Day 53
1 Timothy 5:16-25 NIV
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. 24 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
Wages-
Next the Apostle Paul turns to elders, teachers, and preachers. He first begins with honor and wages and how a servant of the church is due both honor and pay for the work they do. The Apostles were full time ministers and were committed to prayer and teaching, the other duties of the church were handled by the elders and deacons. There is no question the church has changed greatly since that time and I like most ministers don't mind working and contributing to the financial goals of the church. However, I believe it should be the desire of any minister's heart to be able to minister full time and give ourselves over to preaching the Word and caring for the people we minister to. I know this is the burden of my heart. This brings up the issue of being able to trust God for our provision which is always a key of success in ministry. Ministers rely on God for pay but it takes individuals giving to God to make this possible. This is not something I personally like to bring up before my people as I believe God will move upon the hearts of the faithful and my family will be taken care of either by giving me work to do or through the church and it's people.
Deeds-
Now Paul goes to deeds whether good or bad. He begins with a warning not to accuse someone without multiple witnesses. Don't react to every rumor that is circulating wait until there is adequate evidence before accusing anyone. Paul next says that those who sin should be publicly rebuked. This is not the entirety of this teaching in other scripture Paul gives complete instruction as to how to discipline leaders in the church. He begins by saying to go to the individual in question alone, then take someone with you, and finally after exhausting all other measures go to the church and publicly rebuke the individual. It should never be our intent to expose someone or hurt someone's character. We should discipline publicly only as a last resort. Paul says we should treat everyone without partiality and not show any sort of favoritism. Paul concludes with "the sins of some are obvious reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them" God has a way of handling issues within the church. God will expose the secret things as necessary as we have seen with many ministry leaders over the past couple of decades. We generally don't have to deal with these issues because God is much more conscious of wrongdoing than we are. Finally, good deeds are also quite obvious, people will realize and respect our good deeds and recognize God in our lives when we bear fruit. God will bless and favor the faithful, the anointing will be evident in these lives and God will use them mightily for His glory.
I don't know about anyone else but I want to be used of God. I want my life to be acceptable, I want my offerings of praise to be received as a sacrifice of praise, I want my life to reflect His glory.
Blessings,
Pastor Larry
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