In the letters to Timothy, Paul gave clear instructions about the structure and the behavior of the church. В 1 Тимоти 5:22, Paul instructed Timothy to lay hands suddenly on no man. But what did Paul mean by lay hands suddenly on no man? Because Jesus commanded His disciples to lay hands on the sick and they would recover. Does the Bible contradict Itself? Нет, the Bible doesn’t contradict Itself and shall never contradict Itself. Потому что the Word of God is the Truth and therefore the Bible is reliable and trustworthy. The Word doesn’t lie. But we should read the Scriptures in the right context. Как писалось ранее, тот Bible is a spiritual guide для born-again believers, who have become a spiritual new creation. When the spirit of a person is not raised from the dead yet, the person will not be able to comprehend or understand the Bible; Слово Божье. Because of the fact that the person will not be able to comprehend or understand the Bible, (с)he shall find contradictions in the Bible. Сейчас, let’s have a look at what Paul meant when Paul commanded Timothy to not lay hands suddenly on no man.
What does lay hands suddenly on no man mean?
Не возлагайте руки внезапно ни на кого., neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure (1 Тимоти 5:22)
When we read 1 Тимоти 5:22 in the context, we can conclude that 1 Тимоти 5:22 has nothing to do with the laying on of hands on the sick. Because as written before, Jesus commanded His followers to lay hands on the sick. Paul walked after the Spirit in obedience to the Word, therefore Paul would never contradict the Word and disobey the Word, but confirm the Word.
In Timothy 5:22 Paul didn’t speak about the sick, but Paul spoke about an elder, who had committed a sin, which was confirmed by two or three witnesses (Читайте также: ‘Why did Timothy had to rebuke a sinning elder before all man in the church?')
When Paul instructed Timothy to not lay hands on someone too hasty, Paul meant that Timothy should not be too hasty to:
- Ordain or appoint a believer as an elder in the congregation
- Re-ordain or reinstate an elder, who had committed sin
A person was ordained by the laying on of hands
Someone was ordained in ministry and put into position through the custom of laying on of hands. We also read this in the Book of Acts:
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them (Действия 6:5-6)
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away (Действия 13:2-3)
Timothy was not allowed to reinstate a sinning elder too hasty, by the laying on of hands.
He had to be sure, that the person was profitable to function as an elder and to be an example and spiritual leader to the believers.
Timothy had to be sure, that a person was godly, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and walked according to the Word.
An elder had to live a holy life and be an example to the believers. An elder was not allowed to walk in rebellion against God, which means that the elder was not allowed to walk in sin. Because how can an ambassador of the Kingdom of God walk at the same time in the kingdom of darkness and represent the latter one, by walking after the flesh in sin?
If Timothy would appoint a sinning person as an elder or reinstate a sinning elder, then Timothy would also become a partaker of sin.
This spiritual rule applied to the church then, but it still applies to the church today. Sin means rebellion against God and His Word. Когда ты родиться заново, you are redeemed from your sinful rebellious nature, who always resists and rebels against the Word of God. Therefore if you really have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, then you won’t rebel anymore.
Love God above all
Когда ты родишься свыше, you won’t rebel against the Word, but submit yourself to the Word of God and obey Him. Because you don’t want to do anything that displeases Him, or defile, damage, or hurt the Kingdom of God.
All you want to do is to please God and exalt Him! That’s the desire of the new heart of the new creation. Сейчас, if you want to please and exalt God, then you will be obedient to His will; Его заповеди.
You will do, what He wants you to do and what He has commanded you to do.
Regeneration means to be set apart by God and be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. Хотя ты живешь в этом мире, ты больше не принадлежишь этому миру.
You belong to Jesus Christ and the Father, and therefore you shall obey God and His Word. You shall do what He says and not do what the world (дьявол) говорит. Помнить, you will obey the person, you believe in and love.
Living a holy life?
How could Timothy tell, if someone was living a holy life? There were two ways to judge if someone was living a holy and sanctified life:
- By the discernment of spirits, через Святого Духа
- By looking at the fruit of a person’s life (including family life)
Sometimes someone can be very pious in his or her appearance and act religiously correct in front of people, but as soon as there are no people around and when no one is looking, the person can do things in secret that goes against the will of God. The person can live some kind ofскрытый double life. В этом случае, only the Holy Spirit can reveal the works and therefore the heart of the person. The Holy Spirit can tell you, if this person is really as pious as he presents himself or not.
God is omnipotent and sees everything
God is omnipotent and sees everything! Nothing is hidden before God. God will reveal every dark hidden place in someone’s life. When a person thinks that God doesn’t see, что (с)he is doing, only proves that this person doesn’t know God nor the Word; Иисус.
The Holy Spirit knows what’s inside a person’s heart and He alone can reveal those things, which are hidden from man’s natural eyes. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit in our lives and obey Him, so that we will have spiritual eyes and be able to discern the spirits.
Walking after the flesh
Ходить в Духе, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Галатам 5:16 КЯВ)
When someone is ordained in ministry and sins and/or perseveres in sin, it shows that the sinning person doesn’t walk after the Spirit but after the flesh. Because if a person walks after the Spirit, (с)he shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, which leads to sin.
The flesh with all its lusts and desires has died in Christ and therefore no longer lives. This means if someone keeps doing the works of the flesh it proves that the flesh has not died in Christ but is still alive.
An evil heart of unbelief
Besides proving that the person walks after the flesh, it shows that there is evil in the heart of the person. Потому что написано:
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, прелюбодеяния, блуд, убийства, Thefts, жадность, злоба, обман, похотливость, an evil eye, богохульство, гордость, глупость: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man (Отметка 7:21-23)
Берегись, братья, чтобы не было в ком из вас злого сердца неверия, в отступлении от живого Бога. Но наставляйте друг друга ежедневно, пока это называется Сегодня; чтобы кто из вас не ожесточился обольстительностью греха (иврит 3:12-14)
A minister has responsibilities towards God, Иисус, Святой Дух, and the believers.
Поэтому, a minister should live a holy life devoted to God. Because if a minister doesn’t live a holy life and in secret commits sin, then the whole congregation will become a partaker of his/her sin.
Кроме того, if a minister habitually lives in sin, it proves that the devil has authority over his/her life and the minister is a slave of the devil, instead of a slave of Christ.
Keep the church; the body of Jesus Christ clean
Timothy was a gatekeeper of the church; тело Христа. His task was to keep the church; тело Христа, clean and holy and to prevent the body from being defiled. That’s why Paul instructed Timothy to lay hands suddenly on no man; to not (ре)ordain or reinstate someone too quickly in ministry.
Paul knew, that there would be a considerable chance, that after a while, the person would do it again and would fall back into the same sin and/or commit another sin.
The cross means saying farewell to the flesh; the sinful rebellious nature, that can’t submit to the will of God.
What does lay hands suddenly mean for the church Today?
Paul commanded Timothy to lay hands on no man suddenly. What Paul commanded Timothy to do, still applies to the church today. In Today’s ministry, leaders should not be too hasty to lay hands and re-ordain or reinstate someone, who committed sin or still walks in sin. Nor should leaders be too hasty to ordain someone in ministry, who is a new convert. Let the new convert, прежде всего, be discipled and mature spiritually. Let him or her do the things that Jesus has commanded every believer to do, which are to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ; слово, lay hands on the sick, изгонять демонов, и т. д..
Nowadays, there are many leaders in ministry, who fall into sin. In some cases, the person will be dismissed and removed from ministry for a short period of time. The sinning leader confesses his or her sins, repents or blames someone else, and in no time, the leader will be reinstated.
Especially when the person is an acquaintance, друг, or family member of the pastor, в другом месте, leaders of the church, church board, и т. д..
But this is not the way the Word commands us to deal with a sinning elder or other leaders in ministry.
В этом возрасте, people deal so easily with sin. Many times sins are being condoned, принял, and considered normal. Почему? Because many believers say: “We all sin, we are all sinners”, “Times have changed, we live in a different time now”, “We must love and not condemn” etc.
But these are all lies from the devil! And because of these lies, there are only a handful of believers, who are longing for a sanctified and holy life in Jesus Christ.
Many believers fall back into the same
Many believers sin, покаяться, continue with their lives, and in no time fall back into the same old sin. There is oftenno true remorse and true repentance anymore. Потому что иначе, the believer wouldn’t fall back into the same sin again and again.
Кроме того, the cause of sin is not being acknowledged nor recognized by many (плотской) believers, because the root of sin is spiritual and not carnal. That’s why people fall back into the same old sin over and over again.
The unclean spirit, who lives in a person and leads the person to sin is not being tackled (cast out). The carnal believer will try to overcome sin out of the flesh, но (с)he will never succeed.
If there is sin present in the leadership of the church, how much more will sin be present in the lives of the believers?
Что такое грех?
Как писалось ранее, sin is rebellion against the Word of God; Его воля. It means that you won’t receive and follow up His words and do His words. Вместо, you adjust and change His Word to your carnal will, вожделения, и желания. And so the Word of God is changed and adjusted to the will, вожделения, and desires of man.
When you realize this, you can conclude that many leaders and churches walk in sin. They walk in rebellion against God and His Word.
They think they please Him, но на самом деле, they are pleasing and serving the devil, by denying the Word of God and by adjusting and changing the Word to the knowledge of this world and to the carnal will, желание, and lusts of man.
Many churches are no longer founded on the Word. But they are founded upon the knowledge of this world and upon their own philosophies, мнения, Выводы, и опыт. But worldly knowledge and man’s opinions, Выводы, and experiences don’t make the truth. Only the Word of God is and will always remain the Truth.
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