If we were to be responsible
for setting up leadership within a church, what would our first
requirements be, and what evidence could we show that we were
qualified to arrange for such leadership in this manner? Paul the
apostle not only had the qualifications, but he knew the importance
for having leadership within a governing body. Paul lists several
traits that elders or overseers must have to be in these leadership
positions. Let's join his writing to Titus in chapter one and verse
six and determine whether we would qualify or not. He wrote:
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife,
having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
The first
qualification Paul wrote was, “If any be blameless.”
The word used for blameless
means, “that cannot be called into to account,
unreproveable, unaccused, blameless”.
In other words he has a good report and reputation among others. When
we first see this word, “blameless”, we might think this means
“perfect”. Obviously it doesn't go to that extreme or no one
would qualify, however, it does mean that there are not outstanding
reports of the sinfulness of this person. If everyone around or at
least several witnesses could prove that the individual chosen was
constantly misbehaving and walking in sin, this person would not be a
good choice for an elder.
The next qualification
is, “the husband of one wife.” There
are at least two schools of thought in this area. The first infers
that the elder must have only one wife and not two, three or four. He
must be a person who has never married before, divorced and then
married again. The second school of thought is that the elder must
have only one wife at a time. In other words he could not be a
polygamous. This would allow for those who were once married,
divorced and remarried to be an elder. The idea of this is to have
the bishop, presbyter or elder to be one of respectful conjugal
relationship. If he were not, it could interfere with his leadership
within the church.
The third
qualification mentioned by Paul is, “having faithful
children not accused of riot or unruly.”
It is important that an elder have his family in good order. Paul
wrote in the book of First Timothy in chapter three and verse
fifteen:
(For if a man know not how to rule his own house,
how shall he take care of the church of God?)
If a person cannot keep his
own house in order, he has no business trying to oversee a church.
Now this doesn't mean that his children will be perfect, but when
there are problems and disciplinary actions that need to be
addressed, he is attentive. We must remember that the phrase used by
Paul is “faithful children” which infers a general obedience to
their father rather than riotous, unruly, rebellious and disobedient.
We know children need correction, and part of the responsibility for
an elder within a church is to give correction in love. If he does
not demonstrate this within his home, he should not be an elder in
the church.
So, Paul gives Titus the
first three qualifications of an elder: blameless, husband of one
wife, and faithful children. Do we qualify for the position? We can
suppose that not everyone reading this has a spouse or children, but
we can assume that they have a reputation among others. What is that
reputation like? Do we feel overwhelmed by this standard and relieved
from leadership before we begin? Perhaps we should consider that we
are all disqualified if the standard is perfection, but Paul's idea
is to have leadership that will oversee the church in Crete in a good
manner and not a poor one. We should consider that others are
watching our lives, and our behavior in our daily routine may be the
determining standard by which advancement in the Kingdom of God
comes. May we all live our lives in a manner that is well pleasing to
God above who is the ultimate overseer of not only the church, but
also our very lives.
Next time we will continue
to look at the qualifications of an elder, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is
more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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