Page 41 - Pastoral Epistles student textbook

[c]
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy
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for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them
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also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives
[d]
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likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons
each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households
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well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great
confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus
Titus 1:1-9.
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders
[d]
in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his
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children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an
[e]
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overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered
[f]
or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright,
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holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able
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to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
[g]
The Apostle Paul is giving Timothy and Titus a list of qualities (not qualifications) that should be
evident in a person’s life if they are going to serve as either elder or deacon – or as a leader in the local
church.
These are not qualifications since qualifications would mean these items must be evident or the
person would not be eligible to serve. No one is perfect. We all fall short, but God uses imperfect
people to do the work of the church. By using the word qualities, it does not diminish what we are
looking for but it does help us to understand that … we are looking for qualities in a person’s life –
some may be more evident than others – and it possible that some of the items on the list may not
actually be evident in the person’s life at the present time, but that would not make them
automatically ineligible to serve.

Identify some qualities that should be evident in a person’s life who is being
asked to help lead the church – items that are NOT found in these chapters.

1. Prayer.
2. Faithful in attendance.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Paul wants Timothy to understand that without question – the leaders (elders and deacons) of our
churches must have character qualities clearly evident in their life - with special emphasis on
character, family and faithfulness. And if these qualities are not evident – the person is not qualified
to serve.

In the United States, we elect a new president every four years. And for the months and months prior
to the election - television stations run one program after the next talking about every imaginable area
of all the candidates’ lives. Each candidate talks about their plans for the
future and how they would make America a better place. The final
candidates have their lives investigated by every imaginable source. No
stone was left unturned. But what if the television stations had access to
real-live video of how the candidate treated the other people in their family
(when no one was watching); about how they treated their neighbors; about
the websites they visited on the internet, etc. If we had access to all that information would it make a
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