Paul’s urge for Timothy is not just a good piece of advice but a heartfelt, desperate, and stern admonishment for a leader and a believer. Nothing may lag behind.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
By context, it must mean hastily appointing someone who keeps on sinning (v. 20) as a leader and therefore turning a blind eye on the person’s sin of not honouring God and His desire for all people and consequently letting the person influence the congregation.
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
This verse is totally out of context if it is not threaded into the last part of v. 22. (The ESV puts this verse in a bracket.) It is a strong negative imperative that begins with ‘Never again!’[1] Then how does drinking only water despite frequent illnesses interfere with keeping himself pure? Especially in light of forbidding him from appointing someone who does not acknowledge God’s way of working for all people?
Is Paul not saying once again that abstaining from any outward deeds does not make him or anyone pure and blameless? It is needless to say, but it needs to be said over and over again, always and without any exception, by washing his cloak in the blood of Christ.
This is not a theory, but something even Timothy has to continuously and consciously practise to live out. Thus, it gives us a little more insight into the kind of persistent sinning the congregation should be careful about when laying hands on a person to appoint a leader.
And while implementing it, Timothy himself should act and think strictly in line with the principle of not outward and self-managed holiness but of completely and thoroughly relying on Christ’s godliness from his heart, that is, his whole being.
24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
Sins that ‘trail behind them’, making them holy and exemplary in the meantime, will not stand the double-edged sword (Heb 4:12, Rev 1:16, 2:12) that comes out of the mouth of our Lord.
25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden for ever.
On the other hand, a person might look wayward according to our own judgement, but our Lord will surely recognise the garment that is properly washed in His own blood. With this, there is surely no favouritism. No discrimination. I hope we are not the ones who weep and gnash their teeth, saying it is not fair!
Lord, Purify the course of our thinking! Every corner of it! Every little turn it makes! Let there be nothing that stands against you and defies you, knowingly or unknowingly. Lord, you are my Master, and only the double-edged sword that comes out of your mouth—your word, your Spirit—can make me godly, God’s child. How else may we become pure and stand before our Father? It is all the more desperate because it is not something we can do! It is all the more amazing and overwhelming because you have done it for us. Lord, let us live up to it. Let us celebrate the way you deal with us. Praise be to our God, our holiness and our strength.
[1] μηκέτι (mēketi) ‘never again’ (G3371) (Adverb or adverb and particle combined) no longer, never again
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