1 Timothy 5:17-20 “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.” If I were to tell you that, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain, you would probably look at me funny. Most folks have no idea what that means, but it is actually quite simple and it has very little to do with oxen. If an ox is doing your farm work for you, the least you can do is allow him to eat while he is doing it. In the same way, you should not expect people to work for free. If someone is willing to work, he should expect to receive pay for doing so. Its just about as straight forward as a teaching can be. But when applied to the eldership of a congregation, it isnt talking about money because an elders reward does not come in the form of monetary compensation. Instead, the great responsibility that they undertake and the vast amounts of work that they do come with the perks of being greatly honored by the rest of the Church. We should respect them so much that anyone bringing a charge of sin against them should have to prove it beyond doubt. In fact, we should not even consider a charge against them unless it can be verified by at least two or three people. But the flip side of that is the fact that if any charge is proven to be correct, they should be rebuked publicly. Generally, a Christian who is found to be in sin should be handled delicately whenever possible. Sin must always be corrected, but there is no need to shame them publicly. But an elder should know better. They are responsible for taking care of the souls in the congregation. They must be above reproach. So, if it ever happens that an elder persists in sin, we have a responsibility to correct them swiftly and publicly. As with all things, of those to whom more is given, more is expected. The elders are responsible for leading the Church and they give of themselves constantly in order to do so. We should have the utmost respect for them and their work. But they are still only human. Occasionally, one of them will make a mistake. I have seen this happen a time or two, and it is usually a matter of a lapse in judgement or simple human error. And in such cases these mature Christians are glad to have been corrected and deeply sorry for their sin. But if it ever happens that an elder persists in his sin we have a clear duty to take drastic measures to insure that their sin does not spread. And, if they were truly qualified to be elders in the first place, they will ultimately be glad that we did. ~Kevin Numbers 6:24-26 Romans 8:38-39
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 13:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015