By: Dale Weckbacher
1 Timothy 5:17
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
(ESV)
(ESV)
When one has the calling to be a leader in the church, they
have a high calling and as such are held to a higher standard. Young Timothy has this calling upon his life
and is why Paul includes the instructions contained in 1 Timothy 5:17-25 as a
reminder to Timothy of the rewards of his position as well as the high standard
of living it requires. While many
reading this may not have the high calling of elder, or preacher on their
lives, when we dedicate ourselves to sharing the Gospel with others, those we
share with will be watching us.
Therefore, it is wise to dedicate ourselves to living up to this high
standard, bearing in mind we are still flawed people who will slip up from time
to time.
As lay people dedicated to sharing the gospel with the lost we
should
1)
Not dish out accusations against others without
ample evidence (1 Timothy 5:19) – Substantiation of a charge against an elder
requires two or three witnesses. This
requirement is in place to prevent someone from just hurling an accusation at a church
leader because they do not like them or agree with them. However, in our world dominated by social
media, unsubstantiated accusations abound.
These false accusations are easy to deliver from the autonomy of a
keyboard but the hurt they cause the recipient are still just as harmful. In addition, others following us on social
media see the accusations we may deliver causing them to see no difference
between Christians and non-Christians.
Therefore, we should be wise in our use of social media and only make
accusations that can be backed up by reliable evidence.
2)
Public rebuke of those who persist in sin (1Timothy 5:20) – A leader who has been accused of sin based on the evidence of
two or three witnesses presenting reputable evidence who ignores the evidence
and continues in sin is to be publicly rebuked.
This, however, is not to be the norm but an extreme measure carried out
against someone who has been accused based upon ample evidence who continues to
ignore this evidence. This is done to
make an example of such a flagrant sinner so as to discourage others from
ignoring the evidence when their sin is brought to light and instead repent and
seek forgiveness. The lesson for all of
us here is that if some sin in our lives comes to light, repent and seek
forgiveness instead of covering it up and just going on sinning. Paul said it well in Romans 6:1-4 when he
urged us not to abuse the grace of God by continuing to sin but to instead to
learn from our mistakes so that we grow closer in our fellowship with God.
3)
Hasty in the laying on of hands (1 Timothy 5:22)
– It is common when one is ordained as a minister for the leadership of the
church to lay hands upon them. This
instruction is a caution for church leadership to not hastily lay hands of
ordination on someone until it is determined this individual has the calling of
God upon their lives to be a church leader.
Church leadership also has to be cautious not to ordain someone who
continues to sin for it could bring embarrassment to the church when that sin
is publicly exposed. Since those we
share the Gospel with will be watching to see if we slip up, it is wise to deal
with any unrepentant sin in our own lives to avoid the embarrassment when that
sin is exposed for our sins will be revealed. (Luke 12:2)
Sharing the Gospel with someone and seeing their life
changed is the most rewarding thing any person can do for another. However, when we share the Gospel we are
engaging in spiritual warfare with Satan for that individual’s soul. One of the greatest weapons of the enemy is
for him to reveal some sin in our lives.
We therefore must be on guard against such sin in our lives and quickly
repent and seek forgiveness when such sin is revealed. When we follow this principle, we can rely on the fact that Jesus Blood has forgiven us of that sin and move on.
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