1 Timothy 5:17-25

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

1 Timothy 5:17. Counted worthy of double honour.—If the honour is remuneration, this double honour, denoting competent reward as well as respect, is like Costard’s “gardon, better than remuneration.”

1 Timothy 5:19. Receive not an accusation.—Their position would render them liable to be accused, and they must be guarded from slander.

1 Timothy 5:21. The elect angels.—Who kept their own estate (Jude 1:6).

1 Timothy 5:22. Lays hands suddenly on no man.—The usual explanation, of the imposition of hands in ordination, is rejected by Ellicott in favour of the assumption that it was in absolution of penitents. It would seem better to leave the admonition more general, as a warning against precipitancy.

1 Timothy 5:23. Drink no longer water.—Timothy had evidently carried his abstemiousness beyond the limits of prudence.

1 Timothy 5:24. Going before … follow after.—In either case they come to judgment, as heralds and apparitors, or as an inevitable testimony crying after them.

1 Timothy 5:25. The good works of some are manifest beforehand.—R.V. “there are good works that are evident.” As in the case of sins, so in the case of good works—they must eventually be manifest, perhaps to the astonishment of those by whom they were wrought.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Timothy 5:17

Rules for Church Government

I. The diligent and faithful minister should be highly esteemed and generously maintained (1 Timothy 5:17).—It is in vain to expect spiritual profit from a minister we do not respect. As a public man he is exposed to much criticism—criticism that is often thoughtless, shallow, and unfair; and all such criticism tends to lower his influence with the indifferent and unspiritual. To get the highest good from the pastor the people must love and esteem him; and where this spirit obtains his maintenance will be just and generous, and cheerfully rendered. He devotes his life, his powers, his all, to his work, first for the love of his Master, and then for the spiritual salvation of his people. If he ministers faithfully in holy things, he is entitled to honour and becoming support in temporal things.

II. The character and reputation of a minister should be jealously guarded (1 Timothy 5:19).—There are some people who gloat with undisguised satisfaction as they eagerly listen to the most flippant scurrilities disparaging a minister of the gospel. His very office is an offence to them, and his fidelity a constant rebuke to their inconsistencies and follies. A Church that runs down its minister degrades itself. If there is real cause for complaint, the accusation should be cautiously and tenderly made, and should be treated and sifted with the utmost gravity and justice. A minister’s character is his shield: if that is lost, he is undone.

III. Care should be scrupulously exercised in selecting men for the Christian ministry.—“Lay hands suddenly [hastily] on no man” (1 Timothy 5:22). A man is not fit for the Christian ministry because he thinks he is. He must possess not only grace—every Christian must do that—but also gifts that demonstrate his suitability for the office. Even then it should be evident by the fruits of his labours that he is Divinely called to the work. He must also have the opportunity of scholastic and spiritual training, and be severely tested by inquiry and repeated examinations. Few young men realise the difficulties and trials of the ministerial vocation. Dr. Raleigh, at the height of his popularity, speaking to one of his deacons on this subject, said: “They come here and see the place crowded; they hear me preach, and it all seems easy and natural; and straightway they get a desire to do the same. Ah! they little know what it has cost me to attain to this!”

IV. Sin everywhere should be faithfully and fearlessly denounced.—

1. As a warning to others. “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (1 Timothy 5:20).

2. To avoid the suspicions of personal connivance. “Neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22).

3. Sin and virtue will sooner or later be made evident (1 Timothy 5:24).

V. Zeal to serve the Church does not justify indifference to bodily health (1 Timothy 5:23).—Many practise this advice to Timothy who do not suffer from Timothy’s complaint. The tendency of the young pastor was to asceticism, and his excessive abstinence, adopted from conscientious motives, was undermining his already delicate constitution. There were few by whom the advice to take a little wine for medicinal purposes could be so safely followed as by Timothy. His high-toned temperance was his safeguard. There is no encouragement to the wine-bibber in this cautious advice. The health of the minister is an important factor in the effective discharge of his physically exacting duties. There was common sense in the reply of Robert Hall to the question as to what is the best preparation for preaching when he said, “A good night’s rest.” The success of the sermon depends upon the preacher’s state of health. It is a sacred duty to cherish and strengthen the body, that it may be a more vigorous servant and instrument of the mind.

VI. Rules for Church government should be applied with strict impartiality. (1 Timothy 5:21).—There should not be less care in maintaining Church order and discipline than in the methodical management of a large business, or in civic government, or in the administration of justice in courts of law. Church courts should be patterns of justice and equity. It is easier to observe than to enforce discipline.

Lessons.—

1. Church organisation is the outgrowth of Church life.

2. To govern well the minister must himself respect and obey the law.

3. Discipline and doctrine are essential in promoting vigorous Church life and progress.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

1 Timothy 5:17. Ministerial Life—

I. Should be relieved from pecuniary burdens (1 Timothy 5:17).

II. Should be guarded from vexatious charges, but its sins fearlessly rebuked (1 Timothy 5:19).

III. Should be distinguished by impartiality (1 Timothy 5:21).

IV. Should not be entered upon without careful preparation (1 Timothy 5:22).

1 Timothy 5:24. Bad and Good Men.

I. Bad men and their actions.—

1. The openly wicked. Their character is patent to all observers. Their sins are gross and flagrant.

2. The secretly wicked. They have a false character, different at home and abroad, in their family and among their boon companions, in the Church and in the world. They are sometimes unmasked during their lives. They shall appear in their true colours before the judgment-seat.

II. Good men and their actions.—

1. The unmistakably good. They are acknowledged as Christians by all who know them. Comparatively rare. High style of excellence. A boon to have been intimately acquainted with a single specimen.

2. The questionably good. Their excellence is concealed by their humble position, or their meagre attainments, or their constitutional diffidence and reserve. Gradually it becomes known in a larger or more limited circle here. They shall “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

Lessons.—

1. Let us be cautious in our judgments of our fellow-men.

2. Let us act with habitual reference to the judgment-seat.

3. Let us be resolved not to leave behind us a doubtful reputation.—G. Brooks.