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Leadership in the Church: Character and Structure 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, we have 2 really great chapters about leadership. As we look at Paul's letter to Timothy, we're gonna look at first Timothy chapters 30:21 and 4 verse 12 of chapter 4. Let no 1 despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. In these 2 chapters, Paul0:33 lays out the character and the structure of local government for Timothy, local church government. Now I'm gonna touch on the the forms of government that scripture makes reference to and that we've seen,0:46 adopted as a result of, the teaching of scripture. But the structure is not the most important aspect as we're gonna see here in these 2 chapters. It's the individuals in the government. And frankly,0:57 these principles can be applied beyond the government of the church. Alright. Verse 1, chapter 3. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires a position of a bishop, he desires a good work. This is a good thing.1:10 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of 1 wife, temperate, sober minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome,1:22 not covetous, 1 who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care1:34 of the church of God? Now this qualification about the home is 1 of the qualification about the home is 1 of the most readily discerned but the most often ignored. If if if1:46 you can't manage your family, your home, how can you manage a church, a state, or a nation? Now I've talked a little bit before about the institutions of government1:57 ordained by god. We're not gonna go into that here. It is a part we go in great detail in our god and government course. You can find that on the Stand Firm app. But for institutions of government, there is the2:09 family government, there is the church government, and there is civil government, but the foundation of all is self government. And if if a man's family is gone haywire, it may2:21 also indicate that he lacks lacks the self control needed. And so Paul is saying here, look. Make sure the family is in order because if not, it it it could be an indication that there's a problem. Not all the2:33 time. I mean, each child2:45 novice, the other qualifications. Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he falls into the same condemnation as the devil. Maturity is is critical.2:57 You know, in our culture, we idolize youth, and we often put young people people out front who are not spiritually in a remote emotionally prepared elite. Now what Paul's talking3:09 about here is not just physical age because we're gonna see here in a moment. Oh, we just read it actually, the the verse about Timothy. Let no 1 despise your youth. It's an issue of maturity. We we see this, you've seen3:20 this so many times in our culture today where it appears that Christians, they they there's almost an inferiority complex and so that when a celebrity, a sports figure, or a3:31 entertainment figure comes to Christ, he's immediately thrust out, and it becomes an embarrassment because oftentimes, they they crash and burn because they're not prepared emotionally or spiritually3:44 to lead. And Paul's saying, hey. Don't don't do that. Verse 7. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach in the snare of the devil.3:56 No skeletons in the closet because that can come back to, even if it's it's in the past, they've repented of it, but hasn't really dealt with it, it can4:08 become an obstacle. Then Paul provides the qualifications for deacon, which is, is very similar. Now this chapter then closes as Paul tells Timothy, this is how4:20 he should organize and lead the local church. Verse 14. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I'm delayed, I write so that you may know how you4:32 ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth. Now did you did did you just hear what Paul said about the4:44 church? It is the pillar and the foundation of truth. The church is the guardian and the proclaimer of truth. In 18 73, Charles Finney,4:56 he wrote this. He said, brethren, he's talking to other preachers, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in great degree. If there is a5:07 decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible5:19 for it. If the world loses interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our5:31 politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear5:43 brother, but let us lay it to heart and be thoroughly awakened to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation, end quote. This was the5:55 importance that Paul was conveying to Timothy about the role of the church. It is a salt light. It is to point the direction, but also to preserve a people, a nation. That's not the sole purpose of the6:07 church. The church is to be salt and light in general, but its effect is it preserves the body politic. Alright. Now based upon scripture, I mentioned I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on this. There there6:18 are, like, 3 major forms of church government that emerge from biblical teaching. There is the Episcopal. It is from the Greek word episkopas. It's translated as6:30 bishop or overseer. Examples of this would be the Anglican church or the Episcopal church or the Catholic church. That's the form of government they have. Then you have the Presbyterian form, which comes from the Greek6:41 word pres, presbuteros, which is translated elder. In this form, a body of elders have leadership or oversight of a church or churches6:53 versus 1 person in the episcopal form. Now we find this in the Presbyterian church and and quite frankly many other churches, including some Baptists, although most Baptists are known for7:06 the, the the the third primary form of church government, and that's congregational. This is where the final authority rests not with the bishop or a board of elders, but with the entire congregation. The congregation7:17 has the final say on, everything in most cases. It's the closest to the to a, pure democracy of all of the forms. Now it's7:29 the elder form that that would actually be closer to our republican form of government as a nation. Now I'm not a big fan of the congregational. I think it's it's problematic. I've always questioned,7:41 you know, the sheep going out to find the shepherd. But, anyway, that that's not the focal point of of Paul's teaching here nor is it mine. The form of government is important, but the the7:53 focus is on who occupies those positions. The the focus is the character and the qualifications of the leaders. No form of government. I don't care what it is. None of it will work if the leaders are8:05 unqualified and have poor character. And that's frankly not just true of the church. That's true of civil government and other forms of government as well. Chapter8:17 4 verse 1. Now the spirit expressly says that in the latter time, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Now Paul writes extensively about this in second Thessalonians,Guarding Against False Teachings and Leading by Example 8:29 speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which god created to be received with thanksgiving by those who8:41 believe and know the truth. So they were, you know, they would take a grain of truth, and they would build a whole, you know, theological standing on it. And and and they were taking their eyes off the word of8:53 god and off Christ himself. This is why godly tested and proven leadership grounded in the word of god is critical for the church. And wherever you go, including even as9:05 a part of this journey, you know, I challenge you. I invite you to search the scripture. Don't take what I and and and I'm very candid about this. I'm giving you my opinions in many9:16 cases, when I get into interpretation of the word. But you need to search it out for yourself. That's why we're doing this journey. So you will know the word. So when someone plucks a scripture out and begins9:28 to build a whole theological construct from that 1 verse, you'll say, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I I read that. And and that's out of context.9:49 Verse 4, for every creature and and so what they had is that people abstaining from food saying you can't eat this. You gotta do this. We're holy. We won't eat this, but at the same time, they were engaging in other9:58 activities that were immoral. God and and so he says in verse 4, for every creature of god is good, and nothing is to be refused, and if it received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of god10:10 and prayer. That's been made very clear. The sheet that came down to Peter, obviously, was speaking about the Gentiles coming into the faith, but also he was talking about the food, the unclean animals.10:22 So, you know, just kind of a personal note here. That means that fried catfish and crawfish etouffee that my wife makes, it might not be heart healthy. But as long as I'm thankful for it, I can enjoy it. Verse10:34 10, for to this end, we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living god who is the savior of all men, especially those who believe. For this, we both labor and we suffer10:46 reproach. What are they suffering reproach for? For trusting and following god. So should we expect anything different? Verse 11, these things command and10:57 teach. Alright? He's telling he's telling Timothy, this is what I want you to teach. Let no 1 despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Now this11:08 is where good government begins. Okay? Paul recall that Paul would challenge his believer, his followers to follow his examples, his example, because he was following Christ. Leaders11:21 leaders, I'm talking to you now, that includes parents, grandparents. We're all leaders to some degree or another. We need to lead by example. What's that example look like? Well, look right here. He lays it out in11:33 word. Are you in the word? Do you know the word? Are you living by the word? Godly conduct. That's a life aligned with the word of god. Christian love. Filled with the11:45 spirit. Bold in the faith. Purity of heart. And then, you know, how how can that possibly be done? And I'm sure Timothy was wondering the same thing. How am I going to do this? Well, look at11:57 verse 13. Till I come giving attention to reading, that is the word. To exhortation, that is teaching and encouraging others. You know, when we're when we're teaching12:09 and and leading others, even though we meant we're not experts, but we're growing as we teach and, you know, when you when you teach something, when you lead something, you you grow stronger in12:20 it. And he's so he's saying, do exhortation, teaching, and encouraging others to the doctor. Give attention to the doctrine. That's the right application of the word of god. So it's not just enough to know the word of12:32 god. We have to do the word of god. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of eldership. And this goes back to, in12:43 chapter 1 where it talked about the gift of profit the gift that was given to him and the prophecy that was spoken over him as a form of encouragement. Do meditate on these12:55 things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. What what was he saying? Stay in the word. Work on your conduct. Show Christian love. Be13:07 filled with the spirit, bold in the faith, purity of heart. You know, continue in the reading and the exhortation into the doctrine. And guess what? It's gonna be evident to everybody around you. Take heed to yourself13:19 and to the doctrine. Continue in them for in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. So here's the bottom line of what Paul was telling Timothy. Don't hold back. Don't be13:31 timid because of your age. And I I remember when I first came to Family Research Council 22 years ago, I was at my very first week. I was in a meeting with all of these leaders, men that I13:42 had watched from a distance, great respect for, and and doctor Dobson after the meeting who was a part of hiring me. He said, you need to speak up. You didn't say anything. Why didn't you speak up? I said, well, you13:53 know, I'm just I'm the new kid on the block. I'm a young guy compared to all these other guys. He goes, you're the president of the Family Research Council. You need to speak up. And and Paul is telling Timothy that you14:02 need to speak up, but you need to you you need to get your credibility not by your age, but by your example, by practicing what you preach. That's a good that's good advice14:14 for any leader. Practice what you preach. That's what parents need to do. We don't tell our children 1 thing and do another. They watch to make sure that what we're teaching, we're14:26 actually living. And these leadership qualifications, they're important in the church, but these principles apply beyond the church. They should be in our homes. They should be in our businesses.14:38 Because, you know, Paul laid that out as we were looking in his prison letters about how we are to conduct ourself in the workplace, how we're to conduct ourself in the home. And these principles will, principles14:50 will, will benefit us no matter where we are called to lead. And applying these principles will give us good leadership no matter where we're looking to for the that leadership. Father, we thank you for your word Father,15:02 we thank you for your word and how practical and important it is. May we, may we heed it. May we not just listen. May we not just read it, but may we do it. May May we be15:14 doers of the word and not hearers only. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Let me remind you, we have the word store where you can, find15:26 items where for stand on the word. Great for some Christmas presents. It'd be a great way to encourage people to join us on that next journey coming in January. Text the word storeLiving the Word and Encouraging Others 15:38 to 6 7 7 4 2. That's store to 6 7 7 4 2, and I'll send you a link. Until next time, keep standing on the word.15:50 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,16:02 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Leadership in the Church: Character and Structure8:29 Guarding Against False Teachings and Leading by Example15:36 Living the Word and Encouraging Others
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