Date: May 31st, 2015 - Sunday am Passage: 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Title: The Qualifications for a Deacon Introduction: As you know Our church is transitioning: From being a Church Plant To be an - Autonomous - Self Governing - Self Sustaining Church And recently We voted to accept our church s: Constitution & Statement of Faith. And in preparation for this transition We have been studying: In our Sermons & Bible Studies What the Bible has to say concerning: The Qualifications of a Pastor Church Membership Giving & Baptism And now we are going to look at What the Bible has to say about: The qualifications for a Deacon You might remember that: 1st Timothy is a very practical letter That the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy Telling him how things should be set up & done there at the church. In the first 7 verses of chapter 3: Paul tells Timothy What the qualifications are for a Pastor & Then in verses 8-13: Paul turns his attention To the qualifications for a deacon. So let s read this passage together 8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, 9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. Page 1 of 16
Illustration: One of the mistakes I made in high school was If I couldn t understand: How a particular subject Had any: Direct application To me & My situation I would loose interest and kind of tuned it out. I would think: Well this is something for other people BUT not for me! So when I was studying Math: And they gave me a word problem about I remember thinking Good Grief! Train A leaving Johannesburg headed to Cape Town & Train B leaving Cape Town & heading for Johannesburg And Train A is traveling at this rate & Train B at some other rate, At what place would they pass each other? Ask the engineers - for crying out loud. Thats why we have Train Engineers you know! They are the people we employ to know this stuff?! Why am I learning about this? I m not going to drive a train. And if we re not careful We may make the same mistake this morning! We may think to ourselves Well, I m not a deacon! I m not a deacon s wife. This is for other people! This doesn t apply to me! But you know what: One of the AWESOME things About God s Word is that It is profitable To all of us In all that it teaches! Page 2 of 16
So when we look at the qualifications for Deacon s this morning Don t switch off your brains. Because these qualifications: Are basically character qualities that glorify God. So essentially these qualities : Are things that all Believers Should strive to put on in their lives. #1 Deacon Defined Now before we look at the qualifications for a Deacon: Let s first define what the word deacon means. The word deacon : Is a transliteration from the Greek word diakonos meaning to serve. Originally the word deacon : Referred to a person who was a table waiter. In fact the word deacon : Is comprised of two root words: The preposition dia which means through & The noun, konos which means dust So originally the word referred to A person who walked through the dust A person who stirred-up the dust as he served others. So simply put: The word deacon means servant. And it is actually used quite a lot in the Bible In the New Testament: It is used 63 times In its different forms #2 Deacons First Used Turn with me to Acts 6:1-5 Where we will see when the early church started using deacons for the first time. 1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve Page 3 of 16
summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. 5 The 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. Apparently the early church Was growing so quickly That some people in the church were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Apostles Who at that time were serving in the role of pastors of the church Encouraged the congregation to select seven men. These seven men Would then help out By serving the church & Making sure that the widows got the food they needed. This then Freed-up the pastors: To have the time they needed for prayer & for the teaching of God s Word. Now by the time we get to 1 Timothy 3 We see that deacons Have become an official office or position Within the local church. For example in Philippians 1:1 Paul greets the church in Phillipi & Gives recognition: To the deacons Along with the pastors As leaders in the church. Now although Paul recognises deacons as an official position in the church Paul is NOT suggesting That deacons are some sort of an executive committee or board Paul is NOT suggesting That deacons Control & Determine the goings on in the church. Page 4 of 16
Rather The deacons role in the church Is to serve the church Just as their name diakonos states in the Greek. So Deacons Are not to be some sort of a ruling body in the church. They are Leaders in the church That exist to serve & build up Believers in their church in their local body of Christ. So you can see why This is such an incredibly important position in the local church. And just like the church Back in Acts 6 Took special care to choose men that were: men of good reputation, full of the Spirit & of wisdom Paul wanted Timothy & us To clearly understand what that entailed. And so Paul outlines: The qualifications for deacons in verses 8-13 And you probably noticed If you glanced up at verse 1-7 That the qualifications are incredibly similar to the those of Pastors/ Elders. #3 Qualifications of the Deacon So lets look at these qualifications must be men of dignity First Paul says deacons must be men of dignity The word dignity in the Greek can be translated: honourable or worthy of respect In other words He is not to be a dreamer that chases after rainbows. He is not to be an unstable unreliable kind of a guy. Page 5 of 16
He is to be a man That will take his role seriously. He is to be a man That possesses Godly character worth imitating. He is to be a man That you can trust to be an example of Christlikeness to others. double-tongued Next Paul says that deacons are not to be double-tongued That s a very picturesque way of saying that Deacons are to be consistent in what they say. Politicians Are sometimes accused of being double-tongued Saying one thing to one person & Then saying something totally different to another person In order to win both people s support. Well That s not something God wants Believers to do Because its actually dishonest & Destroys the credibility of the person and what he saying. A practical and easy way To avoid the sin of being double-tongued is To always speak as if everyone was standing right there listening to you. If someone asks you About so-and-so Speak about so-and-so as though so-and-so was right there and you ll never regret your words and you ll never be double-tongued. Instead people will know you As a person whose words can be depended on So a deacon needs to be a man that is Straight-forward & Honest-speaking & Who tells the truth Page 6 of 16
not given to much wine Next Paul says that deacons are not to be given to much wine In other words They are to be sober in everything that they do. They should not allow alcohol or anything else for that matter to control them because it will cloud their judgment! You might remember that Paul said back in Ephesians 5:18 that All Believers are not to be drunk with wine wherein is dissipation, but be filled - or controlled - by the Holy Spirit. You see, alcohol abuse has created a major Alcohol abuse Reduces life expectancy! It causes huge financial strain: Moral Social Economic & Health problem in our country! On people On businesses & On families & It destroys & breaks up families. If a man is known to have a drinking problem Then he cannot not be a deacon Deacons have to be the kind of men Who can serve & help people. So if a guy has a drinking problem He is not going to be a help but a hindrance. not greedy for money Paul goes on and says, a deacon is also not to be greedy for money Another way you could say this is that They re not to be Wheeler-Dealers" Always looking to make a fast buck Always looking to take advantage of situations at other s expense to make more money. Page 7 of 16
Instead Deacons must be the kind of men: Who have financial integrity Deacons must be the kind of men: Who are completely trustworthy in their handling of money. Every now & then You read & hear in the news: About a financial scandal in a church! Where people have misused church funds! When that happens: It drags God s name through the mud. So when it comes to leaders in the church Their first priority in life Should be to please God by obeying His Word Not to be Wheeler-Dealers" In doing so they will be Trustworthy Honest & Dependable. holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience Verse 9 tells us that a deacon must be a man that holds to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience This phrase is talking about Loving the Word of God! Being committed to studying God s Word & Being doctrinally sound! This phrase is talking about Submitting to the Word of God as the final authority in ones life! Illustration: I would like to read to you a story Warren Wiersbe tells About a pastor friend of his That became the pastor of a church that was constantly at war with itself. Wiersbe says Their business meetings were something to behold! The church constitution was revered almost as much as the Bible. The people called it the green book My pastor friend began to teach the people the Word of God and lives started to change. But the enemy went to work and stirred up some officers to defy their pastor in a meeting. Page 8 of 16
You aren t following the green book they said. My friend lifted his Bible high & asked: Are we going to obey the Word of God or a green book written by men? This was a turning point in the church and then God blessed with wonderful spiritual growth in the lives of those people. The point is A deacon Who does not Know & Live & Put the Word of God first Cannot effectively serve in the local church. be tested - being found blameless Next Paul says in verse 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Simply put Just because a church member: Is popular or Successful in business or Generous in his giving It does not mean: He is qualified to serve as a deacon. God wants the local church: To observe The life of the man that they are considering to be deacon. To see if He genuinely meets God s qualifications Not ours qualifications! So the idea is that He is to be observed As he goes about his service in the church. If he looks like The kind of man who should serve in the office of deacon Then he may be selected. Page 9 of 16
beyond reproach Now when Paul says that the deacon must be beyond reproach That does not mean that he must be perfect Because if that was the case There would be NO deacons - right! The point is There should be nothing according to God s Word that disqualifies that guy from being a deacon. Illustration: This reminds me of a dart board I used to have when I was a kid. I had the dart board hanging on the wall in my room. I loved playing it. When we threw the darts and it hit the dart board the darts would stick. But sometimes We would throw the darts and miss the dart board all together and the dart would hit the brick wall and fall to the ground. Why? Because the wall had nothing in it that allowed darts to stick. Pastors & deacons need to be like the wall. There should be nothing: In our character In our conduct that habitually contradicts the Word of God to which accusations could stick if they are made against us. If you look at these qualifications: I think it is safe to say That it takes time to build these qualities in ones life & So men Who have been saved recently or Have recently begun attending our church probably should not be considered for the office of deacon right away. The process of making sure That men qualify to serve as deacons Takes time & Shouldn t be hasty & rushed. Page 10 of 16
Likewise their wives BUT Now in verse 11 Paul changes the focus for a moment to the deacon s wife s behaviour. It says there Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Now here is a controversial verse for some people In the Greek text: The word for wives is the word goo-nay And this Greek word: goo-nay can be translated as either: wives or women So, if you are reading from: So whats the controversy all about? The NASB or Die Nuwe Vertaling or Die Ou Vertaling Those translations will have the word goo-nay translated to mean Women in this verse Well, there are some groups out there: That choose to accept the word goo-nay means Women AND THEN they argue That this means that Women can be deacons! They will then also then go to Romans 16:1 Where Paul says in: The NIV & NLT translation I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. That word deacon : Is the Greek word diakonos And so they say There you go! Proof! A woman can be deacon as well! Page 11 of 16
What these groups are doing is They are falling into the classic trap Called Confirmation Bias Confirmation Bias Is where people: Search for & Interpret & Focus on information that confirms one s preconceptions People do this regardless of: The contextual & General information that says otherwise. If you remember At the beginning of this message: We talked about how the Greek word diakonos Is actually translated to serve & It is used 63 times in its different forms in the New Testament. So Bible translations such as: Die Ou Vertaling Die Nuwe Vertaling The KJV The NASB & The ESV All translate the word diakonos In Romans 16:1 As being Phoebe, a servant of the church & Not Phoebe, a deacon of the church" And they do that because it fits the context correctly there. Now back to our passage in 1 Timothy 3 The weight of the context of this passage indicates that wives is the better translation for the word goo-nay Thats why The majority of Bible translations Have 1 Timothy 3:11 translated As wives Not Women So Paul then Is not saying that Women can be deacons. He is just talking about the qualification for the deacon s wife. Why would he do that? Well, because she has a role of serving alongside her husband. Page 12 of 16
So what are her qualifications? Well, lets read verse 11 again Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. NKJV So she is to be reverent. It s the same word used of the deacon in verse 8! She is a person who is to be Worthy of respect & Serious about her relationship with the Lord. It also says there that The deacon s wife must not be a slanderer The Greek word for slanderer is one of the names given to the devil! The point is: A deacon s wife Must never be involved in malicious gossip or Any form of speech that Slanders or Assassinates the character of or Tears another person down. A deacon s wife Must not tell others Private information concerning someone in the church. Illustration: I remember when I was in a pastors & deacons meeting at High Point an our previous Pastor Pastor Bill Park was the pastor at that time. Before Pastor Bill started the meeting officially, he turned to two of the deacons and said to them in front of the rest of us The two of you may not share what I am about to talk about to your wives because they do not have the ability to hold their tongues?! Wow, it got really quiet in that meeting! He said that though because if those ladies heard what was discussed in that meeting, and repeated it, it would have hurt a lot of families due to the sensitive nature of the information. So instead of being a slanderer : A deacon s wife should be temperate, & faithful in all things In other words Like her husband She is to show Self-control & Be balanced in her judgements & Be trustworthy in all she does. Page 13 of 16
husbands of one wife Next Paul says in verse 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. This phrase husband of one wife Means a deacon must have a reputation For being totally committed & faithful to his wife. The idea here is To examine a man in his present situation. Is he faithful to his wife? Does his marriage show a commitment & love for his spouse? That is the idea. There is a tendency When this qualification is discussed For so much attention to be placed on a man s marital history! So much so that Not enough attention is put on his current marital fidelity (getrouheid). ruling children and own houses well We also see here that a deacon must rule his children & house well. He needs to be the kind of man Who is a leader at home & Who is actively involved in the Training & Discipline & Love of his kids. If a man is Passive or Lazy or Disinterested in the raising of his children and leaves all of these responsibilities to his wife He then Cannot be considered a good manager of his household, and therefore Is not qualified to serve as a deacon. That might seem like an unreasonable qualification But if you think about it for a moment If a man can t manage his household properly How on earth is he going to care properly for the local body of Christ?!!! Page 14 of 16
Like all Christian men Who obey the Scriptures The deacon Shows honor to his wife Prays with his wife Teaches the Scriptures to his children, Disciplines his children & Makes sure everyone in the home is in a growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. deacons obtain for themselves good standing and great boldness in the faith In Verse 13 Paul mentions one last thing on this subject of deacons. But it is not a qualification. Verse 13 says For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Those deacons Who have served well Who start & finish well in their service Will receive two blessings! The first blessing is that Others within the local church will acknowledge his trustworthiness. And the second blessing is He will become: Increasingly strong & Sure in his walk with the Lord. Conclusion: So men If you are considering serving as deacons To the rest of us Make sure The necessary qualifications are present in your life before agreeing to be considered for the office. We need to remember that What we require of our deacons we should expect of ourselves as well! Page 15 of 16
All these qualifications Are actually repeated through out the New Testament And actually have application to all of us We are all stewards and we all need to all be servant-minded! So Finally When you see a ministry need Do all you can to fill it. And If you ever wonder why Somebody isn t filling a need that the church has Remember YOU are a somebody! Maybe you should fill that need! The greatest example of a person who serves Is the Lord Jesus Christ & We should model our lives to be like Him Do you know Him? Have you by faith accepted Him as your personal Savior? It is the most important decision you can make in your life! Lets close in prayer. Page 16 of 16