The Good Work of Ruling Well - 1 Timothy 5:17-25
The Good Work of Ruling Well
Sermon Aim: I desire that the elder / congregation relationship will yield an abundance of present and future joy and glory.
Introduction
As I preached last week's sermon on Elders and the congregation, a church in Minnesota was raided by an angry mob who stormed into the church building. The self-proclaimed protesters disrupted the service with shouting and chaos. They, in consistency with their intent, caused fear, intimidation, and anxiety.
Interestingly, they coordinated their unlawful demonstration to raise a matter of church polity. Videos posted by Black Lives Matter show the mob calling for the resignation or removal of one of the church's pastors who they claimed also worked for ICE or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency of the federal government.
In disbelief, one confounded protester exclaimed, “Someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents.”
The mob in one unified voice called for the pastor/ICE agent to be ousted. Together they chanted the pastor's name followed by “Out Now!”
All week political and cultural talking heads have debated the legality and the morality of such an act, and I intend to let them do so. My concern or my interest in the story is in an extremely unlikely place, at the center of an intense confrontation grounded in heated political differences and in the mouths of those vehemently opposed to a federal agency of the government we find a church polity concern and argument.
Notice several questions raised at this bizarre instance:
What disqualifies a pastor?
How does a person raise a charge against a pastor?
What process if any should a church follow when a charge is brought against an elder?
Who gets to weigh the evidence and decide if a pastor disqualifies himself?
These questions fall under a broader question, “How does a church protect and maintain the integrity of the elder office?”
To answer this question, I turn our attention to I Timothy 5:17–25. However, before we examine these verses we need to note a few items concerning the context.
First, Paul stressed to Timothy the importance of guarding the office. The church must find qualified men (I Tim. 3:1–7). Not everyone should enter into the office. And not everyone should remain.
Second, Paul connected his concern for the elder office with his concern for sound teaching. The word must be preached without alteration. As Paul faithfully taught the whole counsel of God's word to the church at Ephesus, so the elders along with Timothy must do the same. The integrity of the office must remain because the integrity of the word taught by those put in the office must be maintained.
Third, if in fact the conduct, lives, and teaching of those who hold the elder office are compromised, danger and ruin come to both the elders and those who sit under their teaching. “Keep a close watch on yourself [Timothy, an elder] and on your teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (I Tim. 4:16).
So then Paul's instructions are not just important because we find them in God's word. These instructions carry urgency and weight for by obedience to them the office of elder is properly maintained, the ministry of the word is guarded, and our salvation and the salvation of our children and friends are secured as we and they sit under those who teach.
READ I TIMOTHY 5:17–25
As you read, note three sections:
[v. 17–18] The Church's Responsibility to Elders Who Do Well
[v. 19–21] The Church's Responsibility to Elders Accused of Sin
[v. 22–25] The Church's Responsibility to Potential Elders
The Church's Responsibility to Elders Who Do Well
Paul began by speaking to the church about elders. Notice elders is plural. We know from Acts 20 that the church at Ephesus looked to a plurality of elders to lead it. Within this group of elders some proved themselves to be especially valuable to the church. They were “elders who rule well.” (I Tim. 5:17)
That is, these elders managed God's house well, just as they were required to manage their own household well (I Timothy 3:4–5).
These elders were to be “considered worthy of double honor.” The church should count elders who serve well in the office as deserving or entitled to “double honor.” The honor they deserve includes both “respect and monetary compensation” (Strauch, p. 174). All elders deserve honor, that is, respect and esteem. They should be highly regarded. But, those who do well and especially those who serve primarily in preaching and teaching are to be considered deserving of monetary compensation.
We know Paul has this compensation in mind because of the context. In verse 5:3, to honor widows clearly means monetary assistance. The church should meet the physical and monetary needs of widows. But, they are not required to honor those widows who have family who rightly meet their physical needs. Paul uses honor in verse 17 in the same sense, and it becomes clear in verse 18, where Paul cites two references in the OT:
“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and
“The laborer deserves his wages.” (I Tim. 5:18)
He makes this same point elsewhere in his writing to churches, and in even more lengthy form (I Corinthians 9:1–14).
Paul's argument is rooted in two principles.
First, elders who labor well have physical needs. In many cases they have wives and children. They need to eat and to be clothed. They have obligations to their own households. If those who serve the church well give their time and strength to God's people they cannot spend the time working in the fields or factories or office to meet their needs and the needs of their families. The church should not keep looking to the shepherds for spiritual needs while neglecting to care for the very real needs of the shepherd.
Second, Paul makes compensation for elders who do well a matter of justice. “Considered worthy of double honor,” the church is told, “for… the laborer deserves his wages” (I Tim. 5:17–18).
While the church should gladly meet the needs of their pastors from hearts of gratitude and appreciation, the church should also note its obligation. Giving to take care of deserving elders is not only in the category of a free act of gratitude, it is also a compelled act of justice. Paul gives no instruction about how to determine what is a just wage, but what is clear from here and elsewhere is that those who labor well deserve to have their physical needs cared for.
Quite obviously, as a pastor of a church teaching on the rightness and justice of the church fairly compensating pastors may appear self-serving. Indeed, I imagine some pastors have used the text for such selfish gain. This however is not my intent. My desire is instead to align with Paul’s intent—the preservation of the elder office in integrity. And, I think that the church helps the elder office through “double honor” in a few obvious ways:
By taking care of the physical needs of the elder and his family, the elder is able to give more of his time to the elder's work.
When needs are met, the temptation for ill-gotten gain lessens. A hungry stomach will know a more intense temptation to steal bread.
By showing honor, love, and justice to those who serve well the church avoids wronging the pastor and his family. When they fail, they communicate to the pastor, “In our eyes you are invaluable, easily replaced, and of little worth.” In such settings, pastors know great temptation to bitterness, resentment, and frustration. They are exposed to the fear of man. A fear which says, “If you will compromise the truth, if you will tickle their ears and scratch their itches, they will love you. They will reward you. They will value you, and you and your family will have their needs met. But, if you keep doing as you are, you will continue to go without.”
God uses the church's meeting the pastors needs to refresh and strengthen the pastor. Just as a foolish farmer demands the ox keep working without giving it rest, food, and drink so a church acts foolishly when demanding labor without caring for the laborer. The farmer benefits from a strong ox well watered, well fed, and well rested. So the church benefits from healthy pastors who are not depleted.
I am thankful that at CFNW, the pastors are well taken care of. You have consistently acted justly. You have not only met the physical needs of our families but you have also cared for our hearts in love. We thank God for you.
The Church's Responsibility to Elders Accused of Sin
Elders will face accusation. Within the first six months of becoming a full-time minister at a different church I was called into a meeting with the rest of the staff. In that meeting, we were all told that one of our fellow pastors no longer worked at the church. He had stolen thousands of dollars from the church among other continual sins.
Several years later two members of that same church approached me to voice an accusation against the main teaching pastor. They claimed that every Sunday, the preaching pastor would plagiarize large quantities if not his entire sermon. They claimed they had evidence and that they had approached the pastor but that he denied wrong doing.
These two stand out as memorable, but they certainly are not the only two times I have been in conversations in which accusations are brought against a pastor. As a matter of fact, accusations against pastors occur quite often. He is controlling. He is lazy. He is compromising. He is unloving. He does not have control of his children. He has been dishonest. He is proud. He is addicted to pornography. He made inappropriate jokes. He is harsh. He is not patient. He neglects the needs of the sheep. He has not been faithful to the Scriptures. He has failed to teach sound doctrine.
A wise church, like the apostle Paul, recognizes the seriousness of such accusations. The apostle Paul knew first hand how accusations against the pastor hurt not only the pastor’s reputation but also the reputation of the message he preached. The intimate connection between the truth proclaimed and upheld by the church and the quality of character in those whose mouths primarily articulate it makes the church’s response to accusations critical. Paul guides us with great wisdom.
[I Tim. 5:19] “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
Paul himself knew that the enemy of the truth sought to undermine the gospel by undermining the preacher. Satan and his workers do not hesitate to slander and falsely accuse in order to cast doubt and suspicion upon a servant of the lord. Elders who assume the responsibility to teach, correct, and rebuke step into a vulnerable place. “The more diligently and conscientiously an elder involves himself in the problems of others, the greater his risk of facing false accusations. If an elder mediates a couple’s marital conflict or disciplines a prominent church member, accusations frequently follow. Amos… wrote, ‘They hate him who reproves… and they abhor him who speaks the truth.’” (Amos 5:10) (Strauch, p. 188)
To guard the shepherd from attacks detached from truth, the church members should not entertain complaints and accusations by those unwilling or unable to produce evidence. “The followers of Jesus the Messiah are to be people of the truth. Therefore, [they] should hate false accusations, petty gossip, juicy rumors, and scandalous tales. We should silence them whenever we hear them because they are destructive to the individual and to the entire church.” (Strauch, p. 188–189)
The church members must be careful to ensure that their judgments and opinions about an elder official or unofficial are “governed by credible witnesses” rather than “unfounded rumors” (Strauch, p. 189).
[I Tim. 5:20] “Rebuke those who persist in sin.”
The requirement of evidence and multiple witnesses should not be seen as an unwarranted shield to hide and protect the sin of elders. Elders are not “above the law.” The church is not to relax the high standard for elders. The church, especially fellow elders, must not ignore or excuse sin. Instead, the church must, after viewing credible evidence, deal decisively and clearly with sin in the life of an elder.
First the elder needs to be confronted. The church should administer correction and rebuke with prayerful hope of the elder’s repentance. However, if the elder after hearing the rebuke continues to persist in sin, the elder must be rebuked “in the presence of all.” His sin and the church's dealing of it must go public. “The world must see the believing community taking sin seriously, especially the sin of its leaders. Only then will it have reason to believe that Christians mean what they preach about sin and holiness.” (Strauch, p. 192)
When churches do not sweep sin under the rug, they say correctly to the church and world, “Sin is deadly, and serious for God hates sin.” The net effect is proper fear of God in the heart.
[I Tim. 5:21] “Do nothing from partiality.”
This proper handling of sin must be carried out without partiality. A sinning elder may have deep relationships with many. He may be an excellent leader and/or a highly gifted communicator. He may have founded the church, performed funerals and officiated weddings. The backlash of hurt people may be fierce, and people who don't understand may leave the body. Still, the church must rebuke leaders who persist in error.
The Church's Responsibility to Potential Elders
In order to guard the office of elder, Paul not only urges the church to remove sinning elders but also to be careful and slow to place elders in the first place.
[I Tim. 5:22] “Do not be hasty in laying on of hands.”
To lay on hands is to set in the office of elder. This Paul says should not be done quickly.
I wish Paul gave us a timeframe—3 months? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? He did not. Instead he warns us of the dangers of moving too quickly.
Sometimes men appear strong. They stand on the stage and demonstrate a wealth of knowledge and insight all while being pleasant to hear. They check all the right boxes. Their references praise him. The church must note, in the exciting potential of a new and promising elder, that oftentimes a person’s sins only appear after a lengthy season. A private battle with pornography, an uncontrolled anger that only lashes out before the eyes and hearts of his children, an apathy and coldness to time alone in the presence of God, a controlling fear of man that subtly steers his conversation. These may all be hidden from view for a time.
Wise churches do not rush to elevate a man on the basis of giftedness without also for a time examining his character and credibility. A congregation may see a man's giftedness to preach in a morning, but to examine his holiness will take patience.
At the same time, Paul acknowledges that sometimes the good of man and his works do not become apparent until time passes. When a church places too much emphasis on ability and skill rather than on character and holiness, they not only run the risk of placing an elder too quickly, but they also run the risk of failing to recognize and elevate qualified men. They might overlook a faithful, wise, holy man simply because he does not come across as an eloquent speaker or a charismatic leader.
Wise churches slow down. They carefully and prayerfully set aside men to lead them, and they do so for the same reason they care for their elders by meeting their needs and defend the integrity of the office by taking accusations seriously. They do all of this not because they love studies in church polity. They do so diligently because they love and value the word of God and its reputation before a watching world.
At one time, they rejected the truth about God and the gospel His messenger proclaimed. That messenger, Jesus, was rejected, mocked, beaten, crushed, and crucified. They hated Christ because they hated the message He preached.
But God in His mercy, has opened the eyes of the church. He has softened their hearts. The truth they rejected has now become the truth in which they rejoice. This love for the truth animates their love for the shepherds teachers gifted to them by God (Eph. 4:11–16), and this love for the truth strengthens them to defend the office when necessary.
Pray with me.
Father in heaven,
We thank you that you are a God of truth and faithfulness, who loves your church and cares for her through the shepherds you provide. We confess how easily we are tempted toward suspicion, partiality, fear, or indifference, and how quickly we forget that your church is upheld not by human wisdom, but by your grace.
We thank you for Jesus Christ, the true and faithful Shepherd, who was falsely accused, unjustly condemned, and yet laid down his life for the sheep. Guard our elders, strengthen their character, and help us to honor those who labor well. Give us wisdom to take sin seriously without losing mercy, and to love your Word more than comfort or reputation.
Do this for the joy of your church and the glory of your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
* Citations are from Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in the Local Church (2024 edition)
