An Expositional Sermon
1 Timothy 5:17-25
“Honor Elders”
Theme/Big Idea: Christians honor elders who rule well and follow the Bible in correcting and installing them.
Aim/Appropriation/Application: Honor the elders that the Lord has given you in your church as an expression of your honor to God. Our hope ultimately isn’t in ourselves, or in men who would serve us as elders. Ultimately our hope is founded in the chief elder and overseer of our souls, Jesus Christ. Pursue to rest your hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone.
Outline:
(1) Honor Elders (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
(2) Elders Are Sinners Too (1 Timothy 5:19-21)
(3) Elder in the Fear of God (1 Timothy 5:22-25)
Questions for Further Reflection
(1) What does it mean to “rule well”?
(2) Ask yourself this question regarding a church you are considering joining: Can I submit to the leadership of the elders that God by His providence through His people has set apart to pastor this church?
(3) What does it mean to “honor” elders?
(4) Do you see respecting, submitting to, and helping to financially provide for your pastors as a normal part of the Christian life?
(5) Do you see that part of your calling as a Christian is to provide for those who teach you in the church?
(6) Do you think about your giving in a corporate way?
(7) Does the way that you honor through giving reflect your love for Jesus Christ and His bride – the church?
(8) What does it look like for you to submit to an elder well?
(9) Are elders constantly trying to earn your respect by constantly having to prove himself to you?
(10) Do you treat your elders worse than you’d treat any other Christian?
(11) Are you constantly suspicious of elders?
(12) Do you trust your elders, or are you setting traps for him and back-engineering his failure?
(13) What are the steps of confrontation outlined in Matthew 18:15-18? What does it look like to follow the censures of Matthew 18:15-18 in bringing charges against an elder? If a disagreement isn’t serious enough to follow the censures of church discipline both in the formative and corrective forms, what might it look like for you individually to overlook the offense? How can we pursue being a church of peace-makers with our hope in the peace that Christ accomplished for us with God through His death and resurrection?
(14) If two or three witnesses substantiate a charge against an elder is our church impartial and humble enough to listen to them?
(15) What is it about correcting an erring elder that causes “the rest to stand in fear”?
(16) Are we a church that struggles with favoritism? How can we fight favoritism and partiality as a church?
(17) How might rushing to “lay on hands” or install elders lead to our “taking part in the sins of others”?
(18) What is it about patience and waiting over a period of time that gives us wisdom about whom we should pursue regarding the office of elder in our church? Hint: think about what Paul says regarding conspicuous (clear) sins and sins that appear later.