How Does the Church Treat Elders?

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Isaiah 12:3-6
• Hymn — Come, Christians, Join to Sing
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Daniel 9
• Assurance of Pardon — 1 John 1:9
• Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 14:16-23
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn — O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
• Sermon
• Hymn — God Be with You Till We Meet Again
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: How Does the Church Treat Elders?

Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:17-25

I. The Church Ought to Compensate Elders

A. 1 Timothy 5:17 — Elders who rule well are worthy of double honor: respect and financial compensation

1. All elders direct the affairs of the church and deserve respect
2. Teaching elders who labor especially in preaching and teaching are worthy of financial compensation

B. 1 Timothy 5:18 — Paul uses two texts to establish this principle

1. Deuteronomy 25:4 — "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain" (also cited in 1 Corinthians 9:9)
2. Matthew 10:10 — "The laborer deserves his wages"
3. Paul draws on both the law of Moses and the law of Christ to make this point

C. It is not merely the office but the hard, toilsome work that is compensated

1. The word for "labor" in v. 17 means toilsome or hard work
2. Historical example: George Whitefield observed lazy clergy in the 18th-century Church of England who prepared little and neglected their congregations
3. A shepherd who does not feed the flock spiritually should not expect the flock to feed him materially

II. The Church Ought to Correct Elders

A. 1 Timothy 5:19 — The congregation must exercise caution when bringing charges against an elder

1. Charges must be supported by two or three witnesses
2. Ministers are public figures, vulnerable to malicious accusations
3. John Calvin observed that accusations against ministers are often believed as though the minister were already convicted — true then and now in the age of the internet and blogosphere

B. 1 Timothy 5:20 — Elders who persist in unrepentant sin are to be rebuked publicly

1. Public rebuke puts the church and other leaders on notice
2. Allowing a sinning pastor to quietly move on and pastor elsewhere is not the biblical pattern

C. 1 Timothy 5:21 — Paul charges Timothy in the presence of God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels to act without prejudging or partiality

1. Old Testament principle: as the leader goes, so go the people
2. Judges 2:6-10 — Israel served the Lord under Joshua and the faithful elders, but the next generation served the Baals
3. This principle applies equally to the new covenant community

III. The Church Ought to Choose Elders Carefully

A. 1 Timothy 5:22 — Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands

1. Echoes the qualification in 1 Timothy 3:6 — an elder must not be a recent convert
2. Allow time for a candidate's character to become evident

B. 1 Timothy 5:24-25 — Both sins and good works will eventually make themselves known

1. Sins that are hidden will come to light in time
2. Good works that are consistent will likewise become evident
3. Therefore, give time before ordaining; neither unworthiness nor worthiness can remain permanently hidden

C. 1 Timothy 5:23 — The parenthetical instruction to Timothy ("use a little wine for your stomach") guards against a false asceticism

1. Paul has just called Timothy to be pure (v. 22); v. 23 clarifies that purity must not be confused with a religion of denial
2. The false teachers in Ephesus (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1-5) denied marriage, certain foods, and likely alcohol — even for medicinal use
3. Timothy appears to have absorbed some of these ascetic tendencies, denying himself wine that could relieve his stomach ailments
4. True holiness is not mere outward denial of things God has declared good, but a pure life aligned with sound doctrine

D. An elder must display not merely the appearance of holiness but true, doctrinally grounded holiness

1. Outward traits that look holy (e.g., not marrying, abstaining from alcohol) may mask false teaching if the man imposes those standards on others as necessary for piety
2. The worthy elder is one whose outward life is a manifestation of sound biblical doctrine — not a false asceticism