All right, good morning. Please open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter five. And I will be reading from verse 17 to the end of the chapter. So this is God's word for you today. The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the scripture says you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing, and the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of his chosen angels to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in the spirit of partiality. Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others. Keep yourself free from sin. No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment. For others, their sins follow after. Likewise, also deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed. Leadership matters. It matters in business. It matters in the family. It matters in the nation. It matters in the city. And it matters in the church.

And God invented all of those. He invented the family, that's his idea. He invented the nations. He invented the church. All those are his institutions. Only one of them those institutions, did he bless with a promise that it would triumph over the powers of hell itself, and that's the church. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So God ordained the church, he ordained the church to triumph, and he determined that it would have leadership in it, that it would triumph over the gates of hell, being led by faithful elders, being shepherded by faithful elders. This church that this letter was written to, it's the Church of Ephesus, had experienced a severe leadership crisis.

False teaching, and false teaching that was done by the elders, and then the results, which are not good. False teaching leads to sin. And so those are the results of it. It was false teaching that took place among the elders, and that's why Timothy was stationed here.

That's why he's receiving this letter at this church. the church had experienced kind of an earthquake, and Paul had come in person to deal with it, but Timothy's still dealing with some of the aftershocks, and that's kind of what these instructions about elders and about leadership in the church are about.

So these verses, instructions for leaders, It's not really how to start a church from scratch, set up leaders that are right, this kind of an elder in the church. It's really how to deal with leadership in a church that in some ways is still in crisis. So you could say this is not how to build an engine from scratch, it's how to fix an engine that's broken while it's also running. That's the kind of instructions that are given. And so this is a really difficult assignment for Timothy, and that's why he was there at this church.

So he's given instructions for dealing with four different kinds of elders in this passage. Elders who are serving well, elders who are falsely accused, Elders who are sinning, and then we'll call the last one potential elders. Elders that are not yet elders but might be at some point in the future. And so he's told how to deal with all those in kind of a crisis situation, in a problem church that maybe had all of those kinds of elders there at the church.

So these are instructions for Timothy. The letter's written to Timothy, the commands are given. to Timothy. You can't see that so much in English, but you can in Greek. They're all kind of not the way it's usually given in the New Testament, a command to all, to a group, but it's a command to Timothy. Yet the letter was to be read in the hearing of all.

And so everyone is to benefit from these instructions. So these are instructions for Timothy, for these kind of elders, but actually they're instructions for everyone in the church. and their instructions for you too. I'm reminded that in the church, each church member is important. Each church member is important.

There's one place in scripture where that comes out. It comes out all over the place in scripture. It's not as if the church is only the elders. And then the elders minister to people, but the church is only the elders. No, the church is the members, the elders are leading the church.

And so the leadership of the church should matter to you. It's an important part of being a Christian, is being part of a church. submitting to the leadership of the church as well, and you even have some responsibility for the church to have leaders that are honoring to the Lord. You have a part to play in that as well. So for those four different kind of elders, I'm gonna give sort of one word for the responsibility for each one, how to deal with each kind, and it ought to apply to you too. not just to Timothy who in a way kind of has oversight over the situation, he's there for Paul, but it applies to you as well.

In our midweek groups, we're doing something kind of new for this school year which is to take the Sunday morning sermon and then discuss how it applies to our lives. So that's been good for me. I hope it's good for my preaching. Sometimes we have good discussion in our group and sometimes I say, That should have been part of my sermon.

I should have preached it that way as well, but it's important that these things apply to each one of us, and I hope that what's given to Timothy to do for this church also has an application for you as you relate to church leaders in the church. Okay, before we get to the four different kinds of elders and how we're to respond to each one, let me say one more thing. And in studying this passage this week, going over it, I couldn't help but notice right from the start, there's a real note of solemnity to this passage, of holiness, awe that marks this entire passage, a sense of acting in the presence of God for this important matter of leadership in the church and how we're to relate to leaders. So I thought it was good for us probably for multiple reasons, but good to set the tone also for James's ordination in ordaining, not an elder, but a leader in the church, a gospel minister. It's joyful, and we're all looking forward to this weekend, but also solemn, and joyful because it's solemn in that way. So in the church, there's a solemnity, there's a holiness.

We're not just a group of friends. We're not just a group of Christian friends. We're the church. The Bible says, do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you? He says that to the Corinthians. He's reminding them of who they are and that the presence of God is with them in a special way because they're a church.

And maybe even in a special way when they're together and acting as a church as well. So Christ is present and at work. in us as a church, as we operate as a church, as we interact with one another together, he's present with us in all his glory, in all of his presence and with resurrection power as well.

So that's very daily, it's very ordinary, we're not monks and nuns, we don't relate to each other like that, we're just ordinary people. We don't put on airs, we don't act pretentiously holy around each other. And yet in this matter of being the church and the responsibilities towards elders of the church and being church member, I think we should have a sense that we stand on holy ground and that that tone comes across in this passage, certainly.

Okay, let's look at these different kinds of elders. And the first kind of elder that he talks about is an elder who's serving well, or elders who are serving well. And I told you I'd give you a one word application for how we're to respond to each one. For elders serving well, the responsibility of us is to honor. Honor, that's the word that's given. Chapter five, verse 17.

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor. So first we'll look at what it means for an elder to be serving well, and then second we'll look at what it means to honor elders. It says the elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, and so on. My translation says rule. It's probably a little too strong, probably a little too harsh of a translation. The word can mean that. There's a different word that speaks of ruling, like a king would rule.

And so this is a word, it's a leadership word. has to do with lead, directing, managing, supervising for an elder, has to do with shepherding, has to do with discipling. So the elders who lead, maybe is a better way of putting it, are to be considered worthy of honor. It's a word that was used in the qualifications for an elder, for an elder is to be one who, and the same word was used, manages his household well. And so there's something that carries over between a father, he's the head of the home, the way he leads his home, and the way an elder leads the church. In fact, one is a proving ground for the other. And then in that passage it said, an elder is to be one who manages his household well, for if he doesn't manage his household well, how can he care for Different word.

How can he care for the church of God? And so this is managing and it's ruling, it's leading, but it's done with care towards the family. And he's already told Timothy to treat the church members like he would his own family as well. So in directing the church the way it should go, what the church should do, sometimes dealing with conflict, that's part of being a leader, that's part of being an elder, it's to be done with personal love and care for each one.

And I know, and I think you know too, it's a huge blessing to have a church where there's capable, and spiritual elders, and we've had that at Trinity. We have that now as well. It's a huge blessing, and I think the Lord makes his will known in some ways for the day-to-day dealings of the church, what a church should be involved in, what a church should be doing through the elders. that are serving well, like it mentions here. And especially as a group, when the elder, the plurality of elders is the way that the New Testament is set up to be led. And so when the elders as a group are, you know, managing or talking to, leading in the church and they're serving well, there's a sense in which the Lord is directing. The Lord's directing through that and we should have a sense of that for elders that are serving well.

So the elders who rule well or lead well, are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. Or it literally says, those who work hard in the word and teaching. Now, when it says especially here, so it's elders who are leading well, especially those working hard at the word and at teaching.

The one way you could understand especially as kind of a subgroup. So here's elders that are, serving well, they're leading well, and they're worthy of honor, and especially a smaller group, those who are working with the word and with teaching. I think in Presbyterian churches, there's two categories of elders, teaching and ruling elders, and it probably relates perhaps to this passage here. So that's one way it can be understood. Another way in which this word especially can be understood and we've had it even before in this book, is kind of zeroing in on the same group, on something that's especially important for them. So you could understand it, the elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor. That is those who work hard at preaching and teaching. So it's the same group. And I think that's probably right. This is the way an elder leads well. is by toiling at the Word and at teaching. And it informs the way in which he leads as well.

And so elders are to put in their labor in the Word and in teaching because the Word is where the power is. for the whole church. So that's to be the focus of the elders leading and the elders labor as well. We had a passage on deacons recently in Acts chapter six and kind of the idea of that passage is that the deacons are God's provision to take some of the load off the elders so that they can focus on prayer and the word and laboring in that. So those are the elders that are serving well, they're leading well. and they're working hard in the word and teaching.

Paul uses the word here for working hard, a word toil. It's kind of one of Paul's favorite words that he talks about his own labors in ministry, and then he talks about also the labors of others, spiritual leaders in ministry, and he calls it toil. He calls it hard work. He calls it work that's vigorous and difficult, and that's the way in which he refers to leadership in the church and also serving in the word and in teaching as well.

So I hope that gives you an idea, a picture of an elder serving well. And it's important in the church for the elders to be serving well, and then important for us to relate, all of us, to relate to elders who are serving well with this, with honor. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor. So what does it mean to honor elders serving well?

The word means respect. It includes respect. But the way this word was used, not only in the New Testament, but just in this time as well, it's a word that was hardly ever just a totally abstract thing. You know, like I'm just gonna respect the elders and that's good, it does mean that. But it usually took on a tangible form. their respect was usually embodied in something.

And so that's why honor is a good translation, that's fine, it certainly includes that, but it's often when this word is used, there's something financial that is in view, and that's where he's gonna talk about, in the next verse, that it's appropriate for elders to draw a salary, even, and wages for their labor in the church.

So, before we go there to that verse, what is double honor? What does he mean by that? The elders who rule well, the elders who lead well, are to be considered worthy of double honor. Double what? What is it double to? And I've heard some who, try to attach this to something that should be doubled times two. Others just say it's, well, it means that they're to be remunerated generously, double honor in that way and considered worthy of double honor.

I think this word double, it's used sometimes in scripture in a way that we don't often use it. It's used in passages in scripture that have to do with judgment. For a judgment that's exactly fits the crime. A judgment that is double. It's the double of the crime. You could put it that way. So it's like you fold over something double and it matches exactly. It's the double of it. We use it in that way. So for example, I'll turn to one passage, Revelation chapter 18 and verse six says, it's talking about the judgment coming on the great Babylon.

Pay her back even as she has paid. Give back to her double according to her deeds. In the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree, give her torment and mourning. And so the idea isn't take the punishment that she deserves and double it. The idea is give her the double, give her exactly. To the degree that she did this, give the same thing back.

And that's the Lord's justice. he judges according to the crime. So the word is used in a similar way here. An elder who rules well is worthy of double honor, the honor that's the double of his service, the honor that's just proportionate, it's just right, it's commensurate, it's fitting, it fits exactly, it's the double. And so I think if I'm not wrong, I think that's what this word means, that elders who rule well are considered worthy of double honor. Okay, there's two quotes that back this up.

For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing and the labor is worthy of his hire. The first, kind of in a surprising way, comes from the law of Israel. It's a quote from Deuteronomy and it's about oxen. You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.

And it's applied here to elders and how that honor is due to elders. Israel, In the Old Testament, it's a special nation. They had no legislature. We have the three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branch of our government, and that's normal for nations. Israel, God was the law giver. He gave a perfect law, and so the king was to execute the law, he was to be a judge for the law, but he didn't make any laws. In fact, he read the law and he was supposed to make a copy of the law. So Israel is unique. We're not under the law of Israel like this one for cattle. Our nation has its own laws, but it's the same God. We worship the same God who made these laws for his special nation of Israel for that time and place. And so there's principles that carry over. and they carry over and are to be applied even in ways that aren't totally direct or apparent. In other words, we're to think about these things, think about the principle. So this is a law for a cattle, an ox who's working and he's doing the heavy labor of pulling a heavy sledge over sheaves of grain and separating the wheat from the chaff. And as he's doing that work, the law is don't put a muzzle on him.

He's working, if he's hungry, let him eat from even what he's working on and share in the yields in that way. So the ox in Israel in a sense was a laborer for the kingdom and the elder serving well is a laborer in the kingdom in a different way and worthy of his hire. He's not to be muzzled while he is working and laboring in that way.

So he quotes that from scripture. in the Deuteronomy, and then the next quote is actually from Luke. The scripture says this about the ox, and then, the laborer is worthy of his wages. This comes from the Lord, sending out a message. his disciples on a mission and telling them to be supported while they're on it. The labor is worthy of his wages. It's in Luke. That would have been written at this time. Paul would have been aware of the gospel of Luke written by his friend, his coworker, his travel companion, Luke.

And so he quotes it and he quotes it right alongside of scripture of the Old Testament as well as equally authoritative. So it's about the elder who's worthy of honor, who's worthy of remuneration that's fitting for the job that he does. Paul says in another place when he's talking about this, the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

So how should you relate to elders who are serving well? It's practical here. You're to honor them. You're to give them double honor. In other words, the honor that's appropriate for the labor that the Lord is giving them. It includes appreciating, The elders and their work.

It's also, it could be very tangible. Could be putting an offering in the plate knowing that some of it is gonna go to those who are involved in this kind of work. It's paying attention to the elders, perhaps in resolving conflict and listening to them, saying this is the way the Lord's directing us to go and directing the church to go and submitting to them in that way. And that takes tangible forms, that's the honor that's due to them in that sort of situation. So honor to elders who are serving well. Secondly, he talks about falsely accused elders.

And the words, I told you I'd give one word. So the word here is to exonerate. It says here, do not receive. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. So you can imagine Timothy here, he's in a crisis situation. at this church, there's been a problem, there's been a resolution to the problem, but there's still some aftershocks that are going on, and the problem had to do with leadership, and so there's perhaps some accusations that are flying around, some suspicions, some nerves, raw nerves, and some accusations against the church, some of the elders. So he says, don't receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Now, I don't think this is special treatment. for the elders. I don't think he's insulating the elders more than anyone else in the church in saying this. He's not saying, if it's an elder, don't receive an accusation except on the basis of two or three witnesses, but if it's not an elder, one's enough. He's not saying that in any way. He's not asking for special treatment for elders.

And again, he quotes from the law. of Israel, is the way it worked in the law of Israel, that one was not convicted of a crime based on one witness. And this is not for just Israel's leaders, this is a reflection of what was given to every Israelite, is this kind of protection against one person or one witness, one accuser for them.

So how does this apply in the church? I kind of can't picture an elder committing a crime and only one person seeing it, and that's the kind of situation that he's addressing here. But I think the principle is, if an accusation is received against an elder, it needs to be not one person's vendetta, or one person's opinion, one person's perception of the elder. They're seeing something that nobody else can see. And so he says don't receive an accusation against an elder based on one person, based on one witness.

I'm not sure it's like an eyewitness to what they were doing. Matthew chapter 18 talks about one person taking a brother aside for private rebuke. If he doesn't hear you, take along one or two more. and when you take them into your confidence and present it again with them, they become witnesses in that way. In fact, the same verse is quoted that things should be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

So I think it's the same for the elder as well. In our legal system, I've had this explained to me when I went to go serve jury duty. There's a presumption of innocence for the accused. It's a really important part of our justice system. So if it's a criminal trial, we do have a lawyer in here somewhere, but if there's a criminal trial, it's weighted slightly in favor of the accused. So for example, if it's the accused and it's just his word against one other person's words, then the accused is gonna prevail in that as well.

And that's taken from the kind of protection given in Israel and applied to the elder as well in this. So how do you do this? How do you participate in this, what is told here, not to receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses? I think the practical application of this is to give the elders, and I suppose the elders serving well, the benefit of the doubt.

Leadership exposes you to criticism. It's just the nature of leadership. Leaders have to make hard decisions. Leaders have to make a decision that's true in the home, that's true in business, it's true in the church, it's just true of leadership wherever. Leaders make hard decisions that bring offense or bring suspicion even. Is this leader, is he making this decision to benefit himself?

Or some suspicion comes in your mind, perhaps you hear a rumor, perhaps you hear a complaint, perhaps you hear an opinion. It's to give the benefit of the doubt. to not hear something and conclude the worst for the elders, but say, no, there's actually probably some wisdom behind this decision. I'm gonna give the leader the benefit of the doubt unless I start hearing this, unless more evidence starts coming for some sort of wrongdoing among the leaders. So for an elder serving well, you're to honor. For a falsely accused elder, you're to exonerate. You're to give the benefit of the doubt when suspicion comes.

The third category of elders, and I think there were probably all three of these kind of elders in this church that he gives this instruction to for Timothy is the sinning elder, the sinning elder. And the one word response here is rebuke, rebuke. Verse 20, those who continue in sin Rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. So for an elder here, it's rebuke for sinning, an elder who continues in sin.

And this is not just rebuke in private. It's public rebuke, isn't it? Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all. Again, I think this is not different from anyone else. He's not saying treat the elders differently when he talks about this rebuke and even this public rebuke. For anyone, if the sin is public, if it affects everyone, then the rebuke should be public too. and also if it's unrepentant sin.

Eventually, like if you follow Matthew 18, eventually that's gonna lead to a public rebuke. It may start out in private, but it's gonna lead to a public rebuke as well. And so the leaders are gonna be treated the same. But a leader's sin is more likely to be public. That's the nature of being a leader. And so he talks specifically about the public rebuke here for leaders who continue in sin. And a really good example of this public rebuke comes from, of a leader, comes from the New Testament in Galatians. It's where Paul rebuked Peter, rebuked him publicly. It happened in the church in Antioch. Galatians 2, verse 11, I'll just read these verses. When Cephas, that's Peter, came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.

And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas, in the presence of all, it was a public rebuke, he didn't just pull Peter aside. I said to Cephas, in the presence of all, if you being a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? And I think the rebuke continues, but he did it in public. To Peter, Peter was being motivated by fear, and he was acting in such a way that made the gospel the possession of Jews only and excluded the Gentiles and he was being intimidated into doing this and probably against his better judgment as well and it was a public sin that was having a public effect. Others were being carried along with him and so it deserved and gave a public rebuke. Paul had to, probably have a lot of courage to stand and rebuke Peter to his face in public. It's a rebuke that I think was received actually by Peter even though it was done in that way. I went to a church for a short time in college and one of the elders, long time elder at the church started teaching that hell is not eternal.

And it's specifically refuted in scripture, but it's also a false doctrine that actually it leads to other also false doctrines. A lot of the cults that we know of started with that. It's interesting, started with that teaching. So there's a link to other doctrine. For example, if what you're saved from, isn't really that bad, it's not eternal hell, then you don't really need a divine savior either. So it often leads to also saying that Jesus is not God. It kind of links in a chain.

So he started teaching this and so the leadership of the church, they made him step down from being an elder and from teaching at the church, he ended up staying at the church. He ended up sort of, submitting in a way to the church, even though I think he continued to hold that view. But it wasn't enough for the church to deal with that matter privately, just to give him a private rebuke, tell people that he had stepped down. They had to deal with it publicly, and they did. I think they did a good job of dealing with that in a public way as well.

So, for you, the application here of this, those elders who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all is to expect that. to not be horrified if that happened. Paul rebuked Peter because he's teaching something harmful, and so that happened in the church, and the church was not to conclude, well, this church has a problem with rudeness. They're rebuking each other in public. No, it was needful, and so he tells this to Timothy, and the people of the church are to be prepared for this as well, that those elders who are sinning are to be rebuked publicly. And then also to participate if you're part of the problem or part of the solution is to participate in this as well that those who are sinning, that sin might be dealt with among the leaders in that way before it causes more of a problem in the church.

Verse 21 is kind of the heart of the passage. I'd like to actually deal with it at the end, so I'm gonna skip it. Don't forget that we're coming back to verse 21. It's important for the whole passage. But I wanna deal with the last kind of elder. We had the elder who's serving well, here to honor. The falsely accused elder, you're to exonerate. Think the best of them. The sinning elder, to rebuke. It's to be dealt with by the church and dealt with even in a public way. And then finally is the potential elder. This is someone who actually is not yet an elder, but he could be. And the one word application that we're to do for this is to wait. It's to be patient. And so let me read verse 22.

Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others. Keep yourself free from sin. No longer drink water exclusively, but use the little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment. For others, their sins follow after. Likewise, also deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

So don't lay hands on anyone. He's talking about ordaining an elder. Too hastily. Don't be in a hurry to lay hands on new elders. This church, as I said, it had a leadership crisis and as a result of that, elders were gone. Some of them had been put out of the church. Some of them made shipwreck of the faith. So this is a church that needed more elders. The work of leading the church is toil, and it's to be a shared burden, and so there would be an impulse, okay, we need more toilers, we need more workers for this.

And so the caution for Timothy is don't appoint a man too quickly for leadership. Don't appoint someone who's not ready for leadership. Don't appoint someone who's unworthy for leadership and if you do, you're sharing in their sins. You're sharing in the bad results that are gonna come from this. So don't lay hands on anyone too hastily and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself free from sin.

He goes on to say in verse 24, to point this out, the sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment. For others, their sins follow after. So what he's saying is, sometimes it's very clear. You can look at someone, okay, they're not ready for leadership. They're not the kind of person that should be made a leader. Their sins are quite evident. But for others, it's sometimes hidden. This life can be sometimes a veil. Sometimes things are not what they appear. Sometimes they are and sometimes they're not.

And so there's no substitute for getting to know someone through time. And then it's all going to become clear. The sins of some are quite evident going before them to judgment. For others, their sins follow after, meaning in time. And then he also puts that the other way around, too.

Time can reveal bad character, time can reveal good character as well, verse 25. Likewise, also deeds that are good are quite evident. and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed. So some deeds, you look at somebody, you see that they're qualified to serve as a leader in the church, but for others, it's not obvious, but it will appear in time. For some it's hidden, maybe through shyness, maybe through humility, maybe through them obeying what the Lord says about not sounding a trumpet before you. When you practice righteousness before men, you're to practice it before the Lord. But again, there's no substitute for getting to know someone in time, and then the character is revealed.

Okay, right in the midst of that, about the potential elder is this matter of wine and water here in verse 23. No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. So let me first talk about what it is and then second, why it fits in this passage. In ancient times, I think not just at this time, but at other times throughout history, actually drinking water was sort of risky. The water sources were often contaminated or stagnant, and so it was a practice to mix in a little bit of wine to make the water more palatable and even safer in some way. It purified it to some extent.

And so that's what he tells Timothy to do. No longer drink water just by itself, but use, he says, a little bit of wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. So that's what he's talking about. Why is it here? Why does he point it out here? It almost seems out of place. It's kind of like a little bit of relief about something else in this kind of solemn passage.

But there had been a storm at this church, kind of an earthquake, and it was caused by false teaching in the church among the elders. That's the whole crisis in this church. And the false teaching was legalism. and sometimes focused in on what to eat, what not to eat as well.

And so it seems that Timothy was abstaining from wine, totally abstaining even from this, even from putting a little bit of wine in his water just for his health. It seems like Timothy was doing this to placate, to make peace with those that were perhaps at least used to thinking in this way in the church. And so Paul tells them no longer drink water exclusively because that's what he was doing. Paul doesn't condemn Timothy per se for doing this, if that's what it's for, for making peace in this way, but he says, stop doing this at least for your health, for your stomach and for your frequent ailments in this way.

So this is, it's the nature of legalism. The Lord's really clear on this with the Pharisees, that it makes this substitute morality. Instead of worrying about what God actually says about sin and righteousness, it actually, you disobey in that area, and then you have this substitute, this symbolic thing. that is not important and you make that what righteousness is all about. And so the Lord talked about that with the Pharisees, you strain it a gnat and you swallow a camel. If it's something small that's actually sinful, the Lord says you're to do both, both the heavy matters of the law as well as the light matters of the law as well.

But this is actually something that's not sinful at all is using wine in this way. Of course, drunkenness is forbidden. I don't think Timothy needed to be told that for him. But using alcohol in this way for sure is something that is not sinful at all.

And so I think what perhaps why it's here and what Paul is saying to Timothy is to keep his perspective. He just told him, keep yourself free from sin in this matter of laying hands on elders. And he's saying, keep a proper perspective on what keeps you free from sin. It's not this matter that the legalist might push you towards. It's really a weightier matter that you should be paying attention to.

It's this matter of of appointing leaders in the church. So I think it's a way in which Timothy is supposed to keep his perspective in seeking to be pure before the Lord and something that's clarifying for him. So for potential elders, were to go slowly and for all of us to expect that, to expect slowness in the church and patience in order that only qualified men would be put into the office of elder. The scripture says in this passage in another place, let a man first be tested and then let him serve if he's beyond reproach.

So that's what we're to do for potential elders. Okay, I'm really out of time, but I told you I'd go back to verse 21. Verse 21, and it's really the heart of the passage. This is embedded in this passage, and so I wanna end with it. And it's really the key for maintaining holiness in the church, and especially in this matter of leaders. He says this in verse 21.

I solemnly charge you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of his chosen angels to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of impartiality. And so he's giving Timothy instructions for how to deal with these different kinds of elders, how to deal with leaders in the church. And he says, Timothy, as you're doing this, you need to have the sense that you're standing in the awesome reality of the presence of God. and of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the mighty angels that are servants towards them. You need to understand that you're acting right in their presence. And so this is what he solemnly charges him to do.

We're coming to James's ordination. We should have that sense. We should have the sense of the reality of the presence of God. The point of ordaining James is not to put the church's stamp of approval on James for gospel ministry, it's to participate in the Holy Spirit putting his stamp of approval. And that's the way in which James should take his ordination as the Lord setting him apart for gospel ministry and the Lord's doing this. And so we're acting. in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ, in the presence of his angels, which are present with us as a church.

So he tells Timothy to think of himself acting in that way, specifically, to avoid partiality in putting these things into practice. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and his chosen angels to maintain these principles, what he's been saying about leaders, without bias, without prejudice, without judging beforehand, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. God hates partiality. There's a whole chapter in James which talks about, don't hold the glorious faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with the spirit of partiality, of personal favoritism.

And then it gives the example of somebody, a rich person coming into church and a poor person coming into church and they're dressed differently. And he says, you're not to treat them differently, you're to treat them the same. God himself is impartial. Injustice, he judges, not capriciously, like some of the pagan gods are depicted, but he judges according to what is absolutely righteous. According to what is righteous, he condones, and what is wicked, he always condemns, no matter what.

And so he says, you're to, in the matter of these things, you're not to have a spirit of partiality and do this as if you're standing before God himself. the judge. So when it comes to a sinning elder, do not say, well, I'm not gonna rebuke him because he's my friend or because he's done so much good for the church.

That's a spirit of partiality. Or here's an elder who's serving well, but I'm not gonna honor him because I don't like him. This person rubs me, that's the spirit of partiality. Or here's an elder being falsely accused, but I'm not going to exonerate him. I'm not going to give him the benefit of the doubt because he's someone that I don't like for whatever reason. Or here's a potential elder, so to speak, and I'm going to push this through quickly because I have a good relationship with this person. No, we're to put all these principles into practice with the spirit of impartiality and without bias.

He wrote this, I think, to encourage Timothy, to give courage to Timothy. It comes right after what Timothy is to do for a sinning elder, is to confront them publicly, which takes courage. And so he's sort of saying to Timothy, let the awe of the presence of God and of Christ himself. Let that give you the courage. Let your awe toward God in His very presence turn to courage for holiness.

And so this is actually key for holiness, not just in this matter of, this important matter of leadership in the church, but this is where power for holiness comes from. And this is a lesson from the youngest to the oldest. A child can understand this. In fact, this is helpful for parents to teach your children. You're acting in the very presence of God. That's your entire life is acting in the presence of God, and you never outgrow that as long as you live.

This is a powerful motive for holiness. So if you take nothing else from this sermon, be reminded of this. Holiness, for wherever it is that you need it, wherever it is that you're struggling to be holy in the Christian life, let God take you nearer to him. nearer to his presence, live in the presence of God and the power, the courage to live the Christian life comes from being in his presence. And so that's why Paul solemnly charges Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ. to take courage, and to act, and to act according to holiness.

So you can test yourself, whether this is the strength of your life. Is prayer the strength of your life? Is that what you turn to when a crisis hits? You turn immediately to even something like good advice, which is great. We're commanded to do that. But is that the real strength of your life?

Or is it the presence of God, that you're acting in the presence of God, and you turn to Him in prayer? Expertise. if that's where you turn to, that's not where holiness comes from. Holiness comes from practicing and living in the very presence of God.

Well, let me just end with this thought, I'm way over time, but end with this thought about remaining in the presence of God and remaining in the presence of God as a Christian, as a Christian. I've been reading in Exodus for my Bible reading, I just finished it not too long ago, but they lived in the very presence of God They didn't have to imagine it.

They didn't really have to use faith because they could see it. They could see the very presence of God among them, and it wasn't a help to them spiritually. They were repelled by God's presence, and it made them more apt to build an idol, even kind of a preposterous idol, and then cling to this idol. They built a golden calf.

At one point in Exodus, the Lord tells them, if I go up in your midst, I will consume you. And so the Lord was present among them, but it was careful to veil his presence behind all these curtains, boundaries separating them. It's not the same way in the New Testament. It's not the same way in the gospel, in the new covenant. And Christ himself is mentioned here.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of his chosen angels, Jesus, the name means Savior. The reason he exists as a human being and as God is because he's Savior, because he is your Savior. And so his word to you as you think of acting in his presence, the word of Christ, your Savior, is you belong in the presence of God. You belong because of the blood of Christ that was shed for you. It was shed for the forgiveness of sins. It's shed not only for the forgiveness of your sins, but to bring you into the presence of God in such a way that you belong.

And so we come and appear before the presence of God, like Dylan read this morning, with unveiled face. And it's a contrast to the days of Moses. Or let me just read these from Hebrews. Hebrews makes much of this, about this way of existing in God's presence. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 19 says, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us through the veil, that is his flesh. And then it gives the contrast, the kind of a real vivid contrast between two mountains, Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, Hebrews chapter 12.

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, into blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and whirlwind. He's describing Mount Sinai when the Lord appeared there in the days of Moses. Into the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. And they could not bear the command, if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I'm full of fear and trembling.

But you've come to Mount Zion. to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

And so it speaks of two ways of encountering God's presence. One is one that that pushes you away from Him. The other is one that welcomes you. It's a bustling city with all these people of the souls of men who have been made perfect in a blood that cries out for your forgiveness and better than the blood of Abel. But it brings you into the presence of God, same God. Brings you into the presence of the one who's the judge of all, who's righteous, who is holy. And what he goes on to say is it's even more reason to serve him with fear and with trembling.

So you're to take courage by the presence of God and of Christ. That's yours, that's where you belong if you're a Christian. That's your inheritance. But you're to be there in order to have courage to put into practice, be holy. for I am holy, that's your inheritance too, to be holy in the presence of the Lord like he is as well.

So let the awe of his presence turn to courage for holiness as you hear the Lord saying, my child, your sins are forgiven, and then in the same breath, go and sin no more. Let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it tells us of you of your awesome presence, the awesome reality of your power and your presence with us. We pray that we might have a real sense that we belong in your presence as your children, as the blood-bought children of God, and then also a sense of your holiness, which should cause fear, should cause trembling, should cause us to tremble at your presence and to search our hearts and to seek to put holiness into practice in our own lives, in this matter of church leadership, in every matter of our lives as well. We pray that we might be holy as you are holy, and we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.