WWUTT 612 A Pastor Must Be Self-Controlled?

Romans 12 .1 tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto the

Lord, and this is our spiritual act of worship. The pastor, the overseer of the church, should certainly be a model in this, when we understand the text.

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Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of 1 Timothy 3 verses 1 -7, where the apostle

Paul provides a list of qualifications for an overseer of the church. The saying is trustworthy.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. 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, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

So yesterday we considered this qualification of being sober -minded. And another way that's translated is temperate.

He must not be given over into wild, crazy ideas or celebrate his own creativity. Basically, this is a man who must not lose sight of the task that is before him as a pastor, and that is to teach the sound words of the gospel of Jesus Christ and all that pertains to it, all that flows from sound doctrine.

In the first chapter, Paul said this to Timothy, charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

That's an example of a person who lacks temperance. He also goes on to say that they've wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers without understanding what they're saying or the things about which they make their confident assertions.

So Paul has already addressed this once, and then he brings this back by way of reminder in this list of qualifications for an overseer of the church, elder, pastor, bishop, etc.

that we have here in first Timothy chapter three. He says this man must be sober -minded.

He teaches the sound words of Christ. Now the example that I gave you of a person lacking temperance, the example that I provided yesterday was

Ed Young Jr. in his church down in Texas, Grapevine, Texas, Dallas, Texas, you know, all in that area where he had a

Ferrari up on stage and was giving some sort of moral life lesson while sitting inside this

Ferrari. Now that's a pretty extreme example. It's very unlikely you're going to be sitting in a church in which the pastor is going to be driving a

Ferrari out on stage. So what would be some more common examples that you might witness in a smaller church that could that would be an evidence of a pastor who lacks temperance?

Well, this might be a man who regularly delves into crazy numerology theories, like he starts calculating things in the scriptures that the scriptures simply don't say.

And then he puts that into some sort of end times teaching or something that's going on in the news or something like that.

That would be another example of somebody who lacks temperance, who's not sober -minded.

Maybe he's a guy that sounds like an Internet conspiracy theory website. If that's the case, he's probably unqualified as an overseer.

This could be a man who builds his entire ministry around a single theological issue.

Now, here's here's one example that I could provide. It's almost as if his entire pastorate or teaching ministry exists to either contest against or promote one single theological issue that would make him disqualified for the pastorate.

He must teach the full counsel of God, not just be interested in the stuff that he likes to talk about.

Perhaps you've got a pastor who's way more political than theological, and that would be a guy who is disqualified.

He is not sober -minded or temperate. Now, I certainly think there are times that a pastor should address certain political issues that would pertain to his congregation.

Maybe there's something local going on. It's not something that would affect everybody, but it does affect his congregation, and they're not sure what they're to think about that particular issue.

Well, a pastor can help them to understand based on what the Bible says. That's perfectly fine.

But when you got a guy who it seems like he's nothing but political, he's probably disqualified. I would say that a pastor needs to be fairly consistent in his theology, not that he never changes his mind.

I've changed my mind on some issues in the eight years that I've been pastor. I've read articles from Dr.

John MacArthur, where he's talked about how he's changed his mind on certain theological issues.

As a person grows in maturity, as their doctrine becomes more robust, there are going to be some things that will change or just particular issues that he will become more mature, a little bit sharper on.

But if he's somebody that will change on secondary issues, like, for example, you got a guy that goes from Presbyterian to Baptist.

I would hope that the Baptist Church is not going to immediately appoint that guy to a pastor.

Hey, he was a great Presbyterian preacher. Guess what? He's just changed Baptist. We need to get him in our pulpit.

How do you know six months from now he's not going to change his mind again? So even on those issues, he must show that he is.

He has thought these issues out well, and he's pretty consistent on even those secondary issues and regarding tertiary issues, which would be third tier issues.

These are theological differences that we might have within the same denomination or the same church body.

He's going to have differences of opinion with members of his congregation. That is going to be true. But hopefully he's not going to be divisive over those issues that would certainly disqualify a man from his position as a pastor.

If he's if he's becoming divisive in his church over tertiary matters, like, for example, which translation of the

Bible that you use when a pastor says it must be this one and no other. Well, he's drawing a line in the sand over an issue that is is not really that important.

So the next qualification that we have in First Timothy three, two, is that a pastor must be self -controlled.

So we had sober minded, which means that he must be able to control his thoughts. Basically, he must remain consistent and focused on his job as a pastor to teach the sound words of Jesus Christ.

The next one related to being self -controlled means that he can control his body. He can control his his impulses.

He's not easily given into fleshly temptations. Now, we have a couple of those things mentioned here, like, for example, in verse three, it says, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle.

Those are certainly ways that a pastor would control his body. But most especially, we would be talking about a pastor is able to restrain himself from being given over into sexual temptation.

This is not to say that he won't be tempted at all. He certainly will be. He is still a man living in the flesh, existing in this world.

The Lord Christ has not yet returned. Any one of us at any given moment could easily fall into the temptations of the flesh.

If we are not careful, if we don't cling to Christ and flee from the temptations of the devil, if we don't realize how weak we still are in this flesh, we could very easily be tempted by the flesh.

So though this man is going to experience those temptations, he doesn't give into them. He has disciplined himself and submits his body fully unto the

Lord as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him. As we read in Romans 12 to he also does, as Paul had instructed in first Timothy to eight that he lifts holy hands to the

Lord without anger or quarreling. This is another way that he controls his own body.

Every single one of us have been instructed to be self -controlled and especially not give over into sexual temptation.

Consider what the Holy Spirit says to us in first Thessalonians chapter four. Finally, then brothers, we ask and urge you in the

Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please

God, just as you are doing that you do so more and more for you know what instructions we gave you through the

Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the pagans who do not know

God, that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the

Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God is not called us to impurity, but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God who gives his

Holy Spirit to you. We know from what Paul said to the Corinthians in first Corinthians chapter six.

This also applies to us as well. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the

Lord and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?

Never, or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?

For as it is written, the two will become one flesh, but he who is joined to the

Lord becomes one spirit with him flee from sexual immorality.

Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God?

You are not your own for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Now, as these instructions have been given to all of us, whether you are a man or a woman, whether you're in the position of a pastor or you're not, you have been instructed to be holy in all your conduct, in the way that you present yourself in your body.

You are to be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord. This is your spiritual act of worship.

But the pastor in particular is supposed to be a model of this holiness, that he is self -controlled in his body and is not given over into sexual temptation, lest he disqualify himself in the position that he has in the

Old Testament. Adultery committed in theocratic

Israel, if if somebody committed adultery, they were going to be stoned to death.

It was a capital crime to commit adultery with another man's wife.

And so because this sin is so serious that it could cost a man or a woman their life, it is extremely serious for the person who is in the position of pastor as well.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about this, that if a man has committed adultery while he is in the position of pastor, he has permanently disqualified himself from that ministry role.

Now, there are still some of you, I'm sure, that are not fully convinced on that point, that a man who has committed adultery, even as he is a pastor, still has an opportunity to be forgiven and be restored to that particular position.

I tell you that he is not. And we can tell from the way that the law was given to Israel in the

Old Testament just how serious the sin of adultery is. It would have cost you your life.

Therefore, a man who is a pastor who commits adultery has disqualified himself.

He is no longer above reproach. He can be forgiven and he can be restored to the body of Christ, to the church.

Most certainly, that can and should happen. That is the grace of God being displayed over a man who is repentant.

If he has repented of his sin, if he has sought forgiveness from God and from his church, they should forgive him and receive him back into their numbers in the body of Christ.

But that does not mean that he gets automatically appointed back to the position of pastor.

He is no longer above reproach. A pastor must be self -controlled.

He must be able to control his urges, his temptations, his impulses.

He is not a person who lives in the flesh, but he is a person who lives in the spirit.

And he models that mature conduct in his body for the rest of his congregation.

Now, we're talking mainly about sexual immorality here because that's the most serious way that a person can sin against their own body, according to what we have there in 1

Corinthians 6. Every other sin is outside the body. The sexually immoral person sins against his own body, which is the temple of the

Holy Spirit, whom we have from God. But there are other ways that a pastor must be able to control his own body.

For example, James 1 .26. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

The tongue, that's a part of the body, right? Yes, the pastor must also be able to know how to control his mouth.

Proverbs 13 .3. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Malachi 2 .7. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the

Lord of hosts. Consider that. A pastor is charged with being a carrier of the message of God, the words that have been written down for us in the

Bible. So if a person is listening to what it is that he says to better know

God and to better know his word, how important is it that that pastor be able to keep a watch over his mouth?

This is something that David prayed for in Psalm 141. O Lord, I call upon you, hasten to me, give ear to my voice when

I call to you. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips.

Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds, in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies.

All of these things pertaining to control over the mouth. But also see there that he says, do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds.

So let our hands be committed to the service of the Lord. This was something that Paul said to the

Thessalonians, that everyone must work. So part of being self -controlled is not just that a pastor abstain from doing evil, but also that he applies himself to doing good.

That is another way that a pastor must be self -controlled, that he has committed himself, his body, his members to doing the things of God.

His eyes are looking at things that are pleasing to the Lord. His mouth is saying things that are pleasing to God.

His ears are listening to things that are edifying in the spirit of God.

His hands are doing things that are honorable to the Lord. In all of these things, there are so many ways in which a pastor must be self -controlled in his body, and we all should.

Again, a pastor or an elder is a model of maturity in Christian behavior, but all of us should aspire to these things.

The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body, and I keep it under control, lest after preaching to others,

I myself should be disqualified. So in all manner of things, the apostle

Paul disciplined himself, just like an athlete would discipline himself with muscle memory and perfecting and honing the skills that he has to better be able to perform in his particular sport.

So we must be that way in the way that we commit our whole body unto the

Lord. We must be regular in these disciplines. It's like committing ourselves to muscle memory.

The more you apply your mind and your body to the things that are pleasing unto

God, the easier it will be for you to live as a living sacrifice unto the

Lord, as a spiritual act of worship, to abstain from doing the things that would be displeasing to God, that would be giving into those temptations of the flesh.

The more regular we are in the spirit, the easier it will be to resist the temptations of the flesh.

And every one of us must discipline ourselves, our bodies in this way.

Let us pray and ask the Lord that he would continue to train us in being disciplined in body and being self -controlled.

Our Lord God, we pray to you and we thank you for the salvation that we've been given in Christ.

We would no longer be slaves to unrighteousness. We're no longer slaves to the temptations of our flesh, the desires of the body and the mind, but rather we become slaves of Christ.

As Paul Washer has said, one of your great preachers and servants, he has said the person who is truly free is the person who's become a slave to the perfect master.

And that's Jesus Christ. We want to commit ourselves fully unto him so that everything that we say and do, the ways that we commit ourselves to you will be self -controlled, will be pleasing and honorable to the

Lord, that you would guard our mind, our eyes, our thoughts, our tongues, turn our eyes away from worthless things and preserve our lives according to your will.

Let everything we say and do be pleasing to your sight. Forgive us our sins.

Lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. And in the name of Christ, we pray and ask for this.

We are weak and we are feeble, but you are strong and you are gracious and you are generous.