07 Called and Qualified Men - Part 3

If you'd go ahead and take your Bible and turn back to 1 Timothy chapter 3, I do want to mention something that I think everybody needs to hear. I think most everyone knows that we made a big transition in our music ministry in that we upgraded our sound system in a major way. That's been a major project with a lot of moving parts, and I'm thankful for Brother McKeeth and his leadership there and everybody's participation in our worship ministry. We are blessed to have so many people who are talented, and it blesses me to see you use your talents for the Lord. So I am thankful for good music.

Of course, we do not get out of balance there at all, but it is a blessing, a tremendous blessing. I know that it blesses you. Well let's get back to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I did say that we'll cover verses 2 to 7, and we'll get there here in just a minute. But for the past two weeks, we have been dealing with one of the most important decisions in the life of our church. That is the possible affirmation of two men for the office of elder service.

Now I began this process back on February the 9th when I preached on the call of the elder from 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1, and not only did I preach on the call of the elder, but I put forward two men to potentially serve in elder ministry, Tommy Alderman and Jared Walters. Now, last week we continued in our examination of these men by listening to their testimonies. Both men shared how they came to faith in Christ. Both men shared how God brought them to our church and how God has been working throughout this time in their lives to call them to elder service.

And along with their testimonies, I shared some of how they are qualified from elder service, not all. And I shared more of how I see them serving in our church. Now if you did not get those testimonies in that message, you really need to do that. That message is titled "Called and Qualified Men Part 2," and then it goes on to say "Perspective Elder Testimonies." We all need to make sure we get that message and hear those testimonies. But before we continue in the message, I want to remind you of the process, how this will all continue.

This morning I will finish up this teaching by looking at the specific qualifications for the elder seen in these verses that are before us, and this coming Wednesday night, which is February the 19th, we will have a members meeting for any needed discussion, possibly some testimonies, but then we will have a vote. Now if the vote is unanimous, which means that the entire membership votes yes in affirming Tommy and Jared as elders, then we will proceed. But if the vote is not unanimous, then we will put those things on hold and we will just pray.

And if both men are affirmed for elder service by the church membership, then we will have an ordination service Sunday marks the 9th, and that's going to be in the morning service. For a while there I thought we may do that in an evening service, but I think that is a morning service issue. Now this morning I want us to finish up the teaching here by looking at the qualifications that Paul lays out for the man who would serve as an elder. Now remember that I started this two weeks ago. I said we really have one message here with two major points.

The major points are first the call of the elder in verse 1, and then second the qualifications of the elder throughout the rest of the verses. Now we've covered the first part, and now we're going to cover this morning the second part. So let's read our verses and then we're really just going to pick up with where we left off two weeks ago. Verse 2, "Therefore an overseer," we know that's an elder, "pastor, must be above approach the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

He must manage his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders," that would be those outside of the church, "so that he may not fall into disgrace into a snare of the devil." So number two, in our outline, I want us to look at the qualifications of the elder, the qualifications of the elder.

Now if we break down verses 2-7, we will see that Paul gives quite a few qualifications. That's obvious to see. And we can easily arrange these qualifications into four groups, and this is how I'm going to approach the verses. First, we see qualifications that relate to personal character. We see qualifications that relate to personal character. That's in verse 2 and verse 3, and Paul comes back around to that there at the end of verse 7. And then second, we see qualifications that relate to the ability to teach. That's in verse 2. Third, we see qualifications that relate to the home, home life, and the witness of the home.

That's in verses 4-5. Fourth, we see the qualifications which relate to Christian experience and maturity, and we see that in verse 6. Now I will go ahead and tell you that this first category is the longest, but the rest are rather short. They will be rather quick. So the first category, and this has to do with personal character. An elder must have qualifying personal character. We see that in verse 2 and 3 and in verse 7. Now notice, we see that the elder must be above reproach.

Now this phrase "above the approach," "above reproach," this literally means that there should be no accusation upon the life, or there should be no case against him of wrongdoing. This could be seen as having a very strong Christian reputation. Warren Risby says, "There must be nothing in his life that Satan or the unsaved can take hold of to criticize or attack him and the church." But again, I want us to see a word. I want us to see a word here called "balance." And what I mean here is this.

This is not perfection here, but this speaks of a solid life which is clean from past sins and is closely watched so as to stay clean and pure and blameless in the eyes of those inside the church and outside the church. The Bible commentator William McDonald says, "This means that no charge of serious wrong can be sustained against him." It does not mean that he is sinless, but rather that if he does commit sin or some fault, he makes it right with God and man. I like that. He makes it right with both God and man. And notice how this life above reproach is seen again in verse 7.

Here Paul does not speak of reputation in the church, but outside of the church. Look back at verse 7. "Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace." So we see that an elder must be qualified in his personal character. Specifically, he must be above reproach, which means that those outside of the church and inside of the church must not be able to make a credible accusation against him. And if he does sin, and he will, he makes that right with God and man. Now notice something, church. Both Tommy and Jared have lived among us for years. Didn't you hear that last week?

That's why those testimonies are important. I see some heads nodding. They have both lived among us for years. And also, Keith and I have known them many, many years. If you did the math, you'll know that we've known them for well over 20 years. And in knowing them for years, and in seeing them serve in front of you in the life of the church like this, you can see that they're not perfect. They're sinners like we all are. But you can see that there is no serious charge against them. There is nothing in their lives that Satan could use against them and the church.

There's nothing in their lives that someone in the church and out of the church could use to criticize their testimony and to criticize and to attack the life of the church. Now no show of hands, but have we not seen leaders in the life of churches who have had sin in their life that would enable you and others to criticize the testimony of the church? Sadly, the answer to that is yes. We see that the elder must be the husband of one wife. Now this immediately brings up a debate which has gone on in the church really for centuries. And the debate is whether or not an elder can be divorced and still serve in the office.

Well, we will see that there is more to this verse than divorce. But of course divorce is a part of the qualification and it needs to be addressed. Now when it comes to respected biblical positions as to what Paul was and is saying here, there are basically two positions. Some say this is a prohibition against an elder having more than one wife. That word polygamy. Now polygamy is not an issue in our culture in time, but it certainly was an issue in their day and it certainly is an issue in different cultures around the world even today.

So if we look at this verse in the sin of polygamy, we can obviously see that this is a prohibition against having more than one wife. But some say this is a prohibition against an elder being divorced. This view is popular among many, many respected scholars and this position can carry a lot of weight biblically and I'm going to come back to that. Those who hold this position say that a divorce is a violation of verses four to five, which speaks to those qualifications relating to the home and the home life. Some say this is a violation of living a life above our approach, which we have just looked at in verse two.

But what must be seen with this position is that this is not a question about forgiveness. It is not about forgiveness, but a standard that relates to the office. But if we stay with those arguments and those positions, well we can miss much of what is being taught right here. Let me explain. This phrase in the original literally reads a one woman man. The verse literally reads that an elder must be a one woman man. And in seeing this phrase helps us see that Paul is not speaking only to marital status, but also he is speaking of morality and sexual purity. A one woman man would be one who was and is completely committed to his wife.

A one woman man would be and is one who is completely committed to a love and a devotion to his wife, which would include sexual purity. So if we stick with the meaning of the verse here, it obviously helps us handle properly the problem of polygamy and divorce. In the case of an elder, he is to be qualified based on moral and sexual purity. He is to be a one woman man and one who is above reproach and he is to be one who manages his home in marriage well. See these qualifications all fit together. So an elder must be qualified in his personal character.

He must be a one woman man and a man who is completely committed to a love and a devotion to his wife. But a question that some of you are wanting me to answer, what is my position here as pastor? Well polygamy is not an issue for us in our time. So really that debate's off the table. But we could find ourselves in a mission filled environment where polygamy is an issue. But I do believe this qualification certainly prohibits a man who has multiple wives from serving in the position. And as far as divorce, I do believe that divorce is a disqualification. Let me repeat that. I do believe that divorce is a disqualification and I will explain.

Being divorced and remarried prohibits him from being a one woman man so there is disqualification. And I believe that other qualifications come into play which helps solidify the position that simply being divorced is a disqualification. Now let me continue. Let me explain. Divorce is a violation of verses four to five where the elder or prospective elder must manage his own household well. And divorce is a violation of verse two where the elder or prospective elder must be above reproach. And again this is not an issue of forgiveness. This is about the standard and the standards that are laid out by God here. We see these repeated in Titus.

But what about the man who was qualified for elder in the other qualifications? What about the man who was qualified for elder in the other qualifications but he fails to meet qualification here? Well I'll give you an example. Years ago I knew a gentleman who was very active in the life of his church. And in conversation he spoke up and he said you know I am disqualified because of divorce. I am disqualified to serve here. I'm disqualified to serve there because of divorce. But he looked at me and he said there are a whole host of places in the life of the church where I can serve and he did. He did.

So the point I'm trying to make here is this. If one is disqualified for elder ministry it doesn't mean that he just sits on the pew. There are plenty of other places to serve. But disqualification is not an issue with Jared and Tommy here. Both have been faithful and they are faithful to their wives and their wives are faithful to them. And I have said this more than once. We've had many many very personal discussions about sins of a sexual nature. Those things have to be discussed because those are real issues sadly today. Next the elder must be sober thinking. Now the English Standard Version uses the phrase sober thinking.

The King James uses the word vigilant. The New American says temperate. Now in the original this might surprise you it literally reads wine-less. But here this has nothing to do with alcohol. But this is referring to being alert and vigilant in one's thinking. Paul is speaking of sober or clear thinking. This simply means that an elder or a prospective elder must be sober minded. He must be clear minded and serious in his thinking and he must exercise sound judgment through clear and sober thinking because sound judgment comes from clear and sober thinking. So an elder must be qualified in his personal character.

He must be sober minded, clear in his thinking, exercising sound judgment through that clear mind and that serious thinking. Both Tommy and Jared have demonstrated that they are sober thinking men. They are clear thinkers and they have proven this ability because they pray, they search the scriptures, they listen to sound counsel and they make sound judgments accordingly. And we see this in their life and in their home life and in the areas of the life of the church where they have led out here.

Again, look at their families, look at how they relate in their jobs and in their careers and specifically look at what they do in the life of the church. They are sober thinkers. Next the elder must be self-controlled. Here the King James reads sober, the New American says prudent. This speaks of having a sound mind but more. This speaks of possessing a self-control in relation to clear thinking which turns into the ability to control one's impulses, one's emotions and one's actions. I love this. John MacArthur says the prudent or self-controlled man is a well disciplined man.

MacArthur says that the prudent man is a man that is serious about spiritual things. So an elder must be self-controlled. He must be a clear thinker and he must possess self-control which enables him to control his words, his emotions and his actions. I thought about a rhetorical question. Have you ever seen Tommy or Jared fly off the handle? No. It doesn't mean they're perfect there, no. What I'm trying to show you is they are self-controlled with their emotions and with their words and therefore their actions. Next an elder must be respectable. The King James says good behavior. Now in the original this literally can be translated orderly.

This literally can be translated orderly. This speaks to an orderly life and an orderly way of living. This speaks to a well ordered way of living with well ordered and good habits within the life and really a part of everyday life. John MacArthur says elders must not lead chaotic lives. If they cannot order their own lives how can they bring order to the church? That's a very striking question and it needs to be repeated. MacArthur says if they cannot have order in their own lives how can they bring order to the church? That's true. So the elder must be qualified again in their personal character.

He must be respectable which means he has an orderly life. He has ordered habits in the life. Again Tommy and Jared have lived before you. You've been in their homes. You've observed their lives and although they may live life differently than you you can see good behavior, respectable behavior and even order in their lives. And then next the elder must be hospitable. The King James says given to hospitality. In the original this literally means loving the stranger. And now this actually is a compound word which is two words that are joined together. This is the word to love and the word strangers.

It means loving the stranger which we translate hospitality or being hospitable. This simply means that the elders home and life should be open to believers and non-believers. Their homes in their lives are to be open so that believers can see their personal spiritual character and beatify and challenged and encouraged. Their homes and lives are to be open so that non-believers can see their personal spiritual character and so that non-believers can see what a true Christian is. So an elder must be qualified still in their personal character. He must be given to hospitality which means his life and his home is open.

And from seeing his life and from seeing his home and his marriage and his family the lost are shown Christ and believers are edified and grown. And I do believe that we see in both, Tommy and Jared. I believe that we see Tommy along with his wife Patty, Jared along with his wife Megan. They have an open life and they have an open door. Many of you have been in their homes. Many of you have engaged in life with these men. Many of you ladies have engaged with their wives and I do believe that they possess and demonstrate the gift and the responsibility of hospitality. Think about those two phrases. An open life and an open home.

What a better way to have a window into someone's life when you are in their home and around their family. And again, I believe we see hospitality in both of these men. And next we see that an elder must not be a drunkard. Now in the original this literally reads that an elder must not be by wine. This means that an elder must not be a man who sits long at the drink. In our language we would say that he should not drink to excess. He should not be in the habit of drinking. But we must see that this is not a strict prohibition against alcohol. That surprises some. This does not say that this is a strict prohibition against alcohol.

Nowhere in the scriptures can we find a command that says a Christian or an elder cannot consume alcohol. And here Paul is not forbidding an elder from consuming alcohol. But we must see that there are many warnings against the abuse of alcohol and the scriptures clearly teach that drunkenness is a sin. But we see this standard and this kind of teaching all throughout the book of Proverbs. And we must see that the scriptures do teach us how we approach these types of things.

The question should a Christian drink alcohol is a very serious question and it is a matter of the Christian conscience and a matter that definitely pertains to the Christian witness. In Romans 14 Paul teaches that a believer must seriously consider the work of how these kinds of things pertain to the Christian conscience. Paul teaches that a believer is responsible for their witness in these questionable areas of life. Paul shows us that these are very serious things which have great responsibilities attached to them.

Specifically he says in Romans 14 21 that it is good not to eat certain foods or to drink wine or to do anything that would cause a brother to stumble. Some of you need to see that. Paul specifically says in Romans 14 21 that it is not to eat certain foods or drink wine or to do anything that would cause a brother to stumble. In other words Christians and especially elders in the church are responsible for their witness. Remember the elder is to be above reproach. The elder is to be above reproach meaning there can be no substantial charge of sin against the life.

And this would certainly apply to the life of an elder or a prospective elder as it relates to alcohol. Now for me I don't drink. I just do not drink. Now I have said this before jokingly the only time I'll drink is when I have a head cold and I'll take a double dose of Nyquil. But I don't drink. I do not drink for numerous reasons. For me there's no need for it. I have no desire for it. I also value my witness and I know that if I drink alcohol I will cause a brother or even a lost person to stumble. I know that I could lead a weaker person. I know that I could lead a young person down the wrong road if I drink.

Also the possibility of getting drunk for me is not worth it. And then there is the possibility of addiction because alcohol can certainly be habit forming. John MacArthur really captures how I see alcohol in the elder here. He says and I'm quoting, "A man who is a drinker has no place in the ministry. He is a poor example and will surely be the cause of serious sin and disaster in the lives of others who follow his example as drinkers, justifying their indulgence because of their leader.

A leader must be a man whose associations are radically different from those of the world and whose example leads others to righteous conduct and not sin." Now I have said this before, but Brother Keith and I have not a blood oath here but a handshake. We both view alcohol the same way. Brother Keith would say exactly what I have just said and we have a handshake policy among elders that we just will not drink because of these reasons. We value our witness. We see the seriousness of these things. I have discussed these things with Jared and Tommy often, often, often. So an elder must be qualified in his personal character.

He must not be a drinker. Also we see that an elder must not be violent. Now the new American says pugnacious, that's an odd word. The King James reads a striker, a striker. This literally means not a giver of blows. And this simply means that an elder or a prospective elder should not be one who reacts with physical violence. He must not be one who is contentious or always looking for an argument or a fight. He must not be prone to this kind of behavior even when he's provoked.

When disagreements or even disputes arise, he must not be one who settles those disagreements or disputes with an attitude of violence, words of violence, and certainly not actions of violence. This must not be his habit and this must not be his normal reaction in life. So the elder, the prospective elder must be qualified again in his personal character. He must not be a striker. He must not be violent in his attitude, words, and actions. Years ago I knew a pastor who flirted the line here.

I heard him say things like this, "You know, I was in the Marine Corps when I was young and if brother so-and-so pushes me too hard, we just might end up in the church parking lot to settle those things." He may have said that jokingly a time or two, but after a couple of more times I thought, does he have the wrong attitude? Now there are many different tests that will come along to test us here in leadership. I have said several times that Tommy and Jared have helped me in some difficult church discipline cases, but one of them in particular, we were dealing with a man who was a reviler.

Go look up revilers and I'll watch them not be prone to violence just in their demeanor. They never rose or fell to his standard. You see what I mean? They were calm, clear, concise, when a lot of people would have resorted to a violent attitude. And then we see that an elder must not be quarrelsome. The new American says "uncontentious." The King James uses the word brawler. This literally means peaceful or reluctant to engage in a fight. The one who is quarrelsome is the one that has a tendency to somehow get into a conflict. You ever known people like that? But here we see the opposite.

The elder is not to be contentious, not to be prone to altercations. They must be prone to peace and peacefulness. John MacArthur says "to have a contentious person in leadership will result in disunity and disharmony, seriously hindering the effectiveness of that leadership team." I'll pause here, I remember years ago a gentleman in the life of a church who was in a position of leadership and he left the particular church and then all of a sudden the other leader stood up and said, "you know when he left all the quarrels left." I would add to that by saying to have a contentious or quarrelsome elder results in contention and quarrels when difficulties or disagreements arise, the leader who is prone to contention will not be peaceful therefore deescalating the potential quarrel or conflict.

Instead they will be drawn into a quarrel and they will hinder unity and leadership between brothers in the body. So an elder, a prospective elder has to be qualified in their personal character. He must not be quarrelsome. He must not be contentious. He must be prone to peace and prone to promote peace. And I have known Jared and I've known Tommy a long time and they are prone to promote peace but I will tell you they will not roll over. They will not let divisive people push them around, push the work of the church around. Also we see that an elder must not be a lover of money.

This literally reads, "not a lover of silver." The new American says, "free from the love of money." This simply means that the elder or the prospective elder must not be greedy for getting money and desiring to gain and to keep money especially within the life of the church. As a matter of fact, this greed for money and the love for money and possessions is one of the marks of a false teacher. We see this in Titus 1, 11, 2 Peter 2, 1 to 3 and Jude 11. But not with Paul. He was and here's our great example here. In Acts 20 verse 33 he said that he coveted no one's money, not even their clothing.

He even said that when he needed to he worked to provide for his own needs. Warren Wiersby says that it is possible for ministers to use the ministry and the church as an easy way to make money. He says and I'm quoting, "Covetous pastors always have deals going on outside their churches and these activities erode their character and hinder their ministry." Sadly I've seen that. And I would add to that by saying that many times greedy pastors have deals going on inside the church or just right on the skirts or the steps of the church. So an elder must be qualified in his personal character. He must not be a lover of money.

He must not be one who is greedy for amassing money and possessions even using the church and ministry and God's people to amass those possessions and monies. And I'm thankful I've never even sensed that either of those two men have that in them. So look at what we've examined here. And there's much, much more that I could have said and taught here. But we have examined this first category of qualifications. The elder, the prospective elder must have qualifying personal character. And notice this applies to me, this applies to Brother Keith, this applies to both Tommy and Jerry. And we're not perfect here.

But we should always be striving to be qualified here and always be qualified here. Now the second category, now this will move a lot faster. And this is the only qualification that has to do with outward performance. Notice the elder must have a qualifying ability to teach. Now the modern translations will read something like able to teach. The King James says apt to teach. Now the simple meaning of this phrase is easy. It means that the elder and the prospective elder must be skilled in teaching, able to teach. But the context and the application to this ability must be seen.

This does not mean they are skilled to teach in the secular world. They may or may not be. This means they are skilled to teach, willing to teach, and strongly desire to teach God's Word in the church. Simply they are skilled to teach the scriptures to God's people in the church. They aspire to do this, they desire to do this, they can do this, and they do. And notice how this works out. The elder or the prospective elder must be able to feed the flock of God with the Word of God, 1 Peter 5.2. So this means the individual members of the church must draw spiritual nourishment from that elder's ability to teach.

Also the elder and the prospective elder must be able to use the Word of God to rebuke and refute any false doctrine that would come into the church. You see that in Acts 20 verses 29 to 31. The church and the individual members of the church must be protected by the elder's ability to rebuke and refute false doctrine and false teachers that can come against the church and in the church. And the elder and the prospective elder must be able to contend for the faith, Jude 1.3. You may say, "Pastor, all believers must be able to contend for the faith." That's true.

But an elder and a prospective elder must have the ability to fight for the faith, to fight for sound doctrine from the Word of God and with the Word of God for the good of the church and fellow believers. So we see that the elder, the prospective elder must have the ability to teach and not only must he have that ability, he must desire it and he must exercise this ability. And notice something very important. John MacArthur notes that the elder's ability to minister God's Word is the only qualification that relates to giftedness and spiritual ability before we saw qualifications that pertain to personal character.

And next we will see qualifications that relate to Christian work, discipline, and maturity. So the only qualification that relates to giftedness and spiritual ability is that the elder must be apt to teach. And notice something, church. As your pastor, because I have put Jared and Tommy in small group ministry and filling the pulpit, these things are evident and specifically three things are evident. First they have the desire to teach. Second, they have the ability to teach. Third, the church is edified from their teaching.

And we've seen this over time and this is a part of their testing and this is a part of that organic work of God elevating them, I believe, before you. And one thing you've not seen, when they have helped me in some church discipline, they have defended the church against false doctrine. You haven't seen that. They have defended the church against individuals who sought to and tried to destroy the church. And they were faithful there. Now a third category, this has to do with the home. Notice the elder must have a qualifying home in home life.

The English standard reads, "He must manage his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive." The King James says, "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity." Now the simple meaning of this verse is obvious. An elder and an elder's home marriage, children in home life must be an example and a pattern to all in the church and even those outside of the church. Just like his personal character, his marriage, his children in home life must be an example and a pattern to all in the church. But there are two specifics that I want us to see here.

He used to be one who manages his home. The King James says, "Ruleeth or rules." This means to govern or to preside over, even with authority. This means that the elder and the prospective elder must be one who governs and manages his home. This speaks of authority. This speaks of ability. This speaks of responsibility. And this relates to everything associated with the home. His marriage, his children, his home, his whole life, everything connected to the home. And he used to manage his children. Notice with all dignity. This word dignity or gravity that King James uses speaks of a seriousness and even a majesty.

This means that he has the ability to manage his children with authority but not as some kind of a ruler, some type-fisted patriarch. No. He has the ability to manage his children with great authority, with seriousness, but also with dignity and with love and with grace and with mercy. And also, he is to manage his marriage with all dignity. Now you might say, "Pastor, I don't see marriage here." Listen church. If he is responsible to manage his household, he is responsible to manage his wife and his marriage as well. Simply he is responsible to manage everything that pertains to the home. And notice the results.

His children are submissive, which means they are under his authority. They are respectful. They are well-behaved. They are under his serious, dignified, loving control and management. Yes. But notice how this can happen. This all comes out of love. It all comes out of love. This comes from the Spirit of God enabling the husband. This comes from Christ being real in the husband's life. This comes out of love and being Spirit-filled. Again, this is not some type-fisted ruler here. If you got that kind of an attitude in your heart, you need some rebuke. And notice what I see. A test and a warning in verse 5.

Paul says that he is to be examined and tested in the area of home management. The elder or prospective elder must be able to prove his ability to manage his home and home life, marriage and children. This means his home, his marriage, his home management must be open for the church to see. Paul also says if the elder or prospective elder cannot manage his home, his children and home life well, then he will not have the ability to care for God's church. You see, this is a serious warning here. William McDonald comments here, it's very good.

He says, "In his own home, the number of persons is comparatively small." They are all related to him and most of the members are very much younger than he. In the church, on the other hand, the numbers are apt to be much greater. And with this increase in numbers, there goes a corresponding diversity of temperaments. It is obvious that if a man is unfit to rule in the smaller sphere, he would be clearly disqualified for the larger. So we see that the elder, the prospective elder, must have this qualifying ability to manage his own home and home life. If not, he is not qualified. He is not qualified.

And notice, folks, we have a test here, we have a warning here and we have an example here. But oh, let me ask you a question. Does this mean he's perfect here? No. Slawfulness? No. Disengaged? No. Disinterested? No. Some are just terrible parents. No, that's not what we accept. No. It's not perfection, but it's neither of these other things. And look, Jared and Megan are both qualified here. Tommy and Patty as well. Have they been perfect? No. Will they ever be perfect? No. Neither have I. And my children can tell you that. Last our fourth category, notice an elder must have qualifying wisdom and experience. Verse 6.

Now this literally reads, "One newly planted." The King James says he must not be a novice. I like that. The English Standard says he must not be a recent convert. And we must see that this is simply much deeper. The simple meaning is this. An elder or a prospective elder must not be newly planted. He must not be a young Christian or a new Christian. But the much deeper meaning here is this. Just because a man is older does not mean he is mature enough and experienced enough to be a qualified elder. One may be an older Christian yet still immature and inexperienced, therefore making him unqualified for the work.

And there are several things that can cause this immaturity in an older Christian. Throughout his Christian walk, he may have been lazy in prayer and studying the word of God and walking in obedience to God. Also he may be immature from being in an unhealthy church and because of the influence of bad doctrine, a very unhealthy church and bad doctrine can and many times will retard the growth of a Christian, therefore affecting his maturity and ability and experience. Remember a man that has the qualifying experience and maturity has gained that through time.

A man that has qualifying experience and maturity, he has gained that through time and more. He has walked with God in the word of God and served God in the church over time which turns into maturity. He has experienced trials in life and in church both positive and negative and in time and if allowed this turns into maturity. He has studied God's word and healthy doctrine and he has studied those things all while living in the local church and under the leadership of other men in the church. And this takes time for all of this to turn into maturity and notice the warning.

Paul says to place a new planted, immature Christian man in the position of an elder makes him very vulnerable because of his lack of humility that only comes from maturity, he can become puffed up in pride and I have seen it. I have experienced it and I have put immature people in positions of authority when I shouldn't have.

John MacArthur says that Satan was condemned because of pride over his exalted position in heaven and he goes on to say and I'm quoting, "The same kind of fall and judgment can easily happen to a new and weak believer put into a position of leadership." So we see that the elder, the prospective elder must have this qualifying maturity and experience that only comes in time. Simply he must not be newly planted. So he must not be immature but he must be mature and experienced as a man of God and remember church we have heard their testimonies and notice one thing we heard, time.

Both men express time of walking with God over time, time in their experiences in life while they walk with God in life, in the church and also doing ministry. Both Jared and Tommy I believe are qualified in the area of wisdom and experience and maturity. Now at this time I want to step back from the verses and these qualifications and I want us to see what we must have here starting with me, next with Brother Keith and then also with these men that I have put before you. And as we approach these qualifications we must test elders and prospective elders with this thing called ballots, ballots.

Along with grace and mercy but all while holding the high standards that God has set before us we approach these things with ballots. For one we cannot be overly righteous here. We cannot have an overly righteous attitude and approach these qualifications both in ourselves and how we examine other men. An elder is going to have a bad day. A pastor will have circumstances where he may not measure up. A man will sin, an elder may have to work harder in one or two of these areas of qualification but that does not mean he's disqualified. A pastor can have a bad sermon. An elder can have to work in hospitality.

A pastor may struggle with his children at times but an elder, a prospective elder must not fail in his responsibilities with his wife. A pastor, a prospective elder must not fail as a one woman man you see. Simply there can be certain qualifications where an elder may struggle but there are some qualifications where he cannot. But we cannot be deficiently righteous either. We cannot have a deficiency in our attitude here and our approach to these qualifications both in ourselves and how we examine others. A man simply may not be qualified. A man may be qualified in many areas but not in others therefore disqualifying him as an elder.

And if he is not qualified in all of these areas we cannot lower the standards in one area so as to bring the man into service. We cannot lower these standards in any way for any person. A man must not be considered to be an elder if he is deficient in his personal character. A man must not be considered to be an elder if he does not have the ability to teach, if he has a bad reputation with those inside and outside the church. But in examining these men and I have spent hours over the past two or three years in counsel and conversation with both Tommy and Jared and they have been living and serving before you for years.

I do not see any disqualification. Perfection no. Struggle in one area sure. But I have also seen them study hard in these qualifications and even question at times if they were qualified knowing that these qualifications are serious and applied to them also in examining their wives. Now you may not realize it but I have spent a lot of time just observing, just observing both Megan and Patty. I have spent hours just watching in certain circumstances how they react. I have spent time with them along with their husbands and they have been living and serving before us for years and I do not see any disqualification in their wives either.

And as a church I believe you have seen these things because I have informally had them serving in elder kinds of works and this has been made to you, known to you organically. So as your pastor I do believe both Jared and Tommy are qualified for the work. I do believe that they are both called to the work. But just like I have been saying all along we are elder led so as your pastor I am putting these men out. I am leading out by putting forward Tommy and Jared before you as potential elders. But we are congregationally governed so as a church you the members of Grace Life Church make the final decision to affirm these men in the work.

And remember what I said last week. I said it purposefully. I said it slowly. And I end this morning by saying it again. As your pastor I trust the work of the church here. I trust you the members of Grace Life Church. I trust the work of the church. I do not have to manipulate. I do not have the strong arm. I do not have to tell you part of the truth and hide the other part. I do not. I trust you and I trust the work of the church here. Keith feels the same way. Tommy feels the same way. Jared feels the same way. And their wives feel the same way. So let's pray.

I want to commit these things to the Lord and then I will revisit our voting guidelines at the end of the service and then we will dismiss. So let's pray.