and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith.
Paul has just told Timothy which widows the church should support, and here he gives his reason for turning the younger ones away. Two phrases carry the weight — the "condemnation" they incur, and the "former faith" they abandon.
The word behind "condemnation"
Older English Bibles rendered this word "damnation." One writer lists this verse among the many places where that English word simply meant judgment:
J. N. DarbyThe English New Testament often uses "damnation" to mean judgment, as in Matthew 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47; Romans 3:8; and 1 Timothy 5:12. That is also the sense in 1 Corinthians 11:29, where it stands in contrast with being condemned along with the world. Even if this "judgment" were everlasting condemnation, the word still means judgment.
Another writer applies the same point to these widows:
F. B. HoleThe church was not to support the younger widows at its own expense. With no settled work to do, they might drift in heart from Christ and come under judgment — not "damnation," which is too strong a word.
What the "first faith" was
Commentators differ on what this earlier faith was. One ties it to the devotion born in fresh grief:
Edward DennettTheir "first faith" probably means this. When their husbands died, the Lord drew them through their grief close to Himself, and they gave themselves wholly to Him and His service. But then they lose heart for Christ. They want to marry, because in that state of soul they cannot lean on Christ for all the support they need. So they turn with longing to human affection and human strength.
Another links it to the warning about losing our first love, and widens it to every Christian:
Hamilton SmithIt is thus possible not only to lose our first love, but to cast off our first faith which, at the start of our Christian life, made Christ the great Object.
Measured by Christ, not by prudence
Paul does not weigh these women by social convention or by what looks sensible. One writer renders the verse "having as accusation that they slighted their first faith," and points out whose name the whole standard hangs on — while ruling out the idea that some formal vow was broken:
William KellyIt is of deep value to see that Christ, and not moral, sensible, or personal reasons, weighs most in the apostle's mind... The young widows are judged by their relationship to Christ. But they lose sight of Christ and His dealings with them, and look out for themselves. Instead of seeking to please Him, they grow bold and self-willed against Him, and cannot rest until they return to the married life that had just closed for them. Nothing about vows or office appears here — only what suits a younger widow who is looking for Christ, as all believers are called to wait for Him.
Why a small slip does not stay small
Verse 13 follows directly from verse 12, and the same writer shows the chain: faith goes first, then behaviour follows it downhill — with a warning that Christians who fall from a professed position fall further than others do:
William KellyBut professing Christians who take a true position and then turn from it fall lower than others do. None fall further than those who pride themselves on their faithfulness. Faith alone keeps up lowly dependence on the Lord. Those of whom the apostle treats, having cast off their freshness of faith, slip lower and lower... How often does great evil follow from what seems a little departure? To believe the word of God is to be warned and kept by grace.
The wisdom of not relieving too quickly
Marriage itself is not the offence — Paul recommends it two verses later. The danger is the state of heart, and one writer draws the surprising practical lesson that kindness can get in God's way:
Leslie M. GrantWanting to marry while in such a state is dangerous. Wanting to marry is not wrong in itself, for Paul recommends it two verses later (v. 14). But a widow with no healthy work to support herself may drift into casting off her first faith. She gives up her earlier confidence in the God who had blessed her with a husband, and who in wisdom had taken her husband away again. Faith stays steady only when God teaches it through the wise government of His hand. Well-meant efforts by others to relieve her material needs may defeat this work of God.
Summary
- First faith. Grief once drove these women to Christ and made Him their one object. The verse names their giving up of that early confidence.
- Not damnation. The word here means judgment, or guilt. Writers agree that the old translation "damnation" says far too much.
- Christ is the measure. These women are judged by how they stand toward Christ. No vow or office is in view — only what suits a widow waiting for Him.
- Downward drift. Cast-off faith does not stand still. Those who slip keep slipping, because faith alone keeps up lowly dependence on the Lord.
- Kind help can harm. Help given too easily can remove the very pressure God uses to teach faith. So Paul points the younger widows to marriage instead of the support list.