From 1 Timothy chapter 5 beginning in verse 17, hear now the word of the living God. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. against an elder receive not an accusation but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all that others also may fear. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that thou observe these things without preferring one before another. doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be a partaker of other men's sins. Keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Some men's sins are opened beforehand, going before to judgment, and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifested beforehand, and they that are otherwise cannot be hid." This is the Word of the Lord. Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, we come this morning to hear your word. And we would plead with you, Lord, that you would bring forth your word this morning, that through me, your servant, you would communicate that word, that we would receive the instruction that your spirit would give. Lord, we ask that you would open our ears and our hearts, that we would not be dull of hearing. that we would not be negligent, but that we would receive the Word of God with joy, and that we would go forth to do what you command us to do. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Please be seated. As we have been studying through 1 Timothy, we have discovered the things that the Apostle has asked this pastor to put in place in the church in Ephesus. Those things that are needful for the church to function properly and for the church to have great peace and harmony. One of the great tragedies of the visible church in our age is that the church is often divided, that the church is often torn asunder by division and strife. And the one sure remedy to prevent the church from strife and division is to have godly men who would govern and who would serve her church well. We have already seen previous weeks of the necessity that the church have godly men who serve as elders and deacons, that the church have men who have the proper qualifications to serve the church as elders and deacons. As you recall here in chapter 5, Paul begins by reminding Timothy that he is not to rebuke an elder, but to treat him as a father, and younger men as brethren, and the elder women as mothers, and the younger as sisters with all purity. He's commanded us that we give honor to everyone within the body. And then He has given us instruction on how we are to honor those widows who are truly widows. Now He comes to this section in verse 17 to the end of the passage and reminds us of our duty to give honor to those who rule well. As you recall from verse 1, Paul is speaking of elders in the sense of older men and older women in the faith. He is not speaking of those who would serve in the church as leaders. But here primarily in verse 17, Paul speaks of those elders who are called to govern and rule within the church. And so there are several things that we receive this morning. by way of instruction as we give honor to those who rule over us. The first instruction I give you this morning is that we are to give double honor to those who labor in the word and doctrine. Now when Paul laid out the requirements for elders in chapter 3 He said that if a man desire the office of a bishop, which is the word where we get our word elder, a bishop is one who oversees or governs the church. So if a man desires the office of overseer, he desires a good work. And I think that's an important thing to remind ourselves of, that the work of the elder is a good work. It's not a menial work. It's not a work that we should just kind of cast off as menial. But he says he desires a good work. And so he lays out the qualification for overseers or those who would govern the church. But here in verse 17 he speaks of two functions of that office of elder that he doesn't mention there in the previous chapter. He says, let the elders that rule or govern well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Now this is a peculiar, this is a particular thing that we note in a Presbyterian form of government that we don't just have ruling elders. But we also have ruling and teaching elders. They're the same office, but they're two different functions. The elders that rule well are those who govern the church. That's their primary function. We have elders who govern this church. But he speaks particularly to the point that we are to give double honor to those who rule well Especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. And so here we find that there are two functions within the eldership. There are those who govern and those who spend their labor in preaching and in teaching. Both functions of the eldership are necessary. The elders that rule, who are governors, and the elders who teach. But notice that the elders who labor in the word and doctrine also rule. This is the particular difference here between the two. The elders that rule or govern should be able to teach. That's one of their qualifications. It's not a qualification for a deacon, but it is a qualification for an elder. a governor, a ruler, that he should teach. But here, these who labor in the word and doctrine that he speaks of are those whom we call the teaching elder or the pastor. There's been a lot of controversy, particularly in more orthodox evangelical circles over the office of elder. There are those particular congregations who do not have elders, but they would function with a board or with deacons. But the work of ruling and governing the church is given to God-ordained men who rule and govern, and notice he says, let the elders that rule well. The idea of ruling well indicates that they take their function seriously. that they serve the church as the church is to be served. And he says, they are counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. And so here the command is to give double honor, particularly to those who labor in the word and doctrine. We've had a great exposition of the larger catechism in the Lord's Day evening on the command to honor your father and your mother. And as you recall, there within that commandment, we have a duty not only to honor our earthly parents, but also to give honor to those who rule over us. As it has been stated in the exposition, we are a culture that despises any kind of authority. We despise the idea, and we will hear more about that next week, this idea of being an inferior. Somehow to be an inferior means that you're degraded to some low class or low level, and that those who are elevated to a superior function somehow have power and control over us. And I think we miss the importance of what it is to have those who are inferior and those who are superior. Our English language, I think, has certainly been affected by the words that we use. For to call somebody a superior doesn't mean that they're haughty or arrogant or that somehow they are a tyrant. But they are one who has been given authority because of a particular function to do a particular task. And so when Paul mentions here to Timothy that you are to give those elders double honor He speaks of the fact that a special honor is given to elders that is not given to the fathers and the mothers and the brothers and the sisters in the church, and is certainly not given to anyone else within the church. And so this idea of double honor means that we are called to regard them as our superiors. And this is particularly noteworthy. Because we live in a day when someone is brought to the elders for a number of issues, and it doesn't have to even be a formal issue of discipline, but when the elders rebuke someone or give them instruction, what's our response? Well, you're not going to tell me what to do. And many churches have been divided over this point of elders who bring discipline upon a member of the church. But the function of the elder is to rule, to govern the church, and to watch over your souls. We're not in the business of snooping around. We're not in the business of being detectives looking for you to slip up. But elders are there as spiritual overseers. And as spiritual overseers there are times when they will have to give a warning or a rebuke or a gentle reminder. But we have just learned that we are to treat the older men as fathers in the same way we treat these elders who rule, particularly those who labor the word and doctrine. We are to particularly give them honor. We are to regard them as fathers, as spiritual leaders. You know with your children that it is a very difficult thing to parent, particularly in the day and age in which we live. Well let me remind you that to be spiritual fathers is just as difficult. As I look at our congregation and as I look at the families that we have, it seems as if it's a very difficult task but only apart from the mercy and the grace of God can an elder function and rule well. It's not left up to our power and our ingenuity and our strength, but the power that we have comes from God, who gives us the power to rule well. And so the double honor that you give to elders, first of all, is to regard them as your superiors, to regard them as your spiritual fathers, to regard them as those who will give an account for your soul. But if you refuse their instruction, you will give an account for your own soul on the day of judgment. And so these elders that rule well are counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Note verse 17, He doesn't make a distinction really between these two functions. Some would say they're two offices of elders here. I don't think that's a correct understanding. He says, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those elders who labor in the word and doctrine. And so it's one office with two distinct functions. And the function of laboring in the word and doctrine is the primary focus of verse 17. Yes, those elders who rule well are to be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. So the double honor that we give to our pastors or to the teaching elder in the church is first of all that respect, that honor, that allegiance to regard them as your spiritual father whom you have a duty to obey in the Lord. And then the second thing that he has in mind when he speaks of double honor, is that they are to be given some type of remuneration or payment for their services that they give to the church. It's interesting that in the time of John Calvin, the French reformer, the church in Geneva, the way they remunerated him for his work as the pastor in Geneva is they gave him a year's supply of wine. He must have done a lot of entertaining or invited a lot of people in his home, but that was how he was given payment for his work and his labor. Now I don't propose that, because in our day a pastor would starve on a year's supply of wine unless he learned how to sell it and how to market it. But here Paul speaks of the fact that the elder who is given double honor is one who is to be paid for his services, to be paid for the work and the labor of the kingdom. He immediately in verse 18 quotes the scripture that says, you shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn and the laborer is worthy of his hire. If you go back to Deuteronomy chapter 25 in verse 4. The reference that Paul is referring to comes from Deuteronomy chapter 25. Deuteronomy chapter 25. And verse 4, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. And so here is a reference that he gives to this reference in chapter 5. The eastern practice of not muzzling the ox was a practice we don't see in our day but they would drive the oxen over heaps of corn upon the ground and the oxen's feet would separate the grain from the straw and so the double honor is the expression that's given to indicate something more than just respect or esteem but here they are to be given the honor in the way of payment for their ministry and for their labor. The labor is also worthy of his reward. And so Paul commands Timothy to call the church to give direction to the church that they are to give honor to these elders who rule, particularly those teaching elders to give them honor and respect and to also give them reward for their labor. Sadly, in our day, there have been many false teachers within the church, in the visible church, who have made profit out of the ministry. And one of the great temptations for a pastor is to become puffed up with pride and to be given to lucrative gain. And yet that is one of the violations of the rules that are given for elders is that they are not to be men who are greedy of filthy lucre. And we can point fingers at a number of TV evangelists and those who have become wealthy by using their pulpit as a means of great gain. And yet that is not what an elder within the church is to do, but he is to regard his wealth, as all of us do, as a blessing that comes from God, and to be a wise steward of that which is entrusted to him. And so here we see that the double honor is given to these teaching elders in the way of honor, respect, esteem, and payment for their services. There's a second instruction that is given, and that second instruction is to avoid scandal within the church. There in verse 19 and 20, against an elder received not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. them that sin, rebuke before all that others also may fear." Here is a very sobering reminder, particularly for the church and for our congregation here, that we must never give an accusation against an elder unless we have proof and unless we have evidence. One of the things that has just annoyed me more than anything in our culture is that people can bring accusations against a president or vice president or anyone who rules an office, whether we agree with them politically, whether they are the most godless man or not, we have a duty to protect everyone's reputation. And when we receive slander, when we receive accusation against anyone, we violate the ninth commandment. And not only do we violate the ninth commandment, but we bring dishonor upon the name of Christ. And so no Christian should ever bring an accusation against anyone unless they have evidence and unless there's clear testimony that there's some kind of charge. Here, Paul gives instruction that we are to not receive, that we are not to receive an accusation against an elder. Specifically, this has application for us here, that the accusation against an elder must always have two or three witnesses. Timothy was commanded to be very careful about accepting accusations against an elder. I have seen this in so many places and in so many congregations where accusations can be brought that can ruin a person's reputation and you cannot undo a bad reputation. In fact, the proverb says, great name is to be chosen rather than riches and when you lose your reputation and your name you can never get that back. Here Paul gives us that sober reminder don't receive any accusation against an elder. If an elder has done something that violates the law of God that that is contrary to his office and you have a number of witnesses who come forward Then you might look into it or investigate it, but even with witnesses you have to be careful. Because in this day, and this is something I've discussed with the elders, in this day you have to be so careful when counseling or when meeting with someone because someone can just immediately bring up a charge or an accusation. And there's not much you can do about it in the context of our culture. Because you're not innocent until proven guilty. You're guilty until proven innocent. And we have to be so careful. But here the command is that we are to be careful that we don't give any charge that has not been substantiated by two or three witnesses. Now Paul is not saying that if two or three witnesses bring an accusation then receive it. Let me be careful here because those two or three witnesses may not be credible witnesses. Those two or three witnesses could be someone that the church has disciplined and I have seen this. The church brings charges against them, and they discipline them, and what do they do? They go and slander the church. This happens all the time. They slander the elders. In that case, those are not credible testimonies and witnesses. When you look at the trial of Jesus, here's a particular noteworthy thing. The innocent Son of God, who was without sin, was charged by godless men. They brought testimonies against Him that could not be substantiated. And this happens all the time, particularly against the church and against Christians. But particularly when it comes to teachers and rulers within the church, we have to be careful that if we have accusation, that we have the evidence and that we do not bring accusations that will lead to slander and destroy the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 20 says, those that sin, notice he states there that they're not those who do not sin, but those that sin, that is elders who sin, rebuke before all that others may fear. One of the great Things about church discipline is it brings health and life to the church. When an elder sins, particularly an elder, it says he is to be rebuked publicly. That's why in the Presbyterian system of government, when an elder violates his office through false teaching or through immoral lifestyle or anything that's contrary to the Word of God, there's public trial. Everyone knows. There's nothing done in secret. And too often I think churches have tried to discipline in secret and then it leads to more scandal. But Paul is clear here that the elder who has received accusations based on the testimony of two or three credible witnesses, he is to be rebuked before all so that others may fear. The rebuke here indicates something more than just, you shouldn't have done this, but it's the idea of he is rebuked and that he is also removed from office. And notice the reason for this is so that the church might be spared, that the life of this man might be spared, and that all in the church may fear God. I remember a testimony of how church discipline works well in a church where I was involved with a number of years ago in Kansas City. Pastor had planted a church. He was a friend of mine who officiated at our wedding. He had planted a church and years later after I was already gone and off to seminary, There was a young woman who was a member of the church and had fallen into scandalous sin with her father. And the father was disciplined by the church. This was a very, very difficult thing. The elders rebuked the father, removed him from the membership of the church. And some time later, the father came back and repented. and was restored and brought back into the fellowship of the church. Now this was a case of incest. This was a horrible, horrible thing for his family and for the church. And yet those elders disciplined and that man was restored. There are other cases I could speak of, but that's what Paul is stating here, that in the office of those who rule and teach, their lives are to be exemplary, their lives are to be void of scandal, that they are to be rebuked publicly so that others may fear. One of the great deterrents against sin is when the church judges rightly, when the church judges according to the law of God. It brings great fear upon all of the church and causes us to avoid sin in our own lives. There's another instruction that's given here, that not only are they not to receive an accusation, not only do they avoid scandal, but there is to be no partiality given. Verse 21, Paul charges Timothy that he observed these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Here he speaks of the fact that we are not to show partiality to any elder, even one who may sin. And sometimes churches will excuse the sin of an elder. And this has been done, sadly, in Reformed churches. They excuse the sin of the elder because they're showing partiality. Well, he's a friend of mine. He's part of the Good Boys Club. We don't want to, you know, get too Two involved and wrapped up in this discipline thing. And this brings disreproach upon the church. This brings dishonor upon the name of Christ. And so he says that in your giving honor to these elders show no partiality but treat them all equally as fathers and brothers. Verse 22 speaks of the practice of ordination. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be a partaker of any man's sins. Keep thyself pure. The one danger, and this happens so often in Reformed circles, is we see a man that we think, oh, he would be a great minister. He aspires to the office of an elder, and suddenly the presbytery lays their hands upon this man. A short time later, he falls into sin. He falls into error. Paul here is warning that when you lay hands on a man, and here the office of ordination is, the giving of ordination is given to the presbytery, not to the local congregation. And so when hands are laid upon an elder, he is to be a man who has been proven and tried, a man whom you know is credible, and so he warns against hasty laying on of hands. Lay hands suddenly on no man, and neither be partaker of another man's sin." How do you become a partaker of another man's sin? When you ordain him too quickly to office and he falls in sin, you, those that participated in that, are responsible because you did not do your job well. This happens too often. And so we are to be careful as the church, particularly as those who are given the function of ordaining in presbytery, that we are not to lay hands on anyone hastily so that we come a partaker of his sins. And then Paul gives the warning there, keep thyself pure. That phrase there is given to those elders who rule and teach, that they are to keep their lives pure and holy. Then Paul sticks in verse 23, which always is the great discussion that many bring up. Well, even Paul drank, or Timothy drank wine. But notice there in verse 23, drink no longer water, but a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Most likely, Timothy, because of the stress and the labor of ministry, had neglected his own health. and perhaps develop some kind of stomach infirmities that gave Paul this admonition for him to drink wine. We, particularly in reform circles, go to one extreme or the other. We think, well, we have license to drink wine, and some drink it to the point of excess and become drunken, which is scandalous. But then we have those who will say, well, you know, you got to be careful that you don't use this as a stumbling block for the weaker brother and they refuse to drink. Paul is simply saying to Timothy, you have frequent stomach infirmities. You have some health issues. Take wine and in that culture, wine obviously was medicinal. And even in our day, there's studies that have been done to show that red wine particularly, is good for those who have heart issues. But whatever the case may be, Paul is reminding Timothy to take care of himself and to serve well. There's many things in this passage and Paul concludes with verses 24 and 25 coming back to what he previously stated. We're not sure why Paul brings in verse 23 and then comes back to what he previously stated, but this is how Paul typically writes. But there are men, he reminds Timothy of in verse 24 and 25, who are not fit for the office of elder. I think one of the sad commentaries in reform circles today is that we often times in small congregations think we need elders we need elders so who can we get for an elder and it's like you gotta get somebody to fill that office whether they're qualified or not but the point is that Paul reminds us that we have to be careful for there are some men who are not qualified to serve because of sin that disqualifies them from office. Likewise, also the good works of some are manifest beforehand, and they that are otherwise cannot be hidden." Here Paul reminds us that all things are open and laid bare before God, that there is no hiding from Him. that our sin is open before Him and He reminds us that we are to be on guard against those elders who have disqualified themselves and are not fit, not worthy to serve that office. So, what does this passage say to us today? Well, first of all, all of us as members of this body of this congregation have taken vows. And in those vows you have sworn before God and before witnesses that you will give honor to Christ, that you will be a good church member, and that you will give honor to those who rule over you. The one sad commentary in our day is if people don't like the church, they can leave and go look for another church. And people do that because they're not happy, not with the church, but often times they are confused themselves or they are living a life of sin and they don't want to be called to task. But we need to be reminded that we have a responsibility to our elders. pray for them, to honor them, and to give our allegiance to them. When time comes for them to give a rebuke or a warning to us when we fall into sin, it's only because they love us as fathers and because they desire for your own soul's benefit and for the good of the church in the glory and the honor of Christ. Elders have been given the responsibility to rule and govern the church according to the Word of God. We do not govern the church according to our own standards, according to our own vision statement, according to our own statements that we come up with, but we govern the church according to the Law of God. And when we do, We are called as stewards of God. We are called as those who will give an account for your soul. And I would encourage you this morning to pray for those who rule over you. Particularly to pray for me because one of the most difficult, and most people might think it's one of the easiest parts of ministry, but the most difficult part of ministry is preaching. You can ask Nick. Preaching is not an easy task, because it requires a lot of study and a lot of preparation. There are times when perhaps there are things weighing on your mind, or perhaps you don't feel adequate for the task. But those whom God calls, He equips to the ministry of the Word and sacrament. Those whom He calls to govern His church, He equips. And so I would remind you this morning that your elders are here to give care to your souls. We are shepherds under Christ. We are called to minister to you. One thing that is often difficult in our day is for the pastor to come to your house. Some people think when the pastor says, I want to come visit you that, oh, what's up? What did you do? It's almost like the police coming knocking at your door. Uh oh, what did we do? They may just be coming for information. But the pastor is not coming to your home to stick his nose in your business. He's coming to your home to see how he might care for your soul. And so we are called to love those who rule and govern and teach. We are called to submit to them. And I would remind you today that that is your duty as a member of the church. But if you are not a member of the visible church, if you have not publicly made vows before God, if you have not called upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are dead in your sins. You are under His wrath. And unless you trust in the mercy of Christ, and come and take your place within the visible church. You have no hope, you have no remedy for your soul. And so I would urge you today to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That if there are issues in your life that you're struggling with, talk to myself or one of the elders. If there are particular issues in your home, let us come alongside. Because we're there to encourage. Because I can guarantee you, even though My wife and I do not have children. Many of us have the same common afflictions that we can oftentimes identify with, and so we're there to encourage and to care for your soul. Let us look to the Lord Jesus Christ as the King and Lord of the Church to help us to govern well and to shepherd the flock that is entrusted to His care. Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks this morning that you are the Lord of the church. That you are the shepherd who leads our souls. We thank you that in your good providence and in your eternal decree you have ordained to care for our souls through the God-ordained means of the church. Lord, help us to be diligent in our obedience to those who rule over us, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us. Help us to love those who rule tenderly. And we pray that you would knit this congregation together in love. That we would learn to love one another and not be suspicious. that we would learn to love one another with tenderness, without hostility or hypocrisy, but that we would learn to walk together in love under the authority of Christ who has given men to govern and to care for our souls. Lord bless this congregation. Bless my work and my labor among these saints. that Christ would be exalted and that his name would be glorified. Lord, we pray that you would convict our hearts this morning. And if there are any who have not joined themselves to the visible church, they have no safety. And so we pray that you would draw them unto yourself. We pray that if any have not trusted in Christ this morning, that you would draw them to the Savior. Lord bless our understanding of your word this morning and teach us we pray in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. Let us stand together as we conclude by singing Psalm 119E.