1 Timothy 5:22-25: The Manifestations of One’s Works
2021-11-13
1 Timothy 5:22
Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22)
Herein are two extremes. Laying hands suddenly on someone is being quick to accuse someone of a fault or sin. It could end up being a false accusation (cf. Luke 3:14; 19:8; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 2:3). The Scriptures say, “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him” (Proverbs 18:13).
The other extreme is being a “partaker of other men’s sins.” If another’s sin is purposefully overlooked, Timothy becomes a partaker of that sin. The sin that is enabled is condoned. An example is Pilate: “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it” (Matthew 27:24). He knew what was right but abdicated his responsibility in the matter. He had the power to stop the crucifixion, and he did not. He is just as guilty as the Jews and other Romans. The willfully ignorant is just as guilty as the active participants.
When Paul said to Timothy, “keep thyself pure,” he needed to not be quick to accuse, but be quick to confront sin when it truly was apparent. We also cannot jump the gun on accusing others of sin, but once sin is apparent, we need to be prepared to act. It does not matter who the perpetrator is.
Being partaker of others’ sins also could be secretly in sin when no one is looking. The Lord is looking all the time. Even though it may not be obvious, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). More on this subject in 1 Timothy 5:24.
The goal is to “keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). It is not just keeping the church pure, but also oneself. Timothy, in either being a quick accuser or an enabler of sin, could compromise his authority. Impurity would then become the model the church would replicate.
1 Timothy 5:23
This verse seems very out of place here at first. What does Timothy’s beverage diet have anything to do other people’s sins? Verses 22 and 24 specifically deal with others’ sins, and this is nestled in the midst. If this verse exists here, and the Spirit is intentional in what He writes through the apostles, it must be related.
My best interpretation is this: Timothy did not like confrontation, just like this Timothy that speaks to you now doesn’t. Interpersonal communication might not even be easy for him. The amount of stress that has gone into this church plant probably has affected him, to the point it was making him sick to his stomach. I am not for sure, but if the verse is located here, the interpretation seems plausible.
Like anyone, he probably mainly drank water. Not being an expert in the diet of the first century Levant, my guess is that the abundance of beverage choices we have here in the 21st century New World was not available then. Water is what there is. The other is “wine.” While we might always think that wine refers to some sort of booze, that does not have to be the case (cf. John 2:1-12; there is a study on this). If it were juice, it has more vitamins and nutrients that would help him during all the stress and long working hours of the church plant.
1 Timothy 5:24-25
The previous verses talked a lot about the confronting of sin. Initially, it was about elders, and then it was about people in general. In verse 24, we see that there are two ways that sin is manifested in people.
First, there are sins that are obvious to all. These are easy to confront. However, there are other sins that are hidden. These might be discovered in the distant future, or even before the judgment seat of Christ.
Consider the previous verses. If sin leads to such exposure, embarrassment, and public humiliation, people are going to hide it. People want the community of Christ while having their sin as well. People can intentionally conceal things very well, and bring them to the grave, if the Lord does not expose it first.
Previously, we spoke a lot about elders and deacons. This is why elders should be blameless and not a novice (1 Timothy 3:2, 6) and why deacons must be proved (1 Timothy 3:10). How do we walk with God over the long haul? Or is our walk with God sinusoidal? Knowing someone for a long time helps answer this question.
An example of a man whose sin followed afterwards was Joash king of Judah (2 Chronicles 24). He did everything right while Jehoiada was alive. After his mentor the priest was dead (2 Chronicles 24:17), he became a wicked man, succumbing to the princes’ wicked desires and executed Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. Was Joash really a good man while Jehoiada was alive? Or was Jehoiada a force for good in his life that suppressed the king’s evilness, and his true character was revealed when that goodness was removed?
Also, there are sins in our lives that we do not even know about. “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Proverbs 20:5). We might not be intentionally concealing them. We just make assumptions that a particular attitude or thought is not sinful, but as the Lord works on us, we find out that it is indeed sin.
Likewise, good works work in the same way. There are people who seem to have a lot of good works. Others, might work more behind the scenes: “they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” Consider the poor wise man in Ecclesiastes 9:15-18. The poor wise man saved the city but was afterwards forgotten. However, this nameless man had a profound impact on a multitude by saving them. His deeds will not be forgotten before the Lord.