How to Evaluate Your Pastor...and Yourself.

1 Timothy 4:6–11 ESV

6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things.

Servant

The word used here us diakonos, the same term used for deacons.

This word is also connected to the word doulos, which is slave.

Paul is reminding Timothy of his role as a servant leader, who is a slave of Christ.

Romans 1:1 (ESV)

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

2 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV)

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Philippians 1:1 (ESV)

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Titus 1:1 (ESV)

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans We Are Christ’s Disciples When We Obey

Then are we the servants of God, then are we the disciples of Christ, when we do what is commanded us, and because it is commanded us.

John Owen

Watchman

A Pastor is called to be the shepherd for the flock.

Every pastor should have a natural desire to protect the sheep from threats.

This is a duty of love, desiring to protect.

This is paralleled in the love of a father for his children.

People face threats of violence every day, ranging from large-scale terrorism to one-on-one assaults. Most people are unprepared, unequipped, and untrained to respond effectively. This weakness in the flock allows the wolves to attack with great ease and success.

Sheepdog Response

The pastor ought to have two voices: one for gathering the sheep, and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both; for he who is deeply skilled in it will be able both to govern those who are teachable, and to refute the enemies of the truth.

JOHN CALVIN

Ezekiel 33:7–9 (ESV)

7 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

Hebrews 13:17 (ESV)

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Student

The pastor is to be continually studying the Word.

This is not a one-time event, but a continuous action.

A better understanding is not ‘being trained’ but ‘be nourished’.

2 Timothy 3:14 (ESV)

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Acts 17:10 (ESV)

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans Preaching First to One’s Own Heart

No man preaches that sermon well to others that does not first preach it to his own heart. He who does not feed on, and digest, and thrive by, what he prepares for his people, he may give them poison, as far as he knows; for, unless he finds the power of it in his own heart, he cannot have any ground of confidence that it will have power in the hearts of others.

Discerning

The first question a pastor must always ask, “Is it Biblical?”

The second question is, “what does this do to the Gospel?”

Sometimes the best answer a Christian can give on a subject is no answer.

We must not engage in every subject.

Some subjects are beneath the Christian, as Paul is reminding us that our intellectual focus must be on the Gospel.

Disciplined

There must be an internal drive to grow in Godliness.

This is not just learning about the faith, but also a disciplined practice of the faith.

Inside this verse, Paul provides a little reminder of how to prioritize your training.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans Pursuing Godliness in Solitude

Exercising yourself to godliness in solitude will be a probable evidence of your uprightness. Men are withheld in company from doing evil by the iron curb of fear or shame, and provoked to do good by the golden spurs of praise or profit; but in solitariness there are not such rubs in the way of lust to hinder our passage, nor such baits in the way of holiness to encourage our progress.

Resolute

The work of a shepherd is hard.

to toil — to do wearisome labor, or labor unto extreme fatigue.

to be harshly criticized — to be or become reprimanded for real or merely perceived faults in a harsh and demeaning manner.

Godly people must labour and expect reproach; they must do well, and yet expect at the same time to suffer ill: toil and trouble are to be expected by us in this world, not only as men, but as saints.

Matthew Henry

Conclusive

A Pastor must teach and preach with authority.

The Scripture is authoritarian, it derives it‘s authority from God.

The message of the Gospel is a message of perfect power.

God has appointed a particular and lively application of his word, in the preaching of it, as a fit means to affect sinners with the importance of religion, their own misery, the necessity of a remedy, and the glory and sufficiency of a remedy provided; to stir up the pure minds of the saints, quicken their affections by often bringing the great things of religion to their remembrance, and setting them in their proper colors, though they know them, and have been fully instructed in them already.

Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).