Read with Me
1 Timothy 5:17-21 (HCSB)
The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says:
Do not muzzle an ox
while it is treading out the grain, and,
the worker is worthy of his wages.
Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will also be afraid. I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.
Listen with Me
Even though God did not design the Church with the kind of rigid hierarchy that is present in many congregations and denominations today, He did design the Church with the understanding that some roles carried with them greater authority, and therefore greater responsibility. One of those key roles was that of elder.
The elders were those who were given responsibility by God to guide the affairs of the Church in a given location. Among these elders were those who were given the tasks of preaching, proclaiming God’s word to the Church, and teaching, helping disciples to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. Being an elder in the Church opened a person up to two serious issues, both of which are addressed here by Paul.
The first issue was that people sometimes balked at giving to the Church in order to support those elders. Sometimes they even pointed to Paul himself, who did not receive pay from many of the congregations where he worked (1 Corinthians 9:15-18). But Paul himself wrote in the same letter, in the same chapter in fact (1 Corinthians 9:7-14), that those who served the Church full-time have every right to receive their living from the Church. So, the Churches did not have the right to deprive their elders of support and still expect them to minister full-time.
The second issue was that, being in a very public and high-profile position, elders were very susceptible to accusations of wrongdoing by those who were jealous or who aspired to supplant them. Paul himself had had his own share of unfounded, scurrilous accusations, and he understood the toll that it took on a person.
Paul’s solution to the issue of false accusations was that no accusations against an elder were even to be entertained unless they were brought by two or more witnesses. No lone witnesses, not even one claiming to represent “a lot of people” was to gain a hearing. No anonymous accusations or “poison pen” letters were to be given any credibility.
If two or more witnesses came forward alleging the same specific misconduct, and if the subsequent investigation shows that the accusations were truthful, then the elders were to be rebuked publicly as a warning to others. There was to be no sweeping things under the rug out of fear of a scandal. The whole idea of sunlight being the most effective disinfectant was first practiced in the Church in accordance with these specific guidelines.
Pray with Me
Father, how great are the number of problems we face in the Church today because we too often ignore these very clear guidelines! We believe and act on the anonymous letter and remove people from their positions of authority without a thorough investigation because it seems like the expedient thing to do. If someone is found to have done something wrong, we don’t discipline them publicly out of fear of scandal, instead handling the matter behind closed doors, and allowing the wrongdoer to move to a new community, where they end up doing the same things. Lord, in Your wisdom You have provided all we need to administrate Your Church well. Help us to have the wisdom to follow Your instructions always. Amen.