1 Timothy 3; Titus 1; Character of Elders

PastorRodney’s Weblog

01/05 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1; Character of Elders; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250105_character-of-elders.mp3

Intro/Recap

In these few weeks leading up to our annual church business meeting, where we will be affirming a group of men to serve this church in shepherding, in watching over the church, to serve in this church as elders, we are looking at what the Bible says about elders. Last week we looked at Acts 20, and we saw that:

Elders are men with maturity and wisdom; overseers who watch over the flock, who shepherd the church.

Elders are above all those who serve and seek to please the Lord with all humility.

Elders declare, teach and testify to the good news of God’s grace toward sinners who are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that gives hope of cleansing, transformation and new affections, both for the elders and those whom they serve.

Elders take their responsibility seriously, and pay close attention to their own lives and beliefs. Elders’ lives are to be characterized by prayer.

Elders are made by the gifting and equipping of the Holy Spirit and recognized by the local church.

Character of Elders

Today I want to look at what kind of a man the Bible tells us ought to serve as an elder. We will start by looking at 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

1 Timothy 3:1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Titus 1:5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

There are character qualities that an elder must have, and there are character flaws that an elder must not have. Elders are to be men of integrity, who follow Jesus closely and imitate him well.

Desire

Paul tells Timothy “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” The work of an elder is work, it is a task. It requires a commitment of time and energy. So the one who does this work must have a God-given desire to serve the church in this way. Peter tells the elders to shepherd, exercising oversight “not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly” (1Pet.5:1-2). There is to be a godly desire, not for power or gain, but an eager desire to sacrificially serve for the good of others, for building up the body of Christ.

Above Reproach

Paul tells both Timothy and Titus that an elder must be above reproach. He does not say that an elder must be sinless; that would disqualify everyone, for John says “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1Jn1:8). When Jesus challenged “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7), after any self-examination, no one but Jesus remained. Paul uses different negative words in Timothy and Titus; ‘not convicted’ and ‘not called into question’, to communicate this concept of not being susceptible of reproach. We know all too well from the political campaigns of what it looks like for a person to not be above reproach. We want a man like Daniel, whose enemies admitted:

Daniel 6:4 …they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Paul spells out what he means by ‘above reproach’; in Timothy he says ‘the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, …not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.’ He says in Titus:

Titus 1:6 …the husband of one wife, …7 …He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

There are character qualities an elder must have; he must be a one woman man, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, gentle, hospitable, a lover of good, upright, holy, disciplined.

There are character flaws that must not be present; He must not be a drunkard, not violent, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, not greedy for gain, not arrogant or quick tempered.

He must be a person of integrity; sexual integrity, moral integrity, financial integrity, social integrity. He must be crucifying the works of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit must be evident in his life. His desires, attitudes, actions, and emotions must be continually being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Household Integrity

Elders must have personal integrity. They also must have demonstrated wise oversight for those already under their care. 1 Timothy 3 says:

1 Timothy 3:4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

Titus says:

Titus 1:6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers [or faithful] and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.

The church is not a business. The church is a family. People are not hired and fired; they are born into the family. As head of the home, it is a father’s duty to provide for, protect, care for, discipline, disciple, and nurture his family. It is a father’s duty to shepherd those under his care. Keep in mind, good shepherding does not always guarantee good spiritual outcomes; even the Good Shepherd is good because he goes after the one who goes astray. But one who is negligent in his duty to shepherd his own family is not fit to shepherd the family of God.

Doctrinal Integrity

Elders must have personal integrity, shepherding oversight, and doctrinal integrity. Paul tells Timothy that an overseer must be:

1 Timothy 3:2 …able to teach,

He goes on in 1 Timothy 5 to say:

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

An elder must be able to communicate God’s truth in ways that are faithful to the word, and able to be understood by those under his care. Paul goes on to instruct Timothy in his second letter:

2 Timothy 2:23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Able to teach. Correcting his opponents, with the prayer and the desire that they turn from error and are led into a knowledge of the truth. Remember, those who serve as leaders in the church are first of all the Lord’s servants. We are to seek to please our Master. Elders are to have the wisdom to discern between foolish controversies that are to be avoided, and false teaching that needs to be corrected. Notice that there is an objective thing called ‘the truth’. And there are teachers who teach contrary to the truth who are in a dangerous place and need to be corrected. Content matters. This is why Paul exhorts Timothy to ‘keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching’ (1Tim.4:16).

Paul exhorts Titus that an overseer:

Titus 1:9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. Paul made clear the gospel that he preached was not something original. He didn’t come up with it. He received it (1Cor.15:1-5), and he was commissioned to faithfully pass it on. He told the churches of Galatia that he received the gospel by revelation (Gal.1:12), but he submitted what he taught to the other Apostles to make sure he was not laboring in vain (Gal.2:1-2). Elders must be hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. They must not be original. They must be faithful. They must have doctrinal integrity. They must hold fast to the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

The purpose of holding firm to the trustworthy word as taught is twofold; in order to give instruction in sound doctrine and to rebuke those who contradict it. Believers need to be instructed in sound doctrine, and there will be opponents of the truth that need tobe rebuked. Here’s Here’s some of the context of what was going on when Paul wrote to Titus, instructing him to appoint elders in each town.

Titus 1:10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

The church is in the world, so this will always be the case. There will be believers who need to be instructed in sound doctrine, and there will be deceivers and false teachers who need to be rebuked. When Paul addressed the elders of Ephesus, he warned:

Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, …

It is the duty of elders to equip the saints with sound doctrine and to guard the flock against wolves.

Guard Against Pride and Disgrace

After listing character qualifications, 1 Timothy 3 goes on to warn against the dangers of pride and disgrace;

1 Timothy 3:6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Not a recent convert; a good reputation even with outsiders.

Accountability of Elders

Elders are to be men of character. 1 Timothy 5 talks about the accountability of elders. There is a balance between protecting the reputation of an elder from frivolous slander and dealing decisively with elders who persist in sin.

1 Timothy 5:19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

Elders are to be protected against false accusations; Elders also are to be accountable to and held accountable by the local church. The process of confrontation in Matthew 18 is applicable to elders as well; confront privately with hopes of repentance and restoration. If any persist in sin, rebuke them publicly.

Prevention is the best medicine; elders are not to be too hastily appointed to serve as elders. Care must be exercised in observing and knowing the character of men before they are appointed to serve.

Conclusion

Elders have a God-given desire to sacrificially serve for the good of the church. They must be men of integrity and character, above reproach. They must shepherd their own homes well. They must be able to instruct in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict. Elders must guard against pride and disgrace, and elders are to be held accountable by the local church.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org