In 1 Timothy 5:20, Paul wrote about a sinning elder and what Timothy had to do. Paul instructed Timothy to not receive an accusation against an elder unless the accusation was based upon two or three witnesses. When the accusation was based upon two or three witnesses, Timothy had to rebuke the sinning elder before the congregation. Why did Timothy have to rebuke a sinning elder before all in the church? What was the spiritual purpose of rebuking a sinning elder publicly?
What happens with a sinning elder in the church today?
Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear (1 Timothy 5:20)
In Timothey 5:20 Paul gave instructions to Timothy about a sinning elder in the church and how he had to rebuke the sinning elder before all. Nowadays, many Christians would immediately think or say: “What a harsh and mean thing to do!”, “Oh, that poor man (the elder)! We don’t have to do it that way, because that poor man suffered already by sinning” or “The Bible commands us to walk in love, and this is not a sign of walking in love and showing love to your neighbour. Nobody wants to be embarrassed in front of the whole congregation, because we are not perfect, we all sin”.
Many Christians say these things because they are carnal instead of spiritual and walk after the flesh instead of the Spirit. They’re ruled and led by their feelings, emotions, opinions, and findings, instead of the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Carnal Christians don’t change their lives to the Word of God, but they adjust the words of God and commandments of Jesus Christ to their will, lusts, and desires. They close their eyes and make their ears dull to the truth of God, which is very dangerous for the Body of Jesus Christ.
In this article, the elder is written in the masculine form because it’s easier to read. But it applies to both males and females.
What does the Bible say about elders in the church?
An elder is commanded to the Lord Jesus Christ and is an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, as every Christian should be. An elder should walk in righteousness and be blameless (which means having no sins in his life). He should be a husband of one wife, having faithful children, who are not accused of riot or are unruly.
The elder should be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.
An elder should be a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, and temperate. He should hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayer.
The elder should feed the flock of God. He should take the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being a lord over God’s heritage. But the elder should be an example to the flock (Acts 14:23, Timothy 1:6-9, 1 Peter 5:1-3).
Elders belong to and represents the Kingdom of God
Every born again Christian, including an elder, is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you have to obey the law and the rules of the King and His Kingdom.
As a born again Christian, you are an ambassador; a representative of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
You are no longer a representative of the darkness. This means that you don’t live in submission to the ruler of the darkness and obey him. You don’t do what the devil, the world, and your (soul and body) say and command you to do. But have crucified the flesh in Christ and you live in submission to Christ and obey Him (the Word).
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:24)
A sinning elder has the devil as father
When an elder sins, it means, that the elder listened and obeyed the devil instead of God. An elder, who sins, rebels against God and disobeys God’s Word by fulfilling the desires and lusts of his flesh. By his deed of unrighteousness, the person has rejected the Word and denied Jesus Christ. The deed of the elder showed under whose authority he lives and to whom he listens.
You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God’s words: you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God (John 8:44-47)
Look at the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve listened to the serpent; the devil. They listened and believed the serpent and acted upon his advice (his words). While God was very clear and warned them, what kind of evil would happen to them, if they ate from the forbidden tree.
Despite God’s warning, they believed the devil instead. By their deed of eating from the forbidden tree, they rejected God and His word and truth and obeyed the devil and his lie and sinned.
It is the same for everyone, who walks in sins. They reject Jesus (the Word) and His commandments, and believe and obey the lies of the devil, who works through the flesh and the world system.
Why did Timothy have to rebuke a sinning elder before all?
Paul commanded Timothy to rebuke the sinning elder, in front of the whole congregation, so that every believer would have, and keep a fear and awe of the Almighty God; the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all there is within.
The fear of the Lord had to stay present in the church. Because without it, the believers would enter self-chosen paths. They would do what they wanted to do and live after their own will instead of His will.
The believers had to know, that you cannot play games with the Almighty God and this is still the case.
Happy is the man that fears alway: but he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief (Proverbs 28:14)
Don’t become spiritual lukewarm
Paul commanded Timothy to obey and keep this commandment. So that the believers wouldn’t become spiritually lukewarm to God and indifferent to sin. Paul saw the spiritual state of the church. He discerned the spiritual realms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.
Therefore Paul knew, that when a sinning elder, would teach the believers in the Word of God, this evil unclean spirit that reigned in the life of the sinning elder, would come upon all the believers in the church.
That’s why Paul was so strict and careful with permitting and appointing believers in leadership positions. Paul knew very well, what sin is and what sin would produce in a person’s life. He knew, that when sin was allowed and accepted in the church, it wouldn’t be long before the whole church would be affected by evil and would die spiritually.
When an elder walks in sin, it means that the person walks in darkness and that evil (darkness) is present in the heart of the elder.
Elders should live holy lives and walk in righteousness
In the many letters, that Paul wrote to the saints, he continually urged them to live holy and walk in righteousness and to put off the old man. Every time Paul reminded the believers, that by faith in Jesus Christ, they had become a new creation. He taught them, how they should walk as the new creation, in this new (spiritual) life, that was given to them in Christ by the grace of God.
Because as God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, Who lives in the born again Christian by the Spirit, are holy and righteous, so should the born-again Christian, who has been made in the image of God, be holy and walk in righteousness.
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:14-17)
God has given His sons (both males and females), everything in Christ. This means, that He has blessed His sons with every spiritual blessing in High Places, so that they will be able to live holy and walk in righteousness and represent and manifest the Kingdom of God on earth.
Walking in holiness and righteousness means walking in obedience to God and His Word.
By the blood of Jesus and His redemptive work, you became a new creation, who’s made holy and righteous. Therefore, you’ll live and walk as the new creation in holiness and righteousness. Just like Jesus walked in holiness and righteousness, by obeying His Father and doing His will.
As long as you listen to the Word, and obey and do the Word, you stay in Christ and live after the Spirit in freedom.
A spirit of partiality in the church
You shall not respect persons in judgment; but you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it (Deuteronomy 1:17)
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons (James 2:1)
Timothy had to keep this commandment, despite his relationship with the sinning elder; acquaintance, friend, or family member, and despite his (social) status and wealth.
Timothy couldn’t allow any partiality in the church. He had to treat people equally, including sinning elders.
If Timothy treated people unequally, it would show, that he was ruled by a spirit of partiality. (Read also: The spirit of Eli).
How must the church treat a sinning elder?
In Today’s church, it rarely or never happens, that a sinning elder or a sinning preacher is rebuked before the congregation. In the old days, it was normal that a sinning elder confessed his sins and repented before the whole congregation and that he was put out of his office and disarmed of his duties.
But nowadays almost every ‘issue’ in spiritual leadership is resolved behind closed doors in a private setting. Many times it is kept a secret.
Sometimes, but not always, the sinning elder will be temporarily removed from the office, so that ’the issue’ can appease. But after a short time, the person will be re-ordained again as an elder in the same church or in another church.
In the previous article, the re-ordination of a sinning elder has been discussed. Therefore this will not be discussed in this article. If you haven’t read the article yet, and would like to read it, then you can click on the following link: What did Paul mean by lay hands suddenly on no man?
The In the name of false love and grace sin is accepted in the church
Rebuking a sinning elder in public is no longer a formality. It is pushed away under the cloak of love and grace, and solved in a private setting. But this is not the way that God (and Jesus) wants the church to deal with sins.
The body of Christ; the church is one and not divided and should live holy.
The church needs to obey Jesus; the Word, instead of the devil; the world.
Especially the elders and leaders of the church should be spiritually mature and should walk as adult sons of God after the Word and the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit. They should live holy and righteous and be an example to Christians.
They should raise the believers in the Word of God, so that they will become like them, and like Jesus.
Unfortunately, many elders remain carnal. They’re led by the spirit of this world and live just like the world. They approve sin and accept sins in the church.
They change the gospel of Jesus Christ to their carnal will, lusts and desires. They’re charismatic eloquent speakers, who change the gospel of Jesus Christ and the words of God to their own carnal will, opinions, feelings, emotions, findings and the will, lusts,, and desires of the flesh, so that the carnal Christians, including themselves, can live like the world, doing what they want and keep walking in sins.
What is the purpose of rebuking sin before all in the church?
What is the purpose of rebuking the sinning elder before all in the church? W hen the sins of an elder are exposed in the church and the sinning elder is rebuked before all, and put out of the office, it will ensure that:
- Christians keep the fear of the Lord (reverence) and have reverence for God and His Word
- Christians know that God is a righteous God and hates sin and He (and His people) can’t have communion with sin
- The Christians are encouraged and urged to live a holy life and resist sin, and stay obedient to the Word
- Christians remain faithful and are serious about the things of the Kingdom of God and don’t become lazy and lukewarm
- The Church stays awake and watchful and be conscious of sin and its consequences
- Gossip and speculations about the matter and the sinning elder, will be prevented in the church
An elder should practice what the elder preaches
When a sinning elder remain ordained or will be re-ordained after a short time and falls back into the same sin, will the elder still be credible? When a sinning elder commands the believers to stay obedient to the Word and to live according to what the Bible says, but the elder doesn’t do it and doesn’t practice what he preaches, do you think that believers will respect the elder and believe and obey his instructions?
Many elders are just like the Pharisees, who acted piously and lived holy lives in the presence of the people. They commanded the people to obey the words of God, but in secret, when nobody was watching, they disobeyed the Word of God. Jesus, Who was the Firstborn of the new creation, saw and knew everything by the Spirit. He knew their heart and exposed their heart before the people. Jesus didn’t hide anything and wasn’t secretly, but exposed evil and destroyed the works of darkness.
Jesus still sees and knows everything. Through the Holy Spirit, He still exposes what happens in the dark. He reveals everything, as long as the church keeps walking in His light.
Confessing sin before all
When in the old days, sinning elders confessed their sins before all, it ensured that elders thought twice before they listened to their flesh and gave in to the will, desires and lusts of their flesh and sin. They kept a fear of God and respected His Word. They wouldn’t dare to change anything about the words of God and adjust the Word to their desires and lustts.
No one wanted to be ‘humiliated’ in front of the people. No one wanted to be marked as the sinning elder.
The people were spiritually awake and on their guard. There was a fear of the Lord and an awareness of sin.
They knew that sin was a sign of rebellion and disobedience to God. They knew that sin had no place in the church. Because the church represents the righteousness of God and the spiritual authority of the Kingdom of God on this earth.
Christians knew that sin meant obedience to the devil and that sin caused separation between them and God.
In the modern churches of this day, sin is allowed. The sinning elder is not rebuked before the people anymore and because of that the fear of the Lord is almost gone. There is no desire among the people to resist sin and to live a sanctified and holy life in Christ.
Most Christians want to live just like the world and don’t want to give up their own life. They stay carnal and live their own lives after the flesh.
A sinning elder mocks Jesus and damages the Kingdom of God
The church visitors are not confronted with their sins anymore. They’re not corrected, because many elders and preachers walk in sins themselves. They do what pleases them and focus on themselves and their kingdom. They don’t care about the spiritual well-being of the believers and the Kingdom of God.
Every time, when an elder or a preacher commits a sin, he mocks Jesus and defiles the body of Christ and damages the Kingdom of God.
A sinning elder or preacher, doesn’t walk in love and doesn’t love God above all. But a sinning elder loves himself and his flesh above all. He is a slave of his body and of the devil.
Obey Jesus and resist sin
Let us, therefore, become serious again about the Kingdom of God. There must be a desire in every believer to obey Jesus and live holy and walk righteous in the will of God. Because the believer loves Him above all the believer keeps His commandments.
Resist sins, which come through the temptations of the devil in the flesh. Say no to sin, instead of becoming a slave of sin.
Jesus conquered sin through His perfect work of redemption. I you are born again (your flesh died in Christ and your spirit is raised from the dead) you are a new creation. You are seated in Christ and He gave you everything you need to resist the devil and sin and manifest the Kingdom of God on earth.
Nobody has an excuse anymore. No one can blame someone else, not even the devil. Every Christian is responsible for his or her own deeds in life and shall be held accountable on the great Day of Judgment.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
