1 Timothy 5:19 “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.”

Evil happens and not by accident. Evil happens because evil people do evil things. Evil people do not wear nametags identifying themselves as wicked. They hide in plain sight and often appear to be good and caring members of society. They wear masks that make them appear to be what they are not. They habitually hide among those occupations in society that have authority and respect. We are shocked when we learn that a teacher, preacher, doctor or police officer has used their position to perpetrate evil upon others. They prey on the weak, defenseless, old and young of our society. It is a righteous principle that Christians should expose evil doers and hold them accountable before the law whenever possible.

However, it is also true that evil lies, and will falsely accuse good men and women of misdeeds. It is a righteous principle that says Christians should require that accusations meet a certain standard of believability before acting upon them. In the time that Paul lived, they did not have modern forensic science. They did not have organized police forces with officers trained in investigative techniques. They did not have e-mail, Internet, phone records or voice recordings. In order to protect Christian men and women from false accusations Paul had a rule that any accusation must have two or more witnesses. At the time, that was the best rule to achieve balance between two equally valid Christian principles. Paul was attempting, with God’s guidance, to set a standard that would allow the church of Ephesus to both hold the wicked accountable while protecting the reputations of the righteous.

Unfortunately, too many churches have allowed evil to continue for the lack of enough witnesses. They have followed an outdated rule while ignoring the righteous principles behind the rule. Evil people are careful not to have witnesses. The church has a responsibility to the victims of evil to reassess how they process accusations of wrongdoing. The church must take action when evil is exposed.