Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Application: As we continue to look at the list that Paul gave to Timothy when considering men from the eldership, he states they should be “able to teach”. In this day and age of superstar preachers we need to be very careful about what this really means. Paul is not talking about style or being charismatic in our presentation. A teacher is someone who has the ability to communicate knowledge. Obviously, all of us want to present what we teach in a way that attracts people's attention, this is an essential for a preaching-elder. Although not all elders are gifted to be in the pulpit, but they are not called to. Elders are called to shepherd the flock, which includes communicating the truth of the Scriptures or teach, but that does not have to be from the pulpit. So the real issue here is that an elder has the ability to assimilate the truth and to present it to those that he is discipling. This is a skill all of us need to develop as part of our character in life whether we have the position of elder or not. We may not be in a classroom, or in a formal teaching situation, but we do need to learn to take the truth that God teaches us and allow the Holy Spirit to use us to instruct others on these matters. A good beginning to this is to write out a personal testimony of the difference that Jesus Christ has made to your life, so that you can share that with others to help them. Teachers do not just show how well they can do something or the display the depth of knowledge they have on any one subject. Teachers pass on the knowledge enabling their students to do, grow, and build upon what they’re learning, when this does not happen we often say, “The teacher is full of hot air”. This would not be a character worthy of serving as an “elder” or shepherd of the body of Christ.
“Not addicted to wine”, there has been a lot of discussion about whether an Elder or a Christian should drink any alcohol, a debate I can not settle now, though the scriptures are clear that drunkenness is a sin, therefore drinking falls into the Liberty area. Each believer must decide what best glorifies God in their life. The issue here is best served to look at the original:
πάροινος pároinos; from pará - near or by, and oínos - wine. Pertaining to wine, drunken. The word does not include the responsible and temperate usage of alcohol, rather, it has in view the abuse or incessant use of it. The word–picture is that of an individual who always has a bottle (or wineskin) on the table and so signifies addiction (1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7). or “One who lingers beside his wine” No believer should be mastered by anything. This is where we see – not just leadership step up, but anyone who takes seriously that he represents the Lord. Even in our Liberties we need to see how that affects our testimony for Him. We are given a description or a picture of what an Elder should “look” like by Paul, saying, in essence, an elder is one who has not only knowledge to teach the scriptures but wisdom to know how to handle his liberties and the character of honesty to keep himself from slipping into drunkenness. We all have difficulties in life to deal with. Even the Elder serving us, though he needs to be an example to us as one who endures and works through the problems and trials without allowing his flesh to rule, instead he seeks the Holy Spirit and wisdom from God.
Meditation Questions: Have you developed a testimony that you can share to folks that explains the difference Jesus has made in your life? If not, will you? When you learn something from God do you share that with others? What does your answer show you about your desire for others to know God? Do you drink alcohol? If so, why? If not, why? How important is this issue? What could make it more important or less important? Do you pray for your leaders? How often?
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