Keep a Close Watch on Your Pastor

For the scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain and the labourer 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. 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 from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands nor take part in the sins of others.

Keep yourself pure. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. So far our reading.

Today's talk will be on keeping a close watch on your pastors. So I am in the spotlight. Cherry said, uh-oh. Hopefully I pass. Keep a close eye on your pastor and we are going to look at three areas.

On their well-being, keep a close eye on their well-being. Keep a close eye on their lifestyle. And lastly, keep a close eye on their character. Paul begins by addressing the elders in the church and he calls them in the Greek presbuteroi, which is where we get the English word Presbyterian from. Elders. They were the ones who, we already looked at in 1 Timothy 3, were given authority, permission, a charge to rule with authority over the congregation of God. In particular view here, Paul wants to address elders who rule well, he says in verse 17, and especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.

And he is going to say about these that they are to be elders needing double honour, needing to be financially supported. These elder pastors, and I call them pastors because they are teaching elders. They are people instructed with the special task of pastoring through the word of God the flock of God. They are to be given, Paul says, double honour. But it is interesting for me as I read this that it is not simply the teaching elders, but also elders who rule well. And I wonder, just as an aside, whether these can be elders who have other gifts, perhaps administrative gifts, who may be given role of pastor or may be supported financially by the church as well.

In either case, they are to be given, Paul says, double honour. A twofold honour. And it basically comes down to showing honour in two ways. Firstly, in respect and secondly, in remuneration. Respect and remuneration.

Remuneration meaning financial support. Now we Aussies are pretty prone to respect those who have earned respect. We typically hold back on outpouring respect purely on someone's title or rank. Respect is given when respect is earned. In other places like my South African culture or even American culture, and Rick may concur to this, there is a higher level of respect for someone in an office regardless of the person.

A respect for the office over and against necessarily just who they are. Now, there are all sorts of pros and cons to these emphases, but for us Aussies, it makes it particularly easy to remain disengaged, downright suspicious of anyone who is in authority. But here in a slightly uncomfortable way, we are commanded to give double honour to our elders. In particular, elders who have been set aside for full time ministry. As we see from verse 18, the second part of double honour has to do with financial pay because that is what verse 18 goes on to say.

But the baseline honour, because this is a twofold honour, the baseline honour is to give respect to all elders, to respect their office, to respect the calling that God has placed on their lives. Now, before we clench our fists and sort of white knuckle it through, like giving honour to people we do not want to give honour to, scrounging up enough gratitude to find something to give to them. Here is a helpful motivator in verse 17 that Paul gives us for why we can freely, joyfully give honour to elders. Paul mentions that these are elders who labour. Other translations say toil in preaching and in teaching or who are qualified by ruling well.

Here is a motivator to show them honour. They work hard for the church. They labour with vigorous and deep commitment. They are hardworking men. And if you were here this week, you know one of our elders has been working very hard.

These elders are due our respect. They are due our honour for their faithful labour on our behalf. Secondly, there will be elders who are designated to be financially supported by the church. They are either elders who are identified as ruling well, but especially elders who focus on an area of preaching and teaching. In order to bolster his insistence that pastors get supported by their churches, Paul quotes two unquestionable sources: Jesus and Moses, in verse 18.

First, he quotes Deuteronomy 25:4. Do not muzzle the ox while it treads out grain. Now, the quotation is used in what is called an a fortiori manner. Let me get my Latin right. A fortiori manner, which means from the lesser to the greater.

In other words, if God is concerned about an ox being fed while it works in grinding my flour, then surely God is also concerned about a pastor being able to eat from the gifts of those who he is serving. From the lesser to the greater. Now, if Moses was not a strong enough source to make that command, Paul goes to Jesus and he quotes Jesus from Luke 10:7 where Jesus says, a labourer deserves his wages. Now, for the Ephesian church where there was a need for proper teaching, for teaching elders to know who knew their stuff to come and correct the false teaching in the church, God encourages the church to think seriously about paying their pastors a fair salary so that they may commit their entire lives to that cause. This forms the second part of this double honour that we hold towards those who have committed their lives to serving us and the wider church.

Pastors deserve to be supported by their congregations. Now, a really practical question to ask is, what is a fair amount to pay a minister? Well, that is a great question. And it comes down to defining what is fair. And again, someone like Brian who is studying law will tell us that his entire profession and the court system exists to define what is fair.

So it is perhaps a complicated question. But Kent Hughes, in his commentary, gives this personal and partial opinion. As a rule of thumb, pastors ought to be paid on the same scale as others in the congregation of the same age, education level, level of experience and responsibility. They should not live above nor below their congregation. Incidentally, that is more or less the position of the Christian Reformed Churches in Australia.

Historically, our churches have chosen to benchmark in a very sort of arbitrary way almost their pastor's stipends with the average Australian full time ordinary earnings. That is a stat that comes out every year. And in the past, that is what a pastor's salary has been tied to. At the end of the day, the main aim is to make sure that the pastor and his family are supported well enough that money does not become a distraction in their pursuit of ministry. There is a story that after a church service, a little boy came up to his pastor and said, when I grow up, I am going to support you with my money.

Well, thank you, the pastor replied. But can you explain why this is something you should do? The boy replied, because my daddy says you are one of the poorest preachers we have ever had. So firstly, we see Paul telling Timothy about how we keep a close watch on our pastors by making sure we are keeping a close watch on their well-being. Secondly, elders will need to be disciplined and they will be disciplined fairly yet unapologetically.

There were elders in the church in Ephesus that were worthy of a twofold honour because they did their jobs with integrity. But then there were also other elders who were failing. And so Paul addresses the matter of disciplining or correcting these elders in verse 19. He says, do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. And for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear.

We see Paul giving here an even-handed approach to how we keep our elders in check. He encourages both caution on the one hand and courage. Caution and courage. Firstly, caution. All of us need to exercise a high degree of carefulness.

Pastoral leadership depends on character. Pastoral leadership depends on character. And someone's pastoral credentials, their ability to serve the church, is based on their character. That means pastors and elders are vulnerable and highly visible to disorderly and ill-willed gossip. Human proclivity to believe the worst in people means that leaders in the church can be very prone to character assassination.

To this danger, Paul cautions the church, give your leaders the same protection that everyone else has. Do not listen to gossip about leaders when it comes from only one person and check the character of the person who is making those statements. The habit that Paul alludes to here of having two or three witnesses is essentially grounded in the idea of having evidence, verifiable evidence. And I think we could perhaps enlarge these witnesses to not simply human mouth speaking, but the speaking of evidence in general. I am mindful that sometimes office bearers in churches have done very sinful things to people one on one and then it becomes my word against theirs.

And this rule of having two or three witnesses cannot be used because there was no one else to witness what happened. But other evidence, physical evidence may be another witness, another expression of something that may have taken place. So I think the principle here is asking, can there be substantial evidence brought to the church leadership about what an elder or a pastor has done? So firstly, Paul cautions the church and says, do not entertain unsubstantiated malicious talk from ill-willed people. Caution on the one hand.

Then secondly, if there is a credible claim made against an elder, the church must be courageous. Do not shy away from disciplining your pastor. Do not shy away from disciplining your elders. Pastors and elders are subjected to the same discipline in the sight of God as the rest of the church. Verse 20, as for those who persist in sin, it is talking about elders, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear.

Where Timothy in the chapter before this was warned to keep a close watch on his life and doctrine, he is now encouraged to do the same with the same standards to those in similar roles to him. And if I was to say which area we fall into today, I say we lack the courageous part in the church. We are happy to be more cautious, but are we courageous? The church today has lost its nerve in these areas. Leaders seem to sin with impunity.

And if they are caught, they are quietly moved on to another church. Paul would say that this is not an honourable thing for churches to do. And I have heard of churches, I have heard of church members say that they are simply trying to be loving, that they are simply trying to be gracious to their pastors when dealing with leaders in this way where it is hush-hush, quietly removing them from ministry. But there is nothing loving about that. In fact, it is because we love, because we love the church, because we love Jesus Christ, the head of our church, and because we in fact love our brother that we must discipline our elders and our pastors when they sin.

Why? Paul says, so that the rest may stand in fear. And that is referring to, I think firstly, the other elders that they may be kept in check, that they may know that there is no leniency here. I am no different to anyone else in mutual censorship, mutual accountability. But then secondly, to the wider church as well, all church members watching on. Here is a great truth that is almost so countercultural that we do not believe it.

The church is strengthened and corrected by the example of a leader being corrected. There is nothing more powerful than the witness of a leader coming under the steady and the fair discipline of his brothers, publicly explained before a watching congregation. But after genuine and humble repentance, that office bearer makes a gracious return into the fold of his flock that shows that they love him and they celebrate that repentance. It becomes a catalysing witness of God's grace, of the church who can love one another, even flawed individuals. And the truth that God's word does not change based on frailty and sinfulness.

Church discipline is a powerful force for good within the church. It protects us all. So Paul charges Timothy to keep this as a serious priority within the church, not showing, he says, favouritism nor partiality. And he invokes in verse 21 God the Father, Jesus Christ and all the angels.

Discipline of our pastors is a serious command given to us in scripture. We sin in direct view of God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the pantheon of holy angels when we lack the courage to discipline our elders or our pastors. We sin in view of God, Jesus Christ and the angels. So the second way to keep a close eye on our pastors is to watch their lifestyle and discipline them when they live outside of that godly character they have been called to. And then thirdly and finally, elders should be selected only after their long term character is weighed up, verses 22 to 25.

The difficult task of disciplining our church elders calls for upfront wisdom in their initial selection. That is why Paul advises in verse 22, do not be hasty in the laying on of hands nor take part in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. The laying on of hands that is being referred to here is the cultural phenomenon, the cultural practice that was in the church at the time where authority would be placed on someone when elders physically laid their hands, put their hands on someone and prayed, saying, this brother of ours is an elder in the church commanded by God to serve this church. Paul says, do not be too quick to do that, to jump to commissioning and installing an elder.

Earlier in chapter three, Paul commanded Timothy that elders should not be recent converts. Here he is saying that they should be screened very closely over time. That is why Paul goes on to say in verses 24 and 25 that someone's long term character will eventually become clear if given enough time, whether that is for good or for evil, their character will come out. Verse 24, the sins of some are conspicuous, he says, which means obvious. It goes before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

Verse 25, but so also good works are conspicuous and obvious. And even those that are not cannot remain hidden. So even if good works are done humbly, eventually they will also be seen and recognised. We are to weigh up the lives of the elders we consider calling. We are to keep a close watch on their character and then we are to give them enough time or enough rope to show who they really are.

Chuck DeGroat in his book When Narcissism Comes to Church writes about a colleague of his who would often say that ministry is a magnet for narcissistic personalities. He writes, who else would want to speak on behalf of God every week? While the vast majority of people struggle with public speaking, not only do pastors get to do it regularly but they do so with divine authority. So we can and we should be careful to give our potential elders and pastors a bit of time for their character to naturally rise to the top. Meanwhile, Timothy is told to be pure.

He is not to enter into foolish and sinful actions of potentially immature or young elders. The reality is that elders will make dumb lifestyle decisions as well. They will drink too much. They will speak too coarsely. They will become angry, jealous and have lustful thoughts.

And as a fellow brother elder, Timothy needs to remain pure for their sake. He needs to keep a watch and distance himself from those choices so that he can continue to be a witness towards the gospel character that elders ought to have. And that is why on this night, Paul gives this wonderful pastoral personal word of advice in verse 23 about drinking a little wine to help with his upset stomach. It is speculated that Timothy had some sort of stress-related stomach issues. So Paul tells him to take a little bit of wine to help.

And all sorts of theories on why this could have been suggested. Firstly, some people suggest that the wine was perhaps closer to wine vinegar, helping to neutralise some of the stomach acid if he had a stomach ulcer. We do not know exactly what it could be. But it seems perhaps that Timothy may have been influenced already by the false teaching of his fellow elders who promoted this severe asceticism. No enjoying of any good food. If you are married, not to partake in relations with your wife, and to stay away from alcohol.

These things were regarded as sinful or less holy. So when Paul tells Timothy to be pure in verse 22, he quickly goes on to qualify what this purity looks like. It is not by living a falsely spiritual lifestyle that cuts out good and godly gifts like wine. This purity is a purity of the heart. So do not worry, Timothy, of taking a little bit of wine to help with that sore stomach.

Keep your heart in daily decisions regarding heart attitudes. So the third thing for us as a church to do in closing, when we keep a close eye on our pastor, is to watch their life over a long term because their good or their bad character will rise to the top. Al Moller, the great and often courageous Southern Baptist preacher, writes thoughtfully but honestly, Christian pastor holds the greatest office of human responsibility in all creation. That is a big statement. He is called to preach the word, to teach the truth to God's people, to lead God's people in worship, to tend the flock as a caring shepherd, and to mobilise a church for Christian witness and service.

Says the pastor's role also includes an entire complex of administrative and leadership tasks along with that. Souls are entrusted to his care. The truth is entrusted to his stewardship and eternal realities hang in the balance. So who can fulfil that job description? Of course, the answer is that no man can fulfil this calling.

The Christian pastor must continually acknowledge his absolute dependence upon the grace and the mercy of God. As the apostle Paul instructs us, we are but earthen vessels employed for God's glory. On his own, no man is up to this task. We have a weighty picture painted for us of the calling that God will give to some men, some men in this church. It is not something to be entered into lightly although it is entered with a lot of joy and experienced with a lot of joy.

But therefore, as a church, it is something that we will not give to someone too quickly or thoughtlessly either. We need to be careful and we need to be courageous. We need to keep a close watch on our elders and our pastors to protect them. And perhaps most importantly, we need to be on our knees praying for them all the time. Praying that Satan will be kept very far from them.

That they will not fall into temptation and that if they do fall, that they may be disciplined and corrected lovingly but unapologetically by fellow brothers and sisters. The truth is without God's grace, no person is adequate for this task. That is why I need the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ every day. I am a frail person like you. I have never lived a single day without sin and I need the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as much as you do.

But thankfully, this morning I can say also with solid confidence that He is my Saviour. He is my Lord. And thankfully, I do not need to be your saviour or your lord. May we keep a close watch on our elders and our pastors. Will we pray for them?

Will we encourage them? Honour them? That the precious holy church of God may remain pure and glorious. Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you that we can come and hear these words that are words of life, words of hope, words that are meant to bring fruitfulness and joy.

We pray that as we meditate on these things, as we are instructed and taught by it, our Lord, that we will be wise in how we apply it. Lord, we pray for our elders and we thank you for them. We thank you that they serve You with diligence and love. We thank you that You have given them to us. They are Your gift to us.

But we pray for them, Lord God, that You will protect them from temptation. That You will protect them from falling into laziness. That they will be pastors worthy of respect by their toil and their labour, that they will rule well. We pray for me, for the pastor of Open House Church, and we pray, Lord, that You will protect me, that You will keep Satan very far from me. Lord, help me to remain humble. Help me to listen to the godly encouragement of my fellow elders.

Father, I pray that You will protect the preaching of Your word in this church. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that You do not allow me, You do not allow anyone to speak in this church without Your involvement. And we pray, Lord, for involvement that may go beyond Your word, that may go against Your word, that it will be eradicated, that it will be purified, that it will be corrected. Father, and then we pray that we as a church body may honour and respect our elders, that we may listen to them when they encourage us through Your word. We pray that we may put ourselves under the discipline of that word where there is sin in our life, even very well hidden sin.

Even sin that we try and rationalise and explain away so fiercely sometimes with anger and with barbs against those who will come to correct us. We pray, Holy Spirit, that You go ahead and that You will kill that sin in us. And that You will humble our hearts to hear the truth, to be moved by it and to be returned to what is life-giving, peace-instilling in us. So Father, may Your grace wash over all of these things, protect Your church, purify Your church, Lord. We pray that especially for our little flock here on the Gold Coast.

Jesus, name we pray. Amen.