Sermon Tone Analysis

We have been talking over the last few weeks about fighting the good fight.

We have seen that as we walk in obedience to God, we are called to keep the gospel central to our hearts.

We fight against those who would teach in ways that would pull people away from Christ, and the main weapon in our arsenal is prayer.

Last week, we saw that men and women have unique challenges and roles in this fight.

We are going to build on that over the next few weeks.

Over the next two weeks, we are going to see how God has established two main categories of church leaders who are to take the lead in the fight.

First, you have what we see here in 1 Timothy 3:1: Overseers.

Next week, we will see the qualifications God lays out for the other group of men called to serve the church uniquely in the fight, who we call “deacons.”

Why are we talking about this on a Sunday morning, when, right now, I am the only overseer that this church has?

Several reasons:

You need to know what God expects from the men that lead the church so you can pray for us.

You need to know so you can help us stay accountable if you see that we aren’t living up to the qualifications God has set forward.

We will see more about that in chapter 5 when we get there.

You also need to know because God may be calling you to serve as an elder or a deacon.

These qualifications are pre-requisites, so before you could be considered as a candidate to serve in these areas, your life needs to reflect these qualifications.

Not only that, but these are actually the standard for all believers, so this is a great reminder of what you are called to be as a Christian.

We find several qualifications for an overseer in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, so let’s read that together now.

Let’s talk about the term “overseer” for a minute so we are clear on who this is talking about.

If you have an older translation, it might translate this word as “bishop”.

An overseer is one who is called by God to exercise oversight over the church.

Although we don’t call our leaders “bishops” or “overseers” in this church, that is one term you could use for the role I fill in leading our church.

We believe that the Bible uses the terms “bishop/overseer”, “pastor,” and “elder” to all refer to the same role.

We see them used interchangeably in a similar passage to Titus:

Peter also uses the term “elder” and the verb form from which we get the word “pastor” in the same passage:

So, then, I am an elder who is called to exercise oversight as I shepherd/pastor the church God allows me to lead.

We will be using those terms interchangeably this morning, so know that overseers = elders = pastors.

So, overseers are called to lead the church in a God-honoring way.

This list, then, is going to give us the qualifications that a man must meet in order to serve the church as an elder/pastor/overseer.

The concern here is less on what the pastor is supposed to do, although that comes up throughout the book of 1 Timothy, and more on who the pastor is supposed to be.

In fact, it is all summed up in the first part of verse 2...

If a man is going to serve as an elder, he must be above reproach.

It isn’t enough simply to want to be an elder, although verse 1 says that is a good thing.

You must live up to the qualifications of an elder for you to serve.

If you catch nothing else this morning, I want you to see this: A pastor/elder/overseer must be above reproach in every aspect of his life.

Now, “above reproach” doesn’t mean that he will have achieved sinless perfection somehow.

Here’s how one commentator describes it:

He must be blameless in his behavior.

This Greek word anepilēmpton, “above reproach,” is used in the New Testament only in this epistle (v.

2; 5:7; 6:14).

It means to have nothing in one’s conduct on which someone could ground a charge or accusation.

Elders will never be perfect men, but their character should cause them to stand as exemplary men who have integrity that cannot be questioned.

Although this is true of every believer, it is absolutely essential for those whom God has called to lead the church as overseers.

Elders must be above reproach in every area of life.

We can break down the qualifications into at least three different areasin which a man must be above reproach.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it shows us clearly the kind of character we should expect from a man who serves in this role.

First, we start at the core and see that, if a man desires to be an overseer, he must be above reproach:

1) In his personal life.

Even if a man is a great speaker, a really likable guy, or a hard worker, he cannot be an elder if his life isn’t squared away personally.

Let’s walk through the qualifications of an overseer’s personal life.

By the way, this is where we will spend the bulk of our time this morning.

First, he must be “the husband of one wife”.

This is another tricky phrase that literally says that the pastor must be, “a one woman man.”

We will see this again in the qualifications of a deacon next week, so let’s talk about it now.

Some have said this prohibits polygamy in the ministry, but a polygamist wouldn’t have been considered for leadership in the church in those days, so that doesn’t fit.

Some say that it means he must be a married man, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul makes it clear that it can be an advantage to be single as you serve God.

Historically, we have looked at this passage as saying that a man cannot serve as an elder if he has been divorced and remarried.

The reason for this is that the way a pastor leads his home is evidence of how he will lead the church.

We see that clearly in verses 5-6.

Although a man can be forgiven for the sins surrounding the divorce, it reveals a character flaw that disqualifies him from serving in that role.

I am not sure that it is that simple, though.

It is easy to draw the line there and have a clear line of demarcation between who can and can’t serve.

And, it is true that divorce and remarriage can often indicate sinful patterns, ways of thinking, or a lack of discernment that would keep a man from serving well as a pastor.

However, as I have looked through this list, as well as the list for the deacons, I see that every other sin on this list could be something that you could repent of and be restored from.

No one is saying you can’t be forgiven for the sins surrounding a divorce, but I am not sure that it is a clear enough passage to say that there is never a time where a man could serve who had a divorce and demonstrated faithfulness to the Lord and his wife since that time.

The key idea in this is that he is a “one-woman man”; that he is completely faithful to his wife.

There are a lot of ways that a man could be unfaithful to his wife and still be married.

That also means that a man cannot be addicted to pornography and serve as an elder.

His heart could be divided and he could stop pursuing her and trying to love her like Christ loved the church, and when he does, he stops meeting this qualification.

So, could a man who was divorced years ago and has been faithful to his wife ever since serve as a pastor, or possibly a deacon?

To be honest, I am not sure.

It would be something for us to consider with a lot of prayer and examination.

However we break it out, he must be a one-woman man who is exhibiting a faithful, sacrificial love for his wife.

Not only that, he must be “self-controlled”.

The word here has the idea of being “sober-minded”, or "balanced”.

He doesn’t lash out, nor does he cower.

A man who will be an overseer must be self-controlled.

He must also be “sensible”, which is the idea of being prudent or thoughtful.

He displays wisdom in the decisions he makes, not making hasty judgments but thinking of the big picture of who and what will be impacted by the decision.

Those who aspire to become overseers must be “respectable,” which continues the idea of living a disciplined life.

The way he acts and leads should reflect an inner stability that is worth imitating.

(NAC: 1 Timothy 3:2)

We see that he is also to be “hospitable,” which means he is willing to open his life and his home to others so they can find encouragement and rest.

Although some of these qualifications are found in the list for deacons, the last qualification in verse 2 is unique to pastors.

If a man is going to serve as an overseer, he must also be “able to teach”.

That doesn’t mean that every pastor or elder will teach every Sunday, but he must be able to communicate God’s Word effectively in a variety of situations.

That also means that every elder must constantly grow in his knowledge and understanding of the Bible.

You can’t teach what you don’t know!

Look at verse 3 to see that an elder must not be an excessive drinker.

For us as a church, we have articulated this with our deacons as, “wise concerning the use of alcohol.”

For me, as your pastor, the wisest way I can approach the use of alcohol is to abstain from it.

Although there may be a time and place where it is acceptable, it is unwise for me, as your pastor, to drink.

Should God call additional elders to serve with us, we would ask them to do the same.

As we continue on, we see that a man who aspires to serve as an elder must also be wise in handling conflict.

He isn’t allowed to be a bully, demanding that others follow him.

Instead, he is to demonstrate the same meekness we find in Christ:

There is a difference between meekness and weakness.

A meek man is one who knows how to properly exercise his strengths and when to keep them in check.

A weak man cannot be a meek man because he doesn’t have strength that he has to control.

I can’t help but think of this picture:

<<Thor Bjornsson Coffee Mug>> This is a picture of Thor Bjornsson and his wife holding mugs of hot chocolate.

For those who don’t know Thor, he holds the following title: