Christ's Law

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● 1Tim 5:14 . . I will that younger women marry, have children, manage their
homes, and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.

The Greek word for "younger" actually means new and unused; so I'd say that
Paul's orders are for girls not yet married and settled down, and maybe thinking of
putting all that off awhile for careers, adventure, and/or whatever.

A very real danger for unattached girls is immorality. Desire, loneliness, and
longings for appreciation, have a way of building up to unbearable levels in people
who live alone; and just about that time, along comes a really great somebody who
maybe breaks down their defenses and gets a little too chummy. That can be a
difficult moment.

"To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have
her own husband." (1Cor 7:2)

NOTE: Immorality isn't the only danger related to long-term celibacy. Those who've
decided on that path need to think rationally and objectively about their future; and
ask themselves: Do I really want to live out my youth without someone; alone and
unloved in the world? Can I bear up without a nervous break-down and/or turning
to alcohol, Prozac, and overeating? Will I become irritable and difficult, and/or end
up resenting the existence of men like aunt Lucy?

Have to be brutally honest with these questions because one's mental health is on
the line here. It's very possible for a woman to wake up one day and realize, with
terrible regret, that the aging process has set in and she's allowed the very best
years of life for love and family to slip through her fingers.
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● 1Tim 5:16 . . If any believing man or woman have widows, let them relieve them,
and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

A widow indeed, as defined by 1Tim 5:9-10, is usually a woman facing destitution
who's lost her husband and has no one else, and/or nowhere else, to turn to for
assistance.
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● 1Tim 5:17-18 . .The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of
double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the
scripture says: "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain" and "The
laborer is worthy of his hire."

The Greek word for "elder" basically identifies aldermen; which Webster's defines as
members of a legislative body. In other words; elders enact and enforce the
proprietary rules and bylaws that govern everybody in a local church; including its
pastor.

In some churches those rules and bylaws are called a covenant; which new
members are required to accept. The aldermen are also responsible for settling
disputes between church members (1Cor 6:1-5) so that they correspond to "the
church" that Christ spoke of at Matt 18:15-18.

Aldermen aren't peculiar to Christianity. Councils pre-existed amongst Moses'
people prior to Moses' commission (Ex 3:16). Anon, seventy of Israel's elders were
established by God as a supreme council (Num 11:16-17). One's failure to
cooperate with their church's aldermen is grounds for removing their name from
the role. (Matt 18:15-18)

Since Christian aldermen sometimes wear more than one hat as preachers and
teachers; then it's very possible in a large church for them to have time for nothing
else, like for instance holding down a job. For that reason, their constituents should
try and compensate them with a decent standard of living. I mean, after all, if their
service to a local church is invaluable, then by all means the congregation should
do whatever it takes to keep them on staff where they can devote all of their time
and energy towards governing (that is; if you feel your church is a worthwhile
endeavor).

Let's say for example, that one of your church's aldermen is a retiree trying to
survive on Social Security and a diminished 401K. He'll be a lot more effective
towards your church's good if the congregation, whatever its size, pitches in to help
him make ends meet; and the outside world surely won't blame your church for
doing so unless of course they're as callous towards the needs of a senior citizen as
the heels of a hobnailed jackboot.

But beware that the congregation doesn't overcompensate its aldermen to the point
where they can afford to drive a Cadillac Escalade, wear an Omega, and own an
expensive home in an up-scale district. That will really make Christianity look bad,
and actually work against Christ's best interests.
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● 1Tim 5:19 . . Do not accept an accusation against an elder except before two or
three witnesses.

The old testament requires a minimum of two witnesses in capital cases (Deut
17:6-7). But the Greek word for "accusation" doesn't specify capital crimes. It can
apply to every variety of conduct unbecoming.

The way I see this: it isn't required that two or three witnesses accuse the elder,
but that an accuser do so in the hearing of two or three witnesses. The witnesses
are not there to testify against the elder; rather, to testify against the accuser in
the event it's discovered that he's the perpetrator of a slander.

* The old testament requires that false accusers be punished with the very same
punishment that they expected for their victims. (Deut 19:16-21)
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● 1Tim 5:20 . .Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

Once it's discovered that an accuser's allegations are libelous, then it's time to get
up in front of the entire congregation and expose him for the cheap goods he really
is because nobody's reputation is safe in the hands of someone like that. This is
where the testimony of the aforementioned two or three witnesses comes into play.

"I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a
brother but is a slanderer. With such a man do not even eat. Expel the wicked man
from among you." (1Cor 5:11-13)

A congregational roast can be a very humiliating experience for a church member,
and when the others see how it goes, they'll think twice before making spurious
allegations against aldermen.
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