May I turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3? 1 Timothy chapter 3, this evening we're going to consider a call to the ministry. It is assumed in the Scripture that there will be a man or men that desires the office of bishop or overseer, as Paul states here, and the church needs to be informed needs to be instructed and needs to understand these things so that she will be able to determine men that are fit for gospel ministry. If you look around in some of the churches of our own day, our own generation, you'll see that oftentimes men are not fully committed to preaching the word. Perhaps they do not hold to these biblical qualifications, and that's a shame.
We ought to demand from men that they be biblically qualified elders that are able to teach the word, and men that do fit the profile as given by the Apostle Paul. So tonight I want to do three things. set forth the necessity of a biblically qualified eldership. Secondly, define some terms to see the specific office in view in verses 1 to 7. And then look thirdly at the elements involved in a call to the ministry.
The elements involved in a call to the ministry. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 3 at verse 1. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God? Not a novice, lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
We'll just continue reading to the end of the chapter. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested. then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for this, your word.
We pray now that you would guide our study, guide our minds and hearts, and give us the grace to receive these things. We pray for men that you would raise up to be fit for ministry, to serve in that capacity. We pray that you would truly raise up preachers that understand scripture, that understand good sound theology. Men that will not stand simply to entertain a crowd, but will seek to preach the word of the living and true God.
We pray now for the forgiveness of all of our sins, we pray for the mind of Christ, and we ask through Jesus our Lord, amen.
Necessity of a Qualified Ministry
Well, first of all, let us look at briefly just the necessity of a biblically qualified ministry. The Lord God Most High sent His Son into this world, sinners to save. He sent His Son to die and to rise again. The way that sinners come into saving contact with the living and true God is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we see that God has been well-pleased to establish preaching as a primary means whereby He calls sinners out of darkness into marvelous light. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 21 sets forth this necessity. Now, in highlighting this, I'm not suggesting that someone can't read their Bible and get saved. That can most certainly happen, to be sure, But as well, God has ordained the faithful preaching ministry as a means whereby He is pleased to save sinners. Verse 21, for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Now the emphasis falls on the message, the emphasis falls on the content, the emphasis falls on the doctrine, the reality that Christ lived, died, and rose again But nevertheless, that doctrine, that truth is preached. And this is what Paul says, is blessed of God to the salvation of sinners. And then in 2 Timothy chapter 4, 2 Timothy chapter 4, another very important passage which underscores the necessity of a biblically qualified eldership in order to preach the word of the living and true God. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 to 5. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom.
Preach the word. be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." So Paul sees a time coming when men would not endure sound doctrine. Rather, they would seek out teachers that would simply tickle their ears.
This wasn't just a problem, or this isn't just a problem in 21st century North America. It was a problem throughout the history of the Church. And Paul says, in order to combat that, there must be faithful, biblically qualified men who preach the Word. Men who are ready in season and out of season, men who convince, rebuke, and exhort.
And in the language of the Second Helvetic Confession, chapter 1, paragraph 4, they state, the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. In light of that reality, the necessity for a biblically qualified eldership is absolutely crucial. I hope that you see that with just this sampling of texts.
The Office in View
Let's look secondly at the office in view. You notice that the apostle is dealing with two offices in 1 Timothy 3. If you jump to the end of the chapter for just a moment, I want us to understand something. Verse 14 of chapter 3, Paul says, these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly.
But if I am delayed, I write so that, here's his purpose, you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. We glean from this that the church is not a free-for-all. The church isn't just a mess or a bedlam where people are able and free to do whatever they want. The church is not to be innovative.
The church is not to be creative. The church, rather, is to be obedient to its master, to its Lord, to its living God. He says, I want you to know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. You see, in my house, I make the rules.
In your house, you make the rules. In God's house, he makes the rules. The church is simply to obey. So Paul tells Timothy, I want you to know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth.
This finishes the section begun in chapter 2. Chapter 2, verse 1, Paul says the church ought to be prayerful. Prayer ought to be the backbone of every local church. He then highlights the place of male leadership within the church.
The men are to lead in public worship with reference to prayer. Women are to be modest. Women are not to teach or exercise authority over a man. And then he deals with two offices in chapter 3.
He deals with the office of elder and he deals with the office of deacon. And the elder is that office that is tasked with teaching and preaching and ruling or leading. And when we look at the New Testament documents, the word elder is used synonymously with the word overseer and with the word pastor. If you look at verse 1 of chapter 3, it says, if a man desires the position of a bishop.
Now that word carries a lot of negative baggage, especially for those of us who are brought up Roman Catholic. We hear bishop and we think big hat. We think power, we think prestige, we think money. Bishop conjures that up to those of us who have come out of a Roman Catholic background.
Bishop simply translates the word episkopos. It means to oversee. The other word that we translate as elder is presbuteros, where we get the word Presbyterian. And then the other word is poimen, which is pastor. or shepherd, and we see that this terminology, this verbiage, is used interchangeably and synonymously in the passages that deal with such things.
So here Paul describes the office of bishop, the office of overseer, the office of the episkopos, and then in chapter 5, verse 17, he is speaking of the same office, and here he calls them presbyroi, He says, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. If you turn over to Titus chapter 1 for just a moment. Titus chapter 1 verse 5. He says, for this reason I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city.
Then notice in verse 7 he says, for a bishop or an overseer must be blameless. He's not talking about two separate classes. He's not talking about the bishops over here and the elders over here. He is applying these terms to the one office, that one office that is tasked with preaching and teaching and with leading and governing. 1 Peter chapter 5, we see a synonymous use there as well, this time with the term shepherd or pastor. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1, Peter says, the elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.
Now notice, shepherd, the flock of God, which is among you, serving as overseers. He's speaking to elders, he tells them to shepherd the flock among whom you serve as overseers. And then one final passage in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, just showing you the terminology, showing you the office that is in view.
And that the qualifications specified in 1st Timothy 3 verses 1 to 7 apply to that class of men identified either as pastors or as elders or as overseers. All those terms apply to the self-same office. Christ has ordained two abiding offices in the church. The elders who shepherd, who feed, who teach, who lead, who govern, and then the deacons who serve.
They are the ministers of mercy. The deacon serves the table of the Lord, he serves the table of the poor, and he serves the table of the minister. That's the way that Gil explained the deacon. But notice in Acts 20 verse 17, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.
So he addresses these elders of the church. And then notice in verse 28, he says to the elders of the church, therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. That's that word Episcopoi. He's addressing the Presbyteroi.
They are to function as shepherds or pastors. That's the next phrase, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. So the apostles use these terms interchangeably and synonymously. So when we go back to 1 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 to 7, we're dealing with elders, overseers, bishops, and pastors, but not four classes of men, just separate terms describing various nuances of their office as they function within the context of the local church.
All right, everybody's alive still. Lay some groundwork. I actually gave this material yesterday. You ought to be very fortunate.
We're not going to deal like we did yesterday. Most, some of you may know, every other Saturday some men gather together. And I call it, I don't know that I've officially sanctioned this with my fellow elder, the Free Grace Theological Study Session. I don't, it's kind of something I'm playing with.
Call to the Ministry. Well, we took two and a half hours yesterday, so don't worry. We won't do all of that tonight. Part of that, though, was reading a bit of Spurgeon for some very necessary comic relief.
Spurgeon, on his Call to the Ministry section in his lectures to my students, describes how he had started a pastor's college, and it was basically his job to ascertain if a man was ready to enter into the college. And Spurgeon was brutal. I mean, just brutal. In a good way, I think.
But anyways, the way he describes some things. I'll read one small segment tonight, but it's quite humorous the way he explains this whole ordeal, our whole process. We've seen the necessity. We've seen the particular office in view.
Elements of a Call to Ministry
Now let's look at the elements involved in a call to the ministry. And I'm taking this specifically from Pastor Albert N. Martin, who for many, many years served as the pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. I do not believe there's a better way to approach this subject than with the four points that he has given, though I have added a fifth to highlight the need for the church to be involved.
So the four elements that Pastor Martin suggests, I will supplement or augment with one final, and then we'll make a few concluding applications. But first, with reference to the gospel ministry, number one is desire born of right motives.
First Element: Desire Born of Right Motives
desire born of right motives. Notice in verse 1 of chapter 3, this is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. Notice Paul doesn't say if a man desires the office of a bishop, he's a wretch, he's proud, he's arrogant, he's sinning.
No, Paul assumes that in a properly functioning church, in a biblically ordered church, that within the ranks of the congregation, there will be men who gravitate toward this particular office. It is not sin to desire. It is not wicked to want. It is not evil to say, one day I'd like to serve in that particular capacity.
But we need to highlight the reality that it's a desire born of right motives, not a desire born of wrong motives. Some of the wrong motives that we see in the scripture, one of them would be money. A man ought not to desire the eldership or the preaching ministry simply to make a buck. 1 Peter chapter 5 indicates this reality. 1 Peter 5, verse 2, he says, "...shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly." There was gain to be had within gospel ministry, gain to be had within philosophy, gain to be had within religion. People would pay their teachers.
So if a man says, there's a lot of coin, a lot of bank to be made in the gospel ministry, I think I'm going to pursue that. I shared with the brothers yesterday, Spurgeon said, if a man wants to get rich, he ought never to enter the Baptist ministry. I thought that was kind of funny. But there are some men, especially in a climate like what we see in North America.
I mean, we see churches the size of stadiums. Former sports arenas have been converted to churches. There is money to be had in this situation. If a man desires the office of bishop simply for the money that is associated with that calling, that is wrong.
It is wicked. It is ungodly. A second problem, a second wrong motive, would be for prestige. A man has a desire to be a leader.
A man has a desire to lord things over people. A man has a desire to be the head cheese. Well, that's not a good motive for serving the Lord of Glory. Good motives are a desire for the glory of God Most High.
A genuine, earnest desire to see men and women within the Church formed into Christ's likeness. A genuine compassion, a genuine heart, not as Jesus, not as well as Jesus to be sure, but there should be some inkling there. A man doesn't desire gospel ministry in a legitimate way, simply for money or for prestige. Spurgeon deals with another situation, the desire born of a wrong motive with a guy who's tried everything else. a man who has tried all sorts of other jobs and he can't keep those jobs, so now of course the ministry will take him.
Here's Spurgeon. One brother I have encountered. One, did I say? I have met 10, 20, 100 brethren who have pleaded that they were sure, quite sure, that they were called to the ministry.
They were quite certain of it because they had failed in everything else. This is a sort of model story. Sir, I was put into a lawyer's office, but I never could bear the confinement, and I could not feel at home in studying law. Providence clearly stopped up my road, for I lost my situation.
And what did you do then? Why, sir, I was induced to open a grocery shop. And did you prosper? Well, I do not think, sir, I was ever meant for trade, and the Lord seemed quite to shut my way up there, for I failed and was in great difficulties.
Since then, I have done a little in life assurance agency and tried to get up a school besides selling tea. But my path is hedged up, and something within me makes me feel that I ought to be a minister. My answer generally is, yes, I see. You have failed in everything else, and therefore you think the Lord has specially endowed you for His service.
But I fear you have forgotten that the ministry needs the very best of men, and not those who cannot do anything else. A man who would succeed as a preacher would probably do right well either as a grocer or a lawyer or anything else. A really valuable minister would have excelled at anything. There is scarcely anything impossible to a man who can keep a congregation together for years and be the means of edifying them for hundreds of consecutive Sabbaths.
He must be possessed of some abilities and be by no means a fool or a ne'er-do-well. Jesus Christ deserves the best men to preach his cross and not the empty-headed and the shift-less. So those are some wrong motives. Money, prestige, I failed at everything else, certainly I can do the ministry.
It must be a desire born of right motives. The glory of God, the good of souls, the desire to see Zion built and strong and vibrant and growing. The desire to see the church managed properly and effectively. the church functioning the way she ought to. The ministry is for men who are committed to the Lord God Most High, to the Lord of the harvest.
And so it is not wrong to have a desire, but it is necessary that that desire be born of right motives.
Second Element: Graces of Christian Experience
Secondly, the second element involved in a biblical call to the ministry is graces indicating genuine Christian experience. graces indicating genuine Christian experience. In other words, the man must be a Christian. The man must know something of what he wants to traffic in. A man must himself have come to the Lord of Glory and there must be graces that indicate this genuine Christian experience.
That's what the remainder of the section does. It gives these qualifications. The man must be. This is to prove.
This is to determine. This is to see. This is to validate and confirm that, in fact, there are graces indicating genuine Christian experience. And I think they break down into four sections in this particular passage.
Personal Holiness
The first is personal holiness. personal holiness. The man must be blameless. The man must be the husband of one wife. Even before all that, the man must be a man.
The man must be a man in order to serve as an elder and a deacon. It's the office in the church that is staffed by men. There's not to be skirts behind the pulpit. There's not to be Pastor Diane behind the pulpit.
It is to be men. men qualified, men set apart, Paul prohibits women from teaching or exercising authority in the context of the local church. Chapter 2 verse 12, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man but to be in silence. He doesn't argue based on culture. He doesn't argue based on social norm.
He argues based on creation. For Adam was created first, and then Eve. And then Eve transgressed. Eve was deceived, and being deceived, she fell into transgression.
So God has ordained that men function in the capacity of eldership. So the first section is personal holiness. He must be blameless. He must be the husband of one wife.
Essentially that means he is faithful in marriage. He is faithful in sexual matters. He must be temperate. He must be sober-minded.
He must be of good behavior. He must be hospitable. He must not be given to wine. He must not be violent.
He must not be greedy for money. He must be gentle, he must not be quarrelsome, and he must not be covetous. In other words, the man of God, the biblically qualified elder, will guard his heart against gold, against glory, against gulls, and against gab. He will guard his heart against gold.
He will not covet money. He will not be greedy for money. He will guard his heart from glory. He's not in it for what he gets in terms of prestige and recognition.
He will guard his heart from girls. He will be faithful to the wife of his youth. He will have eyes for her. He will have love for her.
He will have affection for her. When God says to Ezekiel, I am taking the desire of your eyes, Ezekiel did not have to ask, who are you talking about, Lord? He meant his wife. And he must guard his heart against gab.
That means running his mouth in an uncontrolled, ungodly manner. In some, George Knight says, the bishop's life is not to be dominated or controlled by wine or money, nor may it be one of strife, but rather it must be one of peace and gentleness, personal holiness, graces indicating genuine Christian experience.
Domestic Faithfulness
The second category is domestic faithfulness. Verses four and five. One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
He not only rules his house, but he does it well. He rightly relates to his wife. He's in love with her. They are a picture of Christ and his church.
Unfortunately, not always the best of pictures, but by God's grace, they persevere and they strive for those things. The man rightly relates to his children. He rules them well. That doesn't mean he just restrains them from abject wickedness, but he seeks their heart.
He wants them to love him back. He wants to cultivate a good relationship with them. Paul's argument is from the lesser to the greater. If he cannot rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
Interesting terms that he uses. We rule our own house. We steward the house of God. God owns the house.
God rules the house. The pastors, the elders, the bishops, the... What's the last term? The overseers, they come and they steward that house of God.
So, he must engage in domestic faithfulness.
Experience in the Faith
Thirdly, he has to have experience in the faith. Notice in verse 6, not a novice, not a novice. He mustn't be new in the Christian life. He mustn't be a neophyte, a new convert.
He mustn't be one newly planted. But it's important for us to remember that Paul is not attaching an age requirement here. In Titus chapter 1, we have a very immature church in Crete. Paul says, I want you to set in order the things that remain.
I want you to appoint elders in every city. Well, you wouldn't have had men that were Christians for 20 years in Crete. In Acts 14, on the first missionary journey, the apostle goes through a particular path and then he returns back that way. And when he goes back, he stops in the various churches and they appoint elders in those churches.
So those men hadn't been Christians for 20-25 years. Paul is highlighting in this particular requirement Spiritual maturity. Later on in 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 22, he gives this principle. Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins.
Keep yourself pure. So he must not be a novice, but again we must not say if he hasn't been a Christian for 20 years he can never serve. as an elder. As William D. Mount says, the application of this rule would depend upon the relative age of the local church, its speed of growth, and many other factors that would vary from place to place and from time to time.
A similar injunction does not occur in Titus 1. The text is not calling for age setting, this is me now, but rather it is calling for the church to tread cautiously to ensure that our elders are mature. I said to the brethren yesterday, we need men wearing big boy pants. Miles traded in his diaper for big boy breeches.
That's what the ministry needs. Not guys wandering around in diapers or skirts. Unless you're in Scotland. I guess there is an instance where a skirt behind the pulpit is okay.
If you're in Scotland. Maturity. Maturity is what the apostle calls for. So these graces indicating genuine Christian experience, seen in personal holiness, domestic faithfulness, experience in the faith, and then fourthly,
Testimony Toward Outsiders
testimony toward outsiders. Notice in verse 7, moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach in the snare of the devil. It's intriguing to me. He must rule his own house well.
He must have a good testimony with those who are outside. Now, when we compare this with 2 Timothy 3 in verse 12, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. As I mentioned to the brothers yesterday, if your workmates despise you, let it not be because of your conduct. They may despise your creed, they may despise the fact that you have gently chided them or reproved them for blaspheming the name of the Lord, but they cannot say anything about your work performance.
They cannot say he's the biggest whiner, he's the biggest grumbler, he's the biggest baby in the shop. Let not a man be able to take that shot at a minister of the gospel. He must have a good testimony among those who are outside. Again, they may despise, abhor, and loathe our creed of Christ Jesus and Him crucified, but let them not see us live like big, fat hypocrites.
He must have a good testimony among those who are outside. So those are some graces indicating genuine Christian experience.
Third Element: Gift Indicating Divine Provision
The third element involved in this biblical call to the ministry is gift indicating divine provision. Gift indicating divine provision. By my counting, in the personal holiness category, there are twelve virtues. Twelve things that the man must be or must not be.
Twelve graces. Twelve similarities to the Lord Jesus. And then there's one gift, one ability, one task, one thing that the elder must be able to do, and that is in chapter 3, verse 2. He must be able to teach.
You see, a man may be these other things. He may have the virtue. He may be godly. He may be serving the Lord Jesus.
He may have his own household ruled well. He may have a great testimony with those outside. He may have a glowing report everywhere he goes. He may walk into a room and it shines the light upon him.
He may be attended by bluebirds. He may walk down petals of roses. But if he cannot teach, he mustn't be an elder. This isn't a sin, it's not a crime, it's not a bad thing, it's not evil.
You don't blame a man because he doesn't get a gift. There's nothing wrong with this. Not everybody is going to be an elder. The ones that God has equipped, the ones whom God has furnished with this gift and this ability to teach, they are the ones that you must consider.
Again, Spurgeon says it this way, God certainly has not created behemoth to fly. And should Leviathan have a strong desire to ascend with the lark, it would evidently be an unwise aspiration, since he has not furnished it with wings. If a man be called to preach, he will be endowed with a degree of speaking ability, which he will cultivate and increase. If the gift of utterance be not there in a measure at the first, it is not likely that it will ever be developed.
Spurgeon, in another place, says it this way. He speaks to this particular issue. Again, I'm not reading this just because I think it's great, because I do. I'm not reading this just because it is somewhat humorous, because it is.
But listen to what he's saying. There must be gift. You know, the pastors, the elders don't come up and persuade people to live godly based on example alone. It must be example, but it's preaching.
It's the declaration of the truth. It is the word of the living God. He says, physical infirmities raise a question about the call of some excellent men. I would not, like Eusthenes, judge men by their features, but their general physique is no small criterion.
That narrow chest does not indicate a man formed for public speech. You may think it odd, but still I feel very well assured that when a man has a contracted chest with no distance between his shoulders, the all-wise creator did not intend him habitually to preach. If he had meant him to speak, he would have given him, in some measure, breadth of chest sufficient to yield a reasonable amount of lung force. When the Lord means a creature to run, he gives it nimble legs.
And if he means another creature to preach, he will give it suitable lungs. A brother who has to pause in the middle of a sentence and work his air pump should ask himself whether there is not some other occupation for which he is better adapted. A man who can scarcely get through a sentence without pain can hardly be called to cry aloud and spare not. There may be exceptions, but is there not weight in the general rule?
Brethren with defective mouths and imperfect articulation are not usually called to preach the gospel. The same applies to brethren with no palate or an imperfect one. Application was received some short time ago from a young man who had a sort of rotary action of his jaw of the most painful sort to the beholder. His pastor commended him as a very holy young man who had been the means of bringing some to Christ, and he expressed the hope that I would receive him.
But I could not see the propriety of it. I could not have looked at him while preaching without laughter if all the gold of Tarshish had been my reward. And in all probability, nine out of 10 of his hearers would have been more sensitive than myself. A man with a big tongue, which filled up his mouth and caused indistinctness.
Another without teeth. Another who stammered. Another who could not pronounce all the alphabet. I have had the pain of declining on the ground. that God had not given them those physical appliances which are, as the prayer book would put it, generally necessary.
You see, there must be gifts indicating divine provision and ability to teach. That assumes the man has the ability to understand, to grasp the doctrine himself. He can assimilate the truth, but then he can communicate that truth successfully to the hearer. You see, he may be godly, he may be holy, he may be righteous, he may have his family in order, but if he cannot teach you the word of the living God, he is not to function as an elder.
In Titus chapter 1, after giving the qualifications for eldership, for Titus in Crete, he highlights this reality in chapter 1 verse 9. Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict. So you see, he receives the sound doctrine, he holds fast to that word, and then with that sound doctrine he does two things. He exhorts those who agree with him.
He preaches on Sunday in his church. The people love to hear the Word of God. They're built up, they're edified, they're strengthened, they are exhorted by sound doctrine. But it doesn't stop there.
He must also be able to convict those who contradict. He must be able to defend the faith. He must be able to give reasoned answers. He must be able to declare the truth of God to those who oppose that truth.
And he must be able to do it effectively. You see, when we come to this issue of gifts indicating divine provision, we see the absolute necessity in 1 Timothy 3 verse 2 and in Titus chapter 1 verse 9. It is not a popularity contest. It's not just that the man has done well in his world of finance.
It's not that he has the best family in the church. Can he teach? Can he preach? Can he effectively communicate the truth of God?
Now, we're not quantifying that by saying, can he teach like Spurgeon? Does he preach like Bunyan? You know, John Owen, that Puritan divine, the John Calvin of England said, I would gladly give up all my learning if I could preach like the Tinker, speaking about John Bunyan. We're not saying that a man or men has to be John Bunyan.
We're not saying that a man or men has to be C.H. Spurgeon, but what we are saying, what we do demand in light of 1 Timothy 3 to Entitus 1.9 is that the man understands the system of revealed truth and he can communicate that to others. Absolutely crucial.
Fourth Element: Providential Opening
We've got desire born of right motives, graces indicating genuine Christian experience, thirdly, gifts indicating divine provision, and fourthly, opportunity indicating providential opening. Opportunity indicating providential opening. I shared with the brothers yesterday, in the 15 years that I have been here, there have been on a couple of occasions, men who have visited our church, and within the first five minutes of me talking to them, they have said how they ought to be teaching Sunday school or preaching. Now maybe they should.
But generally speaking, when a man is that forceful at the outset, it gives me a bit of caution. Because the Proverbs tell us very clearly, a man's gift makes room for him. Not the opposite. The man does not make room for his gift.
The man does not show up and say, hey, you ought to be very thankful that I'm here. You ought to be very happy that I've arrived. In fact, Spurgeon gives in detail this man who came to the pastor's college, and he was such a great guy. Spurgeon says to him, you can't enroll in the college.
We're just common folk. There's nothing we can do for you. You far exceed us all. We need to be very cautious.
A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. There will be opportunity indicating providential opening. If God is installed in a man or men, desire, graces, gifts, you can be sure that He'll open doors, that He will guide that man, that He will guide the church, that He will guide the brethren, that He will navigate him, that He will see him through. to that end. And then
Fifth Element: Church Recognition
the fifth thing that I add to the list is recognition by the local church. And I know Pastor Albert N. Martin agrees with this, it's just I've added it right along there with the elements. Desire, graces, gifts, opportunity, and recognition by the local church.
Recognition by the local church. That means the people of God recognize. Not in the sense that we pass around a ballot with two names because we've got to get a body that breathes to satisfy a requirement for two years. But no, we are looking for a man that fits these qualifications.
Look out among you, brethren, in Act 6 and select from among you seven men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom that we may task with this task. In Acts 14.23, the text suggests that the church was participating with the apostles in the appointment of the elders. The fact that 1 Timothy 3.1-7 and Titus 1-9 are in our Bibles indicates that the church must have a grid, a frame of reference, a point by which they can examine men for gospel ministry. The church is crucial to this process.
The church is absolutely necessary, it is absolutely necessary that the church think biblically, the church be prayerful, the church be in tune with God's word on this matter. Our confession of faith says the way appointed by Christ for the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit unto the office of bishop or elder in a church, is that he be chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the church itself." That means the people of God. and then solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer, with imposition of hands of the eldership of the church, if there be any before constituted therein, and of a deacon, that he be chosen by the like suffrage, set apart by prayer, and the like imposition of hands. So the church is intimately involved in evaluating desire, grace's gift. The church is intimately involved in determining opportunity, all these things.
The church needs to be doing her job in this area. So those are the elements proper.
Application: Objective Checks the Subjective
We close with a couple of thoughts. It's absolutely crucial that the church be involved because the objective must serve to check the subjective. Let me explain that. If a man desires the office of bishop, it's a good work, it's a good thing.
He has that desire. In some circles, people refer to that as the internal call to the ministry. The guy's reading his Bible and a text jumps out at him, or he has this feeling, or he has this desire to serve in this capacity. And again, this is right.
This is good. It's legit to have this. But that internal call must be checked by objective criteria. The church must be able to ask questions.
The church must be able to apply scripture. The church must be able to say, you know, brother, you're a great and wonderful human being, but you don't seem to have the gift to teach. You see, the subjective must ultimately be regulated by the objective. And when the church is involved, this happens.
Secondly, the church is crucial in the testing of candidates for the eldership. The church is crucial in testing candidates for the eldership. It doesn't mention this in chapter 3, verses 1 to 7. But notice verse 8, likewise.
He moves from the qualifications of elders and he says, likewise, here's the qualifications for the deacon. And then in verse 10, he says, but let these also first be tested. He is saying that a candidate for the diaconal ministry in the context of the local church must be tested. What must be tested?
Does he have the qualifications? Is his wife what the text specifies? Does he hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience? Is he a godly brother?
Does he manifest those graces? Necessary. Notice what the absence is. Notice the absence of the teaching gift for the deacon.
Doesn't mean a deacon can't preach or teach. But that's not requisite to his office. But when it says in verse 10, let these also first be tested, I believe the implication is clear. The elders are tested before they enter into office.
Let these also first be tested. The church tests potential candidates for gospel ministry. How she does that, the text does not specify. How she engages in that task, the text does not specify.
Does that mean the church has some liberty to apply some principles? Absolutely. You ask questions, you determine, you ascertain, you pick the man's brain, you see if he knows the scripture, you see if he knows theology, you have him teach, you have him preach, you see if he's got those gifts indicating divine provision. The church is involved in this process from first to last.
This is why I wanted to preach this tonight. It isn't just for a few guys on a Saturday morning. 1 Timothy 3, 1-7 is the Word of God and it's for the church of God so that we may know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. which is the pillar and the ground of the truth. When we look at some of these buffoons in pulpits, when we look at some of these women in pulpits, what must we conclude? The church isn't doing her job!
Why is this the case that a man can't explain basic theological concepts? And he's preaching. Why is this the case? The church hasn't taken 1 Timothy 3, 1 to 7 seriously.
We think we can be creative, we think we can be innovative. One of the recent trends among the celebrity preachers is that they learn how to preach by watching stand-up comics. I'd much rather somebody learn how to preach by studying their Bibles and reading Bunyan than Prince of Preachers. Chris Rock has nothing to teach the church about how to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is the day and age in which we live. This is cool. This is hip. This is culturally relevant and cutting edge.
Brethren, the church needs to return to 1 Timothy 3, 1-7, and make sure her men are men, and make sure that they are qualified biblically in terms of personal holiness, domestic faithfulness, a good testimony with those outside, and men who are not novices. She needs to make sure that her men know Bible, and they know theology, that they hold to those things most surely believed among us. It's crucial. It's absolutely imperative.
And then when the church does that, what happens? There's qualified men standing in the pulpit preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what God is pleased to use to save sinners. God can't use Balaam's ass.
I understand that. God can't use buffoons. God can't use Arminians. But we are never to reason, and we are never to conclude that because God can use a Balaam's ass, I'm going to preach like Balaam's ass.
No. We are always to operate according to the revealed will of God, study, to show yourself approved, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Don't just conclude, well, God used Balaam's ass, he can certainly use me. No, study.
It's your face in your Bible. It's your face in Turretin. It's your face in Bunyan. Pray to the living God for illumination so that when you stand in that pulpit and you preach the everlasting gospel, God the Lord may be well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
If we are simply here to entertain men, all bets are off. But when salvation is the goal, when the glory of God is at stake, we need nothing but men that are qualified according to 1 Timothy chapter 3.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for its clarity in this matter. And God in heaven, we pray that you'd help us to reflect upon these truths, help us to think through them.
And God, as a church, may we indeed be regulated by the word of truth. We just ask now that you would go with us in this coming week. We pray for those with physical difficulties and trials and challenges. We just commit them to you and to the word of your grace.
We also pray for the spiritual problems in our midst, Lord God, that you would cause your face to shine upon us and encourage our hearts and cause us to rejoice in the salvation of our Lord. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. We'll close with a brief time of prayer.