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We can turn with me to 1 Timothy 
3 as we work our way through the qualifications of elders. 1 Timothy 3, specifically verses 
one to seven. I will read the whole chapter, 
we'll pray, and then we'll get back to the qualifications for 
eldership. So beginning in 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, but covetousness, 
not covetous, sorry. 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 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. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we come to a most serious passage of Scripture for the Church today, 
with reference to her leaders, her elders, her deacons. We know 
it's not just a popularity contest, it's not just men proven in the 
world, but it's men proven in terms of God and His Church. 
So help us to take seriously these qualifications. Help us 
to apply them with reference to men aspiring for the pastoral 
ministry. As well, God, we pray that you'd 
raise up a whole host of men. We know the fields are white 
unto harvest. We know that the harvest is plentiful, but the 
labors are few. So, God, we appeal to you to 
raise men up, fit them according to these passages and cause them 
to be recognized by the churches and to be sent out to proclaim 
the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Forgive us for all of our 
sins and unrighteousness now and help us to glorify you by 
taking every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. 
We pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, as I've said several 
times as we've started this material is that we have a man, Ryan, 
that is aspiring for Christian ministry, and of course he's 
been going up to Vernon with the hope and hopeful prayer that 
this would be of God in terms of him going there. So we need 
to be able to look at these things and to look at him in light of 
these things. Additionally, there's a young 
man who's going to hopefully come and live among us. He's 
gonna be visiting in the next week or so, Andrew and his wife, 
Sonia, and his aspiration is for gospel ministry as well. 
Wants to be in a confessional reformed Baptist church to get 
some experience and to get some further training. And then in 
Dryden in Northern Ontario, there's a man there by the name of Dan 
Morley, who has just applied to the same seminary that Ryan 
is currently studying in. And Dan is embarking on training 
for gospel ministry as well. So these are good and encouraging 
and wonderful things. Also, we could use the plurality 
of elders in our own church and a couple more deacons would be 
a great thing. So keep your eyes open and keep 
your ears open and receive what the Bible says concerning this 
so that we can recognize men, set men apart for gospel ministry 
such that the word of God can go forth conquering and to conquer. Now we've looked at the various 
terms that are used with reference to the office of elder. Elder 
slash bishop slash overseer. Three words that are used synonymously 
to refer to the one office in the church that is given to leadership, 
leading and governing and teaching. The other office is deacons. 
The deacons have basically the same qualifications in terms 
of virtue, in terms of characteristics, but they don't have to be apt 
to teach. That doesn't mean they can't, 
they're not supposed to be doctrinal men. If you notice specifically 
what it says, that they hold, verse 13, 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. Actually 
back up before that, notice verse 8. Likewise, deacons must be 
reverent, not double-tongued. Verse 9. Holding the mystery 
of the faith with a pure conscience. Not that they don't need to know 
doctrine, but they're not specifically tasked with preaching doctrine. 
So that's what distinguishes the elders from the deacons. 
Same sort of virtue, same sort of characteristic, but in terms 
of the gift, the elder must have that ability to teach. So we've 
looked at the man's desire for eldership, verse 1. If a man 
desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. That 
must be a desire born of right motives. In other words, he wants 
to serve God, he wants to serve the people of God. Secondly, 
there must be graces indicating genuine Christian experience. 
Third, gifts indicating divine provision. And fourth, opportunity 
indicating providential opening. And then last Sunday, we looked 
at the man's personal conduct, verses 2 and 3. Remember, we 
took able to teach out. We're going to put that at the 
end of this series, so we'll look at that at the end of the 
series on the qualifications of elders. But essentially, Paul 
indicates in verses 2 and 3 what a man must be. Now, he must not 
be perfect, because then there would be no man to ever serve 
in the gospel ministry. as well, or in addition to that, 
these are virtues or characteristics that every Christian man and 
every Christian woman should aspire after. Who of us shouldn't 
want to be blameless? Who of us shouldn't want to be 
what Paul says in this particular passage? But with men being considered 
for gospel ministry, they must have demonstrable, proven application 
of these things in their lives. We must be able to look at that, 
and again, not see perfection, but to see faithfulness in terms 
of these things. So there are several categories 
left. Tonight, the man's domestic faithfulness in verses 4 and 
5. Secondly, the man's experience in the faith in verse 6. And 
then finally tonight, the man's testimony toward outsiders. And then God willing, we'll take 
up the last sermon, next week and we'll look at his aptness 
or ability to teach. So look with me now at verses 
4 and 5 in terms of the man's domestic faithfulness. Paul says, 
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission 
with all reverence. And then parenthetically in verse 
5, it's a lesser to the greater argument. For if a man does not 
know how to rule his own house, How will he take care of the 
church of God? So in the first place, notice that the man, in 
terms of domestic faithfulness, must rule his house well. Not 
just rule it, because basically fools and morons and godless 
men can rule their houses. That's not what's in view. He 
must rule his own house well. There must be competency. There 
must be faithfulness. There must be demonstrable and 
proven application of God's Word in the day-to-day activities 
that take place in his home. If he cannot rule his own house, 
and the language that Paul uses is specific, if he cannot rule 
his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Notice 
he doesn't rule the church of God. Rather, he is a steward 
of the mysteries of God. His function is ministerial, 
not magisterial. Christ rules the church. He does 
it through the elders, through the deacons, primarily through 
His Word. And so as those men preach the 
Word, as those men teach the Word, as those men minister the 
Word, they are said to be taking care of the church of God. So 
if a man does not know how to rule or govern his own house, 
how will he take care of the Church of God? So with reference 
to this ruling of his own household well, we ought to observe that 
he must relate properly to his wife. Notice the stipulation 
in verse 2. He is the husband of one wife. We define that as sexually faithful. We define that as a man, again, 
not perfect, nevertheless is a one-woman man. In chapter 5, 
at verse 19, with reference to the widow, she needs to make 
sure, rather, she is, I'm sorry, not 519, but notice in verse 
9 of chapter 5, do not let a widow under 60 years old be taken in 
the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man. 
She's been sexually faithful to her man, to her husband. The 
same is true with reference to the elder in terms of his relationship 
to his wife. Now turn back to Ephesians chapter 
5. The apostle addresses a man's 
relationship to his wife in that particular passage. in great 
detail. And so for the man to be considered 
for the ministry, for gospel ministry, or eldership in the 
church, he must properly relate to his wife. In Ephesians 5, 
beginning at verse 22 and ending at verse 33, the apostle gives 
instructions concerning husbands and wives. Now, when they relate 
to one another properly, they are doing so in a manner that 
is typological. In other words, a good husband 
and a good wife who fear God and live in a manner consistent 
with the Scripture are sending a message concerning Christ and 
His church. That's the main emphasis of the 
Apostle Paul. Notice in verse 32, this is a 
great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. In other 
words, when a man loves his wife the way that Christ loved the 
church and gave himself for her, and when the wife submits herself 
to her own husband, as the church does to her Lord, we are giving 
a picture, a type, a shadow of what the relationship between 
Christ and His church looks like. So in terms of a man's right 
relationship to his wife, there are two primary emphases in the 
passage. First, he must lead his wife. 
Notice in verse 23. Well, verse 22. Wives, submit 
to your own husbands as to the Lord. The rationale or the reason 
is found in verse 23. Notice that this isn't a popularity 
contest. It's not even a contest as to who is better fit and able 
to lead. No, the husband is the head of the wife. It is an indicative, it is subtle, 
it is the way God established creation. We go back to the Garden 
of Eden, God made man first, and then he brought Eve to him 
as a helpmeet, as one comparable or answering unto him. Meredith 
Klein says, the woman was made for the man, yet not as his slave 
girl, but his queen. Matthew Henry famously said, 
the woman is not made out of his head to top him, nor out 
of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to 
be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near 
his heart to be beloved. The man must lead his wife. That's 
what Paul is saying in terms of a man that is fit for eldership. 
If it is the other way around, he is not fit for the gospel 
ministry. In other words, men that are 
in ministry must model what goes on in the Christian home. And 
the Christian man leads his wife, not tyrannically, Not oppressively, 
not in some sort of a despotic manner, but rather he does it 
like Christ's leadership. Loving, servant leadership. That's 
why what Paul says is absolutely crucial. Husbands, love your 
wives just as Christ loved his church and gave himself for her. It is to be self-sacrificial, 
self-effacing love, but it is to be love in the context of 
his leadership. So he must lead his wife. Second, 
he must love his wife. Notice in verses 26 and 27. He 
must exercise headship in such a way that she grows under His 
care, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing 
of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself 
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, 
but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands 
ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves 
his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own 
flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the 
church. Again, if a man does not love 
his wife or relate to his wife in these terms, he is not fit 
for gospel ministry. Now, every single man among us 
should aspire to this. Every single one that is married 
to a woman that professes faith in Jesus Christ must provide 
leadership. It must be loving leadership. We must resist the spirit of 
our age, this idea that there is no distinction, that it really 
doesn't matter, that whoever's better fit or suited for the 
position. No, that is to turn the created 
order upside down. God made man, and then he made 
woman as one answerable or comparable to him. He brought her to him 
in order to function as his helpmate. We do ourselves no favor in the 
church when we compromise God's standard with reference to manhood 
and womanhood. So he must properly relate to 
his wife. Now turn back to 1 Timothy 3. Notice that he deals specifically 
with the children in this passage. And again, that's the proving 
ground. That's the obvious. That's where 
we can see, is he managing his home? Is he properly governing 
his home? Is he properly controlling his 
home? Is he ruling his house? Well, 
it's going to be evident in the fact that his wife is lovingly 
led and in the fact that his children are not banshees. They're 
not miserable little cretins that everybody in the world wants 
to see thrown off the face of the earth. Now again, they're 
not perfect. They're not the little robotic 
children that just do everything mommy and daddy say. But they 
are children nonetheless under the government of their father 
and their mother. They are managed successfully. 
They are dealt with when they are out of line. Notice the language 
of the Apostle. Verse 4. One who rules his own 
house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. Now turn over to the parallel 
passage in Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1. Specifically 
at verse 6, he says, if a man is blameless, the husband of 
one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or 
insubordination. The NIV translates or renders 
it this way, a man whose children believe. There are a couple of 
Bible teachers out there in our orbit, persons that you know 
and persons that most likely you have heard from time to time, 
that believe that an elder's children must be converted. I 
do not think that is mandated by the text. I think the idea 
of faithful children, faithful under control, faithful that 
are not accused of dissipation or abject wildness. A man cannot 
convert his kids. A man is not the Holy Spirit. 
He's not responsible in terms of opening their hearts and granting 
them the graces of faith and repentance. Now, ideally, his 
children would be saved. Ideally, all of our children 
would be saved, and that's what we pray to our gracious God for. But in terms of a man that is 
aspiring for gospel ministry, it is not mandated from Scripture 
that his children are are converted, but that they are controlled. 
George Knight says, what must not characterize the children 
of an elder is immorality and undisciplined rebelliousness, 
if the children are still at home and under his authority. 
Paul is not asking any more of the elder and his children than 
is expected of every Christian father and his children. However, 
only if a man exercises such proper control over his children, 
may he be an elder. I think I mentioned this last 
week. It's not that his kids never sin. It's not that his 
kids never get out of line. It's that when they do, he deals 
with them. And how does he deal with them? 
You can turn back to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 
6 this time. Ephesians chapter 6, Paul deals 
with a parent's responsibility to their children, specifically 
the father's. Notice in Ephesians 6, 4. And 
you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath. Don't exacerbate 
them. Don't exasperate them. Don't make them languish. Don't make them sorrowful 
that they are under your care as a father. Don't provoke them. 
We can provoke them in a whole host of ways. Just reflect back 
on when your kids were little and I'm sure you'll come up with 
several answers as to how you have or been able to provoke 
them. Paul's admonition is that fathers do not provoke your children 
to wrath, but then notice, but bring them up in the training 
and admonition of the Lord. Essentially this idea of training 
refers to child rearing, training, or discipline. It refers to the 
act or activity involved. And then admonition speaks to 
the word, what we say, the instructions that we give them. So the man 
aspiring to the eldership and Every Christian man should take 
pains not to provoke his children to wrath, and he should both 
by action and by word bring up his children in the training 
and admonition of the Lord. Now, the book of Proverbs is 
very helpful, so we can turn back there. The book of Proverbs 
illustrates for us how a man is to function relative to his 
children. And just a few specimen passages, 
because there's a whole host of them in the book of Proverbs, 
as Solomon took seriously the necessity forefathers to take 
charge in their homes. Notice in Proverbs chapter 13. Last Sunday, our brother was 
not able to be in church because he had the Rona, so he texted 
me after and he said, Thank you for the message my children took 
away from it that I can no longer spank them because I'm not to 
be a giver of blows. Well, I'm gonna undo all that 
tonight, children, so you can thank me later. Proverbs 13, 
24. He who spares his rod hates his 
son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Now, brethren, 
some of these passages in the Proverbs, and I think I've said 
this before and I will qualify it again, Be careful, use discretion, 
use discernment, use wisdom when it comes to exercising discipline 
with reference to your children. We live amongst spies. We live 
amongst people that are ready to dine you out. We live amongst 
people that are ready to turn you in for every jot and tittle 
of your lives. So be careful when it comes to 
the application of the rod and reproof with your children. But 
this idea that we are not to engage in what God commands so 
that we don't infringe upon the rights of the child is ultimately 
destructive of the child. Listen to what the wise man says. He who spares his rod hates his 
son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Every child out 
there knows that a father who loves him will be a father who 
disciplines him. That's just garden variety information. A father that doesn't take the 
time to discipline his children is a father who is guilty of 
not loving his children. Turn over to Proverbs 19. Proverbs 
19, specifically at verse 18. Proverbs 19 verse 18, chasten 
your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on 
his destruction. It's a parallelism. Look at what 
he says, chasten your son while there is hope, do not set your 
heart on his destruction. So there's either hope or destruction. 
What are you gonna do? You're gonna chasten your son 
while there is hope because you don't want him destroyed. Notice 
in Proverbs 22 at verse six, Proverbs 22 at verse 6, we all 
know this one, train up a child in the way he should go, and 
when he is old he will not depart from it. Notice what the emphasis 
is there. It's not on what happens to the 
kid later in life. The emphasis that I want to bring 
to the forefront is train up a child. He must be a man who 
rules his own household well. In order to rule your own household 
well, you have to spend time in the trenches with your children, 
engaged in discipline, engaged in instruction, engaged in government, 
engaged in leadership. If we do not do that for our 
children, they're going to look like what we're seeing in society 
all around us. We need to be counter-cultural 
when it comes to this idea. We need to discipline our children 
and train them up, or bring them up in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. Notice as well, Proverbs 23, verses 13 and 14, 
do not withhold correction from a child. For if you beat 
him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod 
and deliver his soul from what? From hell. Now again, he's not 
suggesting that somehow it's the rod that brings conversion 
to that particular child. but you get the thrust of the 
passage. If you allow your child to go 
uncheck, if you allow your child to do his own thing, if you allow 
your child to live whatever way he or she chooses, you are not 
doing them any favor whatsoever. And then notice in Proverbs 29 
at verse 15. 29 verse 15, the rod and rebuke 
give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his 
mother. It is high time that the church 
take this responsibility back, that we exercise what God has 
called us unto and not sin the sin of Eli. Remember Samuel upbraids 
Eli, God upbraids Eli. Why? Because his sons were wicked. They didn't know the Lord. 1 
Kings 2, verse 12. And as a result of their not 
knowing the Lord, they lay with temple prostitutes. They stole 
the food or they stole the meat that was not allotted to them. 
We've seen the detailed legislation in the sacrificial system. The 
priests were looked after. The priest got their share of 
the fat. The priest got their share of 
the meat. The idea was is that the priest can't go out and, 
you know, plumb and buy their own houses. So they had cities 
appointed for them and they received probably stipends, but they also 
received meat from the sacrificial system. That wasn't enough for 
Eli's sons. They would take their pitchfork 
or their fork, throw it into the boiling pot and take out 
extra portions for themselves. God indicts Eli because he did 
not restrain his sons. If a man aspires to the office 
of elder and deacon, he must manage his own household well. He must bring up his children 
in the training and the admonition of the Lord. It is most essential 
that we do not compromise at this point that when we survey 
men, In light of the qualifications for eldership, we see wives that 
are looked after, and we don't know all the jots and the tittles 
to be sure. We don't know all of the ins and outs and the imperfections 
and all that, but we should be suspect if a woman looks completely 
exasperated all the time, or when she, you know, her husband's 
saying how he desires to preach and desires to minister, and 
she's sort of behind him rolling her eyes. Those are not good 
signs. loving leadership in terms of 
his relationship to his wife, and discipline and correction 
in terms of his relationship to his children. All in the context 
of love. You see, a man who does this 
with his child does it out of love. He doesn't do it because 
he's a despot. He doesn't do it because he's 
a tyrant. He doesn't do it because he's a premier. He does it because 
he loves them, and God Most High has given him stewardship with 
reference to these children, and he wants the best for the 
children. And what is best for the children is discipline, it's 
correction, it's encouragement, it's training them up in the 
way that they should go, not allowing them to pursue whatever 
it is that they want to. No, that is the world's way. 
We as God's people are under a mandate, a divine mandate, 
to bring up our children in the training and the admonition of 
the Lord. So back to 1 Timothy 3. Now we 
look at, secondly, in terms of tonight, the man's experience 
in the faith. Look at what Paul says in verse 
six. He says, not a novice, not a 
neophyte. The word neophyte means newly 
planted, not one that's new to this game of Christianity. I 
don't mean game in that sense, but not one who's newly off the 
boat in terms of having been converted. So verse six, not 
a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the 
same condemnation as the devil. Now, we need to qualify this, 
because when we survey the New Testament, there were certain 
situations or instances where there certainly couldn't have 
been a man that was ordained to gospel ministry who had been 
a Christian for 10 years. Go back to the first missionary 
journey with me in Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14. So the Apostle Paul and Barnabas 
are sent out by the church in Acts 13. This particular missionary 
journey took place in the years AD 47 to AD 48. covers chapter 13 and 14 in terms 
of Paul's ministry. This was the time when they visited 
the churches of Southern Galatia. Remember the book of Galatians? 
It was probably the first book that the apostle Paul wrote. 
So he goes on this preaching ministry, he goes and he makes 
disciples, he makes or founds churches in the region of Southern 
Galatia. After that missionary journey's 
over, he gets wind that the Judaizers have come, and that's why he 
takes pen to paper and writes Galatians. But intriguingly, 
they go out in A.D. 47 and return in A.D. 48. So 
they go through various cities preaching and teaching, making 
disciples and planning churches. Now notice in 1421, And when 
they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, 
they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the 
souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, 
saying, We must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom 
of God. So they went through various 
cities. They preached the gospel in those 
cities. They made disciples in those 
cities. They found churches in those 
cities. Now when they head back to Antioch, guess where they 
go? They go through those same cities. 
They go through those same churches. Now look at what happens according 
to verse 23. So when they had appointed elders 
in every church and prayed with fasting, they commended them 
to the Lord in whom they had believed. So there wasn't 10 
or 15 or 20 years that these men had been converted. As well, 
turn back to the book of Titus. Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 
1. Something intriguing about this 
particular situation. It was a pioneer, sort of missionary 
setting. And Crete apparently was a rough 
place. And the Apostle Paul stations Titus or has Titus go to Crete. And notice in verse five, 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 commanded you. Now notice in Titus one, there's 
no description, no qualifications given for deacons. Not that deacons 
are unimportant or not important in the churches in Crete, But 
the initial setup in terms of the church life was to appoint 
elders. Deacons could come later. The 
church in Ephesus was further along. It was more mature. It 
had been around longer. And as a result, they had qualifications 
for elders and deacons. That's why there's an absence 
in Titus 1 in terms of the diaconate. But 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 commanded you." 
Again, there simply wasn't a lot of time for a man to have been 
converted for 10 or 15 or 20 years and then get inducted into 
the gospel ministry. To some degree, this language 
of neophyte, this language of new convert is somewhat conditional 
upon the particular situation. Robert 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. But going back to 1 
Timothy, notice specifically what Paul says in chapter 5. 
In chapter 5 at verse 21, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without 
prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. Do not lay hands 
on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins. Keep 
yourself pure. So the admonition, or the prohibition, 
is do not lay hands on anyone hastily. In other words, don't 
compromise with reference to qualification because we need 
elders. Don't compromise with reference 
to qualification because we need preachers. Don't compromise with 
reference to the qualifications for elders because those people 
need a preacher on site. No, you must maintain fidelity 
in the application of these qualifications to a man or men that are being 
considered for the gospel ministry. And back to 1 Timothy 3, this 
is not only a protection for the church, but it's a protection 
for Him. It's always intrigued me with 
reference to this search for elders or search for men to serve 
in gospel ministry. In our hastiness at times, we're 
not thinking in terms of the church and we're not thinking 
in terms of the man. Now, it may seem like we're extinguishing 
a flame, but we want to make sure we're not running unsent, 
that we're not engaged in something that is hasty. Look at what happens 
if the man is installed prematurely. or if the man is installed without 
due appreciation for the qualification. Notice in verse six, not a novice 
lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation 
as the devil. It is protection, not only for 
the church, but for the man or men. We don't want to hate that 
upon a guy. Just like James three, let not 
many of you become teachers. Why? Because we'll receive a 
stricter judgment. If we understand that, we should 
tread cautiously. We should tread according to 
what Scripture says in the most crucial area concerning the qualifications 
of elders. Now notice, thirdly, the man's 
testimony toward outsiders. You see, Paul is comprehensive. 
In the space of seven verses, he deals with the desire, he 
deals with the conduct, he deals with the family, He deals with 
the length of conversion or prohibition against being a new convert. 
And then he deals with the man's relationship to those outside 
the church. In other words, that's a good 
image or a good picture rather of the whole man. We're not just 
concerned with his aptness to teach. We're not just concerned 
with one aspect of these qualifications. We want whole men preaching the 
whole gospel in our pulpits. That is what is in view. Now 
notice the exhortation in verse 7. So the elder must manage his 
own household well. Notice the elder as well must 
have a good testimony. Not just a testimony, oh yeah, 
that guy's a Christian but he's obnoxious. No, he has a good 
testimony. And I'll give a qualification 
in just a moment. The man that is an elder that 
is faithful as a preacher or pastor may not be looked upon 
favorably by every sector of society. So that obviously can't 
be taken into consideration. If a man is what he ought to 
be according to the qualifications, and persons hate him because 
he preaches Christ, we don't hold that against the man, right? 
So there needs to be some wisdom as we apply these things. If 
every man everywhere only ever speaks favorably of you, you 
might want to take guard on that. Because the reality is that if 
you're preaching the gospel, There's going to be offense, 
especially in our age. Somebody, somewhere is going 
to be offended. I guarantee you. But notice, 
this is not, again, confined to the elder, but it must be 
demonstrable in those that we consider for the eldership. Turn 
back to the book of Colossians. Colossians chapter 4, every Christian 
should have a good testimony with those on the outside. Notice 
in Colossians 4, 5, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, 
redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to 
answer each one. See, it seems to me there's two 
extremes. On the one hand, oh, I don't 
care what anybody in the world ever says. No, that's not right. 
You gotta have a good testimony. You gotta be a faithful man. 
You gotta pay your taxes. You gotta cut your lawn. Don't 
be the guy in your neighborhood that everybody's praying will 
move because your dog never shuts up or because your grass is never 
cut. Don't be that guy. So the idea 
that I don't care about anybody in the world, that's not biblical. 
But the other extreme is I care about everybody in the world 
and what everybody thinks of me. That's not good either. So 
there has to be a walking in wisdom, as the Apostle Paul says 
here, with reference to those who are outside. Notice in 1 
Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 9. But concerning brotherly love, 
you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves 
are taught by God to love one another. And indeed you do so 
toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge 
you, brethren, that you increase more and more. Notice verses 
11 and 12. Beautiful, beautiful language 
in scripture. That you also aspire to lead 
a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your 
own hands as we commanded you. That you may walk properly toward 
those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. Again, 
this idea that I don't care what anybody in the world ever says, 
that's not biblical. you have to have a good testimony 
with those on the outside. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 2, 
1 Peter chapter 2, again, this is not just for elders, it's 
for all of us, but it must be demonstrable in the lives of 
those that are going to function as elders in churches. Notice 
in 1 Peter 2, at verse 12, well, verse 11. So going back to 1 Timothy chapter 
3, now I've illustrated with just a few things, you know, 
the cutting of the grass, the paying of the taxes, the not, 
you know, playing your music. Oh, but it was hymns. Yeah, but 
3 in the morning, if you're blasting your neighbors with your hymns, 
that's not somehow godly, that's not somehow okay, but it was 
hymns. That's just Christian nonsense, 
brethren. Nobody wants to hear anything 
at 2 o'clock in the morning except them snoring. That's about all. 
So this idea that we don't need to care about anybody is not 
biblical. Now, I've often thought, or I've 
probably said at times, I always love to quote from Spurgeon, 
lectures to my students. This is from the chapter on the 
minister's ordinary conversation. on the minister's ordinary conversation. So he has a whole host of lectures 
that he gave to his students at the pastor's college. Some 
dealt with call to ministry, some dealt with preaching, open 
air preaching. He's got a whole section on gestures and emotions 
and all that sort of thing. It's kind of an interesting book. 
It's a book that's actually gold. But in the minister's ordinary 
conversation, what kind of a man should he be when he's out and 
about? What kind of a fellow should he be? Well, Spurgeon 
exhorts Christian ministers to be very cheerful. Now, dispositionally, 
we're not all this way, and we all probably need to work a little 
harder at being extra cheerful. But I want to read this because 
I think it illustrates well this idea of how we relate to others 
outside the church. He says the Christian ministers 
should also be very cheerful. I don't believe in going about 
like certain monks whom I saw in Rome, who salute each other 
in sepulchral tones and convey the pleasant information, brother, 
we must die. To which lively salutation, each 
lively brother of the order replies, yes, brother, we must die. I 
was glad to be assured upon such good authority that all these 
lazy fellows are about to die. Upon the whole, it is about the 
best thing they can do. But till that event occurs, they 
might use some more comfortable form of salutation. No doubt 
there are some people who will be impressed by the very solemn 
appearance of ministers. Think about this. The very solemn 
appearance of ministers. He's holy. Look at how he looks. 
That's just weird. He says, I have heard of one 
who felt convinced that there must be something in the Roman 
Catholic religion from the extremely starved and pinched appearance 
of a certain churchman. Look, he said, how the man is 
worn to his skeleton by his daily fastings and nightly vigils, 
how he must mortify his flesh. Spurgeon comments, now the probabilities 
are that the emaciated priest was laboring under some internal 
disease, which he would have been heartily glad to be rid 
of. And it was not conquest of appetite, but failure and digestion, 
which had so reduced him. or possibly a troubled conscience 
which made him so fret himself down to the light weights. Certainly, 
I have never met with a text which mentions prominence of 
bone as an evidence of grace. If so, the living skeleton should 
have been exhibited, not merely as a natural curiosity, but as 
the standard of virtue. Some of the biggest rogues in 
the world have been as mortified in appearance as if they had 
lived on locusts and wild honey. It is a very vulgar error to 
suppose that a melancholy countenance is the index of a gracious heart. 
I commend cheerfulness to all who would win souls, not levity 
and frothiness, but a genial happy spirit. There are more 
flies caught with honey than with vinegar, and there will 
be more souls led to heaven by a man who wears heaven in his 
face than by one who bears Tartarus in his looks." I think he's on 
to something. There's not anything godly about 
emaciated flesh. There's nothing godly about the 
actual outfit that a minister wears. There's nothing godly 
in that sort of an approach. The minister's ordinary conversation, 
he ought to be a regular fellow for the most part. He ought to 
have a hearty countenance. He ought to be able to point 
men to the Savior without pulling teeth. He ought to be able to 
relate in a way that Paul maintains in verse 7. Moreover, he must 
have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall 
into reproach and the snare of the devil. Again, we need to 
give concern with reference to the qualifications, not only 
for the church, but for the man. If we run hastily, if we violate 
1 Timothy 5.22 and lay hands on someone hastily, we run the 
risk of doing damage to that particular fellow. And as I said, 
the elder must have a good testimony, but that does not necessarily 
mean that all men everywhere will always speak well of him. 
Matthew chapter 5 verses 10 to 12 indicate that. There will 
be those who persecute, there will be those who say things, 
there will be those who indeed misalign those people that serve 
the Lord God Most High. Spurgeon himself, as winsome 
as a character as he was, had a whole host of enemies. He often 
came into the newspapers, he was often the target of ridicule, 
he was often the target of persecution on the part of the press and 
on the part of people. His wife made him a poster or 
a sign that they hung above their bed and it was Matthew 5, 10 
to 12. He would look at that when he 
was putting on his shoes in the morning and it would bring encouragement 
to his heart. So those things we add to the 
list of the qualifications of elders. So we've seen the man's 
desire for the eldership, verse 1. We've seen the man's personal 
conduct, verses 2 and 3. Third, the man's domestic faithfulness 
in verses 4 and 5. The man's experience in the faith, 
verse 6. And the man's testimony toward 
outsiders in verse 7. As I said, next week, God willing, 
we'll take up the man's aptness or his ability to preach and 
to teach the word of the living God. I'll end with two observations 
and then we'll close. In the first place, again, these 
are not suggestions, these are not simply recommendations, but 
these are must-be's. There is a necessity upon us 
when we do due diligence to take this passage of Scripture and 
to scrutinize men accordingly. And again, if we overdo it and 
expect perfection, then we need to lighten up. But if we underdo 
it and say, Oh yeah, he's a nice guy, and he's okay, and all that 
sort of thing. Without due concern for the qualifications, 
we run the risk of damaging not only the church, but damaging 
the fellow also. We don't want to do that. We 
want men that aspire to ministry to be treated with respect, love, 
and dignity according to Holy Scripture. In other words, when 
we govern our conduct by the word of God, it is a protector, 
it is a safe guide, it is the rule that we should proceed according 
to. And then secondly and finally, 
as I mentioned last week, God has a class of men, an office 
in the church that is devoted and dedicated to preaching and 
to praying. And that does express the mind 
of God most high in terms of his plan. in terms of His decree, 
in terms of His purpose for this world. It is to save sinners 
through the proclamation of the gospel, through that gospel of 
Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection. God not only 
orchestrated it in the sending of His Son, but in the sending 
of ministers so that they can proclaim that truth for His glory, 
for the salvation of souls, and for the edification and the maturation 
the absolute growth in grace for the church. Look at Ephesians 
chapter four, you see the apostles' emphasis. Church is supposed 
to be biblical. Church is supposed to be theological. Church is supposed to be the 
pillar and the ground of the truth. Verse 11 of Ephesians 
four, he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some 
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. for the equipping 
of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of 
the body of Christ. It's the threefold function of 
gospel ministry. For the equipping of the saints, 
for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 
Why? Look at what he says in verse 
13. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 
of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature 
of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children 
tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine 
by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful 
plotting. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things 
into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined 
and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the 
effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth 
of the body for the edifying of itself in love. See, that's 
the end game. That's what's supposed to happen. 
That's what's going to happen when we have qualified men preaching 
in pulpits for the good of the souls of men. There'll be growth 
in grace, there'll be growth in knowledge, there'll be maturation, 
and there'll be stability. We won't be blown about by every 
wind of doctrine. You notice what Paul says there. 
There are enemies, there are opponents, there are those things 
that are trying to disrupt. They're trying to lead astray. 
They're trying to destroy the church itself. And so a faithful 
ministry is a great frontline defense against that happening. So may God indeed bless us as 
we take these things to heart and as we look at the men considering 
gospel ministry. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for this full Lord's Day. We thank you for the Sunday 
school hour and for the morning worship and our time this evening. 
It's been a blessed day, and we give praise to you for that. 
We thank you for the saints of Christ, for one another. It's 
such an encouragement to be with the people of God, It's encouraging 
to come in from the world and to enjoy the courts of Zion. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us in this coming week, help us to be faithful, 
and help us in all things to bring glory and honor and praise 
unto you. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.