ACCUSING AN ELDER

ACCUSING AN ELDER

I Tim. 5:19-20 Do not listen to complaints against an elder unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him. Anyone who sins should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that others will have a proper fear of God.  NLT

       When will we ever get it right?  We are so quick to judge on hearsay.  We believe what we hear without checking things out for ourselves.  We presume guilt without knowing the heart.  We listen to complaints instead of focusing on the positives.  We don’t verify what we think is true by the witness of several people.  Ministries and reputations have been ruined because of the failure to do things God’s way.

       When was the last time a church leader was brought before the church body and rebuked because of sin?  It is not done very often and if it is done, it’s not done well.  Most of the time discipline is meted out by boards.  The goal of all church discipline should be the restoration of he who sins to a right relationship with God.  It should be done in such a way that the church body will look upon their own souls and be humbled before God.  It should never be done to humiliate a leader of the church or to make others feel spiritually superior because they did not do what the accused is accused of.

       The goal for all of our relationships in the church should be to be holy before God.  We need to strive to keep our souls and fellowships right before God.  We should never let sin go, whether it is public or private sin.  God is holy and commands us to be a holy people before Him.  If it is not our constant goal, then we will never know what it is to be blessed by the Lord with the abundant life He came to give.

      However, a word of caution is in order here.  Anyone who would accuse another of sin worthy of public chastisement must first examine his own heart and deal with his own sin.  It is never okay to ignore one’s own sin and point out someone else’s.  We are all guilty of sin before God.

      Church leaders who are guilty of sin should be held accountable to the Lord and the church body.  But, be sure it is sin you are accusing him of and not personal preferences you may have.  Public accountability should always be done humbly and prayerfully before God.