Skip to main content

Double Honour For Our Pastors

(Midweek Devotion - 1 Timothy 5:17-21, 06 Sept 2023)

1 Timothy 5:17-21

17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.

As we continue in our Midweek Devotion in Paul's first epistle to Timothy, I would like to jump to Chapter 5:17-21 for now. I will leave the part for widows which we can revisit next time.

I would like to get our attention in this midweek devotion on the important attitude of every believers towards their elders. As previously taught, Elders of the local churches are those appointed Disciples of Jesus Christ who advanced to the calling of leadership of the church. Elders are those who are responsible for the affairs of the church directly, who can make a decision for the assembly, and able to teach and preach like a shepherd as a way to feed the sheepfold of God assigned to him.

Paul would like us to be reminded that we as members of the body of Christ have to learn the discipline of giving honour due to our elders who administered the church with special mention for those whose work is preaching and teaching. These are specifically an important role for an elder and not all elders engaged in this kind of activity as their primary ministry.

But Paul is not just suggesting but giving his apostolic instruction to follow such directive. He explicitly explained that the worker deserves his wages and giving honour pastors are not too much to demand for them. Again, this instruction is contextually referring to the faithful working pastors in the church in the minstry of the stewardship of the Word of God. Paul described such in 1 Corithians 4:1-2 as well, saying:

1 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Therefore, anyone who are in this eldership with preaching and teaching tasks, as what the Apostle Paul requires - must prove to be faithful steward of the mysteries of God's revelation. To preach is to proclaim the word of truth and nothing but the truth that was revealed in the scripture, no more and no less. Likewise, to teach is to help the fellow congregation to understand what they are believing because understanding is the activity of faith, thus produces confidence and assurance towards one's understanding.

Remember that faith is the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9). The whole of Hebrews 11 also defined faith and gave examples of faith, starting from the understanding of God's mysteries and miracles.

Hebrews 11:1-3

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Because the Spirit of God is poured only to His people, they who have the spirit of God will then know the things of God. And those who were entrusted the mysteries of God are commanded by Christ to teach them among the disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).

1 Corinthians 2:6-11

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

    what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 

The services that is being rendered by our elders/pastors are of no joke in them. We have to give them due respect and double honour as they labour on the understanding of the truth in Christ. Our assembly's central theme for this year, Exposition of the Truth in Christ, is focusing mainly to the faithful understanding of the Truth, which is the Word of God. But such labouring should not only rest among them, but to all of us as well. We are to be like a Berean who studied diligently and just like the advise of Paul, that we should examine ourselves if we truly are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5), a genuine faith in Christ Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Faith is our assurance and confidence. Faith is part of our armour which serve as our shield (Ephesians 6:16 - In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.).

Faith serves as our protection from all the arrows of the enemy which is lies, corruption, and evil accussations. Faith is to shield the whole body that is clothed with helmet of salvation, belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, and boots of readiness from the Gospel of Peace. The word of God is our sword, indeed, the sword of the Spirit to combat the evil who wants to advance to destroy the finished work of Christ in the lives of His people.

Therefore, being faithful is to engage in this battle for the integrity of the truth we proclaim but also to teach them diligently without error or falsehood. As Jeremiah 3:15 said, the great shepherds are one after God's heart and lead us to wisdom and understanding, which is finding faith in heart as the spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah 3:15 - Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

Though still a month before the Pastors' appreciation month in October, let us give honour to them not just in external appreciation but by living a life taught by them from the pages of scriptures - in truthfulness, in faithfullness, and in righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore The Most Read Post for the past year

Put Our Hope In God, not in uncertainties

(Midweek Devotions, 1 Timothy 6:17-21 - 25 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:17-20 17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  18  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  19  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 20  Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,  21  which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all. We are in the final last 5 verses in book of First Timothy, an important pastoral letter which is very helpful for any man of God called to this important vocation. Definitely, this book is by extension equal
Post a Comment
Read more

Sanctified - A Pleasing Servant of Christ

(Midweek Devotion - 1st Timothy 5:22-25, 13 Sept 2023) 1 Timothy 5:22-25 22  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.  23  (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)  24  The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.  25  So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. After we have been reminded of Paul's apostolic instruction to give honour due to our elders, especially those who work in preaching and teaching; Paul is now giving us warnings of the continuing influences of sins to each and every believers. He warn us of three things: (1) do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, (2) taking part in the sins of others, (3) and keeping ourselves pure. Laying on of hands is particularly referring to the ordination of someone to install in the position of lead
Post a Comment
Read more

Respect - To Serve Them Even Better

(Midweek Devotion, 1st Timothy 6:1-2, 27 Sept 2023) 1st Timothy 6:1-2 1 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. One of the great things about the Sacred Scriptures is that, it does not talk about God alone but also talks about His creatures behaviour, particularly human being, more specificallly those who are His people. 1st Timothy 6 gave us an idea of how both one who are UNDER authority and one who are IN authority should behave as bearers of the name of God. The Bible clearly values authority and how important one should submit to an authority over him. The Bible itself claims authority for Truth, thus, no wonder that th
Post a Comment
Read more

Paul's Description Of A False Teacher

(Midweek Devotion, 1 Timothy 6:3-5 - 04 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:3-5 3  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4  he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5  and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. The bible is quite vocal in its warning against (1) a false prophet or false teachers, and (2) a false teaching or false doctrine. Jesus’ ministry had repeatedly criticise the Jewish religious leaders in their time and keep on correcting them in many occasions or warning the crowds or the Jewish people who follow their teachings. Paul in this part of his epistle to Timothy is similarly giving some warning to his child in faith and dealing with the spre
Post a Comment
Read more

Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

(Midweek Devotion, 1 Timothy 6:6-10) 1 Timothy 6:6-10 6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. One of today’s common deception in modern Christianity movement is the use of the Gospel as a solution to life of prosperity. Though the Bible have shown us many great examples of people of God who received and accumulated great wealth in their obedience to God, that does not mean that we also have to focus of such things in our walk of faith. What does the Bible said about prosperities and how the people of Go
Post a Comment
Read more