Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

We are looking again today at 1 Peter 5:1 where Peter tells the elders of the church to “shepherd the flock of God” (v.2)

We have defined what elders are

We said they are pastors, overseer

All three terms are used interchangeably to refer to the same individual or group of men who lead the church

We said that Peter was an “apostle” (1:1) and “a fellow elder” (5:1)

As he writes to them, he is writing...

LESSON

I. From One Elder to a Plurality of Elders (v.1)

Peter gives them...

The Exhortation (“I exhort”)

Who is he exhorting?

The Identification

as “elders” (presbyteros, adj)

What are elders?

What do elders do?

We said...

They equip the saints for ministry

They preach the Word of God

They baptize new believers

They confront false teaching

They labor in the Word of God

They ordain elders to ministry

They ordain deacons to ministry

They rule in the church

They pray over the sick

They oversee the finances

They model righteousness (spiritual & moral qualifications)

How are they qualified?

(1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9)

Richard Mayhue issues an important warning at this point.

He says, “Many a man has falsely claimed a call to the ministry.

Frequently, a counterfeit desire has come from human pride, the aspirations of others, misunderstanding God’s will, or substituting formal education only for God’s complete ordination process.

That is why the objective or external part of the ordination process is indispensable in confirming God’s will for a man’s life” (Ordination to Pastoral Ministry, Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry, p.139).

Charles Spurgeon said, “Whatever ‘call’ a man may pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he certainly has not been called to the ministry.”

They are qualified by the Holy Spirit - Acts 20:28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

They must have a desire for the office - 1 Timothy 3:1.

“aspires” “desires” (AV) (orego, pres.mid.ind.), “to reach our after.”

This describes external action not internal motive.

“desires” (epithumeo, pres.act.ind.), “an internal strong passion”

They must be men

Ephesians 4:8, “Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”

1 Timothy 3:2, “the husband of one wife,” lit.

“one woman man”

Titus 1:6, “namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”

They must meet certain qualifications (25) - 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9 (26 qualifications)

“above reproach” (v.2; Tit.1:6), (anepileptos), literally means, “Not able to be held” (MacArthur) or “not able to be taken hold of, irreproachable, beyond reproach” (Rienecker)

“This is a general character qualification stating that he must give no just cause for blame” (D.

Edmond Hiebert, 1 Timothy, p.64).

John Calvin said, “He does not mean someone who is free from every fault, for no such man could ever be found, but one marred by no disgrace that could diminish his authority – he should be a man of unblemished reputation.”

Richard Baxter said, “We are exhorted to take heed to ourselves, lest we live with those actual sins which we may preach against in others.

Let us see that we are not guilty of that which we may daily condemn” (The Reformed Pastor, 28)

“Beware, lest you undo with your lives, what you say with your tongues.

Beware, lest you become the greatest hindrance to the success of your own labors” (The Reformed Pastor, 32).“the husband of one wife” (v.2; Tit.1:6-7) “one woman man”

Psalm 101:6, “...He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.”

So “an elder, or overseer, should be subject neither to being called to account nor taken into custody, as it were, on any moral or spiritual charge” (John MacArthur, Titus, 23).

“the husband of one wife” (v.2; Tit.1:6)

“Husband” (aner), “man”

“Wife” (gunaikos), “woman”

“The Greek construction places emphasis on the word, ‘one,’ thereby communicating the idea of a ‘one woman man’” (John MacArthur, Church Leadership, p.45).

This is stressing “character, not marital circumstances...the character of the elder should reflect fidelity to one woman” (MacArthur).

John Piper in his challenging book to pastors called, “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals,” says, “Oh, how crucial it is that pastors love their wives.

It delights and encourages the church.

It models marriage for the other couples.

It upholds the honor of the office of elder.

It blesses the pastor’s children with a haven of love.

It displays the mystery of Christ’s love for the church.

It prevents our prayers from being hindered.

It eases the burdens of the ministry.

It protects the church from devastating scandal.

And it satisfies the soul as we find our joy in God by pursuing it in the joy of the beloved.

This is not marginal, brothers.

Loving our wives is essential for our ministry.

It is ministry” (246).

“temperate” (v.2; Tit.1:8), (nephalios), literally means, “wineless,” or “unmixed with wine” (MacArthur)

“It speaks of sobriety – the opposite of intoxication” (Colin Brown, The New International Dictionary of NT Words, pp.514515).

The verb form (nepho) was used in a literal and figurative sense in both Hellenistic and NT Greek.

If Paul had the literal sense of nepho in mind, he was requiring elders to abstain from any form of intoxication.

The primary sense may mean “alert, watchful, vigilant or clearheaded.

A leader must be one who thinks clearly” (MacArthur).

Leviticus 10:9 forbade priests from drinking wine when performing their priestly duties: “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations—”

Numbers 6:3 says that those taking the Nazirite vow also could not drink wine: “He shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.”

Proverbs 31:4-5 says that kings and rulers were to abstain from drinking because it could dull their senses and affect their judgment: “4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, 5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.”

“prudent” (v.2; Tit.1:8), (sophron), “of sound mind” (Kittel).

It refers to “discipline or self-control.”

It “describes a person who is sober-minded and coolheaded” (MacArthur).

This is a man who is “well-balanced,” who has a “properly regulated mind.”

He is “discreet and prudent” (Hiebert, p.65).

Titus 2:2 says “the older men” are to be “sober”

Titus 2:5 says, “the older women” (v.3) are “to be discreet”

“The temperate man avoids excess, so he can see things clearly—that clarity of thought leads to an orderly, disciplined life.”

“respectable” or “of good behavior” (NKJV) (v.2), (kosimios), “orderly” (Strong).

It denotes “order as contrasted to disorder.”

It “characterizes him as ordering well both his inner and out life” (Hiebert, p.65).

Homer Kent said, “The ministry is no place for the man whose life is a continual confusion of unaccomplished plans and unorganized activities” (The Pastoral Epistles, p.127).

“A spiritual leader must not have a chaotic, but an orderly lifestyle.

If he cannot order his own life, how can he bring order to the church?”

(MacArthur).

“hospitable” (v.2; Tit.1:8), (philoxenos), composed of two words: xenos, “stranger,” and phileo, “to love or show affection.”

It means “to love strangers.”