us ask a question: what is this list for? What does this list of widows represent? An initial thought might be to assume that it is simply a list of which widows the church would provide support. And yet, as we keep reading, it seems hard to assume that this is only a list of support. Many have thought this to describe some order or number of widows who would provide some service or ministry in the church. In turn, these same widows would of course also be supported by the church. To clarify, this would be a sort of retirement ministry for these widows, not necessarily some full-time job. But let me explain why the text would point us in this direction, though I do admit that it is not explicitly stated.

First off, you have the detailed qualifications here both of age and godly maturity and fruit. That suggests in part that we are looking at certain qualifications for someone who will then serve in the church in ways that match up with those qualifications. In other words, if for example, you wanted widows on this list to serve in areas of church hospitality and caring for orphans, then the qualifications listed here would speak to their ability to do that. So, the qualifications are at least suggestive that there is some job duty being presumed here. This idea is further strengthened when you see some of the similarities in this list of qualifications with those given for the officers of the church in chapter 3. Such qualifications suggest a specific service or role that the widows on the list might be providing. Similarly, you wouldn’t think that the church would require these qualifications to any Christian widow in the church who may need financial help from time to time. Yet, these qualifications make sense if this list is more than just who needs financial support in the church.

Second, you have the concern with the younger widows. Paul’s presents two concerns with having younger widows on this list. First, they might want to remarry. Second, they might become idle which could encourage gossip or being a busy body. Instead, Paul wants the younger to remarry and be about the typical calling that a wife and mother does; that’s verse 14. He says, “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” In other words, Paul thinks that a younger[...]

Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/26/2017 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series on prayer, continuing to define what is prayer, speaking against the notion of contemplative prayer.

Sermon preached on 1 Timothy 5:3-8 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/19/2017 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Timothy 5:3-8

3/19/17

“Honor Widows Who Are Really Widows”

I last preached this passage about 4 years ago when we ordained David Young to the office of Deacon. Actually, at that time, I preached from verses 1-16. I preached it as a topical message in light of the deacon ordination and consequently I only covered it in a rather broad way. But now that we are going through a series on 1 Timothy I’m excited to be able to delve into it a bit further over multiple weeks. And so, the first thing to notice is that verses 3-8 give general commands regarding widows, but then verses 9-16 go into more detail and talk in terms of widows being put on a list and arguably given a job or ministry in the church. The question becomes over the connection between verse 3-8 and verses 9-16. Some have wanted to add greater separation between the two passages, as if verses 3-8 deal with the support we give widows, and verses 9-16 deal with a different topic of widows who take on an some kind of official service in the church. And yet I don’t think we can justify divorcing these two passages from each other. Clearly this overall section going from verse 3 all the way to verse 16 is about the single subject of caring for the widows in the church.

And so, my approach is to understand that today’s verses are the overview. They speak in general about how the church is to approach supporting widows. The next passage then gives further qualifications about supporting widows, including placing them on a list that evidently involves some kind of service on their part. In other words, it seems to describe what we might refer to as some kind of order of widows. We will talk more about this official list of widows next week and talk about how to apply it. But for now, let me say that because they apparently had some kind of an official list of widows at that time with certain duties, does not mean that we can or should only help widows who join such an order. Yet there is discernment needed when helping widows. Both today’s passage, along with the next one, will help us think through the principles we need to have before us when looking to honor the widows who are really widows.

Let’s begin then with today’s text by recognizing that God has great concern for widows. This is abundantly clear in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, in Deuteronomy 10:18 God says that he administers justice for the widow. The idea there is that God is the righteous judge that looks out for the widows. That idea sadly acknowledges what the Bible points out is far too common: that earthly judges overlook the cries of the widows. Sadly, human judges are often influenced by people with money or power and are inclined to help them, and on the flip side not wanting to be bothered by poor powerless widows, even if they have a just concern. But God there in Deuteronomy 10:18 says he will give them justice even if human kings and governors won’t. This is further illustrated in Exodus 22:22. There it begins by commanding God’s people to not afflict any widow. God then goes on to say that if they do, he’ll avenge the widow by killing them and leaving their wives as widows. That’s a rather sobering thought, but it clearly shows God’s concern for widows.

Another way we see God’s concern for the widows is his provision in the old covenant for gleaning. We find that in Dueteronomy 24:19 where God mentions the widows as one of the particular groups he has in mind to help with this provision. Basically, this provision required farmers to not go over their picked crops a second time, or to pick up anything that drops to the ground. These extra remains of the harvest were for the people in need like the widows to be able to go through and pick up for[...]

Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/19/2017 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series on prayer, continuing to define what is prayer, speaking of prayer as a discipline, and speaking against being influenced by other religions in terms of prayer.

Sermon preached on 1 Timothy 5:1-2 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/12/2017 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Timothy 5:1-2

3/12/17

“Do Not Rebuke But Exhort”

As we head into a new chapter in 1 Timothy, we see that Paul is still addressing how Timothy is to conduct himself as a pastor. Though the tone does seem to become a bit more general here, he still is concerned about how Timothy acts as a pastor in the church. And in these two verses Paul especially is concerned with how Timothy interacts with specific groups. He draws Timothy to think of two kinds of classifications of people: classifications of age and gender. Paul tells Timothy that how he interacts with people should take into account their age and gender. There is certainly application here for all of us. This is not just a consideration for pastors. There are lessons here for each of us to think about how we relate to and communicate with other Christians based on their age and gender.

So then, in the first half of today’s message, I want us to see that Christians have become a family in Christ. This is the basis for this passage. Paul tells Timothy that his relating to people in terms of their age and gender should be thought up in terms of family relationships: treat people like fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers. And so, this is the foundation for why Paul can say this here. Paul can tell Timothy to treat Christians as you would family because in Christ we have all become part of one family. You know, I always include some gospel point in my sermon, but I typically put it toward the end. That way I bring the message to a culmination in the gospel. But today I’m reversing that order. Today I’m starting with this gospel point. By the grace of God, part of our salvation is that we are brought into God’s family. Let’s think about that for a bit.

First off, to remember that we are now family in Christ, starts by reminding us how our Christian faith can actually divide us from our earthly family. Remember how in Matthew 10 Jesus said he has come not to bring peace, but a sword. He goes on to say that he sets a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. He says that a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. To clarify, those words don’t mean that every single family will get divided over Christ. We know both in the Bible and in history there are many examples of Christian families who all love and worship the Lord. How wonderful that is when that is the case. Yet, we also know that sometimes families are divided over Jesus. Some believe in Jesus, others don’t, and sometimes this can cause great tension in a family. To clarify, Christians ought not to treat their family members badly who don’t believe. Yet, we know that sometimes unbelieving family members will hate you because of your faith. We also know that unbelieving family members might try to get you to turn away from your Christian faith. This is spoken of even under the old covenant in Deuteronomy 13:6-9. There it talks about that you must not let family members turn you away to false gods. So, under both old and new covenants, there is this reminder that family could serve to turn you away from God.

Yet, for those who have had to make such a sacrifice, to choose the Lord over your earthly families, I encourage you with the words of Jesus in Mark 10:29. There Jesus says that if you’ve given up family for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, that even in this life you will get back even more family. What does he mean? Well, surely, he must refer to the new family we have become in him. There are many wonderful ways we see this truth expressed in the Bible.

First, we see it by the fact that as Christians we are born of God. John 1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name[...]

Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/12/2017 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series on prayer, continuing to define what is prayer, speaking on what it means to pray in the name of Jesus.

Sermon preached on 1 Timothy 4:11-16 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/5/2017 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Timothy 4:11-16

3/5/17

“Give Yourself Entirely to Them”

Take heed to yourself. That’s verse 16. We’ve studied this passage the last couple sermons and in both messages we came to this call for watchfulness and self-examination. We talked about it in terms of being an example; Timothy and us need to take heed to ourselves to be such an example. We talked about it in terms of the teaching ministry of the church; that Timothy and us need to take heed to make sure we are staying true to proclaiming and teaching God’s Word as a church. Well, today will be our last week on this particular passage. Next week we will head into chapter 8. But today we’ll again be reminded to take heed to ourselves. But this time I’ll be drawing our attention to this in regard to our continued growth as Christians. We will be focusing in on verses 14-15 of this passage which call Timothy and us to pursue continued growth. This call for growth is especially made in terms of our spiritual gifts. Timothy has a spiritual gift. But it was not enough for him to just have it. He needed to exercise it and even look to grow in his use of it. That is what we’ll have a chance to think about today. And as Paul call’s Timothy to cultivate the spiritual gifts God has given him, let us look to do the same as well in our own lives.

So, in our first point we’ll consider this spiritual gift within Timothy. That’s verse 14. Timothy had a spiritual gift that not everyone had. It says it was a gift that was in him. And it says it was something given to him. The New Testament talks in several places about such spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12, for example speaks how these are given to God’s people from the Holy Spirit. What is clear from 1 Corinthians 12 is that Christians don’t all have the same gifts. Rather, God’s people have different kinds of gifts, gifts that we all need to be healthy both individually and as church family. But by God dividing up the different gifts among the believers, it makes us need each other. This is what Paul says Timothy has. He has a spiritual gift and the church will need him to make use of it.

So, what is this gift that Timothy has? Well, the text does not explicitly name the gift. Yet, the text does seem to give us a good idea of what Paul has in mind. The verse right before (vs 13) deals with Timothy’s need to keep up ministering the word. It specifically mentions exhortation and teaching. Those are actually two spiritual gifts Paul mentions in Romans 12:7-8, exhortation and teaching. And then in verse 14 it speaks of Timothy’s ordination in connection with this spiritual gifting. That’s the reference to the laying on of hands by the elders. That’s how someone would be ordained to the ministry, and it’s how we still ordain our officers in the church today. They are ordained by the laying on of hands with prayer. And so clearly Timothy has been spiritually gifted for the pastoral ministry of the word, to exhort and teach the scriptures and provide leadership for the church.

Notice that verse 14 says that Timothy’s gift came via prophecy. That’s wonderful though certainly not ordinary. We’re not told the details of how this gift came via prophecy. But it seems the idea is that the spiritual gift was somehow announced and/or verified via a prophecy. This would have certainly been great for Timothy to have such spiritual gifting so clearly made known to him. It would take away any doubt from his mind as to if he was called to some particular function in the church.

And so, when we think about applying this first point to ourselves, there is some great similarity, though also some difference. In terms of the difference, we don’t find out about our spiritual gifts via specific personal proph[...]

Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/5/2017 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series on prayer, continuing to define what is prayer, speaking on it as a means of grace.

Sermon preached on 1 Timothy 4:11-16 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 2/26/2017 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Timothy 4:11-16

2/26/17

“Till I Come”

As we saw in chapter 1, the Apostle Paul had left Pastor Timothy in Ephesus to carry on the pastoral ministry until Paul returns. Paul went on to do ministry in Macedonia, but Timothy had to carry on the work in Ephesus in Paul’s absence. This seemed especially important given that there were some threats of false teachers at that church. And so, we are reminded of all this when we come to verse 13. Paul says to Timothy, “Till I come.” Till I come, here’s what I want you to be doing. You need to focus on the reading of the Scripture, on the giving of exhortation from God’s Word, and on teaching biblical doctrine. Timothy must faithfully continue this until Paul returns.

This is important for us as well. We’re spending more time in this same section from 1 Timothy. Verses 11-16 tell us a lot about the pastoral ministry of the church. And today we’re going to think about the Word ministry of the pastor. That’s what I love about this letter. We get to think about the ministry of the church. Here we get to think about the pastor’s role in the public ministry of the Word. As we look at verses 11-16, these ideas are especially seen in verses 11, 13, and 16. I’ll be drawing from those verses as we think today about the ministry of the Word. And so, I’ll break down the ministry of the Word into three main points from today’s passage. First, we’ll consider the public reading of Scripture. Then, we’ll look at the command and exhortation of Scripture. Third, we’ll reflect on the teaching of doctrine.

Let’s begin first with the public reading of Scripture. This is in verse 13. Timothy needs to give attention to the reading, referring to the reading of the Scripture. This was a practice that was done first in the synagogues and understandably carried into the Christian church as well. For example, in Luke 4:16, we see Jesus reading at the synagogue in Nazareth from the book of Isaiah. In Acts 13:15, we see that the synagogue in Antioch had readings from both the law and the prophets. We see in different ways that the early church’s worship services had similarities with the Jewish synagogue services and this is one of them.

But of course, there was a key difference. The Jewish synagogues would read only from that part of the Bible we refer to as the Old Testament. But in the Christian churches, they were already beginning to read what we would refer to as the New Testament. As the New Testament started getting recorded, it then started to be read in the churches. We see that for example in Colossians 4:16 that the epistle to the Colossians was not only to be read to the Colossians but then sent to Laodicea to have it read there too. Or in 1 Thessalonians 5:27, Paul charges the Thessalonians under oath that the letter be read to all the holy brethren. And in Revelation 1:3, it speaks of the blessing that comes to those who reads aloud the words of prophecy and those who hear it. The point there is that Jesus meant Revelation to be read publicly to the church too

And so, Paul says Timothy must give attention to this public reading of the Scripture. There needs to be a devotion and discipline to the Scripture reading at the church. It is sad when you go to a church and basically only get one verse or so the entire service. It’s even more sad if you don’t even get that! There is a reason why we have as much Scripture reading throughout our service. We get it in the call to worship, and in the confession of faith, and in the three formal readings from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Prophets. We know that Word of God is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword”, that it is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (H[...]

Adult Sunday School class led by Rev. W. Reid Hankins at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 2/26/2017 in Novato, CA. This week we continued a series on prayer, continuing to define what is prayer.