Lessons in Leadership (Part 3 of 3)

Speaker 1: You can avoid a lot of problems by taking the time to do things right from the start, whether you're dealing with your health or home maintenance or relationships. In the same way, when it comes to selecting suitable candidates to do God's work in the local church, it should never be a hasty process. We'll find out why today on Truth for Life as Alistair Begg teaches from 1 Timothy chapter 5.
Speaker 2: 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 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. Now, as he does with frequency in these letters, Paul then goes on to tighten, as it were, the charge that he is 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. 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. 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. And that is, of course, why it is that um 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. Now, it is this simple statement that he makes which is of such pressing importance. And 1 Timothy 5 and verse 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. 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 to 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. Now, in verse 21, we come to deal with this matter 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 of 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 don'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 a wrong 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 New Testament at London Bible College yearly 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. Undue haste in Christian appointments has led not infrequently to unworthy men bringing havoc to the cause of Christ. I wrote in my notes a little statement that helped to drive it home for me. And namely, 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 establishing of fellow leaders, but don't fall into the trap of thinking that you've got to ensure that they are 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. 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 they're 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 verse 3 of chapter 3, not given to drunkenness, it 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 are 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 roles 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. 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, Wist, the commentator on Greek word studies, points out that Paul is here speaking of wine as a medicine and not as a beverage. And it is interesting that he uses the adjective little. 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. 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, 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. 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 man and we will make possible the ordination of the wrong man. 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 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 examination, his sins become apparent. 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 whenever things are 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. And 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, look it's 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. Bit like a painting that you go and purchase in a second-hand 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 conduct, hidden conduct, and the deeds that are not immediately apparent. And so the observations with which the chapter concludes points clearly to the complexities that are involved in selecting suitable candidates for the work of God. 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. 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.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg and we are learning the importance of doing God's work God's way. Now, along with our daily program, every month we offer books to help you understand the Bible better and to do what it says. We feature devotionals or Bible study booklets, books about Christian living, even books to help you tell your children about Jesus. And if you've benefited from the daily program or these monthly resources or Alistair's extensive online sermon library, would you come alongside us and become one of our truth partners? Truth partners are listeners like you who commit to giving an amount of their choosing each month. If your commitment is just $20 or more each month, you can request both of the books we recommend each month. By the end of the year, you'll have 24 biblically sound books that will help you grow in your faith or books you can pass along to someone else. And today, we're offering Alistair's brand new verse-by-verse study guide through 2 Timothy. It's called Guarding the Truth. Be sure to ask for your copy when you sign up to become a truth partner at truthforlife.org/truthpartner or call us at 888-588-7884. Keep in mind, your generous giving is what makes it possible for this daily program to be produced and distributed all around the world so that everyone can get to know Jesus and grow in faith. Thank you. I'm Bob Lepine. Our well-being and our happiness, our rights, these are not God's highest priority. Tomorrow, we'll find out what is. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the learning is for living.