A Matter of Honor
1 Timothy 5:17-6:2
Imagine hearing the same accusation about two different people. One is someone you respect—a close friend, a trusted teacher, or someone who has helped you. The other is someone you already find difficult.
Would you ask the same questions? Would you require the same evidence? Would you be equally willing to acknowledge wrongdoing if it were established?
Our relationships can influence how we respond to people. We may find it easy to honor someone we admire, difficult to correct someone we love, or easy to dismiss someone we dislike. That raises a question for us: What should govern the way we treat people in God’s household?
Earlier in this letter, Paul explained that he was writing so Timothy would know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, the church of the living God—1 Timothy 3:14–15. Timothy had been left in Ephesus to address different teaching—1:3. The church needed faithful teaching and conduct consistent with that teaching.
In chapter 5, Paul has already addressed relationships within the congregation and the care of widows. Now he turns to the treatment of elders, Timothy’s responsibility in evaluating others, and the conduct of enslaved believers toward their masters.
These circumstances differ, but notice the repeated concern with honor. Widows are to be honored in 5:3. Faithful elders are to receive double honor in 5:17. Enslaved believers are instructed to honor their masters in 6:1. What that honor requires is explained in each setting.
As we work through this passage, watch what Paul commands, the reasons he gives, and the people he is addressing. Those details will help us move carefully from what the passage meant to its first readers to how its principles apply to us.
God’s people are to honor faithful service, handle sin impartially, exercise discernment, and conduct themselves with concern for God’s name and teaching.
17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
Paul begins with elders who lead well. Here, “elders” refers to church leaders: the verse identifies their responsibilities as leading and teaching. Earlier, in chapter 3, Paul described the character and abilities expected of an overseer. Here he addresses how faithful leadership should be treated.
Notice the words “who rule well.” Paul connects this honor with the faithful exercise of responsibility. He then gives particular attention to those who labor in preaching and teaching. As we’ve discussed before, teachers are held to a much stricter judgement as it says in James 3:1. To that point, the same verse tells us not everyone is called to be teachers.
Teaching is described as labor. You not only have to share it, you have to observe it, gather context on, interpret the text, then test that interpretation against the rest of the Bible systematically, then you have to convey it in a way that it can be applied, all while letting the text deal with you all the same. This doesn’t include the sometimes countless hours studying the meaning behind only a few short words, finding original translations, comparing commentaries from credible theologians and authors, and much more. Labor indeed it is. Paul says these elders should be considered worthy of “double honor.” What does that involve?
The next verse helps answer the question. Verse 18 begins with “For.” Paul is giving the reason for what he has just commanded.
He first quotes Deuteronomy 25:4, concerning an ox treading out grain. The animal doing the work was not to be prevented from eating. He then gives the statement about a worker receiving wages, which matches Jesus’ words in Luke 10:7.
7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
Both statements concern a worker receiving provision. That makes material support part of the honor described here. Paul makes a similar argument in 1 Corinthians 9:7–14, where he uses the command about the ox to explain the right of gospel workers to receive support.
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
A: Its references to food and wages show that the instruction includes practical, material support for faithful ministry.
We should be careful about pressing the word “double” beyond what the passage explains. Respect together with financial support is a common way of understanding the expression. What we can establish from the paragraph is that faithful elders deserve substantial recognition, including provision for their work. Paul does not give a salary formula or specify an amount to double.
This gives us a principle for interpreting Scripture: Read the instruction together with the reason the author gives for it. If we separate verse 17 from verse 18, we can miss an important part of what Paul means.
For the church today, this means considering whether we recognize and appropriately support the people who faithfully labor in teaching and leadership. Encouragement, gratitude, and material provision are concrete matters to examine.
It also gives those who teach a question to ask themselves: Am I taking this responsibility seriously? The honor described in the passage accompanies faithful service. Those entrusted with teaching should give careful attention to the work they have received.
That is a question for the congregation to consider. Paul’s instruction calls us to recognize the benefit we receive and respond appropriately.
Great leadership in the church comes with great responsibilities, even discipline… (point 2)
19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.
Paul now addresses accusations against an elder. Timothy must not accept a charge merely because someone has made it. The requirement for two or three witnesses has a biblical background in Deuteronomy 19:15–19, where charges require corroborating testimony and disputed testimony requires careful investigation.
A person’s reputation should be treated seriously. Repeating an accusation does not establish that it is true. Our confidence in a claim should be governed by the evidence supporting it.
But we must keep reading. In verse 20, the text identifies those who “persist in sin” as the people to be rebuked. Elders remain the immediate focus of the paragraph, so the most natural contextual reading includes elders whose continuing sin has been established.
Paul places two responsibilities together: handle accusations carefully and address wrongdoing seriously. Both belong to faithful oversight.
A: We can turn a protection against unsupported accusations into an excuse for avoiding the accountability Paul commands.
A: We can act against someone without the careful establishment of a charge that Paul requires.
The rebuke is to take place in the sight of all, with the stated purpose that others also fear. The congregation is a common understanding of the audience, although the precise scope of “all” is debated. What is clear is that the correction has a public warning function: others are to understand the seriousness of sin.
Then Paul gives Timothy a solemn charge in the presence of God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels. This places Timothy’s actions under divine scrutiny. He must carry out these responsibilities without prejudgment and without favoritism.
Think again about the opening illustration. If two people face the same accusation, would friendship change the evidence we require? Would we minimize the wrongdoing of someone we admire? Would we assume the guilt of someone we dislike?
These are the kinds of questions the command against partiality brings before us. Personal loyalty must not determine what we are willing to acknowledge. Personal dislike must not determine what we are willing to believe.
The direct responsibility in this paragraph belongs to Timothy in the oversight of the church. There is also a clear application for the congregation: refuse gossip, support careful examination of accusations, and take established sin seriously.
For those in leadership, this means being willing to address wrongdoing even when doing so is personally difficult. For everyone else, it means refusing to pressure leaders toward an outcome based on preference or loyalty.
The passage calls for the kind of fairness that protects people from false accusations and holds people accountable for actual wrongdoing.
Paul then moves from handling accusations to Timothy’s responsibility in recognizing and endorsing others.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
The most likely reference to laying on hands here concerns appointing or commissioning leaders. The surrounding discussion concerns elders, and 1 Timothy 4:14 has already connected the laying on of hands with Timothy’s ministry.
The verse itself does not explicitly identify the ceremony, so this is a conclusion drawn from the context. On that reading, Timothy must be careful about whom he publicly recognizes and entrusts with responsibility. This aligns as a common practice we see in scripture going as far back as when Moses laid hands on Joshua to commission him to lead God’s people in the promised land. Numbers 27:18–23
Why does Paul feel the need to say “Do not be hasty” in regards to laying on of hands?
Because an appointment affects the people who will receive that person’s leadership and teaching. Endorsement carries responsibility. Timothy is warned against taking part in the sins of others, and he must guard his own purity in the process.
Read that alongside the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1–7. Those qualifications include character, the ability to teach, the management of one’s household, and a good reputation with outsiders. These are matters that require meaningful observation.
Someone may make a strong first impression. They may speak confidently or demonstrate considerable ability. The church still needs to know whether their life meets the qualifications Scripture gives.
It may reveal little about their private conduct, their response to correction, their treatment of others, or their consistency over time.
Before Paul develops the point about what becomes visible over time, he gives Timothy a personal instruction in verse 23.
23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
Why does Paul randomly throw this in here?
No one's 100% clear, the best conclusion I’ve found to be applicable here is Paul following up on some side instruction for Timothy after saying “keep yourself pure”. We should take this verse seriously on its own terms. Timothy had stomach trouble and frequent illnesses, and Paul directed him to use a little wine in connection with those conditions.
There is an identifiable historical parallel for this kind of advice. The Roman medical writer Celsus (Aulus Cornelius Celsus) discussed wine in connection with stomach complaints in On Medicine 1.8.1. That shows that using wine for such complaints was an ancient medicinal practice. It does not establish Timothy’s precise illness or show that Paul was depending on Celsus.
Again, 1 Timothy 4:4
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
We should also notice what Paul leaves unstated. He does not identify the cause of Timothy’s illness. He does not say that contaminated water caused it, and he does not explain why Timothy had been drinking only water.
Those details should not be supplied as though they were historical facts.
A: The instruction is addressed to Timothy for particular physical conditions. Any broader application must account for that personal setting.
One appropriate application is that physical needs deserve practical attention in ministry. Timothy was entrusted with significant spiritual responsibilities while also experiencing frequent illness. His bodily needs remained a legitimate concern.
Paul then returns to what becomes evident about people:
24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
The ESV uses “conspicuous” (greek:prodēlos (prod'-ay-los) -openly evident, known to all, manifest) for what is clearly evident. Some wrongdoing is readily apparent. Other wrongdoing becomes apparent later. Paul makes a corresponding observation about good works: some are obvious, while others are initially less visible.
The precise reference of “judgment” is debated. It may emphasize human evaluation, final divine judgment, or their relationship. The contrast in these verses remains clear: what is evident immediately does not tell us everything.
That helps explain the need for patience in verse 22. If character is not always immediately apparent, Timothy must avoid careless endorsement.
This also keeps us from assuming that the most noticeable person is necessarily the most faithful. Some good works receive little attention at first. Careful evaluation considers the substance of a person’s life.
For the church, the application is to allow time for character to become evident and to use biblical qualifications when recognizing leaders. The passage establishes the need for care; it does not prescribe a particular waiting period.
For each of us, there is another direct concern: “keep yourself pure” (v. 22, ESV). We must examine our own lives while considering the lives of others.
Again, reputation really does matter.
Timothy must exercise discernment toward others and personal faithfulness before God. Both responsibilities belong together.
6 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants[] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
Teach and urge these things.
Before applying these verses, we need to identify the original situation. Paul is addressing enslaved believers. The language of bondservants under a yoke refers to people living within slavery.
Bondservants in Roman times meant different things. There was true slavery as we know it, but a lot of what we call occupations were under the term slavery. Doctors, lawyers, farmers, stablemen, etc. They were compensated, provided for, highly respected, but usually owned/claimed by an individual.
Verse 1 addresses enslaved believers generally and tells them to regard their masters as worthy of honor. Then Paul gives the reason: concern that God’s name and the teaching should not be “reviled.” This means being spoken against or treated with contempt.
A: He connects their conduct with how God’s name and Christian teaching would be regarded.
The concern with conduct and reputation has appeared elsewhere in this letter. An overseer must have a good reputation with outsiders in 3:7. Here, too, the behavior of believers has implications beyond themselves.
Then verse 2 addresses a particular situation: an enslaved believer whose master is also a believer. Paul recognizes that shared Christian brotherhood could become a reason for disrespect, and he directly forbids that response.
Instead, he points to their shared faith as a reason to serve with greater care. The people benefiting are believers and beloved. Their identity as brothers matters to the way they are treated.
These verses give instructions within an existing institution. They do not contain a command to emancipate slaves, and they do not explicitly argue that slavery is morally good. Broader conclusions about Scripture and slavery require consideration of additional passages.
For example, we remember that in Philemon 15–17, Paul asks that Onesimus be received as a beloved brother. In Colossians 4:1, masters are instructed to act with justice and fairness, remembering their own Master in heaven. Those passages add responsibilities and perspectives that should remain in view when teaching this subject.
We should consider what our conduct leads people to associate with our Christian profession. We cannot control every judgment others make, but we are responsible for how we live and represent Christ.
To the relationship between believing master and believing servant, shared faith should deepen our concern for the people we serve. Knowing someone as a fellow believer gives us reason to take their good seriously. We should fulfill our responsibilities honestly. If we work with another Christian, shared faith should encourage reliability and care. It should not become an excuse to neglect agreed responsibilities or presume upon that relationship.
For example, someone might think, “They go to church with me, so they will understand if I repeatedly leave my work for them to finish.” A better application of Christian brotherhood would be to take greater care with the responsibility because we value the person affected by it.
How we treat people reveals how seriously we take the truth we profess. When we honor faithful service, address sin without favoritism, exercise patient discernment, and serve others faithfully, we put that truth into practice.
Ask yourself, where does your conduct need to catch up with your confession in life?
Let the truth we confess be visible in the honor we give, the judgments we make, the integrity we guard, and the service we offer.
Honor faithful teachers through appropriate encouragement and practical support.
Handle accusations carefully and address established sin without favoritism.
Give character time to become evident before entrusting someone with spiritual leadership.
Examine your own integrity while evaluating the conduct of others.
Fulfill your responsibilities with concern for others and for the reputation of God’s name.
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius. On Medicine. Translated by W. G. Spencer, vol. 1, Harvard UP, 1935. LacusCurtius, edited by Bill Thayer,
. Accessed 24 Sept. 2026.