NOTES for Ti1 5:19

Returning to the theme of the presbyterate and the laying on of hands, Paul calls Timothy to special caution regarding accusations brought against presbyters (vv. 17-20), as well as to prudence regarding the laying on of hands (v. 22).

These instructions are not accidental; they are connected with the very essence of the relationships that bind the members of the church community to one another. The Church consists of those who seek the Kingdom and live in it, but each has his own measure of rootedness in the new life. Until the end of time, no Christian can be absolutely sure of his salvation, just as no Christian can be completely freed from the power of sin. A constant struggle must be waged against it both by individual members of the Church and by the church communities of which the Church actually consists.

In a certain sense there is always something of which each Christian can be accused and convicted, because full freedom from sin still lies ahead even for members of the Church. And while the war with the forces of darkness continues - for the Church as a whole, and with personal sins for each Christian - the stumblings, breakdowns, and failures of those who are most visible, who most often and for the longest time stand in public view, become especially noticeable. Such are, for example, the presbyters mentioned by the apostle, those who labor "in word and in teaching" (v. 17). That is why caution in judgment and condemnation is especially important here. It is no accident that Paul requires accusations brought against presbyters to be accepted only if they are confirmed by no fewer than two witnesses (v. 19).

Such a procedure is prescribed by the Torah for cases in which the accusation allows the possibility that a court may impose a death sentence (Deut 17:6). As is clear, the apostle looks at accusations brought against presbyters as accusations deserving death. Of course, in this case the issue was not capital punishment, but rather possible excommunication. Yet the point was not only that. The point, above all, was that a presbyter who consciously does something that profanes his ministry loses the Kingdom and the gifts he received during the laying on of hands. That is why it was fundamentally important to understand, in each concrete case, whether the matter concerned an involuntary sin, which is practically inevitable for everyone, whatever spiritual gifts a minister may possess, or a conscious sin after which the minister ceases to be a minister.

And the issue is not only that an error in judgment could turn into monstrous injustice for the accused. The point is that a false accusation in this case destroys the spiritual space, the space of the Kingdom, inside which alone the Church can exist. Of course, a church community where such an injustice has occurred can outwardly continue its existence, but it will inevitably lose what constitutes the foundation of the Church. Only an appearance will remain, one that can sometimes deceive seekers, but can never give them what it promises. And Paul warns Timothy against committing this terrible mistake, a mistake that can destroy the Church by depriving the faithful of the Kingdom.