Shame On The Church (part 3) - [1 Timothy 5:19-22]

I would invite you to open your Bibles to the 5th chapter of the book of 1st

Timothy, 1st Timothy chapter 5. I don't know how many of you have the unfortunate habit of watching the news.

I've been known to do that upon occasion. And if you do, you know how this term hate speech has kind of crept into the vocabulary.

I know when I grew up, I would have said hate speech. I wouldn't even know what that is.

Of course, now we know what it is. It means telling the truth. In Canada, and in parts of Europe, hate speech has become defined as, or can be defined as, teaching what the

Bible says about homosexuality, or other religions like,

I don't know, Islam. In fact, listen to just a few examples here.

In Alberta, Canada, the Alberta Human Rights Commission in 2008 issued a ruling that ordered a pastor to pay $7 ,000 in fines.

Substantial, yeah. And to order him also to never speak disparagingly about homosexuality or about the person who complained about what he'd said.

And to apologize to this person in a letter to be published in the Red Deer Advocate, whatever that is.

Besides the sum of the fines, the pastor also had to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending himself against these charges.

In April of last year in Great Britain, police arrested Dale McAlpine, a

Christian preacher of Workington and Cumbria, for saying that homosexual conduct was a sin.

In October, this is a little bit older, 2001, Harry Hammond, an evangelist, was arrested and charged, this is also in Great Britain, under Section 5 of the

Public Order Act because he had displayed to people in Bournemouth a large sign bearing the words, quote,

Jesus gives peace, Jesus is alive, stop immorality, stop homosexuality, stop lesbianism,

Jesus is Lord. He was convicted and fined 300 pounds in order to pay additional costs of 395 pounds.

Now, would it surprise you that if I told you that late last year, less than 100 miles from here, a pastor was found guilty of hate speech by a jury and was subsequently sentenced.

You think that can't happen in America? You think that pastors can't be convicted of hate speech?

I'm here to tell you that they can be, they are, and they have been, for centuries.

Depends on how you define hate speech. You see, this pastor who was voted out of his church, he was voted out for preaching the gospel because he would not shade it down, that he would not tone it down, he was voted out.

Someone asked me last week what parable he was teaching, what caused all the ruckus. Well, I read it this morning.

It was Mark 4, Parable of the Soils. Now, that is one of the most incredible things to cause a controversy that I can possibly imagine.

Because here you have the Parable of the Soils, and it's strong. It tells you what the demands are for a

Christian, that's someone who's going to be faithful. Why would that cause a controversy?

Because people don't follow what Jesus says. He gives the explanation later on in the text.

But when unsaved people and immature Christians don't like the message, when they don't like the word, when they don't want to hear the gospel, they don't get into theological debates.

They don't say, excuse me, pastor, I think you might have missed a nuance of the Greek here. What do they do?

They attack the messenger. This is a consistent testimony of Scripture.

What happens? God sends a man to preach the gospel. He sends a man, this is through the

Old Testament and the New Testament, He sends a man to preach the word of God, and how do people respond? Sometimes they repent.

What happens when they don't? Their hearts are hardened, and they reject, mock, beat, stone, and even crucify the messengers.

When you look at it that way, our pastor friend got off a little bit light. He only lost his job.

Just to bring us up to where we are in 1 Timothy, again, Paul wrote this letter to give

Timothy a guidebook on how to lead a church, how the church should function. The last two messages that we've been in the fifth chapter of Timothy, we discussed how to avoid bringing shame upon the church.

In fact, I've entitled this message Shame on the Church, Part 3. Last week, I'm going to have to change the name of that to Part 2, because this is

Part 3, so now it's got to be three parts. But this is the issue here in 1

Timothy, Chapter 5. First, with interpersonal conduct, how we treat one another, and our actions towards widows in particular.

And then, in verses 1 -16, that was that passage.

And then in verse 17 -18, talking about elders, pastors, how they should be treated.

So verses 1 -16, we can look at it this way. Respect those that are older than you. Secondly, respect your peers.

Thirdly, care for faithful and tested widows. And fourthly, care for your own family.

Verses 17 -18, last Sunday. Elders must rule the church. Elders must be honored.

And elders in full -time ministry must be paid for it. Now this morning, I want to draw your attention to four divine protections for the church, drawn from our text, so that you will think rightly about elders and pastors, and listen to this, and not participate in actions that ultimately bring shame upon the church.

Four truths that illustrate the high standard for serving as an elder, and for disciplining elders, with an eye toward protecting the local church.

That's what you should want. You should want the local church to thrive by the grace of God.

And if you can't tell already, this is a topic that motivates me, it vexes me, it irritates me.

Why? Because there's nothing more shameful than to watch a faithful man of God thrown out of his church.

Many churches are crippled as a result of failing to obey this, and many faithful men have been turned out of their pulpits.

Let's read the verses. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 19 through 22.

Do not admit a charge against an elder, except on the witness 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.

In the presence of God, and of Christ Jesus, and of the elect angels, I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing for partiality.

Do not be hasty in the laying out of hands, nor take part in the sins of others.

Keep yourself pure. Again, four divine protections for the church.

The first one, divine protection number one. Elders get a greater benefit of the doubt.

And now you're saying, well now I get it Steve, now I see what motivates you about it. You like this part. Look again at verse 19.

Do not admit a charge against an elder, except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. This is based on an

Old Testament principle. In the Old Testament, you could not convict a Jew of a crime without two or three witnesses.

You just couldn't. And it's the same principle, it's the same principle that we see in Matthew 18. Someone sins against you, go to him.

If he refuses to repent, what do you do? You take someone with you. Take one or two witnesses with you. Why? So that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact may be affirmed.

Same principle here, but applied a little more strictly. Paul writes here that you are not even to consider, not even to think about, not to accept, or even acknowledge an allegation against an elder, unless there are multiple witnesses to the alleged sin.

Why? Why do they get this benefit of the doubt? Why is the standard high? John Calvin wrote this, none are more exposed to slanders and insults than godly teachers.

Even if they do as they are commended in Scripture, they never avoid a thousand criticisms.

I was recently with a man who was actually having difficulty in his church because even though he ran, he has a full -time job, more than a full -time job, preaches faithfully every

Sunday. In fact, stays up all night Saturday to study to give the message on Sunday morning. People were upset because he wasn't doing chores for them.

He said he'd fix my front door and he didn't. I'm sorry. The guy's a little bit busy. But that wasn't good enough.

We received an email, no -compromise radio. Somebody said this, and I'm going to talk about the idea of pastors getting slandered.

Somebody wrote, and I'm sure they were referring to Mike. They said, it's good to hear someone with all the answers.

And he didn't mean that really as a compliment. What do we know? We know that every man has flaws.

And they may seem larger to us sometimes because he's the man of the pulpit. I mean, after all, preachers are supposed to be superhuman.

It's really not true. Another little example,

I know a man whose elder board actually critiqued him. He was getting his annual review and they critiqued him. They brought him in and they said, you know what?

We have a little issue with you. You took a group of young people out and you told them you were going to go to a burger place and you stopped at Taco Bell.

I mean, that's one of my favorite stories. Why? Because at the end of it, the entire elder board offered to resign. I like that story because they realized how absurd it was.

But when people don't like the message, what do they do? They go after the messenger.

It's amazing. I've given some anecdotes about people that I know. How about Steve Lawson?

Chased out of his church. John MacArthur, you think he hasn't had problems? He's had to put down or survive.

I wouldn't say he put them down, survive rebellions. Is it because they can't preach?

Is it because they don't know the Bible? Is it because they don't rightly divide the word? Is it because they have some besetting sin in their lives?

It's always about theology. The people don't agree with the pastor's teaching on lordship.

They don't like his teaching on free will. They don't like his teaching on the doctrines of grace.

They don't think that his gospel is big enough. And rather than engage in a biblical discussion, they go after the man himself.

Why? Because they have a wrong view of the pastor. They have a wrong view of the church.

Maybe they're just people who are given or bent on grumbling. Maybe they're unbelievers.

But what does it mean practically to not admit a charge, as our text says? Well, in context,

Paul is telling Timothy not to even take it seriously, not to even evaluate it, not to even ponder it.

And for you, it means this. If there are not two or three witnesses to such an event, it cannot, listen, cannot be passed on.

So what do you do when someone comes to you and says, X? Your first response should be,

I mean, you need to think about it this far. Is it a rumor? Is it something that this person actually observed?

Let's say it's something that they observed. Then they should say this. You should say this.

Have you gone to the pastor or elder about this? Who else knows about this?

And really what Paul's talking about here is a public indiscretion, something that two or three people could have seen.

What more frequently happens is something like this. What did you think about what Pastor Steve said last

Sunday? Or did you hear that Pastor Steve did X or Y or Z?

I once had a man approach me at my last church, and he came out, and we just finished our

Sunday morning message, and he said, did you hear the pastor say, Steve, that is heresy.

I'm going to say something mildly shocking right now. There are hundreds of people milling around us.

This is a big church, milling around us, and I just looked at him and I said, shut up. And he said, what?

I said, be quiet. You cannot talk like that. If you have an issue with what the pastor just said, you go to him.

But I'm going to tell you what, I'm not going to sit here, I'm not going to stand here, and listen to a complaint upon which you have no foundation.

If there's an issue with the sermon, 3 ,000 people heard that message, you go to him. But don't come out here on the patio and start spreading dissent and discord.

That is ungodly, and I will not have it. That is just something we cannot allow.

We can't. I like to think that I have a certain amount of ability to hear heresy.

I mean, I watch TVN. And my radar just goes off.

And when I heard my pastor preach, I didn't hear anything like that. Let me give you another example.

If I'm driving out in West Boylston, and you think you've seen me run a red light, that's not a reason to run me out of the ministry.

Now, let's take it up a step. Let's say the police department of West Boylston comes to the church and says, listen,

I don't know about this pastor Steve guy, because we've got him on camera smiling and waving at every red light in town.

There's an issue. If they've got a nickname for me, there's a problem.

Red light Steve. Now, was

Paul just telling Timothy, look, Timothy, pastoral ministry is kind of a secret society.

It's a brotherhood. We've just kind of got to, you know, it's the blue code.

You know, it's the policeman's thing. You know, you lie and I'll swear to it. We've just got to cover up everything and not let people know what's really going on.

This is the good old boys network. Did he start it in the first century and it's been perpetuated until now?

We all have the secret handshake and the wink and the nod. No. No, as we'll see in a moment, elders are held to a very high standard.

This is Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit protecting the church. Nothing. Let me say that again.

Nothing is more detrimental to the local church than the brush fire of rumor mongering and backbiting of leadership.

How did church splits start? You ever think about that? You ever think that, you know, half the church, a third of the church wakes up one morning and just says, you know what?

I'm done with this church. I don't agree with, you know, everything that's going on.

And so I'm just going to start a new church. And then one third of the one third of the church, one third of the host of heaven, you know, just disappears with them.

That's not how it happens. Church splits don't happen like that.

How do they start? Rumors start about a particular leader or several leaders.

They're spread by those in and around the church. Meetings and conversations are held without the leadership's knowledge.

When the rebellion has sufficient strength, what do they do? They go after the pastor.

They get the pitchforks and the torches out and they go after him. This man in New England was chased out and they were holding for months prayer meetings where there was no prayer.

Just lots of rumor, gossip, complaining. And whether these kind of movements, whether these rebellions are successful or not, the church itself has been irretrievably damaged.

I have a question for you. What would be biblical about that? What would be God honoring about something like that?

Christ is building the church and I'm going to split it. The truth is it brings shame upon the church.

Those who lead such rebellions, revolutions are serving a

Lord, but they are not serving the Lord. What would you think of a man or a woman who betrayed his or her spouse?

Would we celebrate that? Take him out? Have dinner with him? Why would we think highly of those who assault the bride of Christ?

Why would you think highly of a man who would seek to tear down what the Lord is building? This is spiritual treason of the first order.

Again, at the last church I went to, the first Bible study I attended, and this was not led by Pastor Mike, it focused almost entirely on eschatology.

What was interesting, though, was after the Bible study, the conversations that would be had.

And they would almost inevitably devolve into criticisms of the pastor and some of the elders. Now, I was a brand new believer.

And I'd listen and I'd just go, I don't know. This just doesn't seem right to me. It wasn't right.

It was 100 % wrong. But beyond just protecting the church, why do elders get this benefit of the doubt?

Because an elder's reputation has to be maintained. Look, just keep your finger there in chapter 5, turn back to chapter 3.

I'm just going to go through this super fast. The requirements for becoming an elder are steep. 1

Timothy 3, verses 1 -7, Titus 1, 6 -9. I'm not going to go to Titus. But I'm just going to kind of summarize.

1 Timothy 3, verses 1 -7, he has to have a desire for the office. He has to be above reproach.

You can't be above reproach and be the subject of constant rumors if there's any substance to that.

It is an assault on his character. He has to be a one -woman man, sober -minded, self -controlled, respectable, hospitable, skilled in teaching, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, and one who runs his home and family well, not a new believer, and one who has a good reputation inside and outside the church.

This is why this sort of infiltration, this kind of skullduggery, is so detrimental to the church.

Men who meet this standard are going to be attacked by those who want to see the church fail. Not to see it succeed, not to see it get better, but those who want to see the church fail.

So elders are granted this extra protection just as they undergo extra scrutiny.

Let's go back to 1 Timothy chapter 5. Our second divine protection for the church is that elders get greater punishment.

Greater punishment. Look at verse 20. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all.

So what happens when a charge is considered? When the conditions are actually met and there are two or three witnesses to a given sin?

What happens? Well, first, I think it's important to notice that word sin. Three -letter word, but it's vital.

It's not a preference. It's not something you don't really care for in a pastor or an elder.

But it's sin. I think most church coups, and if you'll notice,

I'm using militaristic language on purpose. Because it is an assault on the church.

Most church coups are begun over preferences. Things that they don't like, but they don't really have a scripture to back it up.

Well, there's a reason you don't have a scripture to back it up, because it's a preference and not sin. So it's important that it actually be a sin.

Secondly, if the charges are founded, whether it's an ongoing pattern of sin, or whether it's a one -time disqualifying sin, that man is to be rebuked in the presence of all.

Literally in front of everyone. Rebuked to express strong disapproval of someone's actions, to reprove or correct someone.

We wouldn't do that in just a regular church discipline situation. Not if someone repents.

In this case, we might not if it was a minor sin and the guy did repent, but he's still going to step down.

But this is strong. Listen to what George Knight says. He says, since the rebuke is to be made public, it is to be made on the basis of two or three witnesses, the implication is either that the sin is of a general or public nature, in other words, that everyone would know about it, or if personal and private, no repentance has been accomplished by the approach of two or three witnesses.

So again, in the second case, you have a situation where one person is sinned against. He goes to that elder.

No resolution. He takes one or two witnesses. Still no resolution. Then it goes to this stage.

There is no taking it to the church. This is taken to the church, and he's publicly rebuked.

Now, many people are upset with the very idea of church discipline. A lot of believers don't like it, and I understand it.

We've done it a few times. If we don't like it, no one likes it. We would never do it.

In a million years, we would never do it if the words of Jesus were not so clear in Matthew 18. Now imagine a situation where no matter what a man's attitude is, he has to be rebuked publicly.

Who wants to sign up for that? As I said, this would be a sin that is either something not repentant of or something that is done in public, even if it was repentant of, but a public rebuke.

You want to know why elders get extra protection?

It's because they suffer extra punishment. Now, why would we do this?

The answer is in verse 20 again. It's really for the sake of fear, so that the rest may stand in fear.

That is, that they may have. There's a purpose clause there. Henna, Greek, for those of you who study

Greek. Paul gives us the purpose. So that everyone else who's there might just be gripped in fear.

When something like this happens, what do you do if you're sitting there? Well, there should be a two -fold response.

One is self -examination. Running through your own life, thinking if there's anything in your life that would lead you to similar sin.

And secondly, a genuine sense of, but for the sustaining grace of God, you would likewise fall. But it is a fearful thing.

So first of all, our first of mine protection, elders get the benefit of the doubt. Secondly, they get greater punishments.

Thirdly, a third divine protection, they must be treated fairly. This is a solemn command that Paul gives here.

Look at verse 21. He says, in the presence of God, and of Christ Jesus, and of the elect angels.

Paul sets a standard for what is to follow. And he sets the bar high. Anyone who is essentially putting an elder on trial needs to understand that there is a higher judge.

In fact, this is a reference to the ultimate day of judgment. We know that Jesus, when he left, he was what?

He left, when he was taken up, he left in the company of angels, and he's coming back that same way.

In fact, this passage tells us, with the elect angels, elect angels, I don't want to get bogged down in this, but they are simply those that by the preserving grace of God have not fallen and will not fall.

And they will return with Jesus when he judges. And this is a matter that Timothy, or even today, subsequent triers of fact, us, have to be, they have to take seriously.

They have to understand that God is watching. God is the ultimate judge. Yet again, consider how often this is done in secret, without biblical basis, on the basis of emotion and scurrilous rumor, because they don't like the man.

Paul tells Timothy there can be no bias. Look again at verse 21, I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

What's he telling Timothy? Simply put, there can't be a lynching party, they can't have predetermined the outcome.

You know, this isn't the Soviet Union, we don't decide that he's guilty and bring him in to announce it.

But on the other hand, it can't be some kind of kangaroo court that just kind of, no matter what the evidence brought forth is, we're going to dismiss it, we're going to sweep it under the rug.

It doesn't take much research these days to find pastors whose wives had divorced them while they were in the ministry, and yet somehow they stay in the pulpit.

On the other hand, it also doesn't take much research to find pastors voted out by their congregations for reasons that can't even be articulated, let alone rise to the standard the

Spirit of God demands here in this text. When the people determine that they like the pastor, they set aside the

Bible. When they determine they don't like the pastor, they set aside the Bible.

The Bible alone, Scripture alone, must determine how we run the church.

It is just as wrong to exonerate a pastor who does not run his household well, as we read, or I just kind of summarized out of 1

Timothy 3. Let me ask you this, it would be wrong to exonerate him to let him go.

What better evidence could there be that you're not running your household well than your wife files for divorce?

It's pretty strong evidence, I'd say. On the other hand, it's wrong to fire a man of God because he, in essence, burnt the toast he took you to Taco Bell.

The rules, I charge you to keep these rules, are clear. Two or three witnesses to an actual sin of some sort.

The matter cannot be determined ahead of time, and it cannot be determined on the basis of liking or not liking the elder.

God demands this. So our first, divine protection for the church.

Elders get the punishment of the doubt. Second, elders get greater punishment. Third, elders must be treated fairly.

The matter cannot be prejudged one way or the other. Fourthly, elders must be chosen carefully.

The choice can't be rushed. Look at verse 22. Do not be hasty in laying on, or in the laying on of hands.

Now this isn't referring to your parental style, how you spank your child.

This has nothing to do with that. You know, there would be a good one for your child to quote to you. Dad, don't be hasty in the laying on of hands.

That's all right. Did you know, and probably most of you do know this, but we don't allow people to just show up at Bethlehem Bible Church and start teaching.

They have to have been here a year. Did you ever wonder why? Maybe you just thought, you know, Pastor Mike had some bad

Mexican food one night and thought, you know, one year would be a good number. Well, one year is a reasonable number, but we're not going to let you go any lower than that.

Why? Because we have to get to know you. It's a weighty responsibility.

James says, do not let many of you become teachers. Why? Because there's a stricter judgment. We have had people request to preach from our pulpit, and we don't even know these people.

And we'd be like, why would we give you the pulpit? Why would we put you up here? We're not going to do that even for one

Sunday. Not even one. Why? Because then we'd have to answer for it. And here the

Apostle is instructing Timothy not to put someone in the ministry. Not to make a man a minister and not to do it too quickly.

Well, it's just common sense, or it should be. Let's just take a moment to consider some of the implications of this.

Some of the things that churches do. They elect elders. They vote for them.

Really? What if the guy's really great and he's been there six weeks? Should you just make him an elder by election?

Should elders be selected on a rotating basis? Every three years we just kind of take a turn.

Should they be chosen on the basis of their business acumen? Well, you know what? If he's successful in business, he'll be successful running the church.

Should they be chosen because they've been around the church the longest? No. All those are obviously absurd, but this is a serious choice with high qualifications and high calling.

And a commensurate accountability before the Lord for those who choose the elders. In this situation, contemplating the rules for disciplining elders is an extremely timely reminder.

I paraphrase it this way, Paul telling Timothy, Timothy, in light of the tumult,

I like that word, tumult, that will inevitably strike the church after having to discipline an elder, don't rush into choosing them.

Know them. Examine their lives. Examine their doctrine. Choose them with as much confidence as you humanly can.

You want to know that you are choosing God's man for the work of the ministry. I think churches sometimes out of view, they're out of view hiring a pastor as seriously as they would getting married.

And they're out of view firing them as seriously as they would divorcing their spouse. But they don't.

I think over time that pastors become hired hands. But elder boards examining new candidates ought to have that same high view.

It ought to be viewed as a permanent commitment, not a momentary opportunity.

Why? Because hastiness, choosing quickly, can lead to guiltiness.

You could be blameful. Look at verse 22. Nor take part in the sins of others.

Keep yourself pure. Kind of a curious phrase there after that. But here's what he's doing.

It gives even more weight to the issue. It's guilt by association. We say, oh, you're making him guilty by association.

Well, that's Paul's point here. If you choose an elder hastily, if you choose him without carefully, painstakingly examining his life and his doctrine, and he falls into sin, you,

Timothy, and us by extension today, are responsible too. You share in his guilt.

You had nothing to do with it except for you took this guy who shouldn't have been an elder, and you made him an elder.

Imagine such a scenario. Rationally choosing an elder, then having that elder witnessed by two or three people acting sinfully in a disqualifying way.

How do you then go about judging him in an unbiased way, as our point three was?

Knowing that it's going to reflect badly on you. In other words, Timothy picks an elder. He doesn't take the time to do all the research and everything.

This man's life falls apart. And now, two or three witnesses are coming forward, and what's

Timothy going to say? Well, you know, if I find this guy guilty, if we publicly rebuke him, how does that look on me?

Not good. And that's the whole point here. Don't choose him hastily so that you don't put yourself in that position.

Paul even emphasizes again at the end, keep yourself pure. He's commanded to keep himself pure by not participating in the sins of those that he too hastily laid hands on.

Again, he's not doing the sin himself, but he's found guilty because he didn't properly vet them.

Those who hastily choose elders are stained morally. That's the context, or that's the sense of this word.

They're stained morally by the sins of those they promote because they have failed to follow the commands of God here.

Elders get the benefit of the doubt. Elders get greater punishment. Elders must be treated fairly.

Elders must be chosen carefully. Can I just say in conclusion, many godly, faithful men are chased out of the pulpit wrongly.

I'm sure some of those involved in removing these creatures think they are doing the Lord's work. I think of our own brother

Ted Bigelow. He was down in Connecticut, was at a church.

I remember the first time I preached there. Beautiful facility. I could not even believe it. I just thought, it's state of the art.

It's beautiful. And not only did they chase him out, but a local pastor actually joined the effort.

And it was theological in nature. It was entirely, the issue was lordship.

The issue was the gospel. But they tried to make it about him. They went after his wife.

And this is what happens over and over again. It is not enough to have a theological debate or if you don't like it, go off and start your own church.

They want the property. They want to destroy the man and they will do anything. They will stop at nothing until they've accomplished that.

I want you to consider this again. If the Lord said that he, Jesus Christ, would build his church, would he not give us a clear remedy for removing men from ministry who ought not to be in ministry?

The answer is obviously yes. Did Jesus not know what he was doing? Obviously, he does know what he's doing.

Does he need our help? Do we need to, you know, well, I understand what the Bible says, but I don't think the

Lord really envisioned. Yes, he did. Those who get involved in the sinful removal of faithful preachers of the word are not helping the

Lord of the church. They are providing aid and comfort to the enemies of the church.

Who rejoices when God's men are removed from God's pulpit?

No one should. No Christian should. Who rejoices when disqualified men continue in the ministry?

And again, no Christian should. We understand that there's a high standard.

We want that standard upheld. But it's a sad day when someone has to step down, and it's a sadder day, it's a more sad day, when an unqualified man continues in the ministry.

The glory of Christ and the reputation of his bride are at stake.

Now, I began this morning by talking about hate speech. Let me ask you this. Is your conscience clear?

I believe this is one of the most often violated tenets of the New Testament, one of the most easily broken commandments in the

New Testament. It's almost second nature to many Christians to complain about their pastors and elders, to gossip about them, to accept accusations without two or three witnesses.

I would urge you today to repent if you've done that, because it's not just me or Dave or Pradeep or Mike that you've sinned against, but you've sinned against the

Lord himself. Let's pray. Our great

God, I'll be the first to confess I am just a man, flawed in many ways, in ways that I sometimes,

I'm sure, don't recognize myself. But Lord, you have given us your word, both to build your church, to protect your church, and when necessary, to winnow out those who should not be in leadership.

Father, you've given us strict commands on how to do this, strict standards on how we ought to view leadership, how we ought to talk about leadership, how we ought to think about leadership.

Father, I would pray for the elders of this church, that you would keep us faithful, that you would even raise up more men who would willingly stand up and face this higher standard of judgment.

Father, I pray for all those in faithful ministry across this country and across this globe.

We think about men who get up each and every Sunday to preach your word, and often the assaults that they face.

I think about brothers like my dear brother, Parker Reardon. Father, I pray that you would find a pulpit for him soon.

So many men run out, why?

For faithfulness, for proclaiming your word. Father, I pray for those churches who are and have been involved in such things that they would repent, that they would understand it's not getting rid of some man, but it's throwing off the yoke, as it were, of the

Lord Jesus himself. Father, would you bring the light of your spirit back to such churches?

Watch over this body, that we might be unified, that as we hear your word taught, that we might be brought closer together, that we might be forbearing of one another's sins.

That we might even follow the teaching of Jesus, to go to one another when we have something against one another.

Lord, would you bless this, that this would be a church known for the love that it has for one another, for the love that it has for widows, for the love that it has for pastors and elders.