Why Our Current System of Church is So Listless (Rev. 3:14—17)
For decades now I have attempted to convince those who insist the way our churches function today is God’s plan is simply not true. I began realizing it several years ago, but only today did God give me, what I believe is the most powerful argument yet against our current system of practicing church. I argued for many years that Paul, almost always referred to the “church in your house,” in his letters; and that is true. Those who presented the counter argument made no attempt to deny that fact, but they simply concluded (incorrectly) the current evolution of body of Christ into the monstrosities we like to call the church was natural. They argue it is the natural evolution of anything that is as important as the church to grow into something better. What utter, unmitigated foolishness. The most disgusting and least biblical argument I have ever heard is that the mega-church and many mega-denominations can do so much more for missions and their communities than can the small home church. That’s much like Gideon’s excuse that he was not the man to do God’s work because he was from a small, insignificant family in Israel (Judges 6:15). Both arguments hold water like a three hundred gallon barrel with a two hundred gallon hole in it. All one has to do is read the story about Gideon’s misadventures with the mighty God of Israel to grasp his complete lack of understanding about God’s way of doing things. He began with 22,000 men and ended up with 300. And those 300 men were divided into three groups who killed 120,000 mighty swordsmen from the Midianites, Amalekites, and sons of the east in one battle. We may logically ask, “Why did God tell Gideon to send home 21,700 warriors and engage the enemy with only 300?” The bible gives us the simple but powerful answer. It was so only He (God) would get the credit for the results. I’d like to humbly suggest the one thing that has been the Achilles heel of the mega-church in America is the proclaimation of its leaders that it needs to be mega to do mega things for the kingdom of God. It has thus, more times than not, left God’s will lurking in the shadows while it demonstrates how much man can do without Him.
Listen and listen carefully. It seem obvious to me the major reason our current system of practicing church is such an abject failure is that it both ignores the biblical admonition found in I Corinthians 14:26-33 and it requires man to invent and perpetuate the one man circus we have come to call weekly sermons, the highly ineffective monologue (the ancient Greek’s way, adapted by the church in 386 A.D., to present man’s philosophy to the masses). Rather than God speaking through His prophets (note the instruction in I Cor. is plural) each week as the church meets, man speaks from his own vain imagination, which he has had to diligently train in order to continue performing his one man show week after week, month after month, year after year, and sometimes for decades. And, even when current brain research confirms it’s the absolute worst way for man to learn, we continue the practice. I have wanted to ask for clarification or add a comment countless times while listening to countless preachers preach countless and mostly boring sermons for the past 38 years. Several times, when asked to fill in for a missing preacher, I have asked the audience to feel free to interrupt me and ask for clarification about anything I say in an attempt to get a dialogue going. Most congregations have looked at me like I was crazy.
I suggest the thing that made the first century churches so alive and vital to the welfare of the communities where they functioned was simple. When they met, they got messages from God because they expected God to speak through His prophets during those meetings; and strangely enough, He did. I’ve discovered most churches I have been in for more than a couple of week’s have had several men who were just as capable as the “senior pastor’ of speaking on behalf of God to His people. I have also discovered, much to my consternation and dismay, those men are seldom allowed to share the wisdom God has given them for the most obvious of reasons. Men who have spent years in school acquiring a degree, a certificate of ordination, and the weight of the mighty seminary or Bible College behind them are too intimidated by anyone who knows as much or more than they do about God’s word to deal with it effectively. Unfortunately, most seminaries and bible colleges apparently spend most of their time teaching their students how to manage a church than how to listen to God’s voice and study His word. I say that because of the fruit those colleges bear. I have been in hundreds of conservative and liberal churches in 38 years, and I can testify from experience that few of them had men in the pulpit who had much wisdom to preach that came from God’s word.
The number who download their messages from the internet is becoming an epidemic of epic proportion. The number who develop a topic and then use a few verses from God’s word to support some vain, humanistic philosophy has, for my entire Christian life, been in the overwhelming majority. I was dumfounded to learn recently that it is a commonly accepted practice for contemporary preachers to go to the internet, download a good message, memorize it, practice using good speech technique, and deliver it as if it were a message God gave them in their own quite time of bible study. Seminaries are even teaching their graduates how to tear up at the appropriate time to really get the attention of their listeners.
The simple, sublime truth I pray churches in America will one day come to realize is that God’s churches function better when a group of ten to twenty couples get together around a table or in a living room of someone’s home and allow God’s prophets to speak. I have personally been in such settings many times in the past 38 years and can attest to the incredible learning that takes place in those settings. Probably, most of you reading this will consider my comments nothing more than an annoying puff of smoke. Unfortunately for the church in America, they are solemn words of truth (I Cor. 14:26-38). Paul ends his instruction on the topic with these sobering words, “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.”
So, consider ignoring anyone who presents an argument against God’s intended plan and purpose for His church. Stop listening, for any extended period, to the vain ramblings men pose that violate the clear teaching of God’s word on the subject of the church. If you are attending a mega-church, you don’t necessarily have to leave it. Just make sure to get into a small, intimate bible study with a group of men and women who love God and who study His word diligently. They might even come from the church you attend. Just refuse to rely on one man’s speeches from a pulpit week after week to be the sole source of your learning about God, His plan and purpose for your life, and His church. There will likely be at least two or three men who are the prophets spoken of by Paul in any small group that starts as the result of anyone seeking to engage God’s original plan for His church. Let them be the real source of your learning. You’ll be amazed at how blessed you will be and how quickly you will grow in the grace and knowledge of God and His word. And don’t try to convince the “senior pastor” of the church you attend that you learn more in your small group than you do from his weekly sermons. He’ll not likely appreciate your honesty. His vanity will, more likely than not, get the best of him. He may even try to figure out how to get you excommunicated from “his” church.
I will close with the following; “Thus says the Lord, ‘It won’t be long before the true church, as it exists in America today, will have to go underground. It will have to meet in homes or private facilities that function as something else during the week. The time is soon coming when government, even in America, will control what preachers can preach. It has already begun in many communities. That will require those who refuse to bow the knee to Baal (the spirit of anti-Christ) to begin meeting secretly. They will continue to preach in the streets, which will result in many of them being arrested and imprisoned for extended periods of time. Finally, once the anti-Christ has gained sufficient power, he will begin executing those who defy him.’”
Please post a comment at the end of this article if you read it, even if you strongly disagree. I would appreciate knowing how many did actually take the time to read it.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
God’s Elder Must be Free from the Love of Money
Chapter 12
Again, this is one of those areas where I have been sorely lacking for at least two full decades. As a new believer, I had no problem because I didn’t make much in the way of income. Then, along came Satan. I got a real job, making pretty good money and voila! I got sidetracked. My wife and I currently make nearly $90,000 a year and that ain’t hay. But I have never quit studying God’s word. That is the only thing that saved me (figuratively speaking). As I continued reading God’s word, I became aware that I was forfeiting my calling to preach the word for the love of money (Matt. 13:22). Please trust me brethren when I say, we who are called of God are not exempt from the temptation of those who are not. The difference between us and them is that we listen when God speaks.
I have such a yearning to be faithful to my calling today, that I haven’t a doubt in a million that God has indeed placed this yearning in my soul. I am free from the love of money. My love of money ceases when it fails to allow me to preach the word in season and out. When, at the end of the rainbow, money fails to produce fruit, it has failed to produce God’s purpose. When God’s word says God’s Elder in God’s church must be free from the love of money, it means plain and simply that God’s Elder must be free from the love of money. There is no human counterpart to such freedom. It is beyond the wildest imaginations of man’s heart. God’s Elder must be free from the love of money!
Again, this is one of those areas where I have been sorely lacking for at least two full decades. As a new believer, I had no problem because I didn’t make much in the way of income. Then, along came Satan. I got a real job, making pretty good money and voila! I got sidetracked. My wife and I currently make nearly $90,000 a year and that ain’t hay. But I have never quit studying God’s word. That is the only thing that saved me (figuratively speaking). As I continued reading God’s word, I became aware that I was forfeiting my calling to preach the word for the love of money (Matt. 13:22). Please trust me brethren when I say, we who are called of God are not exempt from the temptation of those who are not. The difference between us and them is that we listen when God speaks.
I have such a yearning to be faithful to my calling today, that I haven’t a doubt in a million that God has indeed placed this yearning in my soul. I am free from the love of money. My love of money ceases when it fails to allow me to preach the word in season and out. When, at the end of the rainbow, money fails to produce fruit, it has failed to produce God’s purpose. When God’s word says God’s Elder in God’s church must be free from the love of money, it means plain and simply that God’s Elder must be free from the love of money. There is no human counterpart to such freedom. It is beyond the wildest imaginations of man’s heart. God’s Elder must be free from the love of money!
The Elder Must Manage His Household Well
Chapter 13
“He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),” (I Tim. 3:5). Probably one of the most difficult tasks of all for the Elder is knowing how to keep his household under control with dignity. In an era in American jurist prudence when there is a greater propensity to charge parents who apply biblical discipline in the home with abuse than to punish children who commit murder, it is difficult to imagine things are going to get any better. Certainly, The clear indication from this verse is that, not only must the Elder be the husband of one wife, but that he must be a husband. One who is not married, or who has not been successfully married (not divorced, but possibly widowed) qualifies to serve as an Elder. Likewise, it seems apparent the Elder must have had children. The challenge of being a godly husband and father has few equals in this life. After 34 years as a husband, foster dad, uncle, and uncle-in-law, I still struggle with some of the most basic principles of loving but firm leadership as taught in God’s word. It is one thing to be a leader; it is quite another to be a leader who can lead, keeping those he leads, under control with all dignity. Even the word control has been demonized today by those would prefer anarchy.
Those who would lead as dictated in God’s word are often called “control freaks.” When a husband insists his wife allow him to be the one who interprets God’s word in the home and she proclaims something like, “God’s living in me too,” we see the perfect example of Gen. 3:16b, “. . . yet your desire shall be fore your husband, and he will rule over you.” The phrase is the same one used in Gen. 4:7 where God is talking with Cain when he says, “. . . sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” It is the bent of woman, when she yields to self-indulgence, to attempt a coup on the authority of the husband. And godly women are not exempt from this daily temptation. It is the most basic tenet of rebellion against the plan of God for creation. In all of Satan’s arsenal, his most effective tool is deception. In America especially, he works overtime to convince the Christian woman she is positionally equal to her husband. After all, she is an American; and America is a democratic society where everyone is equal. Satan used the same strategy unsuccessfully with Jesus in Matthew 4.
There is no question God’s Spirit resides in the born-again woman just as He resides in the born-again man. There is also no question that the one who refuses to subject himself to the indwelling Spirit of God is in direct rebellion against God’s word (I Peter 3:1-6). Anyone claiming to be living a life in subjection to Jesus as Lord who does not, at the same time, live his life in subjection to Jesus’ word is clearly living a lie (I Jn. 3:24; 4:15). It is required of the Elder in God’s church to keep his household under control with all dignity. An inability to do that simply means he will not be willing to go against the political and religious thinking of a given culture to administer God’s word accurately in His church to His flock. Any man who does not have the intestinal fortitude to stand against the pressures of society in defense of God’s word, has no business being an Elder in God’s church.
The church cannot be obedient to God’s word and remain politically correct. And it cannot afford to cave to the pressures of the culture in which it finds itself. While God’s people, for example, do not have to wear clothes that make them look like they purchased them at the Salvation Army, they do need to dress with dignity, converse with dignity, act in a dignified manner, and, at all times demonstrate by their chaste behavior they are children of the King. These are the things about which Paul (under the power of the Holy Spirit) was speaking when He commanded us to be separate II Cor. 6:17).
If a man has not gained the respect and admiration of his wife and children, he does not yet qualify to be a leader in God’s church. I think it is worthy of note that an Elder might indeed have a son who is in jail for criminal activity. He must not have a son who is committing sin against anyone within or without the body of Christ who is not being appropriately disciplined for such sin. The son who got involved in drugs, and as a result is in jail, is being kept under control. And while some would argue that is not with dignity, I must disagree. The best father in the world cannot prevent any member of God’s creation (even his own child) from rebelling against God and His word. And Elder must deal with such rebellion as demanded in God’s word if he is to continue to qualify to hold the office of Elder. He must resist the temptation to fear what man can do to him if he administers God’s word in his home.
Some states today are actually seeking to pass legislation making it illegal for parents to administer corporal punishment. Beloved, that is when it is time to obey God rather than man. Elders in God’s church do not make excuses for the ungodly behavior of their children. They apply God’s word of discipline, which will sometimes involve the use of the rod (Prov. 29:15). I shudder in fear and trembling when I hear any man of God brag he has never lifted a finger against his child. And the one who proclaims a father should never discipline his child in anger doesn’t know God very well. There is such a thing as righteous anger, and God administers discipline often while righteously angry. Anyone who doesn’t believe Jesus was angry when he overturned the tables when the money changers were using God’s house for profit is living in la la land (Matt. 21:13). It is the worst kind of ignorance, which brags about refusing to discipline the rebellious child with the rod, because it breeds contempt in the heart of the child who thinks he can do anything without fear his father will ever use it. Proverbs 13:24, 25 reads, “He who withholds his rod, hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” So, contrary to what Doctor Spock, Dr. Townsend, or Dr. Dobson tell us, God’s word says it is the father who withholds the rod who actually hates his son. And it is also the ungodly man who does not make sure his wife realizes she is not to teach or exercise authority over man in spiritual things in the home or the church. I have written an expose on that subject called God’s Role for Women. It is readily available for free for anyone who asks. You can contact me most of the time at 1-406-488-1447 or email me at purkey@midrivers.com.
Finally, it is clear that one who cannot manage his own household will never be able to manage God’s household. The church, filled with strong personalities and men and women filled with God’s Spirit, is a magnificent thing to behold when those strong personalities are brought under the guidance of godly Elders. When not under that godly guidance, it is either an impotent, lackluster, lukewarm body just waiting to be buried, or it is a building filled with carnival like activities once, twice, or several times a week. Jesus never danced in the aisles of the synagogues. None of his disciples ever slew anyone in the Spirit. He never smacked anyone on the forehead to heal them. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with raising our hands in praise shouting for joy, rolling in the aisles and hopping up and down like a bunny rabbit is a clear failure to maintain control with dignity. A child hops up and down with he gets a new tricycle. Mature adults don’t do such things. It isn’t dignified; and thus, it isn’t godly.
“He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),” (I Tim. 3:5). Probably one of the most difficult tasks of all for the Elder is knowing how to keep his household under control with dignity. In an era in American jurist prudence when there is a greater propensity to charge parents who apply biblical discipline in the home with abuse than to punish children who commit murder, it is difficult to imagine things are going to get any better. Certainly, The clear indication from this verse is that, not only must the Elder be the husband of one wife, but that he must be a husband. One who is not married, or who has not been successfully married (not divorced, but possibly widowed) qualifies to serve as an Elder. Likewise, it seems apparent the Elder must have had children. The challenge of being a godly husband and father has few equals in this life. After 34 years as a husband, foster dad, uncle, and uncle-in-law, I still struggle with some of the most basic principles of loving but firm leadership as taught in God’s word. It is one thing to be a leader; it is quite another to be a leader who can lead, keeping those he leads, under control with all dignity. Even the word control has been demonized today by those would prefer anarchy.
Those who would lead as dictated in God’s word are often called “control freaks.” When a husband insists his wife allow him to be the one who interprets God’s word in the home and she proclaims something like, “God’s living in me too,” we see the perfect example of Gen. 3:16b, “. . . yet your desire shall be fore your husband, and he will rule over you.” The phrase is the same one used in Gen. 4:7 where God is talking with Cain when he says, “. . . sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” It is the bent of woman, when she yields to self-indulgence, to attempt a coup on the authority of the husband. And godly women are not exempt from this daily temptation. It is the most basic tenet of rebellion against the plan of God for creation. In all of Satan’s arsenal, his most effective tool is deception. In America especially, he works overtime to convince the Christian woman she is positionally equal to her husband. After all, she is an American; and America is a democratic society where everyone is equal. Satan used the same strategy unsuccessfully with Jesus in Matthew 4.
There is no question God’s Spirit resides in the born-again woman just as He resides in the born-again man. There is also no question that the one who refuses to subject himself to the indwelling Spirit of God is in direct rebellion against God’s word (I Peter 3:1-6). Anyone claiming to be living a life in subjection to Jesus as Lord who does not, at the same time, live his life in subjection to Jesus’ word is clearly living a lie (I Jn. 3:24; 4:15). It is required of the Elder in God’s church to keep his household under control with all dignity. An inability to do that simply means he will not be willing to go against the political and religious thinking of a given culture to administer God’s word accurately in His church to His flock. Any man who does not have the intestinal fortitude to stand against the pressures of society in defense of God’s word, has no business being an Elder in God’s church.
The church cannot be obedient to God’s word and remain politically correct. And it cannot afford to cave to the pressures of the culture in which it finds itself. While God’s people, for example, do not have to wear clothes that make them look like they purchased them at the Salvation Army, they do need to dress with dignity, converse with dignity, act in a dignified manner, and, at all times demonstrate by their chaste behavior they are children of the King. These are the things about which Paul (under the power of the Holy Spirit) was speaking when He commanded us to be separate II Cor. 6:17).
If a man has not gained the respect and admiration of his wife and children, he does not yet qualify to be a leader in God’s church. I think it is worthy of note that an Elder might indeed have a son who is in jail for criminal activity. He must not have a son who is committing sin against anyone within or without the body of Christ who is not being appropriately disciplined for such sin. The son who got involved in drugs, and as a result is in jail, is being kept under control. And while some would argue that is not with dignity, I must disagree. The best father in the world cannot prevent any member of God’s creation (even his own child) from rebelling against God and His word. And Elder must deal with such rebellion as demanded in God’s word if he is to continue to qualify to hold the office of Elder. He must resist the temptation to fear what man can do to him if he administers God’s word in his home.
Some states today are actually seeking to pass legislation making it illegal for parents to administer corporal punishment. Beloved, that is when it is time to obey God rather than man. Elders in God’s church do not make excuses for the ungodly behavior of their children. They apply God’s word of discipline, which will sometimes involve the use of the rod (Prov. 29:15). I shudder in fear and trembling when I hear any man of God brag he has never lifted a finger against his child. And the one who proclaims a father should never discipline his child in anger doesn’t know God very well. There is such a thing as righteous anger, and God administers discipline often while righteously angry. Anyone who doesn’t believe Jesus was angry when he overturned the tables when the money changers were using God’s house for profit is living in la la land (Matt. 21:13). It is the worst kind of ignorance, which brags about refusing to discipline the rebellious child with the rod, because it breeds contempt in the heart of the child who thinks he can do anything without fear his father will ever use it. Proverbs 13:24, 25 reads, “He who withholds his rod, hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” So, contrary to what Doctor Spock, Dr. Townsend, or Dr. Dobson tell us, God’s word says it is the father who withholds the rod who actually hates his son. And it is also the ungodly man who does not make sure his wife realizes she is not to teach or exercise authority over man in spiritual things in the home or the church. I have written an expose on that subject called God’s Role for Women. It is readily available for free for anyone who asks. You can contact me most of the time at 1-406-488-1447 or email me at purkey@midrivers.com.
Finally, it is clear that one who cannot manage his own household will never be able to manage God’s household. The church, filled with strong personalities and men and women filled with God’s Spirit, is a magnificent thing to behold when those strong personalities are brought under the guidance of godly Elders. When not under that godly guidance, it is either an impotent, lackluster, lukewarm body just waiting to be buried, or it is a building filled with carnival like activities once, twice, or several times a week. Jesus never danced in the aisles of the synagogues. None of his disciples ever slew anyone in the Spirit. He never smacked anyone on the forehead to heal them. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with raising our hands in praise shouting for joy, rolling in the aisles and hopping up and down like a bunny rabbit is a clear failure to maintain control with dignity. A child hops up and down with he gets a new tricycle. Mature adults don’t do such things. It isn’t dignified; and thus, it isn’t godly.
The Elder Must Not be a New Convert
Chapter 14
It’s especially interesting here that God’s word does not define what it means by the term “new convert.” Therefore one can only interpret new it is light of what is old. This reasoning is the best case for situation ethics I have ever espoused. Of course however, we are not dealing with ethics here. But we are dealing here as nowhere else in scripture with the idea that Elders will, of necessity, be the eldest men available in a particular geographic area. Unfortunately, that might mean an Elder in a church in Rapid City, South Dakota might have been a Christian for two or three decades, while an Elder in a church in Shelby, Montana might only have been a Christian two or three years. In other words, I think this verse clearly means that the Elders of the local body must be those who have been walking with Jesus the longest in a particular group of believers.
I Tim. 4:12 indicates Timothy must have been rather young. No one knows for sure what that means. If Paul was eighty when he wrote the letter, one who is fifty would seem young. And nothing in the text indicates Timothy was an Elder in Ephesus. I rather doubt he was. He was a church planter and an evangelist who usually traveled with Paul. The point here is that a new believer is not yet ready to handle the incredible authority that goes with Eldership. A new believer, no matter how old he might be physically, spiritually is not ready to deal with the responsibility of leadership in God’s church. When new believers receive such anointing, they often become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil (I Tim. 3:6). God’s Elder must not be a new convert.
It’s especially interesting here that God’s word does not define what it means by the term “new convert.” Therefore one can only interpret new it is light of what is old. This reasoning is the best case for situation ethics I have ever espoused. Of course however, we are not dealing with ethics here. But we are dealing here as nowhere else in scripture with the idea that Elders will, of necessity, be the eldest men available in a particular geographic area. Unfortunately, that might mean an Elder in a church in Rapid City, South Dakota might have been a Christian for two or three decades, while an Elder in a church in Shelby, Montana might only have been a Christian two or three years. In other words, I think this verse clearly means that the Elders of the local body must be those who have been walking with Jesus the longest in a particular group of believers.
I Tim. 4:12 indicates Timothy must have been rather young. No one knows for sure what that means. If Paul was eighty when he wrote the letter, one who is fifty would seem young. And nothing in the text indicates Timothy was an Elder in Ephesus. I rather doubt he was. He was a church planter and an evangelist who usually traveled with Paul. The point here is that a new believer is not yet ready to handle the incredible authority that goes with Eldership. A new believer, no matter how old he might be physically, spiritually is not ready to deal with the responsibility of leadership in God’s church. When new believers receive such anointing, they often become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil (I Tim. 3:6). God’s Elder must not be a new convert.
The Elder Must Have a Good Reputation
Chapter 15
The obvious reason the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church is stated in the verse, “so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Several years ago I had an unpleasant experience with a member of a country western band I played with. That person is so incredibly immature that he has taken the opportunity numerous times since that event to attempt to make life miserable for me publicly. He has failed to do that, nevertheless, his response to that insignificant event has served to remind me how critical it is we carefully guard all things we say and do no matter when and where we are. We must realize the world is full of sociopaths. Great multitudes of people who appear to be perfectly normal are not. What is important about Elders is that they recognize ungrounded satanic assaults against a fellow Elder. Once more we see why the Elder in God’s local church must meet stringent qualifications as indicated by His word before he is anointed to the ministry. And beloved, seminaries and bible colleges have no biblical authority to do ordain men into ministry. The anointing of Elders is entirely the ministry of the local church. It is essential, if a man desires to be an Elder in the local church that he live above reproach. That means he must live a transparent life in which he makes no attempt to hide any of his activities. The Elder can’t be one who occasionally experiences road rage, yells at his wife for taking too long to get ready for church, curses his children for spilling milk at the church picnic, smacks his son for breaking a plate, writes an editorial defaming the name of a community leader, refuses to care for orphans and widows, allows his wife to dress inappropriately in public, defends the veracity of his children when they have obviously committed criminal acts, or looks upon a woman to lust after her.
So the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church. If church leaders are not exemplary citizens, lost souls will not likely be drawn to Christ. And it's expecially difficult to effectively teach what one does not live.
The obvious reason the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church is stated in the verse, “so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Several years ago I had an unpleasant experience with a member of a country western band I played with. That person is so incredibly immature that he has taken the opportunity numerous times since that event to attempt to make life miserable for me publicly. He has failed to do that, nevertheless, his response to that insignificant event has served to remind me how critical it is we carefully guard all things we say and do no matter when and where we are. We must realize the world is full of sociopaths. Great multitudes of people who appear to be perfectly normal are not. What is important about Elders is that they recognize ungrounded satanic assaults against a fellow Elder. Once more we see why the Elder in God’s local church must meet stringent qualifications as indicated by His word before he is anointed to the ministry. And beloved, seminaries and bible colleges have no biblical authority to do ordain men into ministry. The anointing of Elders is entirely the ministry of the local church. It is essential, if a man desires to be an Elder in the local church that he live above reproach. That means he must live a transparent life in which he makes no attempt to hide any of his activities. The Elder can’t be one who occasionally experiences road rage, yells at his wife for taking too long to get ready for church, curses his children for spilling milk at the church picnic, smacks his son for breaking a plate, writes an editorial defaming the name of a community leader, refuses to care for orphans and widows, allows his wife to dress inappropriately in public, defends the veracity of his children when they have obviously committed criminal acts, or looks upon a woman to lust after her.
So the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church. If church leaders are not exemplary citizens, lost souls will not likely be drawn to Christ. And it's expecially difficult to effectively teach what one does not live.
Titus’ Instruction about Elders
Chapter 16
Moving to Titus 1:5-9, we discover some nuances which are a little different from those found in Timothy. Elders are commanded in Titus to be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion, above reproach, not self willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospital, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.” We will ignore instructions like the Elder must be, the husband of one wife, above reproach, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, hospital, because we have already addressed them in Paul’s admonitions to Timothy. We will address the issues of “not accused of dissipation or rebellion, and not self-willed, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, and holding fast the faithful word which is accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.”
It is not possible to completely separate the meaning of Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus. Both are meant to be conclusive. In other words, Timothy did not need to hear the instruction Paul gave to Titus to select godly men to lead God’s church in Ephesus, and Titus did not need to hear Paul’s instructions to Timothy to know how to select godly Elders on the isle of Crete. That said, we have the luxury of having Paul’s instruction to both Timothy and Titus. Therefore, we are expected, according to the admonitions of Romans 15:4 and I Cor. 10:11, to apply them both to our thinking when we select Elders in God’s local church today.
Moving to Titus 1:5-9, we discover some nuances which are a little different from those found in Timothy. Elders are commanded in Titus to be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion, above reproach, not self willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospital, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.” We will ignore instructions like the Elder must be, the husband of one wife, above reproach, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, hospital, because we have already addressed them in Paul’s admonitions to Timothy. We will address the issues of “not accused of dissipation or rebellion, and not self-willed, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, and holding fast the faithful word which is accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.”
It is not possible to completely separate the meaning of Paul’s instructions to Timothy and Titus. Both are meant to be conclusive. In other words, Timothy did not need to hear the instruction Paul gave to Titus to select godly men to lead God’s church in Ephesus, and Titus did not need to hear Paul’s instructions to Timothy to know how to select godly Elders on the isle of Crete. That said, we have the luxury of having Paul’s instruction to both Timothy and Titus. Therefore, we are expected, according to the admonitions of Romans 15:4 and I Cor. 10:11, to apply them both to our thinking when we select Elders in God’s local church today.
The Elder Must Not be Accused of Dissipation or Rebellion
Chapter 17
Like Paul’s instruction to Timothy, the Elder must have a good reputation with those outside the church. But this instruction goes even further to define the lifestyle of the one who desires to be an Elder in God’s church. The idea of dissipation here carries with it the concept of temperance. Here, it means, the Elder must do all things in moderation. He must not be one who drinks excessively, gambles at all (gambling is sin because it violates the tenor of Proverbs 20:21), spends six hours on Sunday watching football games(demonstrates obsession), watches any sexually explicit “R” rated movies (sexually immoral), misses a fellowship with the brethren to go hunting, fishing, playing a sport (demonstrates incredible lack of insight into what is truly important), or dreams about owning something he doesn’t need for basic sustenance (demonstrates an idolatrous attitude). Doing any of the above is excessive and that is what dissipation means.
Rebellion is a little easier to identify, but it is not so easy to rectify. Please allow me to clarify. Rebellion is any action or activity, thought or act that opposes the revealed word of God. Please allow me to clarify further. The man who refuses to lovingly teach his wife about the need to cover her head when praying or prophesying publicly is rebelling against the revealed will of God (I Cor. 11:5, 6). The man who refuses to use the rod to discipline his children appropriately for inappropriate behavior is in direct rebellion against the revealed will of God (Prov. 19:18). The man who allows his under aged children to attend sporting events when they should be attending church is in direct rebellion against the revealed will of God (Prov. 22:6). The man who does not set the example in his home and community for purity and holy living is in direct rebellion against the word of God (I Thes. 4:11, 12). The man who does not commit a significant amount of time daily to the study of God’s word, prayer, and the ministry of his gift(s) to the body of Christ is in direct rebellion to the revealed will of God (I Tim. 2:15; I Pet. 4:10; I Thes. 5:17).
Granted, all of these sins are forgivable, but sins they are, and no man who “practices” them qualifies to lead God’s church. The Elder in God’s church must not be one who practices dissipation and rebellion. He may be one who unintentionally gets caught up in one such thing on a rare occasion. But he must be one who confesses such activity and repents of it immediately upon being confronted with it. God’s Elders are not men who never err. They are men who immediately recognize their responsibility to deal with sin appropriately when they become aware they have committed some trespass against God or another of His creatures. Occasionally, I don’t become aware I have offended a brother or sister for months (in one case it was years) after the fact. In such cases, it is essential that the Elder in God’s church seek God’s immediate guidance in how to appropriately handle such a matter.
I am currently in an ongoing long distance battle with a brother in Christ over sin he has committed for decades, and he refuses to deal with bitterness and anger he has harbored for some who have mistreated him in the past. I have been unsuccessful thus far in convincing him of his need to forgive those individuals and ask their forgiveness for his unforgiving spirit against them. The bitterness he harbors against them is a sad but classical example of the warning found in I Corinthians 11:27 against partaking of communion with unconfessed sin in one’s life. His anger and bitterness is literally killing him. It is eating him up from the inside out. He literally stopped growing spiritually over 22 years ago when he divorced his wife, moved in with his girl friend, and disconnected with his children and most of his family members.
Finally, after over twenty years of trying to get him to see his sin, he disconnected with me too. I continue to pray for him, but he is a perfect example of a man who has been a professing Christian for nearly forty years who hasn’t walked with Jesus for over twenty of those years. He is definitely not Elder material. Living six hundred miles away and not knowing where he attends church, it is not possible for me to implement the Matthew 18 follow up principles. I have continued to pray for him daily and must be content to leave him in God’s hands. Of course, that is the best place one could possibly leave anyone since God is the one who loves him as no other.
Like Paul’s instruction to Timothy, the Elder must have a good reputation with those outside the church. But this instruction goes even further to define the lifestyle of the one who desires to be an Elder in God’s church. The idea of dissipation here carries with it the concept of temperance. Here, it means, the Elder must do all things in moderation. He must not be one who drinks excessively, gambles at all (gambling is sin because it violates the tenor of Proverbs 20:21), spends six hours on Sunday watching football games(demonstrates obsession), watches any sexually explicit “R” rated movies (sexually immoral), misses a fellowship with the brethren to go hunting, fishing, playing a sport (demonstrates incredible lack of insight into what is truly important), or dreams about owning something he doesn’t need for basic sustenance (demonstrates an idolatrous attitude). Doing any of the above is excessive and that is what dissipation means.
Rebellion is a little easier to identify, but it is not so easy to rectify. Please allow me to clarify. Rebellion is any action or activity, thought or act that opposes the revealed word of God. Please allow me to clarify further. The man who refuses to lovingly teach his wife about the need to cover her head when praying or prophesying publicly is rebelling against the revealed will of God (I Cor. 11:5, 6). The man who refuses to use the rod to discipline his children appropriately for inappropriate behavior is in direct rebellion against the revealed will of God (Prov. 19:18). The man who allows his under aged children to attend sporting events when they should be attending church is in direct rebellion against the revealed will of God (Prov. 22:6). The man who does not set the example in his home and community for purity and holy living is in direct rebellion against the word of God (I Thes. 4:11, 12). The man who does not commit a significant amount of time daily to the study of God’s word, prayer, and the ministry of his gift(s) to the body of Christ is in direct rebellion to the revealed will of God (I Tim. 2:15; I Pet. 4:10; I Thes. 5:17).
Granted, all of these sins are forgivable, but sins they are, and no man who “practices” them qualifies to lead God’s church. The Elder in God’s church must not be one who practices dissipation and rebellion. He may be one who unintentionally gets caught up in one such thing on a rare occasion. But he must be one who confesses such activity and repents of it immediately upon being confronted with it. God’s Elders are not men who never err. They are men who immediately recognize their responsibility to deal with sin appropriately when they become aware they have committed some trespass against God or another of His creatures. Occasionally, I don’t become aware I have offended a brother or sister for months (in one case it was years) after the fact. In such cases, it is essential that the Elder in God’s church seek God’s immediate guidance in how to appropriately handle such a matter.
I am currently in an ongoing long distance battle with a brother in Christ over sin he has committed for decades, and he refuses to deal with bitterness and anger he has harbored for some who have mistreated him in the past. I have been unsuccessful thus far in convincing him of his need to forgive those individuals and ask their forgiveness for his unforgiving spirit against them. The bitterness he harbors against them is a sad but classical example of the warning found in I Corinthians 11:27 against partaking of communion with unconfessed sin in one’s life. His anger and bitterness is literally killing him. It is eating him up from the inside out. He literally stopped growing spiritually over 22 years ago when he divorced his wife, moved in with his girl friend, and disconnected with his children and most of his family members.
Finally, after over twenty years of trying to get him to see his sin, he disconnected with me too. I continue to pray for him, but he is a perfect example of a man who has been a professing Christian for nearly forty years who hasn’t walked with Jesus for over twenty of those years. He is definitely not Elder material. Living six hundred miles away and not knowing where he attends church, it is not possible for me to implement the Matthew 18 follow up principles. I have continued to pray for him daily and must be content to leave him in God’s hands. Of course, that is the best place one could possibly leave anyone since God is the one who loves him as no other.
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