A Charge to Timothy

Paul charges Timothy before God, Christ Jesus, and the elect angels to observe these instructions without prejudice or favoritism. He warns him not to be hasty in laying on hands or to share in others' sins, and he adds a practical word that Timothy should use a little wine because of his stomach and frequent ailments.

I²¹ solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without bias, and to do nothing out of partiality. ²²Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. ²³Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Paul says the sins of some people are plain beforehand, while the sins of others appear only later. In the same way, good works may be obvious or hidden for a time, but they too cannot remain concealed.

²⁴The sins of some men are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others do not surface until later. ²⁵In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even the ones that are inconspicuous cannot remain hidden.