Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Your Work Matters to God, Part 27 of 45

Text: "Give the people these instructions so that no one may be open to blame.  Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:7-8).

IDEA: It takes work to carry out God's command to honor our parents or grandparents.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand a broader definition of work.

One benefit of work is that it enables us to provide for our families.

What kind of work are we talking about?

What do we mean by "our families"?

I. If someone does not care for his or her relatives, especially those of his or her family, he or she is worse than an unbeliever.

What relatives do you think the apostle Paul might have had in mind? The context would imply parents and grandparents.

There is a direct command that we are to honor our fathers and mothers. How do you think most of us initially interpret that command?

We apply it to small children: they are to obey their parents.

That command, wherever we find it, is for older children, not small children.

A major way we carry out that command is to provide for parents and grandparents.

II. Why does the apostle Paul say that if we do not provide for our relatives, we have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers?

We are denying a direct known command of God.

Unbelievers in that culture and in ours often see the need to provide for parents or grandparents. The Christian standard, which is one of love, is higher than that.

Paul says, "These things command that they may be blameless."

What message do you give when you care for aged parents or grandparents?