please turn to 1 Timothy chapter three. We're going through 1 Timothy on Sunday mornings and we're up to chapter three now. You will listen to God's word as I read through verse 13. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into the reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience, but let these also be first tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. May we pray. Lord, give us attentive hearts to your word this morning. Give us the faith to believe your word. Give us an obedient heart that we may practice your word. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We have already seen from 1 Timothy that Paul was concerned about false teachers who would be in the church teaching false doctrine and leading Christians in the wrong way. And so we should not be surprised that here in chapter 3 he addresses pastors and deacons and their qualifications for service. He wanted them to be doctrinally sound. He wanted them to live by Christian morality unlike the false teachers. And so, this morning, we're going to address the biblical qualifications of both pastors and deacons. A church is not likely to be any healthier, any better than the pastor and deacons that you have leading the church. Here we read of both offices, pastor and deacon, and Philippians likewise mentions pastors and deacons. These are the two ordained offices of the church. They're somewhat similar to the priest and the Levite in the Old Testament. Now, there are several primary applications that we need to make concerning this passage of Scripture. First of all, those of us who are pastors or deacons We need to see to it that we maintain the qualifications that are listed here in our lives. And if there's anyone in the congregation who aspires to be a pastor or a deacon, you need to know what's expected of you based on this text of Scripture. Furthermore, every Christian ought to live the way These pastors and deacons are expected to live. And so we set an example for you to follow. And so also think about your own life. Are you living like Paul describes here? And then finally, the pastor search committee and then the congregation should evaluate a candidate for the office of pastor based on this text of scripture and vote accordingly. So this passage is very relevant in the present life of this church. Down the road, there will be a deacon nominee presented to you and likewise, remember this text of scripture and evaluate that candidate based on this scripture. And so I'm gonna begin not with the qualifications of the pastor and deacons, but the functions of both pastors and deacons that are stated or implied in this text of scripture. You know, being a pastor or a deacon is not just possessing an office, but it involves work. Paul uses the word work in verse one. And so we need to understand what work we are to do. First of all, concerning pastors. Notice that instead of using the word elder or pastor, Paul uses the word bishop, which is an unfortunate translation. The word actually refers to an overseer or a superintendent. And likewise, in chapter 5 and verse 17, we are told that elders are to preside over the congregation. And so pastors are intended to be the primary overseers of the ministry of the church. Thus they have an administrative function. But being an overseer also implies pastoral care of the congregation. And indeed, verse 5 mentions the responsibility of pastors to care for the church. Another primary function of a pastor is to teach the Word of God. Therefore, in the last of verse 2, it says that a pastor must be able to teach. He must have a gift of teaching. That's one of the spiritual gifts. And he should have training, a Bible college training, a seminary training. He should be trained in order that he might be able to teach the Word of God well. Three times in 1 Timothy, we are told that the congregation is to learn. And so you need to learn from a pastor who can teach the Word of God. And one reason we teach the Word of God is so that you will know the difference between the false doctrine of false teachers from the true doctrine of the Word of God. And at times, we need to address what is false doctrine, as Paul says in Titus 1, verses 9 to 11. Now, once the pastor search committee presents a candidate to you, you will have limited opportunity to know his character, but you will have opportunity to evaluate his preaching and his teaching when he preaches in view of a call. These days, many pastor sermons are online, and you could perhaps check them out online as well, but that's a responsibility that you have, that they have an adequate ability to teach and to preach the Word of God. Of course, there are other qualities that a pastor will have, and those would be considered as well. But the one thing that Paul mentions is that he be able to teach the Word of God. Well, what about deacons? What is their work? What is their responsibility? Well, the word deacon means what? Do you know what the word deacon means? It means a servant. The word deacon is a transliteration of the Greek word diakonos, which originally referred to someone who served tables. But then the word came to be used of any kind of service to meet the need of someone else. And so one thing I would say is this, that you don't want to elect a man to the office of deacon who isn't demonstrating that he already has a servant's heart for God and for the congregation because that's going to be one of his primary responsibilities to serve. A deacon is called of God to assist the pastor in ministering to the congregation and to support his ministry, to take all from the pastor responsibilities about the material needs and the physical needs so that the pastor can devote himself primarily to prayer and the ministry of the word as we read in Acts chapter six. And so deacons are servant leaders of the congregation. That is a primary function. And then if you look at verse 9, it says that deacons are to hold the mystery of the faith. And so deacons are to have a grasp of the doctrines of the Christian faith and understanding of how Christians are to live. And so deacons are called of God to ensure that the pastor is doctrinally sound and staying doctrinally sound and the congregation and teachers and leaders in the church are biblical in their teaching and in their life. And so deacons, I charge you, if you're gonna have a good grasp of the Christian faith, like Paul was talking about, keep studying the word of God. keep hearing the teaching of the Word of God on a regular basis. And so we have a little bit here about the function of pastors and deacons, but secondly, we have the requirements of both pastors and deacons. In verse 1, Paul commends anyone who desires to be a pastor. However, the church is responsible to see to it that just because A man has a desire doesn't mean they should be a pastor. They must qualify to be a pastor, as Paul indicates here. And also, he begins this statement of the qualifications of a pastor by using the word must, and that's a very strong word. This is not optional. These are requirements according to the Word of God. Now, as I analyze this text of Scripture, I notice that the qualifications of a pastor and the qualifications of a deacon, there's not a lot of difference between the two. And in fact, in four key areas, they have the same qualifications. And so the qualifications are high. And what are they? What are the common qualifications? Number one, they both must have high Christian character. The standard of observable conduct on the part of pastors and deacons is high indeed. We are to be men of integrity, purity, virtue to live exemplary lives and have a good reputation and set a good example for the congregation. For example, verse 2 says that pastors must be blameless. And that word means no one can lay hold of a pastor and charge him with conduct that's unbecoming of a pastor or a Christian. And then, in the last of verse 2, it says that pastors must be of good behavior. That literally means they are well-ordered in how they live their lives. They live commendable, honorable, respectable lives before the congregation. And yeah, listen to this. In February of 2023, last year, Baptist Press had an article that reported that only 34% of Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of clergy as high or very high. I guess we've got a problem. But you know what part of the problem is? It's the failures of a few that get all the publicity rather than the honorable lives of the many. that are living as pastors and yes, as deacons. Likewise, verse 10, are pastors the only ones to live blameless life? No, verse 10 says that deacons also must be found blameless. Now this isn't sinless perfection. But there should be nothing in his life for which they could be rightly accused and disqualified. And this is reinforced by the statement in verse 8, that they must be reverent. In other words, it can and should be translated that they are serious-minded, they are worthy of respect, they live dignified lives, rather than silly or frivolous lies. Furthermore, notice in verse 9 that deacons are to hold the mystery of the faith with a good conscience. In other words, they not only hold to the doctrines and practices of the Christian faith and their beliefs, but also in their lifestyle. There's a consistency there. And so there we read about the common requirement of a high character. The other common requirement is that they lead a good Christian home. And the starting place for a Christian home is a Christian marriage. And so both in verse 2 of the pastors and verse 12 of deacons, it says they must be the husband of one wine. Now, I don't believe that that means that a pastor or deacon must be married. It's assumed that most will be married, I believe Paul is saying here. And neither does this only mean that a pastor or deacon is not to be a polygamist. Now, there would be a few polygamists in that day and time, but few Christians would be. And so I don't think that's the main thing that Paul has in mind. Rather, in the original language, it can be translated that he is a one-woman man. I believe Paul is focusing on his character as a man who is devoted to the one woman who is his wife, in both sexual morality and in love and commitment. He's not the kind of man that's going to commit adultery with a mistress or a concubine or anyone else. Now Paul does not explicitly address the subject of divorce here. Yet divorce was very freely practiced in that day and time. I believe it could address that issue that a man should not be a divorced man, but I can tell you one kind of divorced man it definitely excludes, and that is someone who divorces his wife in order to marry someone else. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 19, 9, that if you do that, it's the same thing in the eyes of God as committing adultery. The main thing is this, that as a pastor or deacon is to be blameless, they should be blameless in their marital life and conduct. Both pastors and deacons are to manage the behavior of their children, verse four. says that a pastor is one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. Likewise, it says in verse 12 that deacons are to rule their children and their own houses well. Children and youth tend to be foolish and rebellious at times, and fathers are to see to it that they keep their behavior in line by their example, by admonition and rebuke, by discipline and by love. And Paul gave one reason for this requirement in the last of verse 5, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? The pastor or deacon demonstrates their leadership ability by how well they manage their own home. Yet there's another reason based on the context and the cultural context that you may not be aware of. In verse 7, it says, moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside. This issue relates to your witness to unbelievers, especially in that day and time. And let me tell you why. Under Roman law, the father, especially the senior male of a broader family, had absolute authority over their family. I mean, if your children or grandchildren got out of line, you could discipline them as strongly as you felt they needed. and no one would say a word to you, and the Roman law would absolutely support you for hundreds and hundreds of years, that was the standard of Roman law. That helped keep society from degenerating into what we are seeing today. But what kind of society do we live in? We live in a society that says that when your kids turn 18 years old, you have no say so over them. You can send your kids off to college and pay for their education, and you call the school and say, I wanna know what kind of grades my child is getting, and guess what? They're not gonna tell you by law, because they're 18. Whether they're actually living an adult kind of life or not, By law, when they turn 18, you don't have near the kind of control over your children that they did in New Testament times. And so again, the point is that if unbelievers managed and controlled their children, they sure aren't gonna look favorably upon a pastor or deacon that doesn't exercise the same kind of authority and control over their children. So in our day and time, this is mainly a requirement for your minor children that are living at home under your authority. Then there's the issue of temperance in regard to alcohol. Both offices are required to live temperate lives, Three, a pastor must not be given to wine. Likewise, verse eight, it says that deacons must not be given to much wine. Pastors and deacons should not have a questionable reputation concerning their use of alcohol. And you say, well, why does it sound like they can drink wine? Well, you know, in that day and time, the water was oftentimes unsanitary. For health reasons, oftentimes you didn't have much choice but to drink wine in moderation. And by the way, the wine would be diluted to prevent insobriety. And so I believe, though, we don't have that situation. When I began to be a committed follower of Christ at 17, No wine, no alcohol for me, and I've lived by that ever since. Romans chapter 14 verse 21 says, Neither is it good to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak. Furthermore, both pastors and deacons are not to be greedy for money. In the early chapters of the book of Acts, it was the apostles that handled the administration of the offerings of God's people and distributed as needs would arise. Then deacons apparently took over more and more of that responsibility. And so both offices that have an administration of the finances of the church certainly must be, as Paul says here, verse 3, that a pastor is not to be greedy for money. or shameful gain, it can be translated. Likewise, verse 8, same thing is said of deacons. They are not to be greedy for money. A pastor or a deacon is not to be like Judas. A pastor must not have a mercenary spirit that focuses on his search for riches, nor should a deacon. The last of verse 3 says he should not be covetous, a lover of money. Such greed was a distinguishing feature of false teachers as we read about in chapter 6 and in Titus chapter 1. 1 Timothy 6 and 9 says that the love of money can have a corrupting effect on our spiritual lives. And so deacons and pastors need to be not greedy for money. Those are the common high standards for pastors and deacons. And then in addition to that, Paul adds additional requirements specifically for pastors. After all, the pastors hold the highest office in the church or the most responsible spiritually. And so what must pastors possess? First of all, pastors must always be a sound mind. And there are several requirements that fall under this category. First, in the last of verse 2, it says that a pastor must be temperate. Indeed, in this context of not giving to wine, if alcohol, if you become inebriated with alcohol or drugs, you'll lose your mind for a while. And so that's certainly required, that you be temperate. Sober-minded is the other word that's used here. A pastor must be of sound mind. Which also means that you maintain self-control over the impulses and lust of the flesh. That your mind is in charge, not your flesh. And that should be true of a pastor. And a pastor is in leadership. He needs to be of sound mind. Furthermore, he maintains harmonious relationships. It says in verse 3 that a pastor must not be violent but gentle and not quarrelsome. That word violent refers to someone that's always ready for a fistfight. You know, a pastor must not be a striker. A pastor must not be one that tries to solve problems and rule over people by lashing out at them physically. And then furthermore, says he's not quarrelsome, which again refers to someone who's ready for a fight. The pastor's not going to be that kind of a person. And by the way, have you known, hopefully not in your own life, but in the lives of others, that when people get drunk, they're much more prone to fight, to become verbally and physically abusive, which is all the more reason why no pastor or deacon should ever become inebriated. But instead, it says that a pastor is to be gentle. And that's a unique word in the Greek New Testament. It refers to someone who is conciliatory, who is gracious, who is forbearing, who is willing to yield his own personal rights in order for there to be harmony and peace with others. And so in this matter of relationships, good relationships with people. I bring up the requirement of hospitality. The pastor is to be hospitable. And that was so needed in Paul's day. They didn't have nice motels in those days. They were substandard in living conditions. And so as preachers and missionaries and Christians traveled, they would be able to count on pastors to host them in their home. You know, we're coming up on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do you know of an international student or a soldier who's stationed far from home that you could invite to your home for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Indeed, all Christians are to practice hospitality. Furthermore, a pastor is not to be a novice, verse 6 says. should be a growing Christian for, I think, at least two to three years, should exhibit spiritual maturity. I just barely made this requirement when I became a pastor just before my 21st birthday. But Cheryl says I was very mature for my age, and so I've been a pastor a long time. And then it gives a reason, the last of verse 6, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. I mean, can you imagine this? Here's this young man. Man, he's growing in Christ. And the church says, you know, I think you ought to be our pastor. Oh yes, I'll be your pastor. And then you start strutting around. Man, I'm the pastor around here. I got a lot of older men, but I'm over them. And you know, they get all puffed up with pride. And you know, it was pride that led to the fall of the devil. And I will say this, that there have been many pastors who have been lifted up with pride due to the success of their ministries, and they end up falling. And so may God help us to stay humble. And then furthermore, you must have a good reputation with outsiders, as verse 7 says. Do you realize as you read chapter 3 of Timothy that in the ancient world philosophers and others would have similar lists of qualifications for those who would be especially in leadership? And so even among unbelievers, it was expected that the leaders live by certain standards of conduct. And so if a pastor or a deacon doesn't live at least by such standards and even greater, then those on the outside will not view these men favorably. And so I believe that the congregation has a role in maintaining the favorable opinion of your pastor and your deacon to outsiders. Now if you think that a pastor or a deacon is not quite living like they ought to live, you address that to the proper channels inside the church. Don't you go out here in the community and talk bad about your pastor. Don't you go outside of the community and talk bad about the deacons of this church. The community views this church largely based on their opinion of your pastor and deacons. And so this is very, very important. And so finally, Paul also addresses responsibilities specifically for deacons. And as I studied the passage, the main unique qualification that's only addressed to deacons is found in verse eight, that they not be double-tongued. You know what that means. That means you say one thing to one person and say something else to somebody else. It means to say one thing but know another, like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five. The congregation is going to come to you about concerns and needs, and as they come to you as a deacon, you don't need to be saying one thing to this member and something else to that member. You need to be unhypocritical and consistent in what you say, Paul said. By the way, verse 11 addresses the requirements of the wives of deacons. Now why he doesn't address the wives of pastors, I'll give you one idea. It could be that the wives of deacons were a separate order of servants and that they ministered to the congregation as well. Perhaps that is why. I'm just glad that my wife lives by verse 11. I'm confident of that. But there's one requirement in verse 11 that says that she is not to be a slanderer. You know what that word is in the original language? It's the feminine form of the word for devil. And you know what the word devil means? It means a slanderer. So she must not be a she-devil. She must not be the kind that goes around having heard what her husband heard in different situations and people in the church and going around slandering people. Absolutely not. Now why should a man be willing to live by such high standards? Why should a man be willing to do the hard work of being a servant of the church? Well, Paul says finally in verse 13, for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. If you will serve faithfully, men, you will obtain a good standing, which kind of means a step up. That the congregation will have respect for you, they will honor you as they should for your service. You will be a step above in terms of respect and admiration congregation, and that's a good thing. But I tell you what's more important than having the commendation of the congregation is the commendation of God. And the Bible says, Jesus says, if you serve me, him will my father honor, and the day will come when God will say to you, well done, good and faithful servant. But you also obtain boldness or confidence. If you serve faithfully, God will grant you boldness and confidence so that you can serve God with confidence. But I'm not talking about being self-confident, I'm talking about being God-confident. Paul said in Corinthians, our sufficiency is from God. I have confidence in my ministry, but it's not self-confidence, it's God-confidence. knowing what God will help me to do. And the same can be true of you, Paul says. And so we pastors and deacons should faithfully carry out our God-assigned task. We need to make sure we maintain biblical qualifications. The future well-being of this church depends upon it. Furthermore, every voting member of the church has a responsibility to see to it that only those who are qualified are installed as pastors and deacons of this church. God has spoken in his word, and it's up to us to obey his word. Would you bow with me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have given guidance as how we churches are to be organized and how we're to function and the leadership is to function and so forth. And I just thank you for this opportunity to teach this to this congregation. And I pray, Lord, that we will take it to heart and help our pastors and deacons to live as the Scripture says here. and any future pastors and deacons that are elected, and we pray and ask this in Jesus' name, amen.