Providence Reformed Baptist Church

Reformed Baptist Church in Remlap, Alabama

By

Wisdom from Above

In James 3:13-18 we’re given a critically important contrast between two opposing standards of wisdom. One type of wisdom James describes as “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (3:15). This kind of wisdom always exists and states its claims where “bitter jealously and selfish ambition” are driving the heart of man (3:14). Moreover, James informs us that where these sins of the heart are dominant “there will be disorder and every vile practice” (3:16). What’s most salient concerning this divine observation is that James is writing this to the church! The implication of which we should not miss: that in a local church of fellow Christians such “earthly, unspiritual, [and] demonic” wisdom can take the field and rule the day. Since we still have the law of sin to contend with in our members (cf. Rom. 7:23) prior to our entry into glory; then we must always be on the guard against our thoughts and affections being taken captive by such carnal wisdom.

But how exactly do we guard against earthly, unspiritual, and demonic wisdom? It’s by keeping in step with “the wisdom from above” (3:17). In contrast to carnal wisdom, James calls us to take on the traits of heavenly wisdom. What does this look like? When the wisdom of God is pervasive in the life of a church, it will be seen as follows – that it is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”(3:17b).  In the first place, godly wisdom or the wisdom generated by the Spirit in God’s people is principally pure. The idea behind this descriptive is pressing us to see that because this wisdom is from God then it’s without any contamination or vileness or sin. God’s wisdom is holy because God is holy. There’s nothing earthly, carnal, or demonic about it. It is separate from anything born of either man or devil.

In the second place, since godly wisdom is holy wisdom then it is seen by its first effects as peaceable. There’s nothing divisive about heavenly wisdom wherein a gathered body of believers would be torn asunder. It abhors those sins which pull the people of God apart like bearing false witness against others or sowing discord among the brethren (cf. Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 6:19). Where godly wisdom is permeating a church, the body of Christ will be sparing no effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). They will be pursing peace and making for peace with each other.

In the third place, godly wisdom will be seen as gentle. The idea behind this word in the original Greek has been best understood as equitable and fair. What this tells us is that when we’re walking in God’s wisdom we will be careful not to jump to conclusions about people and circumstances that we know so little about (Proverbs 18:13). We’ll go out of our way to treat everyone with both sympathy and empathy – as opposed to dealing with them by a heavy and cruel temper laced in a cynical spirit.

In the fourth place, godly wisdom shows up when God’s people are open to reason. This trait is most evident in Christians who are teachable and easy to entreat rather than stubborn, argumentative, and self-willed. Instead of approaching someone with unverified, baseless accusations, God’s wisdom teaches us to ask first and search out what the truth is before making a final conclusion (Proverbs 18:13,17). Moreover, in the spirit of reasonableness, even if our initial ideas about people and circumstances prove wrong, we’ll yield to the facts discovered and discard those primal ideas. This grace of godly wisdom is so huge in matters of dispute between Christians. How many churches could have avoided splits if only certain brethren were open to reason?

In the fifth place, godly wisdom is manifested by a fullness of mercy. To be merciful is not to simply show pity toward someone, but to put that pity into action. It’s the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) sacrificing time and treasures to relieve the suffering of a man who can’t help himself. Yet, not only is this grace of mercy revealed in acts of physical and monetary needs; but even more critical, when we’re full of mercy our hearts are actively ready and willing to forgive others. You can’t hold a grudge when you’re full of mercy.

In the sixth place, godly wisdom is full of…good fruits. This has to be understood as shorthand for the fruit of the Spirit and all that proceeds from that divine produce (Galatians 5:22-23). It tells us therefore that when we’re walking in godly wisdom we will be living out a godly life! You can’t have one without the other.

In the seventh place, godly wisdom is impartial. This is a rare word in the New Testament, used only here in James 3:17. Combined with those graces of equity and reasonableness, to be impartial is not to play favorites which is a common ploy used when scheming to sow discord among the brethren. Favoritism feeds on showing flattery to hand-picked individuals in order to take advantage of them and use them for one’s own selfish ends. This sin is rampant in politics – but alas! even in the church do we see this at work. Yet, when led by God’s wisdom we show no favorites. Each person is to be handled and judged on their own merits and weighed by the truth of God’s Word rather than our personal prejudices.

In the final place, godly wisdom is characterized by someone who is sincere. A better translation of this term would be “without hypocrisy.” There’s nothing ever done in pretense by the wisdom which is from above. Godly wisdom is open, honest, and transparent. It’s real and not fake. It strives to do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12).

When such wisdom as this is working and ruling in a community and fellowship of God’s people, can you imagine how healthy a local church like this would be? No division. No disorder. No animosity between the brethren. But harmony, order, and peace. When the world looks into a church ruled by godly wisdom they behold something altogether other worldly. But to see this, there must be in Christians an active walk in the power of the Spirit ruled by the Word of God. For this wisdom is from above. It therefore takes supernatural strength wrought by the indwelling Holy Spirit, combined with the light of God’s Word’s as our guide, to establish our steps in this way. No church should settle for anything less.

By

Character & The Calling to Pastoral Ministry

We live in a day and age when character means very little to most people. By the term “character,” I’m referring to the moral strength of an individual. Character therefore centers on whether a person is honest or dishonest, self-controlled or given to excess, diligent or lazy, trustworthy or deceitful. Sadly, our culture has become a society that favors one’s abilities over their character.

For example, in 1998, news broke of an illicit extra-marital affair between President Bill Clinton and a twenty-two year old White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. The adulterous scandal ultimately led to President Clinton’s impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives. But one of the greatest tragedies surrounding the entire event was the public opinion of American citizens. It appeared that for nearly half, if not more than half, of all Americans were not concerned over President Clinton’s glaring lack of character. Their attitude was basically this: “As long as he can get his job done, we don’t care what he’s like as a person.” In short, Clinton’s abilities eclipsed his character. For many Americans, they did not see any connection between Clinton’s disposition and how that would affect his leadership of the nation. They affirmed: “What he does in ‘private’ has no bearing on what he does in the ‘public.’ ”

But if a married man betrays the single greatest trust he has on earth – namely, the marriage-covenant with his wife – then how can he still be trusted to lead a nation with integrity? The question answers itself. Yet when Bill Clinton left the presidential office in January 2001, his approval rating as president was at an all-time high of 68%!

There’s something terribly wrong with this picture. Our American culture does not esteem having strong moral character as necessary for effective leadership – much less anything else. What is praised is how talented and gifted and smart and attractive one is, as opposed to how honest and trustworthy they are.

However, what’s even more disconcerting than this hard fact, is that this way of thinking has infected much of the church. Observing this rising bias among evangelicals, David Hegg wrote: “It seems in our day that talent, and more to the point, spiritual productivity (e.g., getting the job done in a way that ‘blesses’ people, and brings them back) carries vastly more weight than the personal character of the man when it comes to affirming a man for pastoral ministry.” Adding to Pastor Hegg’s observation, we could also say that if a man possesses a PhD, holds a record of building large churches, has potentially written a best-selling book, and has a growing reputation as a sought after conference speaker – then whatever he is as a man is irrelevant, when considering him as a pastor. And of course for most churches, as long as a man is a “good preacher” and will visit the sick, then what he is in his character is a moot point.

But in spite of where so many churches overlook character for abilities when choosing a man for pastoral leadership; yet the most pressing question in the face of this, is whether God values a man’s abilities for ministry more than his character? Answering this question, I quote again from David Hegg: “God makes the man, and extends to him the gifts and graces necessary. To determine that a particular man is necessary to the Kingdom regardless of known character flaws, is to forget that God can raise up all the men He wants. He is not so in need of [preachers] that He can be forced by man’s indiscretion to use those whose character is lacking. We must never forget that should He so desire, [God] can draft the rocks and cause them to cry out! Character matters, and it is a man’s character that forms the foundation of his ministry because it gives credibility to his message. While great talent and ministerial ability are necessary, they are not sufficient. Where personal integrity and godly character are lacking, no amount of brilliance can compensate. As Robert Murray McCheyne so [aptly] put it: ‘It is not great gifts that God blesses so much as it is great likeness to Christ.’ ”

The bottom line is this: By God’s standard, proven character is a prelude to ministerial position. This is why the Apostle Paul admonished Timothy to only develop and disciple “faithful men” for pastoral leadership (2 Timothy 2:2). To enter therefore the service of Christ as a leader in the church without approved character is dangerous to the man and the church. Consequently, it is hypocritical to proclaim a message with your words that is not matched by your life. A fruitful ministry and a healthy church is thus dependent upon the godly character of its leaders.

By

Don’t Be Hasty!

Over this past weekend I had the joy of meeting and conversing with a fellow Reformed Baptist pastor who shared many of the life-experiences I had in the pastoral ministry. One of the common scars he and I discovered was sharing the eldership with a man who proved to be disqualified. In his case, as in my own, the man who ministered with him as a co-elder was not only a trusted partner in ministry but one he counted as a best friend. But over time, this seeming credible elder and bosom buddy turned out to be nothing but a self-willed traitor to both this brother and the church which called him to the ministry. As we discussed this mutual experience, the question that surfaced was what did we learn from it as pastors? And for the both us, the lesson we took was the same: Don’t be hasty but wait patiently on the Lord to make men qualified elders. 

This lesson comes straight from God’s Word. It is the Spirit-inspired directive Paul the apostle gave Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:22 – “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” These words have to do with the ordination of church elders. And the imperative which stands out in bold relief is the absolute necessity for overt caution in the matter of selecting men to serve the church as qualified elders. In fact, Paul lays so much stress on this matter to not be hasty ordaining men as elders, that he adds a solemn warning to Timothy for such impetuousness: “nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” What does this mean? What is it referring to? If we act with haste to ordain a man to the eldership, who later proves himself disqualified, then we make ourselves culpable in the man’s sins. In other words, it’s not just the disqualified man who has to answer for his sins, but its the pastoral leadership who laid hands on him that will answer for it as well – combined with the church who affirmed the man’s ordination. Observing therefore the caution needed in this matter, John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) wrote: “It is a common human tendency to make premature and ill-considered decisions, to be hasty when we should rather be cautious. Although the opposite fault is to be indecisive, yet in leaders it is better to take time to form judgments and make decisions than to be precipitate and live to regret it.”

Take time to form judgments and make decisions. This is so wise because it’s so biblical. Yet, I fear that many of us (like myself), even when we believe sincerely that we’ve taken the needed time to evaluate and judge properly the potential candidate for the ministry, we still end up suffering the reproach of a disqualified man we affirmed as qualified. So what can pastors do to follow more carefully the imperative and admonition of 1 Timothy 5:22? My answers to this question are shared as one who is continuing to learn from the misjudgments and errors I made in the past, when I recommended men to the eldership who should’ve never been appointed. My only comfort in this is God’s providence, which overrules even our foolishness to make us more like Christ (Rom. 8:28-29). Nevertheless, we’re still responsible for our actions and should thereby strive to learn all the Lord would teach us from choices we made that should’ve been reconsidered with more counsel.

The first lesson then would be this: Remember it is the Holy Spirit who makes the man a qualified elder. Paul reminded the Ephesian elders of this truth in Acts 20:28 when he said it was the Holy Spirit who made them overseers. This tells us that such a call to the pastoral office is supernatural. It’s not what men decide they want to be but what God sets men apart to be. Hence, it is the Holy Spirit who fashions and prunes and fits the man for the ministry.

Second, since it is the Holy Spirit who fits the man for the eldership, then He will raise up such men in a church in His timing. This is where we must learn patience in waiting on the Lord to do what only He can do. If we rush ahead in this matter, then we’ll have elders of our making rather than God’s. The Holy Spirit is the One ordering and governing the season and time when a church is ready for more pastors. We must trust Him in this because it is only His men we should desire.

Third, since it is the Holy Spirit who fits the man for the eldership, then we should look for the graces the Spirit fashions and declares as making a man qualified for this office. This is where 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 are so crucial for a church to understand and take serious as the only credible grid to judge a man fit to be an elder. But when we study these passages, it becomes apparent how that we’re looking at a man’s life as a whole, not just what he’s able to do but what he is in his character. What is he then as a Christian man? And the answer to this question as it pertains to the eldership gets very specific with character traits that should be seen already present and making progress though not yet perfect. The main point here though, is that we’re looking for a very distinctive Christian man whose life carries those graces which can only be the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work.

Fourth, since God has given us a divine grid to judge a man’s life by as a potential elder, then our investigation must be thorough and without haste. This means that both the pastor and the congregation must have ample time to get up close and personal in the man’s life, so that a sound judgment can be made as to his fitness for this office. If there are any doubts to his qualifications that requires questions to be asked, then we should meet with this man and ask away. Making assumptions about such a man without having credible answers to our inquires; and yet, affirming him to be ordained is both folly and shame on our part (Prov. 18:13). All we have is time. There is no rush in this matter for any reason whatsoever. Thus, we should be painstakingly extensive with how much time we give in making a proper judgment as governed by 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. And let it be remembered under this context what Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:24 – “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.” While the sins of some men are clearly evident, making the judgment of the church easy as to the man’s disqualification as an elder; yet, there are other men whose sins are not so clear. They make a flawless first impression. They appear sound in all the right places. However, as tempting as it is to quickly ordain such a man, God’s Word seems to say in 1 Timothy 5:24: “Wait a minute! How well do you really know this man? Remember: the sins of some appear later. So, give it time. Slow down. Hold off. Keep investigating. Get to know this man so that your judgment can be truly credible and thereby in conformity to the Word of God.”

Fifth, don’t turn a blind eye to anything you believe could make a man unqualified as an elder. This lesson is an extra layer from the last but needs to stand out on its own. If you see things in a man’s character, his marriage or family that may not disqualify him but presently unqualify him as an elder – do not proceed to ordain him! Rather, help the brother to see whatever these things may be and endeavor to aid him in how he can grow and mature in such areas. But don’t ordain him when there is greater maturity needed in those places that will hinder him for any effective ministry, if not worked on.

Finally, beware of any man who shows up and insists the church ordain him because he knows he’s “called,” despite whatever judgment the pastor or church may have otherwise. A man like this is what the Bible calls, “self-willed” (Titus 1:7), which is what a potential elder is forbidden to be. I once engaged with a man like this in a former church I served as pastor. He was convinced he was called to the pastoral ministry, though he did not have the official support of either the present eldership nor the congregation. But in his mind and by his own personal judgment, he didn’t believe himself to be disqualified and challenged our eldership to prove he was. I tried to explain to him that the New Testament qualifications of an elder were not for the potential elder to judge himself by, but for the leadership and congregation to make their judgment of the man. Sadly, he didn’t see it this way. For him, neither the church nor its leadership had any real authority to make a qualified judgment of his life. It was his own personal judgment that was his final court of appeal. He thus departed to look for a church that would agree with him. This is a self-willed man. It is that man in 3 John 9 named, “Diotrephes,” who we’re told, “likes to put himself first” and had no regard for the authority of the apostles nor the church.

These then are the lessons I’ve learned thus far as it pertains to ordaining men as elders. I’m sure there are many more to come. As hard as it may be though to serve as a single elder, the difficulties of serving with disqualified men  far surpass the trials of a lone pastor. So then, I pray and wait patiently with eager expectation for the Lord to make His move with raising up His men in the time and season of His choosing.

By

Should the Pastor’s Door always be Opened?

The leading question to this post may seem as if it requires no amount of thought. For church members in the majority, I can hear their answer: “The pastor’s door should always be opened – no questions asked!” In other words, when it comes to the wish of church members to meet with their pastor, I have found in my own experience (not to mention, the experience of other fellow pastors) that the lion share belief is that despite the motive, attitude, and aim of the church member – pastors are beholden to bow to the demands of those they minister as it pertains to a personal conclave. But is this right – biblically? Does the Word of God bind the conscience of Christ’s under-shepherd to keep his door always opened to every whim and fancy of the sheep?

To begin with, pastors should always be willing to meet with those in their charge. If they truly love and care for those God has placed under their leadership, then when a church member makes a request to meet, a readiness to oblige their desire should stand at attention in the heart of a pastor. But such a keenness to meet on the part of the pastor, should never be without wisdom and discernment. For instance, has he already made other commitments prior to this request? Would he be breaking his word to others if he chose to meet? Is he already stretched so thin with his time, that to meet would only add more stress to his taxing schedule? And what about his family? Would this meeting infringe on their time with the man they know first as husband and father? A pastor’s family must get first dibs on his time and energy before the church ever makes such demands.

Also, has he asked the church member what is the nature of this meeting? This is a huge question which many pastors tend to either forget to ask or they’re afraid to ask because they don’t won’t to offend the church member. But this question is critical and crucial. A pastor should strive as best he can not to enter a meeting with a church member completely blind as to the matter at hand. To do so shows a naivete in the pastor whereas prudence is what he needs. If a church member refuses to disclose why he desires to meet, then the pastor would be wise to hold off. I have found more often than not, when church members have nothing insidious as to their aim in the meeting, they’ll not hesitate to express their reasons for the meeting. If their motives are pure, then they have nothing to hide before the meeting ever takes place. However, if their motives are not for good but ill, then they’ll say only they desire a meeting (in most cases). Or as I’ve heard it so many times: “Pastor, I have something I want to talk with you about…” And with those words, a pastor feels a chill in the air. He’s left hanging in suspense. This is nothing but tortuous and discourteous. Thus, it is only fair for a pastor to ask: “What do you want to talk about?” In short, the pastor has every right to judge for himself if this is a meeting worth pursuing. He therefore has the freedom and in some cases the obligation for the sake of caution, to close the door.

But as to the church member who is seeking to meet with the pastor, what should they be asking? First and foremost, what are my motives? What is it that’s driving me to meet with my pastor? Is it love or anger? 1 Corinthians 16:14 commands, “Let all that you do be done in love.” Am I pursuing this meeting out of love for my pastor? If love is not the driving motive but anger, then a church member needs to put off the meeting till they repent and put the anger to death. The wrath of man only acts foolishly, exalts folly, and stirs up strife (Prov. 14:17,29; 15:18). In addition to this, am I as the church member pursuing peace with my pastor? Let’s say a church member has a personal grievance with their pastor, an issue dividing them with Christ’s under-shepherd. How are they to resolve this? Do they meet with the pastor just to let him have it? Is the goal of their meeting only to get their digs in? If this is all they want to do then to meet with the pastor would be a sin. Romans 12:18 and Hebrews 12:14 command us to live peaceably with all by pursuing peace with all. If peace then is not the end at which the church member is endeavoring, then their purpose will not have the favor and pleasure of God. If they’re not about reconciliation but only revenge, then they need a meeting with God before they even think about meeting with their pastor.

Yet, another layer for a church member to question has to do with their respect for the pastor and his office. Romans 13:7 commands us to “Pay to all what is owed to them…respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” The context of this imperative has to do with respecting and honoring those in authority over us. God says we owe all such persons due to their authoritative office respect and honor. This includes pastors! Thus, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 calls every church member to respect and esteem their pastors highly in love for the sake of their work. A church member then who refuses to show this respect for their pastors is sinning against God’s direct command. But what’s more, if they are pursuing a meeting with their pastor they must ask themselves: Do I love this brother and respect him as the man of God placed over me for my spiritual welfare? Do I esteem him highly in love for the sake of his work? If a church member cannot answer in the affirmative to these questions, then he has no business meeting with his pastor. Sadly, what I have witnessed in so many churches, is the total absence of respect and love for the pastor –  because his sacred office is profaned by the idea that a pastor is nothing more but an “indentured servant” than the man of God. In fact, there are church members who believe it is their right to treat God’s man any way they choose because there’s nothing holy about his calling. How shameful and disgraceful is such an attitude! But if this is an attitude burning in the heart of a church member who’s pursuing a meeting with their pastor, they need to stop and reprove themselves by seeking God’s forgiveness and the mortification of what amounts to nothing but disdain for God’s delegated authority over them.

So then, returning to our leading question, “Should the pastor’s door always be opened?” – what would be the right answer as guided by Scripture? For one thing, God’s providence may not permit it (Dan. 2:21; Rev. 3:7). Hence, “always” is expecting too much. Second, the pastor himself must walk circumspectly not foolishly (Eph. 5:15). While he should believe the best and hope the best as opposed to being cynical and suspicious (1 Cor. 13:7); yet, he cannot afford to throw caution and prudence to the wind. Asking what the meeting is about is a fair and appropriate question! Lastly, as to the church member pursuing the meeting, remember this chiefly: “Whatever you want men to do to you, do likewise to them” (Matt. 7:12). How would you want the pastor to treat you if he sought a meeting with you? Then treat him the same way. This means above all, let the love of Christ dictate your motives, words, and actions for meeting with the man of God given to you by Christ.

By

Growing Tired of God’s Word

When Paul wrote his first epistle to his faithful protege and apostolic delegate, Timothy, he had much to instruct Timothy on who not only qualifies to be a pastor (1 Tim. 3:1-8), but how they are to be treated while holding such a sacred office. We find this specified in 1 Timothy 5:17-21. Nestled within this passage is a divine imperative which, I dare say, is little known to the vast majority of professing Christians (at least those I’ve known for thirty years, and especially those I have served as pastor). It’s frankly one of those texts that would be skimmed over. It’s 1 Timothy 5:19, where Paul directs Timothy as it concerns the pastoral leadership: “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.” 

The “charge” which Paul is referring to is a public charge in the form of an accusation. And the command which the apostle is setting forth is that no public accusation brought against a pastor or elder should ever be entertained, unless it can be corroborated on the “evidence” of two or three witnesses. Note the qualifiers. There must be evidence, not hearsay or conjecture or fabrication. You have to have facts. This is another way of repeating the ninth commandment, but in application to how pastors must be treated in the local church: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod. 20:16).  But in addition to facts, there must be witnesses who can give credibility to the charge. This mandate is simply an echo of Old Testament law in Deuteronomy 19:15, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be established.” The point in this principle is that more than one person is required to sustain a charge and secure a conviction. Thus, when it comes to pastors, there cannot be any indictment brought against them unless there are others in the church who can affirm the charge that is made. However, even the witnesses themselves must have proof which backs up the allegation! It is possible to round up so-called “witnesses” to affirm a charge but without the concrete verification of what’s being said. Just recall how our Lord Himself was falsely accused by more than one witness (see Matt. 26:59-61).

But one might ask in the light of 1 Timothy 5:19 – Why? Why would pastors be given by God what appears to be a special hedge of protection like this? Well, for one thing, there’s nothing unique about this mandate for pastors than what God has always laid down for any of His people when it comes to allegations made against them. Remember Deuteronomy 19:15. And yet, while this imperative holds true for all in the church, it is important to recognize why the Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to set this hedge up in particular for His undershepherds. It’s as if 1 Timothy 5:19 is taking a highlight marker and making it clear for a local church, that when it comes to how their pastors are treated, special care must be given that their reputations are not mercilessly assaulted and destroyed due to factious reports.

John Calvin (1509-1564) wrote and expounded much on the instruction of 1 Timothy 5:19. I have personally found both his understanding and application insightful, encouraging, and sobering. In his commentary on this passage, he said: “[1 Timothy 5:19] is a necessary remedy against the malice of men; for none are more liable to slanders and calumnies than godly teachers. Not only does it arise from the difficulty of their office, that sometimes they either sink under it, or stagger, or halt, or blunder, in consequence of which wicked men seize many occasions for finding fault with them; but there is this additional vexation, that, although they perform their duty correctly…they never escape a thousand censures.”

But what is ultimately behind such “censures” against the man of God? Let’s consider further from Calvin. Here, he pulls back the veil, as it were, to help us see who and what is at the bottom of this and what is really going on: “Who is behind all this if not Satan, who cooks up every kind of mischief in his shop? The best way he has of making us tire of God’s word is to find fault with ministers…When rumors begin to fly and when they are believed, they put people off the word of God which loses the authority and respect it ought to have for us. Thus Paul was justified in forbidding us, by way of privilege, to accept any hasty charge brought against ministers of God’s word.” So as Calvin reasons, what is chiefly behind the mandate of 1 Timothy 5:19 has as much to do with preserving the authority of God’s Word as it does with protecting God’s man. For when the man of God is discredited by false accusations, so does the Word of God suffer as well – which His undershepherds had preached so faithfully. As Calvin put it, “The whole of God’s church, then, should be concerned when men speak ill of ministers and are critical of the lives they lead. Why? Because God’s word no longer has the majesty it ought to have.”

Let’s think about this. Since it is the calling of God to send forth men to proclaim His Word, then no weapon could do greater damage to the preached Word than to slander the one preaching it. For if the rumors are believed, then the weight and solemnity of what the pastor taught from Scripture loses it’s heavenly splendor. This is Calvin’s point. And it is deeply insightful. For it is helping us to see that more is at stake for the church when credible pastors are discredited.

But to add one more layer to the mandate of 1 Timothy 5:19, Calvin digs a little deeper from the angle of those who do the discrediting. He writes: “Not only is this the devil’s stratagem, we see also that we are much too credulous and sensitive to the merest whiff of rumor. When  something bad is said about ministers of God’s Word we are quick too credit it. We itch, or so it seems, to hear them slandered. Seeing how prevalent this fault is, we need to apply the right and effective remedy, not in order to excuse the individual but to defend the truth whose servants and ministers we are. To be sure envy and ill-will are ingrained in human nature. Men are always disposed if they can to apportion blame and snap and snarl at those whose task is to correct them…As it is, God’s ministers open their mouths to condemn offences, to issue warnings and to tell of God’s threats. Those who are reproved and who are stung where it hurts are provoked and inflamed, and will not rest until they have a chance to get their own back on those who have rebuked them. And although they are without excuse they do not cease to plot and scheme.”

What Calvin describes here is the all too common trial which every pastor faces who preaches the whole counsel of God. There are always those in the congregation who are so chafed by God’s Word due to their own sin and rebellion, that rather than repent they retaliate. And their retaliation is to vilify and defame the man of God. It is to bear false witness against him in as many ways as they can conjure up in order to trample the Word of God. I have seen this in the experiences of fellow pastors, and I myself have been on the receiving end of such brutal denigration. Yet, what every pastor who faces such tribulation must remember, is that those who make it their aim to blacken the name of God’s man, are only doing this out of their contempt and anger at God Himself. They are tired of hearing one more sermon from Holy Scripture calling them to flee sin and pursue holiness. They’re incensed over the constant reminder that all they do is to be done for God’s glory. They don’t want the Word of God holding them accountable for the way they live their lives. They just want God to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to their worldliness. But since God will never concede to such carnal fancies, these rebels take out their malice on God’s man – which in truth, is their malice against God.

It is for these reasons then, that God has hedged in His undershepherds with 1 Timothy 5:19. When John Calvin closed his exposition of this text, he left his congregation in 1555 with relevant words for us in 2018. He declared: “Whenever there are unsavory rumors about preachers, we should suspect the devil, for slander is his stock-in-trade. We should make careful inquiry. I do not say that we should shut our eyes when some wrong is made known to us, or that we should stop our ears so that we hear nothing. Nor, on the other hand, supposing something bad is said about ministers, should we immediately poke about to see if it is true. No, we should always take careful thought…remembering that the devil loves to make us weary of ministers so that we turn from God’s word and hate it, or else give it less importance than it deserves. Armed with this thought may we always be cautious, taking care not to rush to judgment; and if we find that ministers are being unfairly accused, we should detest those who spread such false reports. Why? Because they are Satan’s lackeys, tools he uses to sow tares so that God’s seed does not grow or bear fruit in us.”