1 Timothy 5:8 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Timothy 5:8

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Here is this most emphatic reminder of some of these things. ‘But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.’ The picture is of a Christian man who does not show interest in his parents, or perhaps even his grandparents if they are needy and desolate, someone who is callous, who is indifferent to them, and shows no interest. What is to be said about him? Very strong terms are used. ‘He hath denied the faith.’ How has he denied the faith? He may be a very definite believer, a very dedicated believer; he may be engaged in Christian service. In what way has he denied the faith? Well, he has denied all the commands of the Scripture, both in the Old Testament and here in the New in this very passage. In Exodus, in Deuteronomy, and in the prophets: Isaiah and Jeremiah have strong things to say about this. There is tremendous blessing and encouragement promised to those who care for their family and there are tremendous condemnations for those who do not care for their family. So to ignore one's family is to ignore the Scripture and to reject oft-repeated and definite commands of the Lord. This is something which is close to God's heart.But it is worse still. For a believer not to provide for his own is not only to fail to look after the widow and the fatherless, but it is to deny the faith in another way. It is to deny the whole genius and ethos of the faith. Here am I, a believer in God. I believe in the grace of Christ. He has looked upon me in all my spiritual desolation. He has looked upon me in all my hopelessness and lostness, and in free grace he has come down and saved me. He has taken my heart and cared for me and given me the gift of salvation, and at his great expense he has lifted me up and rescued me. That is the faith, the grace of Christ, and I am called to be like Christ. Just as he is gracious, I must be gracious. If therefore I ignore my own family needs, I am denying what Christ has done for me. I am denying the character of Christ, the ways of Christ. I am denying my responsibility to be like Christ. The greatest word in the Christian faith is grace, and yet I am not showing grace. So I have denied the faith in that sense, as well as denying the clear commands. I am refusing sympathy and love and care. So I am worse than an unbeliever. Why worse than an unbeliever? What Paul means to say here is that, quite apart from the Old Testament teaching, the New Testament teaching, the commands of the Lord Jesus and his ways; even unbelievers, even pagans by animal instinct understand that you must look after your own. So if you don't, as a Christian, you are not only denying the faith, but you are worse than them. That is the reasoning of the apostle, and he uses very strong language to awaken shame in any believers who are failing in this way. So we have responsibilities.

Application

Sometimes people misunderstand their responsibilities, to their parents in particular. Caring for parents, aging parents, if you are adults too; caring for parents does not necessarily mean becoming obligated to them. I must mention this because some people make this mistake, thinking that they are obeying the law of Christ. They do everything their parents require of them. Now as parents get older, they may have designs; not wicked designs or evil designs, but naturally they may think they want to have a big say in the lives of their offspring, that they want their children and their grandchildren around them all the time, that they want to go on organizing the life of the family, and deriving fulfilment and pleasure and companionship from that. It's natural, a natural temptation for parents and grandparents to want too much sometimes, and to not understand the independent lives that now have to be lived, the individual responsibility of a new generation, a new family before God. Sometimes when the parents or the grandparents are unconverted, this is especially so, and they can't understand all the time those children waste on church and they want to take them over a little bit. Now honouring parents doesn't mean becoming obligated to them or becoming their servants or adapting your lifestyle to theirs, especially if they are not saved. Some people make that mistake. They think honouring your father and mother means being under your parents or grandparents – ‘I can't take my Sunday school class this week. I've got to rush off to the grandparents every fortnight.’ That is an exaggeration to make the point. So you have got to be careful. Honouring parents doesn't necessarily mean being foolish and letting your life and your own plan of life for the Lord being destroyed.

In another example, if you are a bit short of money, be careful. Granddad and granny may be pretty well off, and they say, ‘Don't worry, I'll pay for that, I'll buy this, I'll do this. Be very careful. You may become beholden to them, and naturally if they are tempted to take you over a little or see over much of you, you've got to fall in line. They have paid for it, don't forget. You owe them a great deal, so be careful. You trust in the Lord, and look to him and not to the purses of your parents and your grandparents, and then you won't get into that difficulty. You do things independently and prove the Lord as much as you can and then you will be safe.

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1 Timothy 5:8 Commentary and Bible Study

Explain meaning of 1 Timothy 5:8