The One’s Who Get It Done

1 Timothy 3 is where we will be this morning.

Over the next couple of months, we are focusing on areas that make us a church that is healthy. Today, if we are being honest, we aren’t talking about something that we have, but rather something that we need. It is something that I have been praying for us to have for a long time. We need a healthy deacons ministry with men who are qualified. Now this is not me taking a stab at the deacon that we do have right now. But due to circumstances, he has had to be absent. So, I am trying to say this is the best way possible, and it is no slight to Danny at all because of his situation, but we have not had an active deacon ministry. And this is something that we need to have for us to be a healthier church.

What we don’t need to do is to find warm bodies and stick in those positions. That is not biblical. We don’t need to find people with outgoing personalities or a savvy business sense, because that is not biblical. In fact, those practices have gotten many churches to the point where they are on the brink of death. Instead, we need biblically qualified men stepping into these roles. So you may ask, what are the qualifications of someone to be a deacon. Well I am glad that you asked because that is our main passage for this morning. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 3. This is where we will find the biblical qualifications of a deacon.

1 Timothy 3:8–13 ESV

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Pray

The Ones Who get things done. I believe that this is a correct biblical definition of what a deacon is in the local church. The actual Greek word for deacon means servant. Jesus was our great deacon. Matthew 20:28 “28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” This is the definition of deacon. Jesus came not to be deaconed but to deacon. Service, and the office of deacon, are intrinsically tied together.

Scripture gives us two offices in the local church. Elders(Pastors) and deacons. For a church to operate in a healthy way, they need both of these. Qualified men who have a heart for the gospel and for Jesus. Over time, the office of deacon has shifted somewhat. When I said that they are the ones who get things done, you may affirm that but it might be in a different way. Maybe you would think that it is more like they are the ones who run things. This is the mindset in many churches. But this is not the biblical intention of this office. Deacons are to be servants. Deacons are to be like Jesus. Evil should tremble at the thought of deacons.

In fact, the Nazis hated deacons. In 1940, the Netherlands had fallen to Germany. During this time, the deacons in the Dutch Reformed Church rose up and they took care of those who were facing political oppression. They provided them with safe havens to stay at where they would not be discovered and they provided them with food. When they realized what was going on, the Germans decreed that the office of deacon should be eliminated. Responding to this, the Dutch believers said, “Whoever touches the diaconate interferes with what Christ has ordained as the task of the church, whoever lays hands on them lays hands on worship!” After this, the Germans backed down. They were the ones who got things done.

This morning, we are going to go through our main text and look at what a qualified deacon should be. But then at the end, we will look at practical ways that deacons serve the church. All of this to point us to the fact that…

A Biblically Healthy Church will have Biblically Qualified Deacons Who Serve the Body

Say it with me again.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be part of a healthy church that has a great deacon ministry. So let’s dive in and see what a qualified deacon looks like.

Qualified Deacons are Godly Examples

Each and every one of us have someone looking up to us. If you are 80 years old, someone is looking to you as an example. If you are 8 years old, there are little children that are looking up to you as an example. We cannot escape it. But what we can do is be godly examples. And that is what a deacon should be. A godly example to the congregation that they serve.

1 Timothy 3:8 ESV

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

Paul writes Timothy this letter as he was leading the church at Ephesus and gives him an outline of qualities that a deacon needs to possess.

Dignified - They need to have character that keeps in line with someone who has been changed by the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” He needs to have character that keeps him without being questioned. An example, just this week, I was in public and there was a man that I know to be the only deacon in his church walk into a business and start yelling and screaming at someone. This is the opposite of being dignified. The idea of being dignified is more of an all encompassing characteristic for a deacon that is fleshed out by Paul in these other categories.

Not double-tongued - You can’t be a deceiver. This means that you can’t say one thing and do another. This would apply to promising to do something. Or this could apply to a confession of beliefs. We could ask questions like, do they control their tongue? Do they run their mouths to others about private matters? Do they support gossip or do they shut it down? Are they self controlled in their speech?

Not addicted to much wine - Are they self controlled in their appetite? Are they known for being a drinker? This would disqualify someone from being a deacon. This doesn’t mean that you could never take a drink. No. Ephesians 5:18 “18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” The command is to not get drunk. Is the person self controlled?

Not greedy for dishonest gain - Not only should a deacon be controlled in his speech, in his appetite, but also in his wallet. There are times when deacons in a local church are in charge of money. The church does not want someone greedy overseeing money. Because then, when it comes to decisions about how we are using money for ministry work, they would rather spend it selfishly or even not spend it at all instead of using it for the glory of God. Does this person make financial decisions with their own money towards glorifying God?

These are all actions that define a qualified deacon. When churches put people into the office of deacon that goes against what the bible gives as qualifications, that is when a church can become unhealthy. Does this mean that the membership declines and the church falls into the chance of closing its doors? I would argue that there are many unhealthy churches that, when you look at attendance numbers and giving numbers, seem to be doing just fine. But, does this make them healthy?

Being a godly example is a qualification for deacons, but it is also required of all believers. See, the things that we have talked about so far are not over above what every believer should embody. These are basic. That is why deacons should be godly examples. They are showing the body what a believer should be. So, when a church puts unqualified men in the office of deacon, we are showing the body that it is not important to have godly characteristics. We lower the standard of what a believer should be to the body. And this is asking for all kinds of trouble

But also…

Qualified Deacons are Mature Believers

In 2020, our world was hit with chaos and madness about a virus that we did not understand. A lot of people panicked and overreacted, while at the same time, others under reacted. They had a word for this virus. They called it a pandemic. The definition of a pandemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world at a particular time. I could make the case that there is a pandemic in many churches of immature believers. People who know the right words to say, know how to put on a good face, but when the rubber meets the road, their faith does not sustain them. Let’s see what else Paul has to say about deacons.

1 Timothy 3:9 ESV

9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

Again, there are two offices in the church. Elders and deacons. The role of the Elder is to focus on prayer and the preaching of God’s word. So one might think that studying and knowing doctrine is reserved for the elders. But that is not true. Deacons are not exempt from knowing scripture. In his book on deacons, Matt Smethurst makes the case that there are often opportunities for deacons to speak biblical truth in situations. In his book, he makes three distinctions that tie deacons to the faith.

1. They must know the faith - They will want to grow in their faith and understanding of scripture. Not that they will be the biggest reader in church but there will be a desire.

2. They must hold the faith - Anyone who is embarrassed by biblical truths that oppose the culture is not qualified to be a deacon. They must be people who believe with both their heart and speech and actions the word of God.

3. They must live the faith - A deacon must be someone who has moral integrity and courage. This goes back to the deacons who fought to protect people against the Nazis.

Having a clear conscience is of utmost importance in a deacon. We must have mature. But it goes even deeper than that.

1 Timothy 3:10 ESV

10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

They must be tested. They must be proven. What this means is that we don’t need to find someone off the street who made a profession of faith yesterday, and make them a deacon. So how long should they be believers before they are deacons? That is a question that Paul does not answer for us. So does this mean that since Paul does not give us a specific timeline that we should ignore the mandate of a qualified deacon being someone that is tested and proven?

It is clear that there must be a season of testing. What this testing looks like for each individual person may look differently. Maybe it is cultural testing, maybe it is personal testing. But there must be a favorable outcome where they prove themselves blameless. Blameless and perfect are two different things. If we try to find a person that is perfect to serve in the office of deacon, we will never have that person. But they can be blameless. This means that when they are going through a situation of testing, you can look at them and know that they are being faithful to Christ.

Maturity in deacons is very important to the health of a church. When we do not have maturity in our deacons, it hinders the gospel effectiveness of a church. There will be too much time spent feuding and arguing over things that are unimportant. There will be little focus on gospel impact in our community and too much focus on ourselves.

So, you come here today, and you are hearing a sermon on what it means to be a qualified deacon. And I know what many of you are thinking. What does this have to do with me? Great question, thank you for asking.

This matters to every single member of the church. Having qualified deacons who are mature is a protection for the church. Deacons help to assist the Pastor in the ministry. When we have mature believers in the office of deacon, it will help to stop factions from coming up in the church to destroy the mission of the church. It will help to protect the pastor from distraction from his primary focus of prayer and the ministry of the word. It helps to protect the church from division. Maybe you have experienced being part of a church that had a church split. Our church here went through that about 20 years ago. Not from fault of the deacons but how many churches could avoid divisions when they have mature deacons. They are a protection to the church. They are a blessing to the church.

Qualified deacons are a godly example, they are mature believers, and…

Qualified Deacons are Christ-like Leaders in their Families

Not only are they to be Christ like examples in the church, but they should be in the home as well.

1 Timothy 3:11–12 ESV

11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

A deacon must be a godly leader in their family. They are the ones who are the example in their homes. They have been entrusted to lead and guide their families in Christ-like character. Is the deacon married? Then he must lead his family in a way that they are growing in their love for Jesus. Do they have children? Then they must be leading and discipling their children in a way that is honoring to the Lord. They are the guide rails for their families obedience. Men, I am specifically speaking to you. If you never teach your children what it means to be a follower of Christ, then we are opening up the door for the world to disciple them. We are the leaders of our family. We are to love, lead, guide, and protect our families.

Ephesians 5:25 “25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”

When you show me a man, who loves his family, who leads his family in God’s word, who protects his family from the attacks of this world, then I will show you a man who loves God with all that he has. And those are men we need as servants in the church.

Faithful in all things. Could someone describe you as being faithful in all things? Yes, we are talking about deacons, but this isn’t reserved only for deacons. Every man, woman, and child who call themselves Christians should strive to be faithful in all things. This is about kingdom legacy. What kind of legacy will you be known for? Will you be the man who can’t control his tongue. Will you be the one who says inappropriate things about women? Will you be the woman who bashes her husband to her friends? Will you be the child who lives one way at church while they live another way at school around their friends. What kind of kingdom legacy are you leaving? We need to be leading our families well.

For those of you who have been in Baptist churches for your whole life, we are going to tackle the topic of marriage for deacons. Should a deacon be married?

For this, I think it is best for us to go back to the original Greek. In verse 11, it says “their wives”. With the word “their” being there, it may give us the idea that they need to have a wife. But in the original Greek, it does not have the word “their”, and it just says, “wives likewise must be dignified”. Giving us the thought that, if they are married, this is what their wives must be. Maybe you are thinking that this is not enough proof. Let’s go to context.

In the verses previously when it speaks to the qualifications of overseers(pastors), it speaks to being a husband as well. So you could make the argument that this is a qualification for both. Scripture never gives us any indication that Paul or Timothy(who was receiving this letter) were ever married. He just disqualified himself from being either an elder or a deacon. Let’s go a little further. Under these guidelines, Jesus could not serve as a pastor or deacon.

And if we use the same argument about having to be husbands, then they must have children as well. So anyone who does not have kids is disqualified for being a deacon. This is absurd and this is taking the point that Paul was making to a level that is out of reach.

Then you have the qualification of being a husband of one wife. Here is where things may get a little more tense. Does this mean that a man cannot be divorced to be a deacon? We may have differing views on this if we were to poll the room. So what does it mean to be a husband of one wife? There are three possibilities that Paul could be speaking of. 1) Polygamy 2) literally a one-woman-man 3) a man that has only been married once. So what is he talking about.

Today, you will not find too many arguments in a baptist church on whether or not a man can have more that one wife at at time. So we can throw out number one. The most prevalent question is whether someone who has been divorced can be a qualified deacon. So let me give you a scenario. Let’s say that we have a man who got married when they were 18 years old. They eventually get divorced because his wife left him for another man. He later comes to a saving faith and eventually gets remarried. Before I go any further, I want to point out that the bible allows for divorce in certain circumstances in Matthew19 and 1 Corinthians 7. So, if a man was rightly divorced according to the standards of scripture, could he serve as a deacon.

Let’s take this back to Paul, the one who wrote this. Before Paul became a believer, he murdered Christians. But after he came to faith, God appointed him as an apostle.

We should never put unneeded burdens on something like this. Because what happens is that churches have qualified men being disqualified by churches because they have this unbiblical view of what a deacon is. They become so focused in one this one aspect of a deacon not being divorced, that they throw out any other qualifications there are and then they have unqualified deacons serving the body. But don’t worry, they have never been divorced.

What is most likely is that Paul is speaking less to the number of times a man has been married and more to the faithfulness of the man. This man is not running around on his wife with other women. He does not have inappropriate relationships in the office with another women. He does not engage in text messages with another woman that he needs to hide from his wife.

And it all goes back to the man being a Christ like leader of his family.

1 Timothy 3:13 ESV

13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

When men are qualified and they are serving the body the way they should, they gain a good standing. People can look at them and know that they are trustworthy, know that they are godly men. But it isn’t just about what other people think of them. But they will know that their faith in Jesus is where it should be.

They are servants that the entire church can look to.

These are the kind of deacons that Immanuel Baptist Church needs. So we talked about what a deacon should be. I want to briefly give us some things that a deacon does.

We find an implicit institution of deacons in Acts 6. There was some division that arose in the church. There were widows who were being neglected in the church and were not receiving the things they needed. This is when the Apostles asked the congregation to find for the men to serve tables so that they can focus on the ministry of the word and prayer. What we see in this passage is that the Apostles entrusted the entire assembly to chose the men who would serve as deacons. This is how we are going to do our deacons this year. The active members of Immanuel Baptist are going to nominate men who they feel meet the qualifications of this office. Then, after a process of meeting with these men to see who truly meets the qualifications and is interested in serving, you will vote on these men to serve the church in an official capacity.

Before I list off ways that deacons serve the church, let’s talk about what deacons should not be doing.

Deacons are not the pastors boss. There is no biblical evidence that the deacons hold authority over a pastor. Over time, pastors have not stuck around at churches. So, the constant has been the deacons. In many churches, you may even hear deacons say that they were there when the pastor came and they will be there when he is gone. This is not reason to hold authority over the pastor. In some churches, it is so extreme that the pastor would be better off if they would ordain him as a deacon. He would have more leadership capability.

Deacons don’t “run” the church. Yes, there are ways that deacons have leadership in the church. There are ways that they serve the church. But no one person or small group of people “run” the church. The pastor should not run the church. This is why I am such a proponent for congregationalism. The ones who make the decisions in the church are the members. We are going to be looking at this next week. Should a pastor lead the church? Yes. But this does not make him a dictator. Same goes for deacons. They don’t run the church. The body makes the decisions.

So what are things that deacons should be doing.

Looking for and meeting needs - Deacons should be looking for needs in the body and finding ways to meet them. This doesn’t mean that they look for a way to use church finances to do that, although there should be a level of benevolence from the church to the body. Maybe this is know that one member in the church has this talent and they contact them to go and help this other member that is in need.

Finding ways to serve the body in various ministries - Maybe there is one deacon who is very skilled at physical labor while another deacon has the ability to visit and has the ministry of presence. Then these men should be using their talents. They should find ways to serve the body of Christ with their talents.

Supporting the pastors - This does not mean that they are yes men. This does not mean that they have to withhold opinions from the pastor. But when they are around others, they should not be speaking ill of the pastors. Many of you have heard me talk about the secret meeting that former deacons organized here about me. This should never happen. They can bring issues to the pastor. But they should never ignite a division between the church and the pastors. Which brings me to the last thing.

Create unity among the body - There is nothing better than being part of a healthy, unified church. The deacons are one of the best ways for a church to be more unified. They stop gossip from happening. Matt Smethurst in his book on deacons calls them the shock absorbers in the church. They help to keep the church unified. Divisions can kill a church. Deacons help to keep that from happening.

Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC says: “You don’t want people serving as deacons who are unhappy with your church. The deacons should never be the ones who complain the loudest or jar the church with their actions or attitudes. Quite the opposite!… You don’t want to nominate deacons who don’t recognize the importance of the ministry of preaching and teaching, but people who are anxious to protect it. More broadly, you want the most supportive people in the church to serve as deacons. So when you’re considering who might serve as a deacon, look for people with gifts of encouragement.”

This may not be the typical sermon that you would hear at Immanuel Baptist Church, but it is topics like this that will impact our mission greatly. We need men who are qualified deacons to serve our church. If you are a member here, you are going to receive a piece of paper today that you can write down nominations of men that you feel fit the bill of what a qualified deacon is. Danny and I talked about it and we feel that this is the biblical way to go about choosing deacons. And we want to be a church that follows what scripture tells us to do. In Acts 6, the Apostles told the congregation to choose from among themselves men to serve tables. The apostles didn’t choose, the congregation did. I want to ask that you take this paper home with you and pray about who you want to nominate. Over the next two weeks, so until July 21st, we will receive nominations for deacons.

But remember that each and every man falls short. I fail our church, and these men will not be perfect. So we need to have grace with whoever becomes a deacon in our church. We will hold them to a high standard, but we will never expect them to be perfect. And this is because each and every one of us needs grace. And that grace is offered to us in the gospel of Jesus. (gospel presentation) (God, man, christ, response)

And if you have never responded to the gospel, I am giving you an opportunity to do so now. Jesus tells us that we need to repent and believe.

If you have done this for the very first time, we would love to talk to you and hear your story. We want to walk with you in your growing relationship with Jesus. So let us know. You can come and tell me after service or you can fill out the side of your bulletin and leave it in your seat. Just make sure I have a way to contact you.

Close in prayer and sing closing song.