1Timothy 5:20
Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest will also be fearful of sinning. (NASB)

Yesterday, I taught on 1Timothy5 at one of my Bible studies. I am taking a couple of church members through the Pastoral Letters (1&2Timothy, Titus), learning them about leadership roles in the church. Invariably, we have touched upon some controversial subjects, such as women preachers (2:9-15), drinking alcohol (5:23), and openly rebuking persistent sinners (5:20).

I really started thinking about this verse (5:20), about how less and less of true apostolic Christianity we see in our churches today. On the surface, this verse sounds incredibly legalistic, devoid of grace, and full of condemnation. Churches in the past have seemed to take the faith a bit more seriously than we do though.

Imagine if we reinstated 1Tim5:20 in nominal Christianity today. It would actually benefit us much more than it would hurt us. Christians might actually take sin seriously!! What a concept! Persistent sinners would be openly rebuked, and if they were truly repentant, they would seek help to clear their problem up. If they were not repentant, they would leave the church and likely not return until such a time as they were ready to make Jesus both "Lord" and "Savior" of their lives. The early church had no problem with this; there were too many heretics floating around risking the purity of what Christianity was founded upon. It would (and should) require a great deal of humility to remain in a church such as this. Throughout church history, holiness was thought of more seriously than just "Jesus is our Holiness; we are holy because He is", which is absolutely true, but often abused, especially by adherents of the "hyper-grace" doctrine.

Another benefit to this idea is: members of the church who are struggling with sin may seek the leadership to deal with the problem, instead of trying to cover it up lest it be exposed and dealt with the way Paul intended it to be. The former is much more preferable to the latter. Members of the church could be entrusted with the 'radical' concept of accountability!

Many scholars believe this verse is talking about elders only, which is likely true. The underlying principle is clearly understood though, "that the rest will also be fearful of sinning". A huge problem in Christianity is a complacency towards the seriousness of sin. We should be inwardly afraid to sin. Not because of the consequences of man, but from the effects that sin has on our lives and on the lives of others around us. Our sin not only destroys our life, but it can affect those around us. A great example of this is Adam (Romans 5:19).

The Apostle Paul lived out this verse. He openly rebuked Peter in the "presence of all" in Galatians 2:11-21. Peter, who apparently, did not get offended and call Paul a "legalist" or some foolishness, humbled himself, and it appears he and Paul's relationship was not severed (2Peter 3:15-16).

A lesser man (one who professes to be a Christian, but is genuinely not) will be offended and reject the truth of the Gospel and forsake the institution of God, until such a time as he is ready to regard the salvation of God seriously.

As Leonard Ravenhill says, "We need some good hellfire preaching on repentance" nowadays. The church looks like the world, which is even worse, since we profess to be the 'light of the world'. What a tragedy, that Christians would be "dead to Christ, but alive to sin". Is this the evidence of such people who claim to be "born again"? Devoid of holiness, repentance, conviction, responsibility, accountability? Are we content to say "Jesus is our holiness" while we are still ensnared by sin? Does Jesus currently have His eyes closed while repeating, "They're holy, they're holy, they're holy", trying to convince Himself, while the visible evidence testifies against us? Is that a witness to unbelievers?! "We are holy, we just don't look like it." "Jesus defeated sin for us, now we cannot overcome it in our lives". What a dead testimony. The quality of converted lives attest to this fact.

I'm not talking about screaming, "You're all going to hell, you heathen", to the unbelievers. We are commanded (and compelled) to preach the Gospel of God's love. But, as Christians, who profess to know the truth, we should not shy away from subjects like hell, or judgment. If the conversation goes there, we should not try to make excuses for God and His lovingkindness.

The real preaching of hell should be done to the church, so that they are aware that such a place does exist, and that those who reject Christ, will indeed, end up there. This is terrible, but Christians are more concerned with comfort than conviction. The Gospel is a story about salvation! So why is the Good News so good? (At this point, the "hyper-grace"ist will jump up and shout, "We're saved from trusting in ourselves!".) We have been saved from hell. We are saved to eternal life with a loving God! And we don't even come close to deserving it!! THAT, is Good News.

Without Martin Luther, we do not know what the Christian Church would look like today. We owe this man a huge amount of respect and honor. With that, the 1st of his 95 Theses' states:
Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

Are you fearful of the effects of sin in your life? in the lives of others? in the church as a whole? If we're not, we should be. If not for our own sake, then at least for the sake of Jesus' body.