Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to 1st Timothy chapter 3, 1st Peter chapter, I'm sorry, 1st Timothy chapter 3. I'll read the chapter and then our focus will be on verses one to seven. So 1 Timothy 3, beginning in verse one.
Scripture Reading
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 whine, 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. 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 in their own house as 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.
Opening Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, again, thank you for your written word and give us grace now and help as we study this list of qualifications for elders. We pray for the ministry and the aid of the Holy Spirit to illumine our minds and hearts and give us this consciousness as a church, as a corporate body concerning these things. We know it's not a popularity contest who serves in the eldership.
It's not just a matter of who's accomplished things well in the world, but a man must be what the Apostle Paul says in this passage. So give us grace, give us wisdom, give us help, and God guide us according to your will. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we consider this particular list of qualifications, I wanna make us mindful that this is not a suggestion. This is not simply a recommendation on the part of the Apostle Paul. A man must be this in order to serve in the eldership at a local church. Now, this is very particular and relevant to us.
We all know certainly about Ryan Maljars. He has been studying for the gospel ministry. He has been preaching at the church plant in Vernon, and they're certainly keen on receiving him there. Well, we as a church, an already sort of constituted church, need to make sure that he is fit and ready.
And so these qualifications are given in order to guide us in that particular path. I can say of a truth, I think I speak as well for Steve Lawson, our deacon, that from the beginning of our time in this church, we always wanted to see churches planted. We wanted to be participating in the work of identifying men, sending them out to see other churches, holding to confessional Reformed Baptist theology, planting churches that reflect the theology of the Second London Confession, which we believe reflects the theology of the Bible. For various reasons, that didn't happen for several years, and then by God's grace, the opportunity presented itself with reference to Surrey.
Presently, we not only have Vernon, but we have a group in Northern Ontario that is interested in perhaps soliciting us for formal help in assisting them to plant a confessional Reformed Baptist Church. Recently, a young man and his wife, I've interviewed them, he wants to move here. He wants to serve as an apprentice to some degree, to be recognized in the context of a solid church, which is very commendable. The fellow understands that gospel ministry isn't just getting your MDiv and then putting out your application and hoping you get a job.
No, he sees the importance of a local church context, wherein he's able to minister, wherein he's able to develop his gifts, and wherein he is recognized as a fit and qualified elder, according to 1 Timothy chapter 3. So God willing, in the coming days and months and years, we'll have opportunity to assist other churches in either A, identifying elders, or B, getting planted as confessional churches. And so this list of qualifications isn't ethereal. It's not theoretic.
It's not simply out there. It's something we should be thinking about in terms, first and foremost, of Ryan, and then secondarily, these other opportunities that have presented themselves. So as we look at this list of qualification of elders, I want to notice several things. And I don't think we're going to do it all tonight, but with reference to the qualifications for eldership, in the first place, we'll notice the man's desire for eldership in verse one.
Secondly, the man's personal holiness in verses 2 and 3. Third, the man's domestic faithfulness in verses 4 and 5. Fourth, the man's experience in the faith, verse 6. And then the man's testimony toward outsiders in verse 7.
And then we'll finish it by looking at the man's ability to teach. While that particular gift is given in verse 2, we'll treat it last as we summarize all that had gone before it.
One Office, Three Terms
Now, with reference to the office of elder, the New Testament has three Greek words that applies to the same office. Those words are presbyter, episkopos, and pastor. So you have elder, overseer, pastor. Three terms. that apply to the same office.
And I want to show you that in several texts so that we know what we're dealing with. Look at Acts chapter 20 for just a moment. Acts chapter 20, just to see these three terms applied to the one office in the church that has as its primary emphasis teaching and then ruling or leading. The deacons are another office, so there's two abiding offices in the church.
No more apostles, no more prophets. We have elders and deacons as officers in Christ's churches. We don't have superintendents. If you read the Bible correctly, there's no youth pastors.
You don't even see a gradation among pastors. The senior, the lead, the really awesome one, that's just vacant from the pages of the New Testament. You have two offices, the elders and the deacons. The deacons are given primarily to service in the church.
I think John Gill gives the best quick definition of what the deacon's responsibility is. They are to serve the table of the poor, they are to serve the table of the Lord, and they are to serve the table of the minister. In other words, they take care of all those things that would otherwise detain the pastor or the preacher from prayer and the ministry of the word. In Acts chapter six, there was a division among the distribution of food.
And so the apostle said, select seven men from among you, men who have the spirit, men who have wisdom, and they will function in this capacity to distribute food to the widows so that we can continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. So the deacons take care of all of that other stuff. Not that it's unimportant. It is important to feed widows.
It is important to engage in a ministry of mercy. It is important to serve the table of the Lord. It's important to look after the pastor, the preaching minister, or elders within the context of the church. But with reference to eldership, the thing that distinguishes the elder from the deacon is that brief statement, he must be apt to teach.
So in terms of the eldership, the primary emphasis is teaching and then ruling or leading. And when I say ruling or leading, I don't mean as a tyrant, I don't mean as a premier in Canada, I don't mean as a president in America, I mean in a manner that is consistent with our Lord's servant leadership. Jesus points to the Gentiles and says, do you see how they function? It's not supposed to be that way with you.
Whoever wants to be first in the kingdom must be last. Whoever wants to be greatest in the kingdom must be least of all. So it is servant leadership. It is ministerial.
It is not tyrannical. It is not despotism. And it is always through the word of the living and true God. So back to Acts chapter 20.
Acts 20: Elders as Overseers
Notice in Acts 20 at verse 17. From Miletus, he, Paul, sent to Ephesus, and called for the elders of the church. So he addresses the elders of the church, right? It's a pastor's conference, the first pastor's conference in the New Covenant era.
Now notice in verse 28, he gives them a particular admonition. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. So the elders that are identified in verse 17 are also called overseers or episkopoi, episkopos, and they are told to shepherd or poimen the church of God. So the elders are overseers who pastor one office, three terms to describe that one office.
Turn back to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1. This is a faithful saying, if a man desires the position of a bishop or overseer or an episkopos, if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be. He gives the list of qualifications to which we will return presently, but notice over in chapter 5 at verse 17.
He gives specific instructions on how to deal with the elders in the church. These are the bishops. These are the overseer slash elder slash pastor. The one office that has as its primary focus teaching and then ruling or leading.
Notice in 1 Timothy 5.17, let the elders who rule well, Remember in the list of qualifications with reference to the eldership or the bishop that you see in 1 Timothy 3, they are to rule in the church, they are to lead in the church, they are to govern in the church. We know that elders here doesn't simply mean old men. It doesn't mean that because he's not suggesting that old men, in the context of the church, if they do old men well, then give them double honor. In the context, double honor refers to payment.
It refers to financial remuneration. A man that preaches the gospel, a man that has set apart for that particular task or work is to be fed by the church. He is to receive money that enables him to do that particular task. And specifically, if he does it well, he is worthy of double honor.
We know that's what honor means in the context from verse three. Notice, honor widows who are really widows. That doesn't simply mean when an old widow walks into the room, we all stand at attention and give her a salute. That's not what honor means.
It means to make sure she doesn't starve to death. It means to make sure she has food. It means to make sure that she has money to buy shoes and that sort of thing. So honor in 1 Timothy 5 at verse 3 and 1 Timothy 5 at verse 17 means to pay these people, to support them.
But anyways, you've got the bishop, and then you've got this list of qualifications, and then you have an admonition to let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Notice in verse 19, not only are elders who rule well worthy of payment, but they're also worthy of protection. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Why does he say that?
Because elders, like everybody else in the church, is governed by due process, governed by law. It should not be the case that one person makes a reckless charge against a faithful elder and then that man is defrocked. No, due process obtains in that instance. There ought to be witnesses for the protection of the elder and for the one making the particular charge.
Notice in verse 20, those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all that the rest also may fear. And then drop down to verse 22, do not lay hands on anyone hastily nor share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure. We'll investigate that in a bit more detail when we see that the man considered for eldership must not be a novice, he must not be a neophyte or a new convert.
Titus 1: Elders and Bishops
Now turn over to Titus, Titus chapter 1. Again, just to see the synonymous use of these various terms to the one office that has as its primary emphasis teaching and then ruling or leading. Titus 1, 5-9, 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 as I command you. Now you should notice here that elders are essential for the well-being of the church.
They're not essential for the being of the church. There was a situation among the churches on the island of Crete, wherein they were already established, they were already formalized, they were already engaged in gospel ministry, but they yet did not have elders. That's why Paul says to Titus, appoint elders in every city as I command you. Notice in verse six, if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination, For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God.
You see the synonymous use or the interchangeable use of these terms that refer to the same office. Appoint elders, why? For a bishop must be this sort of a fellow.
1 Peter 5: Shepherding Overseers
And then one final passage is 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5. You can notice what Peter says in verse one. 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.
Shepherd the flock of God. That's the word we use as pastor. Pastor the flock of God, which is among you, serving as what? Serving as overseers.
So those three terms, Again, apply to the one office that focuses on teaching and ruling or leading. So the elders are to shepherd the flock, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly. So going back to 1 Timothy chapter 3, we have three terms referring to one office. Those terms are elder or overseer or pastor.
So if I say any of those three terms in light of these particular qualifications, I'm talking about the same office.
The Man's Desire for Eldership
So let's look first at the man's desire for eldership. And with reference to context,
Male-Only Eldership
notice that it's men that are to function as elders and deacons. Paul makes a strong prohibition against women functioning as elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 2 at verse 11. Notice, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. opponents to this application of this text say, well, there were problems in Ephesus.
You had some really pushy and obnoxious women, so of course the Apostle Paul wants to put that down. But that's not how the Apostle Paul argues. He doesn't argue based on cultural problems. He doesn't argue based on Ephesus.
He argues based on creation and the fall. Notice the rationale for the prohibition. Back to 2.12, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
God has an order that he has built in to his cosmos. God has an order that he has built in to his creation. He has order with reference to the home. He has order with reference to the church.
In the home, Ephesians 5. 1 Corinthians 11 is more churchly in nature, but you have Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, 1 Peter chapter 3 as well indicate that God doesn't say, let your homes be a free for all. Women do whatever it is you want, men do whatever it is you want. Just be hippies. That's not what he says.
There is regulation for the conduct of persons and it's based on creation. For the husband is the head of the wife. He points us back to the creation account in Ephesians 5 to ground what he argues in creation. He does that here in a churchly context wherein he prohibits women from assuming a teaching role in the context of the church. 4, verse 13, Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression.
Paul is not saying that every man is smarter than every woman. Paul is not saying that every woman is dumb. That is not the nature of the apostle's argument. The apostle is highlighting that in God's created order, men are to lead in the home and men are to lead in the church.
And he argues this based on creation and fall. So with reference to this list of qualifications, Paul says it's not just any old man that wants to be an elder. In other words, he has prohibited women from functioning as elders. So does that mean every single man in the church should be an elder?
No, there's a list of qualifications given for those who will serve or function in the capacity of eldership. Now, as we read through these qualifications, many of which are virtues, we should understand this is what every Christian man ought to be. This is what every Christian man ought to aspire after. This is what every Christian woman should want to be and aspire after.
But with reference to this list of qualifications, they must be demonstrable. They must be proven in a man or men that we are examining for the eldership. Again, all of the virtues are something that you and I should be after, no matter our status or our sex, in the context of the local church. The distinguishing mark, of course, is aptness to teach.
But every man should pursue what we have here, but that doesn't necessarily mean every man will function as an elder in the context of Christ's church. So let's look at verse 1. Notice what the apostle says. This is a faithful saying.
He does this throughout 1st and 2nd Timothy. There is a series of faithful sayings. And with reference to this faithful saying, he says, if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. In other words, you don't just make men serve as officers in the church.
You don't just say, well, you're accomplished in your world of finance, so we want to baptize you and make you a member of our eldership. It is not that way. It is not, as I said earlier, a popularity contest. Look around you, brethren.
Find the guy that you like the most. We'll tick off the box and we'll make him an elder. Even if he doesn't want it, that's just your lot in life. You've got two years, knuckle under and do what we say.
You're not gonna get good service in that. You're not gonna get a compliant heart. You're not gonna get a brother who's going to give it his all. He's going to do his duty to be sure.
But what Paul is telling us is find men who know in their hearts or have a desire rather in their hearts for this service unto Jesus Christ. Now when we scrutinize, or when we examine, or when we try and objectively look at a man's desire for the ministry, there are four things that we ought to consider. Four things in terms of a call to the ministry. I'm going to lean on Pastor Albert N.
Martin, formerly pastor of Montville or Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. He preached a series of sermons on a call to the ministry in the early 70s that have stood the test of time. He uses proven masters of old, James Henley Thornwell, Charles Bridges, Charles Spurgeon, a couple other fellows, Dabney, and he uses those men and their approach to a call to the ministry and he takes the best insights and he formulates four things to help us to evaluate and to objectively look at a man's desire for gospel ministry.
Right Motives for Ministry
In the first place, it is a desire born of right motives. It is a desire born of right motives. That should be obvious. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
Of course we mean he has right motives. A man might desire the position of a bishop so he can tyrannize saints. So he can function as a despot. So he can function as an oppressor.
So he can function as a lord. Well, obviously, that's not a good desire. And so with reference to a desire for the ministry, the man must have a desire born of right motives. I have joked in the past that a lot of people think that pastors are like trash men.
They only work one day out of the week. My trash gets picked up on Wednesday. When I was a kid, I would have been inclined to think those men only work on Wednesday. Well, we all know they work fully throughout the week.
A lot of people think that all pastors do is come up for a half hour on a Sunday and give their spiel and then go back to the golf course or go back to, you know, the coffee table or whatever it is they do. Well, if there is a lazy man out there that has that mindset, that that's what pastoral ministry is about, and he just wants a soft and an easy gig, that's not a desire born of right motives. That is a desire born out of selfish motives, out of ungodly desires, and that man should go schlep hogs for a living for a while.
Graces of Genuine Conversion
Secondly, there is graces indicating genuine Christian experience. Grace is indicating genuine Christian experience. Now, when we look at this list of qualifications, the accent falls on the virtues, or the bulk of the descriptors are virtues. He must be this, he must be that.
There's only one gift in view, and that is an aptness or an ability to teach. And so a man that aspires for the office of bishop or pastor or elder in the context of the church must have graces indicating genuine Christian experience. In other words, he's born again. In other words, he's a believer in Jesus Christ.
In other words, he's been justified freely by God's grace. In other words, he's living the life of sanctification and is being further conformed unto the image of our Lord. Now we take this as a no-brainer. brainer, we think, well, that's obvious. It hasn't always been obvious.
And just recently, I think it's Harvard, was it Harvard or Yale, one of the schools, both of which were founded not to promulgate godless humanism, but to train ministers and missionaries. Recent appointment to chaplain at either Harvard or Yale, it was one of the big two ones, is an atheist. And that's perfectly acceptable in Wokeville. That's perfectly acceptable in this modern day and generation.
But it was acceptable back a couple of hundred years ago. It was treated just as another profession. You could be a lawyer, or you could be a doctor, or you could be a minister. Didn't matter whether you had genuine Christian graces.
Didn't really matter if you were born again. You read the history, you read the biography of certain of these men that are heroes in the context of the church. They started off as unconverted ministers and down the road got saved. So it's not as obvious as we might think.
And judging based on some of the sermons that are put out by some of these adults, we might be inclined to think there's unconverted men in the pulpits today.
Gifts of Divine Provision
Thirdly, there needs to be gifts indicating divine provision. So not only graces that indicate genuine Christian experience, he's a godly man, he's a faithful man, he's a righteous man, he's a blameless man, but there must be gifts indicating divine provision. Again, 1 Timothy 3, verse 2. He must be able to teach.
That word must, that is given at the beginning of verse two, again, not a recommendation, not a suggestion, but a mandate. We bring no one in that isn't these things. And he must be apt to teach. Look over at 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2 at verse 14.
Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So there are those who are charlatans, there are those who are frauds, there are those who are fakes, there are those who are in it for the wrong reason. But Timothy, you're supposed to be diligent to present yourself approved, not to men.
Your first order of business isn't, oh, I hope my people love me. I mean, that's always a nice blessing, but you are seeking approval to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And then notice as well, down in verses 24 to 26, "...a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses, and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." Brethren, I think as we move through the man's personal holiness, one of the things that I think we'll have to conclude is that Paul doesn't want a hothead as an elder. Paul doesn't want a hothead as an elder.
That hothead may be able to teach. That hothead may have some other good sterling gifts and characteristics in, you know, other ways. But notice this particular mandate. The bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel.
You're not going to win the debate by inviting somebody out to a cage match, which, incidentally, a fellow pastor, another pastor, once challenged me to a cage match. I mean, brethren, that is bizarre behavior. You do not want a hothead in the eldership. That doesn't mean that he's a, you know, what is that word that the Brits have?
A weeping lilac or something like that, or just a Nancy boy, or whatever you want to call it. I mean, he's got the hood spa to stand up and do what he needs to do, but he's not a hothead where he's, you know, ready, fire, aim kind of a guy. Paul says no to that. You must not, be quarrelsome, but in humility correcting those who are in opposition.
And then, of course, in Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1. And we're going to see these texts again as we move through this passage of Scripture. But notice in Titus chapter 1.
Again, the gifts are given, the qualifications are given, the emphasis on specific virtues that the man must have. Verse 6, if a man is blameless, husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination, For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled." Now notice, "...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 going back to 1 Timothy chapter 3, there are brothers in our churches that look like the man described in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 to 7, all except for an ability to teach. That's not a sin. It's not a crime.
It's not wrong. It's not bad. It's not somehow a blemish on your character if you're not an elder in the church. No, not at all.
If a man desires it, and if he has the virtues, and he has the gift, and he's approved among us, then we admit him into the eldership. We install him by way of laying on of hands. But with reference to this aptness to teach, it must be present. And that comes ultimately from God the Lord.
So he not only has the graces indicating genuine Christian experience, but he has the gifts indicating divine provision. Listen to Spurgeon here. He says, 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 is not furnished with wings." You'll forgive me, whenever I read these quotes from Spurgeon, I can't help but smile.
He had such a pithy way of putting biblical truth in its very clear context. Let me just start again. 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 is not furnished 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. It is crucial. Those things must be present.
Again, a godly, righteous, virtuous man who can't preach is not supposed to serve in the eldership. That's not to be offensive. That's not to trigger anybody. That's not to make anybody lose their minds.
It is simply a matter of fact. Virtue is necessary, but that gift that aptness to be able to bring it, to be able to teach. And that's just not in a public setting, though that's included, and not every elder is going to have the same degree of competency in that aspect. But it also includes private teaching the Bible over a coffee table or a kitchen table where in persons are suffering, or where in persons are sitting, or where in persons need good biblical counsel from a guy who's apt to teach.
So this concept of an elder functioning in the life of a church who can't teach or preach the Bible is an anomaly. We're not supposed to allow that. The man must be these things.
Providential Opportunity
And then the last thing given to us by Pastor Martin is an opportunity indicating providential opening. An opportunity indicating providential opening. And there we cite Proverbs 18, 16. A man's gift makes room for him.
He does not make room for it. He doesn't come on the first day in a new church and say to the pastor, you really need to use me in the Sunday school. You really need to use me to substitute for you in the pulpit. You really need to let me at it in terms of the Wednesday night Bible study.
Just a little bit of a pro tip here. If you come to me in that vein, you're probably not going to get your wishes. A man's gift makes room for him. He doesn't call attention to his giftedness.
He doesn't call attention to his accomplishment. He doesn't call attention to himself because he's a humble Christ-like man who fits the profile in 1 Timothy 3. Read Spurgeon's lectures to my students sometimes. See how he dealt with men that would come to the context or that would apply to the pastor's college.
Pastor Martin uses him as a bit of an excess on the subjective side. Spurgeon would say things like, if a man can do any other thing in the world, let him do it instead of preach. In other words, he ought to be that convinced, he ought to be that gifted, he ought to be that sure that that is his only calling before he ever does anything ever. He as well had an instance where a man came, applied to the pastor's college, and this man sounded great.
This man submitted his paperwork, Spurgeon reviewed the paperwork. Spurgeon had the meeting with the fellow, and the fellow was awesome. He was a fantastic guy. So Spurgeon rejected him from the pastor's college.
The man was curious. The man was perplexed. The man said, why? And Spurgeon ably said, because we can't do anything for you here.
You're already well qualified. You're already wonderful. What could we possibly bring to the table to fit you for service? Spurgeon as well actually ejected a man who had an odd jaw.
He said that this man's jaw clicked a bit when he talked, and he thought that anybody subject to that man's preaching would be caught up with watching this man's jaw click from place to place. I personally think that's a bit overboard, but I'm just simply trying to underscore how Spurgeon approached this very important issue. Now again, we may say he went overboard, but at the other end of the spectrum, there are men in pulpits that shouldn't be there. It amazes me what the people of God put up with.
It amazes me what the body politic puts up with in our elected officials. It really or doubly amazes me in what Christian hardworking people put up with in terms of preaching, in terms of men that just blurt out their brains that have no ability, hermeneutically, exegetically, to put together a sermon to point sinners to Christ. Brethren, these things ought not to be. So if we can go overboard on the one extreme, that guy has an odd jaw, send him away.
We can certainly err on the other extreme that that guy doesn't have any of these things, but he's such a nice fellow. He's such a good guy. He's so gregarious. He's so personable.
He really loves to go out for coffee. I've often thought, and I'm probably sure that I've often said, when I went to my hip surgeon, I wouldn't have cared if he was mean. I wouldn't have cared if he was vicious. I wouldn't have cared if he was unkind.
My primary emphasis was that he didn't have a shaky hand. I wanted him to be able to engage in his work without messing up my hip. Now, my hip surgeon happened to be a swell fellow as well. So when we have that combination and a man, a swell fellow, he likes to engage with people, but as well he can preach, that's what we're after.
That's what we're looking for. That's what 1 Timothy 3, 1 to 7, and Titus 1, 5 to 9, and 1 Peter 5, 1 to 4 or 5, tells us we should be looking for in terms of men that will function in the pastoral ministry. This is not a joke. It is not a popularity contest.
It is not simply a man has proved himself well in the world, therefore. Brethren, I actually think that that is a valid, valid part of it. If a man hasn't proven himself in the world, if a man hasn't held a job in the real world, then likely he's not going to do great when it comes to pastoral ministry. So that's part of it also.
He must have a good testimony with those on the outside. He must have a good testimony with those who know him. He mustn't be the whiner in the break room who wastes time every day at work. See, the apostle puts together a list of qualifications, again, not to keep good men out, but to keep unqualified men out.
Men must be these things in order to function in the gospel ministry. So I want to stop there. You're probably all going, good, we didn't want to go through the rest of this anyway. And next time we'll take up, beginning in verses 2 and 3, the man's personal holiness.
But I did want to end on this particular note, two notes, again with Spurgeon, highlighting this aspect of an ability to teach. He says, brethren, this is his students. If you don't know Spurgeon, Spurgeon was a world-renowned preacher in the 1800s in London, England. He started preaching when he was 16 years old at a village chapel.
It wasn't long where a person said, this guy can preach, let's bring him to the city. And he did. I mean, he brought it for many, many years. He preached the word of truth, but he also founded, as I said, a pastor's college.
And so these men were subject to the rigors of preparation for pastoral ministry. So they had systematic theology, they had Greek, they had Hebrew, they had all those courses that a man takes when he goes to seminary. And on Friday afternoons, Spurgeon would address them, practically. Friday afternoons, in my mind's eye, I go back to that.
It'd be wonderful to just sit at the feet of C.H. Spurgeon and have him give you good horse sense when it comes to pastoral ministry. But here's what he said to his students. He says, brethren, If you're not theologians, you are, in your pastorates, just nothing at all.
You may be fine rhetoricians and be rich in polished sentences, but without knowledge of the gospel and aptness to teach it, you are but a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Brethren, Spurgeon was right. Calvin before him was right. The church at large has been right that we find men who are qualified because the work demands it.
It is a serious work that demands serious and careful attention in terms of not only study, but in prayer. Not only in study and in prayer, but in the actual act of preaching. And again, what the people of God put up with on a regular basis shocks and baffles the mind. It's almost like we're afraid to say the guy can't do it.
Again, not a sin to not be able to preach. You can sin in a whole host of ways as we saw in Leviticus 4. You can sin without even knowing it, but it's not a sin to not be able to preach. It is a sin to put a man into the office who's unable to preach.
And so the church must be wise, the church must be informed, and the church must take seriously her part in the process to examine a man. to make sure that he is what the apostle envisages here, such that we can, by God's grace, lay hands on men and send them out into the harvest field because the fields are white on the harvest. There is a great need and we ought to pray to our great God and do what he calls us to do in identifying and in examining and then in installing and then in either sending them out or using them. in our own local church.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the clarity of the apostle at the level of eldership, and we pray that you would guide and direct us as a local church. We pray for Ryan. We pray for Dan in northern Ontario.
We pray for this other young man, Andrew. We just ask God in heaven that you would bless them, that you would guide and direct them. We ask as well that you'd raise up men in our midst to serve in our eldership so that we might have a biblical plurality of elders and be able to continue to identify and continue to send men forth. For God, we know that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
So we pray to you, Lord of the harvest, to raise up men, to qualify them, and to send them out through the vehicle of the local church. I pray that you would go with us now, watch over us all in this coming week, and help us to glorify and to honor and to praise you. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.