Sermon Tone Analysis

Last time we looked at the 16 or so Qualifications of a Bishop, the overseer of a church.

Church leadership.

Today, we will be in 1 Tim 3: 8-13, and we will look at the Qualifications of the Deacon.

And, these lists are good and were highly practical for Timothy in his day, and have been practical for every generation in Church History all the way to today.

God has given us guidance on church conduct and how to measure who should be serving in ministry.

Let's pray.

Read 1 Tim 3:8-13

1. Deacons diakonos (dē-ä'-ko-nos)- def "a servant, minister."

2. There is likely some connection to the Greek word dioko "to hasten after, pursue" which may have been said of a runner.

3.

This word diakonos appears some 30x in the New Testament usually as "servant" or "minister", but only 5x as a "deacon."

4. Greek is a wonderful descriptive language.

For example, there are 7 Greek words for love; and in the NT there are 11 words for a servant.

5.

Many of you are familiar with the Greek word "doulous"- a slave or bondservant.

This was the lowest position of servitude in the Roman kingdom.

Paul often referred to himself or Christians as "bondservants of Christ."

6.

The word deacon, diakonos can be defined "servant," but it's not the same as a doulous.

7. A diakonos or Deacon should be thought of as a servant in relationship to their work, whereas a doulous or slave is viewed in relation to their master.

8. From Paul's perspective, he was happily assigned to be designated as Jesus' slave, because Jesus is the best Master.

For a common Roman doulous, this may have been a terrible position as many masters were cruel.

9.

There were not many expectations to be a doulous.

Most common slaves would be assigned physical labor, and thus needed a strong physique and needed to be healthy (good teeth, not sickly).

There could be other roles, like Joseph as he served in managerial roles with Potiphar, where intellect was required.

And, there were other more degrading roles, as you can imagine.

10.

The role of the Deacon is quite different.

From a church perspective, this is a virtuous office assigned to a person of character.

This is not just a laborer like that of a doulous.

We are not looking for just a warm body to fill a role.

To serve in the church, there are qualifications.

11.

Before we get into these qualifications, let's look at very likely the origin in the New Testament of the role of the Deacon...Turn to Acts 6.

In Acts 6, we do not see the term "Deacon" specifically, but Luke, the author of Acts, shares an interesting account with us:

12. Seven Chosen to Serve 6:1 "Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, [Jewish Christians & Greek Christians] because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

2 Then the twelve [12 apostles...good support verse if you think Matthias is the 12th Apostle over Paul; Saul is not even mentioned until the end of Chapter 7] summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

[not an issue of pride or willingness; but an issue of priority and there must be those in the church who are apt to teach, who will handle the scriptures, and make sure the flock of God is fed spiritually; Deacons would care for the flock in another way and an important way as well] 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, [3 good qualifications for deacons: Pro 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction."

] whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude.

And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

13.

Apostles/Overseers- given continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word; Spiritual needs met.

14.

Deacons- Serve tables in daily distribution of food; Material needs of the people met.

15.

Similar to last weeks' teaching, Paul, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, provided us with a list of 15-16 Qualifications of the Bishop.

The list for Deacons is shorter (9 Qualifications) and there is a list for Deaconesses (4 Qualifications).

16.

Overlapping Qualifications for:

17.

Bishop/Deacon/Deaconess (3): Reverence (respectful conduct); Cautious with speech: Sober-minded (exercising discretion on when to joke/ be appropriate)/not double-tongued/not a slanderer; Character (good testimony/ holding the mystery of faith with a pure conscience/ faithful in all things).

18. Bishop/Deacon (6): Blameless; Husbands of one wife; Not addicted to alcohol; Not greedy for money; Ruling their house and children well; Not a novice/Tested.

19.

Bishop/Deaconess (1): Temperate (being self-controlled or well-balanced; not impulsive; not given to extremes).

20.

Bishop Only (7): Good behavior; hospitable; able to teach; not quarrelsome/violent; Gentle; not covetous.

21.

Notice...Paul begins this segment with "likewise."

In like manner to the Bishop, there are character expectations for the people serving as deacons.

22.

Before we get into this list, can I just say, that many churches today are making the mistake of ignoring this list.

23.

The church is an open door, come as you are, but leaders, before you plug people in to serve, make sure they match up with this list.

24.

There are churches today hiring people to lead worship who are not even saved, or people blatantly living in sin serving, to "meet them where they are."

25.

I don't understand the justification of ignoring this list in Timothy or in Acts.

Pastors and leaders are hoping people will, by serving, stick around long enough to get saved and sanctified and on the right track.

This blatantly disregards what is stated in these verses.

26.

It smells like cheap labor and cheap grace.

27.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his 1937 book "The Cost of Discipleship", defined "cheap grace" as "the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline.

Communion without confession.

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."

28.

I want people to serve, but not at the cost of compromise and ignoring biblical standards.

The Deacon List: Verses 8-10 "Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.

10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless."

1. Reverent: this is one of the three qualifications we see for all three roles: bishop/deacon/and deaconess.

2. Often we think of reverent as how a person has respect towards God, and a deacon certainly should be reverent toward God, but reverent here by def is "venerable or reverend" and Vines cites "the word points to seriousness of purpose and to self-respect in conduct."

So, the deacon should be a person venerated or respected for their character...they should be an honorable person.

3.

In some denominations, the Pastor is title Reverend so and so.

4. Jesus actual warns against distinctive titles in Matt 23, especially titles that should be reserved for God,

5. "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Matt 23:9-12

6.

This verse is a great reminder not to think of the Bishop as superior to the Deacon.

7. The idea with this verse is titles have a tendency to separate the body of Christ, titles tend to be pompous or create prideful arrogance.

Just call me Marc...no need for a title.

It is an equal brotherhood or family with people serving in different roles, but all are important roles.

8.

Not Double-Tongued: this is the 2nd of three qualifications for all three positions.

It is important to be wise about our speech, because we will hurt people if we are not careful.

9. Remember in James 3? James has a lot to say about the tongue...

10.

The tongue is a small part of our body, but boasts great things...and he compares it to how a small rudder steers a massive ship.

11.

The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; and even a little fire can spread and burn down a whole forest; just like how a rumor out of the mouth or a hurtful word can be so destructive and cut so deep.

12. Jam 3:8-9 "No man can tame the tongue.

It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men..." ...this is the double tongue.

13. dilogos (di "twice" or "double" logos "word" or "speech")- double speech:

14.

We may call a person like this "two-faced."

def "given to repetition" with the idea of saying one thing and meaning another with the intent to deceive, and representing one topic differently to multiple people.

15.

A double tongued person may say sweet things to a person, and then talk bad about them behind their back.

They may tell a story differently to various people to be a man-pleaser, or to create controversy.

16.

The deacon should let their yes be yes and their no no.

They should say what they mean and mean what they say.

And, their speech should not contradict lest the peace and order in the church be disrupted.

Again, James said the tongue had the power like a little spark in the forest to create a lot of damage.

17.

Not given to much wine: Last week when we spoke about alcohol- the word "given" was a different Greek word.

For the Bishop, the idea was he should not be given to wine or addicted to wine or drunken.

For the deacon, given by def "to turn one's mind to, attend to"; "to devote thought and effort to"; To "attach to"; to be "addicted to."

18. Don't let alcohol occupy too much of your head space.

When you find yourself either often under the influence or sober but still mentally consumed by the desire to drink or use other drugs, there is an issue.

19.

So much time is wasted when you become addicted.

You waste time thinking about using, you waste time trying to get substances, wasted time recovering from substances...not to mention wasted money.

20.

I'm not going to go as in depth as I did last week about alcohol, but again...

21.

Permissible- Yes