1 Timothy 5:19

“Do not receive”: That is accept or admit with approval. Do not acknowledge, give ear to, or even entertain.

1 Timothy 5:19 “An accusation against an elder”: The preacher's responsibility toward the elders includes more than just seeing to it that they are honored. The preacher is also to be very careful about listening to criticism of and accusations against the elders. The term “accusation” infers that the elder is being accused of. sin. “Due to misunderstanding, party faction, or personal animosity an elder at times receives the very opposite of the honor due him. The influence of even the best minister might be destroyed, if idle gossip and social tattling were accounted. sufficient ground for serious charges and judicial proceedings” (Hiebert pp. 102-103). Timothy is not even to listen to an accusation that is not supported by reliable witnesses. “This safeguard of the elder is. wise one. No person is more subject to Satan's attack in the form of gossip and slander than God's servant. If every accusation necessitated full investigation, the elder would have time for little else. Even charges of which an elder is acquitted can damage his work” (Kent p. 185).

1 Timothy 5:19 “Except on the basis of two or three witnesses”: “Any discipline must be founded on fact, not on rumor or innuendo. Permit no man to accuse an elder unless he is accompanied by two or three witnesses who are ready to back up the accusation. Lacking such support, the accusation must not even be taken up or entertained” (Reese p. 247). (Numbers 2:30; Deuteronomy 19:15; John 8:17). Note, the witnesses are not at the end of the process, but rather, must be at the very beginning. We should also note that such witnesses need to be known as truthful and impartial men. “A man who had been disciplined might well seek to get his own back by maliciously charging an elder with some irregularity or some sin. Irresponsible, slanderous, and malicious talk does infinite damage and causes infinite heartbreak, and such talk will not go unpunished by God” (Barclay p. 135).