1 Timothy 5:22

Paul also urged Timothy to minimize the possibility of elder failure by being extremely careful about whom he appointed in the first place. Laying on hands in this context probably refers to public ordination (cf. 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6). [Note: Knight, The Pastoral . . ., p. 239; Earle, p. 381; Kelly, p. 127; David A. Mappes, "The ’Laying on of Hands’ of Elders," Bibliotheca Sacra 154:616 (October-December 1997):473-79.] Another view is that it refers to the restoration of repentant fallen elders. [Note: White, 4:137-38.] A person who appoints a deficient candidate to office shares his guilt when his unacceptability surfaces. Since Timothy occupied the seat of a judge he needed to stay free from sin himself. As in 1 Timothy 4:6-16, Paul’s concern about the sins of others led him to insert a short aside to Timothy about the importance of ordering his own life, specifically maintaining his purity (cf. 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Timothy 5:2).