1 Timothy Chapter 5 Series

I Timothy Chapter 5

I Tim 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; KJV

5:1 Do not sharply reprimand an older man, but appeal to him as [you would to] a father, to younger men as brothers, Amplified Bible

A. Paul admonished Timothy to minister to the various kinds of people in the church, and not to show partiality. Since Timothy was a younger man, he might be tempted to ignore the older members; so Paul urged him to love and serve all of the people, regardless of their ages. The church is a family: Treat the older members like your mother and father, and the younger members like your brothers and sisters. (Warren Wiersbe)

B. “Rebuke” -- e?p?p??´ss? -- epiple¯sso¯ -- ep-ee-place'-so Thayer Definition: G1969

a. 1) to strike upon, beat upon

b. 2) to chastise with words, to chide, upbraid, rebuke Part of Speech: verb A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1909 and G4141

C. Rebuke not an elder - The word “elder” here is not used in the sense in which it often is, to denote an officer of the church, a presbyter, but in its proper and usual sense, to denote an aged man. This is evident, because the apostle immediately mentions in contradistinction from the elder, “the younger men,” where it cannot be supposed that he refers to them as officers. The command to treat the “elder” as a “father,” also shows the same thing. By the direction not to rebuke, it is not to be supposed that the minister of the gospel is not to admonish the aged, or that he is not to show them their sins when they go astray, but that he is to do this as he would to a father. He is not to assume a harsh, dictatorial, and denunciatory manner. The precepts of religion always respect the proprieties of life, and never allow us to transgress them, even when the object is to reclaim a soul from error, and to save one who is wandering. Besides, when this is the aim, it will always be most certainly accomplished by observing the respect due to others on account of office, relation, rank, or age. (Barnes)

D. IT is always difficult to reprimand anyone with graciousness; and to Timothy there would sometimes fall a duty that was doubly difficult - that of reprimanding someone older than himself. The fourth-century Church father John Chrysostom writes: ‘Rebuke is in its own nature offensive particularly when it is addressed to an old man; and when it proceeds from a young man too, there is a threefold show of forwardness. By the manner and mildness of it, therefore, he would soften it. For it is possible to reprove without offence, if one will only make a point of this; it requires great discretion, but it may be done.' (William Barclay)

E. Rebuke is always a problem. We may so dislike the task of speaking a warning word that we may avoid it altogether. Many people would have been saved from sorrow and disaster if someone had only spoken a word of warning in time. There can be no more poignant tragedy than to hear someone say: ‘I would never have come to this, if you had only spoken in time. It is always wrong to hold back from speaking the word that needs to be heard. (William Barclay)

F. We may reprimand a person in such a way that there is clearly nothing but anger in our voice and nothing but bitterness in our minds and hearts. A rebuke given solely in anger may produce fear, and may cause pain, but it will almost inevitably arouse resentment; and its ultimate effect may well be to drive those who are rebuked even more firmly into their mistaken ways. The rebuke of anger and the reprimand of contemptuous dislike are seldom effective and are far more likely to do harm than good. (William Barclay)

G. It was said of Florence Allshorn, the great missionary teacher, that, when she was principal of a women's college, she always rebuked her students, when the need arose, as it were with her arm around them. The rebuke which clearly comes from love is the only effective one. If we ever have cause to reprimand anyone, we must do so in such a way as to make it clear that we do this not because we find a cruel pleasure in it, not because we want to do it, but because we are under the compulsion of love and seek to help, not to hurt. (William Barclay)

H. But entreat him as a father - As you would a father. That is, do not harshly denounce him. Endeavor to persuade him to lead a more holy life. One of the things for which the ancients were remarkable above most of the moderns, and for which the Orientals are still distinguished, was respect for age. Few things are enjoined with more explicitness and emphasis in the Bible than this; Lev_19:32; Job 29; Pro_20:20; Pro_30:17; compare Dan_7:9-10; Rev_1:14-15. The apostle would have Timothy, and, for the same reason, every other minister of the gospel, a model of this virtue. (Barnes)