Read & explore together
A Charge to Timothy
This passage gives Timothy a serious charge about fairness, caution, purity, and patient judgement. The instructions are brief, but they show that decisions about people should not be driven by bias or haste.
Understanding the passage
The setting of these words
These verses are written as direct instruction to Timothy. The charge is spoken in the sight of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen angels. The passage then links impartiality, caution about laying hands on someone, personal purity, a specific health instruction, and the way sins and good works become known.
1 Timothy 5:21–25Main takeaway
This passage instructs Timothy to act without partiality, keep himself pure, and remember that both sin and good works may become clear over time.
Follow the letter’s teaching
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A serious charge without biasTimothy is commanded in the sight of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen angels. That gives the instruction great weight.
Explanation
Timothy is commanded in the sight of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen angels. That gives the instruction great weight. He is to observe these things without prejudice and do nothing by partiality. The verse focuses on fairness, warning against decisions shaped by favour or bias.
02Do not act hastily toward someoneTimothy is told, “Lay hands hastily on no one.” The passage does not explain the action further here, but it clearly warns against rushing.
Explanation
Timothy is told, “Lay hands hastily on no one.” The passage does not explain the action further here, but it clearly warns against rushing. The same verse adds, “Don’t be a participant in other people’s sins” and “Keep yourself pure”, connecting hasty action with moral danger and the need for purity.
03A specific instruction about Timothy’s healthTimothy is told not to be a drinker of water only, but to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake and his frequent infirmities.
Explanation
Timothy is told not to be a drinker of water only, but to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake and his frequent infirmities. This is a direct, practical instruction to Timothy. The verse itself gives the reason as his stomach and frequent infirmities.
04Some things are clear laterThe passage ends by comparing sins and good works. Some people’s sins are evident and go before them to judgement, while other sins follow later.
Explanation
The passage ends by comparing sins and good works. Some people’s sins are evident and go before them to judgement, while other sins follow later. In the same way, some good works are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot stay hidden. Time can reveal what is not immediately seen.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01Why does the command in verse 21 sound so serious?
Notice who is named as witnessing the charge and how that gives weight to the instruction about prejudice and partiality.
02What warnings are joined together in verse 22?
Read the whole verse and see how acting hastily, sharing in other people’s sins, and keeping pure are connected.
03How do verses 24 and 25 shape the way Timothy should judge what he sees in people?
Look for the contrast between what is evident now and what only becomes clear later, in both sins and good works.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
1 Timothy 5:21–25
21I command you in the sight of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen angels, that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality.
22Lay hands hastily on no one. Don’t be a participant in other people’s sins. Keep yourself pure.
23Be no longer a drinker of water only, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
24Some men’s sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later.
25In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can’t be hidden.