Page 50 - Pastoral Epistles student textbook

1 Peter 2:12. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of
doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

 There has been terrible damage to the church of Jesus Christ because unqualified men have been
put into leadership.
Whenever these things happen, many people are wounded. Some, who were shaky in their faith, leave
the church and sometimes leave the faith. Unbelievers make fun of God and the church and find
reasons to continue in their sins. So, it is imperative that we, as a church, only put into leadership men
who are spiritually mature, as seen in their home life and in their personal character.

Suggested questions that should be asked of every person considering serving as a leader.
Based on 1 Timothy 3:4 and Titus 1:6 …

• Do you give generously to the Lord?
• Do you love your wife?
• Have you ever had an affair?
• How do you train your kids?
• What are your Bible reading habits?
• What are your prayer habits?
• How do you lead your family?

How is the Scriptural method of choosing church leaders different from the methods used in
your church?
• If you had to single out just one of these qualities in choosing a man for church
leadership, which one would it be? Why?
• Who has what you believe to be a unique way to choose leaders in their church?

J. I. Packer (A Quest for Godliness [Crossway Books], 1990, pp. 51-52) writes,

“Many churches had not had a sermon preached in them for years.” Many of the
clergy were biblically ignorant. In this spiritually bleak time, God raised up the Puritans. They
believed that pastors “are responsible for rebuking heresy and defending truth, lest their
flocks be misled and thereby weakened, if not worse. Biblical truth is nourishing, human
error is killing, so spiritual shepherds must guard sound doctrine at all costs” (ibid., p. 64).
Packer observes (p. 98), We all need to grow in understanding the Bible so that we can know
God better and follow His ways more carefully. Part of the role of elders is to know Scripture
well enough that they are able to keep the church in the truth in the face of Satan’s repeated
attempts to introduce error.

49