{"id":18499,"date":"2018-11-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/ecclesiology-040\/"},"modified":"2018-11-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T06:00:00","slug":"ecclesiology-040","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/ecclesiology-040\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiology 040"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[95],"series_event":[484],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18499","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-philippians","series_event-ecclesiology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Ecclesiology 040","sermon_date":"20181118","sermon_month":"11","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6220,"sermon_slides":6221,"sermon_mp3":6225,"sermon_id":"111818153006473","series_or_event":484,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":95,"chapter_and_verse":"1:1","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nEcclesiology 40, Philippians 1:1\n\n11-18-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 40\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for this morning and Your church, and grateful for all the teaching that Pastor Jim did the last three weeks, and I just pray You\u2019ll be with us during Sunday School and also the main service that follows.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!\n\nI\u2019m not a guest speaker, although some of you probably think I am.\u00a0 I was going to tell you guys about my trip but I didn\u2019t have a chance to get my photos in order so I\u2019ll have to do that down the road.\u00a0 But thumbs up with the trip, everything went well and I appreciate your prayers on that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have more to say about that as time progresses.\u00a0 But let\u2019s open our Bibles, if we could, to Acts 15:2.\n\nLet\u2019s open our Bibles to Acts 15:2, and we\u2019re continuing on this morning with our study in Ecclesiology which is the doctrine of the church.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve covered a lot of stuff and I think the study is going to go faster at this point, at least I\u2019m praying that\u2019s so. We\u2019ve looked at the definition of the church, the difference between the universal and the local church, word pictures of the church, when the church started, Israel\/church distinctions, the church as an intercalation, the purposes of the church, we spent a lot of time there because of the spiritual gifts, and last time I was with you we were taking a look at the activities of the church.\u00a0 We saw from Acts 2:41-47, these are the basic activities that the Holy Spirit will naturally raise up in a church: doctrine, ordinances, prayer, evangelism, worship, benevolence and fellowship.\u00a0 And maybe a lot of you can\u2019t remember us talking about that, it\u2019s been three weeks or more since I was teaching with you.\n\nBut we\u2019re now moving to Roman numeral IX and this actually is a big deal because here we\u2019re talking about the government of the church.\u00a0 In other words how do you set up a church in terms of a governing structure.\u00a0 Who has the final say in decisions.\u00a0 I mean, do you have a CEO and a CFO and a Board of Directors and stockholders?\u00a0 I mean, how exactly does this work?\n\nWhat you\u2019ll discover is within Christendom there are about three different views on this concerning how a church is supposed to be governed. \u00a0The first two we think are incorrect, bur the third one we think is accurate. The first one is called the bishop rule model; the second one is called the congregational rule model, and the third one is called the elder rule model.\u00a0 [Episcopalian\/bishop rule \u2013 Acts 15:2, 6, Congregational rule \u2013 Acts 6:1-7, Presbyterian\/elder rule \u2013 Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 5:17; 4:14]\n\nSo let\u2019s start off with number one, the bishop rule model.\u00a0 Sometimes this is called the Episcopalian form of church government because the word for bishop in Greek is episcopos<\/em>, and so according to this view the person that really has the authority over the direction of a church, decisions in a church is really the bishop and the bishop will reign over several different churches.\u00a0 And then on top of all of these bishops is someone called the archbishop.\n\nAnd this is actually the church model that I grew up in, I\u00a0 grew up Episcopalian and what we had are different parishes that we would call churches and each parish was governed by a priest and a vestry, but then there was a bishop.\u00a0 We were under the Bishop of Los Angeles and so he was responsible for all of the different parishes in his area, which would be Los Angeles.\u00a0 And so you have everything kind of divided out that way and under\u00adneath all of these bishops would be the archbishop.\u00a0 So I remember I was an acolyte which is like saying an altar boy in the Episcopalian Church and I remember everybody was always on pins and needles when the Bishop would visit.\u00a0 And there was an actual chair set up that only the bishop could sit in.\u00a0 And my brother as a little kid sat in that chair accidentally and got chewed out by the priest, if I remember the story correctly.\n\nBut anyway, that\u2019s sort of the way a lot of people look at church government: you have an arch-bishop and underneath the archbishop\u00a0 you\u2019ve got multiple bishops and then underneath each bishop the bishop is in charge of different churches within his vicinity. The problem is does the Bible really teach that? \u00a0\u00a0And some people think it does and they try to use Acts 15:2, take a look at that just for a second.\u00a0 It says, \u201cAnd when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.\u201d\u00a0 So there arose a dispute in the early church regarding the Gentiles and their need to submit to the Law of Moses to be a member of the church.\u00a0 And so this was an issue that was brand new and so they all got together in Jerusalem to resolve this issue.\n\nSo people that hold to the Episcopalian or bishop model say well there it is, they came together as one, they made a decision at the bishop level and that decision affected all the different churches.\u00a0 If you go down to verse 6 of Acts 15 it says, \u201cThe apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.\u201d\u00a0 So you have a decision in Jerusalem that affected multiple churches in early Christianity.\u00a0 And so what people say is well, there\u2019s the evidence for a bishop system, a bishop makes a decision, the decision affects multiple congregations and so they\u2019ll build their house for church government in Acts 15.\n\nThe problem with that line of thinking is who\u2019s making this decision here in Acts 15?\u00a0 The apostles, right?\u00a0 Now do we have apostles today?\u00a0 No we don\u2019t!\u00a0 So you can\u2019t use a situation where the apostles were on the earth and making a decision that affected everybody and analogize that to what a bishop is supposed to do, making a decision governing multiple congregations.\u00a0 I mean, this isn\u2019t talking about a bishop model; what this is talking about is the apostles making decisions in early Christianity that governed all churches.\n\nIf you go over to Revelation 2:1 I\u2019ll show you another verse that people use to support a bishop government system.\u00a0 Of course you know about the letters to the churches because we\u2019ve been teaching that on Sunday mornings.\u00a0 And it says, \u201cTo the angel of the church in Ephesus write:\u201d and what people want that to mean is well there\u2019s the bishop over Ephesus.\u00a0 Well, it doesn\u2019t say that, does it, it says, \u201cTo the\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cTo the angel.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 2:1, \u201cTo the angel of the church in Ephesus write, The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:\u201d]\n\nNow as we\u2019ve talked about on Sunday mornings some people think that\u2019s a literal angel, other people think it\u2019s the pastor of the church at Ephesus, the messenger or the angelos<\/em> because sometimes the word angel is used of a messenger.\u00a0 Matthew 11:10, angelos<\/em> is used related to John the Baptist.\u00a0 [Matthew 11:10, \u201cThis is the one about whom it is written, 'BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.\u2019\u201d] \u00a0So\u00a0 you can\u2019t really use Revelation 2:1 to support a bishop model system because that verse is just talking about either a pastor or a literal angel over the church at Ephesus.\u00a0 So my point is if you want to put a bishop in charge of multiple congregations the way the Episcopalian model works, you\u2019re just really hard-pressed to find that in the pages of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 I mean, God\u2019s Word knows of no such arrangement.\n\nAnd by the way, if that\u2019s your church model one of the things that\u2019s very difficult to keep out of a church is liberalism because what happens when the diocese or the bishop goes liberal?\u00a0 And I know a little something about that personally because that\u2019s what happened to the church that I grew up in.\u00a0 We were in a bishop model system and all of a sudden the bishop and archbishop over the Los Angeles diocese started to ordain homosexuals to the ministry and that caused a big rift because our little parish was very conservative and we didn\u2019t want to go that direction.\u00a0 So what they basically told\u00a0 us ultimately to do is toe the line or get out of the building and there was a battle that went on, my dad was right in the middle of that for many, many years as a member of the vestry concerning who the property belongs to, does it belong to the individual parish or does it belong to the bishop system?\u00a0 And ultimately the courts intervened and concluded that the property belongs to the diocese, not the individual parish.\u00a0 And so people that didn\u2019t want to ordain homo\u00adsexuals to the ministry were forced out of the building.\u00a0 Those are the kind of nightmares that you run into when you have a bishop governing multiple churches.\n\nI mean, it works fine as long as\u00a0 you are in general agreement with the bishop but what happens when the seminaries start to go liberal of the institution?\u00a0 What happens when the bishop starts to \u00a0go liberal?\u00a0 So I can see a lot of disadvantages to this Episcopalian or bishop model system.\u00a0 The biggest problem with it is it\u2019s really not supported by the New Testament.\u00a0 But that\u2019s model number one in terms of church government.\n\nAnd let me take\u00a0 you to model number two and go over to Acts 6:5.\u00a0 Model number two is a congregational model.\u00a0 This model doesn\u2019t vest authority in a bishop ruling over multiple churches; this model rather vests authority in the congregation.\u00a0 Now a lot of, not all but a lot of Baptist churches are kind of run this way, where there\u2019s constant votes and constant approvals that need to be given by the congregation.\u00a0 And this model sort of appeals to us as Americans because that\u2019s how the American government is run, power to the people supposedly, one man one vote.\u00a0 And so people have this mindset in the United States and they want to bring it into the church and basically what they want is authority concerning decisions to rest in the congregation itself.\u00a0 So the true source of the power is the congregation.\u00a0 And again, you ask them well, where do you find this in the Bible and they have verses but the verses, when you study them carefully don\u2019t really communicate what they think they\u2019re saying.\n\nYou remember the story here in Acts 6, we don\u2019t have to re-read that I don\u2019t think, where they were making a decision, the early church, to have deacons to assist with the distribution of food to the widows.\u00a0 And so a decision was made to have deacons.\u00a0 And when\u00a0 you look at Acts 6:5 it says something very interesting concerning this decision.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThe statement\u201d the decision to have deacons, \u201cThe statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.\u201d\u00a0 So people that believe in a congregational authority structure will typically cite Acts 6:5.\n\nThe problem is when\u00a0 you look at that verse it really wasn\u2019t the congregation making the decision; it was the apostles.\u00a0 It\u2019s really the apostles that retain the\u00a0 ultimate authority; it\u2019s the apostles who installed the deacons and you get the impression as you read this that the apostles could have vetoed what was happening there very, very easily and reversed themselves had they wanted to.\u00a0 And when it says the statement found favor with the entire congregation it really isn\u2019t, to my mind, saying that the congregation authorized the decision.\u00a0 What it\u2019s actually saying is the congregation approved of the decision, was in agreement with the decision, was likeminded with the decision but they didn\u2019t authorize it.\n\nSo again congregational rule you have to look very carefully at the New Testament, does the ne really support that?\u00a0 And most of the verses that are produced to support that, like the bishop model, when\u00a0 you actually look at the verses carefully they really don\u2019t teach what the various advocates want these verses to teach.\u00a0 By the way, remember we went through the purposes of the church.\u00a0 One of its purposes is to do what?\u00a0 Edify the saints.\u00a0 Take a look, if you could, at Ephesians 4:11-16, we\u2019ve gone through these verses many times but let\u2019s just refresh our memory\n\nIt says, \u201cAnd He gave some as<\/em> apostles, and some as<\/em> prophets, and some as<\/em> evangelists, and some as<\/em> pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a\u201d what? \u201cmature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. [14] As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; [15] but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects<\/em> into Him who is the head, even<\/em> Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.\u201d\n\nNow you look at this very carefully what is the purpose of the church?\u00a0 The purpose of the church, one of its key purposes, is to bring those within the church to maturity.\u00a0 I hope that\u2019s one of the main reasons that you attend Sugar Land Bible Church because you feel that what we do here is assisting\u00a0 your walk with the Lord and bringing you into maturity.\u00a0 So if that\u2019s the case why would you ever vest authority in the congregation because it\u2019s the congregation that you\u2019re supposed to be as leaders bringing into maturity.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got the congregation calling the shots and making all of the decisions you\u2019ve got a situation where parents are no longer rearing children, but children are giving orders to parents.\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like when my daughter was very little we would have a lot of control obviously over what she ate.\u00a0 And if one day my daughter cast a vote and said I just want to eat ice cream today and we as parents said well, you know, you\u2019ve got the authority, what kind of parents would we be?\n\nSo that\u2019s sort of the, if I can put it this way, the silliness of a congregational rule model.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t really grasp the idea that it\u2019s the church leaders that are supposed to be bringing the congregation into maturity; vesting authority for decisions in a congregation is like letting children control parents.\u00a0 It\u2019s like letting inmates run the prison, sorry for these analogies, it\u2019s not quite that bad.\u00a0 It\u2019s like letting the inmates run the asylum.\u00a0 Yet what you see in so many places is the church leaders can\u2019t do anything unless they get some kind of vote or some kind of authorization from the congregation.\u00a0 And what starts off with a mindset of democracy which is what American is based on, sometimes it generates into what I would call mobocracy.\n\nBy the way, when\u00a0 you become an elder at Sugar Land Bible Church or any church for that matter, what you see very fast is there\u2019s a lot of delicate matters that have to be handled anonymously.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because you\u2019re dealing with things that are very sensitive to people\u2019s lives, personal sins, personal issues, and so I fail to see how having a congregation of a massive size could keep a lot of those things respecting people\u2019s privacy.\n\nSo it really doesn\u2019t work in the real world and it really isn\u2019t supported by the pages of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 And the congregational model really flies in the face of what the purpose of the church is.\u00a0 So the proper model for church government is not a bishop ruling over multiple churches and it\u2019s not vesting authority in a local congregation.\n\nWhat, then, is the proper model?\u00a0 It\u2019s the third option here, called the Presbyterian, now here I\u2019m using Presbyterian because the word for elder in Greek is presbuteros,<\/em> where we get the word Presbyterian.\u00a0 So how is the church supposed to be governed?\u00a0 It\u2019s to be governed by an elder rule model.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 It means decisions and authority and final say does not rest with someone outside the congregation, like a Bishop.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t rest with the congregation itself but it rests with the decision making of a plurality (watch this very carefully) a plurality of godly men.\u00a0 And if you don\u2019t have this plurality of godly men, that we would call recognize and vested and seated elders, then you really don\u2019t have a church because the expectation of God is that each congregation would be governed, not by a single person but by a plurality of godly men.\n\nAnd let me show you some verses, just to show you I\u2019m not making this up.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to find verses that support the bishop model; it\u2019s hard to find verses to support the congregational model.\u00a0 But what you\u2019ll see is it\u2019s very easy to find verses in the New Testament that support the elder rule model.\u00a0 So let me just give you a few.\u00a0 Acts 14:23, it says, now this is Paul retracing his steps in Southern Galatia on missionary journey one in what today is modern day Turkey.\u00a0 And he planted all of these churches and what does it say there in Acts 14:23?\u00a0 \u201cWhen they had appointed\u201d what? \u201celders,\u201d notice it doesn\u2019t say \u201celder,\u201d it says \u201celders\u201d plural, \u201celders for them in\u201d how many churches?\u00a0 \u201cevery church, [having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.\u201d]\u00a0 So every church Paul planted he made sure that it was governed by this plurality of godly men.\n\nTake a look at Acts 20:17, Paul wants to communicate with leadership at the end of his third missionary journey and a port area called Miletus and he says in Acts 20:17, \u201cFrom Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the\u201d what? \u201cthe elders of the church.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say elder, it says elders.<\/u>\u00a0 He didn\u2019t call for a bishop to govern multiple churches, he didn\u2019t call for a congregational vote, he wanted to speak to leadership and Acts 20 is really a classic chapter where Paul tells shepherds how to be shepherds.\u00a0\u00a0 And so he summoned the elders of the church at Ephesus, communicating that the elders of the church at Ephesus are the authority in that church.\n\nIf you drop down to verse 28 of Acts 20 you\u2019ll see it says virtually the same thing.\u00a0\u00a0 Paul says in verse 28, speaking to elders, \u201cBe on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you\u201d what? \u201coverseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.\u201d\u00a0 So you\u2019ll notice that he says \u201cthe Holy Spirit has made you overseers,\u201d and of course who\u2019s he speaking there to, going back to verse 17, the elders of the church at Ephesus.\n\nTake a look in the epistles, take a look at Philippians 1:1, Paul begins that letter and he says, \u201cPaul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the\u201d what? \u201coverseers\u201d that would be elders, and then beneath them is another office we haven\u2019t talked about\u00a0 yet but will in this series, \u201cand deacons.\u201d\u00a0 So again you see this idea of a plurality of leaders, called overseers or elders.\n\nNow 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus, those are pastoral letters, they are telling pastors how to be pastors.\u00a0 So if this elder model is correct we ought to see this same authority structure in the pastoral letters, shouldn\u2019t we?\u00a0 Take a look at 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul writes to Timothy and he says, \u201cDo not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the\u201d what does it day? \u201cpresbytery,\u201d that\u2019s the word for elders again.\u00a0 So how did Timothy ever end up in ministry?\u00a0 Well, the elders (plural) of that particular church got together, they sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit, they laid hands on Timothy, apparently a prophecy of some sort was given that Timothy had the gift of pastor\/teacher and that body, a plurality of godly men, put Timothy into a position of authority in the ministry.\u00a0 So again the normal model that you see is not a bishop making this decision, not the congregation making this decision, but a plurality of godly men.\n\nTake a look at chapter 5, 1 Timothy 5:17, \u201cThe\u201d what? \u201celders\u201d is that plural there, the noun \u201celders\u201d?\u00a0 \u201cThe elders who\u201d do what? \u201c\u2019 rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, not I like this verse, \u201cespecially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.\u201d\u00a0 I like that, thank you Lord for putting that in there, because it is hard work to preach and teach, particularly when\u00a0 you\u2019re still in a different time zone.\u00a0 But notice that it\u2019s \u201cThe elders\u201d plural \u201care to be considered worthy of double honor\u201d because they\u2019re the ones that are actually ruling in the church, the authority is with the elders, and part of that function is preaching and teaching.\u00a0 See this elder rule model is not something we\u2019re making up as we go; it\u2019s something that\u2019s clearly taught in the pages of the New Testament.\n\nTake a look if you could at Titus, anybody know where Titus was?\u00a0 He was on an island called Crete and I know a little something about Crete because that was one of the legs of our journey.\u00a0 We actually stopped on Crete and we went into some of the stores and my wife complained that everything here is overpriced.\u00a0 And I said well of course it is, haven\u2019t you read your Bible?\u00a0 \u201cCretans,\u201d verse 12, \u201care always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.\u201d\u00a0 So that\u2019s why everything was overpriced.\u00a0 I\u2019m just kidding, very nice people by the way.\n\nBut here was Titus on this island called Crete (and we actually visited there) in the middle of the Mediterranean ocean, and he\u2019s in charge of pastoring the church at Crete, and there were several different house churches.\n\nAnd so what\u2019s the first thing that Paul tells Titus to do?\u00a0 Titus 1:5, \u201cFor this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint\u201d what? \u201celders in\u201d how many cities? \u201cevery city as I directed you.\u201d\u00a0 So the normal expectation is that all of these house churches, all over this island named Crete, would be governed by a plurality of elders.\n\nTake a look at the general letters, just for a minute.\u00a0 Look at James 5:14, this has to do with someone getting ill within a group, a flock.\u00a0 \u201cIs anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the\u201d what does it say, \u201celders\u201d plural, \u201cof the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;\u201d\u00a0 we believe that this is still something that we should be practicing today and we have done this for many, many people.\u00a0 Sometimes we\u2019ve seen miraculous occur\u00adrences where people get well; other times the person actually gets worse and dies.\u00a0 So we don\u2019t have any magical power in and of ourselves as elders but we can follow the biblical exhortation and anoint someone\u2019s head with oil. You\u2019ll find Jesus doing that in Mark 6 with the sick, and praying over them and asking if it\u2019s the Lord\u2019s will that they be healed, because we\u2019re not in the business of telling God what to do, but we ask according to His will.\n\nBut notice how this process is supposed to go; it\u2019s supposed to be coming from the elders, not a single elder but the \u201celders\u201d within the church. So very clearly once again you see that the proper motive for church government is this plurality of godly men called elders.\n\nTake a look next door at 1 Peter 5:1-2, Peter says, \u201cTherefore, I exhort\u201d the what? \u201cthe elders among you, as your<\/em> fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,\u201d to do what? To [2] \u201cshepherd the flock of God among you, exercising\u201d what? \u201coversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of<\/em> God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;\u201d so you\u2019ll notice again that those that are overseers, you\u2019ll notice that those that are shepherding the flock, those exercising oversight, it says, over the flock, is once again this plurality of godly men called elders.\n\nSo what\u2019s the BLT?\u00a0 B<\/u>ottom L<\/u>ine T<\/u>ime?\u00a0 The Bishop rule model is really not found in the Scripture.\u00a0 The congregational rule model is really not found in the Scripture.\u00a0 The normal expectation of God is that God would have each church governed by a plurality of Godly men called elders.\u00a0 The elders are the ones that ultimately, of course with input from the congregation because the Bible says plans succeed through the abundance of counsellors.\u00a0 I mean, it would be foolish for elders to just shut themselves off from information.\u00a0 And I\u2019m thankful that the elders at our church don\u2019t do that, they\u2019re always interested in input.\u00a0 But the bottom line is that the ultimate say rests with the elders.\n\nNow the Sugar Land Bible Church constitution has mostly an elder rule mindset.\u00a0 That\u2019s how this church is governed.\u00a0 What\u00a0 you\u2019ll find in the constitution though is a touch of congregational rule, not much but a touch of it.\u00a0 For example, if we, as the elders ever wanted to go into debt, we have a no debt policy, if I remember right our constitution requires approval of the congregation.\u00a0 Also when we select the next elders, because we rotate terms, except for me, I\u2019m a permanent member of the elder board, but we rotate terms and we put up some names, then the congregation has a vote on it.\u00a0 But other than those two instances where there\u2019s a touch of congregational rule Sugar Land Bible Church is really not a congregational rule church, it\u2019s an elder rule church.\u00a0 Most of the decisions, the overwhelming majority of the decisions in terms of final say rest with the elder board.\u00a0 And we believe that that is what God reveals in the New Testament concerning church government.\n\nSo if all that is true and the elders have a big role to play within the church in terms of leadership and guidance wouldn\u2019t you expect somewhere within God\u2019s Word to describe the qualifications for an elder?\u00a0 I mean, if the authority is resting with the elders then we ought to have somewhere we can go to determine who is qualified to be an elder.\u00a0 Is it the person that\u2019s most successful in the business world, are they an elder?\u00a0 Is it the person that\u2019s got the MBA from Harvard, are they an elder?\u00a0 Gosh, we need some accounting done, we\u2019ve got to get a CPA in here, we\u2019ll grab Joe So and So, who\u2019s got an accounting degree, let\u2019s make him an elder.\n\nWhat you\u2019ll discover is God does have standards for elders and these are standards that you should know as a participator in and a member or Sugar Land Bible Church because one of your jobs is when we put forth elders you have to determine through a vote are they qualified or are they dis-qualified.\u00a0 How would you make that decision?\u00a0 Well, there are two chapters and you ought to be able to commit these to memory, maybe not the whole chapter but at least the address.\u00a0 If someone were to ask you where do I go in the Bible to find the qualifications for elders because the New Testament seems to support an elder-rule model, the two passages are\u2026 ready?\u00a0 1 Timothy 3:1-7 one of our three pastoral letters.\u00a0 The second passage is Titus 1:5-9.\n\nIf you think that you are elder material and you\u2019re searching your heart before the Lord whether you should serve as an elder you should ask yourself if\u00a0 you\u2019re qualified based on the two chapters that God has given us to determine qualifications of elders, 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.\n\nRoman numeral X, church officers; what offices exist in the church?\u00a0 There are at least two, elders and deacons and they\u2019re very different.\u00a0 And we\u2019re not talking about deacons right now, we\u2019re talking specifically about elders.\n\nSo what are elder qualifications?\u00a0 How many elders do you have?\u00a0 Is there a distinction amongst elders?\u00a0 What are elders supposed to do?\u00a0 How about when an elder goes south doctrinally or morally, can that elder be removed?\u00a0 That\u2019s what we\u2019re looking at here under officers, specifically the office of the elder and today we\u2019ll only be able to take a look, (if we\u2019re fortunate) qualifications for an elder.\n\n[Elder Qualifications, 1 Timothy. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9.\u00a0 General qualifications: Moral qualifications, Mental qualifications, Personality qualifications, Domestic qualifications, Christian experience qualifications, Reputation qualifications, Knowledge qualifications]\n\nIf that\u2019s the right model, and we think it is, there ought to be somewhere in God\u2019s Word that reveals to us what elders\u2026 how can someone become an elder, how does someone become qualified to be an elder.\u00a0 These are things you need to know because you\u2019re at this church and\u00a0 you\u2019re approving the elders we set forward so you ought to know these sections of the Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9.\u00a0 So let\u2019s read those together, shall we?\u00a0 And as I\u2019m reading make a mental list of the things that constitute a qualified elder.\u00a0 Notice this:\n\nTimothy 3:1-7, \u201cIt is a trustworthy statement: if any\u201d what? \u201cman\u201d that\u2019s interesting, \u201cif any man \u00a0aspires to the office of overseer,\u201d or elder, \u201cit is a fine work he desires to do.<\/em> [2] An overseer , then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, apt to teach, [3] not addicted to wine or pugnacious,\u201d pugnacious means quarrelsome, \u201cbut gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. [4] He must be<\/em> one who manages his own house\u00ad\u00ad\u00adhold well, keeping his children under control with all dignity \u201c parenthetical statement verse 5, \u201c (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), [6] and<\/em> not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. [7] And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church,<\/em> so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.\u201d\n\nThat\u2019s quite a list isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Now let\u2019s augment that list with what Paul writes to Titus.\u00a0 So this shifts the discussion away from church government to church officers.\u00a0 Flip over to Titus 1:5-9, \u201cFor this reason I left you in Crete,\u201d another pastoral letter, \u201cthat you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, [6] namely,<\/em>\u201d and he starts to list now the qualifications of elders just like we had a list of qualifications in the other pastoral letter, 1 Timothy, \u201cnamely<\/em> if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe,\u201d and there\u2019s a debate on what \u201cbelieve\u201d means, do they have to be converts.\u00a0 My professor, Stanley Toussaint thinks that that word actually means children that are faithful... faithful! But there\u2019s\u00a0 debate on that.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026having children who believe not accused of dissipation or rebellion. [7] For the overseer must be above reproach as God\u2019s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, [8] but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,\u201d look at verse 9, \u201cholding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both\u201d look at that, \u201cso that he will be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.\u201d\n\nSo at our congregational meeting we\u2019re passing around these ballots and a couple of names come forth related to elder, and what are you thinking about?\u00a0 Are\u00a0 you thinking about these verses, which is what\u00a0 you should be thinking about.\u00a0 Or are\u00a0 you thinking about well, so and so is just a nice guy and I don\u2019t have any problems with him so he should be an elder.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is we\u2019re all saved by grace alone but only some people are qualified to lead God\u2019s church as they exhibit the characteristics God requires as given in these lists.\u00a0 So what I\u2019ve done is I\u2019ve taken both lists and put them together, because sometimes they overlap a little bit (did you notice that?) and let\u2019s look at the qualifications for an elder.\n\nNumber one we have a general qualification\u2026general qualification; an elder must be above reproach.\u00a0 I do not think that means an elder must be perfect because no one would be able to serve; perfection is not the issue; sinlessness is not the issue.\u00a0 The issue is does the elder sin less, that\u2019s the issue.\u00a0 In other words, his life cannot be open to accusation of a habitual pattern of sin.\u00a0 Is there in this person\u2019s life an ongoing pattern of sin in any area?\u00a0 If so, that particular individual fails to meet the general qualification for an elder.\n\nNumber two, there is a moral qualification.\u00a0 The elder must be the husband of one wife.\u00a0 Now what does that mean, \u201chusband of one wife.\u201d\u00a0 When you study it in the Greek it means a one-woman man.\u00a0 You say well what if someone has a divorce in their background, as an unbeliever or as a Christian?\u00a0 It\u2019s a complicated issue.\u00a0 I wrote a paper on this, if you\u2019re interested in it, you can find it online, it\u2019s \u201cThe Meaning of \u2018THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE\u201d IN 1 TIMOTHY 3:2.\u201d Copyright \u00a9 2004 by Andy Woods<\/em>\n\nAnd what you\u2019ll discover in that paper is there\u2019s eight interpretations of this verse.\u00a0 And I presented this to our elder board early on when I was here because we had a situation where someone was put up for the office of elder or perhaps it was deacon, my memory is a little fuzzy, the one woman man qualification is for both, and this person had a divorce in their background and the prior pastor who was here before me had sort of a mindset that if there\u2019s any divorce at all they\u2019re excluded.\u00a0\u00a0 And as much as I sort of respect that position it really wasn\u2019t the position that I hold.\n\nWhen you actually study this in Greek what you\u2019ll find is the verbs are in the present tense.\u00a0 In other words, what you\u2019re trying to figure out is not the sin they committed five, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago and using that as some kind of tool to bar service, entry to service.\u00a0 What you\u2019re trying to figure out is what are they like today.\u00a0 So the current trajectory of Sugar Land Bible Church based on that paper that all our elders at the time read is that look, if there\u2019s a divorce in your background that in and of itself does not disqualify a person from being an elder.\u00a0 What we\u2019re trying to figure out is what are you like right now.\u00a0 Now if you\u2019re using divorce in a person\u2019s background as sort of a barometer to figure out what they\u2019re like today that\u2019s one thing.\n\nBut here\u2019s the reality folks, aren\u2019t we all being progressively sanctified.\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019m really not the person I was ten years ago (thank God for that).\u00a0 We\u2019re all continually developing into Christ likeness so if there\u2019s some kind of infraction, some kind of a problem that occurred way back when, our mindset is that in and of itself does not disqualify a person from serving as an elder.\u00a0 Now if there\u2019s perpetual divorces and remarriage that\u2019s a different issue, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Because that has direct bearing on what they\u2019re like today.\u00a0 Let me just give you an example.\u00a0 One of the qualifications here is the elder cannot be pugnacious, he\u2019s got to have his anger under control in other words.\u00a0 So does that mean if I blew my fuse ten years ago I\u2019m out?\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s not what it means; what it means is if I\u2019m blowing my fuse over and over and over again today, and that\u2019s part of my present character then that\u2019s a bar to entry into that office in the church.\u00a0 Do you see that?\n\nAnd so we\u00a0 understand that pugnaciousness, why do we not understand it with this idea of a one woman\u2026 I may have said that wrong earlier, a one man woman is what I meant to say.\u00a0 Hopefully I didn\u2019t get that reversed.\u00a0 Whatever I said the first time, that\u2019s the right way.\n\nSo what is the person\u2019s character like today?\u00a0 That\u2019s the issue. If\u00a0 the person is flirtatious and developing all of these inappropriate relationships in the congregation then that becomes a barrier to service.\u00a0 And a lot of people say well, you have to be married to serve as an elder because it says \u201cthe husband of one wife.\u201d\u00a0 Well, if that\u2019s the rule then the guy who wrote this wouldn\u2019t be qualified, would he?\u00a0 Paul the apostle, who the best we know wasn\u2019t married at the time.\u00a0 Also I\u2019m not sure Jesus would be qualified either because I don\u2019t see a Mrs. Jesus anywhere in the New Testament.\u00a0 So the way we\u2019re understanding this is what is their character like today?\u00a0 That\u2019s the moral requirement.\n\nAnd then there is a mental requirement, they have to be \u201ctemperate, prudent,\u201d now notice this, \u201capt to teach.\u201d\u00a0 Now notice this, \u201capt to teach.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Timothy 3:2, \u201cAn overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, apt to teach.\u201d]\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even say they have to have the spiritual gift of teaching, they just have to be able to do it when called upon to do so.\u00a0 And I find this very interesting because our culture enthrones people, gives people authority based on talent.\u00a0 That\u2019s what everybody is looking for, are they talented, what is their skill set, can they get the job done?\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice that God is not really thinking that way.\u00a0 Everything that God is dealing with here relates to character.\u00a0 What are they like in terms of the fruit of the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 What are they like in terms of Christ-likeness?\u00a0 And the only thing that I can find anywhere dealing with talent is that little tiny one there, \u201capt to teach\u201d which doesn\u2019t even have to mean they have to have the spiritual gift of teaching, they just have to be able to do it.\n\nSo we also have a personality qualification, they have to be \u201crespectable, hospitable, apt to teach\u201d now the Baptists won\u2019t like this one, \u201cnot given to much wine.\u201d\u00a0 I mean does that mean he has to be a non-drinker?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what the Bible teaches. What it says is he cannot be given over to drunkenness.\u00a0 In fact, Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 and he says take a little\u2026 little notice, for your upset stomach and frequent illnesses.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 5:23, \u201cNo longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.\u201d]\u00a0 In my mind an occasional social drink is not an issue, drunkenness is the problem; that\u2019s what the Bible is condemning.\n\nHe must not be pugnacious.\u00a0 Now you wouldn\u2019t believe the mindset that people get into when they get on an overboard, they all of a sudden become these fighting fundies, extremely argumentative people.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ve been listening to some of the complaints of prior elder boards, current elders sort of voicing their concerns about some of the things that went on here in years past on our elder boards.\u00a0 There was like almost brawls in elder board meetings, to the wee hours of the morning, loggerheads heads, fighting all the time.\u00a0 And frankly that\u2019s a character issue; you know, if you\u2019re going around and every single relationship you\u2019re in there\u2019s some kind of conflict probably the problem is the character at some point.\n\nSo a lot of people masquerade the fleshly activity of pugnaciousness as defending the truth, or some such thing and in reality it\u2019s just sort of a fighting spirit.\u00a0 The Bible says \u201cbe at peace with all men as much as it depends on you.\u201d\u00a0 [Romans 12:18, \u201cIf possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s our goal, and believe me, there\u2019s a place and a time to stand for truth and all of that but a lot of times people are fighting over things that really have more to do with a pugnacious attitude rather than standing for the truth.\u00a0 Such people would be barred from being an elder.\n\nThe elder must be gentle, he must be\u00a0 uncontentious, now look at this, he\u2019s got to be free from the love of money.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because obviously when you\u2019re in a position of authority in the church you\u2019re dealing with financial issues and you have access to finances and a part of one\u2019s character is that they\u2019re embezzlers, then you would obviously bar such a person from serving as an elder.\n\nWe also have some domestic qualifications, he must manage his own household well, with his children in submission.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 3:4, \u201cHe must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity.\u201d]\u00a0 Now why would the Bible say that?\u00a0 A very simple reason, if you can\u2019t govern your own house how in the world do you think you can govern God\u2019s house?\u00a0 The Bible says, Luke 16:10 if you\u2019re faithful with the little thing then God can trust you with what?\u00a0 The bigger things.\u00a0 [Luke 16:10, \u201cHe who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.\u201d]\u00a0 If you look into a person\u2019s household and their household is a mess then obviously that same mess is going to follow them into leadership and so that\u2019s why you look at people\u2019s lives, not to find some sin that they committed a long time ago but what is currently their character like in terms of running their own household.\n\nAnd you go through the Bible and what you\u2019re going to discover is God promotes people over and over again that are faithful in something small.\u00a0 Joseph was faithful no matter where God put him, in Potiphar\u2019s household\u2026faithful!\u00a0 Prison\u2026faithful!\u00a0 And one day he woke up and he was second in command in Egypt; that\u2019s how God works.\u00a0 David was the same way. When Samuel came to anoint the next king and Jesse brought out all his sons, Jesse remember didn\u2019t even bring out David and Samuel said well, there\u2019s someone else here obviously because all these guys don\u2019t fit the bill.\u00a0 Oh, you mean the kid in the back, you want him to come out too?\u00a0 Remember what David was doing?\u00a0 Tending the sheep, he was faithful with something very tiny and then he became the second king of the United Kingdom.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why you look into a person\u2019s home life, do they manage their own household well?\n\nNow some people say they have to have children because how do you determine if they manage their own household well unless they have children?\u00a0 So if they don\u2019t have children they can\u2019t be an elder.\u00a0 That would be a problem because that would disqualify the guy who wrote this, Paul.\u00a0 It would also disqualify who?\u00a0 Jesus!\u00a0 So I think what it\u2019s saying is children are not required but it\u2019s sort of assumed; in other words\u00a0 if they have children and if they are married you look at their home life to ascertain if they\u2019re managing those things properly.\n\nBy the way, be careful how far you push some of these things because in Greek children is plural, teknon<\/em>\u2014plural.\u00a0 So if you push it too far and you say they have to have children then all of a sudden the rule becomes they\u2019ve got to have at least two children and if that\u2019s the case I wouldn\u2019t be standing here because we\u2019re blessed with one child.\u00a0 So I think with a lot of these things it\u2019s sort of assumed, not necessarily required, if that makes any sense.\n\nNow what if you have a situation where a guy is raising his children and his children, through their own volition just decide to rebel against God and it\u2019s really not that person\u2019s fault?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s where wisdom comes in because those children at a certain age have their own free will and if their children are making a decision in contradiction to everything they\u2019ve been taught and reared in the home to do then I don\u2019t think that necessarily disqualifies a person either.\u00a0 I think, my own interpretation of this is there\u2019s some flexibility in these rules and they really aren\u2019t rules, they\u2019re principles and you have to look at every person who is a candidate for elder on a case by case basis.\u00a0 And what you\u2019re trying to figure out is what is their character like today.\n\nThere is also a Christian experience qualification, it says very clearly here, \u201cnot a recent convert lest they fall into the trap of the devil.\u201d\u00a0 Remember the trap of the devil?\u00a0 First comes pride, and then comes what?\u00a0 A fall, Proverbs 16:18.\u00a0 [Proverbs 16:18, \u201cPride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.\u201d]\u00a0 This is why Lucifer is now Satan; Lucifer, a beautiful high ranking angel fell because of pride.\u00a0 The passages on it would be Isaiah 14:12-15 describing the fall of Lucifer, Ezekiel 28:12-17.\n\n[Isaiah 14:12-15, \u201cHow you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!\u00a0 You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!\u00a0 [13]\u00a0 But you said in your heart, \u2018I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly i the recesses of the north.\u00a0 [14]\u00a0 \u2018I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.\u2019\u00a0 [15] Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.\u201d\n\nEzekiel 28:12-17, \u201cSon of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, \u2018Thus says the Lord GOD,\u00a0 \u2018You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.\u00a0\u00a0 [13] You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.\u00a0 [14] \u201cYou were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. <\/em>\u00a0You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.\u00a0 [15] You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteous\u00adness was found in you.\u00a0 [16] By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; \u00a0Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God.\u00a0 \u00a0And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.\u00a0 [17]\u00a0 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.\u00a0 I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.\u201d]\n\nAnd this is the problem, and I\u2019ve actually seen this happen in another church, where you take someone who\u2019s a fairly new convert to Christianity, fairly new believer and you put them all of a sudden into a place of authority in the church and God starts to use them and they haven\u2019t had enough character training yet in Christ to understand that God does not share His glory with another.\u00a0 Isaiah 42:8.\u00a0 [Isaiah 42:8, \u201c\"I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.\u201d]\u00a0 And they start to take credit for the things happening in the church when in reality they\u2019re not the ones causing these good things, God is just using them because they\u2019re in a position of authority.\u00a0 And so once you start to take credit for the work of God then you\u2019re in a very dangerous place because the pattern of Lucifer is pride cometh before a fall.\n\nSo you have to look at a person\u2019s character and you can\u2019t have a novice or a new convert, you have to have someone that\u2019s walked with the Lord long enough to understand these spiritual principles or else\u00a0 you\u2019re setting someone up for defeat is what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0 So Paul is very clear, \u201cnot a recent convert.\u201d\u00a0 And I\u2019ve also seen this in Christendom where somebody in the unsaved world gets saved, like a rock star or someone popular and we\u2019re so happy this person\u2019s saved that we immediately jam a microphone into their face to tell the world about Jesus and we feature them on all the Christian radio stations, TV stations, So and So is saved.\u00a0 And again we\u2019re setting up that person for failure because you don\u2019t give people authority in a church who are basically recent converts.\n\nLet me just finish this list and we\u2019ll stop. There\u2019s also a reputation requirement; the elder must have a good report, notice this, among outsiders.\u00a0\u00a0 [1 Timothy 3:7, \u201cAnd he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.\u201d ]\u00a0\u00a0 So having a good reputation within the church is fine but that\u2019s not enough,\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to also have a good reputation amongst the outside world because if you don\u2019t you\u2019ll discredit the church and discredit the gospel.\u00a0 If you\u2019re bouncing checks all over Houston and every bank in the community knows about it\u00a0 you\u2019re probably not the type of person that we want as an elder.\n\nAnd when we, as the elders submit these things to the congregation these are some things that you can investigate and give us information because you may have some information about someone, you can come to us privately of course, that we may not know.\u00a0 One of the elders told me a story about how there was a fellow that was considered for elder and he would fly off the handle at his travel agent and this came up through the congregation and so it was discovered that this guy had sort of a pugnacious streak in the outside community that those in the church were unaware of.\u00a0 And so when this was brought to the attention of the elder board that person was denied the position of service, if I remember the story right.\u00a0 So there is a reputation qualification.\n\nAnd one more and I think this is what\u2019s lacking in a lot of churches, this one especially, there\u2019s a knowledge requirement.\u00a0 How much does an elder have to know?\u00a0 Do they have to have an academic degree?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say that but what it says in Titus 1:10 is an elder has to be able to do two things; they\u2019ve got to be able to stand up, Titus 1:10, and exhort in accordance with teaching.\u00a0 [Titus 1:10, \u201cFor there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, [11] who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.\u201d]\u00a0 So you sort of have to be able to stand up and positively present the truth accurately.\n\nBut the verse goes on and it also says you\u2019ve got to be able to refute those, Titus 1:10, that contradict.\u00a0 That\u2019s harder, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 In other words, your knowledge of the truth has to be at a certain level where you can not only positively present the truth, that\u2019s one thing, that\u2019s actually easier, but you\u2019ve also got to be able to do the harder thing and contradict people that oppose the truth.\u00a0 So if someone wants to promote Mormonism an elder should be able to stand up and say we don\u2019t buy into Mormonism and here are the reasons.\u00a0 If someone wants to promote Jehovah\u2019s Witness theology an elder has got to be able to stand up in front of people and say we don\u2019t promote Jehovah\u2019s Witness theology, here are the reasons.\n\nSo to me that means there has to be a knowledge requirement that\u2019s very high.\u00a0 And elder has got to be a student of this Book and an elder has also got to be astute enough to understand the belief systems out there that contradict this Book.\u00a0 If they\u2019re not able to do that then they shouldn\u2019t be put into a position of elder.\n\nSo if the elder model is the correct one then we\u00a0 ought to find somewhere in the Bible that gives qualifications for elders and we do.\u00a0 What two chapters do that?\u00a0 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9.\u00a0 I encourage you to study those chapters on\u00a0 your own and you\u2019ll see these general qualifications, moral qualifications, mental qualifications, personality qualifications, domestic qualifications, Christian experience, reputation, and knowledge qualifications.\u00a0 I went through king of fast, I know you all have a lot of questions probably about this which I\u2019ll try to get to, hopefully next week as we continue to look at elders and then we\u2019ll look at deacons.\n\nLet\u2019s pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for Your Word and Your truth written two thousand years ago in these tiny remote places that You gave me a chance to send my family to visit the last three weeks and we\u2019re grateful for the fact that these truths are timeless and they still exist into the 21st<\/sup> century.\u00a0 So help us to be good stewards of these truths and to allow Your church to be governed not according to man\u2019s rules but Your rules. We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t