1 Timothy 3:2-7

Message #12 ~ Modeling Leadership – Part 3

Introduction & Overview

• Last week we examined the third of our 7 aspect of biblical eldership
• Let me review for you quickly the 7 aspects; they are:

1. Servant Leadership
2. Shared Leadership
3. Male Leadership
4. Qualified Leadership
5. Non-Clerical Leadership
6. Pastoral Leadership
7. Proper Response to Leadership

• As you might recall we started our study looking at servant leadership and how God has called each of us to a servant lifestyle
• We saw that leaders within the Christian community and especially elders cannot be men that are puffed up, conceited, boastful or proud
• Furthermore we saw that leadership must never be heavy-handed but always buffered by a servants heart and attitudes
• We also looked at shared leadership and I wanted all of you to take away that the consistent model of the New Testament always favors shared leadership
• Of the 18 examples of leadership we have in the New Testament 15 of those examples clearly demonstrate shared leadership and the three that don’t are not to be seen as incompatible with shared leadership
• In every area of the New Testament church we saw plurality of leadership whether in teaching, prophesying, preaching, deacons or elders there is always a shared leadership model present
• So that bring us to last week were we took time to look male leadership
• In doing that we looked at a few things but first we examined the biblical role of women and saw very clearly that what goes on in our culture and other cultures that is degrading, dehumanizing, and worse cannot be justified by Scripture
• We saw that men and women were above all else. were one in Christ Jesus so there is no room for boasting from either gender
• Then we took time to examine the role of the woman in the home
• I explained that the reason we did that instead of just jumping into the role of the woman in the church is because the church is actually a family according the Apostle Paul and we must model in the church that what happens in the home and vice versa
• So we looked at the role of the woman in the home then finally we moved on into the role of the woman in the church and demonstrated how the New Testament passages about women’s role in church model what we had just looked at in the home
• As we looked at these issues last week I attempted to show the balance of the Word of God; not a picture of women always being barefoot and in the kitchen but also a woman in proper relationship to her husband and to the leadership of the church and not reblious
• So that bring us this week to look at the issue of qualified leadership

Qualified Leadership

• When it comes to the issue of qualified leadership the Scriptures are quite clear, only spiritually and morally qualified men can be elders
• Now as we examine the Scripture there are really two passages of Scripture that leap to the forefront
• The first is 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and the second is Titus 1:6-9; the list are remarkably similar in that they each have the same number of qualifications
• Paul does choose to use slightly different language or phrasing in each passage and the lists come in a different order however their substance is materially the same
• We see in the passage in 1 Timothy 3, which is where we will focus today, 15 distinct qualifications of elder/overseers
• 1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseer^[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
• We want to survey those qualities today; as we cover each point I will provide some brief comments on them but I certainly don’t have time to address each of these points in great detail
• I do not want to imply for a moment that a thorough understanding of these is not important to your Christian life
• However because of the short time I have left with you it would not be feasible to cover each of these in great detail
• As I have shared and pleaded with you for the last few weeks God doesn’t have different standards for different classes of Christians rather we are all called to one standard
• The qualifications that Paul lays out for us today about overseers/elders in fact are a standard we are all called to but it is a standard that if an overseer ever allows himself to waiver on any of these points it is causes the flag of banner of Christianity to touch the ground and be scorned by those watching us
• Also this message is relevant to those of you who are members here at Grace Church because as you know we are in the process of seeking a new pastor
• You should be desiring these qualities in your own life but you should absolutely be requiring them in the next man God brings to you
• Too many churches in America have happily accepted the ditch on the left or the ditch on the right instead of the clear teaching of Scripture
• The Scripture lays out a list of requirements and the ditch on the left is to relax the standard of God
• This ditch says but this man is so smart, or has so much money and influence within the community we want him as an elder
• Perhaps promoting someone who has been a long-time member and is well liked by everyone but for one reason or another he doesn’t meet the qualifications; this is a classic way to end up in the ditch on the left
• What if you accept as an elder the man whose family is on the brink of ruin and the children run the household because he has good stage presence and good speaking skills again the ditch on the left
• The other ditch, the one on the right, instead of relaxing God’s standards it adds additional requirements that are man-made requirements
• Requirements such as schooling, education, and degrees; or perhaps a requirement of how well he can translate Hebrew and Greek texts
• What if we have requirements that say he must be married and he can’t be single, widowed, etc.
• Perhaps you have a mental image in your mind what a pastor looks like, or how his voice sounds when he speaks
• Perhaps someone who can preach without ever looking down at any notes or tells funny stories that make you laugh
• All of these are unscriptural requirements
• As Ronald Allen succinctly put it:
  “The church has no right to diminish these standards for the officers of the Church, nor does it have any right to elevate any others as though they are then equal to these which are commanded by God himself. These and only these stand as absolute.”
• This should come as no surprise but what God values is neither wealth nor education, nor does he esteem success or even spiritual gifts
• What he requires is moral and spiritual character and we are about to examine the characteristics that make up that morally and spiritually mature person
• As Alexander Strauch comments:
  “Much of the weakness and waywardness of our churches today is directly due to our failure to insist that church leaders meet God’s qualifications.”
• We are going to look at the 15 requirements by breaking them down into 3 broad categories of Good Moral Character, Good Family Manager and Able to Teach the Word

Good Moral Character

• The fundamental requirement of all church elders is that they be above reproach; we see this at the beginning of the lists in both 1 Timothy and also Titus
• Being above reproach means that an elder must be a man with both a good spiritual as well as moral reputation
• This is someone who lives an irreproachable life in the sight of other people
• In order to be considered for eldership a man must be free of any spot or blemish on his character or his conduct otherwise his critics would eat him alive wouldn’t they?
• They would point out what was wrong with him and have a field day so to speak and the Word of God would be blasphemed
• Ladies and gentleman you want a model of this type of character look at Job chapter 1 verse 1
  There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
• That should be the world’s testimony about all of our lives and especially of our leaders; you as the congregation need to require this of your leaders at all times while striving towards this mark in your own lives
• Paul reminds Titus that an overseer is God’s steward; that is the basis for the requirement of impeccable character
• Now let me ask you would you give the key to your house to a person who was just recently released from jail for stealing?
• Would you hire a person who had been convicted of abusing children to be your child’s nanny?
• Would you let someone you know embezzles money run the cash register?
• Would you tell your secrets to a gossip and a busybody?
• The answer to all of these questions is of course no; well why would we think God is any different?
• God doesn’t want men who have character deficiencies to be the stewards in his house, entrusted with God’s possessions, God’s treasure, God’s riches
• An elder is responsible to God for his actions and therefore must be of flawless character
• Furthermore according to Ephesians 2 we are all part of the household of God which is being joined and grows in a holy temple in the Lord; a dwelling place for God
• How can such an awesome structure; a structure that is the dwelling place of God, how can it function it its leaders lack the moral and spiritual fiber to lead the people into worship and service    
• How many of you have ever studied the Old Testament kings; have you ever read 1 & 2 Chronicles? Remember how when Israel and Judah had good kings the people prospered but when they had wicked kings they sacrificed at the high places, they married foreign wives and in general things were a mess
• The same thing is true in the church; think about the ramifications if the list we have here in 1 Timothy wasn’t true
• Supposing an elder is contentious in violation of 1 Timothy 3:3 and Titus 1:7 then the people under his leadership will learn to be contentious
• What if an elder doesn’t grasp the importance of hospitality as required in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8 then how do you think the people will act? The people will be cold and inhospitable as well
• If an elder loves money and is greedy he will manipulate the people for his selfish gain and also violate 1 Timothy 3:3 and in the process the people will also develop a sense of greed
• If an elder is not just and devout he will be useless when he needs to discern critical issues and as a result the people will become unjust and worse they will become disloyal to the truth
• If an elder is not sensible, balanced and capable of self-control then he will be known as aimless and disorganized in his judgments; his congregation will in turn learn this from him
• The elder must be faithful to his wife and be a one woman man otherwise his example will encourage others to be unfaithful
• He must not abuse alcohol otherwise the flock will be permissive of this behavior as well
• He must not be a brawler again this speaks of drunkenness and senseless or needless fighting or otherwise others will tolerate less than God’s best in their lives as well
• Lastly an elder must hold fast to the Word; if the man of God cannot hold fast to the Words of life how can we expect the people to
• The church in this generation needs men of moral fiber that is unmarred by the sinful world around them
• Men who will gladly do what is right regardless of the cost to themselves
• God’s Word requires this of leaders and we should require it as well
• Additionally we should measure ourselves against this standard and ask God if we have that type of character, if we don’t wee need to do business with God and ask as the Psalmist did for a clean heart
• Right actions are always the result of a right heart; take time to be right before Holy God

Good Family Manager

• There is an emphasis in Paul’s writing here on the domestic life of the elder
• We see it in his relationship to his wife, his relationship to his children and if he has their respect and also in his ability to be hospitable
• Again remember this is the family of God; I keep coming back to this but point but it really is central to understanding the church
• First I said we are all equal in Christ and brother and sisters in Christ so there should be no division or hierarchy among us
• Last week I spoke about a woman in the home and how that mirrors the church for if it didn’t it would confuse the children
• Now this week I say the same thing; the church is a family and the man that can’t manage his family at home will certainly struggle to manage the family of God
• Caring for and providing pastoral oversight of a church is far more like a family than it is like a business or government
• In fact the most gifted businessman, politician or general may in fact make a lousy elder
• Again God looks not at your accomplishments but rather on your heart and he looks at your character
• Success in business, politics or the military don’t equate to righteousness; however the man that can raise a family that respect him and his children love the Lord that truly speaks volumes about that man’s life
• This is a crucial test according to 1 Timothy 3:4
• Keep in mind this is a two part issue he must keep his children submissive but he must do it with dignity
• Many is the man that can rule his family and keep them submissive but he does it by being a tyrant and his family will not respect him for it; thus he lacks the dignity component
• Likewise many is the man who has some level of respect from his children but only because they walk all over him without submitting to him
• In either case such a man would be disqualified from being an elder
• Of equal if not greater importance is the relationship that a man  has with his wife
• The marriage relationship is a picture or a type of Christ and his bride, the church
• For an elder to be unfaithful to his wife would completely mar the picture that God wishes to paint through having faithful husbands
• Furthermore a Christian husband would naturally care for his wife and provide for her needs as a woman; he would nourish her, cherish her, defend her, love her,  and even more
• Christian elders must do all these same things for the flock that God has given them, if a husband is unfaithful to his wife or is aloof to her needs and thus unable to manage his family well he is not qualified to lead the church of God
• I must say at this point that the text does not require the man to be married to be a elder, the man could be a widower, single or even divorced if the divorce took place on Scriptural grounds
• However if that man has a wife he must be completely faithful to her until death separates them
• The word here in Greek is literally a one woman man; and while there have been those over the centuries who have tried to use this text to say that even a widower cannot remarry that is inconsistent with what Paul writes in other places
• For on other occasions Paul commands younger widows to remarry such as he does a few chapters later in 1 Timothy 5
• In other places Paul comments that a marriage is binding as long as both parties are alive however according to Romans 7:2 and I Corinthians 7:39 a widow can remarry lawfully after her husband dies
• Additionally in order to be a Good Family Manager and elder must also be hospitable
• Why do you think this is so important? First you need to understand the first century; when Christians traveled either for necessity or because of fleeing oppression they would naturally stay with other Christians because of the sinful things that happened in he inns of the world
• Furthermore it helped to cement bonds of friendships between Christians from other regions when mass communication forms such as e-mail, phone and fax were not available; so much practical good came from it as well
• However a man who would close his door to a fellow saint has just revealed a gaping whole in his own theology for if a man cannot love the family of God what motivation does he have for taking the office of overseer
• Hospitality really speaks to a love of all other brothers and sisters that are in Christ; elders must demonstrate and radiate that kind of agape love to all of the household of God

Able to Teach the Word

•  Paul is insistent to both Timothy and Titus that an elder must know his Bible and stand ready to teach it to others
• This implies that an elder is complete 100% committed to the truth of God’s word and stands ready to do battle against error and false doctrine when it is present
• This is one of the key roles of an elder and in particular the role that we see the elders and apostles preparing to play in Galatians 2 when we segued from Galatians to look God’s model for leadership
• Elders must be equipped to encourage and exhort the saints in sound doctrine
• This is separate from the spiritual gift of teaching that we see in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12; while many elders may posses this spiritual gift is not required to be an elder
• What is required is a knowledge of the truth that accords with Godliness and a passion for that truth that causes you to refute error when you hear it or see it
• Again the qualifications of elder do not require that he can hold an audience of 1000 people awestruck for an hour while he speaks
• Rather this verse focuses on the content of what he has to say and his personal commitment to the truth
• I quote P.T. Forsyth when I say:
  “The real strength of the Church is not the amount of its work but the quality of its faith. One man who truly knows his Bible is worth more to the Church’s real strength than a crowd of workers who do not.”
• The church is protected not by locks on the doors or by alarm systems; churches are not protected by denominations or by committees; churches are protected by the Word of God
• Corruption can sneak in overnight and ruin a church but one man who can stand up and rightly divide the Word of Truth; a man with the character that requires that other respect him, a man whose family loves and respects him, that man can stand in the gap as God’s man and save a church from destruction and heresy
• Men, we must do what Paul tells Titus, we must hold fast to the word, literally the word her in Greek means to cling to it
• Let me ask you if you had been in a shipwreck and you got a hold of a piece of wreckage that was floating and it could save your life how tightly would you cling to that piece of wreckage?
• That is how tight we must hold on to the Word of God; that is our call; are you up to it men?
• Does God’s word mean that much to you? Can you say today I am clinging to the Word?
• If you can’t I encourage you to do business with God right now, there is nothing more important, nothing I am saying just get your heart right with God

Disqualified Elders

• Of course it is logical to assume that if there are qualifications for elders then it would follow that there are disqualifications for elders
• God was gracious enough to provide the church with an objective criteria that protects the church from prideful, deceitful, arrogant men who seek to use the position for selfish gain
• For this reason God has said let the men be tested and if they prove they are of the character required let them serve
• Of course while the standard is established for men who seek the office of overseer it applies once you are in the office as well
• Men who fail to continue to live up to the standard must be removed from the office even though this is an unpleasant matter
• Later in 1 Timothy 5:19-20 Paul gives advice on how to deal first with an accusation of sin and also with a persistent sin
• Paul first does not allow a charge to be brought against an elder unless at least two or three witnesses have seen him in this sin
• Why do you think this is? I will give you part of the reason, because a spirit-filled, spirit-led elder will be busily engaged in the muck and mire of the life of the sheep of the flock and he may find himself dragging someone out of a bar at 11:00 at night
• If someone were to see him they may jump to the wrong conclusion about what they are seeing so God again has provided graciously for the protection of elders
• Additionally the work of elder may cause a man to make some enemies along the way as he rebukes sin and calls people to righteousness
• An elder cannot be removed because of a popular vote to cast him out but only if he has violated a Scriptural principal and is known to be living in sin
• If an elder has sinned it is a very serious matter and must be dealt with publicly and never swept under the carpet or ignored
• Inwardly we are all cowards so Paul commands Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:21 to do nothing from partiality
• You see it doesn’t matter how much you like someone you must follow through on your God-given responsibility to correct them

Conclusion

• We have covered some weighty matters in a very brief manner and I pray that Holy Spirit would reveal even more to you about these things we just looked at
• However if that is something you have a desire to study and learn more I would suggest you approach one of your overseers and share that desire with them so they can consider if there is a way to facilitate that request either in Sunday School, on Sunday evening or perhaps some other way
• Keep in mind what we have examined today only applies to elders, there is no list of qualifications for evangelists, teachers, etc.
• The Scripture teaches that a new convert cannot be an elder but it doesn’t say that they can’t be an evangelist