1 Timothy 5:21 – Without prejudice or bias

I am conjuring, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the chosen messengers, that you should guard these things, apart from prejudice, doing nothing from bias.

Three times in a row, Paul places the importance of fair and pure judgment on Timothy’s heart. In verse 19 he insists on the need for at least two or three witnesses. In verse 20 he emphasizes that sin is exposed and openly proven. And in the above verse Paul testifies, i.e., he emphatically assures that Timothy will “guard these things.” The declaration here is even an oath because both God and Christ Jesus as well as the elect (= specially selected) angels are invoked as witnesses.

That Timothy’s guarding of these things is indeed related to a pure judgment is also evident from the fact that he would emphatically refrain from prejudice and act unbiased

Anyone who is prejudiced has already made a judgment in his heart before the witnesses have been heard and before ’the receipts’ have been presented. Bias is a trait that goes hand in hand with that. Those who are biased favor one over the other. Because oneself or friends have an interest in this. Those who love the truth keep away from such practices.

Delen: