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.