Tag: Biblical principles

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1 Timothy

Biblical principles: God’s standard for pastors

1 Timothy

The standard to which pastors and elders are held is a very high one. Why? Because they represent Christ to their congregation and they represent the church to the world.

We’ve all seen what happens when they fail in this and scandal rocks the church. It not only hurts people within the church, but damages the church’s reputation in the world.

And so while Paul does require two or three witnesses before admitting a charge against the pastors and elders, he makes it clear to Timothy that when the charge is proven, he cannot simply ignore it. Rather he is to bring it in front of the church and rebuke that pastor or elder.

Why? For one thing, it proves there is no double-standard between the leadership and the congregation.

Second, it shows the church that sin is taken seriously and will not be ignored no matter who commits it.

Third, it serves as a warning to those who are being tempted to sin in the same way.

But as important as it is to deal with these problems when they come up, it’s even more important to do everything possible to make sure that it doesn’t happen at all.

We should choose leaders who are full of integrity and won’t fall in such a way that it brings disrepute to the name of Christ and to the church.

Because of this, Paul told Timothy,

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22)

When people were chosen as pastors or elders, people like Timothy or Paul would lay their hands on them, praying for them, and committing them to God for that work.

So what Paul was saying was, “Don’t be hasty in choosing someone to be a pastor or elder. Don’t share in their sins by supporting them for that position without checking them out first.”

And the most important way to test a pastor or elder was to watch their lives. Paul said,

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.

In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. (1 Timothy 5:24-25)

In other words, some people are easy to disqualify because their sins are so obvious.

Other sins, though, are not so easy to see, and you won’t notice them until you have spent time with that person and gotten to know them.

On the other hand, there may be other people that you think are not so special or qualified. But when you take a closer look at their lives, you’ll see that they are the very ones that are most qualified.

Either way, watch those within the church who are candidates for pastor or elder. Make sure of them before assigning them to that position. If you don’t, you could very well find yourself with a disaster on your hands.

While Paul is focusing on pastors and elders, I think you could extend this to any ministry where a person needs to take a leadership role.

It might be for the process of choosing people to be small group leaders or Sunday school teachers. Anyone who represents the church as a leader or teacher is to be held to a high standard.

So we need to be careful who we choose.

And for those who are in leadership or teaching positions, we need to be careful to always represent Christ well by how we live.

How careful are you being?

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Galatians

Biblical principles: The seeds we sow

Sowing seeds

I would have never made a good farmer. I remember as a kid trying to plant a seed. I can’t remember if it was from an orange or an apple, but either way, I wanted it to grow right then and there. And when it didn’t, I swiftly dug it up.

Farmers need patience, and I was in short supply of it.

In this life, we all sow seeds. Unlike my childhood sowing experience, however, there’s no way to dig up those seeds. And ultimately, we will reap what we sow. Paul writes,

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

There were probably some in the Galatian church and in other churches for that matter that tried to twist the teaching of Paul.

Because Paul taught salvation by grace alone through faith, they said, “Well, Paul must mean then that we can live however we like. We can just sin and trust that Jesus will forgive us anyway.”

But Paul says, “God is not some naive fool to be underestimated or trifled with. He knows your heart and he knows all you do.

And if you claim to believe in Christ and yet all your life you are merely living to please yourself, he will see right through your claims of faith and see you for who you really are.

So even if you somehow avoid the results of your sinful actions here on earth (and I wouldn’t count on that), you will reap destruction when you face God on judgment day.

If on the other hand, you truly love God and live to please the Spirit, you will ultimately reap eternal life.”

He then exhorts us,

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

It can be disheartening to serve God at times because we don’t always see the results right away. We are a fast food society, expecting things on our plate instantaneously. But seeds take time to grow. They don’t grow in a day.

And the same is true of the seeds we plant in living to please the Spirit. Sometimes we don’t see the results right away. There are some seeds whose fruit we will never see in our lifetimes.

But Paul assures us, “They will grow. So don’t give up. Don’t faint from exhaustion and despair. You will reap the rewards of what you sow, and most importantly, you will reap eternal life.”

What does this mean for us practically? Paul says,

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10)

One important way to please the Spirit and show our love for him is to bless those he has put around us. God has called us to be a blessing, to our family, our friends, our coworkers, and especially to our fellow Christians.

And if we focus on that, in the end, God will make sure we reap the benefits of it.

What seeds are you sowing?

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Matthew Matthew 18

Biblical principles: When people repeatedly hurt you

hurt

Dealing with hurt is difficult. Dealing with hurt from those you once trusted is even worse.

What do you do when someone continually hurts you? Do we just take it? What does Jesus say?

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess.

It seems that as the disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, they had wounded each other, resulting in cracks in their relationships. Jesus knew this, and that’s why he gave them the instruction we see in this passage.

He said,

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (Matthew 18:15)

Notice two things here. First, if someone hurts you, you are not to wait for that person to come to you and apologize to you. You are to go to them.

Often times we are so angry at the other person, that we demand that they come to us and apologize for what they did.

But that kind of attitude is not one of peace, but of pride. And God calls us to be peacemakers.

Remember that in the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9).

That doesn’t just mean bringing peace between others that you know. It means bringing peace in your own relationships.

But if there’s one thing that will prevent peace in a relationship, it’s pride.

Furthermore, there are many times when people hurt us, and they don’t know it. As a result, we could wait forever, and they’ll never come. So Jesus says, if someone hurts you, you go to them.

Second, notice that there’s no room for gossip or slander here. Jesus doesn’t say, “If your brother hurts you, go tell the world about it.” He says, “Go to the brother that hurt you and talk about it.”

And hopefully, when they understand the hurt they’ve caused you, they will apologize and your relationship will be restored.

A key point, by the way.

If someone confronts you like this, remember that what’s not important is if you feel your words or actions should have hurt them.

What’s important is that your words or actions did hurt them. And it’s on you not only to apologize, but to make sure you avoid such actions in the future. That’s also what it means to be a peacemaker.

But what if you confront a person who hurts you, and they refuse to acknowledge their wrong?

Then Jesus says bring one or two other people with you. Share with them what happened. Not to gossip or badmouth the other person. But with the hope that with their help, reconciliation will happen.

It’s entirely possible that with their counsel, you realize that you are simply misunderstanding the other person. Or perhaps with their help, the other person will come to understand they were wrong.

Either way, remember the goal of bringing in these people is peace.

If a person still refuses to hear you, then bring in the church. You don’t have to bring in the whole congregation. But perhaps bring in a pastor or another respected person of the church and have them try to mediate.

But if that fails, Jesus says,

Treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (Matthew 18:17).

What does that mean?

Basically, it means to change your expectations of them. Don’t expect them to act like a brother or sister in Christ, because they are not acting that way. Treat them as an unbeliever who doesn’t know Christ.

We don’t expect unbelievers to act like believers, and if a person refuses to repent, we should stop expecting them to act like a believer.

Keep your guard up against them. Don’t fool yourself into thinking they’ve changed until they repent, and you see signs of that repentance.

And if at all possible, try to avoid them, much as people avoided tax collectors in those days.

Why?

Because you’re bitter?

Because you’re angry?

No. You need to let go of those feelings because they will bind you up.

Rather, avoid the other person because they are dangerous to you. As long as they can’t see their own wrong, you’re always in danger of being hurt by them. So avoid them.

How about you? How are you dealing with the people who have hurt you?