The beginning of the final chapter of Paul’s letter to Timothy continues his instructions concerning church relationships. He has already addressed widows and elders. He now turns to slaves.

See the passage for yourself at 1 Timothy 6:1-2:

Slavery in New Testament times was significantly different than it has been in recent centuries, especially as experienced in the US. As a result of this, we have very little comprehension of just what it was like to be a slave in those days. We can’t even imagine what it must have been like.

Slavery in the New Testament had very little to do with nationality, ethnicity or skin color. It was more based upon economic circumstances, or because of war. In fact, it was not a rare occurrence for a person to sell themselves into slavery to improve their situation or pay a debt. Slavery to a good master was often a better place to be than a poor free person.

Slaves made up a significant portion of many of the early churches written to in the New Testament, and Paul addressed slavery in many of his letters, such as 1 Corinthians 7:21-24, Colossians 3:22-25, Ephesians 6:5-8, and Titus 2:9-10. Peter also addressed slavery in 1 Peter 2:18-25.

But why would Paul address slavery in this letter to Timothy? It may be that some problems had arisen among slaves and master, similar to those issues and attitudes among the younger widows, which Paul spends some time discussing.

As Paul wraps up his instructions concerning elders who need correction, he states his charge to Timothy. Some feel that this is a charge concerning all of Paul’s teaching in the letter to this point. However, the context suggests that this is more in line with his discussion of the elders in the previous few verses.

You can see the passage in 1 Timothy 5:21-22:

Paul’s charge is a solemn charge, carrying the weight of responsibility for Timothy’s leadership in the Ephesian church. In a way, this charge is given before God, Christ and the angels as witnesses. That indicates the seriousness of this responsibility that Paul is bestowing upon his young friend.

The idea here is that Timothy is called to judge others; but he is to keep in mind that he will be judged himself as well. With that in mind, let’s look at the areas that Timothy needs to watch.

Do nothing with partiality

Partiality conveys the idea that the case has been already judged and closed. Partiality indicates that the decision has been made. Paul warns Timothy to avoid this at all costs.

Do not show favoritism

The idea of favoritism suggests that there is the inclination to side with one side over the other. Again, Paul tells Timothy that this isn’t an acceptable characteristic for a leader to have, and warns Timothy against it.

Paul has already addresses elders in 1 Timothy. However, he returns to the topic to give some further instruction in the fifth chapter. This isn’t as much a job description, as in chapter three, but seems to be more corrective in nature.

Take a look for yourself in 1 Timothy 5:19-20:

In the previous couple of verses, Paul’s concern is for the care and compensation of elders who give their lives wholly to the ministry, forsaking other means of generating an income. Paul expects the church that Timothy is directing to take charge and help these men provide for their families.

But in these verses, his tone changes. Here he is addressing the steps to be taken when an elder is found to be in sin.

He gives Timothy two guidelines to follow:

In chapter 5 of 1 Timothy, Paul returns again to a discussion of elders, having finished a lengthy discourse on widows and their care.

Take a look at this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 5:17-18:

The obvious question is why does Paul return to this topic, after having dealt with elders and their responsibilities in chapter three? The answer may be that Paul is now correcting church problems, and not giving job descriptions. After all, he just finished correcting the church’s perception of widows. Now it seems as if there may be a need to adjust the perspective on elders as well. Plus, his use of the word “honor” seems to link this passage with the section on widows, where he uses a similar term, “give proper recognition.”

Paul instructs Timothy on those elders who lead well. He tells Timothy that they are worthy of double honor. There are at least five different interpretations of what this may mean:

• These elders are to be properly honored and properly paid.
• These elders receive honor first because they serve as elders, and second, because they serve well.
• These elders should receive twice as much as the widows receive.
• These elders should receive more pay, not necessarily double, than the widows receive.
• These elders should receive more honor, but not pay, than the widows, or the masters in the following chapter.

The most logical explanation is one that includes payment for their services, in light of the discussion on widows care, and especially in light of the passages of Scripture that Paul quotes in verse 18.

Paul has covered a lot of ground in chapter five, concerning older widows and the proper care for them from the church. He also discusses younger widows, and instructs Timothy on how to approach both groups.

He wraps up his instructions on widows in this week’s passage, which is found in 1 Timothy 5:16:

Having finished his discussion on younger widows, which were presenting a problem for Timothy as he led the Ephesian church, Paul returns to the main thrust of this passage on widows, that of caring for those who had a genuine need.

The point of this passage is to reinforce the idea that those who have widows in their families should take it upon themselves to care for them, so that the church will not be burdened with that care, and can focus limited resources on those who have no other hope for assistance.

The surprising element here is Paul’s use of the phrase “any believing woman.” Early copyists altered the text, thinking they were correcting it, to read “any believing man or believing woman.” However, that may not have been the intent of Paul’s statement. One commentary suggests that Paul may have been referring to some of the younger widows, who had resources to draw upon, and were refusing to help a widowed mother or grandmother.

We cannot be certain of this, since the text doesn’t specifically state this, but it seems to make the most sense within the context of the passage. There may well have been a problem with women with financial resources failing to provide for widows in their households.

Paul has a lot to say about widows to Timothy in chapter five of his letter. His instructions about older widows and the care they need are gracious and giving. But his views concerning younger widows are much more strict.

This week’s passage is found in 1 Timothy 5:13-15:

Paul’s advice to Timothy in the preceding few verses about younger widows wasn’t very positive. He felt that a younger widow caused more problems than not, and would be tempted to stray from Christ and his church.

In this week’s passage, he takes this view a step further. His concern is that the behavior of a younger widow, unable to control her passions, would bring disgrace to Christ. Financially supporting these women could potentially bring about a sense of idleness, giving them the time to go from house to house, gossiping, being busybodies, and meddling in affairs not their own. In short, Paul says, supporting such widows enables them to use the system, and cause significant harm.

Let’s take a brief look at a couple of the words Paul uses here. The word “idle” is translated in other places as lazy, useless, with nothing to do. The word for “gossip” is a much richer word than our English translations convey, carrying the idea of foolish talk and false accusations, along with spreading rumors and chatter.

Paul then gives a series of four instructions concerning younger widows. These younger widows are…