Special Directions to Timothy

14 I am writing this to you, though I hope that I will come to see you before long; 15 but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know what your conduct ought to be in the household of God, which is the church of the living God – the pillar and stay of the truth. 16 Yes, and undeniably wonderful are the deep truths of our religion; for –

“He was revealed in our nature,

pronounced righteous in spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the Gentiles,

believed on in the world,

taken up into glory.”

4 But the Spirit distinctly says that in later times there will be some who will fall away from the faith, and devote their attention to misleading spirits, and to the teaching of demons, 2 who will make use of the hypocrisy of lying teachers. These people’s consciences are seared, 3 and they discourage marriage and enjoin abstinence from certain kinds of food; though God created these foods to be enjoyed thankfully by those who hold the faith and have attained a full knowledge of the truth. 4 Everything created by God is good, and there in nothing that need be rejected – provided only that it is received thankfully; 5 for it is consecrated by God’s blessing and by prayer.

6 Put all this before the followers, and you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, sustained by the precepts of the faith and of that good teaching by which you have guided your life. 7 As for profane legends and old wives’ tales, leave them alone. Train yourself to lead a religious life; 8 for while the training of the body is of service in some respects, religion is of service in all, carrying with it, as it does, a promise of life both here and hereafter. 9 How true that saying is and worthy of the fullest acceptance! 10 With that aim we toil and struggle, for we have set our hopes on the living God, who is the Saviour of all, and especially of those who hold the faith.Titleless Section Break

11 Remember these things in your teaching. 12 Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but, by your conversation, your conduct, your love, your faith, and your purity, be an example to those who hold the faith. 13 Until I come, apply yourself to public reading, preaching, and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the divine gift within you, which was given you, amid many a prediction, when the hands of the church elders were laid on your head. 15 Practice these things, devote yourself to them, so that your progress may be plain to everyone. 16 Look to yourself as well as to your teaching. Persevere in this, for your doing so will mean salvation for yourself as well as for your hearers.

5 Do not reprimand an older man, but plead with him as if he were your father. Treat the young men as brothers, 2 the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters – with all purity. 3 Show consideration for widows – I mean those who are really widowed. 4 But, if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to show proper regard for the members of their own family first, and to make some return to their parents; for that is pleasing in God’s sight. 5 As for the woman who is really widowed and left quite alone, her hopes are fixed on God, and she devotes herself to prayers and supplications night and day. 6 But the life of a widow who is devoted to pleasure is a living death. 7 Those are the points you should teach, so that there may be no call for your censure. 8 Anyone who fails to provide for their own relatives, and especially for those under their own roof, has disowned the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 A widow, when her name is added to the list, should not be less than sixty years old; she should have been a faithful wife, 10 and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action. 11 But you should exclude the younger widows from the list; for, when they grow restive under the yoke of the Christ, they want to marry, 12 and so they bring condemnation on themselves for having broken their previous promise. 13 And not only that, but they learn to be idle as they go about from house to house. Nor are they merely idle, but they also become gossips and busybodies, and talk of what they ought not. 14 Therefore I advise young widows to marry, bear children, and attend to their homes, and so avoid giving the enemy an opportunity for scandal. 15 There are some who have already left us, to follow Satan. 16 Any Christian woman, who has relatives who are widows, ought to relieve them and not allow them to become a burden to the church, so that the church may relieve those widows who are really widowed.

17 Those church elders who fill their office well should be held deserving of especial consideration, particularly those whose work lies in preaching and teaching. 18 The words of scripture are –

“You should not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain.”

and again –

“The worker is worth their wages.”

19 Do not entertain a charge against an church elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses; 20 but rebuke offenders publicly, so that others may take warning. 21 I charge you solemnly, before God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels, to carry out these directions, unswayed by prejudice, never acting with partiality. 22 Never ordain anyone hastily, and take no part in the wrongdoing of others. Keep your life pure. 23 Do not continue to drink water only, but take a little wine because of the weakness of your stomach, and your frequent ailments. 24 There are some people whose sins are conspicuous and lead on to judgment, while there are others whose sins dog their steps. 25 In the same way noble deeds become conspicuous, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

6 All who are in the position of slaves should regard their masters as deserving of the greatest respect, so that the name of God, and our teaching, may not be maligned. 2 Those who have Christian masters should not think less of them because they are also followers of Christ, but on the contrary they should serve them all the better, because those who are to benefit by their good work are dear to them as their fellow Christians.