“Let Not the Church be Burdened”

by Chris Simmons

God’s word clearly teaches us that the church belongs to the Lord who purchased it with His blood (Acts 20:28). The church, which was planned by God before times eternal, dis-plays His divine wisdom (Ephesians 3:8-12). We see the wisdom of God in the mission, purpose, organization and design of the Lord’s church. We must then ask: Does man have the right to alter the plans that God has always had for the church? Do we have the right to add or place more burdens on the church than what God assigned to it?

The fact is, the Scriptures teach that the Lord’s church can be “burdened” with responsibilities that God never assigned to it. I Timothy 5:16 reads, “If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, let her assist them, and let not the church be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.” The word “burden” is from the Greek word “bareo” which, according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, means “to weigh down.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines the noun form of the word to be “that (which) makes a demand on one’s resources” (cf II Corinthians 1:8). God has divinely communicated certain demands of the Lord’s church. It is wrong for man to add other demands other than what God has stated.

I Timothy 5:16 and its context teaches us some important points regarding the church that are fundamental and must be understood. First, regarding “assistance” for widows, there is a divinely drawn line of responsibility for the local church of Christ (each collective group of God’s saints who regularly assemble and work together in a given location). We can solve a lot of questions and debates if we can come to this one conclusion – God has drawn such a line regarding what the church is assigned to do and that there are other matters, which if assigned to the church, will unscripturally burden the church beyond what God has given.

Second, charging the Lord’s church with the burden of assisting those who are NOT widows indeed will hinder it’s ability to fulfill the work it is charged with doing. Again, note what the scripture says “let not the church be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.” The principal here is that when the church undertakes more than God directed, it takes away from its ability to do the work God said it should.

The fact is there are responsibilities divinely given to the church which, if diluted with any number of other unscriptural duties or tasks, will burden the church and render it ineffective in the true mission it was given. We understand this principal from a human organizational and business perspective. If you ask an organization that is designed to provide health care to also provide automotive repairs, the organization will no longer be as effective as it could have been with its original purpose. Can we not understand this regarding the work and purpose of the “ekklesia” and those who have been called out?

The purity and glory of the church is compromised when man burdens the bride of Christ with work that the Head of the church and the Savior of the body did not place upon her (Ephesians 5:25-26). The purity of the church must be maintained in regards to its work, organization, and standards of conduct and behavior. The question is: Is the issue of supporting widows the ONLY way in which we can “burden” the Lord’s church? Or are there other ways? If we place a demand on the resources of the Lord’s church to also handle secular education, physical health care, recreational activities, or general food supplies, have we not also unscripturally burdened the church?

The passage of I Timothy 5:16, in its context, teaches that to burden the church with unscriptural responsibilities is to shirk personal obligations we individually bear. Notice the following verses in this context. Verse 4 teaches us that families are first responsible for widows. “If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family, and to make some return to their parents.” Verse 8 teaches us that we are to provide for all of our own relations and not just those under our own roofs. “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith.” It’s interesting to note that the word in verse 8 “provide” is defined to mean “to consider in advance, i.e. look out for beforehand (actively, by way of maintenance for others)” (Strong’s Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary). Finally, verse 16 teaches us that “believers” are to be the first who are responsible for widows within their families. “If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, let her assist them.”

Those widows for whom “the church” is responsible are those who:

• Do not have family who bear the responsibility (“has been left alone”) (verse 5).
• Have a “fixed hope on God” and are devoted in prayer (verse 5).
• Are not given to “wanton pleasure” (verse 6).
• Are at least 60 years old and were the “wife of one man.”
• Are known for “having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work.”

To know the pattern of the Lord’s church, we must understand apostolic authority and that the apostles were guided into all truth and they spoke the Lord’s commands (II Peter 3:1-2; I Corinthians 14:37). We also must recognize that the apostles provide us with examples to be followed (Philippians 4:9) and they established a pattern “in every church” (I Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 3:17; Hebrews 8:5) that must be followed. What is that pattern?

We learn from the apostolic examples in God’s word that the pattern for the work of the Lord’s church includes (1) preaching the gospel (I Thessalonians 1:6-8; Acts 11:21-24; Philippians 1:5-7; 4:15), (2) edifying the saints (I Corinthians 14:26; Acts 20:29-32; I Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 4:11-12) and (3) relieving needy saints (I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 8:4; 9:1; 9:12; Romans 15:25, 26, 31).

Are there other “good works” to be done? Absolutely, but that is not the question. The question is, who is responsible for them? Such passages as I Timothy chapter 5 and James 1:22-27 should help us to understand that each of us individually bear responsibilities before God and that we are sinning if we burden the church with them.