1 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
In chapter 5, Paul charged Timothy with how to treat various groups in the local church. In verses 1 and 2, he instructed Timothy on how to handle certain groups in the church. Each age group and each situation required special treatment.
5:1
Do not rebuke [sharply] an older man,
Paul challenged the young pastor Timothy to treat people according to their category. First, Paul addressed older men in the local church.
but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers,
A pastor should treat older men as “fathers” and younger men as “brothers.” The idea is to relate to them as family members. This young pastor was to use an exhorting approach rather than a condemning method for addressing problems in the church. “Exhort” carries ideas such as encouragement, entreaty, and appeal.
5:2
older women as mothers, younger women as sisters,
Timothy was to treat older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, again as family members.
with all purity.
Paul qualified his statement about how to treat younger women “with all purity,” safeguarding him against losing his reputation. The word “all” indicates that no stone should be unturned to protect how a pastor relates to women sexually.
PRINCIPLE:
Maintaining good relationships in the church makes for unity.
APPLICATION:
Some pastors treat their congregations like a bull in a china shop. They do not respect their congregations. A pastor should deal with his congregation as members of a family.
Treating people in the congregation respectfully is a key to unity, and disrespect creates disunity.
A catastrophic danger for pastors is to not treat women with respect sexually or to allow women to seduce them. If that happens, a pastor will cause a train wreck in his congregation. A pastor should be above all suspicious activities with women.
