HoHum:
Lao Tzu said this of a leader: A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. He is not so good when people obey and acclaim him. He is worse when they despise him.
Do something that will make them uncomfortable but elders stand and recognize them.
WBTU:
Except for last week we have been talking about the church. Today I want to conclude this mini series on the church by talking about the elders this morning and tonight.
When Paul and Barnabas traveled through Galatia, they planted churches. Upon their return to Antioch, they appointed elders for those churches. Acts 14:23: Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. These churches were less than 2 years old, so the elders would have been fairly recent Christians. For Paul, developing and appointing elders was an important task in establishing and developing new and healthy churches.
Background of 1 Timothy:
We don’t know all that happened after Paul was released from his first imprisonment. We do know that he and Timothy visited Ephesus. Their visit was not pleasant because what Paul had prophesied in Acts 20 had come true. False teachers were poisoning the church with deadly teachings. We see in 1 Timothy 1:20
Paul evidently moved on from Ephesus but left Timothy in Ephesus to help this troubled church and to stop the advancement of false teachings.
The opposition at Ephesus was fiercely argumentative as seen in 1 Timothy 6, so Paul wrote the letter of 1 Timothy to reinforce his instructions to Timothy and the church.
Although the church in Ephesus had been governed by elders for more than 5 years, problems existed within the eldership. Therefore, Paul felt the church needed fresh instruction on leadership, especially eldership.
Tonight we will talk about the elders responsibilities to God, to their families, and to church.
Thesis: This morning we are going to discuss this congregation’s responsibilities to our elders.
For instances:
Honoring elders- 1 Timothy 5:17-18
We need to show care and concern for the elders, because they direct the affairs of the church and they give time and attention to the preaching and teaching.
Elders are willing and able to give a good deal of their time, skill and energy to the spiritual care of the local congregation.
Now all elders are to be “able to teach”- 1 Timothy 3:3. Good teachers “work hard” at long hours of study and preparation. Teaching is absorbing work. It is mentally strenuous, time consuming work that demands a great deal of strength and self discipline.
When several months without a preacher, George and Dean filled the pulpit. Realize how much it takes. It is not just working a few hours on Sunday and that’s it.
Ephesians 4:11-12: It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Shepherds and teachers are closely linked together but not identical. The shepherding gift combines teaching and governance. It is the kind of gift that would enable an elder to “rule well” and “work hard” at teaching.
Teachers may or may not be elders. Shepherds are more than teachers because they teach, govern, protect, and care for the flock in practical ways.
This might lead some to ask me, “Are you an elder or an evangelist?” In some churches of Christ, they have elders who do most of the preaching and teaching. This makes sense especially in light of vs. 18. In other churches of Christ like this one, they have evangelists like Timothy is mentioned as an evangelist in 2 Timothy 4:5. Usually for a limited amount of time. An evangelist does more than the narrow definition that we sometimes give him.
Dr. Cottrell says of this: The modern day preaching minister certainly “does the work of an evangelist” However, he also does much more than an evangelist. The best understanding seems to be that there is no biblical equivalent to the modern role of preaching minister; this role is usually a combination of several legitimate church functions. There is nothing wrong with creating a new role by combining several functions into one position. Nor does this mean that the role in unimportant. It has been designed to fill an important place in the overall functioning of a NT congregation. The only caution that needs to be voiced is that the preaching minister is not “the pastor” of the congregation.
The main thing that Paul is saying here is that elders ought to be viewed by the congregation and their fellow elders as a source of joy, blessing, and benefit, rather than as a threat.
D. Vs. 18 does show that material provision is in Paul’s mind. Yes, this is talking about me but these two verses say more than that. In thinking about all the elders, one commentator said, “If any honor is to be bestowed it should be by means of the funeral sermon.” No, we should give them some honor while they are alive. C.H. Lenski said it much better, “Wreaths are not to be laid on their graves after they are dead; flowers are to be given to them now in order to cheer them in their work.” Hebrews 13:17: Obey them (leaders) so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Protecting elders- 1 Timothy 5:19
We need to protect them from malicious people and false accusations. Do not be naive about the fact that there are plenty of hateful, unstable people who aim to ruin people in authority. This happened to all of the major characters in the Bible.
When elders are involved in conflict or they confront people about their sins, the accusations will fly against them. The more diligently and conscientiously an elder becomes involved in others’ problems, the greater the risk of facing angry, false accusations.
When people become angry at their leaders, they think they have the right to strike out at them and say whatever they want to say. So Scripture provides this protection. This means: don’t listen to unsubstantiated charges, and don’t automatically accept as true an accusation made against an elder. The rumor mill at the old country store.
Good people have been ruined by unfounded accusations, and we should not allow this to happen in the church and especially with our elders.
Proverbs 17:9: He who covers over an offense promotes love.
Our judgments are to be governed by facts, evidence and witnesses- not rumors.
Now this verse does not imply immunity. Paul does say on the basis of 2 or 3 witnesses. This goes back to Jesus words in Matthew 18:15-16: “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
Disciplining Elders- 1 Timothy 5:20
Vs. 19 and vs. 20 make a contrast between elders who are innocent and elders who are guilty
The elders to be publicly rebuked are those who are found guilty of sin as proven by witnesses. This passage teaches that a proven, public accusation against an elder who has sinned or is still sinning must be publicly exposed and rebuked.
This also goes back to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:17: If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. Added in 1 Timothy 5:20 is the idea of rebuke. This is the idea of public exposure, correction and reproof. After Timothy’s departure from Ephesus, the elders would be responsible to rebuke any sinning elders.
The context indicates that the sin to which Paul refers is serious. We are not talking about some minor shortcoming which everyone has. Not talking about the elder didn’t shake my hand, or he didn’t come to my birthday party. We are talking about things like sexual immorality, stealing of church money, addictions to drugs or alcohol, criminal wrongdoing. Witnesses are required to verify the truth of the charges and a public rebuke is demanded, which is not required of minor offenses. Paul keeps this in general terms so that godly wisdom, counsel, and prayer will guide the local church and its leaders in implementing this instruction in individual cases.
This is important because these things can lead people astray and can cause the unbelieving world to mock God, the church, and the gospel. If the world sees that local churches take sin seriously, especially in their leaders, then it will believe that Christians mean what they preach. Furthermore, only when the discipline of an erring church leader is made public is there any chance of controlling one of the most divisive forces in a church: rumormongering, gossip, and misinformation.
If the church leader refuses to undergo this kind of discipline then Matthew 18:17: if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
1 Timothy 5:20 fulfills another important purpose: so that the others may take warning. “Others” seems to refer to the other elders, but the entire congregation would also experience some measure of fear as in Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:11: Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Vs. 14: Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
