House Rule #16 Be Careful With Elders (1 Timothy 5:17-25) | Adult Sunday School

Good morning everyone, good morning everyone, good to see each one this morning. We're thankful that you are here to study God's Word together in our adult Bible class. We have a passage to look at this morning from 1 Timothy chapter 5, going to finish out that chapter this morning, verses 17 through 25, we're going to be talking about elders.

House rule number 16, be careful with elders. Let's commit our time to our Lord before we begin our study and ask his blessing on it. Our Father, we thank you for this time that you have set aside for us.

You have gathered us here. We appreciate your sovereignty in that, and that you have brought us here to fellowship with one another, to sing praises to you, to hear your Word preached and taught, and we know we are dependent upon your Spirit to teach us this morning, so we commit our time to you and ask your blessing, accomplish every purpose that you have for us through our study this morning, and we will praise you in Jesus' name, amen.

The Shepherd and the Sheep in Scripture

One of the most familiar and effective images to picture the relationship that God has with his people is the image of the shepherd and his sheep, and one of the reasons this has been so effective over the centuries is that shepherding was and is so common, and it made a very convenient way for Scripture and the writers of Scripture and all through the Bible to picture something that was very familiar to people.

And even today you can see sheep grazing in pastures, the type of shepherding the Bible speaks about may not be quite as common in our country and in our day as it was back then, and so it may not be exactly the same picture that they had of shepherding, but that kind of shepherding is still done all over the world.

The life of the shepherd, his responsibilities were so well known in the ancient world that God could and did use them to picture even the human leadership over his people, and it could be either good shepherding or bad shepherding, and it was put in terms of how well they carried out their shepherding responsibilities.

And the culture and the students of Scripture would see and know it from the very familiar picture of the shepherd and the sheep and that type of thing. And so everyone knew that a shepherd was responsible for feeding the flock, very common.

They were nomads back in that day. Often the Old Testament references picture the shepherding looking for pasture for their flocks like the description from 1 Chronicles 4 .39. They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

And feeding the flock was important, but also watering the flock was critical. It was hot, arid land, survival depended on finding water both for man and beast. So Genesis 29, 1 -3 says,. Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

And as he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep laying beside.

It.

For out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, and when the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

So feeding the sheep, critical, watering the sheep was important. Another important task was protecting the flock. Sheep are essentially helpless, the little lambs especially. The shepherd had a responsibility to guard the flock from wild animals and thieves who would sneak in and steal some of the sheep, steal the lambs.

And to help him do that, the shepherd carried a few tools. Shepherd carried a rod, this would have been like a club-like thing, used it against wild.

Animals.

They became very proficient even at throwing their rod or club and able to protect the flocks with it. And we know from the story of David and Goliath that the sling was also a weapon used by the shepherds in that area of the land.

And you can even check online now in YouTube videos of people that are proficient with the sling. I think some of them are in Spain. And it is easily, easily a lethal weapon. They fracture concrete blocks with it from a very short distance.

So David easily could have taken Goliath right down with one rock from his sling. But probably the best known tool of the shepherd was the shepherd's staff. It was a longer, thinner piece of wood and it generally was something more like a long walking stick.

And often, as you know, it had a hook or a crook in the end to help him do his job. One of the very, very, very wonderful book that was written by a man who was a pastor but also a shepherd of sheep, his name was Philip Keller.

And he wrote a book called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Very, very excellent book. And just a couple excerpts from his book. When the shepherd is afield with his flock in the high country, it is customary for him to carry a minimum of equipment.

This was especially true in olden times where the sheepmen did not have the benefit of mechanized equipment to transport camp supplies across rough country. In the Middle East, the shepherd carries only a rod and staff.

Some of my most vivid boyhood recollections are those of watching the African herdsmen shepherding their stock with only a long, slender stick and a rough, he calls it a knob carry, that's the rod or club, in their hands.

These are the common and universal equipment of the primitive sheepmen. He describes these in his book. He describes the use of this rod and how they're custom made by each one of the shepherds. He says the skilled shepherd uses his rod to drive off predators like coyotes, wolves, cougars, or stray dogs.

Often it is used to beat the brush, discouraging snakes and other creatures from disturbing the flock. In extreme cases, such as David recounted to Saul, the psalmist no doubt used his rod to attack the lion and the bear that came to raid his flocks.

He says as far as the staff, the staff, the more than any other item of his personal equipment identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd's staff. It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep and only sheep.

It will not do for cattle, horses, or hogs. It is designed, shaped, and adapted especially to the needs of sheep. The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern and the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges.

No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort. Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word staff speaks of all that is long-suffering and kind.

The shepherd's staff is normally a long slender stick, often with a crook or hook on one end. It is selected with care by the owner. It is shaped smooth and cut to best suit his personal use. The staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them close to himself for intimate examination.

The staff is very useful this way for the shy and timid sheep normally tend to keep at a distance. He also talks about how once he catches them with the staff, the rod is often used to examine their wool because he doesn't want to touch them.

And it's also used to capture the lambs and bring them back to their mother so that he doesn't have to touch them because if the shepherd touches the little lambs, the small ones, the mother might reject them.

And he says the staff is also used for guidance. Again and again I have seen a shepherd use his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous difficult routes.

He does not actually use it to beat the beast, rather the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal's side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants it to go.

Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path. Being stubborn creatures, sheep often get into the most ridiculous and preposterous dilemmas. I have seen my own sheep, greedy for one more mouthful of green grass, climb down steep cliffs where they slipped and fell into the sea.

Only my long shepherd's staff could lift them out of the water back onto solid ground. So this gives us an idea of the shepherd's task, what he is designed to do, supposed to do, and with all of that background from the Old Testament references in which God speaks of himself as the shepherd and his people as the sheep of his field, it's just such a rich study to go through the Bible and see this, and cover to cover there's just tremendous amount of information there.

And certainly we could just, selecting a few Old Testament references, Psalm 78, 51, and 52, he struck down every first born in Egypt, the first fruits of their strength, and the tents of Ham. Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them into the wilderness like a flock.

And from the very famous Psalm 100, it's so famous people often call it the old 100, it says this, just one excerpt, know that the Lord, he is God, it is he who has made us and we are his, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

And of course any discussion of shepherding and sheep, you certainly if you're looking in the Old Testament have to think in terms of Psalm 23, maybe the most famous passage in Scripture, Psalm 23 says this, a Psalm of David, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So these pictures, these images from the Old Testament are such a rich study to understand God's shepherding care over his people and also how that then would extend right into the New Testament and how he wants the shepherds of the church to operate as well, that is the model.

But sort of the flip side of the coin, even from the Old Testament, is how God expresses his hatred and anger for false shepherds. And the prophets are very rich in this because God used the prophets in ancient Israel and Judah to condemn the false shepherds, the false prophets that they had.

A couple of examples, Jeremiah 23, 1 and 2. Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people, you have scattered my flock and have driven them away and you have not attended to them.

Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. And just one more from the Old Testament, Ezekiel 34, 1 through 10, rather extensive quote but it captures many of these same elements.

Ezekiel, of course, is in Babylonian captivity and this prophecy from God comes to him. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep?

You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

So they were scattered because there was no shepherd and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered. They wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

Therefore you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep, therefore you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths that they may not be food for them.".

Christ the Good Shepherd and the Elders of the Church

And of course as we move into the New Testament, the same imagery is there. We won't turn there, but at some point you should read through John chapter 10, it's commonly called the Good Shepherd chapter because Jesus is identifying Himself as the Good Shepherd.

And we've looked at Acts 20 multiple times, but it's well worth looking at because it's foundational to our study in 1 Timothy because it's said and spoken to the elders of these churches in Ephesus. Maybe around five years prior to writing the letter to Timothy, Paul says this as he met with these elders, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which He obtained with His own blood.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And much of what Paul was concerned about in his letter to Timothy is about the fulfillment of that prophecy.

We know that the false teachers and false prophets, preachers had come into that church, into those assemblies, and Paul deals with those in the first part of his letter to 1 Timothy. And he deals with the qualifications of elders in chapter 3, and now in chapter 5 he deals with the elders again.

But the context here is somewhat different. Chapter 3 is qualifications for elders, chapter 5 is about how the church functions internally. And as we saw as we went through the first part of this chapter, first it has to do with how people are to be confronted concerning their sin, and then he spends 14 chapters, a very extensive segment of this letter concerning widows and the obligation of the church to care for widows, but then also widows need to take care of how they live their lives and so on.

Well as we arrive at verse 17 in this passage, we come to house rule number 16, recommendation for the church, command to Timothy to deal with this in the church, be careful with elders. And you have an outline there that has several ways the church is to be careful.

Be careful to honor them, be careful with charges against them, be careful when disciplining them, and be careful when appointing them. So verses 17 through 25 of 1 Timothy chapter 5. And he covers a range of issues of course as he always does, and we need to remember that the elders in the church are the under-shepherds of the church.

Christ is the shepherd of the church, He's the Lord of the church, elders are to be under-shepherds. They shepherd, but their task is to be the under-shepherds of the church. We know that from Ephesians 4, 11 -13 they were given to the church, God gave some to be shepherds.

Paul says, Ephesians 4, 11 -13, He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood.

The shepherds and teachers, actually the construction there you could say pastor-teachers, and it's often translated that way, the pastors are teachers. Not every teacher is a pastor or a shepherd or an elder, but every pastor or elder is supposed to be a teacher, as we know from the qualifications.

And what's really important here, and a lot of people in churches are kind of surprised to hear, that God gave the shepherds of the church to equip the saints for the work of ministry. A lot of people would say, no, no, no, the pastors are the ones doing the ministry, I'm just a spectator.

Well, no, their job is to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. So the application would be, when you hear the Bible taught or you hear a sermon preached, you should be thinking, okay, how am I to be equipped to do the work of the ministry, okay?

That's an application from Ephesians 4. And then 1 Peter 5, 1 -4, elders are the shepherds of the church. Clearly Peter is just simply repeating the same picture of the shepherds, the pastors of the church.

He says in 1 Peter 5, 1 -4, I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. God is going to reward faithful shepherds, faithful elders in the church for what they accomplish in their ministries.

And if God is going to honor faithful elders on that day, so it shouldn't surprise us that Paul is exhorting Timothy to honor elders as well. And that's what we see in this first Roman numeral, be careful to honor the elders.

Honor, Charges, and Discipline for Elders

And so Paul says, 17 and 18 of 1 Timothy 5, 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.

Elders are the shepherds as we have seen, shepherds of the church, even though technically of course, yes, they are under shepherds, they are still the ones who shepherd the church. Part of their responsibility is to, as he says here, rule the church.

Now a lot of people don't like that word because it gives the connotation of them ruling the church. But that's what the word is and that's what the word means. Peter says, exercise oversight. We've looked at this word before, this comes from the word episkopos, okay, and you hear the word that we get from that, episcopalian, that kind of thing.

It's a compound word, epi, over, skopos, view or watch, to watch over. The shepherd is not supposed to be swinging in a hammock in the shade, sawing logs while the sheep are out there with their heads down eating.

He is pictured as someone who has oversight. He's up on a hill, he's watching, he's looking, he's making sure the sheep don't stray away or fall off a cliff or something like that. So he's typically pictured as an overseer that has sort of multiple applications here.

And of course he is not only to be the one who watches over the sheep, but he is supposed to be the one who feeds and leads the sheep and exercise oversight, to watch over. This word rule here, it does have the word of, have the meaning of managing and watching over, but it also has the meaning of caring for and feeding and leading and so on.

The same word is used as qualification for elders in chapter 3, verses 4, and again in verse 5, and again in verse 6, and again in verse 12. In chapter 3, he, in other words the elder, must manage or rule his own household well.

And verse 5, for if someone does not know how to manage or rule his own household, how will he care for God's church? And then again down in verse 12, concerning deacons managing or ruling their children.

But what's significant about this word, verse 5, if you look up at verse 5 of chapter 3, requirement for an elder, for if someone does not know how to manage or rule his own household, how will he care for God's church?

This is a parallel statement he's making here. You would expect the parallel, if it stays parallel, to say for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he manage God's church?

Right? Essentially an argument from the lesser to the greater. But he shifts the terminology there from manage to care. It's very subtle and sometimes it's kind of hard to miss, but probably what Paul's doing there, he's trying to make sure that Timothy understands that a requirement for an elder is not just management, but also care.

This word only occurs three times in the New Testament. One of them is right here. The other two occurrences occur in the New Testament in Luke chapter 10, in what we call the parable of the Good Samaritan and it's Jesus' own teaching.

Listen to what it says. This is Luke 10, 25 -37. Starting in verse 30 it says, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So the Levite came to the place, saw him, passed by on the other side, but a Samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had compassion.

He went to him and bound up his wounds pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper saying, take care of him and whatever more you may spend I will repay you when I come back.

So ruling or managing in the context of Scripture does not just include leading, it also includes feeding, watering, shepherding and caring. The three usages of that word there, one of them is used of elders and how they are to relate to the Church.

And also whenever elders are mentioned in the New Testament it's always plural. I think we mentioned that back before. I think a good basic working understanding of elders in the Church, a plurality of godly men.

It's always men, there's always more than one, and these are godly people defined by Scriptural requirements. And those who do this well, who rule well are considered worthy of double honor. Now here we have another interpretive issue, what does it mean by double honor?

Well, we've already seen what Paul means by honor back in chapter 5 in the first part, honor widows who are truly widows. And then he immediately begins to talk about their support, their support of them materially, financially.

So this is also exactly what Paul is talking about here. Probably the best understanding of it is, and some would say, well does it mean double pay? I didn't hear an amen from this corner over here. Or, well if you want to say it means double pay, then maybe it means just double respect, because it means both respect and material support.

We saw that with the study through the widows. But if it just means double honor, how would you apply that to widows? What would you have? You would have honor widows Sunday, and have all the widows stand up and honor them?

Okay, there's double honor. What about that widow who didn't stand up? Well, she's starving to death because you're not taking care of her material and physical needs. So probably the best understanding, a dual honor, because that's what the word honor means in this context, both respect for their office and their work, but also for their material care, their material need.

It means to value them. They're to be valued, they're to be honored in two senses, both respect and also support for what they do. And double honor for those who labor in the word, and especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

We have seen all the way through 1 Timothy, the priority that Paul has because God has for the word of God in his church, both against the false teachers and false teaching, but also to promote and command that the word of God be taught and preached in the congregations.

We are commanded to preach the gospel, we're commanded to teach the word, feeding and leading. And of course, Paul was such an amazing example to this in his ministry. Just track his ministry through, and what you can find him doing is basically two things, preaching and teaching, preaching and teaching, preaching and teaching, preaching and teaching.

And when he got tired of doing that, he took a deep breath, preaching and teaching, preaching and teaching. Last statement about him at the end of Acts, Acts 28, where is he? In his own rented room in Rome, what's he doing?

Preaching and teaching, okay? That's exactly what Paul did. And his authority here for doing this, of course, is scripture. This is verse 18, for the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain, and the laborer deserves his wages.

Of course, Paul's talking about the material support of those who are teaching and preaching the word of God and feeding the church, and it's really important. It's not his opinion, it's based on scripture.

And Paul, very, very important here, he uses two reference, one's from the Old Testament and one's from the New Testament as well. He's essentially quoting Deuteronomy 25, 4 here, when he says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Paul gives his own, basically his own exposition of that in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Take a look at 1 Corinthians chapter 9 for just a minute. Paul really does say the same thing here concerning his own ministry, and he really does explain what he's talking about here.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul says, am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not just seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who would examine me. Paul's going to make an argument for his own support as an apostle. Later on he's going to say, I have declined it for various reasons, but here's his argument.

You've got to love the way Paul argues. Remember when he confronted Peter, he asked him questions? That's a very good way to confront people. Ask him questions. And he does this in this defense. This is my defense to those who would examine me.

Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as do other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Also a very important way of teaching technique, he uses that which is very familiar to them. And the answer of course is yeah, people pay soldiers to do their soldiering.

Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.

Is it for the oxen that God is concerned? Does He not speak entirely for our sake? It is written for our sake because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing the crop.

If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? Answer of course, no, of course. Those who are sowing spiritual things should reap material support from those they are feeding.

And this is the same thing Paul is applying here to the elders of the church in Ephesus. And so he very importantly uses scripture to ground his command. And that's just from the Old Testament. He also makes a reference from the New Testament and he actually quotes, we won't go there for the sake of time, Matthew 10, 5 -15, the words of Jesus, where Jesus says the labor deserves His wages.

This is the axiomatic truth based upon the same concept from the Old Testament. But these are the words of Christ in Matthew 10, 5 -15, and the parallel passage is Luke 10, 1 -12. Paul is quoting not only the Old Testament law, he's also quoting Jesus Christ.

And you see what's very significant about that from verse 18? For the, who says? Scripture says. For Paul, the words of Jesus were what? Scripture. And another little detail here, and the reason I emphasize that is there are various heresies that pop up that want to try to partition the Bible into that which is the Word of God and that which is not really Scripture.

And the words of Paul really weren't Scripture. These guys, this wasn't Scripture and this really isn't Scripture. But the Apostle Paul gathers up both the Old and New Testament and calls it Scripture.

Peter does the same thing in 1 Peter chapter 3 and he even makes reference to Paul talking about Paul writing Scripture. So if you hear somebody want to say that certain parts of Scripture aren't really Scripture, either the teachings of Paul or the Old Testament or something like that, that of course is absolute nonsense.

That's just a footnote to our study this morning. But for Paul, Scripture includes both the Old Testament and the New Testament and that's the foundation or the basis for which he says to honor those who lead the church, who rule the church, and especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

That little statement there, especially those, it may sound like he's talking about two different levels of elders in the church. There are elders, of course elders are going to have different tasks in the church.

Probably a good way to understand that, and it can be taken various ways, but it may be rather than some elevation of a particular group, rather than this is what I'm talking about. What I mean by this is those who labor in preaching and teaching.

So first thing we see from this passage is we need to be careful with elders and we need to be careful to honor them and honor them both with the respect of their office and what they do for what God has called them to do, and also those who preach and teach the Word of God.

And then be careful with charges against them. It only makes sense to follow because as we saw from 1 Corinthians 9, Paul was being accused of all kinds of things. Paul got charged with all manner of things from all kinds of different people.

He was accused of preaching for money, preaching to influence women, to get women, and that type of thing, and basically he was above that reproach. They are above reproach, elders are to be above reproach as far as becoming elders, and they are to be treated as if they are above reproach, if any charge is leveled against them.

And Paul exercises once again a reference to the Old Testament, to the law, Deuteronomy 19 .15, do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Now we could go look at Deuteronomy 19, and I encourage you to go do that sometime, we don't quite have time this morning probably, but in Deuteronomy 19 the main thrust of that passage is on the witnesses, it's not on the person who's being charged.

And it's a real warning to do not bear false witness, because under that economy and in that day, if you were a false witness, and proven to be a false witness, you would receive the punishment for the crime that you were accusing the other person of, okay?

And if it were a capital crime that you had accused that person of, and you turned out to be a false witness, you got a one way trip out to the rock pile, okay? And you didn't go home that night. It was very, very serious.

And so when the Apostle Paul quotes something from the Old Testament, it's important to go back and look at the context. But he's not just jerking that verse out of context, he's actually invoking everything having to do with the context that verse was originally taught in, okay?

So it's very important to go back and read that, because the thrust of that passage is on the integrity of the witnesses, and the fact that you need two or more witnesses, and if there's only one witness, it still gets adjudicated, but if it turns out to be a false witness, that guy's in trouble, okay?

The requirement is to be an elder, that they be above reproach. Now once again, we talked about this idea of being above reproach. It means unable to lay hold of, okay? So I always picture a bunch of yapping dogs kind of down here, jumping up and down, you know, they can't quite reach you.

Why? Because it's not true, or they're above reproach. If they are able to grab hold of you with this, it has to be on the basis of two or more witnesses. Do not admit, don't even consider it. And by the way, this word admit there, that is a second person singular.

He's talking to Timothy, you Timothy, don't admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. It's a very high standard to be an elder. It's a very important role in the church.

They are to be held above reproach and respected by the congregation, and they are also to be held to a high level of accusation. But the flip side of that coin, of course, is, and the standard is the same for everyone, what happens if a legitimate charge with the appropriate witnesses is placed, process moves ahead, and the whole outcome is that it turns out that they are guilty.