A messenger as a lord of hosts. The bible offers a sound and detailed description of what such a person should look like and we should settle for nothing less in our churches When We Understand The Text.
In thinking of qualifications of a pastor I drew out this question that I received following one of our recent what videos that was posted about correcting false teachers. We’ll go through that first and then get into the question that was asked of me by email.
In Matthew 18 Jesus gave the church guidelines for correction. “If a brother sins against you, first go and tell him his fault just between the two of you. If he does not listen to you take one or two others along, if he refuses to listen to them then go tell it to the church and if he refused to listen to the church consider him faithless and crooked.” So when someone is a false teacher this is how we’re supposed to treat them, right? No these are instructions on confronting sin between brothers and sisters in Christ who are part of the same gathering. You can’t take someone before a church that you or they are not a part of. How did Jesus confront false teachers? Did he go to the Pharisees and correct each one privately? Did he take a few disciples along before taking it to the church? No he rebuked the false teachers of the temple in front of everyone! He called them serpents and vipers. He called them son’s of hell who produced more son’s of hell. And he did it in love, eternal souls were at stake. The teachers needed to know their eternal souls were at stake. And Jesus wanted the people to avoid such men. One of the qualifications of a pastor is to hold firm to the trust worthy word as taught so that he man give instruction in sound doctrine also rebuke those who contradict it. Also sometimes those false teachers need to be maned. Examples include The Seven Sons Of Skiva, Haminas and Alexanders, Simon The Magician, Demos, Diotrephes, the Nicolaitans they must be silenced the apostles tell us for they upset entire church families teaching for sample gain, they ought not to teach When We Understand The Text.
We’ve got some great scripture that gives us a very detailed instructions on what that man should look like. 1 Timothy Chapter 3 the saying is trustworthy anyone who aspires to the role of overseers, which is a pastor, elder, shepherd, etc. He must be above reproach. HE also must be a man, that’s totally in the context of what we read at the end of chapter two right before that. He must be above reproach, in other words there is no wrong doing that you know of that can be brought against this man. He must be blameless in his present state. He must be the husband of one wife, that phrase get interpreted a lot of different ways. I’m of the camp that believes that a person can previously been divorced and can still be qualified to be a pastor. There was a man who I was counseling who was divorced before he got saved and I told him, “I don’t even think that should be considered. You were dead in your sins and your trespasses then. What should more be considered is who you are as a christians not what you were before you came to christ. I’ve heard Doctor Molour say that Husband of one wife mean he must be married and tend to agree with Doctor Molour on that. Now someone might argue that the apostle Paul wasn’t married, but Paul was an apostle that’s totally different most of the apostles were married expect for Paul and John. There is a certain accountability that a minister has if he is married that a single minister does not if he isn’t. Especially in todays world, I think it is critically important that a pastor is married. He must be sober minded, in other words he is not just giving himself over to wild thoughts, fantasies and imposing things that are not there into the word. He holds steadfast to the true word as given. He must be self controlled. He must be respectable, he must be hospitable. He must have his home open, you can come in and see how he lives with his wife and children. He welcomes people in. He must be able to teach. This is the qualification that separates a pastor from a deacon. He must not be a drunkard, self explanatory. He must not be violent but gentle. He must not be quarrelsome he must not be a lover of money. Because if he is a lover a money he will be willing to compromise the word of God to make a buck. He must manage his own household well will all dignity, keeping his children submissive. 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 might become puffed up with conceit and fall to condemnation of the devil. More over he must be thought of well by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace into a snare of the devil.
Paul gives this instruction to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 starting in verse 23. You must not be involved with foolish, ignorant controversies you know they breed quarrel and the lords servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach and patently enduring evil correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth and they must come to their senses and escape the devil after being captured by him to do his will. So Paul gives instructions to Timothy here that a minister of the word can’t be quarrelsome with those outside the church. So well thought of by outsiders, that is a qualification of a pastor. We see qualifications of ministers in Titus chapter 1 where Paul says to Titus this is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained into order and put elder in every town as I directed you and then it goes on to tell what an elder, overseer of the church is supposed to look like.
Titus 1:5-9
New International Version (NIV)
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.