I Timothy 5

I Timothy 5:1-2:
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

As a young pastor, at least much younger than Paul, an old man, he is given fatherly counsel. He must treat the church as family members. The elders, meaning here older men, are to be entreated as a father, the younger men as brothers. Older women should be treated as mothers, and younger women as sisters, “with all purity.”
The church must thus function essentially as God’s family. If there are young men and young women in the church, as yet unmarried, they are to be regarded as the children of the church and given the loving care of all members.
The concern is not one to be passed on to a church court: it belongs to all the church family. Members of a family help one another.
Too many churches feel that it is the duty of the church court to govern and rule over all such persons. There is nothing in all the Bible that gives a church court the right to rule over widows or single women, many of whom may be and often are much older and wiser than they. The Lord God does not ask us to follow the Roman but the family pattern. -RJ Rushdoony; 1992

I Timothy 5:8:
"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

In an age when the bread winning function is often shared by husband and wife, the thought of living entirely off the husband's income sometimes seems a completely unattainable ideal. This is not entirely due to the irresponsibility of couch-potato husbands. Political, economic, and cultural pressures have combined to undermine the family wage--a wage high enough that a man earning it can provide adequately for himself and his immediate family. But, this is an important message that needs to be heard. A man who neglects his family and does not provide is considered worse than an unbeliever. It would be like a wife living with someone who is living in darkness. Not a good situation.

Regarding 1 Timothy 5:8, a believer can be worse than unbeliever in this sense. It is an innate part of human nature to care for our own. Even unbelievers who do not know the Lord know that they should care for their children and grandchildren. That’s built into the human DNA. When a believer does not care for his own family, if he abandons them or abuses them, he has fallen below the standard that unbelievers follow. That may lead them to take potshots at the church, “He calls himself a Christian but look how he mistreats his own family.” Paul is not considering eternal destiny. He’s just saying that believers ought to show at least much concern for their own families as unbelievers do for theirs. And of course he would say much more than that. It’s an argument from the lesser to the greater: “If unbelievers care for their own families, then how much more ought we to care for our families. And if we don’t care for our own families, we are worse off than the unbelievers who at least care for their own.” To ignore your own family and let them suffer when you could avoid it is to deny the faith you claim to practice. [SOURCE: Ray Pritchard: Crosswalk: Two Questions from 1 Timothy 5]

And these things command, that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
These things command: A good pastor will teach these things, so all will know what God expects of them.
If anyone does not provide for his own: God’s normal way of providing for the needy is not through the church, but through our own hard work. He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever: In the strongest terms, Paul emphasized the responsibility of a man to provide for his family - to do all he could to support them.

i. This is the minimum required of a Christian man; if he does not do even this, his conduct is worse than an unbeliever’s is.

ii. “We may add that Jesus Himself gave an example of providing for one’s own, when He provided a home for His mother with the beloved disciple.” (Expositor’s)

iii. This is why when someone is out of work, we can pray with such confidence, knowing it is God’s will for them to provide for the needs of their family through work.
David Guzik Commentary on the Bible]

Besides the fact that the verse uses male pronouns, it is not obvious that this is talking about men alone since it says “anyone” and it comes in the context of talking about widows (I’m still not quite sure about the connection between this verse and the rest of Paul’s discussion on widows actually). Plenty of times in ordinary dialogue we use pronouns like “he” and “she”, but we are not saying in each of those cases that what we’re saying only applies to men or women. For example, if I were to say “If someone murders another person, he should turn himself in.” I’m using male pronouns, but I’m obviously not relegating my claim to men alone. Obviously I think a woman who murders someone should turn herself in too. If anything, this verse seems to be a call for people not to neglect their duties to take care of their families, not a specific teaching that men must be the primary money-makers.
I’m not saying a case cannot be made from the Bible that men are the primary breadwinners, but quoting this verse alone does not seem to do the trick. [SOURCE: Into The Harvest: Stay-At-Home-Dad’s and Providing for the Family in 1 Timothy 5:8]

I Timothy 5:23:
No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

Whatever kind of wine Paul was talking about (fermented or unfermented), it is exceedingly plain that the purpose of his counsel to Timothy was due to his stomach ailments.
Paul’s counsel related to a medicinal use, not a social enjoyment. What kind of wine was Paul recommending? Would the apostle encourage the moderate us of a drink which Proverbs 23:31 says “Look not upon the wine when it is red, “ a drink which brings “woe sorrow, babbling, and wounds” (Proverbs 23:29). A drink which is deceptive (Proverbs 20:1), a drink which perverts the judgment causing tine eyes to behold strange women and thine heart to utter strange things (Proverbs 23:32-33). [SOURCE: Oregon Live]

I Timothy 5:23-24:
24 Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

Martin G Collins

A Christian should not let his light shine to be praised by others, but to bring glory to the Father. The Pharisees acted to be seen of men, but true Christians behave to glorify God, caring little what people may think of them. It is by our conduct, not our pomp and circumstance, that others may be brought to honor God. We should live so that people may see from our good works the proper nature of God's way of life. Good works cannot be hidden because they stand in stark contrast to the ways of this wicked world (I Timothy 5:25). These works are required behavior at home and in the outside world.
--Martin G Collins; Forerunner Bible Study; Parable of the Light June 2002