Vital Duties For The Pastor Series

Early in my service before the Lord I made the acquaintance of a Methodist minister. I have previously spoken of my amazement following a conversation with him about his beliefs. He did not believe that Jesus was very God, though he did concede that He might have been a good man. He was convinced that heaven or hell was what you made of your existence now. He did not accept the Bible as infallible or inerrant; it was just another book, the writers of which were inspired much as Shakespeare was inspired. In his estimate, there was no such thing as salvation; each person would live out his or her life and that was the end of the matter. In short, he had rejected virtually the entire belief system of the Faith once delivered to the saints.

I was compelled to ask him why he became a minister. His answer disturbed me then, and it disturbs me now. He said he became a minister because it was an easy job that demanded little of him and ensured that he would enjoy stature in the community. Tragically, this man and his lack of faith is no longer the exception among professed ministers of Christ—embracing the doctrines of demons appears to have become the norm. Lest you imagine that I am picking on Methodists, be assured that I am appalled that many who call themselves Baptists have long since departed this holy Faith. All denominations appear to be riddled with the rot of unbelief as those to whom we look for moral and ethical leadership have deserted the Faith.

As an aside of considerable significance, ministers of Christ—those serving as elders among the saints of the Most High, are qualified by virtue of character and calling. However, in this day credentials and connections are sought as qualification for holy office. This truth will be examined in detail when we come to the third chapter of this particular letter. For the moment, I ask that you examine the character and calling of your elders; those who lead you are to reflect the charter of Him whom they represent and His call must be evident in their lives.

Undoubtedly, those whom Timothy was charged to confront were elders. There are multiple reasons one would draw this conclusion. First, these men presumed to be teachers. They are described in 1 TIMOTHY 1:7 as “desiring to be teachers of the law,” a role reserved for elders [see 1 TIMOTHY 3:2; 5:17]. Another reason to conclude that these were elders is that Paul, not the congregation, excommunicated Hymanaeus and Alexander [see 1 TIMOTHY 1:20]. This would imply that the people in question were in positions of power and the congregation believed they could not deal with them. Because the Apostle has given detailed qualifications for eldership in 1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7, it would appear that unqualified individuals had assumed the position of elder. Thus, Timothy would require this list of qualifications to ensure that those who were unqualified would be replaced. Finally, Paul stresses that unqualified elders are to be publicly disciplined [see 1 TIMOTHY 5:19-22], indicating that such action had not previously been taken.