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A few weeks ago we introduced 
the topic of the qualifications of elders. And then we had the 
Lord's Supper and then Ryan preached last Sunday night. So we'll pick 
up in 1 Timothy chapter 3. I'll read the chapter and then 
we'll look at the qualifications of elders. An appropriate study 
as we look at Ryan in terms of possibly going to Vernon as a 
church planter. Also our work with the people 
in Dryden. And then I think I mentioned a young fellow that is possibly 
contemplating a move to Chilliwack so that they can join our church, 
and hopefully he's looking for some opportunity as an apprentice. I don't know how that all will 
function out, but he certainly wants to be in an ecclesiastical 
situation that he agrees with. and hopefully ultimately become 
a pastor and be sent out. So lots to think about in terms 
of the various men, but we're not left without a particular 
set of qualifications, and that is how 1 Timothy 3 functions. The things that we see here must 
be true of a man, they should be true of every Christian man 
and of every Christian woman. But the idea is, is those who 
are brought into the eldership or to the diaconate have shown 
some degree of faithfulness with reference to these particular 
virtues or these graces. So beginning in 1 Timothy 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 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 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. Our 
Father in heaven, as we gather together tonight, as we reflect 
upon the qualifications of elders, we pray that you would instruct 
and inform our hearts and minds, as while, God, we rejoice in 
the various opportunities that have presented themselves to 
us, we rejoice in the church plant in Surrey and pray for 
your continued blessing upon Pastor Mike and the brethren 
there. We thank you for the group in Vernon and for their desire 
and their longing to see a church planted there. It's been a few 
years now. We thank you for Ryan and his aspirations and desire 
as well, God, for this group of people in Northern Ontario. 
Lord, it is a great encouragement to see the people of God confessing 
the doctrine that we hold dear in the London Confession of Faith. 
And we pray that you would indeed establish each of these works, 
that you would bless each of them. We ask for your blessing 
upon this young man and his wife that are desirous to move and 
perhaps join our church. God, we just give all praise 
and glory to you. but help us to be a thinking 
congregation, help us to be tactically wise and strategic, and help 
us as well, God, to lift up our eyes and to behold the fields 
white unto harvest. And as well, let us cry out to 
you with reference to laborers for the harvest field. And may 
you in your kindness and in your goodness supply such men, and 
may you indeed multiply faithful churches all throughout this 
land. Again, forgive us for our sin 
and unrighteousness. Guide us now by your Spirit, 
and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, there is 
a lot of material here. You'll notice that in verses 
1 to 7, you have the qualifications for the elders, and then you 
have in verses 8 to 13, qualifications for the deacons. Now, deacons 
serve the table of the Lord, the table of the poor, and the 
table of the minister. They look after all those things 
in the context of the local church that aren't preaching and praying. That doesn't mean they don't 
pray, but rather they're not set apart for that particular 
work. The elders, however, are those officers in the context 
of the church that have as their primary function teaching or 
preaching and then leading or governing. And so when it comes 
to these qualifications, as I've said, we cannot just take them, 
you know, as suggestive. Those things must be present 
for the men that we consider with reference to the eldership 
or to the diaconate. Remember last time, we noted 
in verse 1, this is a faithful saying, if a man desires the 
position of a bishop, he desires a good work. So we untangled 
that or tried to explain what that means. But even before that, 
looked at the various usage, the various terms rather, that 
are utilized for the one office that has as its primary function 
teaching and leading. And that office is called elder 
slash bishop slash pastor. All three of those terms refer 
to the one office that has as its mission in the church to 
lead and to teach the people of God. So with reference to 
the man's desire for eldership in verse 1, borrowing from Pastor 
A.N. Martin, I suggest there are four 
things that need to be present in a man who has aspirations 
for Christian ministry. First of all, there must be desire 
born of right motives. Desire born of right motives. Wrong motives would be a desire 
for celebrity. Wrong motives would be a desire 
for laziness. Wrong motives would be a desire 
to sort of lord things over the people of God. Those are things 
that we don't want in God's men that function as elders. Rather, 
they must be desires born of right motives, a desire to glorify 
God, a desire to edify and help the people of God along their 
way to heaven. Secondly, there must be graces 
indicating genuine Christian experience. In other words, the 
man must be born again. He must know experientially that 
truth he is tasked with preaching. If he does not have those graces 
indicating genuine Christian experience, we simply do not 
want him to be a preacher. I think I mentioned it was Harvard 
that recently installed a chaplain that is an atheist. Now Harvard 
and Yale were founded to train missionaries and ministers. So that they now have a chaplain 
that is an atheist, is an absolute oxymoron, and it certainly fits 
in well with the spirit of our age, even though it is an abomination 
to our God. Thirdly, there must be gifts 
indicating divine provision. In other words, if God is going 
to call a man to preach, He's going to equip him with an ability 
to preach. If God is going to call, to use 
Spurgeon's analogy, if he wants Behemoth to fly, he'll put wings 
on him. That Behemoth doesn't have wings 
indicates he was never intended to fly. So a man must have gifts 
indicating divine provision. Spurgeon speaks to this in his 
lectures to his students. And at one point he says to the 
man with the more narrow chests, that's why we have dumbbells 
in the basement of the college. So you can get down there and 
expand that chest so that you can lift up your voice, cry aloud 
and spare not. And then fourthly, there must 
be opportunity indicating providential opening. In other words, there 
must be a place for the man. The church must recognize the 
man. and the church must then install the man. The proverb 
says that a man's gift makes room for him. He does not make 
room for his gift. He doesn't come to you and say, 
hey, I'm the best teacher or preacher I happen to know, and 
you should give me the opportunity to preach or teach. That's a 
man making room for his gift. When we have a genuine scent 
by God, man, his gift will make room for him. Now, as we go through 
the rest of the qualifications, there are several heads. First, 
we'll look at the man's personal conduct in verses 2 and 3. Next, the man's domestic faithfulness 
in verses 4 and 5. Next, the man's experience in 
the faith in verse 6. Next, the man's testimony toward 
outsiders in verse 7, and then we'll circle back to what is 
given in verse 2. He must be able to teach. We'll 
end on that particular note. For those who are fearful that 
we're not going to get out of here tonight, I doubt we're going 
to make it through this entire list. But as we move through 
this again, think in terms that are concrete. Think in terms 
of our Brother Ryan. Think in terms of what we should 
be looking for for men that come along that want some assistance 
in terms of pastoral training. Think of what we ought to be 
looking for within the context of our own church because we 
certainly need a plurality of elders and we could use a couple 
of more deacons. And so it is good for us to be 
informed, it is good for us to look out among us. So let's take 
up first tonight the man's personal conduct in verses 2 and 3. Notice again in verse 2, a bishop 
then must be. And again, everything that's 
stated or stipulated by the Apostle in terms of qualification aren't 
anything that we should say, wow, I can't believe Paul wants 
elders to be blameless. Wow, I can't believe that Paul 
wants elders not to be, you know, pugnacious as the old King James 
had it, men that are wanting to fight or hotheads. Well, again, 
every Christian man, every Christian woman should aspire to these 
virtues in their own Christian life. But the idea is that there's 
some proven faithfulness on the part of those we are considering 
for gospel ministry. So notice in the first place, 
he must be blameless. This does not mean sinless, this 
does not mean perfect, because if it did, then no man could 
function in the gospel ministry. Calvin made the observation, 
there will be no one found among men that is free from every vice. But it is one thing to be blemished 
with ordinary vices, which do not hurt the reputation, because 
they are found in men of the highest excellence, and another 
thing to have a disgraceful name, or to be stained with any baseness. You hear what he's saying? It's 
not the case that you'll find a viceless man. It's not the 
case that you'll find a sinless man. It's not the case that you'll 
find a perfect man. In God's purpose and decree, 
he made it such that angels aren't preachers of the gospel. Rather, 
he saves sinners, he equips some of those sinners, he causes the 
church to recognize those sinners, to function as elders, to function 
as deacons. And those men functioning as 
elders must be blameless. Again, not without sin, but no 
overarching vice that would bring discredit to his name. I think 
Calvin makes a helpful observation in this instance. It is one thing 
to be blemished with ordinary vices. I call it garden variety 
sin. In other words, and I'm not trying 
to brush that off, I'm not suggesting that that ordinary sin is somehow 
virtuous or okay, but you've got to appreciate the thrust 
of the apostle. Not sinless men, but not discredited 
men because of some overarching thing or blemish in their life 
that is out of the ordinary. Now, notice, secondly, he must 
be a one-woman man. Notice the specifics in the text. 
He must be blameless, and then he must be the husband of one 
wife. Now, commentators understand 
this in a variety of ways. In the first place, some suggest 
that the elder must be a married man. In other words, if a man's 
not married, he can't function in the pastoral ministry. I don't 
think that's what Paul means, though, and here's my qualification, 
I think it's helpful if a man is married. I think it's helpful 
if a man knows what it is to have a spouse and to have children 
and have the various pressures and tensions associated with 
everybody else in the context of the church, but it's not demanded, 
it's not commanded, it's not required. A man can function 
in the gospel ministry even if he is a single man. So I think 
option one is incorrect. The second option is that the 
elder must only have one wife for his entire life. In other 
words, if a man's wife dies, he is not free to remarry and 
then join the gospel ministry. Again, I think this is out of 
line. The third option is that the text forbids polygamy. And 
I certainly think that's incorporated into the overall meaning, but 
I think option four explains it well. The elder is to be faithful 
in marriage and sexual matters. He is to be faithful in marriage 
and sexual matters. We might say he's faithful and 
true to one woman. He is a one-woman man, which 
is literally how the language is translated, or how it would 
literally be translated. Notice over in the qualifications 
for widows in 1 Timothy chapter 5. Notice what it says concerning 
her in verse 9. Do not let a widow under 60 years 
old be taken into the number and not unless she has been the 
wife of one man. Again, I don't think he means 
that her first husband died, now she's got a second husband 
and he's died. Well, because she had two, she 
can't make it on the list. No, it is perfectly acceptable 
and legitimate to remarry after the death of a spouse. I have 
argued from Matthew 19, and I believe the Bible teaches it is legitimate 
to remarry after a biblical divorce. I don't want to get off into 
that tangent, but it's not demonized to have a second spouse if the 
previous one died or you divorced them lawfully. So what is in 
view in this list of qualifications with reference to the husband 
of one wife? He must be sexually faithful. He must not engage in promiscuity. He must not engage in any sort 
of aberration when it comes to the sexual sphere. Notice thirdly, 
Paul says he must be temperate. He must be temperate. Now this 
particular word can be used with reference to sobriety in the 
use of wine. Here rather it has to do with 
mental sobriety. Wouldn't we want some mental 
sobriety just about now in the civil sphere? Wouldn't it be 
a great thing if there was something of that temperance, that sort 
of mental sobriety? The word denotes self-control, 
balanced judgment, and the avoidance of rash behavior. Brethren, you 
don't want elders that are ready, fire, aim men. You want elders 
that think, elders that study, elders that think through responses 
and issues in the context of the church. In the next place, 
notice he says he must be sober-minded. A lot of these are very similar, 
and in some cases there's a great deal of overlap, almost to the 
point of synonyms. But with reference to sober-minded, 
similar to temperate, it has to do with self-control, especially 
as it relates to exercising good judgment, discretion, and common 
sense. See, there are things, decisions 
that need to be made in terms of church life that demand that. Again, we don't just make it 
the rule that a guy who's popular or a guy who's done well in the 
civil realm is necessarily going to function well in the context 
of an eldership. It's not the case that he's not, 
but we need to make sure that these things are true of him. 
Notice in the next place, he says he must engage in good behavior. Back in chapter two at verse 
nine, where it's applied to women, it has to do with modesty. Notice in 2.9, in like manner 
also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety 
and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly 
clothing. He's not saying to the men, you 
need to braid your hair or not braid your hair. talking about 
this sort of idea of good behavior. It means respectable, orderly, 
and well-behaved. Now, notice in the next place, 
he speaks of hospitality. He must not only be all these 
other things, but he must be hospitable. Now, a good wife 
can be very helpful in this particular regard. And incidentally, notice 
that there's no qualifications given for the elder's wife. There 
is or are qualifications given for the deacon's wife, because 
for Paul, I think, to read between the lines, he understands that 
the deacon's wives will help the deacon deacon. Elder's wives 
are not supposed to help the elder elder. That is simply the 
way it's supposed to be. It's not supposed to be Pastor 
Jim and Becky. That is simply unacceptable. That is wrong. That is not a 
good practice whatsoever. But in terms of hospitality, 
it is good for a man who has a wife that is open to these 
sorts of things to help him. Hospitality is stressed in Romans 
12 at verse 13, 1 Peter chapter 4 at verse 9, and then in Hebrews 
chapter 13 at verse 2, where it falls in the broader context 
of love. It is an expression of love to 
our fellows in order to have them in our homes and to give 
them good things in terms of love. And then notice in the 
next place, he says he must be able to teach. As I said, we'll 
bring that to the end of the message, and we'll look at that 
in a more concentrated way. But suffice to say at this point, 
all of the things that are specified here, except aptness to teach, 
are virtues or graces. They're characteristics. They're 
what the man must be. The one thing he must do is be 
able to preach or able to teach. So again, a man may fit the qualifications, 
but if he's lacking in the ability to preach or teach, he's not 
supposed to be an elder. That's not a sin. You're not 
going to go to hell because you're not an elder. You're not going 
to go to hell because you're not qualified to be an elder. 
That is simply contrary to the teaching of the passage. Aptness 
to teach is the thing that distinguishes the elder from the deacon in 
the context, but as well from other men in the context of the 
local church. Now back to our list of virtues. Notice what he goes on to say, 
not given to wine. Now, I want to take a moment 
here because I cut short the sermon on the wedding. I know 
that sounds odd. Actually, I didn't cut short 
a sermon. I didn't get to a portion of the sermon that I thought 
was very helpful. I thought it was very helpful 
in John 2, the wedding at Cana of Galilee when Jesus makes the 
water into wine. Now, there are those among us 
that see a passage like this and they say, not given to wine 
must mean that an elder can never drink wine. That's not what Paul 
is saying. Paul is saying an elder must 
not be a drunkard, but he is not saying that an elder can't 
moderately use wine. Remember in John chapter 2 at 
verse 10, what the master of the feast said to the bridegroom. He says, you have kept the good 
wine until now. So whatever we may appreciate 
about wine in the Bible times, there was good wine and there 
was bad wine. I have never been convinced by 
modern preachers that tell you that all of the wine utilized 
in the Bible, they would always add water. Well, sometimes I 
imagine they would have added water, but when you add water 
to wine, it takes away from the tastiness of the wine. So I'm 
left to wonder, did they in Bible times like bad wine? No, they would have liked good 
wine. In fact, there's something in 
terms of scripture to encourage us that the addition of water 
to wine is not a good thing. Look back at Isaiah the prophet. 
Again, the text is specifying that he must not be given to 
wine. He must not be in a state of 
preoccupation with it or overindulgence in it. But just recently, I heard 
a man who basically said that if we want to be godly, that 
means no alcohol, no meat, no fried foods, and a third other 
thing I can't for the life of me remember. Now brethren, I'm 
not suggesting that you knock back bottles of wine, you just 
simply eat fried foods. Have all the meat you want, actually, 
that's perfectly acceptable. But there is this mindset within 
Christianity that somehow Gnosticism is okay. Gnosticism is to see 
the creature as bad. The only thing that matters is 
my soul, my spirit. All those things outside me, 
they're necessarily evil. That's not biblical. That's not 
biblical at all. Brethren, we look forward to 
and we confess the resurrection from the dead. That means the 
body that goes into the grave will come out of the grave. God's 
not at war with our creatureliness. God is at war with our sinfulness. It isn't stuff, it isn't creature, 
it is rather the heart of man that takes the good gifts of 
God and perverts it and distorts it. Notice in Isaiah the prophet 
at chapter 1 and verse 21. This is an indictment of Judah. 
He says, how the faithful city has become a harlot. It was full 
of justice, righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. Your 
silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. See, that's 
looked at in a negative way. Just like it's not good to mix 
dross with silver. Nobody wants that. You want to 
purify the silver, get the dross out. Well, so it's wrong to mix 
your wine with water. No doubt, in the context, they 
would take out some of the wine, replace it with water, and sell 
it for the same price. But it's looked at as not a good 
thing. It's looked at as a bad thing. Your princes are rebellious 
and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows 
after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, 
nor does the cause of the widow come before them. And then we 
find in the Psalm, Psalm 104, verses 14 and 15. Again, I don't 
care whether you drink wine or not. I really don't care. It's 
an aspect of libertarianism I embrace wholeheartedly. You do your thing, 
and you leave me alone to do my thing. As long as we're not 
sinning against God, live and let live is my motto. And I think 
that's the apostles' motto, and I think that's what God would 
have for us. Why do we get up in everybody's 
business over preferences we have? Okay, don't drink, but 
you shouldn't be on the police to make sure nobody else ever 
does. Or if you do, you shouldn't be on the police to go out and 
make sure everybody does. Let each person be convinced 
in their own conscience and do what God leads them. Psalm 104. He causes the grass to grow for 
the cattle and vegetation for the service of man. Psalm 104, 
incidentally, is a rehearsal of God's creation. Not God's 
creation per se, but the act of God's creation. The fact that 
God, in the space of six days, made everything and all very 
good. And in Psalm 104 it says, "...he 
causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for 
the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, 
and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his 
face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart." Or consider the 
prophet Isaiah and that gospel call in Isaiah 55 verse 1. Oh everyone who thirsts, come 
to the waters and you have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, 
come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Notice 
the prophet doesn't say, add a little water to the wine. Now 
brethren, again, some of them most likely put water in their 
wine, but that person's don't today doesn't mean they're sinning. And of course people will say, 
well, it's much stronger nowadays than it was back then. You know, 
there's a simple solution to that. Drink less, just drink 
less, right? If it's so much stronger than 
it was, then drink less. That just deals with the problem. 
So back to 1 Timothy, whatever Paul means in this prohibition 
about being given to wine, he does not mean that it's always 
wrong for a minister to drink wine. Because in 1 Timothy 5.23, 
he admonishes Timothy. He says, no longer drink only 
water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your 
frequent infirmities. So again, the point is not, we're 
only looking for guys that like wine. That's not the point. The 
point is that, brethren, we are not Gnostics. Look at what Paul 
says in 1 Timothy 4, beginning in verse 1. Now the Spirit expressly 
says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving 
heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking 
lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a 
hot iron. Now notice what they do. What does Paul consider as 
a doctrine of demon? What does Paul consider as something 
that sears the consciences of men? What is it that they do 
in such wickedness? Notice verse three, forbidding 
to marry. Why? Because it's super spiritual 
and holy not to defile yourself with a woman. It's so much better 
and so much more godly and so much more upright. Roman Catholicism 
needs to read this passage and then notice, and commanding to 
abstain from foods, Again, if you were brought up or know anything 
about Catholicism, you can't eat meat on Fridays in Lent. You can only eat fish, because 
somehow that's holy. Somehow that's godly. Somehow 
that's righteous. Commanding to abstain from foods 
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who 
believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is 
good. You see what he's saying? God 
made creature. It's not the fact that the creature 
is bad. The fact is, is that our hearts 
are bad. It's how we respond to the creature. 
If we're overindulgent, if we're preoccupied with it. And it's 
not just drink. It could be food. It could be 
anything. If we are preoccupied or overindulgent, it's not the 
thing's fault. It's our fault. It's a matter 
of self-control and self-discipline. He says every creature of God 
is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with 
thanksgiving For it is sanctified by the word of God in prayer 
God made meat And meat has fat and remember that the same people 
today that lead you in government That are trying to tell you you 
must get a vaccine or we're going to have you fired Are the same 
people that banned fat or told us fat was bad many years ago? Steep yourselves on carbohydrates. How has that worked out in North 
America? Why do we have a problem with 
fat and protein? Because the government says so? 
When the children of Israel marched into the land of Canaan, it was 
a land flowing with what? Milk, I remember a brother back 
in the church I was brought up in who said, that probably wasn't 
skim milk. It was probably full fat rich 
milk. That was the promise of God as 
they entered into the land where they would enjoy the abundance 
of the land. And later in the book of Deuteronomy, 
specifically in chapter 28, when they go into the land, if they're 
not thankful, if they don't express their gratitude, then God will 
eject them from the land. Brethren, it's not the creature 
that's bad. It's the way that we use the 
creature that can be bad and exhibits a lack of self-control. 
So all of that to say back to 1 Timothy 3, the man must not 
be preoccupied with it or overindulgent in it. The next aspect of his 
life is that he must not be violent. He is not a giver of blows. The 
word denotes a violent person who is prone to physical assault 
on others and demonstrates a bad-tempered, irritable, and out-of-control 
individual. Now, you could see why that would 
be a plus in the pastoral ministry, right? You don't want a guy to 
beat you up for church discipline. I think it's that simple. I think 
a brother was playing the church's one foundation. As my memory 
serves, the particular fellow that wrote that hymn had been 
a boxer before he got converted, or he had been, you know, whatever 
the equivalent of boxing was at that time. I doubt it was 
bare-knuckle fists and the octagon or whatnot, but he had some skills. 
And while he was a pastor, he happened to be walking one day, 
it was at night, and a woman was being accosted, and he defended 
her. And he was able to defend her 
very dutifully because of his previous training or life as 
a boxer. But in terms of his pastoral 
ministry or his hymn writing ministry, that particular skill 
set should have never been employed. See, defending a woman on the 
street, absolutely positively okay. Yelling at somebody in 
your office, not so good. hitting them because they've 
sinned, really, really not so good. The old King James translates 
it as a striker. We do not want strikers. Is it 
striker or pugnacious? Striker. Okay, pugnacious is 
somewhere else somewhere, but that's in my head too. But the 
bottom line is we don't want a man who's violent. We don't 
want a man who uses the sword to do pastoral ministry. The 
next aspect is not greedy for money. There's a textual variant 
here. If you're using anything not King James or New King James, 
this particular statement is not present. But it's present 
in Acts 20 at verses 33 and following 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 2. And again, I think it's pretty 
obvious. You don't want a man who's greedy for money. He shouldn't 
be in it. for the money. Now, that doesn't 
mean you make him live in a hut and his children can't have shoes. 
I mean, the idea is that you pay a man for the work that he 
does. In fact, in 1 Timothy 5.17, Paul will exhort that elders, 
elders who rule well, especially in the word and doctrine, be 
given double honor. So it's not the case that they 
shouldn't be paid, but they shouldn't be greedy for money. That is 
a bad thing in the context of gospel ministry. Notice it goes 
on to say he must be gentle. Now gentle there is a bit of 
a difficult word. Does it mean he must be limp-wristed? 
Does it mean he must be a Nancy boy? Does it mean that he must 
be effeminate? No, I don't think that's what 
it means. If you look at the tenor of Jesus' ministry, for 
the most part, it was gentle. But Jesus also turned over the 
tables of the money changers. Jesus also drove out the beast, 
having made a whip in order to do that particular task. So whatever 
gentle means, it doesn't mean doormat, and it doesn't mean 
somebody that has no backbone. In fact, I would argue that backbone 
is an absolute requisite in the context of pastoral ministry. 
Now notice in the next place, he must not be quarrelsome. 2 
Timothy 2 provides a great illustration of that. Notice in 2 Timothy 
2, specifically at verse 22. He must not be quarrelsome. So 
in 2 Timothy 2 at verse 22, flee also youthful lusts, but pursue 
righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord 
out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant 
disputes, knowing that they generate strife. I think every pastor 
that has Facebook would do well to rehearse this passage occasionally. So much of what goes on in Facebook, 
at least as I have seen, is this kind of stuff. Pastors shouldn't 
be, you know, preoccupied with these kinds of debates online. There's enough to debate in real 
life. Why would you want to do it on Facebook? But avoid foolish 
and ignorant disputes knowing that they generate strife. Now 
notice in verse 24, And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, 
but be gentle to all. Again, He's not an invertebrate. He's not backbone-less. He's 
not a jellyfish. Whatever Paul means, he doesn't 
mean that he just gets walked all over and he never ever says 
anything that might possibly upset somebody. That's not what 
he means. But you know the kind of guy 
that's always there, champing at the bit, ready to rock and 
roll. He's ready to throw it out. He can't wait to get into 
it. No, that's not a good disposition 
for the elder. Back it down, Jack. Relax a bit. A servant of the Lord must not 
quarrel, but be gentle to all. Notice, 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. 
Greg Bonson illustrates the point not so well, not so much specifically 
with reference to the minister, but with reference to all of 
us in terms of this not quarrelsome attitude. You're at Thanksgiving 
dinner and your unconverted uncle lays some huge question on you 
that is just purpose to trip you up. What do you do? Do you 
yell at him? Do you just get into his face 
and lambast him and let him have it? No. You just let them go. But then, when there's a lull 
in the conversation, when there's opportunity for you to speak, 
you address it, and you answer it, and you do so in a winsome 
way so that, 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. And then back to our list of 
qualifications, the last one in this section, the end of verse 
three is that he's not covetous. He is not covetous. The man of 
God is not supposed to be covetous. Look over at 1st Timothy 6. Notice 
who is covetous. 1st Timothy 6 at verse 3. If 
anyone teaches otherwise, well, let's go back to verses 1 and 
2. Let as many bond servants as are under the yoke count their 
own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His 
doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing 
masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, 
but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers 
and beloved." Teach and exhort these things. If anyone teaches 
otherwise, that means everything that Paul is teaching. If they 
teach otherwise, if they teach contrary, if they teach stuff 
that is in opposition to what the apostle Paul says, listen 
to what Paul says. Again, he'd be voted out of a 
church today with this kind of an attitude. Well, you know, 
Paul, that's not very kind. That's not very gracious. I can't 
believe you'd actually say that about another human being. Aren't 
we about love and peace and reconciliation and all that sort of thing? Listen 
to what he says. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent 
to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ 
and of the doctrine which accords with godliness, He is proud, 
knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over 
words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 
useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute 
of the truth." Now notice, "...who suppose that godliness is a means 
of gain. From such, withdraw yourself." 
Why are they in it? because they think that it's 
a means for gain. Why are they in it? Because they 
want to make money at it. You see, the first century was 
a bit different than our century. Not just religious teachers, 
but philosopher teachers were as well paid pretty well. That's 
why the prohibition stands, because men that were fakes or frauds 
would try to opt for one of these positions, because they weren't 
out digging ditches, and they would have been paid pretty handsomely 
to be able to teach, whether theology or philosophy. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 5, 
same sort of emphasis by the apostle. 1 Peter 5, verse 1, 
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. Notice, shepherd the flock of 
God, which is among you, serving as overseers. See all three of 
our terms, elders, verse 1, verse 2 is shepherd or pastor, and 
then in verse 2, overseers or bishop or episkopos. Notice, 
not by compulsion, but willingly. That imitates what Paul says. 
If any man desires the office of a bishop, that's a good thing. 
So we don't just put men into the office by compulsion. You have to serve as an elder. 
Your name came up. Everybody checked it off. So 
guess what? For two years, you're going to 
be an elder in the church. but I don't wanna be. It doesn't 
matter, you're gonna be an elder in the church. No, it's not supposed 
to be by compulsion, but willingly. Now notice, not for dishonest 
gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those who entrusted 
to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief 
shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does 
not fade away. So back to 1 Timothy chapter 
3. In summary, as 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. That's the kind of man that we 
must see or rather that must be qualified in such a way to 
function as an elder in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll 
finish on the man's domestic faithfulness. Well, I don't know, 
I don't wanna do that. Actually, I don't want to run 
through this and sort of just jam it all in, because each of 
these aspects is vital. Each of these aspects is crucial. Not just his personal conduct. 
Again, a man might have personal conduct that's wonderful, but 
if his wife is not tended to properly, his children are not 
managed properly, then he's not ready for the gospel ministry. 
Notice, he's not ready. Not the fact that he's never 
gonna be ready. A lot of these things are correctable. A lot of these things are fixable. A lot of these things with some 
time and effort and energy and study and prayer can be achieved 
by fellows who are seeking, by God's grace, to function in pastoral 
ministry. So I want to close with just 
two thoughts. In the first place, the mustness of the qualifications. Again, verse 2. If a man desires, 
he must be not perfectly blameless, not perfectly gentle, not perfectly 
all of the virtues, but he must be demonstrably a man that looks 
like this. it must be the case that there 
is some proven faithfulness and trustworthiness. And again, doesn't 
mean that you didn't see him sin one time. It doesn't mean 
that he's never sinned at one point, but rather he's a man 
that's seeking to deal faithfully with his God and with his fellows. When he does sin, He confesses 
it. He repents of it. When we get 
to the section dealing with children, it's not the case that if a man 
has children that are a bit unruly, he's either A. unqualified or 
B. disqualified. If the man is dealing 
with it, that's what we want, right? You can't expect perfect 
children to come out of the womb. Oh, I'm an elder or an aspirant 
for the eldership. So my children are wonderful. 
They're perfect. They're spotless. They only ever 
do what they're supposed to do. It's an amazing gift. No, that's 
not going to happen, brethren. But if the man is negligent or 
he's derelict and he's not faithfully dealing with his children, well, 
then that's the problem. That's the issue that could lead 
to either disqualification if he's in or unqualification at 
the present time. But if we exhort and encourage 
him and he deals with his children in such a way as to show some 
proven faithfulness, then he's fit and ready. So it's not the 
case that these are so unattainable that nobody could ever reach 
them. They're so far out there that nobody could ever have them. 
Again, they're basic virtues of the Christian life that every 
single one of us should aspire unto in terms of our own individual 
life. Shouldn't you be gentle? Shouldn't 
you not be covetous? Shouldn't you not be a striker? 
I'm sure it's just as unacceptable in your place of employment to 
smack somebody in the face if they upset you as it would be 
for an elder to smack somebody in the face if they upset him. 
So all of these are for all of us. But in terms of the man or 
men that we are seeking to put into pastoral ministry or into 
the diaconate, they must be proven in terms of these qualifications. They must have demonstrable faithfulness 
in the Christian life, and they are going forward in the fear 
of God Most High. And then the second observation 
is very simple. Look at what Paul tells Timothy 
later in 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter four. Now we 
know verses one to four, I've preached on that not too long 
ago, but notice what he says in verse five, but you be watchful 
in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, 
fulfill your ministry. So Timothy as a pastor would 
be tasked with teaching the people of God, preaching the word of 
God. He must be apt to teach. and 
Timothy and the church in Ephesus must be looking for men that 
are apt to teach, apt to preach, apt to proclaim the word of God, 
to labor in the word and in doctrine such that the people of God can 
grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ. So that's assumed. That's part of Timothy's job. 
That's part of what Timothy's orientation and everybody that 
gets into gospel ministry, that's part of the orientation. So to 
preach the word for the edification of the saints. Do you see what 
else Paul tells Timothy? Do the work of an evangelist. I don't think he means that only 
for Timothy, but men like Timothy who are functioning in local 
churches, who've been recognized by their church to labor in the 
Word and doctrine. In other words, there's two focus, 
or two foci, is that the word? Two particular ends with reference 
to gospel ministry. The edification of the people 
of God and the salvation of sinners. Now here's where I want to get 
really practical. If you're an unsaved sinner tonight, 
think about God's grace. Think about God's mercy. We reflected 
on that this morning. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. So we see that God dealt 
with the big thing. The Father sends the Son. The 
Son assumes our humanity. The Son lives in our stead. The 
son dies in our stead. The son is raised for our justification. The son then ascends on high. 
He leads captivity captive, and then he gives gifts to men. And 
in Ephesians 4, the gifts that he gives to men are other men. 
It's not tongues. It's not prophesying. It's not 
helps. It's not administration. It is 
rather men, men to function as apostles, or prophets, or evangelists, 
or pastors and teachers. And then there's a threefold 
purpose as to why they do what they do, specifically oriented 
to the maturity of the people of God. But as well, God who 
ordained the salvation of sinners also ordained a special class 
of men. And by special, I don't mean 
special, if you know what I mean. But a group of men set apart 
for the task of calling sinners to faith and repentance. In other 
words, God is about the salvation of sinners. Why would we ever 
doubt that? Why would we ever resist that? 
Why would we ever listen to hyper-Calvinistic men who somehow teach us just 
the opposite? Oh no, God's only gonna save 
a handful! Oh no, there's only the frozen 
chosen! No, no, there's only just a few 
of you that are going to fall their way into heaven. No, that's 
not what scripture says. Men from every tribe, tongue, 
people, and nation. A great multitude, according 
to Revelation 7, that no man can number. So he not only undertakes 
in the sending of his son, but he undertakes in the sending 
of his preachers. on the particular task of calling 
you to believe the gospel, to repent of your sin, to know the 
joy of being found in Jesus Christ, not having your own righteousness, 
which is from the law, but that righteousness which is given 
by God and received through faith. In other words, God is about 
the salvation of sinners. You see it in the mission of 
the son and you see it in the mission of the church. Her officers 
are tasked with doing the work of an evangelist for the salvation 
of sinners. May God bless, may God draw, 
may God grant the graces of faith and repentance so that sinners 
will close with him. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you that you've not 
left us wanting in terms of what we're supposed to look for in 
elders and deacons. We ask God that you would supply 
men, that you would give us eyes to see and hearts to receive 
and the mind to process this data and apply it, and not to 
look for perfect men, not to look for blemish-free men. not 
to expect the kind of experience in a young man that an older 
man has. Help us to be balanced, help 
us to be wise, help us to proceed by your Holy Spirit and for your 
glory. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.