We'll be reading from 1 Timothy, if you'd like to follow along. Timothy chapter 5, verses 17 through 25. I'm reading from the NIV. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain, and the worker deserves his wages. Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly so that the others may take warning. I charge you in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to keep these instructions without partiality and to do nothing out of favoritism. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourselves pure. Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them. The sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. I'm reading a sermon by Pastor Todd Bardot, which I've entitled, Conflicts in Church Leadership. Let me ask you a question, but don't answer it. Have you ever had to leave a church or known of someone that's left a church for reasons of conscience? Almost always, it involves the leadership of the Church. The Church, of course, is God's household, and it needs good leadership. When the leaders are of poor quality, or they promote bad theology, there is much conflict and damage done to the body of Christ. In the Church of Ephesus, You have seen that there was a crisis of leadership. Self-designated teachers were ignoring Timothy and disregarding his teaching authority. Timothy had been intimidated by these men and had failed in many cases to confront them. Tensions were high in the church in Ephesus. So, the Apostle Paul lays down some rules dealing with conflicts and problems among the leadership of the church. We can see by all of this that having a healthy church takes a lot of work, not only from the leadership, but from the members of the church. And the work is this, being careful to follow the Word of God on how the church should work. Paul begins with positive commands. He says how to care for the church leaders. He sets out provisions for that, particularly how to deal with the ministers. In verse 17, he instructs you to provide financially for your pastor. The word elders here is a general word for the leaders of the church. The context usually reveals which leaders he's talking about. In this case, he's talking about the pastors. Verse 17 is a notoriously difficult verse to interpret. Here is where knowledge of Biblical Greek really helps with the interpretation. In the Greek, the verb tense of the word will, which is used here in several translations, is in the past tense. honor those who have reared well. In other words, provide for those pastors who are now retired. The second verb, work or labor, is in the present tense. So the idea would be, provide for those ministers who are the teachers, the current teachers or preachers in the church, those that are currently laboring in preaching and teaching. Paul then does something very odd. He quotes an Old Testament law. You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out grain. Does this seem a little odd to throw in here? to provide financially for ministers because the law says that Israelites must allow oxen to eat while they work. Well, he's not suggesting that ministers are like oxes. What we have here is Paul's expression of covenant theology. Remember, the church is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Israel. We are the new Israel. In the old Israel, oxen labored six days a week in the fields. They were to be provided for by the farmers as they labored for the nation of Israel. Israel was God's holy kingdom. In the new covenant age, the church is God's holy kingdom. Pastors labor full time for God's kingdom. Thus they are to be provided for as they labor. Then Paul adds, the laborer is worthy of or deserves his wages. Here he quotes the Lord Jesus himself. So Paul protects the leaders of the church by ensuring that the church lives up to its responsibilities to care for his needs and the needs of his family. Now, going on to verse 19, Paul protects ministers in another way, and that is from unwarranted accusations. If there is an accusation against a church leader, it must be supported by at least two or three other witnesses before it is taken seriously. Ministers know that they are often the brunt of people's anger. For one, ministers are called to correct others. People don't like to be corrected. And often when Christians are angry at God for something, they take it out on the pastor and show their anger, releasing it to the pastor in one form or another. John Calvin wrote regarding this tendency of blaming the pastors, and particularly of setting apart the pastor for protection of two or three witnesses, even though through the Old Testament we know that's standard for all men, need to have two or three witnesses before they're accused of anything. John Calvin wrote regarding this, it may seem absurd that Paul should stay the law that applies to all men, as if it applied exclusively to ministers. He does so because none are more exposed to slanders and insults than godly teachers. Even when pastors do all their duties correctly, Calvin says, they never avoid a thousand criticisms. It is indeed a trick of Satan to estrange men from their ministers so as to gradually bring their teaching into contempt." If you have an accusation against a pastor The other leaders of the church are to confirm this from the witness of two or three other people. Now, after the apostle protects the ministers from false accusations, he moves on to protect the people from unscrupulous ministers. Ministers, or any church officer for that matter, that have been confronted for sin by two or three witnesses, but continue in their sin, must be called out publicly for discipline. There are no good old boy networks protecting leaders. Or at least there shouldn't be. I'm sure we've all seen that. It happens. But it shouldn't, according to God's word. God says, show no favoritism in the church. Officers are just as accountable to God and his church, if not more, than non-officers in the church. As with David we saw in Psalm 51, he was held accountable for his sin before God. When an officer lives in unrepentant sin and does not respond to private rebuke, he is to be rebuked publicly. When an officer is rebuked publicly, the church sees just how seriously God takes sin. And God is no respecter of persons is clearly demonstrated when the ministers and leaders are also disciplined. In our denomination, our Book of Church Order has a book of discipline that deals in great detail how to properly discipline members as well as ministers in the church. It's held in very high regard and importance. In verse 21 through 25, we are given some guidelines so as to avoid as much as possible bad leadership in the church. Verse 21, we are not to show partiality. We are not to let family members who are leaders get away with things. We are not to protect or give a benefit of a doubt to our friends. and then withhold that same protection from those we disagree with or that we may struggle with in some form in the church. Note how Paul reminds us that everything we do as a church we do in the very presence of God. That means the things you say in the car on the way home are really not in private. God and his angels are listening. probably more than one of us, has had the pastor for lunch on the way home from church. Paul then warns Timothy to be careful in appointing leaders to the church. Do not ordain men too quickly. If you ordain certain men quickly, though they are not ready or qualified, the damage they do is our fault also as a church. as he says, you take part in their sins. That means that when there is a scandal in the church because of a leader's sin, there is often more responsibility involved beyond just that leader. And it includes those who might have hastily called him or shown partiality toward him for whatever reason. Going on to verse 23. In verse 23, this is one of those verses where at first glance Paul seems to be losing his focus. Why in the middle of instructions on church leadership would he instruct Timothy to drink a little wine? Could it be because church people drive pastors to drink? No. At least they shouldn't. Remember, these self-appointed teachers were teaching that certain foods were sinful. They likely taught that alcohol was sinful. Timothy, timid by nature, was tempted to placate these men by refraining from alcohol, even though it could have been good for his health and circumstances. Paul encourages Timothy not only to not be intimidated by these legalists, But to actually take wine for his stomach. In this, Paul protects all of you from those in the church who desire to place unscriptural demands and burdens on you. So if wine helps your stomach, take a little wine. Don't get too excited. He says a little wine. In verse 24 and 25, the apostle closes with a warning not to judge men too quickly as to whether they are fit to church offices. As it says, the sins of some men are conspicuous, going before them to judgment. With some men, it is easy to see that they are not ready for leadership. The immaturity is certain in areas and is obvious to all. But the sins of others are not so easy to discern. Do not judge too quickly who is qualified for leadership in the church. Some appear godly, but have many issues beneath the surface. So get to know them. Take your time. Do not assume you can know a person perfectly. This applies to getting married. Sometimes it's easy to be joined in marriage, but very difficult when you have to become unjoined. Same for calling church officers. It's very difficult if you've made the wrong choice. You are being warned not to judge people quickly, in other words. And not all is as it appears. So it takes time to make wise choices. Ironically then, in verse 25, Paul adds that as some hide their sin well, others hide their healthy spiritual life well. A Christian's true character and commitment will be revealed over time. So be patient with all. So again, we close with the big picture in this passage of scripture. Christ died on the cross to wash away our sins and make us suitable for the house of God. The church is the world's only hope to hear about eternal life. and see the work of God among His people. We have these rules concerning church leaders because the church is to glorify God and to be a witness before the world of His grace and holiness. And all that we do in the church, we do in the presence of the great Judge of all, who will bring things to light in that great day. We all know the environment of the Roman Empire at the time of Paul's writings, of the great political and social and economic upheaval. Yet Paul, the Lord actually, is writing through Paul, sending a letter to the churches, not about Rome, our culture, our economics, but about the church. Today, we are in upheaval, politically, socially, economically, actually not nearly as bad as the Roman Empire was, yet how often do we focus on these perishing issues and forget the imperishable, the Church, which we will be among forever. We must remember that we are God's church, and the church is the theater of the gospel, where we show the world the hope that Christ has provided.