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Who is Qualified?
1 Timothy 3:8-13
Last Sunday night we started talking about the work of a deacon. If you
remember we used Acts 6:1-7 to discuss why we need deacons. We mentioned
that there are some jobs that are on going and they need continual
oversight. In Acts 6 the physical needs of the widows were being
ignored. The members of that great church went to the Apostles looking
for help in the matter. Not having the time, or ability to leave the
ministry of, preaching, prayer, and the ministry of the word, they
called on the church to select 7 men to be about this business.
We said that this decision showed a great level of maturity on the part
of the Apostles, and I believe that this decision by our shepherds shows
a great deal of maturity on their behalf as well. They see the need to
have men who will serve in this capacity so that they can shepherd this
flock unencumbered. By having men who had a good reputation, and were
full of wisdom and secure in their relationship with God the church
grew.
Last week we made four basic points about their responsibility to the
church and our responsibility to the deacons if they are to be
successful. We said that they must be consistent and persistent in his
work. They have to be able to do the job as long as there is work to do.
A Deacon must be entrusted with responsibility and authority. The
Deacons receive their responsibility and authority from the leadership,
but these men must be trusted and given the authority to do God’s work.
Deacons must be "people builders" The work of a deacon is not one that
is done alone, they must involve others in their area of work.
And finally we said that Deacon must be a representative of God. Doing
their work for the glory of God in a way that beings honor to His name.
Tonight I want us to spend some more time with this last point, what
does it mean to be a representative of God. Now while the word deacon
basically means servant we do find a list of qualifications for those
special servants in Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Turn with me tonight
to 1 Timothy 3:8-13. (Read Text)
The Qualifications of those special servants can be separated into four
distinct areas: Experience, Reputation, Character, and Ability. Tonight
let’s look at these areas.
First we see that he must be proved: When we say that someone is to be
proved what we are saying is that we need to see how they con¬duct
themselves. Before you allow someone to have the responsibility of
serving the church you must first know that they can handle that
responsibility, or that they are going to take their responsibility
seriously.
If you look through the Bible you will quickly notice that many of the
men that God used as leaders were first tested as servants. Joseph was a
servant in Egypt for thirteen years before he became a second rul¬er in
the land. Moses cared for sheep for forty years before God called him.
Joshua was Mo¬ses' servant before he became Moses' succes¬sor. David was
tending his father's sheep when Samuel anointed him king of Israel. Even
our Lord Jesus came as a servant and labored as a carpenter; and the
Apostle Paul was a tentmaker.
It always weakens the influence of a local church when a member who has
not been proved is given authority in that church. An untested Christian
is an unpre¬pared Christian. He will probably do more harm than good if
you give him the responsibility of serving the church. It might be a
good practice for us to quickly insert new members into various
ministries like visitation, helping in Sunday School, helping in worship
or numerous other ways. This is the principle in Matthew 25:21 “You have
been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.”
Then we see that they must have a Godly family: The husband of one wife
and managing their children and house hold well. These qualifications
cause a lot of trouble among churches today. How do we get a basic
Biblical principal from the statements that he must have one wife and
managing their children.
I have looked in every commentary and Greek book that I have and what I
have noticed is that every writer has a different opinion on what the
text is saying. Some say that he must have one wife while living in a
society where it was acceptable for men to have multiple wives. Some say
that this shows that a man must only be married to one woman at a time.
Still others say that this says that a man must be married to only one
woman in his life time, but even amongst those who hold this view there
is debate. Can the woman have been divorced? Can the man have been a
widower and then remarried? What if the first wife was not a Christian
and just left and then remarried without the husband’s approval?
All I can do is give my opinion and study. It is my belief that a deacon
and his wife work together in their ministry and serve as an example of
a godly home. In a moment we will look closer at the character that is
to be exhibited in that home. But suffice this to say that that the
marriage relationship is used as a metaphor of God’s relationship with
the church. Just as God desires nothing to disparage His bride, those
who are serving that bride should also do nothing to disparage the
bride.
My opinion is that the call to be the husband of one wife is a call to
have a home that is an example of purity, peace, and orderliness.
Remember that God hates divorce, for what it symbolizes, that a man and
woman were not able to love each other and put the other’s needs ahead
of their own so that this union could stay together. In the end divorce
is brought about because of the selfishness of one or both parties. But
even though God hates divorce, He still loves the divorced.
The discussion about Children is just as varied, but once again I can
only tell you what I find in my study. The admonition has nothing to do
with fertility and everything to do with being able to manage people.
You can be a deacon if you have adopted children. And you can be a
deacon if you only have one child.
In Genesis 21:7 Sarah says to Abraham that she has given him children
but that they only had one child. If we were on a sinking ship and said
that all mothers with Children will receive a life vest first, would you
refuse giving a life vest to a woman with one child? Of course not. The
Greek word here is (Teknon) and can be translated plural as
children, or singular as son or daughter.
We next see the discussion move into the qualifications about their
reputation. They must prove themselves blameless. We know that blameless
cannot mean sinless, because we have all sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God. But when we say that someone is found blameless we are
talking about their character.
A great definition of character is “what you do when no one is looking.”
The Las Vegas Tourism ads say “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”.
That is the great attraction of the city; you can come here where no one
knows you and be heathenistic. But some of us don’t have to go that far,
just across the state line, or an hour in any direction and we feel that
we can live without consequence.
But that is not living a blameless life. Some one who is found to be
blameless is someone with great character. They are tempted, and give
into temptation from time to time, but they live the whole of their life
in a way that brings glory to God.
In verse 8 Paul mentions how that Character manifests itself. He first
teaches that a deacon is to be dignified or grave. A deacon should be
worthy of respect, a man of Christian character worth imitating. When
Paul admonished the church in Corinth to “Imitate me as I imitate
Christ” he was giving them a task that was worthy of their time and
effort.
For a man to consider serving the church and this community as a deacon
they must understand that his greatest task is to take his
responsi¬bilities seriously and use the office, not just fill it. If you
are over a ministry then serve God the best you can within that
ministry.
Paul says that they are not to be double-tongued. He does not tell tales
from house to house; he is not a gos¬sip. He does not say one thing to
one member and something entirely opposite to another member. You can
depend on what he says.
A third aspect of His character is that he is not addicted to much wine.
The phrase here describes someone who drinks to excess. This phrase
coupled with the fact that in chapter 5 Paul advises Timothy to take
wine for “his stomach sake” indicated that total abstinence was not
demanded among believers. But there was a reason for this.
The Jewish people would use wine in their water as a means of
purification. The though of someone drinking undiluted wine was
barbaric, and not fitting for a child of God. But there is a vast
difference between the cultural use of wine in Biblical days and the
alcohol that is prevalent even in a dry county today. We must always
remember that as God’s children people will always make their decisions
about the God we serve by what they see in us. As people of Godly
character we must make sure that we make every effort to live in such a
way that God is glorified through our lives.
Paul mentions that a Deacon must not be greedy of filthy lucre. The
Bible has more than one story of men who chased the almighty dollar
instead of following God. Judas, Gehazi, Balaam, and Achan were all
prominent man who sold their relationship with God for much too small a
price.
A Dea¬con is given the responsibility of handling offerings and
distributes money. Money is a huge temptation even for those who have no
need of it. If Deacons are to be allowed the authority of working over
an area of the Lords work they must be trust worth in every aspect of
that work. Deacons must have a spiritual attitude toward money.
Finally we see that Paul talks about a Deacons Ability. In verse 9 Paul
says that a deacon must be able to hold the mystery of the faith. Paul
is talking about "truth once hidden but now re¬vealed by God."
There are great truths that only those who are in the church understand.
They are hidden from the world because the world lacks the faith to
understand, and have no trust in the Lord. Paul teaches that deacons
must not only understand Christian doctrine but they must live their
lives in accordance with it. They must base their decisions on the Word
of God, and they must back up their decisions with godly lives.
What has become a shame is that in most churches the members know their
traditions much better than they know the scripture. And while I believe
that it is good to have traditions that help main¬tain order, it is
important to manage the affairs of a church on the basis of the Word of
God. The Scriptures were the "constitution" of the early church! A
deacon who does not know the Bible is an obstacle to progress in a local
assembly.
A deacon who does not know the Word of God cannot manage the affairs of
the church. A deacon who does not live the Word of God, but has a
"defiled conscience," cannot manage the church of God. Simply because a
church member is popular, successful in busi¬ness or generous in his
giving does not mean he is qualified to serve as a deacon.
So that is what the scripture says about the type of man is qualified
for the work of the church. As we close tonight I want us to consider
three myths about Deacons in the church. And maybe by understanding the
truth we will be able to better serve this community.
First the work of Deacons is not limited to physical matters. I have
often heard people say that the spiritual matters are for the elder and
the physical matters are for the deacon. This is not a biblical
distinction. Elders are the shepherds of the flock and the deacons serve
the church in the areas where the shepherds understand there are needs.
While we might be more comfortable thinking of a deacon working over the
area of buildings and grounds, or Sunday school; deacons can also take
over the responsibility of worship. A deacon working in this ministry is
responsible to see that we have everything we need as we join together
for worship, the most spiritual thing anyone can do.
Secondly Deacons are not Junior Elders or Elders in waiting. Usually
when a church goes looking for more leadership they only look in their
pool of deacons. But that does not mean it is right. No where in the
qualifications for an Elder does it say that they first must have served
as a deacon. In the same manner no where in the qualifications that we
have just looked at did it say that this was the training ground for a
future run in the eldership.
I have heard men refuse the work of a deacon because they had no desire
to ever serve as an Elder. The two are not automatically joined. As a
matter of fact some of the best Elders I have ever known were never
deacons, and some of the best deacons I have even had the privilege to
work with never served the church as an elder. The reason that Elders
are usually picked from the deacons is because the deacons are usually
the only choice we have.
Finally while Deacons are special Servants they are not the only
servants in the church. As we discussed last week the work that a deacon
is called to oversee can be daunting at times and we as members of this
body must be willing to serve our God who gave His life for us. This
congregation belongs to every member of this body. And since we all have
ownership in this body we must all work to make sure it is successful.
John writes in 3 John 8 that we ought to support people by being fellow
workers for the truth. Tonight can you honestly say that you are working
for the truth?
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