Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others' sins. Keep thyself pure.
Paul has just told Timothy to handle church discipline without prejudice or favouritism. Now he warns him not to approve another man too fast, because that approval costs something.
Commentators read the act as a public sign of shared standing, not a transfer of office.
In Scripture to lay hands on another is the sign of fellowship, rather than the communication of authority as Christendom teaches. A false generosity can look big-hearted while it carelessly extends fellowship to people who are going a wrong way. In this way we may put our approval on evil and share in other men's sins. We are to keep ourselves pure, an instruction that clearly proves our associations can defile us.
The act appears in several settings in Scripture, so it cannot be tied to one ceremony.
There was also the laying on of hands as the induction to office, as Moses laid his hands on Joshua, and gave him a charge from the Lord as his successor. The apostles also laid hands on the men chosen to take charge of the poor, Acts 6:6... Hands were laid on Paul and Barnabas as a mark of commendation and fellowship when they were sent out on their missionary journey. Acts 13:3... The sick were often cured by the laying on of hands. Christendom has copied this apostolic action and badly misused it, claiming that it gives a man a status and passes on spiritual blessing. If people treated it as a simple recognition and mark of fellowship in service, it would be a scriptural act.
Commentators differ. Some hold that elders are included. Others point out that Scripture never records hands being laid on them.
Scripture never once says that hands were laid on elders. Hands were laid on Timothy, and even the elders joined in doing so, when the apostle conveyed the gift of God that was given then. Hands were laid on Barnabas and the apostle himself when prophecy named them for a special mission... it takes extreme and ignorant prejudice to confuse either of these very different cases of laying on hands with eldership, or even with what people call ordination.
Others take the opposite view.
Scripture never says so, yet I do not doubt that hands were laid on elders, and that 1 Timothy 5:22 includes them. But the verse is not only about them.
The command is not against laying on hands, but against doing it quickly.
Even when only the ceremony of laying on of hands is in view, the passage points to discernment and responsibility... Timothy was not to lay hands hastily on anyone. So it was a matter of discernment on his part, and of grave responsibility about the man he backed with his solemn approval. That makes the meaning of what follows very plain. If he did it lightly, and the man was unfit for this charge, Timothy would have his share in the evil that man might do.
The reason for slowing down comes a few verses later.
Suppose a man he had laid hands on then walked badly. Timothy would be involved in the evil, though he never meant to be, because he had put the man in a position that carried his approval. This leads the apostle to add, "The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment." Everyone can see them. Like messengers sent ahead, they announce the judgment waiting for those who commit them. The sins of other men were more hidden, but they would still come out into the open... Since sins can stay hidden, Timothy was to be careful about laying hands on people who came to him for this.
The closing words are not limited to sexual purity, though older translators read them that way.
Then follows the closing appeal: "Keep yourself pure." Wycliffe and the Rheims Version limit this last word to chastity, but that is only part of what the apostle presses on Timothy. Purity in Timothy himself would better guard him against careless, formal approval of men. Such men would do great damage to the flock of God, or dishonour the Master by abandoning the work out of love for the present age.
The principle outlives the ceremony.
If I do not know the individual either personally or by reputation I may find myself identified with sins I did not suspect. To accept him in fellowship in the work of the Lord or in the worship of the Lord would make me a partner in what he practises. This is a more serious matter than even saints of God generally think.
- Sign — Laying on hands marks fellowship, not a handing over of authority. Christendom misused it by claiming it gives a man status.
- Speed — The warning is aimed at haste. Timothy was not to lay hands on anyone quickly, so the verse calls for discernment before approval.
- Share — Endorse a man lightly and you take a share in the evil he later does, even unintentionally.
- Secrecy — Some sins are obvious in advance; others stay hidden and surface later. That is why you slow down.
- Self — "Keep yourself pure" covers far more than chastity. Personal purity steadies you against loose approvals, and your associations can destroy it.
Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illnesses.
Paul is in the middle of a solemn charge about purity and about sharing in other people's sins. Then, for one sentence, he turns to Timothy's stomach — a line that raises questions about health, about strong drink, and about why such a small detail sits in Scripture at all.
One writer reads the verse as a window into both men: Timothy's careful habits and the warm heart of the man writing to him.
We see Timothy's steady self-restraint here. He was weak in body, so the apostle recommends that he use his liberty and take a little wine — a pleasing instance of grace. The Spirit shows us how careful he was never to stir up or feed his desires in the smallest thing. At the same time, there is perfect liberty to use everything that is good when there is a true reason for it. The Spirit also shows the apostle's tender interest in his fellow worker in the gospel. It is a little parenthesis attached to the words, "nor take part in the sins of others," but it has great beauty.
Timothy drank only water, and the apostle tells him to stop. One writer sees a gentle correction of a conscience that had grown too hard on the body.
Here divine wisdom overrules the unhealthy tendency of a truly devoted servant. The body is for the Lord, as the Lord is for the body. So impurity is evil, and harsh self-denial is just as foreign, though the flesh may boast in that self-denial as easily as it indulges in impurity. Christ alone keeps both holiness and liberty. God inspired the apostle to urge this on Timothy.
Kelly adds that Paul did not send this advice privately. He put it in a letter that everyone could read.
It was not a private letter. Such a note would no doubt have corrected the mistaken and harmful self-denial of this young servant of the Lord, but it would have left everyone else to suffer in the same way from that day to this.
Notice what Paul does not say. He never suggests that repeated illness is evidence of a failure in Timothy.
We are not to neglect the needs of a weak and suffering body... Timothy is not blamed for his illnesses. Nothing here suggests that his frequent illness proves any lack of faith. He is not told to ask elders to lay hands on him, or even to pray for his healing. He is told to use an ordinary remedy.
Timothy's case was not unusual. One writer sets it beside Paul's own thorn in the flesh and beside fellow workers who stayed ill.
The apostle's thorn in the flesh was not removed, nor could it be. God taught him to accept it and profit by it. For Timothy's weak stomach and frequent ailments he prescribes, not the prayer of faith, but "a little wine." He leaves Trophimus sick at Miletus. Epaphroditus too is sick, close to death, right under the apostle's eye... Even in the apostles' days, and with a man like Paul, the gifts of healing served the glory of God. They were never used at random, or for the personal comfort of Christians.
Was this an unfermented drink rather than real wine? One reply is blunt:
No, it is not true. There is only one word (oinos) used throughout the New Testament for "wine," and this, both here and in the classical writings of antiquity, in the general sense of "the fermented juice of the grape."
Real permission can be abused. One writer hands the decision back to each person's conscience before God.
We do not presume to lay down rules, or to dictate to others. Each one must judge, in the fear of God, whether he really needs to "use a little wine." But we have no hesitation in saying this: professing Christians who indulge in strong drink have dishonoured the Lord, grieved His Spirit, injured His cause, spoiled the testimony, and stumbled souls.
Some scholars point to this verse, and to Paul's asking for books, as proof that such details cannot be inspired. One reply turns the objection around.
Learned men have asked, Can we believe that to be inspired which tells Timothy, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments"?... Why not? Does it not show that the Holy Spirit takes account of our bodily need, and of the books and writings His servants find helpful in His blessed service?
- Weakness — Timothy served God while often ill, and Scripture never treats his illness as proof of weak faith.
- Remedy — Paul points him to an ordinary means, not a miracle. The gifts of healing were never given for the personal comfort of believers.
- Measure — Two words fence the permission: "a little." Each believer must judge before God whether he truly needs it.
- Liberty — The verse frees a strict conscience without excusing indulgence. Holiness and liberty stand together.
- Tenderness — God put a note about one man's stomach into lasting Scripture. That is not evidence against inspiration but proof of His care for our bodies.
Of some men the sins are manifest beforehand, going before to judgment, and some also they follow after.
Paul has just told Timothy to be careful about sharing in other people's sins. Verse 24 gives the reason: some sins are obvious at once, while others stay out of sight for a long time.
Verse 24 is not a stray remark about human nature. Writers tie it back to verse 22, where Paul tells Timothy not to lay hands on anyone too quickly.
As to 1 Timothy 5, verses 24 and 25 relate to verse 22. Timothy was not to lay hands on anyone too quickly. Suppose the life of a man on whom hands had been laid turned out badly. Timothy would then share in the evil, even without meaning to, because he had placed the man in a position that carried his approval… Such sins are clear to everyone. Like heralds, they announce in advance the judgment awaiting those who commit them. The sins of other men were more hidden, but they too would come out into open day. It is the same with good works.
Writers explain what that sign means, and what a careless use of it costs.
In Scripture, to lay hands on another is the sign of fellowship. It is not the passing on of authority, as the wider Christian world teaches. False generosity may pretend to be big-hearted by carelessly giving fellowship to people who are on a wrong course. In this way we may put our approval on evil and share in other men's sins. We are to keep ourselves pure. That instruction proves we can be defiled by the company we keep.
The difference between the two groups is timing, not guilt. Some sins reach the judgment ahead of the sinner; others surface much later.
"The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment," the apostle continues — they come to light in this present life. "But the sins of others appear later" — unknown now, hidden away, yet they will come to light at the judgment seat of Christ.
A hidden sin is not a lost sin. It travels with its owner.
The sinner will be joined at death to his sins and their consequences.
Commentators differ on the kind of judgment in view. Some read it as the plain assessment any careful observer can make.
The sins of some people are conspicuous: their character is like an open book, and very easy to see. We can judge their sins without difficulty. The apostle is not speaking of God's judgment here, but of the judgment others can easily and rightly form after very little acquaintance.
Others read it as God's final judgment, and warn that a good appearance makes the end worse, not better.
The sins of some men are notorious. They point to that solemn judgment where there is no mercy to soften the just doom of people who despised mercy and treated God's truth and grace with contempt. The sins of others follow after. That is no less dreadful in reality, even when appearances are kept up. Such a deception traps not only other people but the guilty themselves. It makes the end still more bitter, though the end is completely righteous.
Because the timing differs, an easy life proves nothing. Comfort now is not a sign of God's approval.
Many evil men go on for years in outward prosperity. They pass, with little visible change, to their account in another world… God varies His dealings with men, so that in every possible way they are left without excuse. He has tried swift judgment, long patience, chastening and prosperity, in case men might somehow be led to repentance.
So the guard is simple. Take time before you commit yourself to someone you have only just met.
But the sins of others appear later: such people may be skilled at hiding their true character if you do not know them. Only later do their sins come out for proper judgment. This is a warning. We do not know every man's character on first meeting, and we must be on guard not to be deceived.
Verse 25 balances the warning. Good works come to light just as surely as hidden evil does
- Context. Verses 24–25 belong with verse 22: they give Paul's reason for telling Timothy not to lay hands on anyone too quickly.
- Association. Laying on hands is the sign of fellowship, so a careless welcome makes a man a sharer in sins he never committed.
- Two timings. Some sins run ahead like heralds and announce the verdict early. Others trail behind, unknown now and exposed later.
- No escape. Concealment only postpones. The hidden sinner fools others and himself. Death joins him to his sins and their consequences.
- Take time. You cannot read a person's character at first meeting. And since God varies His dealings, a delay in exposure is patience aimed at repentance, never acquittal.
In like manner good works also are manifest beforehand, and those that are otherwise cannot be hid.
Paul has just warned Timothy not to be hasty in laying hands on anyone (v. 22). Verse 25 turns from hidden sins to hidden goodness, and asks how far one person can read another's character.
These closing verses are not stray proverbs. They belong to the instruction about appointing people to service. A wrong choice involves the man who made it.
Verses 24 and 25 relate to verse 22. Timothy was not to lay hands hastily on anyone. Suppose a man on whom he had laid hands later walked badly. Timothy would share in the evil, though he never meant to, because he had put the man in a position that carried his own approval... The sins of other men were more hidden, but they would still come out into open day. It is the same with good works. Because sins can stay hidden, Timothy had to be careful about laying hands on people who offered themselves for this.
This verse does not send anyone hunting through other people's faults, and it does not excuse being easily fooled. The same balance shapes how we read good works.
A holy mind does not busy itself with the sins of others, except when duty plainly demands it. But there is no excuse for carelessness that leaves a man deceived again and again... The same difference appears in what grace produces. The works that are fitting stand out in plain sight. The works that are not noticed at once can no more stay hidden than He could Who is their source (Mark 7:36).
The verse sorts people by what is seen, not by what they are worth. A quiet life is not a lesser life. Its fruit has just not surfaced yet.
This may be true of those in whom grace has worked. With some it is obvious that their good works proclaim their true character. Others may be equally the subjects of grace and yet their works may be less public. In due time all will come to light.
Commentators differ here. Kelly takes "they that are otherwise" as the good works that are simply less visible. Another reading takes it of works that are not good at all — and adds the warning that even visible good deeds are not proof by themselves.
The good works of some are clear in advance. These may point to a good character, but they are not enough proof until you know the person better. What looks good at first may still hide evil motives. Another man's goodness may not show until he is well known, and people may be surprised at how much good is there when none appeared at first... But works that are not good cannot stay hidden. It does not take long before a man's works make him known.
Kelly passes on another writer's paraphrase, which turns the verse into a working rule for anyone who appoints others to service. Kelly then says the verse reaches further than that.
The good works and holy conduct of some who offer themselves for this holy calling are well known and approved beforehand. So you need not hesitate to lay your hands on them. As for those who are otherwise, if you enquire carefully into their behaviour and way of life, they cannot stay hidden from you, and you may refuse to admit them... Yet limiting the verse this way pulls the thought far below the plain force of the words, which reach on to the Lord's judgment in the day to come.
The verse ends by pushing the reader's eyes forward. Time and the coming day settle what present appearances cannot.
Some people pass through life with a true character quite different from the one others give them — and this holds for good works as much as for sins. In some cases they are plain and before the eyes of all. But a day is coming when those unrecognised here will find full recognition.
- Occasion — Verses 24 and 25 belong with the warning of verse 22. Character can stay hidden, so Timothy had to be slow to lay hands on anyone. A wrong choice would make him share in the evil he had approved.
- Caution — The verse forbids both extremes. A holy mind does not busy itself with others' faults, yet nothing excuses carelessness that leaves a man deceived again and again.
- Grace — Visible and invisible service can flow from the same source. Some believers' works announce them. Others share the same grace with less to show in public.
- Difference — Commentators read the second half in two ways: good works not yet noticed, or works that are not good at all. Either way, nothing stays hidden for long.
- Day — What appearances cannot settle, time and the coming day will. Those unrecognised here will find full recognition then.