Timothy Update

Things have been busy.  That is probably quite common to all and a common refrain in our lives as there are many responsibilities tugging at our time.  It has been several weeks since the last post on 1 Timothy.  Quite a lot of ground has been covered in that time, from verse 20 in chapter 5 through chapter 6 and verse 2.  Again, due to time constraints this post will cover these passages briefly, and possible the discussions spurred on from them is where more considerable time can be taken.

Entertaining an accusation against an elder provoked a discussion that was quite possibly entertaining in iteself.  Ultimately the context of the passage and principle presented is for the protection of the elder against slanderous accusations.  Also in the comments following the previous post, additional clarification to the word "entertain" brought more light to the imperative not to take to heart accusations brought against elders without witnesses.  Obviously the Bible, in this passage which is specifically dealing with eldership, is not advocating a "gag order" on all reports of abuse.  In the 1 Timothy church the current elders and membership have a responsibility to look carefully at the man being presented for eldership and his meeting of the clearly written qualifications (both things he must exhibit in his character and things that must be absent in his character) so that such cases would be a great exception.  Also in the 1 Timothy church there will be a plurality of elders, such that if a report of abuse did arise the member to whom the accusation was brought can present the accuser to the other elder(s) so that the abuse is not neglected but also not entertained.  Verse 20 then moves to what action is taken in the case of legitimately discovered sin in the life of the elder.  Public rebuke.  That seems harsh in today's moral economy.  Think about how many times in your lifetime an elder has been publicly rebuked for sin.  What did you come up with?  10 times?  5 times?  2 times?  Never?  Personally I cannot recall ever having experienced such a public rebuke.  Now, I must also explain that until my current 5 year membership I have also never been in a church that was established according to the 1 Timothy church.  So it stands to reason that since the leadership was not arranged according to 1 Timothy that church discipline would not be handled according to 1 Timothy.  So what?  What is missed if sin in not publicly addressed, even among the eldership?  Just read verse 20 again - so that the others may take warning.  No warnings to the membership regarding discipline and consequences for sin in the church, this is a huge loss.  If part of the responsibility of the church is to watch their life and doctrine closely, then what good does it do the body to make things so lax with respect to discipline that there is no encouragement from the church to watch their life and doctrine closely?  If relationship with Christ is the most important thing in an individual believers' life how could the church not address through discipline issues that hinder or block altogether growth, worship, adoration of God with those who are living in active disobedience?  The church should love them enough to seek reconciliation through discipline, in this case public rebuke even for elders.

Chapter 6 references masters and servants, and in today's common scenario in the United States employers and employees.  Very briefly here, everyone for whom God shines the light of Truth into his/her heart lives a certain life in a certain place.  Those temporal circumstances may or may not change immediately or over time, but what is significant is that the miracle of a change of heart has taken place.  So, one person may have 200 people in his employ when she becomes a believer.  The question before her is how will the love of Christ and the change of heart effect her life as an employer (her treatment, her expectations, her demands, her compensation, her attitude toward her employees).  Another person may be employed by a great boss, a terrible boss or something in between.  The question before him is how will the love of Christ and the change of heart effect his life as an employee (his treatment, his expectations, his thoughts, his attitude, his appreciation toward his employer).  Much can be said regarding slavery, the yoke placed on others, and the outworking in a culture with the understanding of the equality of all mankind as image bearers.  However, suffice it to say for this post that each person who is brought to a saving knowledge of Christ will be responsible for how he/she worships God in whatever situation they are in or transition into for the remainder of their lives.  We are all responsible individually to God for how we behave as disciples of Christ and striving to live in contentment with godliness, which is great gain.  Whatever any of our current situation, we can all find something to change so that we can do better at being content and godly right where we are, for His glory.

Honoring Church Leadership

Sure enough, we camped out in 1 Timothy 5 this week for about 40 minutes.  Specifically the focus was on verses 17-20 and honoring the church leaders was the topic.  Several important points came out that we can look at today.  First, a plurality of elders.  Any mention of leaders (elders, overseers, bishops) is always in the plural.  Even generic instructions when establishing a new body has a plurality (Acts 14:23), and when speaking of a fellowship already in existence where supplies are being distributed the gifts are given to "the elders" (Acts 11:30).  In each instance where the office is being discussed there is a plurality given.  Only the requirements for qualification are given in the singular, and then because the qualifications are those to be met by each individual that is to serve as part of the plurality.  So then how many make up the plurality?  Ah, and here we can get into trouble.  Elders means more than one, and that is as far as we can go.  We are not told any specific number, so making a requirement of three, seven, twelve or any other number mandatory could bring disastrous results because there may not be enough men who meet all the qualifications in the body to fill the number mandated by the church policy.  In that case concessions would have to be made regarding biblical instructions (men not meeting qualifications for eldership, women installed, etc.).  If the best practice is to follow what the Scriptures say, then there must be more than one elder and each man must meet all the biblical qualifications for the office.  The local church is not to be headed by a single man with all authority.  Such a model is not biblical and therefore is a problem waiting to surface in the body.

Second, the position of elder is a position of honor by its very nature.  Men serving as elders have a spiritual calling for leadership.  They have demonstrated the character and conviction necessary to take on the task of handling the Word, leading the church body, and caring for the spiritual condition of each and every member of the local church.  It is not for the faint of heart, for the weak in moral standing, for those light in theological understanding, nor for those who cannot handle conflict well.  In short the majority of church membership do not belong in the position of elder.  It is almost as if the prospective candidate desires very much the position, but never feels quite qualified to serve in that position, yet he is nominated, vetted, approved and encouraged by his peers and feels such a conviction by the Holy Spirit that he accepts the noble and solemn path placed before him.  And in following, the one handling the Word is worthy of double honor which does include monetary compensation for service.  The two examples given in support for this appear in 1 Timothy 5:18 where reward for work and wages are specifically given in support textually.

Finally, elders are to be protected.  Perhaps the greatest disservice a body of believers does to their leadership is in this area.  How many say, if even under their breath or just in their heart: "The elders don't really do that much.  They meet once a week in the conference room all by themselves, drink coffee and talk about how the church is doing, like anyone couldn't do that."  Have we not read the qualifications necessary to serve in such a position?  Can we not see the passion for every member of the body that causes the men of God serving as elders to cry out to God on their behalf?  Can we not think of the spiritual warfare conducted on a regular basis undertaken by such men to maintain personal integrity and gospel fidelity in the church through handling day-to-day issues and discussions, teaching, etc.?  How many of us are in the practice of praying for the deacons and elders that are serving the body?  How may of us would want our children to take a similar position?  "Dad doesn't really do that much, just go off 'to work' every day and then tell us what to do when he comes home, like anyone couldn't do that.  I don't need to pray for him or support him, what's the big deal?"  It breaks my heart to think my children would think that little of me; likewise it breaks my heart to think that anyone in my local fellowship would think so little of the leadership in the church.

Verses 19 and 20 finish the thought with instruction not to entertain (or receive) an accusation against an elder unless it comes from two or three eyewitnesses.  We must be diligent here.  If the enemy is out to steal, kill and destroy kingdom work then we must assume accusations will come against the elders and that most of those accusations will be false.  We must not even entertain talk about elders coming from one mouth.  Saying something like, "Let me stop you right there, by continuing down this line (by yourself) you are in violation of 1 Timothy 5:19 and I will not hear it.  If you have another eyewitness or two and are committed to the common testimony of misconduct then come together and present your case.  Otherwise do not attempt to spread this to me or anyone else, the Word of God demands it of you and I will hold you to it, for my part."  Me must honor the membership of the church by not receiving an accusation or gossip about another member, and we must not entertain such accusations against the eldership all the more.

My final written note about the sermon this week: "The membership should be joyful about giving honor to the men whom God has put in a place of leadership and service to the body through working to equip, teach and impart sound doctrine."  May we all be challenged to consider carefully how we honor our leadership and commit to praying for these men whom God has installed for service.