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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadEzekiel, Jonah, and Pastoral Epistles by Patrick Fairbairn - 1 Timothy 5:8 - 5:8
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Ver. 8. But if any one provides not for his own (that is, his near relatives), and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. Special respect is probably had in this strong declaration to a class of relatives previously mentioned—the children and grandchildren of widows; but there is no reason for confining it to such. The declaration itself is quite general, and comprehends other cases as well. It asserts in the most emphatic manner the obligations- springing out of family relationships, as grounded in the constitution of nature, and, so far from being annulled or relaxed by the gospel, only thereby rendered the more sacred and imperatively binding. The parent who refuses (if he is able) to support his children while from youth or infirmity they are dependent on his care and help, or the children who refuse to minister to the sustenance and comfort of aged parents, both alike act an unfeeling and unnatural part: they are not true to the moral instincts of their own nature, and fall beneath the standard which has been recognised and acted on by the better class of heathens. For one, therefore, bearing the Christian name to disregard such claims, is utterly inexcusable; it is not simply dishonouring to Christ, it is to bring reproach on our common humanity.