What are the boys & young men in your life aspiring to?
1 Timothy 3:1-13 - (NIV)
Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer [elder] desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
11 In the same way, the women [the wives of deacons] are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13 Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church
We believe that this true church
ought to be governed according to the spiritual order
that our Lord has taught us in his Word.
There should be ministers or pastors
to preach the Word of God
and administer the sacraments.
There should also be elders and deacons,
along with the pastors,
to make up the council of the church.
By this means
true religion is preserved;
true doctrine is able to take its course;
and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check,
so that also the poor
and all the afflicted
may be helped and comforted
according to their need.
By this means
everything will be done well
and in good order
in the church,
when such persons are elected
who are faithful
and are chosen according to the rule
that Paul gave to Timothy.
Summary
Paul sets the bar high for those who serve the church: they must be above reproach. Chances are you haven't used the word 'reproach' lately, so take a moment and let its impact sink in a bit. It means that nobody anywhere can bring any sort of criticism and make it stick.
Paul then goes on to list a few examples of what an un-reproachable life looks like: marital faithfulness and good family management, level headedness, respected by the community, not a heavy drinker, gentle and generous, just to name a few.
Notice that almost all of the attributes Paul lists for elders and deacons are character based. He only lists two skills. First, an elder must be able to teach. Teaching isn't just limited to standing before a group of people and presenting facts. Teaching also includes living in a close relationship with church members where one to one discipling happens regularly.
The other skill Paul lists is for deacons: they must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. Just like we learned yesterday, deacons must have a strong theological understanding so that they can apply gospel truth to the physical needs church members have.
Dig Deeper
Two things jump out at me from today's passage that have immediate application in our day and age. First, notice that all of the pronouns listed are masculine (even in the NIV text we read, which is known for neutralizing gender as much as possible in its translations). I know that not all of our readers are fully complementarian (the view that men and women are equal image bearers of God, but have been given complementary roles in which men are called to lead in the home and church), but passages like today's show how difficult it is from a Biblical standpoint to make a case for women in church office.
Secondly, Paul matter of factly indicates that there will be (or at least ought to be) men aspiring to be elders and deacons in the church. Unfortunately, that aspiration doesn't seem to be very prevalent in our churches. Rather than aspiring to serve on council, men often merely acquiesce to a term.
It's not that our boys and young men today don't aspire to things; their dedication to sports and their careers show just how strongly they aspire to be at the top of the field athletically and professionally. Certainly these are not sinful desires in and of themselves. The Bible clearly teaches that we must strive to glorify God in every endeavor of life (1 Corinthians 10:31), but it reserves language like aspire and eagerly desire (1 Corinthians 12:31) for those who seek to serve Christ's Church.
Our church (and Christian school) communities need to start channeling boys' natural inclination to aspire to greatness away from the fleeting passions of the world and towards the leadership positions that God calls them to in their families and the Church.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who calls all people, especially elders who shepherd His Church, to be above reproach;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that in whatever relationship you have to boys and young men, you can encourage them to aspire to greatness in Christ's church as godly leaders;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 5
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