This is intended to show Timothy and his church members the vital importance of caring for one's immediate family. To do this while dragging down the name of Christ, and Christianity, is truly despicable. Being cold and callous towards one's family is bad enough. To be called an unbeliever would be insult enough to be called "worse than an unbeliever" is a purposefully derogatory statement. It stands to reason, then, that a person cannot claim to be committed to following Christ when they choose not to care for their own families.įor the same reason, professing Christians who refuse to care for a widowed family member are considered "worse than an unbeliever." This was the ultimate shame for Timothy's audience. Christ's command is for believers to love one another (John 15:12) and that those who love Christ should follow His commands (John 14:15). He also spoke about the subject of denying Christ in 2 Timothy 2:12–13 and denying Christ's spiritual power in 2 Timothy 3:5.
First, those who fail to reasonably support their own families are said to have "denied the faith." Paul mentioned two men who had denied the faith in 1 Timothy 1:19–20. The second half of the condition in this verse provides the consequences, consisting of two parts. More specifically, Paul directed his command in verse 4 toward people caring for members of 'their own household." While it may not be possible for one person to care for every relative, even unbelievers in Paul's day understood that a child's responsibility is to care for their widowed mother. Paul repeats the theme he used in verse 4, beginning with a conditional statement.
Example: The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version. Those who can provide for their families are obligated to do so. Works Cited: Include the title of the Bible, the version, the publication information, and whether it is print or web, in the citation. Here, he turns more directly to individuals, particularly men. Paul likely had the entire church in mind in the previous verse. Such people are worse than unbelievers."ġ Timothy 5:8, CSB: "But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8 Parallel Verses 1 Timothy 5:8, NIV: "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."ġ Timothy 5:8, ESV: "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."ġ Timothy 5:8, KJV: "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."ġ Timothy 5:8, NASB: "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."ġ Timothy 5:8, NLT: "But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith.