1 Timothy 5:1-8, 16-25 — sound church administration and relating to others in the church
Relating to one another in the church
- Show respect to those of any age group, but especially older Christians.
- Provide for widows who have no family to support them.
- Respect church leaders and support them financially.
- Respectfully address failures.
- Do not show partiality.
Parakaleo (Strong’s 3870) means “to call near” and can be translated by words such as admonish, beg, comfort, encourage, exhort, or teach. Or intreat, as in verse one of today’s Scripture text.
In this chapter we see the word rebuke twice. It is forbidden in verse 1 and commanded in verse 20! We can explain this apparent contradiction by consulting Strong’s Concordance and its Greek dictionary.
- verse 1 — epiplesso (Strong’s 1969) = “to chastise”; ie (with words) to upbraid — used this time
- verse 20 — elegcho (Strong’s 1651) = “to confute, admonish” — see other ways rendered in KJV
From that mini word study, we can safely conclude that we shouldn’t upbraid an elder or speak harshly to him. Even if we must confront him about sin, we should admonish him respectably and with proper honor.
The message in verses 1 and 2 is that we shouldn’t speak harshly and disrespectfully to anyone. Rather, intreat (parakaleo, by the way!) the person as you would a family member.
In verse 2, Paul includes an additional caution (a command, really) for young men in their dealings with young women — be pure! A young man needs to be very careful how he relates to women, especially those who are his peers or younger.
Elders aren’t above being corrected, but…don’t accept any one-man accusations (v. 19).
- If no other witness comes forward, don’t judge the accused one.
- On what law is that based? Check out Deuteronomy 19:15.
- But what about the lone accuser? God set up a provision for that as well (Deuteronomy 19:16-20).
Failure by leaders should not be overlooked or even dealt with privately (v. 20). But remember — verse 20 does not contradict verse 1.
We must be just and righteous. Our honor and respect for others should not lead us to show prejudice (that is, pre-judging) or partiality (v. 21)!
(I excerpted the above from material I submitted for the CLE Bible 800 Teacher Guide.
Beware the False Balance! in sound church administration and personal relationships
How do you respond to and deal with failure and outright sin in the church? Well, if you are like me, it is too easy to hinge the answer on who the sinner is. If an “opponent” falls, the flesh barks impatiently for quick, unbending retribution. If someone who recently corrected me fails, the flesh exults in the wonderful opportunity to return tit for tat. If a friend misses the mark, well…we must be loving and understanding, not judgmental and hasty, you know. And if I goof, back off everybody!!
Not only do the responses get softer as the sinner gets closer to us, our view of the sin moderates. Notice the subject and verbs of the dependent clauses: opponent falls, someone fails, friend misses, I goof. That is the flesh. God hates this kind of respect of persons. Proverbs 11:1 tells us that a false balance is an abomination to the Lord. This kind of response to sin is an abominable false balance!
Consider 2 Corinthians 13:11 — “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” I am challenged by four principles to help us respond properly to and deal wisely with the errant among us.
Excerpted from Meeting Needs in the Church
Sound church administration and Caring for Needy Church Members
The US federal government has a financial safety net of sorts that in our day is supposed to catch the elderly after they fall out of regular employment. We call it social security.
In American society in general, who is supposed to take care of the aged ones? The government, of course! The Bible speaks of a different kind of social security: God and His people.
“If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed” (1 Timothy 5:16).
In this verse I hear God telling me, “Mark, you must care for the elderly in your family. Don’t expect the church to do so. The church must care for those who don’t have close relatives who can care for them.”
Excerpted from Social Security
