Introducing Apostasy
2 Timothy 4:1-5
April 4, 2010

Last time we studied this letter from Paul,
We came to the climax of the letter.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

Paul clearly spelled out the reason for this letter.
He is explaining the expected conduct of the church.

There are expected standards of conduct for the bride of Christ, and Paul is writing to reveal what those standards are.

And tonight he continues.

Only tonight he reveals to Timothy
Why stating the expected godliness is easier than achieving it.

And the reason, or course, is the threat of apostasy.

This fourth chapter has but one theme and purpose.
And that purpose is to stir up Timothy
To be on his guard against apostasy and to keep it from happening.

After introducing apostasy here in the first 5 verses,
Paul gets very pointed to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:6 “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”

Timothy was called to challenge the threat and danger of apostasy head on.

Later Paul say:
1 Timothy 4:10 “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

And that provides and indicator that even when surrounded
By a congregation of supposed Christians,
We still need to focus on the truth of salvation.

We don’t know what people have so far only given lip service to Christ, but who still genuinely need salvation.

They are in danger of apostasy and true salvation is the only thing that can prevent that.

1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
The calling here is for Timothy
To commit to preaching the word of God,
As this is the only truly effective tool he has
To keep apostasy from occurring.

The preaching of the word of God, is the “God-ordained” method of true evangelism.

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

It is the preaching of the gospel that brings the salvation of the lost.

And therefore Timothy could do no better in his battle to prevent apostasy
Than to lead his congregation to genuine salvation,
And to do this by faithfully preaching God’s Word.

And so you get the point of the chapter.
It is all about dealing with the threat of Apostasy.

And in our text tonight we see the basics of apostasy introduced.

If you have ever wondered what apostasy is, and how it occurs, that is specifically what Paul reveals to Timothy in our text tonight.

We can easily break it down into 3 main points about apostasy.

#1 APOSTASY IS REAL
1 Timothy 4:1

If there was ever a verse that was clear about the reality of apostasy, this is it.

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith,”

Not only does this verse do a great job of revealing Paul’s dependence on the Holy Spirit to write Scripture, but it also indicates how strongly the Holy Spirit was indicating the threat of apostasy.

“the Spirit explicitly says”

If Paul was in danger of missing something that the Holy Spirit was saying, he certainly wasn’t going to miss this.

To Paul, the Holy Spirit seemed to be overly adamant in declaring this fact.
This was an urgent message.
This was a definite message.

“that in later times some will fall away from the faith.”
First of all, you need to know that apostasy
Has always been a threat to God’s people.

Deuteronomy 13:1-4 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘ Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”

Even Moses warned of the threat of apostasy back before the children of Israel even entered the Promised Land.

And sadly Moses turned out to be truly prophetic.
The children of Israel seemed to have barely settled in the land before they started worshiping other gods.

Several of the kings that we have studied even followed in that pattern.
We remember Jehoash, the king who was raised by Jehoiada the priest, but who later in life turned against the faith, even killing the sons of the man who raised him.

We certainly remember Amaziah, who we called the “Half-Hearted King”.
Scripture says of him:

2 Chronicles 25:27 actually says that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD.

And so Moses was certainly right to warn about apostasy.

It has always been a threat.

But what the Holy Spirit is signifying to Paul is that
Even though apostasy has always been a threat,
“in later times” the problem is really going to get serious.

Peter revealed the same:
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Peter also warned his followers that false prophets would arise and that they would bring about a great apostasy.

But the New Testament even seems to carry it one step further.

For as Paul and Peter both warned of the coming threat of apostasy; by the time Jude wrote his letter coming false prophets had already arrived.

And you will notice that the Spirit had the same urgency to Jude that He had to Paul.
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

The ones Peter and Paul said would come, Jude says have arrived and they are denying Jesus and leading others to do the same.

Apostasy is a very real threat in Scripture.

Certainly Jesus dealt with it.
After feeding the 5,000 and then walking on water.
The days events end with this shocking revelation.

John 6:60-66 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

That was a great day of apostasy.

And of course we saw that Jesus dealt with the ultimate apostate
That you and I know as Judas.

And the point to all the illustrations is this.
• If Moses dealt with apostasy…
• And Jesus dealt with apostasy…
• And Paul dealt with apostasy…
• And Peter dealt with apostasy…
• And Jude dealt with apostasy…
• And Timothy was going to deal with apostasy…

THEN YOU AND I CAN CERTAINLY EXPECT TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.

We are naïve to think that we can just get people to walk an aisle,
Pray a prayer, jump in the baptistery, and then just act like we never have to worry about that person again.

Genuine salvation is most certainly secure and can never be undone.

But we must come to grips with the fact
That not all salvation experiences are genuine salvation,
And therefore we must constantly guard against apostasy.
We must never lose our passion for salvation.
We must never stop preaching and teaching what salvation truly is.
We must never just take the souls of men for granted.

For there most certainly are those among us whose salvation is not genuine, and it is our desire to challenge that phony salvation and lead those men and women into the truth.

Apostasy is too real a threat for us to stop.

“the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith,”

And in this first verse Paul even explains how that happens.

If you are curious how a person can one day profess to know Christ, and then on the next day turn away from the faith, Paul explains how that happens.

“paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,”

To state it very simply, they get deceived.

Whether you realize it or not, demons are extremely evangelistic as well.
And while we should never take the salvation of others for granted, the demons most certainly do not.

Just because a person claims Christianity doesn’t mean
That the demons stop trying to win that person back.

And they way they do that is with deception.
They lie to those professing believers and try to get them to believe what is false.

And if they can start to get people to believe wrong, then they are one step closer to getting them to deny what is right.

I certainly don’t have time to state all the ways in which the truth is perverted today, but you do clearly see Paul’s point:

APOSTASY IS REAL

It occurs in the lives of men and women who get deceived and begin to believe what is false, thus denying what is true.

If you are tempted to put the threat of apostasy on the back burner; please understand that the Holy Spirit doesn’t, Paul doesn’t,
And we should not either.

Apostasy is real.
#2 APOSTASY IS PROMOTED
1 Timothy 4:2

I just told you that demons are very evangelistic,
Even over those who claim to believe.

Verse 2 reveals the puppets they use to purvey their deceptive truths.

We know them as false teacher and false prophets.
And these are the men who are being used of Satan to spread his deceptive lies.

Demons spread their lies “by means of the hypocrisy of liars”.

The main three qualifications that Satan looks for
In one to be a false prophet.
1) Must be a hypocrite.
2) Must be a liar.
3) Must be indifferent.

Hypocrites are especially successful in Satan’s plans because their lifestyle is very deceptive.

A hypocrite is one whose inside does not match their claim on the outside.

Jesus pegged the Pharisees and scribes as hypocrites and described them in this way:

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

A hypocrite is a great deceiver because often times they look the most devout, while in reality they are the least devout.

But because their costume is so good, people are deceived by their message.

Satan uses hypocrites in his scheme.

But he also uses liars.

And why wouldn’t he?
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

And so it only stands to reason that Satan would employ liars in his deceptive scheme.

He loves to use people who look devout, but who speak deception.

2 Corinthians 11:12-15 “But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Satan has a literal army of false prophets who love to spread his heresy.

And perhaps the worst of all attributes is their indifference.
“seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,”

What this means is that not only are these men deceptive in appearance…
Not only are they spreading lies that will condemn men…
THEY DON’T EVEN CARE THAT THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Remember what Jesus said about the Pharisees?
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

They don’t even seem to care that they are destroying the souls of men.
Their conscience has been seared.
Their ability to discern right from wrong has been lost.

And it doesn’t even bother them to do what they do.

They are hypocrites
They are liars
They are indifferent

And these are the men that the demons use to promote apostasy.

AND LET ME TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE AT WORK!

If we sit back in our proclamation of truth
We are only losing ground
Because the army of Satan is in no way sitting back
In his proclamation of heresy.

Scripture is full of illustrations and admonitions
Concerning the tireless work of false prophets.

2 Timothy 3:1-8 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.”

We spoke a moment ago about Jude’s warning about these men.
Jude goes on to explain them:
Jude 11-16 “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

And Jude indicates why they are so passionate.

“for pay” they do this.
“following after their own lusts”
“flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

These men love the world, and they use the office of false prophet
To help them attain it.

• The Pharisees did it for glory.
• Judas did it for money.
• Some do it for sex.
But all false prophets eagerly fulfill their calling because of the present pay off.

Paul even warned the Ephesian elders in the book of Acts
To make sure that they did not slip into this role.

Acts 20:28-30 “Be on guard for yourselves and for 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. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

See the temptation for earthly praise and glory is so strong that even true prophets can begin to work for Satan if they begin to love themselves too much.

I tell you that because I want you to
Realize what we are up against in our battle against apostasy.

Not only is it a real threat, but it is also heavily promoted.
Satan has no shortage of false prophets who are doing everything they can to lead people away from the truth and after themselves.

This is not a small problem in the remote parts of the world.
This is a major problem today.

• Our very own church members are in danger of being led astray.
• Our children are in danger of being led astray.
• We ourselves are in danger of being led astray.
We must realize the problem and take it seriously.

Apostasy is real
Apostasy is promoted
#3 APOSTASY IS SUBTLE
1 Timothy 4:3-5

Here Paul gives an example of some of the teaching that the apostates use.

And I must admit for the first 100 times I read this text,
This gave me great difficulty.

Because in my brain I expected Paul to sound the alarm of false prophets and then say something like this:

“by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who deny Jesus claiming that He is not God, and instead promote worship of the trees and protection of the environment as our only hope of salvation.”

But that is not what Paul did.

When he listed an example of the heresy that these hypocritical liars promote he didn’t list anything as drastic as that.

Instead Paul listed a very subtle deception.

“men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods”

It seems minor doesn’t it?
It seems a little petty.

It is one of those arguments that would commonly fall under the heading of “Is this a hill on which to die?”

Some have asked me if getting fired at Crawford
Over women teachers was worth it.

RIB ISSUES VS. SPINE ISSUES

And she is right in what she said.
Just make sure you understand the difference between a rib and the spine.

A “rib issue” is one that is not clearly defined in Scripture.
Should we sing hymns or choruses?
Do we believe the rapture comes before or after the tribulation?
Should the church van be a Ford or a Chevy?

They are “rib issues” because Scripture does not specifically address them.
And they are not worth a division.

But those spine issues are any issue that Scripture is clear about.
And none of those can be compromised.
Not even the ones that seem insignificant.

Matthew 5:18-19 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Well, the issue Paul refers to here is definitely a “spine” issue
Because it deals with things that have been clarified in God’s Word.

They may seem like minor things, but they aren’t because God clarified them.

One is marriage.
Created by God, endorsed by God, and even necessary for the continuance of the human race.

The other is food.
Also created by God, and even declared clean by Jesus.

And so while the battle may seem silly, it isn’t
Because the teaching flies in the face contrary to what God has said.

“which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.”

And as is always the case there is a much larger issue at stake.
What looks like a disagreement over marriage and food is really Satan trying to get a legalistic foothold in a person’s life.

Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Legalism was the danger.

Men would glorify themselves by supposing that their abstinence made them more pleasing to God.

But that is a lie and one that leads into full blown works salvation and legalism.

You may remember that this is why Paul was so upset at the Galatians.

Their minor little issue involved circumcision.
Should they are shouldn’t they?
But the problem was it was being taught as essential to the faith, and it isn’t.

That is why Paul told the Galatians:
Galatians 1:6-9 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

Please understand.
EVEN A SMALL DEVIATION FROM THE TRUTH
IS STILL A DEVIATION FROM THE TRUTH,
AND EVERY DEVIATION FROM THE TRUTH IS DANGEROUS.

I’ve heard it said that the best lies are 90% truth.

The issue before Timothy was just a little disagreement about marriage and food, but if Timothy didn’t get a handle on it,
It would lead to full blown apostasy.

And then Paul reveals why their doctrine is wrong.
(Something every believer should be able to spot)

(4-5) “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

And you understand this.

How could someone teach that marriage or food is evil when Genesis clearly says that it is good?

Furthermore how can any good thing which is given to us by God be evil, especially if we receive it with gratitude?

Paul was revealing why their doctrine was wrong.

“for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

In other words.
These things are declared good to us because God’s word says they are good and because the gratitude we offer in prayer is glorifying to God.

So do not let their little deception pull the blinders over people’s eyes.

And what this indicates to us is that apostasy is subtle.

I’ve always liked
2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

And I’ve always liked Peter’s use of the word “even”.
“even denying the Master”

That means that not all destructive heresies go so far as to deny the Master.
Some destructive heresies still confess Jesus as Lord.

But they are destructive heresies none the less.

What this does for us is indicates the severe threat
That apostasy poses to the church.

There is an army of demons
Who have enlisted an army of false prophets
Who are doing everything they can to get people
To believe a lie, any lie, even a subtle one.

Because when they get people to believe one lie, it is easier to get them to believe another one, until they eventually lead them completely away from the faith.

And because of this reality, Paul is calling Timothy to stand upon the truth.
To preach the truth, to read the truth, to enforce the truth, to live the truth, and to do everything he can to make sure the salvation of his congregation is genuine.

1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Tonight I hope to encourage you as well, to not take salvation for granted, but to make it the passion of your life, not only to make sure that you are in the faith, but that those around you are as well.

Make it your passion to promote truth and to unmask deception.

Jude encouraged his people about this very thing:
Jude 20-23 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”

This is our calling as well.
Defend and protect the truth and you will defend and protect the church.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

The Conduct of the Church
1 Timothy 3:14-16
March 28, 2010

I hope you have enjoyed our study of the book of 1 Timothy.
It is a letter that is chalk full of very pointed instruction
As to the order and action of the church.

Paul is writing to his young protégé Timothy
With regard to the nature and function of the church.

And think about that.

If you were called upon to write a letter to a young preacher in order to explain to him what the church was supposed to be like, what would you write?

Would you instruct him about church incorporation and taxes?
Would you talk about the importance of location?
Would you stress the importance of music styles?
Maybe you would follow the fad and tell him to survey his community.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HIM IN REGARD TO ORGANIZING THE CHURCH?

Well, fortunately for us, we have that answer already written.
We call it 1 Timothy.

And the sole purpose of this letter
Is to explain what a church is supposed to be.

AND TONIGHT WE COME TO THE PINNACLE.
This is the climax of the letter.

(14-15a) “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God…”

It really doesn’t get any clearer than that.
The purpose of this letter is to give clear instruction
As to what the church is supposed to look like.

And if we wanted to sum that conduct up in one word,
We could easily do it, and that word would be GODLINESS.

This letter is all about the expected Godliness of the church.

IS IT TOO SIMPLE TO SAY THAT GOD WANTS HIS CHURCH TO BE GODLY?
Is it too juvenile to point out that we as the church are supposed to act and think like God?
Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;”

1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Even Jesus taught:
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It is obvious that God came to save sinners from sin.
That was His eternal purpose.

Ephesians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”

Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

The eternal will of God was to save sinners from sin
And to conform them into the righteous pattern of His Son.

And that is precisely what God did.
Romans 8:3-4 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

It would be pointless to talk about the conduct of the church
And not focus on the fact that God’s people are to be Godly.

AND THAT IS CERTAINLY PAUL’S THEME IN 1 TIMOTHY

1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

1 Timothy 2:9-10 “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.”

1 Timothy 4:7-8 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

1 Timothy 6:3-6 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”

1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

It is blatantly obvious that God intends for His church to be Godly.

“Godliness” translates EUSEBIA

It comes from two root words.
EU – meaning “well” or “good”
SEBOMAI – which can mean “devout”

It is actually often translated as “God-fearing”
(It speaks of those passionate about their religion)

And when you put those two together you realize
That Godliness is to be passionate and devout
About doing what is right and good.

A Godly person is not just a person who doesn’t do wrong,
But a person passionate about doing what is right in God’s sight.

And this is to be the main characteristic of those in the church.

If we are to be anything,
First and foremost we should be Godly.

Teachers are to be Godly in their ministry of teaching.
Men are to be Godly in their prayer life for the lost and for the leaders.
Women are to be Godly in their dress and attitude.
Overseers are to be Godly in their conduct and character.
Deacons are to be Godly in their conduct and character.

This letter is about how the church is to be Godly.

And in our text tonight Paul addresses the two main questions
People have in regard to Godliness.

1) WHAT IS GODLINESS?
2) WHY SHOULD I BE GODLY?

And he addresses them in the opposite order that I listed them.

So let’s look at it in our text tonight.
#1 WHY BE GODLY?
1 Timothy 3:14-15

It is likely that if we were all honest with one another,
We have probably all wondered at one time in our life or another
WHY GODLINESS MATTERED SO MUCH.

Many have grown to look at Godliness
As a tremendous burden that is hardly worth the effort.

Such an attitude has pushed people overwhelmingly
Into the “free grace” market.

The attitude of Armenians that I can live however I want,
And need not worry about godliness,
Because after all, I am saved by grace.

And that sad truth is that many present day church members
Have adopted that same theology.

BUT IT IS TERRIBLY WRONG.
WHY?

Well, here in our text Paul gives two reasons why you ought to be Godly.

1) YOUR MASTER (15a)
“I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God,”

I really like the terminology Paul used in this verse.
He used another name for “the church” here.

DID YOU SEE IT?
“the household of God”

It carries that idea that when you become a part of God’s church,
You are entering His family.

You are sitting at His table for Thanksgiving dinner.
Your rules no longer apply.
His rules now apply.

He calls the shots about what is appropriate attire and conduct.
And when you sit at His table,
You had better understand what it expected of you.

The church belongs to God.
It is His institution.

Jesus said:
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
And of course it belongs to Him because He purchased it.

1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for 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.”

1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

I mean it is blatantly obvious that we now answer to a different Master,
And One that requires the conduct of godliness from us.

This is His church and as such we are to yield to His expectations.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Christ wants His church beautiful and therefore she must be.

The point is that the church belongs to God,
And therefore the church must strive to be pleasing to God.

Romans 14:8 “for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

And so to give one answer to the “Why Godliness?” question.
You should be Godly because
That is what is required by the One who purchased you.

Anyone who can turn their back on this simple truth
Is obviously not a part of the church.

But the first reason we are to be Godly is our Master.
2) OUR MINISTRY (15b)
“I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

I love the way that Paul there defines the church.

The church is “the pillar and support of the truth.”

We support it, we uphold it,
Namely because we are the only ones that know it.
And because we have been commissioned to protect it.

That is why Jude wrote:
Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

This world is not in love with truth.
Truth is continually viewed as a relative term.

“What may be true for you is not necessarily true for me.”

Last night I was flipping through the channels and came across the show “Everybody Loves Raymond”

During the show, a woman told her (church-going) parents
That her boyfriend routinely sleeps over
And she had decided that it wasn’t a sin.

That is precisely how the world builds it’s theology.
They believe what they want to believe
And justify it with any means necessary.

But someone must be there to defend what is true.
Someone must be there to hold the plum line.
Someone must be that voice in the wilderness proclaiming “Make straight the way of the Lord”

WHO IS THAT SOMEONE?

It is the church.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We are those commissioned to make sure
That the world always has access to the truth.

In fact we are those commissioned to proclaim it.
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

We are called to proclaim truth, and just as Jesus said there,
That proclamation must be accompanied by a consistent testimony
If we preach godliness, then we must live godliness.

If there is an Achilles heel of the church
It is that years of inconsistent living
Have all but killed our witness with the world.

“Their all a bunch of hypocrites”
“I’ve had some bad experiences in the church”
“Well I saw so & so out doing this the other night”

Such excuses won’t wash during the judgment,
But they do represent why godly living must accompany godly teaching.

That is why Paul tells Timothy:
1 Timothy 1:18-19 “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.”

1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

I mean it is obvious why we must be godly.
Our Master desires it.
Our Ministry demands it.

Without Godliness we are neither the church that Jesus desires,
Nor are we the minister that the world needs.

But there is a second question that Paul answers.
#2 WHAT IS GODLINESS?
1 Timothy 3:16

There has always been a little confusion
As to exactly what it means to be Godly.

• For some, it means to be faithful in church.
• For others it means to be self-deprived and suffering.
• Some view it as having tremendous Bible knowledge.
• Others view it as something mystical like speaking in tongues.

The concept of godliness is confusing.

In fact Paul even yields to the difficulty here.
“great is the mystery of godliness:”

A “mystery” is something that was hidden in the Old Testament,
But revealed in the New Testament.
And one of those mysteries is “godliness”

I mean, if God is a mystery, how much more so God-likeness?

Supposing we are convinced of the need to be Godly, how do we know what godliness is?

That is precisely the question Paul answers in our text.
And he does so by quoting a hymn from the early church.

The explanation of “godliness” is a “common confession”.

And what follows here is a great creed of the church.
It is not so much what she preaches (although that is implied)
As it is a statement of what she believes.

And if you want to know what Godliness is, then this is the answer.
JESUS

1) GODLINESS REVEALED “He who was revealed in the flesh”

It is a great statement about Christ,
And that is that He was literally God made flesh.

He was God in human form.
John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘ He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Godliness never gets any clearer than in Jesus.
He is the epitome of godliness because He was God in human form.

He is the revelation of Godliness.

But that is not all.
2) GODLINESS DISPLAYED “Was vindicated in the Spirit”

Not only was Godliness revealed in Jesus,
But Jesus put Godliness on display.

“vindicated” can also be translated “justified”.

And the idea is that He was fully justified in His own spirit
That He was fully in the will of God.

HE ALWAYS SOUGHT GOD’S WILL
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

He not only brought Godliness to light, but He put Godliness on display.
He didn’t just explain it, He lived it.

Godliness Revealed, Godliness Displayed
3) GODLINESS RECOGNIZED “Seen by angels”

“seen” translates HORAO
It literally means to perceive.
It can even mean to research or investigate.

They didn’t just look at Him,
They examined Him and perceived Him as Godly.

These were divine evaluators.
These were those who dwelled in God’s presence.
These are those who knew God better than anyone.

The point being, if the angels spotted you as godly,
Then you must really be so.

And indeed the angels saw Him as godly.
• It was angels who came and ministered to Him after His temptation.
• It was angels who came and ministered to Him in the garden.
• It was angels who waited on edge in case He should call from the cross.

The angels perceived Him to be righteous and godly.

And not just the holy angels.
The fallen angels recognized it too.

Mark 1:23-24 “Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”

Godliness Revealed, Godliness Displayed, Godliness Recognized
4) GODLINESS PROCLAIMED “Proclaimed among the nations”

This moves to yet another endorsement of Jesus’ godliness,
And it comes from those who lived with Him on earth.

Angels were not the only ones who spotted that Jesus was Godly.
Those who lived with Him were convinced of it as well.

In fact they were so convinced
That they spent their lives proclaiming Him to the world.
John 6:69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Peter was even so convinced of it,
That after Jesus orchestrated that huge catch of fish, Peter said:
Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Certainly if He had had some sort of character flaw or dark habit,
Then these guys would have been turned off.

But they weren’t.
Even those who know Him best could find no flaw in Him.

Godliness Proclaimed
5) GODLINESS BELIEVED “Believed on in the world”

Here is yet another endorsement,
And this is by those who heard what the apostles said
And also believed the report.

Sometimes getting others to believe a story
Can be a difficult endeavor,
Especially if that story is somewhat unbelievable.

Well try this on for size.
“God became a man and dwelt with me and 11 others for 3 years. He lived a sinless life and then died on a cross, until three days later when He rose from the dead.”

People don’t believe such a story based on believability.
People will naturally question such truths.
Yet, the masses continue to believe.

No amount of investigation has ever produced one shred of evidence
To the contrary and so men continue to believe.

6) GODLINESS APPROVED “Taken up in glory”

• Not only did the Spirit approve Him.
• Not only did the angels approve Him.
• Not only did the apostles approve Him.
• Not only do the nations continually approve Him.

But here is perhaps the greatest endorsement of all.
GOD APPROVED HIM AS WORTHY AND GODLY.

Hebrews 1:3 “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
And here is what that means.

If ever a person could show a human how to live like God,
Then it was Jesus.
And so we look to Him as our example.

We notice how He treated people.
We notice how He responded to people.
We notice what grieved Him.
We notice what angered Him.
We notice what delighted Him.
We notice His priorities.
We notice His devotion.

Godliness is no longer a mystery to us, Jesus has made it clear.
He explained God and He has become our example.
And now the goal of our lives is to be like Him.

It is what God desires.
Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

It is what we should desire for ourselves.
Philippians 3:12-16 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

And so if you want to sum up the expected conduct of the church.

The church is to be like Jesus
Because that is what God wants
And that is what our ministry demands.

Godliness is important, there can be no church without it.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

Qualifications for the Deacon
1 Timothy 3:8-13
March 14, 2010

A couple of weeks ago we finished going over
The qualifications for the elder, or the overseer.

The elders are to “rule” the church and to “feed the flock”

But they are not the only office that God ordained in the church.
There is another.
We call them deacons.

The word deacon comes from the Greek word DIAKONOS
And depending on which root word you trace it to,
It either means “to labor in the dust” or “to pursue”

Either way, it came to be known as a servant.

It is also noteworthy to point out that
There are commonly two words for “servant”.

One is DIAKONOS
The other DOULOS which is commonly translated “bond-servant”

DOULOS puts emphasis on the servant’s Master.
DIAKONOS puts emphasis on the job the servant’s job.

And so when we are talking about deacons in the church,
We are not talking about what they are, so much as what they do.

It is not the title that makes a person a deacon,
It is the service they render.

Taking the point a little further, you’ve probably heard the term deacon most usually associated with “waiting tables”

That concept comes from John’s gospel.
John 2:3-5 “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Those were literally the waiters who were in charge of passing out the wine at the wedding Jesus attended.

We see the term again in reference to Peter’s mother-in-law serving a meal.
Luke 4:39 “And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.”

It is used other places as well.
John 12:2 “So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.”

Luke 10:40 “But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

And so you get the idea.
A waiter was called DIAKONOS

But that is not the only people who held such a title.
Romans 13:4 “for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

There Paul pictures a faithful policeman or governor as one who is a DIAKONOS to God to fulfill a task God intends.

And this is why we call them servants.
They are those who have been set apart
To fulfill certain aspects of service to the body.

They are not characterized by title, but rather by service.
And those who serve well, then receive the title.

I would also say that those who do the job well
Are absolutely invaluable to the church.

It is always regrettable to see churches where the deacon body
Is a source of trouble and dissension in the church.

This is regrettable because deacons
Were created to produce exactly opposite results.

And I truly believe that when you have a pastor who is who God says he must be, and who does what God says he must do.

And when you have deacons who are what God says they must be and who do what God says they must do.

Then they are an absolute perfect complement to one another and the church is extremely blessed!

TURN TO: ACTS 6:1-7

As you know the church is in her infancy at this point.
She is brand new, but she is not small.

In Acts 2:41 – 3,000 souls were added.
In Acts 2:47 – more were being added day by day.
In Acts 4:4 – the number has risen to 5,000
In Acts 5:14 – multitudes of men and women were added
In Acts 6:1 – they continue to increase.

And so the church has grown quite large there in Jerusalem.
And as a result Satan has been attacking it.

First through outward oppression.
In Acts 4:3 – Peter and John were arrested for preaching the resurrection
But the church continued to grow.

So Satan upped the ante by seeking to start inner turmoil.
The next attack on the church was in the form of the Annanias and Sapphira lie.

However, God struck them both dead and the church was saved from the deception.

Satan then attacked outwardly again:
In Acts 5:18 – the apostles were again imprisoned.
In Acts 5:40 – the apostles were flogged and then released.

But the church kept growing and so Satan kept attacking.

The next attack was another internal one,
And it was the age old problem of grumbling.

READ ACTS 6:1

In reality the problem was not a race problem but a man-power problem.

So the apostles convened.
READ ACTS 6:2-4

Someone else would have to fill the “social ministry” shoes.

READ ACTS 6:5-7

It was the deacons that stood in the gap and allowed the pastor’s to continue doing what God had called them to do.

DEACONS ARE A NEEDED AND VALUABLE ASSET
TO THE CHURCH AND TO THE PASTOR.

So long as they realize their calling and fulfill it to the best of their ability.

And, just as we saw with the overseer,
Most of the qualifications listed here are character based.

The only job type description given to the pastor was “able to teach”
The only job type description given to the deacon is “let them serve”

The rest deal with their character.
And here we see 6 areas of evaluation for the deacon.
#1 THE CHARACTER OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:8

You will notice that Paul says, “Deacons likewise”

He is implying that just as character matters in the person of the overseer,
It also matters in the person of the deacon.

And then Paul gets more specific.

“men of dignity”

It translates SEMNOS which means “serious”

It doesn’t mean that they are joyless people,
But that they are people who take their responsibility seriously.

It should matter to them whether or not those widows got their food.

“not double-tongued”

Obviously consistency is in mind here.
They are not people who say one thing to one person
And another thing to someone else.

Such talk not only ruins a persons character but also stirs up strife among brethren.

Because a deacon would naturally converse with many members of the flock, he must be sure that his speech is consistent with all that he comes in contact with.

“or addicted to much wine”

Again we are not trying to get into the alcohol debate.
It is obvious we should do nothing that makes our brother stumble.

But the fact is that some wine was necessary in Paul’s day to purify the water system.

That being said, I don’t limit the Bible by specific cultures.
Had God wanted to say “No wine” He could have said “No wine”, but He didn’t.

The implication then is that he cannot be given to it, or addicted to it,
Or drawn to it, or attached to it.

“or find of sordid gain”

He can’t be using his office as a means to make money.

Let me add as well here that greed for the church’s bank account
Is not much different than greed for their own personal account.
The Character of a Deacon
#2 THE DOCTRINE OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:9

Here Paul references what a deacon believes.
Servants influence people.
Servants visit with a lot of people.
Servants come in contact with a lot of people.

Those who serve well,
Have opportunities to speak to a lot of people.

“holding to the mystery of the faith”

By “mystery” Paul is simply referring to the truth of the gospel.
It was hidden in the Old Testament, but has been explained in the New.

For example.
Romans 16:25-27 “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.”

So there the “mystery” is simply the gospel leading to salvation.

Ephesians 3:4-6 “By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,”

There it refers to the fact that Gentiles can be saved as well.

Colossians 1:25-27 “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

There it is that Christ dwells IN believers.

Colossians 2:1-2 “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,”

And there the “mystery” is Christ Himself.

Truths about His person, and His ministry, and His saving work.
A deacon must hold to “they mystery of the faith”

And not only must he have right doctrine,
But it must be well applied in his life.

“holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

Not only does he know the truth, he believes and lives it.

This does not mean that he is sinless,
But rather that he is sincere and humble.

Remember Paul?
Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”

This did not mean Paul was sinless.
1 Corinthians 4:4 “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.”

So it is with a deacon.
They must rightly believe the truth and rightly live it.

Character, Doctrine
#3 THE EXAMINATION OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:10

Here comes the idea of testing.

I will say that many churches do have some sort of testing period,
Although I don’t know that it is always what Paul intended here.

This carries an idea of continual evaluation.
Past and Future

We are not talking about a one time test or a probationary period.

Has he been serving?
(If not, what makes you think he will start now?)
Has he been a man of character?
(If not, what makes you think he will start now?)
Is he already a man of proper doctrine and obedience?
(If not, why would a title change anything?)

And furthermore, keep evaluating them after they are in office
To see if they continue to meet the criteria.

But after a deacon has been examined and passes the test.
“then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.”

And this should be obvious, but it isn’t.

Many churches ordain deacons based on
Status in the community, or popularity, or degree of worldly education, or family pedigree, or because they think a person has come to church so long that they deserve something.

None of those are the criteria Paul enforces.

Before you hire a person to wait tables
You might ask them if they do their dishes at home.

If they are not servants now, don’t expect the title to change anything.

Character, Doctrine, Examination
#4 THE GENDER OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:11

If you read the King James or the NIV the verse is translated “their wives”

But that is reaching here.

The word for women here has no possessive pronoun which would connect this women with the deacons previously mentioned.

Beyond that Paul says “Women must likewise”
Which gives the feel of yet another distinct office.

And finally, if wives have to meet criteria, why is the overseer’s wife not mentioned?

It seems better to understand this is another order of deacons.
These are the female deacons or deaconesses.

Romans 16:1 “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea;”

It is quite apparent that the early church had female deacons, and why wouldn’t they be?

Especially if the deacons are not a governing body,
Which Scripture never says that they are.

But if a deacon travels and waits on others,
There can be many instances in which a female
Is far more preferred than a man.

HELPING OLDER WOMEN
It is not only biblical, but it makes good sense.
And here Paul reveals the only qualifications for these women deacons.

“dignified”
It is the same word Paul used for the men in verse 8 and it means serious.

“not malicious gossips”
DIABOLOS – means slander and it is a word commonly used of Satan.

The idea is that as the women travel from house to house to serve,
They are not to run a gossip line.

“temperate”
You may remember this word in regard to overseers as either referring to “not drinkers” or more likely “alert” and clear thinkers.

“faithful in all things”

They have to be people of impeccable character.
Completely trustworthy and dependable.

Women deacons are very biblical as a second office of deacons
And the reasoning is obvious.

Character, Doctrine, Examination, Gender
#5 THE FAMILY OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:12

Here we return to talking about the male deacons
Since women deacons would not be the managers of their households.

But here we see what the family life of a deacon is.

And just as for an overseer a deacon “must be the husband of only one wife”

Again, this is a one woman man.
Not an adulterer.

“and good managers of their children and their own households”

Unlike an overseer
This isn’t listed as proof that they can manage the church,
BUT RATHER AS PROOF THAT THEIR LIVES ARE GENUINE.

“where there’s smoke there’s fire”.

If his kids are not in control, if his wife is bitter,
Somewhere this man is not being consistent.

You must examine his family.
#6 THE REWARD OF A DEACON
1 Timothy 3:13

And there are two.

“For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing”

The church generally passes out a lot of accolades to people.
Most of the time the praise is unwarranted.

But in the church there are those
Who are truly worthy of all the praise and respect
That you can shower upon them.

That person is the servant.

Matthew 20:20-28 “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

It is those who serve who are worthy of honor.
And you are quite right to honor them.

(I don’t want to leave any out,
But even I understand that not all service is public knowledge)

But I could call on Tommy Swaringen or Joe Fincher at any hour of the night and they would be present to help me. (Most of the time I don’t even have to call Joe, he just sees me working and shows up)

I am extremely grateful for men like Lenny Morrow or Kermit Woolley who I can call with short notice and know that they will fill the pulpit for me.

The Haney’s have watched my kids repeatedly and I know Max serves because he is Bonnie’s deacon and Ruth routinely tries to steal him.

And that doesn’t mean the others don’t serve,
But this is service that I am aware of.

“Those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing”

But that is not all.
“And great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

WHAT IS THAT?
It is security.

The Christian life is full of doubts.
Satan loves to attack our security.

But there is one person who ought never to doubt their salvation
Because of the overwhelming evidence on their side.

That person is the deacon and their love for the brethren
As proven through their service is sufficient evidence to grant them “confidence in the faith”

1 John 3:13-16 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Furthermore they can know that they
Are directly following the example of Jesus.

John 13:12-17 “So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

I am extremely grateful for the deacon body here at First Baptist Church.

Of all the churches I have been a part of,
I have never seen a body who had a better attitude than this deacon body.

Furthermore the church should be grateful
For they perform a serious service
That not only aids the pastor, but which benefits the flock.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

Qualifications for the Overseer – Part 2
1 Timothy 3:4-7
February 28, 2010

Tonight we come back to our study in 1 Timothy
About the conduct of the church,
And we pick up with the remainder of the qualifications
That an overseer must fulfill to be able to serve.

But before we dive back into those qualifications,
I hope to take a moment and strengthen your understanding
As to why this is such an important concept.

This is one of those texts that people often look to as
“Situationally Relevant”

We study before we ordain a new preacher
We might study while serving on a pulpit committee

But beyond those isolated incidents,
Texts like this are very rarely seen as all that important.

And just in case you are tempted to view this topic in that light,
Let me take a minute and sort of reveal why these qualifications
Ought to be very important to you as a church body.

Let’s start back in the Old Testament.

By now (thanks to our study of Kings) most of you are familiar
With the moral and spiritual decline of the nation of Israel.

TEMPTING TO BLAME IT ALL ON THE KINGS

But please realize that the kings were not the only ones to blame
For the spiritual degradation occurring in Israel.

THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS WERE ALSO TO BLAME.

Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

In the south we had Ezekiel and Jeremiah
TURN TO: EZEKIEL 34:1-6; 11-16

You will notice that Ezekiel is prophesying against the shepherds.

He is not referring to those who by nature watch sheep.
He is referring to those who have been given charge over God’s flock.

David said, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

But it is clear that God has entrusted His flock to “under shepherds”
Who are meant to protect and provide for them.

Here Ezekiel addresses those spiritual leaders.

VERSES 1-3
Here we see a shepherd who was taking advantage of the flock,
Not benefiting the flock.

He took their money.
He gave them no spiritual nourishment in return.
He was charged to feed God’s flock and he refused.

VERSE 4

JUST AS HE IS NOT DEALING WITH PHYSICAL SHEEP,
HE IS NOT ADDRESSING PHYSICAL AILMENTS.
(This is not a rebuke for a lack of physical healing)

“sickly you have not strengthened”
Those who are weak in faith. They are lacking in knowledge and conviction.

They are like those weak believers Paul refers to
Who don’t know if they should eat meat or not.

“the diseased you have not healed”
Those who have fallen into sin, and are living in it.

And there the shepherds have not confronted the problem
In order to lead them out of it.

“the broken you have not bound up”
Those who have fallen into sin and reached brokenness because of it,

But the shepherds have not guided them
Towards restoration and renewal.

“the scattered you have not brought back”
those who are discouraged in the faith,

And the shepherds have not encouraged them
In order to restore their fire.

“nor have you sought for the lost”
They are lost and they must be found.

And what you find is that the shepherd has not ministered to any.

These are the 5 types of ailments that commonly affect sheep,
And that is why they need a shepherd.

God’s people typically fall into the same issues
And so a shepherd is necessary to keep the sheep spiritually sound,
Spiritually focused, and spiritually healthy, and full.

But in Ezekiel’s day the shepherds did not do their job
And for this reason God’s flock had fallen into sin
And was now being deported to Babylon.

VERSES 5-6

And so you see the necessity of a good shepherd.
They keep God’s flock where they are supposed to be.

That is why Jeremiah was preaching the same thing.

Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”

This was in fact why Jesus came.
VERSES 11-16

Jesus came because the flock of God was disillusioned and scattered.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

That is also why we received the powerful sermon in John 10.

John 10:11-15 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
So Jesus came to gather God’s flock.
To heal God’s flock.
To bind up God’s flock.
To strengthen God’s flock.

And then when Christ left, He turned His flock over
To new shepherds who were intended to care for it.

Remember what Jesus told Peter before he left?
John 21:15-17 “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

Peter then took that passed it along to us:
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Christ is the “Chief Shepherd”
Elders and overseers are the “Under Shepherds”.
Our calling is not to build our own flock,
But to remember that we are to take care of God’s flock.

If Kermit goes out of town for a few days
And enlists someone to watch his sheep.

When he returns he expects that his sheep
Have been well-fed, protected, and cared for.

THE POINT IS: SHEEP NEED A SHEPHERD TO SURVIVE

And God knew it was also true of the church (His flock)

However, God does not leave His flock in the care of just anyone.
He has a serious list of qualifications that the temporary caretaker
Must have before He allows him to watch His flock.

16 qualifications in all, we have grouped them into 5 main categories.
His Desire
His Character
His Family
His Maturity
His Reputation

We looked at the first two last week.

His Desire
(1) “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

If doesn’t desire it, aren’t you concerned about his faithfulness?

His Character
(2-3) “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.”
And as we said last week, of the 12 qualities listed there,
11 deal with character.

Only “able to teach” deals with ability.
The rest examine the character of the man.

(Mostly it is his character, but he does need to be able to carry a feed bucket)

It is important to examine what type of man he is.

And so you see instantly that God is not just looking for anyone
It is a serious job, and one that must be taken seriously.

The Spiritual Health of the flock
Depends upon the oversight of the shepherd.

That is why Paul tells Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

The spiritual health of the flock
Depends upon the oversight of the shepherd.

His Desire, His Character
#3 HIS FAMILY
1 Timothy 3:4-5

“He must be one who manages his own household well,”

What we have here is his resume.
This is his credentials.
This is his job experience.

I’ve often heard the statement,
“God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called.”

While there is some truth to that, it certainly does not apply here (or for deacons for that matter)

A deacon “must first be tested” (10)
And an overseer must have his family examined.

If he is not qualified, he is not to be called.

“He must be one who manages his own household well,”

SO WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?
“keeping his children under control with all dignity”

This may be the most universally broken qualification of all of them.
How else do “preacher’s kids” get such a reputation?

According to Scripture, the preacher’s kids ought to be
The most well-behaved children of anyone in the church.

After all, they live 24-7 with a man
Who is supposed to be better equipped than anyone
For addressing spiritual issues and leading people to spiritual health.

That means that if he is good at what he does,
Those who live the closest to him ought to be the most spiritual.

That is why to Titus Paul said:
Titus 1:6 “namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”

Paul told Titus that his children must be believers.

HE MUST MANAGE HIS HOUSEHOLD
TURN TO: MATTHEW 13:51-52

Having studied this chapter in Sunday School,
You know that Matthew 13 is chalk full of parables.

And each parable here deals with the Kingdom of Heaven.
There are 8 in all.

But it is the eighth and last one that deals with the household manager.
(Read 51-52)

You saw this again in Sunday School this morning.
Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

And so it is clear that when Paul says that “He must be one who manages his own household well”

That he must be one who can demonstrate the ability
To spiritually guide his family.

And therefore it is a tragedy when churches call men to serve as pastor
Who do not keep their children in line.

This is a giant indicator that somewhere
Between this man’s preaching and his daily living
There is a glaring inconsistency.

Preacher’s kids turn away from the faith because they saw dad be a hypocrite, and to them it all looks like a hoax.

He must be able to manage his family.

And then Paul invokes some logic into the scenario.
(5) “(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)”

And the answer is: POORLY

• If he doesn’t lead his children to godliness, do you expect that he will lead yours there?

• If he hasn’t led his wife in such a way that she will submit to his leadership, do you expect that anyone else in the church will?

And so not only do we examine an overseer’s desire and character,
But we also examine his family.

His Desire, His Character, His Family
#4 HIS MATURITY
1 Timothy 3:6

And while it certainly helps for the man
To be mature in a physical and emotional sense,
THE MAIN IDEA HERE IS THAT HE BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE.

That is what Paul means by:
“and not a new convert”

Certainly there is nothing wrong with a man being a “new convert”;
We all have to start somewhere.

And that doesn’t mean that he won’t later be qualified.

But new converts are not allowed.

In one sense, we know that new converts
Are not sound enough in the Scriptures

Titus 1:9-11 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
But even if a man knows the Scriptures (similar to Paul)
If he is a new convert, he is still not qualified.

For the reason here is not based on ability,
But on maturity and discernment.

“so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

If you bestow the honor of being an overseer on a new convert,
He is prone to feel that his calling had something to do with his ability.

He might fall into the same “condemnation” that the devil fell into it.

WHAT DID HE FALL INTO?
Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”

It was Satan whose high position when to his head, he couldn’t handle it
And he tried to steal the glory that rightly belonged to God.

A young convert is especially susceptible to this temptation.
(Did we not just see Hezekiah fall prey to it?)

THIS IS A REAL TEMPTATION FOR ALL PREACHERS.

We call it AMBITION
It is that nagging little thought that subtly creeps into a pastor’s head
That he thinks himself more valuable than he ought.

And before long he gets tired of passing all the glory over to God
And determines to keep some for himself so he can move up the ladder.

When Paul spoke to the elders of Ephesus he said:
Acts 20:29-30 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

Paul knew that some would fall into that condemnation.

And ambition is a dangerous thing.
James 3:14-16 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

To be ambitious is to be like Satan.
And that is a real temptation even for mature believers
With years of ministry experience.

But Paul knows that it is a temptation
Too great to bestow on a new believer

His Desire, His Character, His Family, His Maturity
#5 HIS REPUTATION
1 Timothy 3:7

“And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church,”

“reputation” translates MARTURIA (martyr)

“a certifying testimony”

In Acts 1:8 – “You shall be my witnesses” (martes)

And so the idea here is that the overseer
Must have “a good witness”

He must have a credible reputation.
A reputation that certifies that his character is real.

The idea here is that even a lost man can see that he is godly.

Certainly the lost will not always agree with his theology,
But if they are being honest,
They will concede that his character is righteous.

(I was accused of this)

The idea here is not if the world agrees with the preacher,
But if they think he practices what he preaches.

In one sense this is an obvious necessity.

How else will he search for the lost sheep if those sheep do not trust him as a qualified shepherd?

His reputation must be good.
He must be trusted by the lost sheep.

But even more so than that Paul gives us the reason.
“so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Paul says that an overseer with a shady reputation
Has the chance to fall into reproach and then into the devil’s snare.
WHAT IS THAT?
2 Timothy 2:22-26 “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Paul reveals to Timothy that there are some false teachers
Who oppose the truth by advocating “foolish and ignorant speculations”.

These are men who cause division and teach a false gospel.

Paul later says that they have fallen into “the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

And so we learn a little about what Paul means.

That a man with a bad reputation who continues as an overseer
Is actually a man who does more to benefit the work of Satan,
To destroy the church, than the work of God to build it.

• If he is preaching heresy he is obviously doing Satan’s work.

• But even if he is preaching truth, his inconsistent lifestyle is giving the lost all the excuse they need not to believe him.

Satan loves carnal preachers.
He uses them like crazy to destroy the work of the church.

And so when a man is considered to be an overseer,
He must be evaluation based upon:

His Desire
His Character
His Family
His Maturity
His Reputation

And this evaluation must be a serious one,
For the role of a shepherd is a serious role.

The Spiritual Health of the flock depends upon him.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

Qualifications for the Overseer – Part 1
1 Timothy 3:1-3
February 21, 2010

In his book on preaching, John MacArthur wrote:
“I am continually overwhelmed by the responsibility and liability that possess the preacher of God’s Word. We all look with indignation at the lawyer or judge who, for the motive of personal wealth, distorts the truth in attacking the reputation and personal possessions of people, while reducing them to poverty. We respond with similar indignation to the quack doctor who, by incompetence, hazards the health and life of someone for the purpose of financial gain. Such people deserve to be considered criminals; the pain and loss of their victims should rightly be laid to their account.
Offering oneself this way as the counselor or healer to care for someone in the time of crisis and then, through negligence, lack of skill, or selfish greed, making havoc of their lives is unconscionable. Medical and legal associations have set standards in an attempt to prevent such malpractice.
But what about me as the purveyor of God’s truth, the physician of the soul? Shall I not be held responsible to God for any perversion of truth, however witless, and for my negligence and lack of skill? What earthly regulatory association validates me? Do not I, who preach God’s Word, face a higher court than the legal bar or any medical tribunal? James wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1)
No profession has as high a liability potential as that of one who preaches God’s Word. God will judge every preacher on the truthfulness and accuracy of his preaching. Any failure as a spokesman for God brings not only shame (2 Timothy 2:15) but judgment. The Holy Spirit has promised that all who pastor God’s flock must “give an account” (Heb. 3:17). There will be a day of reckoning for the preacher. Only a tested and qualified kind of person has the right to be considered a lawyer, a judge, or a physician. The standard is significantly higher for the preacher!”
(MacArthur, John: Preaching; How to Preach Biblically, [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN 2005] pg. xi – The Introduction

As you know we are studying through the book of 1 Timothy
Because in this powerful letter we find one of
The most straightforward answers to a very important question.

“What should the church look like?”

It used to bother me tremendously in seminary
When professors would talk authoritatively
About what our churches should look like,
But they would never reference this book.

This letter reveals what the church should look like.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

MORE SPECIFICALLY
This letter focuses on the conduct and character of God’s church.

Paul wrote “so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God”

And therefore the main theme of the book is godliness.

And we have also studied this letter long enough for you to figure out
That godliness was lacking in the Ephesian church.

The reason of course was because the Ephesian church had bad teachers.
BAD TEACHERS PRODUCE BAD CHARACTER

1 Timothy 1:5-7 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

Without going back through all the flaws in their teaching,
We understand the main problem was that their teaching was “fruitless”.

They were not bringing out salvation for the lost.
They were not bringing out sanctification for the saved.

They did not know how to use the Law,
They were fascinated with things that didn’t matter
And it was extremely spiritually harmful for all who listened to them.

Their teaching was terrible.

Which is why Paul will eventually tell Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:7 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;”

But their bad teaching was not even the root of the problem.

These teachers were bad teachers because they had bad character.
• If they had truly loved God’s Word they would not have strayed from it.
• If they had truly loved God they would not have led people away from Him.
• If they had truly feared God they would have certainly given more effort to be accurate.

But these men were not in the ministry
For the glory of God or the growth of God’s flock.

These men were in it for their own personal glory.
Paul told Timothy that they were “wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

As you will see in a moment, it is not wrong to desire to teach,
But it is wrong to desire to teach if you do not understand God’s Word,
Or do not desire to remain committed to it.
Much like the Pharisees that Jesus dealt with:
Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

But this was not the only character problem.

They had unrepentant sin.
1 Timothy 5:19-20 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.”

Also prompting Paul to write:
1 Timothy 5:24 “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.”

They ignored the concept of godliness
1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

They were greedy for money
1 Timothy 6:8-10 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

In short their bad teaching did not stem just from lack of ability.
Their bad teaching was a result of their bad character.

And as you remember Timothy has already been charged
To clean up that ministry.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.”

Therefore the church (and specifically Timothy) needed to know
What sort of man was qualified to lead the church,
And what sort of man was disqualified.

When looking for a man to lead the church, what do you look for?
Strong voice?
Good hair?
Magnetic personality?
Business experience?
Quality education?
Family pedigree?

That is precisely why Paul penned this third chapter.
It is meant to help us evaluate those who lead us.

In these first 7 verses Paul lists 15 characteristics about the man
Who will oversee or pastor or shepherd God’s flock.

We will break them down into 5 main points of evaluation.
His Desire
His Character
His Family
His Maturity
His Reputation

We will only make it through the first two tonight.
#1 HIS DESIRE
1 Timothy 3:1

Paul begins with the phrase “It is a trustworthy statement:”

Most likely Paul is referencing a common creed that floated around
Here Paul endorses it as accurate by preserving it in the Scriptures.

“If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

Speaks of a man who not only desires to shepherd God’s flock,
But who also takes the necessary steps to qualify himself to do so.

“aspires” translates OREGO
“to reach or stretch out”

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Hebrews 11:16 “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

It is a word that speaks of a desire, but it more specifically
Speaks of the external steps used to fulfill that desire.

The saints of old took steps toward a heavenly country.
In a negative sense, the greedy take steps toward getting more money.
And so Paul here speaks of a man
Who is making the steps necessary to be an overseer.

He is pursuing the career.
He is preparing himself for it.

Now the reason he is preparing himself is because “he desires to do” it.

“desires” translates EPITHUMEO
“to desire earnestly”
This word stresses the inner impulse.

Poor man Lazarus
Luke 16:21 “[He was] longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.”

Jesus used it:
Luke 17:22 “And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.”

And so the word speaks of a strong inward desire.

And when you put both of those words together,
Paul reveals that a qualified overseer is one
Who actively pursues the office
Because he is driven by a strong desire to shepherd God’s people.

Certainly his motives must be pure (as we will examine in a moment)
But there must be a desire there none the less.

This was a very liberating truth for me, and an instrumental one that God used in confirming my calling.

I heard men run from the ministry.
I heard “You can’t do it just because you want to.”

THEN I READ 1 TIMOTHY 3:1

And it revealed to me that I was not the exception to the rule,
I was what God intended.

Men who do not wish to preach God’s word,
And who do not wish to lead others to godliness,
And who do not wish to see the lost saved
Should not let someone talk them into it.

The ministry is a toil, the work is hard.
Paul calls it “work”

And if you enter that job already not wanting to do it,
I can only imagine what sort of pitiful job you will do.

The man who is qualified to be an overseer must be a man who desires it.
After all, it is indeed a “fine work”

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”

He said again:
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

It wasn’t something he had to do.
Good luck trying to get him to stop.

A man who is qualified to lead God’s people
Must be a man with a fire in his bones to do the task.

He must be the type of man
That would lead with or without the title.
That would preach with or without the pulpit.
That would exhort with or without a salary.
That would teach with or without the glory.
That would continue with or without the encouragement of others.

So first: His Desire
#2 HIS CHARACTER
1 Timothy 3:2-3

Here are listed 12 attributes about the overseer.
All but one refer to his character.

If his character isn’t right then his motives are wrong.
He desires for the wrong reasons, as the false prophets do.

Furthermore half of his ministry is drastically ineffective.

For the preacher must not only preach truth, he must live truth.
If he does not, then he is unqualified for the ministry.

So Paul here sets out the character requirements for the man
Who would seek to shepherd God’s flock.

“An overseer, then, must be above reproach”

This is really the overreaching character trait.
It carries the idea of being one who charges will not stick against.

Because this world is and always has been opposed to the gospel,
It is only obvious that those who speak God’s word
Will continually come under attack.

John the Baptist was accused.
“He came neither eating or drinking and they say, “He has a demon!”

Jesus was accused.
“Of being a glutton and drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners”

So it is not that an overseer is free from all accusation,
But that none of those accusations will stick.

The facts must always be on his side.

Before Jesus first sent out the twelve he told them:
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”

This must be the character of the overseer.

“the husband of one wife”

Simply means “A One Woman Man” (not an adulterer)

MANY CONCERN THEMSELVES ONLY WITH DIVORCE
This can be true of a divorced man.
This can be true of a man who marries a divorced woman.
This can be true of a man who has an affair.
This can be true of a man who visits a prostitute.
This can be true of a man who is addicted to pornography.

Sexual sin is one of the strongest temptations that Satan throws at a man, and so he will certainly use it against a pastor.

Proverbs 6:26 “For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.”

Many a pastor has fallen from his position
Because he succumbed to sexual temptation.

This has to be settled in his character long before the temptation arises.

“temperate”

This word literally means “wineless” or “unmixed with wine”

And so we could easily say that the overseer
Can have absolutely no alcohol.
However:
1 Timothy 5:23 “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”

But that was as much medicinal as it was anything.
The water was so foul that a little wine actually worked as a purifying agent.

Because of his command to Timothy and because Paul will later command that an overseer not be “addicted to wine”,

We must look at this in a metaphorical or spiritual sense.

In which case the same Greek word
Can mean “watchful” or “alert” or “clear-headed”
(sort of like we use the word “sober”)

And so he is a man who is aware of what is going on around him.

You may remember in the book of Isaiah,
Isaiah actually rebuked the Jewish teachers
For their incompetence in this area.

Isaiah 28:7-8 “And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”

There Isaiah likened the preaching of the prophets to vomit.
It was coming out of their mouth, but it was useless.

They were out of touch with God,
And therefore useless to the people.

A true overseer must not fall into such a trap.
He must be alert, he must be “temperate”

“prudent”

This carries the idea of being serious about things that matter.
Not necessarily a lack of humor,
But he realizes what things in life really matter.

One only has to look at the life and example of Jesus.
Most of the time He is very serious.
A few times He appears frustrated
Several times He is obviously angry
And twice we see Him cry.

But never in the gospel accounts do we witness Him laughing.
Certainly He did.
But those who wrote of His life were overwhelmed with His seriousness.

Nothing ever came before the ministry for Him.

He was prudent.
An overseer must be as well.

“respectable”

KOSMIOS “orderly”

This man’s lifestyle is not in disarray, but is in order.
There are no loose ends.
There are no areas where his life is a mess.

All of those are possible areas to fall under scorn,
And in order to remain “above reproach” he keeps an orderly life.

We have talked about it before while studying Hebrews.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There the writer tells us to “lay aside every encumbrance AND the sin that so easily entangles.”

And we learn that not all things that encumber are necessarily sin.
Through bad decisions, debts, and poor planning
We can get ourselves in trouble.

An overseer has to have an orderly lifestyle
So that he is free and able to perform his ministry.

“hospitable”

He is a man who gives of himself to strangers.

This is not a man who just likes to fellowship with his friends,
But a man who is truly generous to those he does not know.

NOTHING INDICATES PURE MOTIVES LIKE HOSPITALITY
Jesus said:
Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
“able to teach”

This is the single ability based requirement.

And I could certainly spend a lot more time here
But we will get there soon enough.

It is sufficient to remind, that in a church world
That seeks the “pastoral leader”
Being a good pastor is NOT enough to qualify a man for service.

He must be a good teacher of the word of God,
After all, that is his main responsibility.

All you have to do is listen to Peter when confronted with a pastoral problem.
Acts 6:1-4 “Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

That is also why above all else Paul will tell Timothy
1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

And even later in regard to elders
1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

You just cannot have a pastor who is not an able teacher of God’s word.

“not addicted to wine”

This goes back to the drinking issue,
And it reminds that the overseer
Must not be given to worldly pleasures and vices.

He is not a social drinker, as such would open him up to much criticism,
And then he would not be “above reproach”.

He is one who keeps his reputation clean.

“or pugnacious”

The word here literally means “a giver of blows”

Is not an aggressive or combative person.
He is not the type that will punch you in the nose
For disagreeing with him.

Paul tells Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

And that carries into the next attribute as well.

“but gentle”

He is a man who does not influence men by force,
But one who leaves room for the working of God.

He is not a fighter.
He is not an intimidator.
He is a man who is content to let God work.

“peaceable”

While “pugnacious” refers to physical action,
This refers more to his nature.

He does not have a quarrelsome spirit.
He doesn’t look for fights.
He is not combative.

This doesn’t mean he refuses to stand,
But he is not one who relishes in the battle.

“free from the love of money”

Aside from sexual temptation, this may be THE OTHER BIG SNARE
That faces any man who desires to enter the ministry.

In fact, money and sex are the two most common ways
That false prophets are revealed and that they eventually stumble and fall.

Listen to Peter give attributes of a false prophet.
2 Peter 2:12-16 “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”

If a man is not serving for the glory of God
Then he must have an ulterior motive and payoff.

For many that payoff is money.

If he is to remain above reproach,
He must not be one who is so open to such temptations.

So you get the first two elements of what an overseer is required to be.
Next week we will finish this passage and the requirements.

But here we realize that leadership of God’s church
Is a serious responsibility with serious requirements,
And ones that must be followed
If the church is to be what God intends it to be.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”