Relating to Elders

Go ahead and open your Bible to 1 Timothy 5:17-25.

Our study over these last several weeks has been on how we are called to fight the good fight of the faith.

We have seen how we fight to keep the truth of the gospel centered in our own hearts, and how we join together with other believers in the church to make sure that same message is proclaimed and lived out.

As we went through, we mentioned that God had called two unique groups of men to help lead that fight: overseers and deacons.

Remember that we said that the New Testament uses the terms elder, overseer/bishop, and pastor all to refer to the same group of men. The difference often comes with what particular part of that role is being emphasized.

Elders/overseers/pastors are the men called to preach, teach, and lead the church, while deacons are called to assist the elders in their work of ministering to the the needs of the vulnerable, both inside and outside of the church.

In our passage this morning, we are going to find a few more instructions on how we are to relate as elders and the church.

I will acknowledge that this passage is challenging, because right now, I am the only elder this church has appointed.

However, as you will see, there is an indication that churches may and should have more than one elder, so these principles may well one day apply to more than just me.

We see that right off the bat in verse 17. Read that with me...

There are a few principles about elders we want to pull from this passage before we really get into the message itself, so bear with me as we look at this.

First, notice that the term “elder” is plural here. This letter is written to Timothy, who was serving with the church at Ephesus.

Using the plural indicates that there likely was more than one elder at that church.

They may also have had different roles. Although every elder must be able to teach, based off the qualifications in , there may be some elders who serve as the primary teachers of the church, while other elders use their giftings to help serve and lead more.

I don’t want to get too deeply into this this morning, but I do want you to notice that there is Scriptural precedence for having more than one elder, even if one is still the primary preacher and teacher.

With that in mind, no matter how many you have, there are certain ways we need to relate as we fight this fight together.

We are going to see three principles today on how we relate to each other as elders and the church.

The first we see is that churches are called to...

1) Support your elders.

1) Support your elders.

Look back at verses 17-18.

Here we see that churches are called to support the men who serve the church as elders.

In fact, they are called to give them, “double honor”.

Most commentators break this down into two main categories: respect and remuneration.

In other words, those who serve the church well as God-honoring elders are worthy, at the very least, of respect.

That ties into what we saw back in ...

I have told you many times that I am, by no means, a spiritual giant.

However, men who step into the role of an elder are opening themselves up to an incredible challenge.

Yes, there is a tremendous blessing of doing this work, but there are great burdens as well:

James 3:1 CSB

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.

Anyone who teaches, but especially those who serve as elders, will be called to stand before God and give an account of how they taught and led.

That is why the writer of Hebrews encourages churches to respect their godly leaders:

Hebrews 13:17 CSB

Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

1 Peter 5:1–3 CSB

I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

1 Peter 5:

At first glance, this sounds great if you are an elder, right? People have to listen to what you say.

Right! And, you have to stand before God and give an account for how you cared for those God put under your charge, how you pointed them to Christ, and how you lived out Christlikeness before you.

If anyone wants to be an elder because of the notoriety, he has missed the implications of his calling.

Back to 1 Timothy, we see that the church should hold men who serve as elders in honor since they are carrying this weight out of obedience to God’s call.

With that, the idea of “double honor” includes the idea of financial compensation.

It is a good and biblical thing for a church to support their elders financially, especially for that elder or elders who are charged with the primary teaching and preaching responsibilities.

Just like with honor, getting a paycheck should never be the primary motivation for a pastor’s service to the Lord:

1 Peter 5:2–3 CSB

Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

There should be an eagerness to serve the Lord that is based off a desire to please him, not just earn a paycheck.

1 peter 5:2

For support, Paul uses an Old Testament quote, summarizes another OT idea, and possibly even quotes Jesus’ teachings.

That doesn’t mean

Read verse 18 again...

The command not to muzzle an ox may not make a lot of sense to us, but think of the picture. In those days, an ox would be the power for your mill. As the ox was pulling the crank to move the millstone, he might occasionally bend over and grab a mouthful of grain.

Some would try to stop the ox from doing this by muzzling them, but the Old Testament law said that he should be allowed to grab a bite now and then. He was doing the work, so he deserved to be paid.

That was the idea behind the second reference. If a worker did his job, then he should get paid.

If that is true of farm animals and day laborers, then shouldn’t men who labor to study God’s word and lead God’s people to greater knowledge of him be compensated for their work?

By the way, my family and I are so incredibly grateful and blessed at how this church has cared for us over the years.

This church has faithfully provided what they could for our income, even when things were really tight for the church. For that, we are incredibly grateful.

That is how it should be. That frees me up to serve the church well without having to balance another job on top of it.

Although there isn’t a command that every elder has to be paid full-time salary, we should seek to provide for our elders’ material needs as God gives us opening and opportunity.

Beyond that, we should show honor to those who serve well in this office.

Showing honor leads to the next way churches should relate to their elders. Look at verse 19...

2) Defend your elders.

Part of showing honor to your elders is to treat them with the same fairness you would expect anyone else to be treated with.

There are times when a person may try to assassinate an elder’s character, and a wise church will closely examine the accusations.

This is the same pattern that has held true for God’s people since the Law was given.

Deuteronomy 19:15 CSB

“One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

It is possible for one person to make up an accusation against an elder to try to defame them.

The church is called to defend their elders against rumors, gossip, and hearsay, which we are called to do for each other anyway.

Now, if we stop here, some of you might say, “Wait a minute…so we are supposed to pay you, and we are supposed to just believe what you say without question?”

That isn’t at all what we are saying, which will become more clear as we see more of this passage.

What we are saying is that, if a man is serving as an elder, and the church has recognized that God has placed his call on this man’s life, then you should give him the benefit of the doubt. That is part of what the honor we show.

If there aren’t multiple credible witnesses to the actual events, not just people who heard about it, then you need to defend the character of you elders.

That does bring up an interesting challenge in our current culture: what if an elder is accused of sexual assault or abuse?

In those instances, there may only be one person who is aware of what took place.

Accusations of sexual assault or abuse must be thoroughly investigated and addressed, even if there is only one witness.

The Southern Baptist Convention has recently released a curriculum called, “Caring Well for the Abused,” and we are looking for ways to implement that and to become a church that truly does care well for the abused.

That will include, to quote J.D. Greear, “promot[ing] the protection of the victims, not the guarding of your reputations.” [1]

Our priority as a church, should an accusation of that manner be made, will be to protect the victim.

It takes great courage for a person to open up about such deep wounds, and we want to acknowledge that right up front.

So, then, those issues will be dealt with differently than other accusations against an elder. The same would be true of other accusations regarding legal issues.

Now, if we stop here, some of you might say, “Wait a minute…so we are supposed to pay you, and we are supposed to just believe what you say without question?”

When other accusations are made, they must be corroborated.

An elder shouldn’t be rebuked based off hearsay or gossip. Instead, it must come directly from multiple sources.

When two or three credible witnesses come forward, that establishes that there may be a serious issue with the elder’s character. It is no longer a personal vendetta, but something that the church needs to handle.

At that point, the church needs to move forward with the rest of what Paul says to Timothy.

They need to move decisively to...

3) Protect the church’s purity.

The Bible never calls for blind allegiance to anyone but Jesus.

In fact, it is very clear that we are to hold leaders to high standards.

Look at verse 20.

A public leader, like an elder, is to be rebuked in public for not continuing to live a life that is above reproach.

Although some limit this group to just the other elders, I believe the context better indicates that when a man sins egregiously as an elder, he is to be rebuked before the congregation.

Why? Because he is supposed to be the example, like we saw in , and when he isn’t, he encourages others to participate in the same sin.

This isn’t saying that you need to rebuke an elder publicly every time he makes a mistake. However, sinful patterns need to be rebuked.

Remember this helpful quote, though, as you think about public rebuke:

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Order in the Church! (1 Timothy 5)

The purpose of discipline is restoration, not revenge. Our purpose must be to save the offender, not to drive him away. Our attitude must be one of love and tenderness (Gal. 6:1–3). In fact the verb restore that Paul used in Galatians 6:1 means “to set a broken bone.” Think of the patience and tenderness involved in that procedure!

Even in rebuke, our goal is love.

Remember this helpful quote, though, as you think about public rebuke:

It is loving to say, “This is not right,” and to show the rest of the church that sin is serious.

“But, Sean, he is a really nice guy. It is going to be uncomfortable for everyone if we have to make this public.”

It may be that Timothy had that same concern, which is why Paul makes the next bold statement. Look at verse 21.

There isn’t much of a stronger way Paul could put this. He calls God the Father, Christ the Son, and the angels of heaven as witnesses to this command.

You cannot play favorites when it comes to correcting elders.

In fact, no elder should be so respected that he cannot be rebuked.

That’s why pastors don’t get 5 year contracts—if a man goes off the rails, the church needs to remove him.

That is also why, as our Church Strengthening Task Force has been redoing the by-laws, we made sure there was solid information on how a pastor can be removed from office.

The only person who heads this church or any church and is above rebuke is Jesus, who is the true head of the church.

It is difficult, it is uncomfortable, and no one wants to have to go through that process, but in the end, it is essential for the church to grow in purity.

One great way to keep the church from having to go through this is to be careful who you appoint as elders in the first place.

That’s what we find in verse 22...

Timothy was one of the ones who was helping select elders.

This is a good time to bring up Benjamin Franklin’s statement that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Paul has already given us a lengthy list of character traits that a man must possess if he is going to serve as an elder.

If a church takes the time to make sure the men they are appointing as elders meet these qualifications, they will go a long way in keeping them from having to rebuke someone later.

When we hurriedly appoint men to the office of elder without making sure they are men of character, we are partially complicit in their sin because we endorsed them.

So, then, to fight for the purity of the church, we need to make sure that the right men serve in the right places.

Verse 23 seems a little out of place, and it is a side note, but Paul was encouraging Timothy that it was okay to use wine to treat a stomach ailment he had.

What does that have to do with elders and the church? Well, we know from the qualifications that an elder cannot be a man who struggles with the use of alcohol. We also know that some in Ephesus were teaching that you couldn’t eat certain foods, so they may also have been teaching that you couldn’t use wine, even as medicine.

For Timothy, then, in a desire to stay pure before the church, he may have been unnecessarily abstaining from something that would help him.

Paul was encouraging him that he shouldn’t worry about that, because that wasn’t something to be rebuked for.

Instead, he gives us a challenging warning in verses 24-25...

Although elders are still in view here, there is a principle you and I need to draw from this: God sees and knows.

He sees the good things that no one else will know about, but he also sees the wicked intentions of your heart that no one may ever see.

Remember this strong warning from Jesus:

Matthew 7:22–23 CSB

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

mathew 7:22-23

Some false teachers and other elders who serve with impure motives will be exposed in this life, but it is possible that a man may stand in a pulpit every week of his life, seeming to honor God, while he is really in it for himself.

The same is true of men and women who sit in sanctuaries all across America. You may think that no one sees the sin you commit, and you may think you have everyone fooled.

However, God sees, and God knows.

Why not turn now to honor the God who loves you enough to die in your place so he can offer you his righteousness instead?

Endnotes:

[1] https://jdgreear.com/askmeanything/find-sexual-abuse-situations/ Accessed 10 June 2019.