“How to Care for Church Leaders”

-Open with a word of prayer for the study.

-Read the text.

1 Timothy 5:17–25 ESV

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

One of the things that should stand out to us about this first letter to Timothy is Paul’s concern for the church. Paul is concerned for the church and loves the church because he has seen just how much Christ too loved His bride and gave His life for the bride. The church is the main way or avenue that Christ will continue to help others turn from the darkness of their sin and turn towards the light of Life, Jesus. In fact, we read about this several months ago back in chapter 3. Here is what Paul said about the church.

1 Timothy 3:15 ESV

15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

The church is a pillar and a firm foundation of what truth is all about. Why? Because the church is more than just a building, it is the body of Christ, the visible form of Jesus for the world to see. It’s main purpose is too reveal God’s glory so that men will come to Christ. In order for people to come to Christ we must model godly character and virtue by being obedient to God’s Word, and so we act and look differently than the rest of the world. Here is what Peter said about this.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The household of God should look differently. Here in verses 17-25, Paul is doing his best to answer the question what does the leadership look like at church? In the beginning of Chapter 5 we see how the church is to care for the widows and now we see the relationship between the church leaders and the church members. Elders of course should have a genuine concern for the body of Christ, and the body or members should have a loving esteem for it’s elders. In fact, these instructions of care is a two-way street. Paul is not saying here that the congregation should care only for its elders but also that elders were responsible and accountable to the congregation. Paul lays out four instructions or ways that we care for church leadership. Let’s take a look at these areas.

1. We take care of faithful elders by honoring them.

1 Timothy 5:17–18 ESV

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

There is an importance of giving honor to those elders who faithfully serve in the church. In 1 Thessalonians we see this as well.

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 ESV

12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

As we have already talked about back in chapter 3 the word “Elder” means those who oversee the leadership of the church. The titles elder, pastor, bishop, overseer all would mean the same thing. The term pastor helps us to see that the main focus of every pastor is to shepherd and feed the flock. The pastor or overseer has an authority and leading function and this passage assumes such elders have been qualified to lead.

There are two ways that the church body can show honor to the elders and carry out this command. So, let me start with the actual word “Honor.” The word honor generally refers to respect or regard. It can also refer to financial support. The language is similar to our English word, “honorarium” which refers to money given to someone to honor them. So, double honor here involves first of all respect. Paul has in mind here a sense of gratitude and appreciation for those men in the church who are faithfully shepherding the flock. Another way that the church can show honor is by financial compensation. In verse 18 Paul actually gives two examples of this from Scripture. He gives both an Old Testament example and then a New Testament example.

Deuteronomy 25:4 ESV

4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

The New Testament example is when Paul quotes Luke.

Luke 10:7 ESV

7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Paul was referring here to compensation for those men who had given themselves to either full-time or even part-time ministry of the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. So, what we see here from both of these passages is that Paul desires for the church to have a basic sense of fairness when it comes to compensation for the church leaders. Those faithful elders who labor deserves their wages. An ox is at least allowed to eat as he works, and the same should be true for elders. All of this shows us how much the church cares about the Word of God and the teaching of God’s Word.

*Here at Antioch we have a paid elder and several non-paid elders who carry the responsibility of preaching and teaching God’s Word. But their is a plurality of elders and deacons. There is not a single pastor who runs and rules everything by himself. We make decisions together and talk through must matters together.

So, here in verse 17 we have seen that showing “double honor” involves both respect and financial compensation, but what are the conditions for this? We have all been around bad leadership or heavy-handed leaders so what does a godly leader look like??? Here Paul gives 2 conditions for us.

First of all, Paul says that they are to rule well. They must first of all be a good leader and not heavy-handed in any way. A good shepherd, elder, pastor leads their homes well, they lead by love, care, sacrifice, by laying down their lives for the church. They do not rule in an angry or harsh way. They imitate the good shepherd of John chapter 10 by giving their lives for the sheep. Rule well here can also mean good. This speaks of goodness or rightness. When evaluating Elders Paul helps us to see that we need to ask, is this man doing what God’s Word says is right? How is his character and life? Is he above reproach? Is he able to manage is household well? Does he hold to sound doctrine? Can he point out errors? Is he a faithful minister of the gospel? This is what it means to be a good leader or to rule well.

The second condition for elders is that they are too labor in preaching and teaching. The elders main job or responsibility is to preach and teach God’s Word. The assumption here is that there may have been some elders who did not care about this or were not working diligently at preaching and teaching. Preaching is the public proclamation of the truth of God’s Word that call for a heart response. Teaching emphasizes the idea of instruction more than proclamation and is so vital when it comes to heresy or false teaching and false teachers. Elders who are considered worthy of double honor work hard at preaching and teaching. They care so much that the sheep under their care come to know God and then come to grow up in and through the faithful teaching of God’s Word.

2. We take care of elders by protecting them.

1 Timothy 5:19 ESV

19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Paul and Timothy lived in a time where there were so many false accusations against them. Why was that? Why was this happening? Well I am sure that there were many reasons for this.

-There were some that hated their teaching. Some people hated the truth and conviction of God’s Word.

-The false teachers could have resented Paul’s calling and Timothy’s calling to ministry.

-Some people may have resented the leaders virtue and godly living.

-For others it could have been how the Lord blessed leaders and not them and so there was a jealously. My point is that there are many reasons for false accusations against church leaders.

All through out God’s Word we see many leaders who faced false accusations. Joseph, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Nehemiah and of course Jesus, so we should not be surprised when elders are accused. False accusations are a very real danger. They can attack a man’s integrity, character, and credibility. So, Paul gives Timothy some instructions on how to deal with allegations against elders.

1. First of all, false or alleged allegations should be quickly rejected. Paul says here do not admit, receive or consider in your mind that this is true. Don’t go to great measure to investigate something you know to be made up or false. We do this to protect elders.

2. The second condition is do not accept an allegation unless it is on the basis of two or three witnesses. This come from what we have learned from Matthew 18 on how to confront a brother or sister involved in a sinful matter. The purpose behind have 2 or 3 witnesses is to provide confirmation of the matter. Is this true or is it false? To attack someone in a position of authority is a very serious matter, and so those people who set out to falsely accuse God’s servants are not aware of the dangerous ground they stand in. Here are several examples.

-1 Samuel 24:1-7.

-Psalm 105:15.

3. We take care of elders by rebuking them.

1 Timothy 5:20–21 ESV

20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

Even though there are many false accusations, there can be credible ones. Elders and church leaders who continue in sin must deal with the consequences of sin. If an accusation is made and investigated and found to be true then the hope or desire is that there would be true confession and repentance. If this comes to happen Paul says here that the church is to rebuke the elder. What does this mean? Rebuke means to expose or bring to open conviction. To reprove or correct of the wrong that has happened.

What Paul has in mind here is that there is to be a public rebuke in the church so that other elders and leaders and the church body will be fearful of God. This puts a healthy fear into the hearts of the congregation so that they avoid sinful things and obey God. This type of fear is a good thing because it helps us to see God’s hatred of sin.

Sadly the bar has been lowered in our day where many churches have condoned sin because of the culture around us. We want to be culturally relevant so many churches have given into society while they have forgotten the truths of God’s Word. If God’s Word calls it a sin than it is still a sin. Murder is still wrong the last time I checked. Sexual sin is still wrong. Anger and lying are still sinful. Lusting after your neighbors car or wife are still sinful and God does not tolerate these behaviors. We can not shrink back on these issues even if it means that it is a godly leader within the church. That is why Paul encourages Timothy here to maintain these principles without prejudging or being biased. Don’t do anything in a spirit of partiality. Now I will say that when this happens or when there must be a rebuke of an elder or person in leadership we are to do this with love, integrity and the hope of restoration even if it means the leader is disqualified or moves on.

To rebuke a sinful leader is never easy, and yet the Lord requires at times to do this for the sake and purity of His bride and ultimately for the reputation of God’s holiness.

4. We take care of the church and it’s leadership by careful selection.

1 Timothy 5:22–25 ESV

22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

Verses 22-25 help us to see that we should not be too quick to put men into the office of elder. Sadly there are many churches who put a prominent leader or business person into this role just to fill the position. We must be so careful in regards to the role of an elder.

Paul says here do not be hasty in the laying on of hands. What does this mean? To lay hands on someone would mean that we have given the acceptance of someone for public ministry. This actually comes from the Old Testament when someone would come to the temple to take part in a sin offering. They would lay their hands on the animal to identify with it and then kill it for a sacrifice to cover their sin. We also know in the New Testament that there was an ordination and this was done by laying on of hands. The apostles ordained elders. Timothy and Titus were found to appoint or ordain elders. So, to lay hands on someone would mean that they were set apart for ministry.

When we are thinking about new elders we want to make sure there is a time of examination, training and evaluation before we put anyone into this position.

Paul also mentions here the fact not to take part in the sins of others and to keep yourself pure. Paul shows us that by not putting into place an unqualified leader Timothy could avoid participating in their sin and would remain pure.

Verse 23 here is probably a parenthetical remark, like when you are sending an email and we are writing about one thing, we may then think of something else and make another point. That is why in many versions we see parentheses around this verse in order to remember this later. So, Paul mentions this to Timothy because he probably had given himself to total abstinence from alcohol in order to live a pure life. Pau wanted Timothy to know that for the sake of his health he could consider drinking a little wine. During this time water had so many impurities and carried many diseases so wine was used as medicine and used for ailments. You can still drink a little wine and not be given over to drunkeness and be considered a good leader.

Now Paul comes back to where he left off in verse 22. Paul helps us to see here in verse 24 that some people’s sin are very obvious and the whole church around them can see it and with that there is judgment. However there are also people who sin and this comes to light later on. The point here is that when we examine men for the position of elder there are some that should not be recognized because their sin is very apparent, while the sins of others are less obvious but will eventually show up later. Pauls point is to make sure that the church is careful and diligent in selecting elders and godly leaders.

Conclusion: There is always going to be a need in the church for godly elders and godly leaders. And we should see the importance of having qualified men who can be trained up to serve. However, the last thing that we want to do is to make quick decisions that can drastically effect the church. So, this is how we care for the leaders.