Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
All Commentaries on 1 Timothy 5:20 Go To 1 Timothy 5
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Who is the hired hand? One who sees the wolf coming and flees. One who seeks his own things, not those of Jesus Christ. He does not dare openly to accuse the sinner. Suppose someone has sinned, and sinned grievously. He ought to be reproached and perhaps excommunicated. But if he is excommunicated, you imagine, he will be an enemy, he will make plots, he will do harm when he can. Now consider one who seeks his own things, not those of Jesus Christ. He does not lose what he is pursuing, the advantage of a human friendship. He does not incur the distress of human enmities—he is quiet; he does not correct. Look, the wolf seizes the sheep’s throat. The devil has persuaded a believer to commit adultery. You are silent; you do not scold. O hired hand, you saw the wolf coming and you fled.
