Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Turn with me in your Bibles to I Timothy 2. This morning we’ll continue our study in Preparing for a Pastor, looking specifically at what the minimum qualifications for the office of pastor are.

As Paul went on his missionary journeys, he planted churches along the way.

The letters that we have to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, and so on are examples of some of his correspondence with those churches that he planted.

He gave instructions to these churches as they encountered difficult times and helped them to apply Scriptures to their daily lives along the way.

FCF:

One of the first things that had to be done in a newly planted church was the selection of pastors or elders.

What type of person was best for this new role?

Previously, Israel’s religious leaders were all Levites—their selection was primarily based upon familial lines.

But now, some entire churches were composed of Gentiles.

How would they choose a pastor?

Main Idea:

In Paul’s letters to Timothy, he gives very helpful guidance on what the minimum standards are.

Scripture Introduction:

Prayer for Illumination

Transition:

How should we understand this list of qualifications?

These are just the minimum requirements—not necessarily the ideal pastor.

The majority of these biblical commands apply to all believers:

Above reproach

Marital fidelity

Self-control

Respectable

Hospitable

Not a drunkard

Non-violent

Not quarrelsome

Not in love with money

Managing his household well

In fact, we could summarize Paul’s list of qualifications quite nicely with a similar list:

The one that stands out in the list as perhaps not applicable to all Christians generally is “able to teach.”

We’ll look at that more closely another time.

This is a generic list, not necessarily meant to cover every possible scenario without exception.

A strict, inflexible reading of this list would result in the following unnecessary and unintended qualifications:

He must be married only ever to one woman (excludes single men, widowers, and remarried widowers—excludes Paul himself!)

He must have children, and Titus 1:6 could be read to indicate that they must be older and have all accepted Christ.

(excludes childless couples and men with young children)

He must be old enough to be married and have mature children (this probably would have excluded Timothy)

Clearly, this isn’t Paul’s intent.

His intent is simply to cover the majority of normal circumstances.

Most pastoral candidates will be married men with children.

As with much of Scripture, these are the general principles.

Wisdom is needed to apply them to specific circumstances.

So, what are the principles we should draw from these qualifications?

A pastor must be a man.

(I Tim.

2:8-15)

The argument for women as pastors.

One option takes Paul’s instruction about women as historically and culturally conditioned—Paul may have simply addressed a particular situation in Ephesus.

A reconstruction of the historical situation in Ephesus suggests that some Ephesian women, under the influence of false teachers, tried to usurp the authority of male leaders in their teaching ministry.

As a result, the men became angry and dissension spread throughout the community.

To remedy the situation, Paul prohibited women (see note on v. 11) from teaching with the intention of taking advantage of or usurping someone else, particularly someone already in authority.

According to this view, Paul’s instructions address a specific situation and thus do not directly apply to believers outside of these circumstances.

The meaning of this passage, however, is widely contested today.

Some interpreters argue that the prohibition of 1 Tim.

2:12 does not apply today because: (1) the reason for Paul’s command was that women were teaching false doctrine in Ephesus; or (2) Paul said this because women in that culture were not educated enough to teach; or (3) this was a temporary command for that culture only.

The basic argument is that the doctrinal falsehoods Paul is writing against in Ephesians were perpetuated by uneducated women who usurped teaching roles within the church, violating the Greco-Roman cultural norms.

Thus, Paul isn’t prohibiting women from being teachers categorically, but rather, specifically at Ephesus because of the conflict there.

This argument assumes that:

Women were too uneducated to be able to teach

The false teachers in Ephesus, referred to in I Tim.

1:3-7, were women.

That Paul is primarily concerned with the harm that counter-cultural gender roles would have upon the gospel.

Problems with these assumptions:

Many wealthy women were very well educated

The letter to the Ephesians is overwhelmingly positive.

The only false teachers referred to are men and occur in this letter.

It ignores Paul’s stated reasons for why he didn’t permit women to teach...

Paul argues that God’s created order mandates male headship within the Church and home.

(I Tim.

2:13-15)

Paul’s exhortation that women are not to “teach or to exercise authority over a man” is rooted in the order of creation.

Adam, not Eve, received the instructions from God in the Garden of Eden regarding which fruits were to be eaten and which were not.

His role was to instruct his wife and make sure she understood, and to protect her from deception.

Eve’s role was to willingly submit to her husband’s authority and to God’s mandate to fill the earth.

Sin entered into the world when God’s created order was challenged and reversed.

While Adam was the God-ordained leader of the home, Satan appealed to Eve instead, subtly encouraging her to usurp her husband’s authority.

While Eve was supposed to follow Adam’s leadership and commands, Adam followed her lead in eating the forbidden fruit.

Paul is remarkably consistent in his gender role distinctions, even beyond Ephesus.

Paul urges submission for the women at Corinth as well

Again, wisdom is needed to apply this principle

Paul isn’t saying women shouldn’t speak at all in church.

In Corinthians, he IS specifically addressing an issue unique to their church—disorderly service.

His command in v. 35 shows that some women were probably interrupting to challenge the teacher with questions of a subversive nature.

Elsewhere, Paul permits women to pray and even prophesy, so long as she is modestly dressed.

The principle in Corinthians is that women should be submissive to their husbands and that men are to be the leaders in the churches where teaching to the entire church is in view.

Paul’s list of qualifications in Titus are almost verbatim those in I Timothy:

Peter has the same encouragement in his letters:

What is the role of women in the church, then?

Women are encouraged to:

Pray

Worship

Serve

Teach other women and children

Have and raise children

Why does the Pastor have to be a man?

The gender restriction on pastoral leadership is not because of:

Any inherent value difference between men and women

Any inability of women to be good teachers or understand the Bible

Cultural norms.

Because God said so.

All of the 12 disciples and the apostles were men