1 Timothy: From the Preacher to the Christian. .
Godly Leadership requires:
A. Godly Elders. (Slide #2, Click 1)
Being an overseer:
A noble task, it’s not for everyone.
Deserves respect (verse 1)
Demands desire. “Sets his heart on” (verse 2)
The only reason to want to be an elder
is because your heart is in it.
Elders were paid, heartfelt desire is
required, not love for power or money.
Before looking at the characteristics of a godly elder, let’s look at the responsibilities:
Teaching
Leading out as an example of righteousness
Protecting
Discipling
Comforting
Providing security
Soothing the troubled
Forgiving
Handling disputes
Evaluating weaknesses
Selecting and delegating responsibilities
Helping the grieving
Reminding people of God’s word
Counseling
Ministering to the sick
Evangelizing
Characteristics:
Above reproach (Verse 2)
This phrase translates “nothing to take hold upon”
There should be nothing in his character or conduct that would discredit his commitment to God
Some have mistakenly thought that this means the man seeking to be an elder must not have
anything in his life for which others could criticize him.
But even Jesus was not able to live like this. If he had been, he would never have been crucified.
there was a time when it was considered a sin for an elder to:
To have a pool table in his home
To attend a movie at a theater
To be up front in a colored dress
shirt, only white
To change the order of the worship service
To do any work on Sunday
Husband of but one wife:
Greek literally reads “one woman man.”
Some take this as:
Must be married at time seeking overseer
(man who’s wife died is not eligible)
Can only have been married once
(divorce at any time in life- disqualifies)
Can only have been married once after becoming a Christian
Here is the problem with these takes- you must apply the same standard to all the characteristics as you do to this one. If you say a man who has been divorced cannot serve, then you must say a man who has been at any time in his life a lover of money, or a lover of wine, or quarrelsome, or violent at any time, he Is ineligible.
Also a man could be married to the same woman for 50 years and not necessarily be a “one woman man” he could be unfaithful, or he could just be mean or disrespectful or abusive to his wife, and that certainly is not a man who would make a good elder.
I believe the safest take is to take the Greek as it reads- “one woman man.” A man who loves wife and lives with her in a marriage that not only honors God but sets an example for those in the church and in the community.
Temperate
A man whose mind is focused
A man who keeps his head and cool when others are losing theirs.
He does not jump into the middle of controversies, but keeps stays calms and focused
Self-controlled
He can walk through a life and world filled with temptations, and yet keep his life under control.
He makes his body a slave to himself, rather than allowing himself to be a slave to his body.
Jesus in the garden- chose commitment rather than feeling.
The man seeking to be an elder will have to be controlled by commitment not by:
Culture, media, peers, fear, crowds,
tradition, criticism
Respectable
A man’s outward conduct that comes from an inner character of commitment to Christ
Where temperate and self-controlled describe inner character, respectable focuses on the
outward appearance and conduct.
Our word for cosmetics comes from this Greek word. Cosmetics do two things:
Cover things up
Reveal what is already there
Hospitable
Literally “a lover of strangers”
Friendly, warm, and attentive to others
People feel at ease around him
A friend
In our high tech impersonal culture, it is vital that the church has men as elders who are friendly
and welcoming to visitors and outsiders.
Able to teach
Not just head knowledge, but the ability to convey that to others. God has blessed us greatly.
Convey God’s word in a way that leads spiritual growth in others
Not given to drunkenness (Verse 3)
Jewish people watered down their wine to make sure it was not too strong, but because of
impurity in water, wine was used for totally different reasons then than it is now.
To set an example- total abstinence to alcohol is probably safest for the elder
Not violent, but gentle
Doesn’t go looking for a fight, can instruct or even correct with gentleness and love in a way that
leads to repentance and the truth
Not quarrelsome
He can disagree with others, without animosity or grudges. He knows- in opinion liberty, and in
all things love.
Not a lover of money
A man who is a lover of money in his job or in his family will become a lover of money in the
church and rather than making decisions based on faith, he will make decisions based on cost.
Manage his family well (Verse 4)
He stands with (not above) his family and leads them in a godly fashion. They follow him as
sheep follows a shepherd. To manage a family well is to allow them the freedom to become the
family that God intends.
To see that his children obey him with proper respect (Verse 5)
We cannot blame an elder for the decisions that his grown children make. There are too many
factors in our world tempt grown children to go astray. But growing children who have no
respect for their father reveal weakness in the father’s personal skills in the home.
Not to be a recent convert (Verse 6)
We would not take someone who has just learned to drive and put them on a NASCAR track.
In the same way we would not take a new Christian and put him into the role of elder.
Have a good reputation with outsiders (Verse 7)
A consistent life-style that even outsiders and unbelievers have good things to say
B. Godly Deacons. (Slide #2, Click 2)
Characteristics for Deacons:
(Verse 8)
Worthy of respect- morally ethical
Sincere- Can be trusted in what he says
Not indulging in much wine- not a drunkard
Not pursuing dishonest gain- content, won’t
take advantage of poor or widows.
(Verse 9)
Must keep hold of the deep truths- Knows what he believes and stands for sound doctrine.
(Verse 10)
Must first be tested- proven to have these characteristics
There is nothing against them- no charge of immoral or impure living against them
(Verse 11)
Their wives
Worthy of respect
Not malicious talkers
Temperate
Trustworthy in everything
C. Commitment
(Chapter 4, verse 1)
Paul tells Timothy that without a doubt, a time is coming when people are going to turn away from the faith.
Turning away not from a certain doctrine, but turning away from Christ himself. When they turn away from Christ, they will take on new focus and new doctrines.
(Chapter 4, verse 2)
These false teaching from demons come through false teachers. The demons used men as instruments of Satan’s will. They are hypocritical liars, their consciences have been seared, no more leading of the Holy Spirit. Seared- branded and marked in ownership- no longer belong to the Lord.
(Chapter 4-verse 3)
Notice that not all of Satan’s teachings lead to immorality. Some just lead to a false morality. Morality apart from Jesus Christ is useless and pointless.
Forbidding marriage- some forbid marriage because sex in any context was seen as sinful.
Many pagan practices centered on sexual expression in worship, so for some, sex in any
context, even in a godly marriage was forbidden. Some were even teaching that if a
man was married and wanted to become a Christian he needed to get a divorce first.
Eating certain foods- Jesus himself declared all food clean. It is our deity not our diet that gives us our
salvation.
(Chapter 4, verses 6-16)
Godly leadership is vital in times of persecution and Paul tells Timothy how to lead in tough times:
Point these things out to the brothers.
Be nourished in the faith.
Stay away from false teachers.
Train yourself to be godly.
Put your hope in God.
Command and teach these things.
Set an example in conduct.
Physical training might do you well in this life, but someday it won’t matter.
Spiritual training in godliness will take you far in this life and in the life to come.
How many of you have a piece of exercise equipment at home that has not been used in the last month?
How many of you have a piece of exercise equipment at home that has clothes hanging on it?
D. Perseverance.
(Chapter 4, verse 12)
Do not give others a reason to look down on you. Strive for the kind of character that instead of bringing criticism, will be an example to others.
Paul tells Timothy to set an example in:
Speech- what he says and how he says it.
Life- how he lives
Love- what he loves and what he hates
Faith- where does he place his confidence
Purity- consistent righteous living
Public reading of scripture- Not ashamed of the gospel, it is the power.
In Preaching and teaching- applying God’s word in practical ways in our lives.
Not neglecting your gift- developing God’s gifts and using them for his body.
Life + Doctrine = salvation of many.
Cannot have a godly life without true doctrine
Cannot have true doctrine without a godly life
But both together saves you and leads to the salvation of many.
