Lessons in Leadership — Part Two

I’d like to encourage you to turn with me again to 1 Timothy 5 and to the section which begins at the seventeenth verse, which is where we were studying this morning and to which we return this evening.

With apologies to those who were not present this morning, we break in to where we were, and we were looking at the verses which begin with the directive “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor.” And we looked first of all at what the Bible has to say here and elsewhere about the whole matter of compensation or remuneration for those who have been set apart to the preaching and teaching ministry of the Bible. We then went on into verse 19 to notice that anyone who is involved in leadership will be on the receiving end of accusation. And so Paul, recognizing that this will be the case, gives some very clear directives which tie in with Old Testament principle in relationship to how the matter of accusation of an elder is to be dealt with. And we looked at that in verses 19 and 20. And the public rebuke of verse 20 was in order that others, in observing it, would be caused to take warning. The King James Version actually says that they might be caused to “fear,” and that they would fear being the recipients of that kind of rebuke and also that they might learn to fear the inroads of sin.

The Gravity of Public Censure

Now, as he does with frequency in these letters, Paul then goes on to tighten, as it were, the charge that he has given in relationship to these things. And so, in verse 21, having given this very striking statement concerning the public censure of those whose sin has become public, he says, “[I am issuing this charge] in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels.”

Now, he does this in order to reinforce for Timothy just how serious and grave he regards this issue to be. And as I say, this is something that Paul does through these three letters, the Pastoral Epistles. For example, if you turn forward just a couple of pages to 2 Timothy 4:1, you find a similar kind of statement, where he says, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge.” Now, what he is doing is simply letting Timothy know and his readers understand that while they may be staggered by the thought of these things taking place publicly and other people finding out about what was going on, he says the really significant factor is that all that is taking place, whether it ever comes to public censure or whether it remains hidden in obscurity as a result of the continued sinfulness of men and women—all of that, he says, takes place before God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels.

Now, we don’t want to delay on this, this evening, but it is of interest, and you can do this, if you like, for your homework: to recognize that the angels are referred to both as having a place in the exercise of the judgment—for example, in Matthew 13:[41], and in Hebrews 12:22, and in Revelation 14 and 15. These angels who are going to have a place in the judgment are “the elect angels.” There are other angels who are going to be on the receiving end of God’s judgment. And these are referred to in Jude 6. He says, “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day”—a dreadful and a chilling statement, that these created beings who were involved in the rebellion of Lucifer have themselves, from that moment, been bound over in order that they might experience the judgment.

Now, his use of the adjective “elect” here in 1 Timothy 5 is surely simply to distinguish between those angels and these angels. There are those of whom the Bible speaks who have been bound over for judgment, but those who will share in the expression of judgment are those whom God has chosen and purposed for that. And therefore, it is only right that you’d use the word of them as being “elect.” Now, I don’t think we need to say any more concerning that, although you can, of course, pursue it in your own private study. The contrast, I think, is simply a contrast with the fallen angels.

Now, in the solemnity of this instruction, he goes on to say in the second half of verse 21 that it is imperative that in following these directives, Timothy should avoid partiality and favoritism: “Keep these instructions without being partial to individuals, and make sure that you do nothing out of favoritism.” Now, before we just skip over that, we should pause for a moment. Because here is one of the great challenges in the exercise of this kind of discipline and judgment. It is an understandable challenge, and it is in some senses an inevitable challenge, but it is to be avoided at all costs.

Those of us who have been around churches for most of our lives can sadly testify to the fact that failure at this point in local congregations has been and is the cause of untold ruin, heartache, and chaos—that when it comes to the point of an unscrupulous commitment to biblical principle, as soon as sentiment, family ties, or favoritism is allowed to prevail, then the church immediately loses the ability to exercise discipline on the basis of any objective criteria at all. As soon as people allow their hearts to be moved—and we understand why and how it happens—but as soon as that is allowed to take place, then you’re no longer able to exercise wise judgment. And that is, of course, why it is that many pastors, especially in the British Isles, would regard it as really an unwise thing to develop peculiar personal friendships within the congregation: simply because it erodes, in their mind, the possibility of the necessary objectivity that will inevitably come at some points in a sustained pastoral ministry. And if we allow partiality, sentiment, favoritism, family ties, old school ties, any kind of other connection to be the driving force, then we lose out, and we harm the plan and purpose of God.

Favoritism on the part of a leadership group in a church will eventually disintegrate that church.

Now, it is this simple statement that he makes which is of such pressing importance. And 1 Timothy 5:21 is, I suggest to you, a vital dose of preventative medicine for every church family that is determined to do God’s work in God’s way. It’s so hard, isn’t it, in overseeing families, to make sure that we’re not partial to one child over another and that we do not have favorites? The favoritism of Jacob led to untold chaos. And favoritism on the part of a leadership group in a church will eventually disintegrate that church. That’s why it is so crucial.

Well, I need say no more about this matter, then, of dealing with accusations. If they are justified, then they need to be dealt with properly and without allowing these other factors to dull our diligence.

The Matter of Ordination

Now, in verse 21, we come to deal with this matter of ordination. If verses 17 and 18 were about remuneration or compensation and the following verses, the intervening verses, were about dealing with accusation, then here in verse 22 and following, we have this issue of ordination.

That’s the significance, I think, of this phrase “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands.” Because you will remember that in the laying on of hands, there was a symbolic expression that was there of these people being set apart to the responsibilities and duties of eldership. And Paul is simply warning Timothy lest he is hasty in trying to put a group of people together. There are all kinds of reasons why a young pastor would be concerned to establish this leadership structure in the way that the apostles had suggested. “And so,” says Paul, “be careful that you don’t allow yourself simply to be swept away by a desire to have it done in a hurry.”

The vital importance of ensuring that only men of unquestioned integrity are appointed to the ministry will be served by paying careful attention to verse 22. Because what we’re looking for in these men is absolute impartiality and an unimpeachable honesty. And if these are to be the characteristics of the men who serve, both in his present leadership and new appointees, then he’s going to have to take great care in their appointment.

Now, I think it’s fairly obvious that a church can save itself a tremendous amount of trouble if it will exercise great caution when it comes to the matter of setting apart men to the task of oversight. And again, failure to guard against unholy intruders may find those who lay their hands on these unholy intruders sharing in the blame and sharing in the stain of their sins. I think that’s the significance of the second half of the first sentence in verse 22: “And do[n’t] share in the sins of others.” I think the implication is that if you don’t pay careful attention to those that you’re laying hands on, and they are an unruly bunch or they are the wrong people, then when the wrongness of what has been done becomes apparent, it will be impossible for you to say, “Well, I had no part in that at all.” “No,” he says, “you have a part in it, and your hands will be stained by their sins, and it will be clear that you have had a share in it.” Donald Guthrie, who taught me New Testament at London Bible College early in the ’70s, says of this, “Undue haste in Christian appointments has not infrequently led to unworthy men bringing havoc to the cause of Christ.”[1] “Undue haste in Christian appointments has [led not infrequently] to unworthy men bringing havoc to the cause of Christ.”

Now, we don’t want to use that to justify our somewhat lumbering and laborious elder internship track, which some of our men have gone through over a prolonged and protracted period of time. But actually, it has served us fairly well in seeking to be careful in not misapplying the instruction here of verse 22. I wrote in my notes a little statement that helped to drive it home for me—namely, “No ordination without investigation.” “No ordination without investigation.” We’re not just going to take things on their face value. If we’re going to seek to preserve the purity of the church, then we need to see to it that we ourselves are pure.

And of course, that’s what Paul is saying. He is always taking and applying the principles to himself. And in seeking to write to Timothy and give him guidance, he wants to make sure that Timothy applies them to himself. And so he says, “It’s very important for you that you deal with this matter of purity in the establishing of fellow leaders. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’ve got to ensure that they’re all pure and forget that you, Timothy, also are to be pure. Make sure that you appoint pure men, and make sure that in the process, that you keep yourself pure.”

A Parenthetical Statement about Wine

Now, as best as I can understand it, it is on account of that statement that we have verse 23 where we have verse 23. Because what Paul has shared here is a personal word of admonition to Timothy—namely, “Keep yourself pure.” And it may well be that that has triggered another personal thought in relationship to Timothy. It has to do with a matter of purity; it has to do with a question of integrity; it has to do with, actually, his physical frame as well. And we have this verse which on first reading appears to be completely out of place. There is instruction being given here concerning how you appoint elders and why not to be hasty and so on, and then out of the blue he says, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”

But if you think about it in the way that you write letters, there are often little parenthetical statements that creep in, aren’t there? That are not really in the flow of things, but they come to mind. They’re important, they’re expressed, they’re added, and they’re added then in order that they might be there, lest it passes through our minds and out of our minds and gone. So we put it in brackets, as it were.

I think that 23 is a parenthetical statement with purpose. Timothy, perhaps, in seeking to make sure that he was, according to 3:3, “not given to drunkenness”—was not lingering by his wine, as one paraphrase puts it—that in order that nobody would ever be able to accuse him of being that kind of individual, he had begun to practice self-discipline to the point of self-endangerment. And apparently, he was drinking only water so that no one could ever accuse him of drinking too much wine. So he managed to remove himself from the possibility of that accusation, but in doing so, his own physical frame was inevitably suffering because of the particular problem that he had, obviously, in his tummy.

And so Paul says, “Now, I know, Timothy”—if I may paraphrase it in this way—“I know, Timothy, that you’re very concerned about purity. I know that you’re so concerned to ensure that you fulfill the characteristics of an elder as I’ve already given them to you a few verses before, or a few rolls of the scroll before. And in your scrupulous concern, Timothy, there is a possibility that you may actually creep into the kind of ascetic approach to life which I was condemning at the beginning of chapter 4. You may have missed the point that everything that God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is to be received with thanksgiving.[2] And so, Timothy, I want simply to say to you, you should feel free to use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”

Now, Wuest, the commentator on Greek word studies, points out that Paul is here “speaking of wine as a medicine” and “not as a beverage.”[3] And it is interesting that he uses the adjective “little”: “You should use a little wine,” he says. “You should feel free to take a little wine.”

It’s interesting that when wine is mentioned in the New Testament, it is inevitably mentioned with a word of caution. For example, in Ephesians 5:18: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” I think that’s fairly clear. In 1 Timothy 3:8, it is again mentioned as a word of caution: “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere,” and “not indulging in much wine.” When it is referred to in Titus 2:3, these women—the older women—are supposed to be “reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine.” And when Paul addresses it as one of the debatable matters in Romans 14—which is why, in the earlier part of our worship, I read from Romans 14—in Romans 14:21, he points out that not drinking wine is better than causing one’s fellow Christians to stumble.

So in other words, when you try to put together an understanding of it, you cannot teach from the Bible a categorical statement in relationship to the matter of this beverage, but you can understand clearly the parameters that are set in relationship to it. The word that is used here is inevitably medicinal. Therefore, we wouldn’t use a medicinal reference as a ground for a view of alcoholic intake. When we look to the rest of the Scripture, we would say, “Well, what does it say about this?” Well, it says, “A man who’s a deacon should not be addicted to wine. A woman who’s going to teach younger women should not be having a problem with wine; you shouldn’t find her in the local wine bar. And the elders should not be addicted to wine either.” In fact, what Paul says is if it’s actually a problem in any context, then it is far better to decline, to resist, to refuse to imbibe in order to prevent the stumbling of another.

You cannot teach from the Bible a categorical statement in relationship to the matter of wine, but you can understand clearly the parameters that are set in relationship to it.

Now, Paul is not suggesting that Timothy stops drinking water altogether but that he stops drinking water exclusively. Calvin, commenting on this, says, “How few there are today who need to be forbidden water, how many rather that need to be restricted to drinking wine soberly!”[4] So Calvin must have had a certain group in his congregation there who decided that since God had given them all things richly to enjoy,[5] by golly, they were going to enjoy it. And people were having to go and fish them out of various places and drag them home. And he says, “This is not a good idea, fellows. This is not commending the cause of Jesus Christ. How few there are who need the directive in relationship to water, how many that need the restriction in relationship to wine.”

Now, that’s all I want to say about that. I think verse 23 is a parenthetical statement.

Deeds, Obvious and Hidden

And as he returns to the matter, in verse 24, of the sins of some men, I think, then, that he is simply returning to what he was dealing with before in verse 22 in relationship to the ordination of those who would serve in church leadership. And he makes the point that if we do not take great care, then we will prevent the ordination of the right men, and we will make possible the ordination of the wrong men. That is the significance of these interesting little statements: “The sins of some men are obvious, [and they reach] the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.”

What does this mean? It means that it’s a no-brainer in certain cases when you ask the question, “Should Mr. X be ordained as an elder?” And people say, “No!” Why not? Because his sins go before him. The people in the community or people in the church would say, “He is not above reproach. He has a problem here; he has a problem there. He’s a well-meaning soul, he wants to follow Christ, but he certainly should not be appointed as an elder.” It’s hardly even necessary to sit down and discriminate. The judgment is clear. But the real concern is with the man whose sins are not immediately obvious, because this man appears on the surface to be a good candidate for office. But upon an examination, his sins become apparent.

Now, we don’t have to look any further than the last three or four years in Parkside Church to illustrate this principle: that were it not for the fact that we had instituted a process whereby there would be the opportunity to observe men in ministry—if we had hastily, out of a desire to increase the number of elders, simply brought all those who were on our mind or in our gaze before the congregation, laid hands upon them, and set them apart to ministry—we would have been involved in the subsequent months in the public censure of individuals. And God, in his mercy and providence, preserved us in the process. You see, when that happens, then the group can be grateful that they have been saved from all of the sadness and the folly and the censure that would result from being far too hasty.

A similar and tragic thing happened in a church in the South in the last year and a half or so, where they laid hands suddenly on a man who, on the surface, appeared to be a fine candidate as their senior pastor. And on the strength of all kinds of glowing reports and various accolades and expressions of giftedness, they called him and celebrated his arrival and set him apart to the task of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God—only to discover that within a matter of months, his sins were trailing behind him. And when the sins finally caught him up, then they had to stand before the congregation and dismiss him on account of the gravity of what had taken place.

Now, you see, loved ones, this is why it is so important that as a local church, flawed and failing and flailing as we often are, at least we have a commitment before God—“in the sight of God and … Jesus and the elect angels”—we make a commitment to one another: we are going to, with God’s help, keep these instructions without partiality or favoritism. Right? We make a commitment to that end. Now, you see, it’s imperative that we do make a commitment when everything’s going well. Because when the wheels fall off, and when it’s my head on the block for public censure, then it can so easily become a different story. That there are no favorites, there’s no partiality; there’s no loopholes; there’s no exceptions.

Now, the same principle holds true in relationship to good deeds. And that’s why he turns it on its head, and in verse 25 he says, “Let’s look at this the other way around.” He says, “[You know], in the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.” So there are some whose good deeds and abilities are on the surface, and it’s obvious. They’re gifted. They have characteristics that qualify them. It is a straightforward issue that they should be set to this task and given the privilege of responsibility. But there are others who only shine after a wee while. You don’t realize what a gem they are until you’ve had the opportunity of being in their company, until you’ve had the chance to see them in a variety of circumstances—a bit like a painting that you go and purchase in a secondhand store. And it looks quite good, but not really good. And because the price is right, you buy it anyway, because it will fill up a space on the landing. And then you take it home, and the more you rub it, the better it looks. And when you light it, it’s striking. And you come to realize: “This is a gem!”

Now, that’s the principle here. You don’t lay hands on people suddenly. If you do, you may lay hands on sinners who will cause you chaos. And if you just choose immediately on the basis of surface characteristics, yes, you will get those who are obviously, on the surface, capable of the task; but if you move that quickly, you will miss the opportunity to set aside to the privilege and responsibility of eldership some who, in the course of time, will prove to be clearly qualified and prove to be real gems. Timothy, and all the Timothys that follow him, will be well served by remembering that conduct always affords the best guide to character. And that means hidden conduct and the deeds that are not immediately apparent.

And so the observations with which the chapter concludes point clearly to the complexities that are involved in selecting suitable candidates for the work of God. Guthrie again:

Hasty action relies on first impressions, but these impressions are often deceptive. Unworthy men might be chosen, whose moral culpability lies deeper than the surface; and worthy men, whose good actions are not in the limelight, might easily be overlooked. The whole situation demands extreme caution.[6]

Now, let me end where I essentially ended this morning: by pointing out to you again that at a time when, in the public realm, there appears to be unlimited tolerance for private sin, provided it is apparently compensated for by some measure of public competence, we need to understand that the Bible condemns that kind of double standard at every point. It is character, it is genuine godliness, it is humility, it is selflessness that is the basis of usefulness in the service of God. And that’s why some of the most surprising individuals have been so wonderfully used, don’t you think? Because when God looked down on them, he said, “Now, here is an individual that I can use in leadership”—not because he’s so striking, not because he is so able, not because he has all of the rigmarole that is expected and is anticipated in being, you know, in the who’s who of Europe, or the who’s who of America, or the who’s who of Who’s Who. “But this is the man to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.”[7]

It is character, it is genuine godliness, it is humility, it is selflessness that is the basis of usefulness in the service of God.

See, you’ve got to ask the question, “How is it that this happened to Mr. X, and it didn’t happen to Mr. Y?” And all of the answer is not this—because God chooses to shine where he chooses to shine, to irrigate where he chooses to irrigate, to give growth where he chooses to give growth. We saw that at the end of Acts 2. But at least part of the issue is this: that God, who sees the hidden place of the hearts of men and women, knows that he can trust this individual, these individuals, with the privilege and responsibility of serving his people. And therefore, he calls us in the church to integrity and to purity. And when we think about the ordering of the life of the church, when we think about leadership in the church, we need to proceed with a necessary diligence to learn how to conduct ourselves in God’s household.

All the principles that we need in relationship to compensation are in this book. All the instruction that we require in dealing with accusation and allegation are in this book. And every necessary directive regarding the matter of ordination is in this book. And therefore, as a church, we must continue to pledge to one another that we will look to the Book, no matter how unbelievable and bizarre the world, or even the church, might regard it to be.

Let us pray:

How easy, Lord, to exalt ourselves and our own opinions. How quick we are to try and dodge the pieces of the Bible that shine with unerring searching into the very core of our being. We confess to you that we understand the danger of favoritism and partiality. Actually, we confess to you that we don’t just understand it but that we’re guilty of it. And we ask for your forgiveness, and we pray for your divine enabling, that in the days and months and years that lie ahead of us that you would give us in laying down foundations for ministry in this place, that you will help us not to compromise; that you will save us from spinelessness, from undue dogmatism; that you will grant to us, Lord, a genuine, happy, sincere resolve to know the Bible and to do what it says. We pray the same for those with whom you’ve given us links throughout the world in the question of the gospel: that pastors will be men of the Book, that congregations will read it on a daily basis and will seek to live by it, and that you will transform us by your Spirit through your Word.

We thank you for this day as we thank you for each other. We do not know what tomorrow holds, whether our lives are yet to be long or short. And so we pray that you will help us, as the people of God, with one confession upon our lips, as those who have been liberated from the darkness and from the shame, to live to the praise of your glorious grace.

And now unto him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forevermore. Amen.

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[1] Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 120.

[2] See 1 Timothy 4:4.

[3] Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament for the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966), 2:88.

[4] John Calvin, The Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians and the Epistles to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, trans. T. A. Smail, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 267.

[5] See 1 Timothy 6:17.

[6] Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 121.

[7] Isaiah 66:2 (paraphrased).