Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] At a conference a number of years ago, Carl Truman, a professor of biblical and theological studies at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, was asked a question on a panel about what concerns him today about celebrity pastors.
[00:00:17] When I use that phrase, celebrity pastors, I'm speaking of pastors who have typically very large churches and often big ministry platforms outside their local church.
[00:00:27] And they are often looked at as the aspirational model for men entering the ministry.
[00:00:33] Here's what Mr. Truman said to express his concerns.
[00:00:37] I think we live in a world that in the Western culture is celebrity culture.
[00:00:43] What I mean is that we tend to invest peculiar power and authority in specific individuals, even outside their own sphere of competence.
[00:00:51] Hollywood is a great example. You have these Hollywood actors who are very competent actors, but around election time, they're pontificating on everything from global warning to the economy.
[00:01:01] They are more or less incompetent in these areas, and we put this huge authority and power invested in them.
[00:01:07] Now I'll bring it back to a more specific issue. For me, my primary call is to teach men for the ministry.
[00:01:14] And one of the things that has concerned me over the last couple of years is that when I ask students who has been the most influential preacher in their life, almost never do they actually tell me, well, it's the man who preaches at my home church.
[00:01:27] They usually mention someone who is well known and pastors a big mega church. And that concerns me because here you have a detachment of the influence of the preaching of the word from the day to day pastoral ministry that is going on.
[00:01:41] My second concern is if I ask students, who do you want to be like?
[00:01:45] The aspirational model of ministry is increasing. One in which nothing like that which they are going to experience.
[00:01:51] Most students are going to be pastoring churches like the one I'm connected to, where 100 people on a Sunday morning, maybe we'll grow to 100, Lord willing, in 10 years, who knows?
[00:02:01] But most of my students are going to go out and pastor small unknown churches. And if they have an aspirational model of ministry like this, of another mega church pastor or celebrity pastor, that's a problem for me as an educator, and that's not implying anything of the motivation behind pastors with big churches. Praise God, there are big churches. Praise God, there are men who are gifted to lead big churches.
[00:02:24] But when that becomes an aspirational model for most students, that's a real problem.
[00:02:30] And it's a real problem on the ground in seminaries. And I wonder if it has some impact on the burnout rate, Many leave the ministry within five years.
[00:02:40] I wonder, is that because they look to guys who are celebrity pastors and they think to themselves, that's what I'm going to experience.
[00:02:50] And they end up in a church in the middle of nowhere with 50 people who are always fighting with one another all the time.
[00:02:58] And it's nothing like the aspirational model they picked up.
[00:03:06] When you think of the pastor you want to follow, what do you envision he will be? Like a celebrity or a servant?
[00:03:20] And when you think of a pastor you like to imitate, does what you desire in a pastor and his ministry match what God's Word says we should desire?
[00:03:33] God's Word gives us sufficient answers to these questions. And because there is so much confusion around what a pastor must be, it's all the more important we study the Scriptures for ourselves and friends. That's what we'll be doing this morning in our time around God's Word. So if you have a copy of God's Word, please open your Bibles to the New Testament Letter of First Timothy First Timothy Chapter 3. If you're using one of the pew Bibles provided or chairback Bibles provided, you can find that on page 1178 First Timothy Chapter 3 Last week we began looking at Chapter 3 of First Timothy, which as many of you may recall was the first verse that serves as the leadoff hitter for the qualifications required of a man to be an overseer. Look with me again at first Timothy 3, verse 1 that we looked at last week.
[00:04:25] Paul says the saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
[00:04:34] Now we examine verse one alone and we focus the bulk of our time on the desirable work of an overseer, both the proactive aspiration of the man and the internal desire of the man required for this noble work. And by looking at the ways that God calls and equips men for this work, both with the internal call, a God given desire and ability, and the external call, the church's affirmation, we discovered this that pastoring is a desirable work because pastoring is dear to the heart of Jesus work.
[00:05:10] And Paul said this was a trustworthy and faithful statement.
[00:05:13] This was something that was to be passed on to the churches not just in Timothy's day, but in every subsequent generation.
[00:05:20] Just like us at CCBC this morning we will conclude this section on the qualifications of an overseer by looking at verses two to seven, which fleshes out more of what the man must be and the man must do in order to meet God's credentials, God's qualifications for leading his church as an overseer, elder or pastor. Look with me now in 1st Timothy 3. Starting in verse 2, I'll be reading to verse 7.
[00:05:45] Please follow with me.
[00:05:50] Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach.
[00:05:55] The husband of one wife, sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
[00:06:13] He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive.
[00:06:18] For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?
[00:06:25] He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
[00:06:32] Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
[00:06:40] This is God's word.
[00:06:42] If you're taking notes, the main idea of the sermon is A pastor will never be Jesus for you, But he is to be a window by which you can see Jesus through him.
[00:07:03] A pastor will never be Jesus for you, but he is to be a window by which you can see Jesus through him.
[00:07:14] Now here are some helpful observations, kind of getting the lay of the land as we look at this passage.
[00:07:21] In verse one, Paul lays the desirable work of the overseer, both the aspiration and the desire for the noble work.
[00:07:30] And at the beginning of verse 2 and at the end of verse 7, they serve as bookends, almost like frames on a picture that encapsulate everything that you will find within them.
[00:07:42] So in verses two and seven, you're also going to find the emphatic verb tense of must be. The man must be this. He must be this. These are essential qualifications.
[00:07:54] That means this is an absolute necessity. It's a non negotiable something that must be required without question.
[00:08:01] It's also in the present tense, which means these qualifications are primarily speaking about the man's present or current life, his present or current family, his present or current character and ability to teach. Now there are some qualifications to that. That doesn't mean we don't consider what his life was like before Christ in any way. That doesn't mean we don't consider what his life was like maybe just 10 years ago. Even as a younger Christian, we do consider the past. We have to consider the past. But the primary weight of these qualifications of what the man is like right now.
[00:08:38] So notice verse 2 also he says he must be above reproach and then in verse 7, he must be well thought of by outsiders. This is speaking about his reputation, his reputation among men. Of course, God knows Him perfectly. But. But this is speaking about in front of the eyes of people, in front of the eyes of the church, his family and the onlooking, unbelieving community.
[00:09:00] A few other observations to note. Two of the required qualifications have to do with the man's home life.
[00:09:07] The man's home life. In verse two it speaks about his marriage. In verse four it speaks about his children, which categorically speaks of his ministry to his family and to the management of the overall affairs of his home friends, which is teaching us something very practical for everyone in this church. The Gospel, for it to make an impact in real tangible ways, has first got to hit us where it most counts.
[00:09:34] Jesus can't just be Lord of the church and Lord of my job. He's got to be Lord of my home, Lord of my family, Lord of everything, where I sleep, where I hang out, where I cook, etc.
[00:09:47] We also see something in the necessity of a gifting or an ability or a responsibility to oversee the church and to teach the church. He has to be able to teach God's word. Verse 2 He needs to be able to manage, rule or give oversight in caring for the church as a whole. Verses 4 and 5. This is talking about the primary function of an elder pastor overseer. He must be able to teach and he must be able to shepherd and oversee the flock.
[00:10:16] Overseers are required to possess an ability to manage and teach, while deacons, on the other hand we'll look at next week, are explicitly called to serve. Come back next week and learn more about deacons.
[00:10:29] Also important to note the qualifications of being sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, and then what? He must not be characterized by. He must not be a drunk, he must not be violent, he must not be quarrelsome, he must not be a lover of money. These are all character traits, lifestyle patterns of life difference that are said of all Christians.
[00:10:53] All Christians are called to embody this. All Christians are to pursue this.
[00:10:58] So unless you're tempted to tune out the rest of the sermon because you're not a pastor or never will be. No, this passage is actually screaming to us what every Christian should aspire to be. At least the character and godliness of it. I like how DA Carson has put it. The most remarkable feature of the list is that it is unremarkable. It contains nothing about intelligence, decisiveness, drive, wealth or power. Almost everything on the list elsewhere in the New Testament is required of all Christians.
[00:11:29] It's also interesting to note that caked within the qualifications of an overseer did you notice that the devil is mentioned twice? Isn't that interesting? In verses 6 and 7 he speaks about the condemnation of the devil. In verse seven, the snare of the devil, which is again a sneak peek. If the enemy if Satan himself is going to disrupt and destroy and cause division in Christ Church, he is going to do his absolute best to take down pastors and put up disqualified ones in its place.
[00:12:01] Lastly, we should look at this list as representative.
[00:12:04] In other words, it's an abbreviated list. That means this list is not exhaustive. There are more questions and other implications of the man's life that need to be considered. For example, we need to consider his prayer life.
[00:12:18] Consider his personal evangelism, his stewardship of money, his work ethics, his ability to be subject to authority like his fellow elders.
[00:12:27] Friends, when you combine this passage and others like it from Titus 1 and 1st Peter 5, this speaks about the conviction, competency and character that must be present in the man to shepherd the household of God.
[00:12:40] Now, the way we're going to break up the rest of the sermon is we're going to walk through each qualification and then we're going to land with a question. Why are pastors needed in the local church?
[00:12:50] Why are pastors needed in the local church? Let's first walk through each of the qualifications.
[00:12:55] Starting in verse 2, he mentions the office. Again he says an overseer. The Greek word is episkopos. It means a superintendent, a supervisor, one who keeps watch over a people.
[00:13:07] Some have translated it as the word bishop. As we've stated previously, the words elder, bishop, overseer, pastor, and shepherd are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament. Overseer refers to the function of giving oversight to the church, and elder refers to the spiritual maturity and respectability of the man. And shepherd is when he's feeding God's people.
[00:13:29] God's Word throughout the New Testament, the biblical pattern is for a group of elders to shepherd a group of elders to oversee a particular flock. As those elders complement each other's gifts, they together shepherd the flock of God in front of them. And these elders are to give oversight to everything. That doesn't mean they do everything or control everything, but they give oversight to everything, including the spiritual health of the church, church membership, corporate worship gatherings, church discipline, discipling, preaching, teaching, counseling, evangelism, missions, the church budget, and identifying future elders and deacons in the church. If you want to learn More about what our elders are responsible for in our church, you can look under Article 5, Section 3 in our bylaws.
[00:14:12] And now Paul lays forth what the man must be, what the man is like.
[00:14:18] You get to know him on a real personal level and watch his life.
[00:14:22] These are the things that should be showing up in order for a man to serve as an overseer. He says in verse two, he must be above reproach.
[00:14:32] The word means not to be laid hold of one that cannot be arrested, one that could not be judged culpable before a court.
[00:14:41] Robert Yarbrough says the man should be free of obvious or provable black marks against his character.
[00:14:48] It's an all encompassing depiction of the man's life before people in the present.
[00:14:55] So what does above reproach mean?
[00:14:58] It means the man's godly reputation precedes him wherever he goes.
[00:15:04] Wherever he goes, he's the same guy as at home, at church, at the party, at the banquet, on the ball field, at the mall, in the hair salon or barbershop or whatever. Wherever he's at, he's the same guy. He doesn't switch on different clothes and become a chameleon. And his character is consistent. Not perfect, but it's consistent.
[00:15:30] Now, what does above approach not mean?
[00:15:33] Above approach does not mean he never sins.
[00:15:36] Remember, for a man to be qualified, he doesn't have to be glorified.
[00:15:43] No man, no woman for that matter, will be glorified. On this side of eternity, every pastor, like his congregation, is continuously being sanctified.
[00:15:54] An elder is a forgiven sinner who still sins, but he models what repentance of sin, confession of sin and obedience to Christ looks like in front of the church and in front of his family.
[00:16:06] He is not a sinless man, but he is not known as a man who loves his sin.
[00:16:12] Above reproach means there are no sin patterns that dominate or are prominent in his life.
[00:16:18] There are no negative charges made against him that can be observed that he's not repenting of.
[00:16:24] DA Carson says there is no obvious inconsistency or flaw that everyone agrees is there and serves as a reproach to the man.
[00:16:32] In other words, when this man's name gets brought up in conversation, people don't roll their eyes and think, well, you can't trust him. You know what he's like. Watch out for that one.
[00:16:45] He doesn't have person after person tag a vice to his reputation. Rather, his reputation and track record doesn't allow the accusations from others to stick.
[00:16:57] So yes, if you sign up for leadership, you sign up to be misunderstood. As one pastor said, you become a pastor, it's voluntary unpopularity.
[00:17:05] And I think that is true. If you're going to stand on the truth, you're going to walk in holiness. Eventually you're going to bump up against things and people and ideas that don't like you. But even when he slandered or talked poorly of or his name is run through the mud after closer examination, after others have given due process to the matter, they realize that these charges are unfounded because he is above reproach.
[00:17:30] In the end, he lives a life that gives no cause for just cause of others to think poorly or badly of him, the church, Christian faith, or the Lord.
[00:17:41] Warren Wiersbe said there must be nothing in his life that Satan or the unsaved can take hold of to criticize or attack the church.
[00:17:49] I met someone just yesterday in the gym I was sharing the gospel with, inviting him to church and hey, do you go to church anywhere? No, I haven't been to church in 20 years. Why is that? Because I had a bad church experience. Tell me about it.
[00:18:00] Been there, done that.
[00:18:02] I had a bad experience with the pastor. It really hurt me and my mom.
[00:18:06] I'm sorry to hear that.
[00:18:08] Friends, this is a real thing. Satan can use that.
[00:18:11] A really poor or unfaithful man or a church give people a bad taste in their mouth.
[00:18:18] Jeremy Rennie says, a man who is above reproach displays an exemplary degree of Christ likeness free from conspicuous sin.
[00:18:27] Now, friends, this is a good question that not just ask of me or their current elders or men aspiring to be an elder.
[00:18:36] This is a good question to ask yourself this morning.
[00:18:41] Is there anything in your life right now that would bring shame to you if it was publicly known?
[00:18:51] Is there anything in your life right now that would bring shame on you, the church, your family, if it became publicly known? Why do I ask the question?
[00:19:03] Because that's the kind of question that people need to ask if they want to live above reproach.
[00:19:11] It's not a double life.
[00:19:13] It's not, I do my Christian thing on Sunday and then live like the world Monday through Saturday.
[00:19:18] No, Christianity is not something I do. It's who I am.
[00:19:23] My relationship with Jesus Christ is never on rent. He owns me. He purchased me. And friends, if you're in Christ, he owns and purchases you. There are no days off from the Christian life.
[00:19:34] Praise be to God. He is with us always.
[00:19:37] All Christians, including the elders, should desire to be above reproach.
[00:19:43] Second, an overseer must be verse 2 the husband of one wife the husband of one wife. In the original language, it literally reads a one woman man or a one wife husband.
[00:19:55] Though marriage isn't a requirement for the office, most men serving as an elder will be married. The fact that he's married is not really Paul's main point. But but if the man is married, the quality of his marriage needs to be exemplary or it needs to set an example. The man is faithful to his wife, he is aiming to keep his end of the marriage vows, and he can point to his marriage not as the only example or the perfect example, but an example for other couples to learn from. If the man is single, he should demonstrate honorable character and sexual purity towards other women in his life.
[00:20:33] Paul says in First Timothy 5:2 Treat the older women as mothers and younger women as sisters. In all purity. This will show up in any dating relationship he's in or how he talks to and texts other women in his life.
[00:20:47] This man is kind to both men and women. He's not known as the flirty guy. He's not the guy with crude posters in his garage or crude images and videos and pictures he looks at on his phone.
[00:20:58] If he's got a ring on his hand, he makes it clear by his words and actions that to other women he's already taken.
[00:21:05] He is unavailable. The store is closed. Leave me alone.
[00:21:10] I am married. He's a one woman kind of man, gentlemen. He's the kind of man you would feel 100% at peace with with your wife to be around him.
[00:21:22] Ladies. He's the kind of man that shows faithfulness to his wife in a way that makes you feel safe. Safe around him.
[00:21:28] It's interesting also to note we went through the book of Exodus earlier this year as a church. Do you remember the sermon series we did on the Ten Commandments?
[00:21:35] Have you ever noticed that two of the Ten Commandments speak about marriage?
[00:21:41] Exodus 20, verse 14. You shall not commit adultery.
[00:21:45] Exodus 20, verse 17. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
[00:21:52] So you combine these two things together. What do we find written with the finger of God in the second table of the Law?
[00:21:58] God cares about love and fidelity in marriage.
[00:22:01] He cares also about contentment and devotion in your marriage. There's the coveting part. The opposite of coveting is contentment with what God has given you. And every Christian man, whether he's an elder or not, is in the process of being the man God's called us to be. There are Definitely aspects of my husbanding, if that's even a word that needs work, go ask Julie. Just watch me try and fail.
[00:22:27] Every husband, every man is looking at what God has called us to be. To love our wives as Christ loved the church and realizing we are not the men that we ought to be. But praise be to God, I'm not what I used to be. By the grace of God.
[00:22:41] Which means a man qualified for the eldership should have a marriage in some regards that gives the members of the church an example to learn from and how to treat his wife.
[00:22:52] His marriage is not perfect, but when you talk to his wife, his wife is secure in his love.
[00:22:58] She doesn't look uneasy, on the edge, constantly guessing where he's at, what he's doing. A man hiding secrets from her. No, that's not going to show up in a man who's a one woman kind of man. He's above reproach too. Friends, gentlemen, he's above reproach with what he allows to be put before his eyes. You go to a college football game or watch an NBA game and these girls get out on the court or on the field, look down, look away, don't look, don't look. It's going to steal your affections like that. What you do with your phone, where you go out in the community, what you look at, God sees, your wife sees, others sees. Our souls are at stake.
[00:23:38] Now throughout church history, Christians have debated really what this one woman man qualifications about. Does it mean he must be married? Well, I don't think that's the main point. Jesus, Paul, nor Timothy were ever married. At least Paul wasn't when he wrote this.
[00:23:52] Some think elders must not be polygamous. Well, I think that's a given. We don't have any examples in the New Testament of Christians practicing polygamy in the church.
[00:24:01] The third option is he must have only been married once in his life.
[00:24:05] That's possible, but that would be a strange application by itself because a man who loses his wife in death is free to remarry in the Lord. And I would find it hard pressed to say a man cannot serve as a pastor simply because he remarried after he became a widower. That would be an odd interpretation.
[00:24:24] Option four is that he must be pure and devoted to his wife. Biblical monogamy. Faithful to his wife, devoted to his wife. True. To one woman.
[00:24:34] Now, I am spending a little bit of time on this because it's a question I will get at the door, I'm sure. Let me ask a few more questions that you might be thinking and if I don't answer it fully, stop me at the door. We'll talk more about it Does a man have to be married to be qualified to be an elder?
[00:24:49] No.
[00:24:50] Again, there have been men of God like John Stott who've been greatly used of God as single who never married. My own pastor in high school was single when he first accepted the call to be married.
[00:25:01] Called to be married, called to pastor our church. He did get married about 12 to 18 months into his pastorate, but we didn't forbid him from becoming our pastor simply because he was single. And again, First Corinthians 7 says there are advantages for men and women to staying single for kingdom purposes.
[00:25:18] Does this mean a man can never have been divorced and or remarried?
[00:25:25] Possibly not automatically, but possibly Christians and therefore churches have handled this differently On a case by case basis, the qualification seems to suggest his present marriage is under view. I would tend to say there's more questions that need to be asked if he's been divorced. Like number one, is he above reproach in every other area of his life? Number two, how is he managing his own household? Well, those are other questions we want to look at.
[00:25:52] I would tend to say because eldering or pastoring is the highest church office, elders are to set an example and they will often be involved in many pastoring and difficult situations with divorce and remarriage. I would tend to err on the side of caution and it would be ordinarily wise not for a church to have a pastor who has been divorced and remarried. But I will leave it open for a case by case. Given the amount of details that will need to be involved in and the congregation that's in front of them, other things would need to be considered about the divorce and its continuing implications in the present Is the former spouse in the church? Is the former spouse in the community? What is his reputation among the church and the larger community? Again, pray for your elders to have wisdom and love as we navigate through that.
[00:26:42] Friends, if you are married here this morning, here's my admonition to you to be a one woman kind of man.
[00:26:47] Study your wife, rejoice in your wife, avoid interactions with women that could tempt you, and be on guard of spending too much time away from your wife. It's really hard to be unfaithful if you're constantly with your wife.
[00:27:04] There are limitations and challenges to that, but oftentimes when I see a husband and wife separated for prolonged periods of time when without being proactive in communication. It opens the door to a lot of temptation.
[00:27:18] Single men or married men, reject lustful thoughts immediately. Fill your mind with scripture. Run to Jesus your shepherd, daily in prayer. Lean on brothers in the faith who can help you remain faithful. Be a one woman kind of man.
[00:27:33] Next, Paul says in verse 2, an overseer is to be sober minded.
[00:27:37] Sober minded? It means circumspect.
[00:27:40] It means vigilant. You're spiritually alert. You're spiritually awake. You're not the person driving at 11:30pm down I49 and you're really tired. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not falling off the road there.
[00:27:53] It's the same word used for the women or the wives in verse 11 of 1st Timothy. They must be sober minded. Titus 2, verse 2. Older men are to be sober minded.
[00:28:04] Sober minded means that the man is known by his family, his friends, and his church family, generally speaking, as being a cool, calm and collected man. I don't mean cool like he's hip or fun or not mid. That's not good. No, is it? I'm not sure what the words are these days.
[00:28:26] I'm working on that. We're not talking about his personality.
[00:28:31] Rather we're talking about how measured he seems to be.
[00:28:35] There's no obvious imbalances to his life.
[00:28:39] He's known for a man that makes good judgment calls. Now, yes, this man will have bad days and good days, bad moods and good moods like anybody else.
[00:28:50] But when his judgment is off or when he's not doing well spiritually, it doesn't mark his life. It doesn't characterize him.
[00:28:58] Friends. To be sober minded means you're not a daily yo yo, a haphazard and hasty decision maker, a squirrel running back and forth in the middle of the road, always leaving people on edge on what you're going to do.
[00:29:12] He cannot be unpredictable in how he handles conflict and crisis. When people are around him unstable, he brings a sense of peace and stability to the problem.
[00:29:24] He doesn't do everything with flippancy and impulsiveness either.
[00:29:27] Sometimes we say he's got a good head on his shoulders, meaning knowing he knows what he's supposed to be doing. He knows who he is in Christ, and he has a grasp on what God has put in front of him.
[00:29:38] Thus, being sober minded. He's not drunk on his passions or other people's passions. He sees things as they really are.
[00:29:47] He knows himself. He tends to know people. He's in touch with reality, such that there are no great gaps between what he sees in himself and what others see in himself.
[00:29:59] He's sober minded.
[00:30:01] Next, he's also self controlled.
[00:30:04] Self controlled. The Holy Spirit has a seat belt on his emotions, his passions, his appetites, his desires and his endeavors. Again, this is used in Titus 2:2 for older men are to be self controlled. Or older women in Titus 2. Five are to teach and train younger women to be self controlled.
[00:30:24] Every human being lacks self control apart from the Holy Spirit producing the fruit of self control. We are all messy, we're all messed up, we're all erratic. We're all like bombs getting to set off. We're all all over the place. Unless God the Holy Spirit controls those excesses to produce that fruit in our life.
[00:30:47] Secondly, these qualities mentioned so far, self controlled and sober minded assume that the man's prayer life is active.
[00:30:56] His prayer life is worth imitating.
[00:30:59] No, his prayer life isn't perfect. He's not praying all night with no sleep like Jesus did once.
[00:31:05] But it does mean he's yielded his passions, he's yielded his burdens, he's yielded his thoughts to God in prayer. Peter actually uses these phrases to make that point. He says in 1st Peter 4. 7, the end of all things is at hand. Therefore be self controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers.
[00:31:24] Isn't this what Jesus told his three in the Garden of Gethsemane? He tells them in Mark 14 to watch. That means circumspect. Be vigilant, be sober minded and do what and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
[00:31:38] The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
[00:31:42] A man that is sober minded and self controlled will be a man of constant prayer.
[00:31:46] He knows he's weak and he's constantly dependent on God.
[00:31:52] Next, Paul says an overseer must be respectable.
[00:31:55] Respectable. The word means orderly or well arranged. It's also translated as modest earlier in First Timothy 2. Look back in First Timothy 2. We were there a number of weeks ago. In First Timothy 2 he tells the women, verse 9, they should adorn themselves in respectable apparel. Same Greek word, with modesty and self control. Not with braided hair, gold or pearls, or costly attire.
[00:32:19] That means that the man's very life, the way he conducts himself, is admirable by the Church.
[00:32:26] Notice his personality doesn't have to be over the top. There's introverts, extroverts, all sorts of personalities.
[00:32:33] He doesn't have to be a social butterfly or outspoken, but his example will grab your attention.
[00:32:40] It's something that impresses you spiritually.
[00:32:44] Paul would say in First Thessalonians 5. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
[00:32:55] I remember in high school when we would play a really good football team, it would be in the newspapers, it would be on the TVs. We. We didn't have smartphones back then, but today it would be smartphones.
[00:33:07] And if There was a D1 athlete on the field, everybody knew it.
[00:33:12] As soon as he walked out on the field, it demanded the attention of the fans, it demanded the attention of the coaches, and it demanded the attention of the opposing team. When he would throw, when he would catch, when he would run, or he was like Sasquatch with shoulder pads on. He was massive. Everyone knew when he stepped on the field, his stats, his reputation, his build and his talent preceded him. And it demanded respect, friends.
[00:33:44] That's the image here.
[00:33:45] This man does not command people to respect him. He doesn't threaten them to respect him. If any man ever does that to you, he's not respectable to begin with.
[00:33:56] His very example is respectable. It makes you pull up the chair, look a little closer and say, I admire that in him.
[00:34:06] Next, Paul says an overseer must be hospitable.
[00:34:10] Hospitable. He's approachable, he's welcoming. He's accommodating to others.
[00:34:15] He doesn't have to be the Walmart greeter or the best waiter at Cracker Barrel with five stars, but he needs to be one who opens his life to others.
[00:34:25] He opens his calendar, he opens his home, he opens his wallet. If it's appropriate, he opens up his arms for a big hug.
[00:34:34] He's kind to newcomers.
[00:34:36] People feel welcome in his home.
[00:34:39] I would say one of the biggest things about him, he's not a secretive person. He's so hospitable. Just because he's always around you, he's always opening his life to you. There's. There's no secrets to hide. I once heard a story of a man who served as a lay elder for a number of years in a church. And on the last Sunday night that he was there, he and his wife were about to move away.
[00:35:01] And he had served so well as an elder that the lead pastor asked Jim and his wife to stand up so that everyone knew that they were there, and then sit down. And then he asked everyone in the church to stand up who had spent any time in Jim and his wife's home throughout their ministry. When he was a lay elder, 90% of that 350 to 400 person church stood up to say they had been in his home. That would be exemplary there. That would be exemplary of someone who's aiming to be hospitable again. There may be seasons in a man's life with his children or sickness that he may not be able to do that kind of thing. But before the service, after the service, throughout the week, he's welcoming others as Christ has welcomed him and friends. Hospitality is something that all Christians are called to pursue. Did you know that first Peter 4, verse 9 show hospitality to one another without grumbling. That's a good one to read right before you're tempted to cancel plans or Romans 12:13 contribute to the needs of the saints. Seek to show hospitality. It means to be aggressively chasing after and pursuing opportunities to show hospitality. Those are commands not just of elders, that's of every follower of Jesus.
[00:36:15] Bobby Jamison says hospitality is being large hearted and open handed with whatever resources God has given you, whether time or food or your home.
[00:36:25] Friends, a good question we should all ask ourselves is would others characterize you as open handed, large hearted, approachable, welcoming friends? I praise God that this has become a hospitable church.
[00:36:44] I get told again and again that guests feel welcome, they become known and seen visitors comment on how friendly you guys are. Friends, continue to grow and mature and ask the Lord to make each one of us more and more like Him.
[00:36:59] Welcoming others as Christians has welcomed us.
[00:37:04] Paul then goes on to talk a little bit about the function. Now notice he says this, the man must be able to teach.
[00:37:10] Able to teach. Some of your translations might say apt to teach or an able teacher. It means he's instructive.
[00:37:17] He's skillful in his ability to teach God's Word faithfully, accurately and effectively.
[00:37:24] Now one good question you should ask yourself is is why does this characteristic or this ability, why is this in the qualifications he must be able to teach?
[00:37:38] Well, you should be thinking pretty logically, right?
[00:37:41] Number one. It presumes we need to be taught.
[00:37:45] It presumes that disciples don't know everything.
[00:37:49] It presumes humility to be underneath the oversight of some someone God has set apart for this task.
[00:37:57] The second thing is that God cares that His Word is handled accurately, clearly, faithfully and in love.
[00:38:07] Not just what he's teaching, but the motivations behind his teaching.
[00:38:13] Seeing that our Lord was a constant teacher among people.
[00:38:17] Yes, he healed, yes he fed the thousands, but but he taught non stop. He was like a pitching machine, constantly teaching people every single day, all the time, even when they didn't get it for the first 100 times. We shouldn't surprise us that under shepherds will smell like and look like Jesus. They're constantly teaching, counseling, helping people understand God's word. The Great Commission involves teaching all that Jesus gave us to obey. Matthew 28:20 how is the gospel going to go forward? How are churches going to be planted? There need to be able men who are able to teach others also. 2nd Timothy 2:2.
[00:38:57] Paul would tell Titus he must be holding firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he can give instruction and sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it. A few questions to him. The ability to teach does the man have to have a seminary education?
[00:39:14] No. But he does need to be educated enough in the main doctrines of the faith so that he can teach what is essential to salvation and essential to that church's statement of faith. Our church's statement of faith is a good test.
[00:39:28] Second, does the man have to know all the answers to every Bible question?
[00:39:33] Hyacinth asked me a really good question about Saul's uncle and the whole kind of setup of why he didn't tell his uncle that he was anointed king. She asked me right before the service, and I go, I don't know, I'm going to need to look into that. And she says, well, I'll ask you after the service.
[00:39:51] Thank you for keeping me accountable, Hyacinth.
[00:39:54] I don't know all the answers to every question and I could be wrong and change my view on something in five years from now. Welcome to being a disciple.
[00:40:02] If you're going to teach, you need to be teachable. Those are the best ones to listen to.
[00:40:06] Does the man have to have the ability to preach in the pulpit on Sundays? Good question. I often get notice. It does not say able to preach.
[00:40:15] It says able to teach later in first Timothy 5, 17 and 18. Some elders will be good at preaching and teaching. Typically that's the lead pastor or maybe a few on staff that are good in that area.
[00:40:28] An ability to teach means, at the very least, when Christians ask him questions, he gives them biblical answers that are helpful and true, and they are built up. This can take the form of sermons, it can take the form of Bible studies, it can take the form of writing books and tracts, small groups, teaching children, teaching students. There's a lot of different venues where a man can learn and be examined. To be able to teach, he must handle the law of God lawfully, like the false teachers were not doing well in First Timothy. A church led by able teachers will be a well taught church.
[00:41:09] A church led by able teachers will be a well taught church. And guess what you have when you have a well taught church, you have a well nourished church, not a malnourished church. And when the church is nourished in the word of God, it becomes a mature and strong church that can be used of the Lord used the Lord in mighty ways.
[00:41:32] I'm so thankful for the men that have grown to teach in this congregation.
[00:41:38] Half a dozen men preach in the pulpit up to maybe 10 or so teach on Sunday nights and that include with children on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. May the Lord continue to increase and make our bench deeper with more able teachers. Now over the next several qualifications, he mentions four disqualifiers.
[00:41:56] What the man must not be look at me there in verse three.
[00:42:02] He must not be a drunkard.
[00:42:04] The word means one who stays near the wine or he's given to wine or alcohol.
[00:42:11] Does this man mean he has to never drink or be a teetotaler? Certainly if his conscience leads him there, maybe he will choose that for a variety of reasons to abstain altogether.
[00:42:21] The main point here is that his life is under control.
[00:42:25] He's not dominated by his appetites. He can say no and not now.
[00:42:30] He is not pleasure seeking in ways of excess.
[00:42:34] Paul would even later tell Timothy in first Timothy 5 to drink wine for the sake of his frequent stomach illnesses seems to be some allowances. But he's not known as the man by what he drinks.
[00:42:46] Paul then also says an overseer must not be violent but gentle.
[00:42:51] You would think this would be self explanatory, but we don't want bully pastors.
[00:42:59] Mike Tyson in his heyday might have been something to look at in the ring, but you don't want that as your pastor.
[00:43:06] He's not a man like a ticking time bomb. And let me just go on a little mini rant here.
[00:43:11] He can show anger in righteous ways at unrighteous things, but he cannot try to use intimidation or force whether in person or on a keyboard. There are a lot of guys, I got a few I want to have some conversations with. The way they talk online as pastors is such a turn off and I think is disqualifying if they don't repent. You can pray for me with those conversations. Some of them I don't know well some I do. But that's one thing to also in check. It's how you write it's how you talk. It's how you interact with people. Warren Wiersbe said, short tempers do not make for long ministries.
[00:43:48] It's a good word.
[00:43:50] Paul also says he must not be quarrelsome.
[00:43:53] Quarrelsome. He's not an argumentative person.
[00:43:57] He's certainly not afraid to defend the faith. He certainly enjoys a good sparring around theological things. And you know, when iron clashes, sparks flow sometimes. But when it's done in love with someone, it can be very healthy and good.
[00:44:12] But he's not a man who's always looking to be right.
[00:44:16] He knows how to let stuff go.
[00:44:19] He's not trying to win every argument. He tends to be discerning on when it's best to avoid argumentative people.
[00:44:29] Being that he's a gentleman means that he's not known to be a defensive man.
[00:44:36] Even when he's sinned against, even when he's slandered, even when he's wrongly misrepresented. He doesn't blow up at people.
[00:44:44] Dallas Willard once said, I think a mature Christian is someone who is very difficult to offend.
[00:44:50] Friend, are you difficult to offend?
[00:44:53] Pray that God would all give us rhinoceros skin and tender hearts, that we would not be so easily offended.
[00:45:02] Proverbs 19:11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
[00:45:08] At the end of verse three, Paul says, an overseer must not be a lover of money.
[00:45:12] This has nothing to do with how much his salary is or what the church pays him. But it does have a lot to do with what owns him.
[00:45:21] Is money, wealth, and possessions and stuff? Is that the burning affections of his heart, or is it Christ's over his heart? What does he do with that money?
[00:45:31] Is he using money to bless others, or using others to bless himself?
[00:45:37] Peter says in 1st Peter 5 an elder must not do this for shameful gain.
[00:45:43] That's money, fame, or wealth.
[00:45:46] That should not characterize an overseer.
[00:45:49] In verses 4 and 5, he then touches on his home life.
[00:45:53] Look with me in verses 4 and 5 he must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?
[00:46:08] Well? What does it mean that he manages his own household well, just like you would look at a good manager in your job, a good coach on a team.
[00:46:17] He's got a good grasp on the good and healthy and strong aspects of the church, or of his home or his organization, and he knows the weaknesses and the needs Here to manage his household well could mean financial provision.
[00:46:33] It could mean his overall work ethic to care for his family's basic needs.
[00:46:38] I would also say the man is attentive to even runny noses, kids bickering with each other in the car, whiny attitudes, working with his wife to maintain the busy family schedule. Having a loving relationship with his children doesn't mean there aren't seasons where it's hard. Doesn't mean there aren't seasons where maybe there needs to be some trust regained. But he's a man who is seeking after his children's hearts. He wants their hearts. He loves his children, he's tender with his children. And he will own up to his sin and flaws and anger when he drops the ball with his children.
[00:47:14] If his children are disobedient, begin acting in a way that's disruptive to other people, the school, the neighborhood, the family or friend circles, or even the church. The dad does not sit back and dump all the responsibilities on the wife. This kind of man takes responsibility to address the matter, to apologize to parents, teachers and church members, and be proactive in shepherding as his children. That should be true of every father here.
[00:47:38] The mom should not be having all those responsibilities.
[00:47:42] He's willing to take on the heavier load when needed.
[00:47:45] This qualification does not state that his children never sin or that his children must be converted. However, the overall leadership of his home has instilled in the children a respect for him.
[00:47:58] I appreciate what Chap Bettis says. An intentional father will teach his children obedience while monitoring their hard attitudes.
[00:48:07] He will not be satisfied with mere outward compliance from his child, but will say, give me your heart and give your heart to Jesus.
[00:48:17] Give me your heart and give your heart to Jesus.
[00:48:21] Friends, I think the fact that Paul calls us to pay attention to the man's home life calls all of us to pay attention to our home life.
[00:48:33] If his home life is to be a fishbowl, if his life is to be close enough to the people that you can see how he pastors and shepherds his wife, as you can see and hear how he pastors and shepherds his children, the good question for us is, are we allowing others to see our home life too?
[00:48:55] If we're called to live above reproach, we're called to make disciples.
[00:49:00] We can't do that at a distance.
[00:49:04] We need to bring people in so they can see what we're really like.
[00:49:09] In verse 6, Paul then speaks about the man's spiritual maturity. Look at verse 6. He must not Be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
[00:49:20] The word means a new plant, like a little new tree.
[00:49:25] A young convert.
[00:49:27] Yes, he must be converted. I know that sounds silly, but we need to say it out loud. The fact that he can't be a recent convert presumes he is a convert to begin with. So how are you converted? You are converted when you recognize you're a sinner, a rebel that is filthy from the inside out, that can't save yourself.
[00:49:47] You recognize that one day you're going to die. You recognize you're going to stand before God. And you recognize that God is so good you, he will judge you for your sin justly and you rightly see yourself as someone deserving of hell. That's the first step to being converted is recognizing how wretched you and I really are.
[00:50:05] That's bad news. The good news is that God has done something for that really bad problem.
[00:50:11] God the Father sent God the Son to this earth and put on human flesh and became a real man. He always lived above reproach and he was always teaching the word of God accurately. He was sober minded. He was self controlled, he was respectable. He was hospitable. And he cared for his disciples. He cared for his disciples parents. He cared for the sick, he cared for the weary. And he confronted the wicked. And he did it out of love for the Father and out of love for sinners that need saving. And that man is Jesus Christ.
[00:50:43] You see these qualifications, friends, is not. Blake and the elders have arrived. Blake. Blake and the elders have been glorified. No. The purpose of this passage is to look through the pastor to Jesus.
[00:50:56] He's the only one who has ever lived up to this standard with absolute perfection.
[00:51:02] And friend. If you want to be converted today, be given a new heart and a new future with a new hope. All you have to do is surrender and give your life fully to Jesus Christ.
[00:51:11] He died on the cross in our place, taking on the punishment we deserve under God's just wrath. And on the third day, God raised him from the dead, overcoming our enemy, death itself, calling all of us to turn from our sins and trust in him. Now an elder should not only be able to preach that, but he believes that and he believes that and it has so taken root in his life. He's not a baby Christian. For endless amount of time he, he grows his sanctification. His maturity in front of the church is encouraging. It is hopeful, it's inspiring. They are seeing Christ in a man giving you hope that Christ can work in you too.
[00:51:56] He cannot be a brand new Christian because if he gets to the elders table too early, his head could get too big.
[00:52:06] Hot air, pride and the devil loves it.
[00:52:10] He needs to be mature enough before he comes to the table.
[00:52:14] In verse seven, he must be well thought of by outsiders. That's likely, speaking of non Christians unbelievers, that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
[00:52:25] In other words, when this man's at work, he might be surrounded with non Christians. When he's in his neighborhood, he might be surrounded with non Christians all throughout the week. But everybody knows that dude's a Christian. He's different, he's distinct. He's not camouflaging with people when he's out in the world. No, he's in the world, but he's not of the world. And everyone knows this dude loves Jesus. He's not perfect, but he's the real deal. His reputation precedes him.
[00:52:52] Not just in the church, but everywhere he goes. Friends, that's a good question for us.
[00:52:59] Does our reputation precede us?
[00:53:04] Are we the same person at church that we are, at home, that we are, at work, we are at the garden club or the gym, wherever we go? That's what Paul's saying about the qualifications of an elder. Above reproach, good reputation and everything in between.
[00:53:23] Now friends, I asked a question at the beginning of this service.
[00:53:27] Why are pastors needed in the local church? We spent an entire 45 to 50 minutes on these qualifications.
[00:53:34] Why are pastors needed?
[00:53:38] These kind of men in the local church? If you're taking notes, it's going to be brief.
[00:53:45] Five reasons.
[00:53:47] Five reasons why pastors are needed in the local church.
[00:53:52] Number one.
[00:53:53] Because God says we do.
[00:53:56] Because God says we do. These qualifications would be irrelevant if they weren't needed.
[00:54:03] Shepherding is the heart of God towards us.
[00:54:08] Jacob told Joseph in Genesis 48:15.
[00:54:11] God has been my shepherd all my life to this day. What did Alex read earlier in Psalm 23? The Lord is my what?
[00:54:20] Shepherd. Isaiah 40, verse 11. He tends his flock like a shepherd who comes on the scene in Galilee and Jerusalem. None other than Jesus Christ, the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He came not to kill, steal and destroy. That's the thief. But he came to give them life and life abundantly.
[00:54:39] Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd. Jesus Christ is the faithful overseer of our souls. First Peter 2:25. And we know throughout Scripture how the Lord uses his Servants as shepherds for his people. Moses was a shepherd, David was a shepherd. And there were good shepherds and there were bad shepherds.
[00:54:57] We know in the New Testament that pastors are called gifts of Christ to his church.
[00:55:04] Faithful, qualified pastors are gifts of Christ to his church. Ephesians 4, 7, 11.
[00:55:12] Friends, we should not take for granted those gifts. I prayed in the pastoral prayer this morning. My childhood pastor, Brooks Kahl, is still preaching and faithfully pastoring strong all these years later. And that's a motivation to me. Pastor Mark Dever, who I learned under for four and a half years, has been at it for well over 35 years. These men are faithful inspirations to me. I don't need celebrity pastors for that. I need the man that's pastoring me to be that. Friends, the same thing is true here.
[00:55:42] Thank God for these elders, and thank God for the men that God has used to pastor your soul. Number two. Why else are pastors needed? Number two, we need an example to learn from.
[00:55:53] We need an example to learn from. I didn't say the example. I said an example.
[00:55:58] Pastors are sinners. And not everything you see in me or another pastor will need to be what you imitate. That according to 1st Peter 5, 3, we are to set the believers an example. Why else are pastors needed in the church? Number three, because we will benefit from their faithful teaching and counsel.
[00:56:15] We will benefit from their faithful teaching and counsel. God uses believers of all stripes, age, men, women, young, old, variety of gifts. Let me say this loud and clear. You do not need to be taught only from me or the elders. That's why God's given you the ability to speak the word to one another. Okay? So everyone in the body of Christ is needed to speak the truth in love, to teach one another. It's part of the Great Commission. All right, so I'm not saying that the pastor is the only person that can teach you the Bible. I'm not saying that. Never have, never will. Okay? But if a man must be able to teach, and God has given him that ability to do it, he's not infallible, he's not inerrant.
[00:57:00] But he's not someone you should quickly ignore.
[00:57:03] He's been put in that role for a purpose.
[00:57:06] So benefit from his teaching, benefit from his counsel.
[00:57:11] Pursue his teaching, pursue his counsel. And if he doesn't know the answer, he'll grow with you to find it.
[00:57:19] Number four.
[00:57:21] We are all prone to wander into sin.
[00:57:24] Because we are all prone wander into sin. You know what one of the parts of a job description of a pastor is it's checking in on the members of the church.
[00:57:34] I don't do it perfectly. So I'm not claiming this semi regularly. I don't do it every single day without exception, but semi regularly, I pray for every member of the church. In my quiet time, I take one page and I pray for you by name.
[00:57:49] Okay. When I see a face on here that I haven't seen at church in three weeks, five weeks, seven weeks, three months, I get concerned, the elders get concerned. What do we do? We reach out. We pursue. Why? Because that's a part of caring for God's church.
[00:58:07] If my kids were invited to come to dinner at six o' clock and only two of them came to the table and one was missing, as a responsible father, I'm going to say, where's Titus or Noah or Avi? Whoever's missing, I care about where my children are. The same is for this congregation.
[00:58:27] There are times we all go astray.
[00:58:30] We are all like sheep who do what we go astray, each to our own way, all of us. We need someone watching out for us, keeping watch over our souls as one who will give an account.
[00:58:43] Lastly, number five. You're doing great, guys.
[00:58:46] Why do we need pastors in the local church? Because they help us suffer well when life is hard.
[00:58:54] They help us suffer well when life is hard.
[00:59:03] We're there to hold your hand in the hospital when you're weak.
[00:59:09] We're there to officiate the funeral when you're weeping.
[00:59:15] We're there to show up when you receive that devastating news.
[00:59:20] We're there to pray with you when you don't know what to pray.
[00:59:24] We're there to read scripture with you when you don't know where to turn.
[00:59:29] Andrew Fuller said perhaps the greatest qualification, the best instruction, the most useful learning that any Christian minister can attain with, without any disparagement of other kinds of learning, is that which is attained in the school of affliction. It is by this he becomes able to feel, to sympathize and to speak a word in season to them that are weary friends. Pastors are sinners and sufferers just like you.
[00:59:57] And often the chief shepherd takes his under shepherds and puts them in intense heat to tenderize them so that they might be better sympathizers with you.
[01:00:13] How are diamonds formed? Intense heat, pressure for long periods of time. How are pastures formed through intense heat and pressure through long periods of time? And when God is removing the dross and the diamond of Christlike character is being seen in the man. He is able. He is able with God's help, to be a sympathetic counselor and comforter to you.
[01:00:42] Paul says, death is at work in us, but life in you.
[01:00:48] Let's conclude Carl Truman then gave advice to what he saw was a problem with the growing celebrity culture of pastors.
[01:01:01] What advice should we heed this morning as we conclude this passage on the qualification of an elder?
[01:01:10] Here's what Truman My hope and prayer is that the very influential pastors of large churches is that they do everything they can to minimize themselves.
[01:01:22] I would also add how this trend of celebrity pastors or big church pastors connects to the intrusion of worldly categories of success as opposed to faithful categories. When Paul is wrestling in Second Timothy with the fact that he is about to pass away and the apostles are going away, he does it right to Timothy. The way to safeguard Christian teaching and Christian behavior for the next generation is to find 12 really charismatic guys to carry the message forward.
[01:01:47] Rather, what he says is this. Find yourself some ordinary guys who are respected in the church, respected in their communities, and if they're married, they should have brought up their families well and they should be able to teach.
[01:02:03] There are more than a dozen guys in this country who can preach the gospel. Preaching the gospel is not rocket science. If it was, Paul would have said so.
[01:02:13] He says, find ordinary guys who are reputable, respectable and faithful and can teach.
[01:02:22] And that's how the church will be safe for the next generation.
[01:02:28] A pastor will never be Jesus for you, but by God's grace working in his life.
[01:02:37] He will be a window through which you can see Jesus. Through him, every pastor is a sinner, and that sin puts blinds and shutters and curtains over Christ.
[01:02:54] That's why pastors need the same grace of God and the same gospel that you do every Lord's day.
[01:03:00] So those curtains can come back open, the shutters are wide open and what people see is not us, but Christ in us.
[01:03:13] Will Lord, make us faithful and not worry about being famous?
[01:03:19] May he continue to raise up more faithful men to shepherd his church that serve as windows to show us Jesus.
[01:03:31] Let's pray.
[01:03:35] Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given us in your word exactly what we need for life and godliness.
[01:03:42] Lord, we pray. As we look at these qualifications, we would see they are a compass for every Christian to aspire to.
[01:03:48] At the very least, the godliness and others the commitment to the Bride of Christ.
[01:03:54] Lord, we pray that you would use this sermon in all of our lives in ways that will exceed our expectations.
[01:04:01] And, Father, we praise you that in Christ we are washed whiter than snow. It's in his precious name we pray.
[01:04:08] Amen.
