The Qualifications of Overseer

Open your bibles up to 1 Timothy 3…

This morning we pick back up where we left off a couple weeks ago. When we were last here we were talking about the office of overseer. What the word of God tells us is that the office of overseer is a grace to the body of Christ. One that has great and lasting effect on the spiritual well being of the body. What is at stake in the office of elder is the stunting of or the growing of the faith of the church. The stunting of or the growing of the holiness of the body. That is our salvation. One does not simply confess Jesus lived and is saved. One confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord and works that out in fear and trembling. One comes to Christ, picking up their cross, and dying to themselves and never turning back. We see the proof of this, the beauty and glory of this in the church as men and women, saved by grace, take off the worldliness they have been bathed in for so long and put on the new found holiness in Christ.

That is what is at stake. Thus, this office calls for men that are top notch. High responsibly requires high skill. The navy seals are not the most elite team of fighters in the world because they had a spot on the team and sought to fill it. Well don’t simply acknowledged we need elders, find a few guys who are good at business or you know seem responsible, and tell them to lead. Paul told Titus that he left him in Crete to appoint elders. To fit them for the job. Timothy likewise is dealing with elders who were already there and had been appointed, and was in a growing church that would need more elders. So, he needed to know, what kind of men should be in this position? So, lets stand together and read 1 Timothy 3:1-7

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Now, one thing to keep in mind as we approach this list,

No one is perfect… If you in the search for a perfect elder you will never find him. This isn’t a list of boxes to be checked, this is a list of character traits that should be able to be observed in the norm. All of this list is about character. Because a man has a bad day and raises his voice, or his children get out of line, or someone has a sour thought about this guy because they are bitter, does not make him exempt from the office.

Character is how a man reacts over time. It is how he is known. Abraham Lincoln famously said that if you really want to see a mans character give him power.

The same is said about us in the church. No one is perfect. No one is without sin. The apostle John reminds us in his letter that is one person says they are without sin they deceive themselves and the truth is not in them. The best elder, the most mature Christian will tell you, as we saw last week, that we are not perfect. We have not reached glory. We are imperfect, but pressing on for the prize! And we know this because there is only one who has ever been perfect.

The perfect son of man, the son of God, the messiah, was sinless. He was tempted just as we are, in every way, and is without sin. This was necessary to fulfill the law. To show you the seriousness of God’s holiness. He can accept nothing but perfection. Without a perfect sinless sacrifice we would be doomed. The faith of the saints was credited to them as righteousness, but none of their faith would have mattered if Christ had not fulfilled all righteousness.

Remember, Pastors, Elders, Leaders are not perfect. I am a person that struggles with weakness just like you. But Pastors and elders and leaders are to be close to Christ. Walking in Him, knowing Him, learning how to love Him and follow him in obedience so that others might follow. Elders and Pastors are not perfect, but like Paul, they press on. They have not given up their faith, or fallen away, or proved themselves apostate, or fakes, or false teachers. They must be real Christians. Real fear of God. Real commitment to Christ. And being transformed by the Spirit. Christ is the high bar, Pastors and Elders are a bar, but the real bar is Christ….

Lets go through these one by one…

Above reproach:

Husband of one wife (A one woman man):

Sober minded(temperate)

Self controlled:

Respectable:

Hospitable:

Able to teach:

Not a drunkard:

Not violent, gentle:

Not quarrelsome:

Not a lover of money:

A dignified manager of his household:

Not a recent convert:

Well thought of by those outside the church: