How the church relates to the pastors, 1 Timothy 5:17-25

1 Timothy 5:17-25

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 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. (1 Timothy 5:17–25, ESV)

Paul has written to Timothy about his relationship to those who are under his care as one of the elders/overseer/bishop/pastor of the church in Ephesus.

In Chapter 5 Paul turns his attention to the church and gives them instructions on how they relate to one another, their leaders, and even those outside the church.

As Clay preached last week, we have clear instructions on how the church relates to one another as older and younger, to widows and widowers. Today in our passage we see God’s instructions through Timothy to the church in its relationship to its elders/pastors/overseers/ etc

The relationship of the church to its pastors:

Honor those who lead and serve well

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.”

Double Honor does not mean double pay… We are all worthy of honor as image bearers, and those who have the position of leadership in the church are worthy of honor, Paul says here that those who carry out their responsibility well (teaching and preaching) are worthy of honor to the degree of taking are of their livelihood.

Double honor is the respect they deserve for the role and work in the church, along with the financial support so they can do the work that the church requires. The intent here is to make sure that the church does not take advantage of its leaders, and that it recognizes that there are some roles and leaders who are doing a work, where it’s a benefit to the church for them to be paid. These are the roles where to do the work on top of another job would be an incredible amount of work… and the idea here is to help the church see that it is good for both the church and the pastor. The church is benefiting from the leadership of the pastor who is serving well! And the pastor and his family are benefitting from the church as he serves.

Guard those who are easily exposed to criticism.

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

The role of public teaching brings additional criticism. And criticism of any brother or sister can bring division and disunity to the family of God. The Jewish law required 2 or more witnesses to bring charges against one another, so the Word brings what was already in place to bear on those who are serving and leading publicly.

The assumption is that pastors are serving well, and to guard them and the life of the church this instruction is given. Pastors cannot lead if they are constantly defending themselves against unjust criticisms, and the church cannot be healthy if it is always entertaining these criticisms.

There is a place for rebuke and correction of every member in the church, including the pastors- but it must be done in the manner God has given to the church.

Rebuke the humble privately, they are your brothers in Christ.

20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

(Though there is a mentality that says they live a public life, rebuke them publicly) but the Word doesn’t say rebuke public if the person is well known. no it tells us to rebuke for the sake of repentance before it becomes public.

There is a place for addressing public sins in public, but the pastor is a brother in Christ, and as such should be treated the way that God calls us to treat everyone who is need of gracious correction for the sin in our life.

Rebuke the unrepentant publicly.

20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.

This is the way for all believer’s. Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5, and others demonstrate the manner in which we handle unrepentant sin in the family of God.

Persisting in sin is the issue, and it’s persisting in sin after the rebuke… The Bible doesn’t say that pastors will never need to be rebuked or corrected. And they are to be demonstrating faithfulness, but they must also demonstrate repentance.

Church leadership is not based on favor or popularity, it’s about character and Christ-likeness.

21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

Timothy was told and the church is told not to show favor or partiality when establishing leaders. The qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 are more important than pre-existing relationships, popularity, etc. Instead the emphasis is on the individual and his walk with Christ, and the example that he gives to those under his care.

Churches today are filled with people who have titles but who don’t actually do the ministry they are called to do.

Be patient, wise, and careful in your appointments and accept as pastors.

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.

(Ordaining/Affirming Leaders) not to quick (not a recent convert) you are connected to the sins and the successes of the men you ordained as pastor. Don’t be hasty, don’t ignore them because they aren’t popular. Men who cannot wait are also exhibiting that they are not ready for it themselves. Keep yourself and the church pure by being careful with who you ordain into leadership in the church.

Practical applications for all of us:

The “Iceberg Principle”, or “90% Principle” is a better safeguard than to base things off of first impressions.

We live in a culture where people emphasize first impressions. And, I am not saying that first impressions don’t matter, but I can tell you that it’s the totality of a person that matters more.

Our lives are filled with examples of people who are incredible at first impressions but who let us down in the long run. In fact, there are some who are only a first impression.

Going back to 1 Timothy 3 and the qualifications for leadership in the church, you cannot serve in the church based on first impressions. In fact, some of the most godly people may be humble in a way where you don’t see them first. it’s those who pass examination of their private life, and those who pass examination of their life over time that should serve as a pastor or any leadership role in the church.

Guard one another and your leaders against the culture of hasty critique and the presumption of guilt until proven innocent.

Culture is filled with suspicion and hasty criticism.. the church should not be this way. God us just and the family of God should work that way too.

We have to go against the grain of culture. The fact that someone is willing to serve in a public role doesn’t mean that they have said yes to whatever criticism people want to give… in fact that has become a deterrent in the world and in the church to many young leaders being willing to serve as leaders.

The church must foster an environment where leading and serving is a joy and not a burden. if not, we will end up with people who are leading for gain rather than out of obedience to the Lord.

And this is what we have all around us in the world, people who are willing to say yes to public leadership our of selfish motives for power, popularity, and financial gain- but this is not the way of the church. Leading and serving in the church should be a shared joy between the pastors and the congregation. And, any rebuke should be handled the way we see in Scripture.

We all sin, but we must also take our purity and the purity of others seriously.

The fact that everyone sins is not an excuse to ignore the repetitive sin in each other’s lives.

We need to follow the Word to understand how our relationships with one another should work.

Scripture shapes everything about our lives, and this includes our relationships with one another. This means marriage, family, authority (church, govt, work, home), believers and unbelievers.

The body of Christ is under the direction of Christ, and what we do is reflecting and honoring to him in all things.

Partiality and friendship are not the same thing; friendship is good, and partiality is bad.

People are going to have close friendships. These are good and we need them. But, leadership in the church cannot be based on friendships, it can’t be based on worldly measures, etc. leadership in the church must be based on the qualifications and Christ-likeness we see in the Word.

But, we must also celebrate the relationships we have in the church… and this is true for these who are in leadership. They have to have friendships too, and we have to to be thankful for that in the same way we are for the friendships we have in our lives.

Good and bad works will eventually be known.

it’s not just that the bad things will eventually come to the surface. The same is true for the good works that are being done out of the spotlight.

Time brings to light many things, and one of those is the validity of our salvation, another is the consistency of our walk, another is the trustworthiness of a leader.

There are many people who are doing more good than you realize. The pessimistic and critical culture of our day would have you to assume that there are many people doing more bad than you realize- and that is probably true when it comes to a fe people here and there. But, in the church you will find that many people are doing much more than they advertise… and over time the testimony of their faithfulness and actions will come to the surface too.

Jesus

Jesus doesn’t play favorites; salvation is for all who believe!

Jesus took the consequence of our sins to give us the life that He deserves.

Jesus is worthy of all honor and glory.