We take Paul’s tone seriously. Given the title of this course, neither you nor I want to be one who “understands nothing.” At the same time, we humbly remember our distance from the original writing. The first readers knew much more about the issues addressed by Paul. For example, they had a better idea what was considered then to be modest clothing. Also, Paul felt no need to describe the settings (“every place”) where men led and women learned quietly (1 Timothy 2:8-12). Having spent time with Paul, they probably knew that sort of detail, but we do not. So, we do our best to be obedient without being overly strict. As we try to let Scripture interpret itself, the best commentary on 1 Timothy 2 may be 1 Corinthians 14. In that case, the place envisioned by 1 Timothy 2 is mainly the church’s assembly for worship.
We want to respect the fact that New Testament Christianity has areas of flexibility as shown by 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, and Romans 14. Certainly, we should never be dogmatic about anything the Scriptures have left unclear. But these three passages deal with foods which Scripture declares “clean” for Christians to eat (Mark 7:19; Romans 14:14; 1 Timothy 4:4). Yet that revealed truth must be balanced with another truth: Christians should do only what they believe is right (Romans 14:23). What if an immature Christian, “weak” in knowledge about foods, still believes that eating food offered to idols is wrong? “Stronger” Christians should not set an example that leads weaker Christians to violate their consciences (1 Corinthians 8:9-13). Whether weaker or stronger, it is not the job of one to judge, or force his views on, the other (Romans 14:3-4, 10-13). Each voluntarily follows the law of love, which is far more important than knowing and insisting on personal rights (1 Corinthians 8:1; 9:12; Romans 14:15 cf. Acts 15:20-21; Revelation 2:20). In this way, even with tensions about personal judgments, Christians willingly give the caring consideration that keeps peace and unity (Romans 14:17; Ephesians 4:1-3).
We know virtually nothing about the practice of enrolling widows (1 Timothy 5:9). Attempts to reconstruct their exact practice would be guesswork. Where the Scriptures lack information for us, the Lord evidently did not consider those details important enough to preserve for future generations. We should not press our views in areas that the Lord has left vague. We can, of course, glean from 1 Timothy 5 important and enduring principles about caring for widows—a priority in the true “religion” of Christ (James 1:27; Acts 6:1).