To Tell the Truth is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the “team of challengers”, each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the “central character” whose unusual occupation or experience has been read aloud by the show’s host. When the panelists question the contestants, the two impostors may lie whereas the “central character” must tell the truth.

Playing “To Tell the Truth” is a dangerous game to play in God’s church built on Jesus Christ, the Rock of our Salvation, who is Truth!

False teachers who appear to tell the truth in God’s church are political in nature; telling you to your face what you want to hear to get what they really want—power and glory for themselves.  For centuries, ever since the church was formed, this sin trait develops a huge blemish that stains the Bride of Christ—the church. The false teachers in the Ephesian church did not believe Jesus was really human. They contradicted Scripture while appearing to be self-disciplined and morally righteous.  In other words, they knew enough truth to be dangerous!  This still appears in churches today.  Paul begins to offer ways to deal with the sin before it destroys the relationship between God and His believers and the relationships between each other, our brothers and sisters!

Christian leaders must be disciplined in their walk with God and belief in Jesus as His Son. Where God guides, God provides the help of His Holy Spirit to lead all believers to Truth.  Leaders are just as tempted to the sin of self as anyone else they lead.  They must guard their motives, be faithful to God and his Word, and live commendable lives. A Godly leader knows their weaknesses and knows to rely on God’s wisdom, power and strength, with God’s sufficient grace, as they follow what He says in humbled gratitude to God. 

How do we know who is false and who is of God?  A false teacher can easily be detected if the teacher’s message differs from the Bible’s truth.  All who believe must study God’s Word so that we are not led away by false teaching.  It’s okay to ask questions to see who is telling the Truth and living the Truth.  But know that we too, will be questioned when our behaviors are questionable.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so we must, as Paul advises Timothy, “keep a close check on yourself.”

1 Timothy 5, The Message

The Family of Faith

^1-2 Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters.

^3-8 Take care of widows who are destitute. If a widow has family members to take care of her, let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely. You can tell a legitimate widow by the way she has put all her hope in God, praying to him constantly for the needs of others as well as her own. But a widow who exploits people’s emotions and pocketbooks—well, there’s nothing to her. Tell these things to the people so that they will do the right thing in their extended family. Anyone who neglects to care for family members in need repudiates the faith. That’s worse than refusing to believe in the first place.

^9-10 Sign some widows up for the special ministry of offering assistance. They will in turn receive support from the church. They must be over sixty, married only once, and have a reputation for helping out with children, strangers, tired Christians, the hurt and troubled.

^11-15 Don’t put young widows on this list. No sooner will they get on than they’ll want to get off, obsessed with wanting to get a husband rather than serving Christ in this way. By breaking their word, they’re liable to go from bad to worse, frittering away their days on empty talk, gossip, and trivialities. No, I’d rather the young widows go ahead and get married in the first place, have children, manage their homes, and not give critics any foothold for finding fault. Some of them have already left and gone after Satan.

¹⁶ Any Christian woman who has widows in her family is responsible for them. They shouldn’t be dumped on the church. The church has its hands full already with widows who need help.

* * *

^17-18 Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.”

¹⁹ Don’t listen to a complaint against a leader that isn’t backed up by two or three responsible witnesses.

²⁰ If anyone falls into sin, call that person on the carpet. Those who are inclined that way will know right off they can’t get by with it.

^21-23 God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides. Don’t appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily. If a person is involved in some serious sins, you don’t want to become an unwitting accomplice. In any event, keep a close check on yourself. And don’t worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it’s good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.

^24-25 The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Paul advises Timothy to minister to the various kinds of people in the church, and not to show favoritism. Since Timothy was a younger man, he might be tempted to ignore the older members, so Paul urged him to love and serve all the people, regardless of their ages. The church is a family: Treat the older members like your mother and father, and the younger members like your brothers and sisters.  This love comes from God.  To know God is to know love—the kind of love that serves.

The purpose of discipline is restoration, not revenge. Paul’s instruction to Timothy highlights that the purpose must be to save the offender, not to drive him away. Our attitude must be one of love and tenderness (Galatians 6:1–3). In fact, the verb “restore” that Paul used in Galatians 6:1 means “to set a broken bone.”  When a broken bone is set back into place, healing begins.

Apparently, Timothy was having some problems with the elders of the church at Ephesus. He was a young man and still had much to learn. Ephesus was not an easy place to minister. Furthermore, Timothy had followed Paul as overseer of the church, and Paul would not have been an easy man to follow!  So, as this part of the letter may seem general in nature, Paul is helping Timothy deal with some very specific problems in ways that will please and honor God and help His people in the best way.

The best way to “keep a close check” on ourselves is to do what our perfect example of servant leadership did when He walked this earth.  Jesus, got alone often to be with His Father who told Him exactly what to be and do.  “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.”  –Jesus, John 12:49, ESV 

“Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19, NLT

Lord,

Guide us to all Truth by your Holy Spirit living in us.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies. Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us.  Put the voices of the world in the distant while we listen for you still small voice that tells us all that is right and true with what to be and do.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen