1Timothy 3:2-3 | The Gift & Gravity of Pastors: The Character of the Pastor

The South is a wonderful place… It’s a place where being polite is part of the culture. Where Christianity is not seen as taboo, but rather is expected. Prayers are offered in city council meetings and back to school meetings with teachers.

And yet, as many of us know, what’s polite on the surface can often hide what’s really underneath. The same people who smile to your face might talk behind your back. The same culture that honors Christianity with its lips often denies it with its practices and priorities.

Unfortunately,Appearances are more important than integrity. Religion is more important than a living submitted relationship with Jesus. Cultural christianity is preferred over obedience to the Scriptures…

There’s a southern saying that goes, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig…

A lot of times down south we like to put religious lipstick on false religion. We like to act polite without actually being polite.

Our text this morning is going to show us that God’s people are called to treasure Christ so deeply that who they are matters more than how they appear. And this will not just define them but it will be what they look for in their leaders…

Let us pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask that you will fill us now with your Spirit. That we might see clearly and feel rightly. If conviction is needed, pour out conviction… If encouragement is needed, we welcome encouragement. Instruct and transform us by Your Spirit. Help us to drink deeply from your word. Penetrate every heart and mind here. Lead us all to greater depths of enjoying and exalting you! In Jesus name.

Alright… Look with me at verse 2-3 of 1Timothy 3. And though we are only covering two verses don’t be fooled. There is a lot here. As I prepare to read our text, let’s remember 1Timothy is a letter written by Paul the apostle to Timothy his disciple who was in Ephesus leading the church there on Paul’s behalf. False teachers have risen to power and are committing and encouraging sinful practices…

Now, they didn’t have phones, emails, social media back then… So when Paul catches wind of this, he writes Timothy. And his letter addresses far more than just the false teacher issues. Paul says his aim is to equip Timothy to get the church back on track altogether.

Today Paul zeros in on pastors and their qualifications.

Notice that the qualifications say nothing about education or years of experience, etc. But rather Paul primarily focuses on the man’s character.

Pastors are meant to be walking examples of what it means to follow Jesus. In other words, the attributes required to be a pastor are attributes not only for our pastors to embody and be held accountable for, they should be attributes that are growing in all of us regardless of where we serve in the body of Christ… So far from being irrelevant, our text lays out for us what a mature follower of Jesus looks like…

That said, look with me at

1Timothy 3:2-3

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.

Said simply,

“The pastor is not merely a messenger of grace, he is to be a man marked by grace…” Two weeks ago we began pressing into what God says about the pastorate… It’s nobility and its task. We saw that a biblical pastor is like a shepherd. Caring for, feeding and protecting sheep. And he leads the sheep to the still waters and the green pastures of the glorious news of the gospel…Not the message of legalism or licentiousness.… Not obsession with politics… But rather

the message of God’s love for sinners displayed by sending His only Son to live the life sinners have not, will not and cannot… Jesus died a sinners death bearing not only a horrific death and shame but the very wrath of God against sinners. And then rose three days later conquering Satan, sin and death. Proving that His claims and identity… And now Jesus offers new life to ALL who turn from sin and treasure and trust Him and His work on the cross as their own. That is the message the biblical pastor prioritizes…

We also saw that the job of the shepherd is to deal with diseases, wolves, sheep’s making poor choices, and so much more…

And for a shepherd to be a good shepherd, he must be a person of integrity because #1 the job is anything but glamorous or easy. Sheep are stubborn and foolish, Days can be long, frustrating, hot and even dangerous. Wolves are fierce. Not to mention the Shepherd’s own weaknesses.

Therefore, the shepherd has to be a man called… He has to be tough… And he has to be a man who cares even when no one is watching…

Thus, a biblical pastor isn’t just called to deliver a message… He is called to be a particular kind of messenger… And the kind of messenger a pastor is called to be, the kind of messenger a pastor is required to be, is the what our two verses address. Interesting fact, Paul actually preemptively tells the Ephesian church before he leaves the first time that fierce wolves would rise up after his departure… Paul knew the moment he left, the enemy would seek to capitalize on the situation. You can read more about that in Acts 20.

But Paul knew that there would be some with charisma and influence that would be attracted to the perceived honor, power, access, and money in ministry… And he knew people’s default tendency toward worldly standards…

So he lists 15 attributes required of those who would enter pastoral ministry… Of course this is not a call to perfection… It is however, a call toward maturity and holiness…

I love what one pastor said about Paul’s intention here in 1Timothy, he writes, “Paul wanted the church to have leaders whose lives would grace the church and adorn the gospel before a needy world.”

So with that in mind, my aim this morning is to cover all 12 attributes mentioned… and we will cover the rest next week. So hold on to your proverbial hats.

Let’s look at the first one in our text.

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach,

Above reproach… What does that mean?

This concerns what people are able to see in the man’s life… He is to be a man who does not have any glaring inconsistencies as a follower of Christ. His life is to overwhelmingly point to Jesus… Again, not perfectly but undeniably.

This is juxtaposed to someone who is maybe a gifted speaker or an available/willing person but has one or more areas either absent or lacking in what God requires of His leaders.

Shouldn’t this be true of all followers of Jesus? Isn’t the same power that Rose Christ from the dead living in us of course we are all in process, but if we are going to have pastors that lead the way, don’t you think they should set the example?

In what categories, you might ask? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Paul fittingly turns next to the man’s marriage.

The second attribute we see that should characterize the pastor is that he to be

the husband of one wife

The focus here is not so much to address the man who has been divorced… Or remarried after becoming a widower or after becoming a Christian… Or to the single man desiring to pastor.

Paul is speaking to first, the one who is married.

He is not to have multiple wives.

Nor is he to be a man who has lingering eyes. But only has eyes for his wife.

But even more than that, the pastor is to be a man who cherishes his wife. Yes he must be a man of purity… But the original says, “he must be a one-woman man.”

This speaks to His affection and his attention.

The pastor is not just called to be married to only one woman. He is to have eyes only for His wife. He is to delight in her. He is to lay down his life for her…

If he is to care for the church, he must first learn to care for his wife.

Brothers. This must be all of our aims. If you are married here today, your wife should have no bigger fan than you. We are to study our wives. We are to cherish our wives and we are to forsake anything that would jeopardize such a sacred relationship.

Next we see that the pastor is be

sober-minded

Being sober minded simply means being level headed. The qualified man is not emotionally erratic or immature…

He is to be a man who thinks clearly and biblically even under pressure, if not especially under pressure.

Some may think that sober-mindedness refers primarily to substances, but I am inclined to think otherwise since Paul speaks of substances in the next verse.

With that said, there is much in pastoral ministry that can be disorienting mentally and emotionally… from being misunderstood, to caring for people as they grieve the loss of loved ones… If the pastor is doing his job, he is going to go toe to toe with demonic forces… Satan takes note of pastors who are serious about exalting Jesus…

Additionally, the pastor is regularly tempted to be overwhelmed with everyone’s burdens on top of his own… and at some point he will likely be yelled and will definitely be spoken poorly of …

He is going to pour himself out for years only to see some marriages crumble and some walk away from the faith…

But it’s not only all negative encounters that can be disorienting…

When things are going well. When encouragements are frequent, when salvations become the norm, when peoples respect, admiration and desire for input increases, there will be a temptation to forget about the savior and rather become intoxicated with thoughts of grandeur…

When things are going smooth… When the pastor is taken care of financially… And fruit is evident, sober mindedness can be threatened if he loses site of his need for Jesus.

Thus, the qualified pastor is a man who is sobered by the holiness and love of God as well as his own weaknesses and inabilities apart from Jesus…

May all of us in here continue to sober because we are looking to our great who holds the galaxies in the expanse. Who is in control of all things. Who is holy and deserving our complete allegiance, and affection who sent his for rebels like you and me. May we be sobered. May we stop freaking out and worrying about things that we know God is in control and we know God is good because the spirit of God lives in us and we have faith in the Almighty, who is proven faithful. Let us all grow in the area of sober mindedness.

The next required attribute is self-control

The pastor is to be a man who does not have vices in his life that control him… If he has addictions that he cannot or will not shake and a tendency toward being compulsive with his mouth and actions, this is not a man equipped to lead Christ’s bride…

How can a man lead people out of bondage when he himself is bound…

The reality i, when a person steps into leadership, the need for self-control does not lessin… But rather increases… He must not only think about himself, but those he is leading. A true leader is a servant…

When he is offended and or sinned against, if he lacks self control, he will either blow up on someone, turn to something to numb himself, or he will give up…

The pastor and ultimately the follower of Jesus,must be a man characterized by submission to His savior not His cravings…

Next we see that the pastor is be characterized by the attribute of

respectability…

God’s man can’t be a jerk or a coward… rather he is to be a man worthy of respect… Not a man who demands respect with his words… But rather is respectful toward others and is the kind of man it’s easy to respect. This means that the pastor is not to be a timid man. But one who walks in the confidence of the Lord in humility.

Next the pastor is to be

hospitable

If a person does not like people… Or being around people… Or being in peoples lives… Or having people into his… He is not called to be a pastor… Or at least, he is not ready to be a pastor…

If a man only wants to preach but not do life with his people, he is not a shepherd…

If a man only wants to hang out with his buddies or people that he knows or those who are easy to care for… He is not a shepherd…

If a man does not have a love for and is intentional with strangers… He is not a pastor… For this is what it means to be hospitable… It is to love and care for strangers.

This is God’s call on all of our lives. But especially for those aspiring to be a pastor, lean into welcoming the stranger into your life. Of course, start here in this room… But don’t stop there.

Let us not settle for leaders who are dynamic on stage but are not hospitable…

Christ welcomes strangers… So to must His under-shepherds… and so must we all.

Next, the one aspiring to be a pastor/overseer is to be

able to teach

This is the only qualification that deals with gifting and skill…

Titus 1:9 says, “The overseer must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

He must be a man who knows the WoG backwards and forwards. Able to observe and refute error…

He must be a man who has spent thousands of hours in the text.

But even more than that, he must be a man who can clearly and convincingly articulate God’s word…

He doesn’t have to be an amazing orator… But it must be clear to all that He is gifted and skilled at rightly dividing the truth. Making a big deal about what God makes a big deal about, and making lesser deals about things that are less clear or less emphasized in the Bible.

He doesn’t have to have all the answers, but He is to be the resident theologian… If there is anyone in the church that knows the Word of God… It must be His pastors… And if there is anyone ferociously studying God’s word, it must be the pastors…

Which means… If you are not a big reader… You are likely not called to teach God’s word as a pastor…at least not yet… hunger and discipline can grow with time…

He of course calls all of us to teach His word in the homes and in our communities. Even in certain contexts in the church. But the pastor will be a ferocious studier.

A pastor who does not study is a pastor who has either lost his way or did not understand the assignment… Now, that being said, there are different types of pastors. There are the headier pastors and then there is the more practical pastors. Meaning, there are some pastors who are less inclined to read Herman Bavink’s Reformed Dogmatics and more inclined to read a book on evangelism, hospitality and biblical counseling. This is the blessing of having multiple pastors. They can lean on one another’s strengths and serve most where they are gifted.

But the biblical elder, overseer, pastor is gifted in, skilled at and passionate about the Word of God. They are the ones the church is to look to for biblical instruction, counsel, and training. they are the ones the church should look to as an example of someone who meditates on the word day and nigh …

Members are to model their teaching in the home, at work, in the community and in the church after their pastors… So, the pastors must be men of the WORD.

Next, the qualified man seeking the office of a pastor

3 can not be a drunkard...

Here, Paul drops the attribute in the negative… Meaning the emphasis is on what to avoid versus what to pursue.

Remember, Paul is writing not just about the subject of pastoral ministry generally. He is addressing people in a specific context with specific issues. So if Paul is addressing drunkenness here, there are likely those that are elders who are known for their drunkenness.

Drunkenness was a common practice in the surrounding culture. And not just the Ephesian culture. Paul actually confronted Corinthian church members who were getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper each week…

That being said, as a pastor, you are under a lot of stress… It is emotionally and spiritually taxing… And there is always a temptation to go about this work in our own strength… And when we do, substances is an easy way to take the edge off… This of course is with any particualrly difficult job, like being a police officer, ER nurse/doctor or a dhr case worker…

If the pastor is doing his job, he will be on the front lines of people’s highs and people’s lows… Weddings, divorces. Births, deaths. Pain, healing. Promotions, firings. Rescue, abuse. Salvation, turning away from Christ. Freedom, bondage. Faith, Fear. Joy, Sorrow. Excitement for the Word, Apathy toward God. Encouragement, False Accusations. Friendships, Betrayals.

And this is all the while walking through their own struggles and issues within their personal life…

And satan, the One who hates Jesus, knows this… He is always looking for ways to encourage pastors to take their eyes off the prize… To compromise… To dull the edge of life…

Now, to be clear, the text in no way condemns alcohol. Paul is confronting drunkenness… But alcohol is an easy substance to get, consume and become addicted to the escape. And this was apparently a common practice. So much so that it makes both the elder and deacon list of qualifications as well as the list given to Titus in Titus 1.

Thus God’s man cannot be given to drunkenness. He must be filled with the Spirit of the living God.

Next, Paul says the man of God who is to pastor must

not be violent but gentle and not quarrelsome

The man of God fights the right battles… He is not looking for a fight… He certainly doesn’t fight in his own power… And he most certainly doesn’t lead by force, in the home or at church… Or anywhere else for that matter.

If a pastor is prone to want to fight people… He is not God’s man.

Abusing people verbally, emotionally and or physically are signs of weakness and immaturity not strength or maturity.

Jesus had access to the armies of heaven… Not to mention His Father… And He didn’t raise a finger when He was being falsely accused, shamed, beaten and crucified. He could have called out everyone’s sin individually and exhaustively… But instead, the one who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God.

To be clear, if someone needs to be defended physically or otherwise, a biblical pastor will not shrink back in fear but courageously rise to the occasion.

A shepherd had to stay awake at night because he had to fight off wolves and at times even bears. This is not a call to passivity.

This is a call to strength displayed in patience, humility, and trust in God’s power not our own. God’s man has no need to resort to coercion or quarreling in the name of caring for people.

He is not a man who is impressed with himself… He is impressed with His savior…

He is a man convinced that he deserves the wrath of God but instead has received His grace and mercy beyond measure. So he is compelled to extend that same grace and mercy to those who are quarrelsome, wayward and in need of a gentle word or correction.

This doesn’t mean that the pastor can’t have a bad day… It does mean however, that the pastor’s life is not to be characterized by violence or argumentativeness but rather gentleness.

Hard words… defending the innocent… protecting the sheep from wolves… all require strength and resolve…

But we all know what it looks like for a man who lacks self control, a man who is looking for a fight, a man with a big ego with something to prove versus a mature man to handle a hard situation .

Makes me think about an eagle… It is beautiful and fierce, able to soar through storms and strike with deadly precision. Yet when she tends her chicks, she is gentle. She spreads her wings to shield them from the cold and uses her beak, made for tearing prey, to softly feed her young.

Or think about an elephant. It could easily flatten a tree or overturn a vehicle, but when it nudges its newborn calf, it does so with remarkable tenderness, using its trunk to lift, guide, and comfort.

The biblical pastor is a gentle giant…

and finally he must not be a lover of money.

God’s man is not consumed with and motivated by money… He is consumed with and motivated by the riches of Christ…

This doesn’t mean that pastors should not to receive any money. Or that they should be poor. Paul is going to make the exact opposite argument in chapter 5. He is going to encourage the Ephesian church to go over and beyond to provide for their elders especially those who labor the most in preaching and teaching.

Here, Paul is combatting those who were leading or aspiring to be leaders in the church that were motivated by and consumed by greed. They were not concerned with souls… They were concerned with their bank accounts… They cared nothing about gospel faithfulness. They were in it for the money.That is not God’s man.

Jesus gave up heavens riches to give sinners eternal riches… So how can God’s men be obsessed with money?

So, if God blesses God’s man with tons of money, he will enjoy and invest it in the kingdom. If he lacks it, he will enjoy and invest what he has in the kingdom…

This is because God’s man is not ruled by money but rather he is ruled by his Lord and by his mission to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

God’s man is certainly a man who works hard and does whatever he has to in obedience to Christ, to provide for his family. Whether that’s working multiple jobs while pastoring, or taking a season off of pastoring to put food on the table and give proper attention to his family and church life.

He is a man satisfied in Jesus, a man who faithfully and sacrificially invests in the kingdom, and a man who enjoys the journey w/ Christ not just the destination.

God’s man is not a lover of money… He is a lover of Jesus! and there we have it. the first 12 attributes of a biblical pastor. As we come to a close

Think back to the movie Remember the Titans. It tells of a coach who inherits a team divided by race and pride. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that talent was not their problem… character was. The team had all the skill in the world, but no unity, no humility, no love for one another.

But the movie isn’t just about players learning to trust each other, it’s about the coaches who led them there. two very different men, yet together they transformed that team.

They didn’t just demand respect, they earned it.

They didn’t just call for unity, they modeled it.

They led with conviction, with courage, and most importantly with character.

And because of that, those young men didn’t just learn how to win football games, they learned how to become men.

And That’s exactly what Paul is pressing toward in 1 Timothy 3. The church needs shepherds like that, leaders whose lives are worth imitating, whose character gives credibility to the message they preach. Because when leaders lead with integrity, the people learn what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Thus we are called to treasure Christ so deeply that who we are matters more than how we appear. And this will be reflected in who we choose to follow…

Let us pray.

Father, we thank You for Your Word, sharp enough to pierce us and gentle enough to heal us. We confess that it’s easier to look the part than to live the truth. But today, by Your Spirit, make us a people who treasure Christ so deeply that who we are matters more than how we appear. Raise up in this church men and women of conviction, courage, and character. Raise up shepherds who lead like Jesus, with strength and gentleness, with truth and grace. And Lord, where we’ve fallen short, cover us with mercy. Where we’re weary, strengthen us. Where we’re proud, humble us.

And May our lives reflect Your glory so clearly that the world sees Christ in us. And is In His mighty and merciful name we pray, Amen.

Communion

Every qualification, every attribute we’ve walked through this morning finds its fulfillment in one Man, Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd.

Though He was reviled, He is above reproach. Though His Bride has been as unfaithful, He is Faithful. He has always been and will always be Sober minded and self-controlled.

He is gentle with sinners, fierce with wolves. And He is Hospitable to strangers.

He is the greatest Teacher who ever lived. And not a lover of money but rather a lover of the glory of God and the salvation of rebels…

We see in Jesus’ message, life, death and resurrection that God is not just interested in cleaning up a person’s manners… He is in the business of transforming lives.

So as we come to the table, we come face to face with a reminder of that transforming grace. Because what we hold in our hands, the bread and the cup, reminds us that Jesus didn’t just preach grace; He embodied it. He didn’t just teach truth; He took our place.

Jesus was treated like the worst of sinners all so that sinners like you and me could be called blameless before God. Jesus drank the cup of God’s holy and just wrath so that we could drink the cup of His grace.

So let us remember, rejoice, and declare the message and return of our savior.

Come to the table sober yet rejoicing. Surrendered yet free.

And as you take of the bread, remember that Jesus’ body was broken for you, and as you take the juice remember and celebrate that His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. That there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

And for the person unsure of their standing before God, rather than coming to the table, cry out to the One who delights to save. If you’d like, connect with me and I would love to introduce you to the savior. I also would love to interact with any questions that you may have.

For those in Christ, come whenever you are ready.

later use: So two questions I wan us to think about

Regardless of your position in the church, we are all called to be a light in the world… So the question is, if people followed your character as closely as your words, where would they end up?

Additionally, if you follow the character of your leaders… where are you going to end up?

If you don’t don’t know the answer to that question, there are many ways of finding out. I would be delighted to talk with you further. Because these are extremely important questions…