WWUTT 733 God's Steward?

The Ordinary Qualifications of a Pastor as a Model for Every Christian

When Paul gives a list of qualifications for a pastor, none of those qualifications are all that spectacular. Any Christian should aspire to those things. But the pastor, in service to the flock, is an example.

A model Christian, when we understand the text.

This is when we understand the text, studying God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing, and if this has ministered to you, please let others know about our program.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Thank you Becky. Becky, we come back to our study in Titus 1, and the qualifications for elders that Paul lists in verses 5 -9. Finishing up that section today, Paul wrote to Titus, "...This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

Above Reproach, Humble, and Not Self-Serving

If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach.

He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine, and also to rebuke those who contradict it.".

So, coming back to where we left off yesterday, and picking up in verse 7 with Paul saying, "...For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach.". Second time in this particular section that he says an overseer must be above reproach, and that means that he must live such a life of character, of holiness, in pursuit of God and Christ-likeness, that there is no blame or legitimate accusation that could stick to this man.

If somebody brings some sort of charge against him, it's an illegitimate charge, because he is not guilty of that sin, and there is nothing in his life that would display any sort of sinful attitude that someone could bring as an accusation against him.

He leads an upstanding, godly life. And as I mentioned yesterday, this list of qualifications is not that spectacular. Of course, when you compare it to the modern age, it probably does look pretty incredible.

You're like, wow, a person that could live like this, looking at the twisted and wicked generation in which we live. But in the biblical sense, this man is not leading a life that would be any different than any other Christian life.

We can draw from other places in the New Testament of these very same commands that have been given to other believers, other followers of Jesus. Shouldn't we all want to be lovers of good? We all need to be self-controlled, right?

Not given over to the temptations of our flesh. We need to be upright and holy, as Jesus himself said in Matthew chapter 5, be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And Peter repeated in his letter, be holy as God is holy and be disciplined, have good, godly practices in your life that you are regular to and dedicated to.

This is something that that should be the mark of every Christian believer. But as this specifically pertains to the elder, to the pastor in a church, this is, of course, a model for everyone else that he is teaching.

As he is proclaiming the gospel and he's telling people to repent and follow Jesus, he needs to be able to show in his life, this man who is before the congregation and is teaching the word of God, he shows in his life the effects of the gospel that he is proclaiming.

And so as he's telling other people to repent, you can see in his life that he has repented. He is not falling into into sinfulness, but he has self-control and he has discipline over his fleshly desires.

He is a loving husband and a good father. And when you go into his home, you would find him loving his wife and disciplining his kids and spending time with his kids and teaching them the scriptures, as he's also been charged with teaching the word of God to the congregation.

You would see a man who is not arrogant, but he puts the needs of others ahead of himself. He did not get into the ministry to make a name for himself, but rather to serve the people of God. He's not a person who's given over to violence or to uncontrolled anger.

If the guy ever gets angry, it's it's a holy anger. Like Christ got angry at the Pharisees, you know, Matthew 23. That would be an example of holy anger or a drunkard or violent, greedy for gain. But he's hospitable, a lover of good.

You know, these these qualities come out in this man's life and you could see the way that he lives. And as all Christians have been commanded to follow in this, when he stands at the pulpit and teaches that, you see that he's already doing it in his life.

He is a model for others that they would see what a mature Christian looks like. So in that context, as we consider that this pastor aspires to this list of qualifications, well, he meets this list of qualifications before he is appointed a pastor.

It's not like he's appointed a pastor and then, well, make sure you're doing all of this. OK, he's already doing that when he's appointed and then he must maintain it and continue to grow and mature in it.

But he does this not just for himself. Certainly we pursue holiness for our benefit that we would not be destroyed by the wrath of God, but pursuing holiness because we love him and we worship him and doing all this to the glory of God.

So, yes, certainly there is the sense in which we do that and it benefits us. But in the context of the pastor and what it is that he does for the benefit of the flock, he pursues these qualities and grows in them and displays them in service to the church.

You imagine that. So so a pastor is showing this exemplary behavior in his life as a service to the congregation that he has been called to shepherd so that they would see this example in his life. And when you have stories of pastors who are not able to keep these qualifications and they fall and they stumble or heaven forbid they even do something in their ministry that would lead to their disqualification, they have failed in the service that they are supposed to be providing the church.

Shepherding the Flock with Humility and Sound Teaching

Remember what it is that Peter said of shepherds and overseers in first Peter, chapter five. So I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain, but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Peter says it there even. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders, clothe yourselves, all of you with humility toward one another.

For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And so a pastor is even supposed to be a model of humility to the congregation. And we have that mentioned here as God's steward is one who has been given the word of God, who is learned in the word of God that he might teach it to the people of God.

He must be above reproach and he must not be arrogant. So that charge of humility is even given here in Titus, chapter one, verse seven, clothing himself with humility so that we might be humble toward one another.

So this is a requirement of a pastor that he must be humble. And if there is anybody who thinks that they can get into the ministry and become a pastor in order to make a name for themselves or build up their own resume or whatnot, or, you know, become a celebrity pastor and lead leadership summits and write bestselling books.

If that's the reason why you became a pastor, then you've chosen the wrong occupation. And I would even encourage you to get out and find something else to do before you make a shipwreck of your faith and also affect the faith of other weaker Christians who were looking to you as an example.

And because they saw you living a life for yourself instead of in service to the congregation, you've made a shipwreck of their faith also. And you will be held accountable for the behavior that you conducted yourself in while you were part of the pastorate, while you were in the ministry.

An overseer as God's servant must be above reproach and he must not be arrogant. He must not be in this for himself, trying to make a name for himself. But he is in service to the flock of God. And that begins with the preaching and teaching.

The pastor's responsibilities aren't limited to that, but that's mainly his central role as the overseer of the church. It's overseeing the spiritual needs of the church in the preaching and the teaching of the word of God, which accords with godliness.

It produces godliness. As the word of God is proclaimed, the people of God grow in their understanding and knowledge of it, and they grow in Christ likeness. They grow in godliness. Any church that is withholding the teaching of God's word from the people of God, they are causing a famine, a spiritual famine among the people that they have been called to shepherd.

You know, topical sermons can be OK every once in a while, but a church's regular diet should be the faithful exposition of the scriptures. It's really the only way you can ensure faithful growth in godliness in the lives of the people of the church.

Faithful verse by verse teaching through the scriptures, which is the word of God that we might know the mind of God and become more like God growing in godliness. And this is one of the pastor's responsibilities as a steward, an overseer, as God's steward who rightly handles the word of truth and teaches it to God's people.

So he must not be arrogant. He's putting the needs of others ahead of himself. And like I said, that's also a command that's given of all Christians. Philippians chapter two, consider others needs ahead of your own.

Self-Control, Sobriety, and Rejecting Violence

A pastor also must not be quick tempered. It doesn't mean that he should not be angry at all. There are certainly times when anger would be warranted. And I think I can give you an example using two men who don't even live in my community anymore.

So I'd be safe in providing you with this example. There was a man in my church who was a deacon and he had it out for this other guy. I don't really know why, but this guy was like a burr in my deacon's boot.

He just didn't like him. And so he would say something in Bible study and the deacon would roll his eyes or he'd go, you know, something like that anytime this guy spoke up and made some sort of comment.

And so one time I had to pull him aside. I pulled him into my office after Bible study one night and I said, man, you have got to stop this. You were selected for this position that you have here at the church so that you would serve others.

And by your body language and and the gestures that you're making toward this other guy, you're discouraging him. You're thinking less of him instead of being an encourager. And he actually tried to defend himself.

He said, well, you don't know how he can be. He's like this and he's like this. And I cut him off and my voice rose and I said, are you actually going to try to defend this behavior as being acceptable?

You're actually trying to defend that to me. And then he got real sheepish at that point. And I said, look, I'm going to be straight with you. If you can't get control over this, this is going to come before the rest of the church and you're going to be disciplined over it.

And I'm grateful to say that his relationship with that man did improve after that. He even took it upon himself to call him. And if memory serves, he did it right after that meeting I had with him. He called the guy and said, look, I apologize for my behavior toward you.

And I repent of this. And their relationship did improve. And so that was one of those occasions in which my anger toward him was totally warranted. But it wasn't quick tempered. I didn't blow up at him in front of everybody else.

I waited until we could step aside and get one on one. And I could alert him to the sinfulness that he was in in the way that he was treating a brother in the Lord. And so this is a qualification for a pastor that he must not be quick tempered.

Doesn't mean that he can't get angry, but just that he is able to control his anger. And the other qualifications have to do with self-control as well. He must not be a drunkard and he must not be violent.

So he must not be given so over into indulgence that it has controlled his his mind and his cravings. He has to have it. He dulls his sentence, his senses, which leads to debauchery, as Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter five.

So do not get drunk with wine that leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit is what he says there to the Ephesians. Don't fill yourself up with those things that give temporary worldly satisfaction and even dull your senses.

But be filled with those things that are eternal and also give glory to God. Don't dishonor God with your body. But as it is said to all believers in Romans 12, one in view of God's mercy, present your bodies as a living sacrifice unto the Lord, holy and acceptable to him.

And this is your spiritual act of worship. So we must not be quick tempered. He must not be a drunkard. And he must also not be violent. A pastor must not be violent. There is a pastor that I'm told about used to pastor the church that I pastor now.

But I did not know this man. This was long before I ever got there. But he used to demand things. And if somebody would not give him something, he would punch something to try to intimidate them. Like he would punch the desk and say, you're going to do that for me right now.

Or he would punch the wall or he would punch a file cabinet. Now, he may not be inflicting violence upon the person, but he clearly does not have enough control over his reactions that he's displaying violence in how he is responding to people to not getting what he wants.

And so that's a man that's disqualified. He does not trust in God enough that when a situation doesn't go his way, he has to lash out like that. He is disqualified as a minister who is supposed to be showing self-control to the other members of the body of Christ.

So he must not be quick tempered, drunkard or violent, and he must not be greedy for gain. If you have a pastor who is greedy for gain, then he would be willing to set aside the truth of the gospel and the soundness of doctrine that he preaches from the Lord Jesus Christ in order to acquire something for himself.

He would be willing to bend on the scriptures in order to gain for himself or he is considering himself above other people. He's thinking about what he can do to benefit from this instead of how he can serve someone else.

So being greedy for gain, he is going to compromise the message of the gospel instead. A pastor should be then we get to verse eight hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

Hospitable, a Lover of Good, Upright, Holy, and Disciplined

So we've previously had all these things that he cannot be. And then we get to verse eight and we've got that list of qualifications of the things that he should be displaying in his life. These are the things that as a man of God, he is pursuing and he is maturing in.

And you already look at this guy as somebody who is a model of these behaviors. He must be hospitable. He opens up his home to people. Those things that God has blessed him with, he uses to bless other people with.

Is that is that the kind of behavior that you witness in this man? And yes, every Christian should be hospitable. We should show hospitality toward one another. And I am blessed with a very generous congregation who has given much to me and to my family.

So they have shown me hospitality. I indeed want to show hospitality to members of my church and even to others that I might be sharing the gospel with, that they could come into my home and I could share a meal with them and also preach to them the gospel.

So this hospitality that a pastor shows toward other people is a model for the rest of the congregation. He must be a lover of good. He's pursuing good things. He even takes it upon himself to find good things to do for other people.

It's not just he's good when the opportunity arises or when it comes his way, but he even finds ways that he can show goodness to other people. This is a lover of good. He is self-controlled. And again, I've been talking about self-control already, but again, this is in contrast against those other behaviors that have been listed.

He must not be arrogant. He must not be quick tempered, a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but he must be self-controlled. He's not given over into wild, fantastical ideas on top of that. But a person who is disciplined in the word of God is teaching the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and that which accords with godliness.

He's not delving into myths and speculation. So even in his teaching, he is self-controlled or temperate is the word that gets used for that. In First Timothy, chapter three, this is a man who is upright.

That's the next word that we have there. His next qualification, he must be upright. And the best way to understand this is, of course, he he lives righteously. And that is what the Greek word Dikaios means, that he is righteous.

But I think there's more to it than that, because the word also means that he must be impartial. So righteous, but also impartial. He shows no partiality to anybody. James to one, my brothers show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

So he's not treating a certain group of people with favoritism, but he's looking down on these others. It shows more attention to these guys than he does to those. That's not the way that this pastor behaves, but he shows impartiality in the way that he shepherds the flock of God.

This is what it means for him to be upright. He must also be holy. And that word very simply means that he must be set apart. This is not a guy who is worldly and he is not behaving like the rest of the world.

And he is not after the things of this world. He is a heavenly minded man and he desires the things of God and he wants for the people of God to also desire the things of God. And he finally must be disciplined.

And again, you set that in contrast with those other things that were listed. He mustn't be arrogant, quick tempered, drunkard or violent or greedy for gain. This is a man who must be disciplined in his character, in his behavior, in his spiritual disciplines.

He is a man who prays. He is regular in the word also, is not distracted by a million billion things that this culture certainly wants to distract us with. But he is focused upon doing the things of God and what is pleasing to the Lord.

Holding Firm to the Trustworthy Word and Rebuking False Teachers

And finally, verse nine, he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who got who contradict it. And this is the qualification that Paul gave in first Timothy three, that he must be able to teach very same qualification that this overseer must be able to teach.

He just expounds upon what that means a little bit more. He holds fast to the sound words of the Lord Christ and he gives instruction in sound doctrine. Again, not given over to wild or fanciful ideas, not delving into speculate speculations, not clinging to myths, but teaching that which comes from the word of Christ.

And he's also able to rebuke those who contradict it. He protects the flock of God, warning them about the wolves and what those false teachers are teaching. And if anybody comes into the church teaching something false, then he rebukes that person and corrects their false teaching and protects the people of God from those false teachers.

So that's that's part of the job of a shepherd, as he is someone who is shepherding the sheep. He's also protecting them from the wolves. And that's that's one of my responsibilities as a pastor. And it's been one of the ambitions of this ministry of when we understand the text as well, that you would be protected against false doctrine and walking upright in the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray to him now. God, I pray that you would help us to be considerate of others and not arrogant, that we would not be quick tempered, that we would not be given over to substance abuse and temptation, that we would not be violent or greedy for gain.

But teach us, Lord, what it means to be hospitable, to be lovers of good, promoting good things in this world, things that are pleasing to God. Help us to be self-controlled, to lead upright and godly lives in this present age, to be holy and set apart from the world and to be disciplined in all that we say and do, that we would be pleasing unto the Lord, living sacrifices unto your name.

Help us to hold firm to the trustworthy word of Christ, leading others in the sound teachings of our Lord Christ and rebuking those who contradict it, doing all of this to the praise of the great name of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt .com.