WWUTT 611 A Pastor Must Be Sober-Minded?

When it comes to the qualifications for an overseer of the church, we've talked about how he needs to be a model of godly behavior, but he must also be an example of godly thinking when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text as an online ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty, visit our website at www .utt .com.

Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Paul’s Qualifications for Overseers in 1 Timothy 3

Thank you, Becky. And here we are back again in 1 Timothy 3 verses 1 -7, as the Apostle Paul writes to his servant Timothy, 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.

Now we haven't even made it all the way through verse 2 yet in the couple of weeks that we've been looking at 1 Timothy chapter 3, but it'll go a little more rapidly from here on out. So Paul begins in this particular section, talking about the qualifications for a man who would be a pastor of a church or an elder.

So whether you're talking about somebody who is in the full-time service of ministry and shepherding the flock of God in the organized congregation of corporate worship, or you're talking about a lay elder serving the church in that function, the saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to that position.

Full-time ministry as an overseer or a lay elder as an overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. And then everything else we're looking at in this list of qualifications flows from that first one.

He's a man of noble character who must be above reproach. And then what we looked at last week primarily was he must be the husband of one wife, or as it's more literally translated, he must be a one woman man, because as we have it stated a little bit later on, if he cannot manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

If this man cannot be exemplary in his witness of how a husband must care for a wife, then how can he testify to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the bridegroom of the church and the rest of the bride submits to Christ because he is the head of the church.

If the pastor who is administrating the word of God from the pulpit is not displaying that in his own life, if he's not displaying it in his covenant marriage, then how can he testify to that covenant that we have with Christ Jesus through the bond of the Holy Spirit?

So this pastor must be a husband. And as I had articulated last week, I do I do think that's what's being stated here. Not just if the man is married, but a person who would be a pastor or an elder should be married.

Now, let me clarify something I didn't state last week. Let's say you have a man who is a widower. His wife has died. Is he now disqualified from serving in the position of a pastor or an elder? No, I don't believe that he is because he has shown in his life and in his ministry that he knows what it means to lay his life down for his bride, just as Christ has done for the church.

So because he has shown that in his ministry, that doesn't mean just because his wife has died that he must now step down from the pulpit. But like with many of these qualifications, that's something you probably want to consider on a case by case basis.

Many of the qualifications that we see for deacons versus eight through 13 are similar to the qualifications for elders. And we have a deacon in our church, our most senior serving member, not just the longest standing deacon, but he has been in our church the longest.

And his wife died in 2012. This was actually the very same month that I was appointed to take over the senior pastor position at our church. I think it was just a couple of weeks later, his wife passed away and they have had a huge impact on this church in the decades that they've been there and served there.

In fact, we just celebrated a particular Christmas tradition that we have in our church. That was something she started, that his wife started in our church. So her memory lives on and the things that she did in the service that she gave to First Southern Baptist Church of Junction City.

But just because she passed away did not mean that he had to step down as deacon and he is still serving faithfully in that position. So as we go on with these qualifications here of overseers, First Timothy three, he must also be sober minded.

Temperance as Self-Restraint in Mind and Body

Now, what does this mean to be sober minded? And I want to differentiate this qualification from must not be a drunkard. That's coming up in verse three. And we have what? Let's see, one, two, three, four other qualifications before we get to drunkard.

He must not be a drunkard. So sober minded is not the same thing as he cannot be a drunkard. There's obviously some other instruction that Paul means to apply here with his use of sober minded. This is one of those places where I believe the New American Standard Bible has translated this more accurately.

If you grab your NASB, your NASB, you will see there that the word that appears in First Timothy three, two is not sober minded, but rather temperate. What does that mean? What is temperance? Well, to be temperate is simply to be self-restrained or self-controlled.

Well, hang on a second. That's a little redundant because what's the next qualification that we have there in that list? It's self-controlled. So an overseer must be self-controlled and self-controlled.

Paul is just kind of repeating himself here. Well, remember that we're talking about the qualifications of a person who is administrating the teaching to the gathered body of believers in corporate worship.

So even though, as I have said, this is a man who is an example to the entire congregation of what it means to be a mature Christian, we still must remember that this is in the context of qualifications for an overseer.

So there is a very specific reason why Paul lays down the qualifications the way that he does and in the order that he gives them. So he says that an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife and then the very next one is sober minded and then self-controlled and again, sober minded is better translated as temperate.

So temperate is rather rather than just being self-restrained in body, it's being self-restrained in mind. And then the next qualification self-controlled is being self-restrained in body. So we have restraint or being able to control his opinions, basically, and then being able to control his physical appetites and urges.

These are the next two qualifications that we have for an overseer of the church. So as somebody who is standing in the pulpit and he is teaching the word of God to the people of God, and he is helping them to understand what the word of God says and giving application for it in their respective lives in the context in which they live.

So how does this word that has been written down 2000 years ago apply to me now and how do I live it out in my daily life in the world in which I live? Okay, that's what a pastor or an elder, a teacher at the pulpit is trying to help the congregation in understanding when it comes to teaching the word of God.

So this man could very easily throw out all kinds of wild opinions or ideas, or it might be very easy for this man to be tempted to want to say something different than any other teacher has ever said about this particular passage so that everyone will be truly impressed by his intellectual acumen.

And so therefore, he would be given over to a lot of fanciful opinions that might deviate from the true meaning of the text. And remember what Paul has already said to Timothy at the start of this letter.

Do not let anyone 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. And so with Paul saying that he must be temperate, he is saying that this man, one of the qualifications for an overseer, is that he must teach the trustworthy word as taught, not leading into speculation, not being given over into wild, fanciful ideas, not giving application to the text that's simply not what it means, taking things out of context, going into wild and crazy ideas that lacks temperance.

And some of these teachers out there today who are reading a passage of scripture and giving it their own interpretation, or you have what's called eisegetical teaching, where they've already made up their minds what it is they want to teach about, and they're going to grab the scriptures that go with what it is that they're teaching to ground the point that they make.

And more often than not, when you listen to that kind of teaching, what you hear are passages of scripture taken out of context. And this is why the ministry of when we understand the text even came about in the first place.

It started by correcting many of those myths and false ideas and out of context references to the point that people had been using those references out of context for so long, they had forgotten what the original meaning is.

And to this day, we still get emails from folks that will come across our videos like they might come across the video for the instructions in Matthew 18, where it says that where two or more are gathered, there I am in the midst of them.

And everybody uses that for their prayer meetings, right? Yeah, wherever we get together and pray, Jesus is right there with us. Well, no, this is in the context of church discipline. It's in reference back to the instruction that Moses gave in Deuteronomy, that every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

So that must apply also when it comes to church discipline. That's the context in Matthew 18. And I'll still get emails to this day of somebody going, I never knew that I just constantly was using that verse to to justify, hey, we're gathered together in prayer.

So we know that the Lord is in the midst of it. Well, he was with you before you gathered together in prayer. Wherever there is a saint with the Holy Spirit indwelling, Christ is there with you. But this was more specifically pertaining to church discipline and applying those rules of discipline to building up the body of Christ.

So this was how when we understand the text came about and correcting some of those false ideas from a lot of teachers over the decades that have deviated from the true meaning of the text and instead pulling verses out of context to apply to what they want it to mean.

And this is coming from pastors who have probably disqualified themselves just on the basis of the fact that they are no longer sober minded. They're given over to wild, fanciful opinions rather than teaching the stewardship of God that is by faith.

The aim of our charge is love, Paul says, that echoes from a pure heart, issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons by swerving from these motivations have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers, but they don't understand either what they are saying or the things about which they make their confident assertions.

And I've even played examples on this show of teachers who know exactly what the text means and they will even say, here's what the text means, but I am going to apply it this way. It's it's incredible.

It's incredible to me to hear a teacher do that. Here's what this text really means, but that's not what we're going to talk about today. We're going to take this text and make it mean this. And I tell you that such a man, if given over into that habit, if that is the tracking of his mind is to be more on the side of his own opinion than teaching what the word of God truly says, he has disqualified himself as an elder or a teacher in the church.

He must be sober minded. He must be able to control his own thoughts, do, as Paul said in Second Corinthians 10, taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ rather than trying to make much of himself by wowing people with how intelligent he can be, how crazy he can go with all of these opinions and applications of the text that do not apply at all.

Rather, his desire is to glorify Christ and preach his word and his gospel. So the people of God will be edified and encouraged and know how to take that message of the gospel and apply it to their lives and that they know how to hope in the gospel, in the daily grind, in the work that they do, in loving their families, in training up and teaching their kids, in sharing the gospel with others, in loving family members that have fallen into sin and disgrace but aren't listening to anybody anymore.

When it comes to correction, how how is it that I take this message of the gospel when they won't listen to me and I still find hope in it when I'm looking at the reality of my brother or sister in the flesh, not being my brother and sister in the Lord and potentially going to hell?

Where does the gospel help me in those things? And this is what this is what a pastor is supposed to do. Take the gospel of Christ, teach it, give it application into the lives of Christ so that they grow and mature in it and find meaning and purpose in every aspect and avenue of their lives because the gospel infiltrates all of that.

That's what a pastor is helping the people of God do. But when he's not sober minded, when he's not temperate and he's given over to all these wild, fanciful ideas, then he's actually depriving people of the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, desiring to make much of himself and his thoughts and his ideas and how flashy he can be rather than how glorious God is, knowing and understanding God's thoughts, which is what the Bible is.

These are the thoughts of God. Even this that we're reading through right now, the qualifications of an overseer. This is not just Paul writing to Timothy, but he's he's writing under the administration of the Holy Spirit.

This is what God is saying. Here's what I desire among my shepherds and overseers in the church. Here is what I desire among mature believers in Christ Jesus who are growing into the head who is Christ.

So these are the thoughts of God. This is why expositional preaching is really the only kind of preaching that will bring a full body of believers under the full authority of the word of God. And it's fine to do topical preaching every once in a while.

I do that. But basically, the main diet of the church should be exegetical preaching. And when a pastor doesn't do that, when it's when you got a church that's just nothing but one series after the next, and it's nothing but one flashy gimmick after the next.

Well, no one's bringing being brought under the authority of God's word. It doesn't matter what that church says in their mission statement or in their statement of beliefs. If that's not the kind of teaching that's coming from the church, then the congregation is not is not learning the word of God.

They're just learning how flashy their pastor can be, who is clearly not very temperate. Let me give you an example of this. I feel like I'm going to make this point better if I use an example. This is one from just a few years ago.

An Example of a Pastor Lacking Temperance

Ed Young Jr. had a series that he did in front of his huge megachurch that involved a Ferrari. And he had the Ferrari up there on stage, this big, fast, flashy background and this whole thing. And before I get to the clip that I want to use to illustrate Young's lack of temperance, let me first play the beginning of the sermon where he talks about this Ferrari of his.

What do you think? Is that awesome?

It's pretty amazing. Do you know who that someone is who gave me the Ferrari?

I'll tell you.

I'll give you his name right now.

God.

God gave me a Ferrari because I am a Ferrari. You're a Ferrari too. That's some great news.

You are a Ferrari.

God has given you a Ferrari.

Isn't that incredible?

So do this with me.

One, two, three.

That's right.

Look at your neighbor and say, you Ferrari you.

Now, if your eyes rolled back in your head as far as mine did listening to that, I apologize. But you can send your optometrist bill to Ed Young Jr. What does that have to do with the Bible? Nothing. None of that has to do with the Bible.

He drives this Ferrari out on stage. He gets out and opens a Bible and sets it there on the roof of the car before he then starts talking about this Ferrari. It's 10 minutes into this sermon before he even gets to his first Bible reference.

And do you know what it is? It's Philippians 412. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. You can't make this stuff up. That is the first verse that he even goes into this in this Ferrari sermon in a completely different sermon, but still the same series.

Ferrari is still on stage. This is the clip that I wanted to get to to exemplify a lack of temperance.

If you haven't already picked that up and make sure you know that God has the best for your life, make sure that you know he needs to drive. That's why this windshield in the Ferrari is so big. I mean, this is a big Hawken windshield.

Think about this.

Look how big this windshield is.

Look at this thing.

Look, the rearview mirror, tiny, little bitty.

The rearview mirror is small compared to the windshield.

Our future is big. It's bold.

It's massive.

The expanse of our future is absolutely brilliant. What are we doing like this, driving while looking in the rearview mirror?

The past is the past. The past is great. The past is fine. We learn from the past.

The past, though, propels us to the future. Don't get locked into the past. Don't get locked into, oh, my diapers were put on too tight. The nursery was painted the wrong color, and I went through this relationship and that relationship, and I've had this toxicity occur in my life.

That's fine. That's dandy. Deal with it, but move on.

Move on.

Every relationship here is one that should hit on all cylinders. It should sound like a Ferrari.

Do that with me.

One, two, three. Sounds good.

That advice that he gave right there, you can get from absolutely anybody. You do not have to go to church to get that advice. Deal with your problems in your past, but make sure you stay focused on the future.

Has nothing to do with the gospel. Has nothing to do with Christ. Rather, the gospel message is that Christ has forgiven your sins, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, no man can separate you from what God has given to you in Christ and has sealed by his Holy Spirit that lives within you.

So any and everything that you go through in this life is to draw your eyes all the more heavenward, is to shape you into the image of Christ, is for your good and his glory. And that message is not anywhere in Ed Young's sermon.

It's just all about all the earthly stuff that you can achieve and acquire and succeed at with no vision or focus on Christ or eternity. And so this is a man who has given his mind over into how crazy and creative he can be.

Look at me. Look at the car I drive even goes that far. I mean, and some some pastors don't even go that far with it. Some will lack temperance or that sober mindedness and not even be as deliberately hedonistic as Ed Young Jr. is being right there in front of his very church.

But just based on this qualification, he is disqualified for he lacks temperance teaching and administrating the gospel of Jesus Christ to his flock, to his people, helping them understand that the gospel is about the forgiveness of sins and then the pursuit of godliness.

Every other area of our lives flows from that truth. Yes, the Bible has things to say about relationships and your marriage and your focus on the future. Absolutely. But it all comes out of a sound teaching of the gospel of Christ first, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus for the wages of sin is death.

But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the most important message that anyone could ever hear. That is the most amazing message. Everything else, the way that applies in your life flows out from that central message.

But that must be there first. And in these pastors that become topical or flashy or in these sermon series where the Bible is an afterthought instead of forefront, instead of the thing that they are trying to teach, then they lack temperance.

It's more about their idea than God's idea. So this teacher must first of all be temperate, must be sober minded, but we must be likewise. Don't take the Bible verse out of context or passages from the scripture and twist them to mean what you want them to mean, because your meaning is therapeutic for you somehow.

It's not about you. It's about glorifying Christ. And the Bible instructs us on how to do that. How can I live a life that is pleasing to God, serving him and worshiping him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength?

And the pastor, the overseer, elder in a church, helps you to understand the Bible in that way and apply it to your life. He must be sober minded and he teaches you how to be sober minded. Let us conclude with prayer.

Our Lord God, we thank you for your word that we may apply it to every aspect of our lives and be shaped all the more into the image of Christ. We know this truth that all scripture is breathed out by you and it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man or woman of God may be complete and equipped for every good work.

Help us to receive the scriptures that way. Submit ourselves to the authority of your word that way that we may give glory to you in all that we say and do. And we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.

This is the protection of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find us on the web at www .utt .com.