An Eminently Qualified Believer

Do we have any Marine Corps veterans in here this morning?

Although there is a lot of joking that goes back and forth between branches of the Armed Forces, you have to admit that Marines

In 2011, the USMC adopted an updated evaluation form that is called the USMC Fitness Report.

“Fitness” here isn’t just physical fitness. Instead, it is an evaluation of a Marine’s fitness for duty and leadership.

When you read through it, you quickly see that the bar for Marine conduct is set incredibly high.

After the commandant has filled out all the areas of the assessment, he is asked to rank the Marine in one of four tiers.

The highest tier, reserved for the best Marines, is referred to as, “Tier 1 - Eminently Qualified Marine”

Here is the description of what that Marine’s character will look like:

“Does superior work in all duties. Even extremely difficult or unusual assignments can be given with full confidence that they will be handled in a thoroughly competent manner. Demonstrates positive effect on others by example and persuasion.” [1]

The Marines who meet that criteria are the ones who are looked up to, the ones promoted, and the ones who prove themselves trustworthy in the heat of battle.

Now, what in the world does that have to do with us as believers, and what does it have to do with 1 Timothy?

We have said over and over again that every believer is called to join together with other believers and fight the good fight of the faith.

We fight against sin in our lives, we fight against false teachings, and we fight to see Jesus exalted in every corner of creation.

This morning, we are going to examine a passage that gives us some indication of what it looks like to be an eminently qualified Christian.

Eminently qualified for what? For serving however and whenever God calls us to serve.

We are going to see five different categories we can use to evaluate our lives and see where we stand.

That particular passage is nestled in the middle of Paul’s other instructions to Timothy, so let’s put this in context first.

Read with me .

There is a key truth that pops up throughout this section: what we say has to line up with how we act.

This is especially true for those God has called to serve as elders/pastors, but every believer is called to encourage others around them to walk more closely with Christ.

Hebrews 10:24–25 CSB

And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

We have the privilege of walking through life with each other, helping each other grow through our weaknesses and walk more closely with Jesus.

We cannot do that it if we aren’t living a life that backs it up.

Look back through this passage to see how Paul connects our life and our teaching...

This is especially clear in verse 16...

As you pray for me, for others God may call to serve as pastors/elders, and for anyone you know in ministry, pray that God will give us the wisdom to watch over everything we do. That way, our teaching is God-honoring and leading others to salvation, and the way we live our lives backs up what we say.

Many a pastor has been shipwrecked by letting one area or the other go.

A pastor, then, must be an eminently qualified Christian.

That brings us back to verse 12, which is going to be our springboard for the remainder of our time this morning.

This is especially true for Timothy. Apparently, there were some in Ephesus who thought Timothy was to young to take on the role he was fulfilling.

Instead of openly rebuking them for not respecting the authority God had given Timothy, Paul challenged him to live an exemplary life.

This is where we are going to draw our pattern for what it looks like to be an eminently qualified Christian.

Let’s be clear on this, though: you are not saved by making sure all these categories are in line.

In other words, you can’t use this as a checklist to say, “Well, I did all this, so I must be saved.”

In other words, you don’t become a Christian by first cleaning up your speech and your conduct and your love and your faith and your purity, and then you earn your salvation.

For you to be able to go to heaven, or to be right with God, by following this list, you would have to be able to check off every box and say that there has never been a time in your entire life that you didn’t completely honor God in every way.

None of us can say that, because all of us have sinned.

In a sense, you could

You can’t be saved by following this list because you can’t follow it on your own!

That’s why you need Jesus. He died in your place and rose from the dead so that you could be covered by his righteousness and have a relationship with God based on what Jesus did, not what you can do.

You can’t be saved by following

He is truly the only eminently qualified person in all of history, and he offers you his goodness in place for your sin.

If you will turn to trust in him today, then you can have that relationship with God.

Once you enter into that relationship, you must then learn to live it out.

That’s what we are looking at today.

We cannot cover every nuance of everything it means to follow Jesus, but we can use these 5 areas as a guide to help us see what following Jesus looks like as it plays itself out in every aspect of our lives.

We cannot cover every nuance of everything it means to follow Jesus, but we can use these 5 areas as a guide to help us see what following Jesus looks like as it plays itself out in every aspect of our lives.

I want to challenge each of you to look at these areas prayerfully and see what needs to change in your life to help you be an example to others and an eminently qualified Christian.

First, you must set an example in...

1) Speech.

If you are going to be an eminently qualified follower of Jesus, then it has to impact the way you speak.

Scripture speaks over and over again about how important it is to watch what you say.

The book of Proverbs is full of admonitions to respond with gentle words instead of in anger. It speaks of the wisdom of remaining silent or being a man or woman of few words, and many other statements like that.

James uses the tongue as a picture for the way we speak, and he says that the words you use have the power to build up or tear down. In fact, the way you talk can make or break you.

However, let’s focus on quick New Testament passage that addresses the way we speak:

Ephesians 4:29 CSB

No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

Okay, so I am not supposed to use four-letter or offensive words. Check.

That is part of it, but look again. The command here is bigger than just not using one of a list of foul words.

You are only supposed to say things that build up others.

That means not only is your language supposed to be clean, it is also supposed to encourage those you are speaking about and with to grow in their understanding of God as a God of grace.

How do you talk about your boss and your co-workers? What about the other people in church or your spouse or your kids?

How do you talk to them? Are you constantly nagging, or constantly reacting with anger and frustration, hoping to hurt them with your words like they have hurt you?

That isn’t the way we are called to speak!

When someone finishes a conversation with you, they should be built up, not torn down.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t occasionally say something that stings when you are talking about something that isn’t right, but it does mean that you seek to use words like a skilled surgeon uses his scalpel.

Surgeons don’t just go in with a butcher knife and start chopping around at things. They go in as precisely as possible, inflicting as little pain as possible to deal with the problem.

Yes, there are times when you will need to confront in love, but in those moments, it has to come from a heart that desires for the person to be strengthened to move beyond that issue and walk closer with Jesus.

So, on a scale of 1-10, with 7 not being an option, how would you rate your speech?

Are you using words you shouldn’t or talking in patterns you shouldn’t?

Do people leave conversations with you and feel encouraged, or do they often feel torn down after encounters with you?

We are called to reflect Christ-likeness in our speech.

Not only that, we are also called to be Christ-like in our...

2) Conduct

When you hear “conduct”, you likely immediately think of whether you do good or bad deeds.

Again, like with foul language, that is part of it.

However, the picture here is a little bigger than that.

“Conduct” is best thought of as our manner of life.

It isn’t just a small subset of actions, but it is more about the way we live and act in everything.

As someone who claims to follow Jesus, your life ought to look different than the lives of those who don’t follow Jesus.

Let’s look together at a passage that helps us see the contrast.

Keep your finger in 1 Timothy and turn with me to .

Those who don’t know Jesus live lives characterized by these kinds of things.

Ultimately, all of that can get summed up under “idolatry”, because at its core, idolatry is putting anything ahead of God.

If you follow Jesus, though, the outworking should be what we find in verses 22-26.

Take a quick look at those two lists. Which one best describes you?

If you want to be an eminently qualified believer, ready and equipped for everything God might call you to do, strive more and more to allow your life to reflect the fruit of God’s Spirit in you.

Let’s do this again…on a scale of 1-10, with 7 not being and option, how would you rate yourself, based off the standard of God’s word?

Are you an eminently qualified believer in your conduct? Then what needs to change to get you there?

That leads to the third area we will examine this morning:

3) Love.

Some of you in here think you have this figured you.

You know how love works. You know when to get the chocolates and roses and whisper sweet nothings in your sweetheart’s ears.

You could teach Pepe Le Pew a thing or two on how to woo the woman you love.

Slow down for a minute, Casanova.

This isn’t that kind of love, although you should try to woo your spouse, no matter how long you have been married.

Or, you may be a woke American in 2019, and you know what love looks like.

For you, love means that you are going to accept everyone’s actions unquestioningly, knowing that they are living out their understanding of what is best.

Live and let live, right? Isn’t that the loving thing to do?

Actually, neither of those are the love we see here.

The love that Timothy was supposed to demonstrate is the same love that God shows us.

1 John 4:9–10 CSB

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Those who are examples of love are the ones who are most willing to sacrifice for the sake of others.

After all, isn’t that what Jesus showed us?

Think about the great passage where Paul defines love elsewhere:

1 Corinthians 13:4–9 CSB

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part,

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 CSB

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

For those who may be tempted to think that love means you always have to accept the actions of another person, look at verse 6 again…love doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness.

Love is willing to confront with the kind of speech we mentioned earlier.

Backing out, though, how loving are you?

Would those closest to you say that you are patient, kind, not boastful or arrogant, not rude, self-seeking, or irritable?

What about in your own heart? How do you respond to those around you who are irritating and frustrating and harder to love?

Be careful with our world’s current obsession with “self-care”. Although it is important to have boundaries, also remember that Jesus was often willing to pass those boundaries to deal with people.

He was exhausted and tried to get away, but the crowds followed him. Instead of getting frustrated, he ministered in the strength that the Father supplied.

Pastors and elders need to model that same kind of sacrificial love.

In the same way, eminently qualified Christians, who are joining the fight, are going to be marked by a passionate love for God that spills over into their love for others.

That’s why we make this our aim as a church!

So, on a scale of 1-10, with 7 not an option, how is your love?

Are you motivated by selfishness, or are you motivated to do whatever you do as a response to the love God has shown you?

Do you extend that same love to others?

If so, you are well on your way to being an eminently qualified believer.

We have two more areas to evaluate.

You ready?

We are to set examples for other believers in speech, conduct, love, and...

4) Faith.

Commentators are divided on what this particular area covers.

Some believe it is talking about your faith in God and his ability to keep his promises.

That ties into :

Hebrews 11:1 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

Faith is trusting that the God we don’t see right now will keep the promises he has made, even though we cannot see them yet.

If a man is going to serve as a pastor or elder, he needs to be a man of above-average faith.

Why? Because if he doesn’t believe what he is teaching, others won’t either.

As one who exercises oversight, he also needs to be able to lead others to trust God in greater ways than they have before, challenging them to step out into what they may not yet realize God can do.

That skill isn’t something that is reserved only for pastors, though.

We need a community of people who will believe God can do great things, so we can see God do great things!

After all, isn’t that the last part of our theme verse as a church?

1 Timothy 1:5 CSB

Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Eminently qualified believers, who are fit to stay in the fight, believe God can do the impossible when he says he will.

There is another way of looking at this word, though.

Not only can it imply that we are to have a strong personal faith in God, we must also demonstrate ongoing faithfulness.

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 CSB

A person should think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God. In this regard, it is required that managers be found faithful.

That is pretty clear in what Paul tells Timothy in this passage, especially in verses 14-16.

So, is it personal faith or is it long-term faithfulness?

Yes! It is both.

When I have a deeply rooted faith that God is who he says he is and that he keeps his promises, I can endure and stay faithful in serving him, even when it is difficult.

Living by faith changes the way we make decisions and respond to situations:

2 Corinthians 5:7 CSB

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

We look at the situations and circumstances around us, but we also take into account that God may want to something in and through this situation that we don’t see.

Evaluation time: how would you rank your level of faith and faithfulness right now?

Do you believe God is who he says he is? Are you trusting him to work for his glory and your good?

Are you staying faithful? Are you ready to throw in the towel, or are you trusting that God is going to keep working?

All of those come down to our final area. If we are going to be eminently qualified to fight the good fight of the faith in any capacity God might call us to fight, we must live exemplary lives in our speech, conduct, love, faith and...

5) Purity.

The final area is vitally essential, and again, it may not be just what we think of at first.

We have already seen that our lives are suppos

If you have been around church for a while, you would guess that purity is referring to sexual purity, and that is definitely part of what is involved here.

We see this same word used in 5:2 to describe how pastors relate to younger women.

There is a little bit of a problem with that, though.

If this is just talking about sexual purity, then why do we need a separate command for that?

Wouldn’t that be part of the command to be exemplary in our conduct?

It is possible that he specifically lists it because it is such a prevalent issue.

However, I think it goes a step further.

Purity, here, gets to the motives behind everything else.

You can try to build up others with your words or do all the right things and still have a wrong motivation.

However, to set an example in purity means not only am I staying sexually pure, but also I am fighting to keep my motives pure.

There is nothing in this but water.

That every piece of that block of gold contains nothing but gold.

So, then,

My driving force is not making my life easier, making myself look good in front of others, or even making the world a better place.

If we were honest, many days, our main motivation is to just make it through. We aren’t really looking at anything more that could happen; we just want to survive until tomorrow so we can survive again.

If I am striving to be an eminently qualified believer, then I am going to fight to do everything I do for God’s glory alone.

1 Corinthians 10:31 CSB

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

My motivation is that I would honor the God who loved me, died in my place, and gave himself for me. I want everything I do to help others do the same.

Bringing in the context of 5:1-2, that means my heart attitude in coming alongside any believer is the pure motive of glorifying Christ and helping them glorify him better as well.

The question for you to use for evaluation here is, “Why do you do what you do?”

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the purity of your motives?

I don’t know about you, but when I realize who God is, I want to be in a place where I would be eminently qualified to do whatever he calls me to do.

Is there anything in your life that would keep you from being able to do anything God might call you to do?

Does your speech build up, or does it tear down?

Does the way you act validate that you really do believe what you say you do?

Do you love sacrificially, or is life about what you can get out of it?

Do you have a firmly rooted faith in God, or are you wavering?

What motives lie behind what you do?

Why not focus on one this week? What one adjustment do you need to make to see God honored and glorified in that area?

Endnotes:

[1] https://www.pendleton.marines.mil/Staff-Agencies/Headquarters-Support-Battalion/Career-Planner/Tier-Explanation/. Accessed 27 June 2019.