So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
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.
Why the verse is here at all
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.
J. N. DarbyVerses 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.
Care without suspicion
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.
William KellyA 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).
Two kinds of believer, one kind of grace
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.
Hamilton SmithThis 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.
What "otherwise" means
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.
Leslie M. GrantThe 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.
How Timothy was to use it
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.
William KellyThe 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.
Nothing good stays buried
The verse ends by pushing the reader's eyes forward. Time and the coming day settle what present appearances cannot.
Numerical Bible NotesSome 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.
Summary
- 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.