Elders and Church Life.

Introduction:

In this letter, Paul has given detailed instruction to how the elders and deacons are chosen by qualifications. This is in response to false teachers that have claimed authority in the church in Ephesus. They were snakes upsetting the lives of the body by their poisonous teachings of demons. So after giving clear definition to what would qualify elders and deacons in (3:1-13), he turned to the elder’s responsibilities emphasizing the pastor role. So starting last week, Paul gave instructions for the church in first of all their horizontal relationships in loving one another as well as caring for the widows. Today, we will look in detail how the church has a responsibility for their elders. Laid out in their care, discipline and selection.

These three points will support the main idea that with proper treatment of elders, Christ is going to be exalted and praised because the body will know how to behave as God’s children.

Point #1 - Elder Care.

The sinful nature always leads us away from Jesus. The divine nature always leads us to Jesus. The influence of the world points us to selfishness. The influence of the Scriptures reveal to us God’s will in leading us to selflessness.

Paul is fully aware of the consequences of these false teachers leading the church he planted away from Christ in many ways. So in establishing biblically qualified elders, he tells Timothy (17) that elders are to be considered worthy of double honour. What does this mean? Well, as we first stated last week, true widows are the ones without any family and are worthy of honour (3). This means they are to be respected and cared for in both physical, spiritual, emotional and financial means.

Now Paul says that elders are worthy of “double honour”, meaning they are to also be respected and cared for financially. There is an escalation of his emphasis of those who are worthy of this type of support. He raises it even further in (6:1) where masters of slaves are worthy of “all” honour.

But if you will notice, where he mentions who is worthy of this honour he adds a qualifier or two. For widows, they must be Christian and all alone with no family. For elders to receive this double honour means they must rule well and be labouring in preaching and teaching. For the master, they receive all honour so that the name of God and the teaching of God is not reviled. We will flesh this out more next week God willing.

So, what qualifies elders for this double honour is twofold. They first of all must rule well. They are not authoritarian dictators. From (4:11-16) they are to be examples to the flock in godliness. They are to be like Jesus in being servant leaders, dying to protect the flock, ministering to them, being patient and kind to them so that they will follow you as you follow Christ. They who rule well are under shepherds that the Lord has raised up to genuinely care for the flock.

The second qualifier is that they are labouring in the preaching and teaching of God’s word. Paul himself raised many of his own funds through tent making so that he would not be a burden on these new churches he planted. But he never said that he wasn’t worthy to receive it. He grounds this reasoning in (18). For the Scripture says “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain” and “The labourer deserves his wages.” These texts are given from and .

The oxen in the field dragging a large millstone to grind out the grain from the crop were to never be muzzled. They were free to eat from their labour as needed. The labourers are to be paid for their work Jesus says. So in these texts that Paul has cited, those labouring in preparing, preaching and teaching deserve to be paid.

Elders that rule well is not to say that they are perfect, for no one is. But if they are a good example of what Scripture says about a Christ follower and spends much time labouring in the ministry of the word, they deserve to be compensated. For this body, I am so grateful that you have honoured me in such a profound way. In your generosity with a salary and bringing meat or wood has greatly blessed Nancy and I. You also have recognized Jason’s labour in the word as well as Chloe in spending each summer at camp and through meals for missions give to them for their labour. In doing this, God is pleased for you are doing as He commanded.

However, if an elder who is being compensated for his time is not ruling well, being a heretic or lazy in handling God’s word. He is not to be paid for he has disqualified himself.

In some churches however, there has been an effective ministry of the pastor. But some members of the church have bought into the notion that God is to keep them humble and we will keep him poor. This is not good. It is not a good testimony to the community in that an attitude like this means that God’s word is not valued for being proclaimed or for the vessel that He has called to feed the flock. The Christian flock led by the Spirit is to be generous. Giving from a cheerful heart. A flock that is generous appreciates the shepherd who labours to feed them God’s word and how he is a model or example of righteous living for them to follow.

Transition:

Therefore, the churches have a responsibility to their elders in respecting them and giving them a fair honorarium for their good governing and labouring in preaching and teaching. Now Paul moves to a rather difficult aspect of church life. The discipline of an elder.

Point #2 - Elder Discipline.

When we think of this word, for those of us that are have been in the church for several decades can tend to make us squirm a little in our pews. For many of the younger generation, this can be a foreign thought. Sadly, this aspect of church life has rarely been seen in decades. I believe this is a result of the pendulum swing of where church discipline was too harsh and legalistic in the past. Now it has swung so far the other way that we have bought into any type of stepping on toes for sin as terrible and we are just to love one another.

Here is the crux of that belief system. Love without truth is insincere and leads to heartache and pain as all the wrongs done are just shoved under a rug. We all know what happens, a blowup where eventually people just have had enough and people say things they shouldn’t out of anger and much damage occurs. On the other hand, speaking truth without love leads to oppression and dictatorship. Cold hard truth without grace and compassion will stifle and crush those who are on the receiving end of heavy handedness.

But truth spoken in love is a beautiful thing. A gospel oriented discussion filled with truth and love leaves both parties understanding what is going on, hopefully having the offending party humbled by their sin. True church discipline laid out in Scripture has one goal. Anyone know the answer? Repentance, a godly grief that leads to true repentance and reconciliation.

So in (19-21) Paul is teaching how elders who refuse to repent are to be handled by the church. In (,) slander, clamour and malice is to be put away from us as Christians. Instead we are to be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving as Christ forgave us. Gossip in the coffee shop or speculation of details about another without the facts can lead to the murder of one’s character. They then pass that onto others and all of a sudden the elder/pastor is under fire because of a loose tongue. So Paul tells Timothy that if someone has a charge against an elder, he is not to accept it as truth unless it is verified by two or three witnesses. Paul is following the law given to Moses in )

15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Thank God we are no longer under the law and its condemnation but the principle still applies to us in the church age. This passage is fundamental as a backing for Paul’s argument in dealing with elders and holding them accountable before the church.

Now, if under careful examination into the charge, it is exposed that the elder has indeed been sinning and not setting a good example for the flock, he is to be confronted. If it becomes evident (20) that this elder is persisting in sin and unrepentant, he is to be rebuked in the presence of all the congregation. This is essentially what Jesus has stated in in regards to church discipline. A persistent sinner who refuses to repent is eventually turned over to Satan so that God may grant them repentance and learn not to blaspheme ().

The elder in a church is not above the law. He is part of the church body and the same rules apply to him as for the rest of the body. Then in (21), Paul strictly charges Timothy to not cower in fear at times like these. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you Timothy to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing out of partiality. Wow! The language Paul uses here carries weight beyond comparison. Paul knows that Timothy is a little timid and worries about his youth. But Paul gives him no excuse. Do not show any favouritism to these elders that refuse to repent. As these two or three witness in being God, Jesus and the elect angels, where judgement from the courts of heaven are commencing, you have the duty to carry out this divine justice on God’s behalf for the benefit of the church.

This is the meaning of that where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. It is not meant for when we gather for prayer meeting as I had often thought, but rather it is in carrying out church discipline. Read that carefully on your own in context and you will agree. So Paul is using language that Jesus himself used in that the church has a responsibility to discipline within the body so that the children of God will see and stand in fear. To remain in sin before God and not repent is to give a bad example to the flock that this is ok for everyone. That is intolerable.

(Cabosh trying to encapsulate sinful/divine nature?)

Transition:

When we get to hard words like this, comfort is not one of them. In studying and writing this out, it made me tremble. I must say that I had to confess that we have not obeyed God in this area and I pray that we will collectively ask God to forgive us for not obeying His will. Let us ask Him to help us to reshape our minds and see the beauty of God’s justice and live it out today. Now, Paul moves onto how elders are to be chosen.

Point #3 - Elder Selection.

If you recall from pickup games with fellow students at noon hour you first need to pick teams. In order to do this they have a schoolyard pick. Meaning that two captains alternate in picking teams. In your choices, you may think of athletes or strategists or whatever you feel would give your team the best opportunity to win. When we think of choosing leaders of the church, there has been a history that too often, they are chosen based upon their popularity or success in business or how they can influence people to get more people to church so that it grows. In other instances, the exact opposite is in play. Do these examples sound familiar? Whoever can fog a mirror can be put on a committee, or because I have done my turn, it is now your responsibility to wear the hat for a couple years, or the new believer is hungry so let him fill these roles that no one else will.

Sadly, this is too often the case as no one wants to be on the nominating committee because it was like pulling hen’s teeth. So this would lead to compromise in filling positions with those whose godly character or maturity was lacking. I think this was the same case in Ephesus. More than likely as a result of church discipline, some elders were removed from office and with all these holes and in Timothy knowing that he could not do it on his own, he probably promoted elders too quickly. This we see in (22) where Paul warns that he should not be too hasty in promoting the men to be elders. As a result of being hasty and not testing them first for a significant time, when they are in leadership and sinful living surfaces, he is guilty along with them in their sin. Don’t do that Timothy but rather keep yourself pure and be patient.

Then if you will notice in (23), there is a bracket around this verse like it is a side note in the ESV translation. It makes you question why is this included here? Paul comments that Timothy should take a little wine for his ailing stomach and not just drink water. No one knows for sure why this is written, but one idea seems to fit within this letter best. It is thought that Timothy had bought into the asceticism of abstaining from alcohol in legalism. Much like what was seen earlier in chapter 4 about those abstaining from marriage and certain foods. So was Timothy believing that abstaining from alcohol made you holier? Possibly, and that would give good explanation that Paul needed to correct this. Wine drinking is not sinful as even Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. The sin comes in getting drunk. Now I know there is need for proper care as we don’t want to be a stumbling block to alcoholics. In loving our brothers and sisters, we should be careful, but also not demand it of others to abstain.

Paul closes this section in (24,25) by returning back to (22) in that due care is needed before appointing elders. By patiently investigating the lives of those who initially showed gifts of under shepherding, their lives needed to match their gifts. This was the importance Paul laid out in chapter 3. While some with gifting have obvious sins that are easy to see as what would disqualify them, these sins go before them to the judgement seat of Christ. Others that have secret sins show up later. (25) In like fashion there are also those with good works and faithfulness that are obvious, and yet there are those who do good works that are not so easily seen.

So what does he mean by all this? Timothy is to be patient and pure in appointing elders. By doing so you will not join in the sins of those who should not be elders and secondly you will protect the flock from coming under the abuse of wolves in sheep’s clothing. A church body is not God, we cannot see the hearts of man and sometimes mistakes are made where wrong people are selected as leaders. A body can be patient and discerning and still choose the wrong pastor. Don’t be discouraged, rather hold to these truths and by submitting to the Spirit, the Lord builds His church and calls under shepherds to care for His flock that He loves dearly. He equips those whom He has calls so wait on the Lord in trusting the discernment process. It is worth it.

Application:

Application:

As we are sinners, we can tend to be selfish with our money. Are we withholding funds or time because we don’t like something at the church? Talk to us, but let us be cheerful and give what we can afford. Praying that God would bless it to His glory.

Let us be careful in not passing gossip or making slanderous comments about one another. Let us be careful to not make false accusations or assumptions about elders because we don’t like their style of preaching or teaching. Rather let us pray for one another and love each other. Speaking truth in love because we desire to be obedient to our Lord.

Because we are sinners, we sin. Honestly plead with God to reveal sin so that there would be no need for discipline by the church. Let us not be prideful and justify our sin when we are confronted, rather let us be humble and repent. Seeking reconciliation with those we have offended for this is pleasing in God’s sight.

Knowing that God has order, there needs to be governing which includes the feeding and protecting the flock. Nurturing and helping the body to grow in godliness and love of truth. As this is true, let us pray that God would continue to raise up under shepherds who would be faithful, loving and caring.

Conclusion:

The Scriptures give us clear teaching on how elders are to be cared for, disciplined and chosen. Why is this important? Because a healthy church with godly elders will lead the way to godly and holy living. As a result of showing the way to follow Jesus, the church brings glory to God. Jesus Christ is exalted as we obey Him in reverence and the Spirit sanctifies us through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. This means that we are a faithful witness in the world. We are a city on a hill, a lamp that shines brightly in the darkness. Let us seek each day to be the bride that was purchased by the blood of Christ. Let us bring glory to the Lord by treasuring truth and love. Amen