Decisions: A Whole Congregation Affair (Acts 15)

Posted by David on November 16, 1997 under Sermons

In the past few weeks, I have shared four lessons on Sunday mornings:

In these four lessons, we have noted that Christ died to produce a new people, a people who are unlike any people who existed. Each person who chooses to let Jesus Christ possess his or her life becomes a new person. All persons belonging to Christ make God’s new people. We saw that these new people were given a new type of leadership. In Acts chapter one, the first of these new people participated in the leadership process in a way that had never occurred before. In Acts 6 these new people were given the responsibility of making a very difficult decision for the entire congregation. They were given the responsibility to resolve a very serious problem that threatened the whole congregation. The apostles themselves gave the congregation that responsibility.

This morning we will look at the most difficult, controversial decision made concerning the church in the first century. We learn about this decision in Acts 15. I ask you to follow me by looking at Acts 15 as I discuss what happened.

Jews in Palestine basically refused to associate with people who were not Jews.
1. That refusal had its roots in God’s commandments and their religious laws.
  1. To preserve their identity as God’s people, they had almost no association with non-Jewish people.
  2. This self-imposed isolation was used to help protect them from idolatry.
  3. It also was used to help them protect and preserve what they believed was God’s destiny for them.
2. When many first century Jews in Jerusalem became Christians, these converted Jews soon were introduced to some understandings that were very difficult for them to accept.
  1. It was difficult for them to understand God’s destiny for them.
    1. God’s destiny for them in Jesus was extremely different from the destiny they had believed in for centuries.
    2. Their ultimate destiny was not to isolate themselves as God’s people.
    3. Their ultimate destiny was to share the good news of the resurrected Jesus with all non-Jews as well as all Jews.
  2. It was difficult for them to understand that God loved non-Jews as much as He loved Jews.
  3. It was difficult for them to understand that God would accept and save anyone who accepted the resurrected Jesus.
  4. Several converted Jews were convinced that non-Jews could be converted to Christ only if they first were converted to God; they were converted to God by converting to Judaism.
3. In Acts 10 the Jewish apostle Peter went into the home of the non-Jewish Cornelius to teach him and his friends about Jesus.
  1. There was only one reason for Peter going to Cornelius: Jesus Christ directly, forcefully told him to go.
  2. Only after he arrived did he understand why Jesus told him to go: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34,35).
4. Peter’s visiting in Cornelius’ home, teaching Cornelius and his friends, and baptizing them deeply troubled the church in Jerusalem; in Acts 11 they made it very plain to Peter that he had deeply disappointed them.
5. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas are instructed by the Holy Spirit to begin a missions outreach to non-Jewish people, which Paul and Barnabas did.
In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas returned from the lengthy trip they took to preach Jesus to non-Jews.
1. The trip began from the non-Jewish congregation in Antioch of Syria, and it ended in the same non-Jewish congregation in Antioch of Syria.
  1. Paul and Barnabas arrived to find some Jewish Christians from the Jerusalem area in Antioch.
    1. They were informing these non-Jewish Christians that it was not possible for them to be saved unless they agreed to the rite of Jewish circumcision.
    2. In other words, unless they were converted to God by the rite of Jewish circumcision, belonging to Jesus Christ would not save them.
    3. Can you see the spiritual disaster of that position?
  2. When Paul and Barnabas arrived, they had a serious confrontation and debate with these Jewish Christians (15:2).
    1. But nothing was resolved.
    2. It was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and the Jewish Christians would go to Jerusalem and place this issue before the apostles and elders.
  3. When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Jerusalem church and its leadership.
  4. Paul and Barnabas gave this Jewish congregation a complete report on all that God had done when they taught non-Jews (15:4).
  5. Immediately, a group of Jewish Christians who were also Pharisees took the floor and declared that it was essential to instruct all non-Jewish converts to be circumcised and observe the law of Moses (15:5).
  6. The leadership (the apostles and elders) had a meeting to discuss and debate this suggested requirement, but their discussion and debate resolved nothing (15:6,7).
  7. After a lot of debating, Peter took the floor and reminded them that in the early days God sent him to teach the non-Jews, and that God, who knows the heart, gave those non-Jews the Holy Spirit just as God did them (15:7-11).
    1. God had cleansed their hearts by faith and saved them by grace.
    2. They had no right to expect something of these non-Jews that God had said nothing about.
  8. Then the multitude listened quietly as Paul and Barnabas reported on all the miracles that God performed as they taught the non-Jews (15:12).
  9. Then James took the floor and reminded everyone of what God told Peter, used the prophets to verify the correctness of Peter’s actions, and stated that it was his judgment that they should not make this requirement of non-Jews (15:13-21).
2. I want to especially call your attention to 15:22.
  1. It was decided to send a letter to all the non-Jewish congregations to inform them of the decision: circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses was not necessary for a non-Jew to be saved.
  2. Who made this decision? The apostles, the elders, and the whole church.
  3. This could be the most serious doctrinal decision made in the first century.
    1. If they had made the opposite decision, it would have altered the course of Christianity forever.
    2. A decision to require circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses for salvation would have made Christianity a Jewish movement instead of a world movement.
    3. It was a controversial, emotional decision.
  4. For the whole church to participate in the controversial decision to send a letter to non-Jewish congregations, the whole church had to witness the discussion, the disagreement, and the reasons for reaching that conclusion.
    1. Verse 12 specifically states that all the multitude kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas.
    2. The whole church heard this highly controversial doctrinal discussion among the apostles and the elders.
    3. The whole church endorsed sending the letter.
    4. The whole church helped select the Jewish Christians who were to take the letter to non-Jewish churches.
    5. The whole church had both opportunity and responsibility in this matter.
    6. The whole church helped make the decision, but the Christians who were Pharisees actively opposed that decision for many years.
The number one requirement in Christianity is faith.
1. Christianity stands on the foundation of faith in the crucified, resurrected Jesus.
  1. The person who does not place his or her faith in the crucified, resurrected Jesus cannot be a Christian.
    1. Without that faith, baptism will not make him or her a Christian.
    2. Without that faith, church membership will not make him or her a Christian.
    3. Without that faith, taking communion will not make him or her a Christian.
    4. Without that faith, being present in worship assemblies will not make him or her a Christian.
    5. Without that faith, practicing Christian morals will not make him or her a Christian.
  2. The congregation that does not place its faith in the crucified, resurrected Jesus is not Christian.
    1. It can be biblically organized, but it is still not Christian.
    2. It can wear a biblical name, but it is still not Christian.
    3. It can have the biblical form of leadership, but it is still not Christian.
    4. It can study the Bible and only the Bible, but it is still not Christian.
  3. Without faith in the crucified, resurrected Jesus, Christianity cannot exist.
2. Too often congregations are more concerned about the members doing the “right things” than they are concerned about the members acting in faith.
  1. “We are not really concerned about your worshipping in faith; we just demand that you do the right things in worship.”
  2. “We are not really concerned about your living in faith; we just want you to do the right things in the approved way.”
3. Today in many Churches of Christ there is greater concern in leadership for controlling the actions of the members than concern for developing the faith of the members.
  1. In too many congregations, leaders feel confident as long as the members are doing things they want to be done in the way they want them done.
  2. Their concern focuses much more on controlling congregational behavior than on developing congregational faith.
  3. In this concern, leaders often try to “protect” and “control” the congregation by making decisions in isolation for undisclosed reasons.
  4. That obviously did not happen in Acts 15.
  5. Your elders continue to make it clear that this is not how they choose to provide you leadership.

Allow me to close with some personal observations.

It is much easier to teach the system than to teach the Savior.
It is much easier to trust the system than to trust the Savior.
It is much easier to place your faith in the system than to place your faith in the Savior.
It is much easier to believe that the system saves instead of believing that the Savior saves.
While it is much easier to depend on the system instead of the Savior, it is not Christian.

…And I Know What I Am Talking About!

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Alan Smith in his e-mail, “Thought For The Day,” shared some fascinating quotes last week. In 1899, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” In 1943, Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” In 1949, Popular Mechanics wrote, “Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall said in 1957, “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” An engineer in the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, discussing the microchip, asked, “But, what…is it good for?” Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”

Obviously, they did not envisioned today’s role for computers. Computers start our cars. Computers enable the 911 system to respond to our emergencies. Computers price our purchases in checkout lanes. Computers help the pharmacists fill our prescriptions. Our life histories (from medical records to social security) are preserved by computer. Every facet of life is touched by the work of a computer. I am typing these thoughts on a computer. A computer makes it possible to produce this newsletter, and a computer will help mail it. And, in much less than one life time, such applications will be primitive.

We can be so confident, so definite, so certain about what is and is not needed in our congregation. Each opinion and conviction runs deep and strong. Each varies greatly from Christian to Christian. We see and access needs so differently. Why? Why do members hold such different view points and value systems? Each of us is powerfully influenced by each of these factors: personal background; concept of relationship; good and bad experiences; successes and failures; disappointments and disillusionment; and one’s personal definition of faith and conviction.

As I consider my lifetime of teaching, advocating, and position taking, I see that truth in me. In 2050, Christians will discuss the 1990s’ view of Christianity and the direction of the church. Someone will quote us personally to verify a point. Will the quote be humorously nearsighted?

Thank you, God, for giving us grace for our sins instead of rewards for our prophecies.

Good Reasons For Continued Earnest Prayer

Posted by David on November 9, 1997 under Bulletin Articles

I want to express genuine, personal appreciation for our elders. What they continue to do in our congregational family meetings is a tremendous leadership investment in the health of this congregation. It is not easy to provide a forum for the congregation to express itself. It is not simple to invite everyone with a view or a preference to express it. No “short cuts” are created by listening to diverse perspectives among our members. But it is infinitely healthy for the congregation. It is spiritually constructive for our present and our future. Thank you, elders, for the heart, spirit, and attitude you display in these meetings.

In last Sunday evening’s family meeting, one impressive thing was clearly evident. Each person who spoke was interested in influencing lives for Christ, in having a greater spiritual impact on the Fort Smith area, and in serving Christ’s purposes. Everyone who presented a thought, a view, or asked a question spoke from that perspective. As expected, there were diverse views concerning how to best accomplish our common concern. Numerous approaches were suggested. Differing avenues were recommended.

Each concern expressed was legitimate. All perspectives voiced were valid. All needs declared exist. Each idea has merits and limitations. Each who endorsed an idea, acknowledged a need, or favored a specific course of action saw the merits of his or her interests or concerns. The needs that capture our attention impress us.

May we pray earnestly for ourselves and for the congregation as we continue our exploration of possibilities. Pray that God will help us grow into the greatest possible spiritual influence.

Remember missions weekend! Remember the banquet Friday night. Be present for Bible class and both worship assemblies Sunday. Pray about our missions works and our missions funding for the coming year. If your fixed income will not permit you to be financially involved, pray for the work. The power is in God, and your prayers appropriate that power. May those of us who are capable of giving give generously.

A Devotional On Wisdom

Posted by David on November 2, 1997 under Sermons

Please turn to Daniel 2.

King Nebuchadnezzer had a dream that he could not get off of his mind.
1. He called together the men of wisdom and informed them that he demanded that they interpret his dream.
  1. The king: “I had this dream, and it gives me a major anxiety attack.”
  2. The men of wisdom: “Tell us the dream, and we will interpret it.”
  3. The king: “No, you will tell me both the dream and the interpretation. If you don’t, I will execute you and totally destroy your homes. If you do, I will reward you with great wealth.”
  4. The men of wisdom: “With all respect, you are making an impossible request. We cannot tell you both. Tell us the dream and we will give you the interpretation.”
  5. The king: “You are just stalling. You are already in a conspiracy to deceive me. You all have already agreed what the interpretation will be.”
  6. The men of wisdom: “No one can do what you ask. Only a god could tell you both, and gods do not live among humans.”
2. Nebuchadnezzer became furious and ordered that all the men of wisdom in the kingdom be arrested and executed.
  1. An officer came to arrest Daniel.
  2. Daniel asked for an explanation, and the officer told Daniel what had happened.
  3. Daniel said, “Go tell that king that I will interpret his dream.”
  4. As the officer went to inform the king, Daniel went to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or Shaddrack, Meshack, and Abednigo) to ask them to pray with him.
  5. They asked God to save their lives and the lives of the other men of wisdom.
  6. God responded to their prayers by revealing the dream and interpretation to Daniel.
Listen to Daniel’s words to God (Daniel 2:20-23).
Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Daniel was taken to the king.
1. The king: “Can you interpret my dream?”
2. Daniel: “Not even the men of wisdom can reveal the mystery as you request, but God in heaven can.”
3. Listen carefully to what Daniel says in Daniel 2:30: “As for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.”
4. Then Daniel revealed the dream and its interpretation to the king.
May Daniel remind us of these things:
1. Wisdom resides in God, not in us.
2. Let’s seek God’s wisdom.
3. When God reveals His wisdom to us, it is not to advance ourselves, but to advance his purposes.
4. May we never forget, we are just people.

“. . . And Then They Died.”

Posted by David on under Sermons

Recently I watched part of a news documentary that had a segment on kidney transplants. It specifically focused on a business in China that specializes in kidney transplants.

China has built a modern, well equipped hospital that utilizes western technology and is specifically designed for transplant surgery. The primary purpose of this hospital is to perform kidney transplants for foreign patients who purchase a kidney and the procedure. The principal recipients of this service are Americans.

I found what happens to be both believable and unbelievable at the same time.

The hospital is located near a prison. The prison schedules monthly executions. Quickly, after executions, the kidneys of the executed prisoners are removed by persons trained for that purpose. The kidneys are transported to the hospital and transplanted into waiting recipients.

This documentary showed a film of an execution. A number of men were lined up in a row side by side, on their knees, with their hands tied behind their backs. Each man was shot at point blank range with a pistol. Simultaneously, each was shot at the base of the skull. That specific method and manner of execution does not damage the kidneys.

Arrangements can be made here in American to purchase one of the kidneys and receive the transplant. A number of kidneys are available each month. An undercover applicant inquiring about the surgery was urged to make his decision quickly because the supply of kidneys does not meet the demand. Thus far, according to the documentary, ten thousand kidney transplants have been performed.

As I watched these men on their knees waiting to die, two thoughts quickly raced through my mind. The first thought: would what they did even be considered a crime in our country? I expect we would be horrified if we knew why some of those people were executed. Second thought: had these men ever even heard the words, Jesus Christ?

I have not seen much of the world, but I have seen some of it.
1. Among the peoples I have seen are:
  1. People living in conditions too primitive for many Americans to understand.
  2. People who did not live in primitive circumstances, but who live in overwhelming poverty.
  3. People who have had the hope that only God can give systematically removed from their society.
  4. Most of these people are powerless to alter their circumstances.
2. Because of what I have seen, at times some realizations overwhelm me.
  1. When I consider the blessings, the privileges, and the opportunities that I have known in my life, I am overwhelmed.
  2. I benefit from a choice set of circumstances because I was born in America.
  3. I was not given the opportunity to choose the country of my birth.
  4. I had absolutely nothing to do with creating that circumstance.
  5. I have seen enough to know what my life would be if I had been born in many, many other countries of the world.
  6. Personally, that is very, very humbling.
3. One of the problems that troubles me most about us Americans is our arrogance.
  1. It is not intentional, and much of the time we don’t realize that we are arrogant.
  2. We are so accustomed to possessing, to liberty, to rights, to choices, to opportunities that we think the rest of the world should be like us.
  3. Intellectually we understand that people in most other countries do not have the standard of living or opportunities that we do.
  4. But it is very difficult for us to realize that their world is totally different from our world.
  5. We wonder why other people do not improve things in ways that we think they should be improved.
  6. And, consciously or unconsciously, we tend to look down on them because they don’t measure up to our standards and expectations.
4. The first time that Joyce and I returned from Africa for leave time, we were eager to show our pictures and share our experiences with our families.
  1. My dad looked in disbelief at the way the people lived.
  2. After we showed many of our slides, he basically had one comment: “I wouldn’t live that way. I would take my hammer and nails and improve on that.”
  3. I remember asking him, “Dad, what if you were so poor that you did not own and could not buy a hammer or nails?”
  4. Those circumstances were beyond his comprehension.
5. We Americans are such a small part of this world, and yet we think as if the rest of the world is small and we are the larger part.
Salvation in Jesus Christ is the great equalizer of all humanity.
1. What impresses people and what impresses God are two entirely different matters.
  1. God is not impressed by our physical circumstances or with our intellectual development. People may be, but God is not.
    1. God never says, “Wow! Look where they live! Look at what they have!”
    2. He never says, “Look at his or her incredible educational background.”
  2. God is impressed with a person’s heart and with a person’s faith.
    1. Heart qualities impress God: love, mercy, compassion, humility, forgiveness, gentleness, kindness.
    2. God is impressed with the trust that is called faith: the willingness of a person to trust God’s promises, to place confidence in God’s assurance, to accept and trust God’s accomplishments in Christ.
  3. The heart qualities that impress God can exist in any person in any set of physical circumstances.
  4. The trust that impresses God is not dependent on the person’s education.
2. Paul emphasized that point to both the Corinthian Christians and the Ephesian Christians.
  1. To the Corinthian Christians he wrote, For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (NAS, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
  2. Listen to this same reading from the New Century Version: Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He choose what the world thinks is unimportant in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no one can brag in his presence (NCV, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
  3. To the Ephesian Christians, Paul wrote this: For by grace have you been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (NAS, Ephesians 2:8-10).
  4. Again, listen to the same statement in the New Century Version: I mean that you have been saved through grace by believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. God made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing (NCV, Ephesians 2:8-10).
Grasping the biblical concept of God’s love is the greatest single understanding the human mind can comprehend.
1. Even when we grasp the concept of God’s love, we struggle to trust the meaning and significance of His love.
  1. God loves the person in the most primitive circumstances on earth as much as God loves me.
  2. God loves the person in the most poverty stricken circumstances on earth as much as God loves me.
  3. God loves the person in the most disadvantaged circumstances on earth as much as God loves me.
2. That is why we seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ to people everywhere.
  1. Our motivation must be much more than:
    1. Fulfilling a command.
    2. Meeting a spiritual obligation.
    3. Or trying to plant a church.
  2. This very minute, every person on earth has a Savior, and every person on earth needs to know about his or her Savior.
    1. Every person needs to learn about and understand the blessing and freedom of forgiveness.
    2. Every person needs to learn about and know of the hope that is available for him or her.
    3. Every person needs to hear about and understand the peace that he or she can have.
  3. The greatest personal reason each of us has for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is the desire “to share my Savior.”
    1. We have experienced forgiveness and know its meaning.
    2. We have experienced the hope and are sustained by it.
    3. We have experienced the peace and live in it.
  4. No one needs to die without the assurance of the hope Christ gave us when he died.
  5. Everyone needs to die in the peace that Jesus gives us.

As I see the picture of those men kneeling in the dirt with their hands tied behind them and think about the thousands of others who have been executed, I wonder. In the weeks that they awaited execution, what were their thoughts? Did they have any form of hope to sustain them, or was there only despair? Did they have any peace within to turn to, or was there only fatalistic acceptance? Did death have meaning, or were they only relieved to end the inevitable?

For the person whose heart trusts and depends on what God did in Jesus Christ, and for the person who never heard of Jesus Christ, those questions have very different answers.

Decisions: Do You Hate Them or Love Them?

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

After we entered this world, we loved for others to make our decisions. We influence those decisions by loudly declaring felt needs. Self-centered rebellion became a skill. But decisions? “You make them–I’ll reject them if I don’t like them.”

As adolescence stirred, we suddenly wanted to make every decision. The power of decision was life’s most precious right! It affirmed selfhood and created freedom!

In early adult life, we cherished decisions. Decisions created opportunity, were the foundation of dreams, and opened the gateway to achievement.

With age, decisions often were seen as curses. We cherished routine and despised change. Decisions always interrupted routine and initiated change.

We, as a congregation, will make a number of extremely important decisions in the coming year. Our choices will affect “now” in significant ways and will affect our future in critical ways. Each choice will directly impact our spiritual maturity, our effectiveness in touching hearts and minds, and our purposes and objectives as God’s people.

Some will want others to choose while they retain the right to be unhappy about the choices. Some will feel the spiritual adrenaline created by the adventure of bold new challenges. Some will dream dreams as they see the possibilities of new opportunity and accomplishment. Some will see “the curse” as the comfortable routine of “the way it was” is assaulted yet again by the horrible “c” word.

Yet, as you analyze all those reactions that describe most if not all of us, you see a prominent, obvious common threat. In each reaction the concern is principally about “me,” not about “Him.”

God’s will focuses on His eternal objectives. God’s purposes focus on His earthly pursuit of His eternal objectives. Commitment to God’s purposes achieve God’s will. God’s will cannot be achieved apart from pursuing His purposes.

Somewhere in the mist of past decades, we separate the will of God from the purposes of God. Jesus Christ is the actual, complete embodiment of both God’s will and purposes. While we frequently affirm the will, we commonly lose sight of the purpose. We use “the authority” concern to endorse the will, but what do we use to confirm the purpose? If we are somewhat successful in identifying the will, but lose all sight of the purpose, have we really advanced God’s cause in Fort Smith and on earth?

Read the gospels diligently to rediscover His purposes as well as His will in Jesus.

Leadership Profile: From Shepherd to Shepherd (I Peter 5:1-4)

Posted by David on October 26, 1997 under Sermons

Place yourself in this situation. You have a very important decision to make, and this decision must be made. This decision will affect your future significantly. The truth of the situation is this: it will be impossible for your future not to be affected though this decision. One of two things will be true: your future will be much improved because of this decision, or your future will be much worse because of this decision. The potential for good or for bad in this decision literally is too great to be measured.

As you prepare to make the decision, you are keenly aware that it would be a serious mistake to make the decision by trusting only your own knowledge and intuition. You are acutely aware of the fact that for you to make the wisest decision, you need quality outside input that you can trust. You need good information and good insights that come from reliable people that deserve your trust.

You know two trustworthy, reliable people who have the kind of knowledge and insight that you need. One person is very knowledgeable, well informed, but has no actual experience. His knowledge is first rate, but his experience is limited to what he has seen. The other person is also very knowledgeable and well informed. He, too, has first rate knowledge, but he also has actual experience.

Because you want reliable information, which of these two men will you talk to? If it were me, I would talk to both of them. I would want all the reliable information that I could get from both men. I also would value the insights of the man with experience.

I want to call to your attention what is perhaps the most critical decision a congregation ever makes.
1. It has been said by many that the most critical moment in the life of a congregation is the moment that the congregation selects elders to lead it.
  1. There is more opportunity for harmful things to happen in that process than any other single process that occurs within a congregation.
  2. The process and the decision itself is filled with many opportunities for wonderful things or terrible things to happen.
  3. Once made, that decision will affect the future of the congregation more than any other single decision they make.
2. Typically, congregations make that choice without adequate information or understanding.
  1. It is common for a congregation to have too little understanding of the spiritual needs and responsibilities involved.
  2. It is also common for a congregation to have an inadequate concept of what its leaders should be and do.
    1. As a result, too often the decision becomes far less than it should be. It becomes:
    2. A popularity contest within the congregation.
    3. A reward given to a man for his social success or his business success within the community at large.
    4. A movement to reject a person in the congregation that influential members do not like.
    5. A political campaign.
    6. A “choose up sides” situation in which groups with differences are determined to appoint a man “who agrees with us and sees things the way we do.”
    7. Or a purely pragmatic decision –“Who is best qualified to handle the money and make good business decisions?”
  3. Too infrequently does the decision focus on the real issue: who is the most capable to spiritually shepherd the members of this congregation?
    1. Who has the spiritual maturity, the Christ-like personality, the compassionate disposition, and is the inspirational example to guide and encourage us?
    2. When my world is falling apart, when I have more crises than I can count, when my family is in serious trouble, who would pick me up, minister to me in my crisis, and carry me on his shoulders if necessary?
Suppose that we as a congregation were making that decision: suppose we were choosing elders.
1. As we prepare to make this decision, we can go to two men who have reliable, invaluable information: Paul and Peter.
  1. Paul had tremendous, valuable information.
    1. He was inspired of God and guided by the Holy Spirit.
    2. But Paul had never been an elder.
      1. Paul had appointed elders.
      2. Paul had worked with elders as a apostle, as a preacher, as a teacher, and as a missionary.
      3. Paul had taught elders and given elders special instructions and charges.
      4. Paul had observed elders in many different places and situations.
      5. But Paul had never worked as an elder with elders.
  2. According to the profiles that he gave to Timothy and to Titus, Paul was not qualified to be an elder.
    1. Paul never married, so he was not a husband.
    2. He never had children, so he never had the experience of working with different personalities as head of a household.
2. Peter also had tremendous, valuable information.
  1. He also was inspired of God and guided by the Holy Spirit.
  2. He actually lived and worked with Jesus, an opportunity Paul never had.
    1. In fact, Jesus gave Peter his name which meant “rock.”
    2. Jesus also told Peter that God revealed to him Jesus’ true identity before the other apostles knew it.
    3. After Jesus’ resurrection, before Jesus ascended back into heaven, Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep.
  3. And, Peter was an elder–he had actual experience in serving a congregation as one of its shepherds.
3. This is my question: why do we have a history of placing great emphasis on Paul’s profile for elders in Ephesus and on Crete, but give little consideration to Peter’s instructions to elders?
  1. In Peter’s instructions to fellow elders, there is an enormous amount of insight into the kind of man who should serve as a shepherd.
  2. Why don’t we give equal consideration and attention to what both Paul and Peter said as we seek to prepare ourselves to make the wisest possible decision?
Peter’s instructions to elders are found in 1 Peter 5:1-5.
1. Please read those five verses with me (read).
  1. First, I ask you to notice this: Peter exhorts them, or encourages them, or urges them, but he does not do it as an apostle; he appeals to them as a fellow shepherd.
  2. Second, notice that he appeals to them on the basis of example.
    1. It is not a “me lecturing you” about what you should do.
    2. It is an “us” situation: it is sharing about us and our situation.
    3. Peter does not “lord” it over them as he urges them not to “lord” it over others.
2. By what right does Peter urge his fellow elders to listen to his charge?
  1. He is a fellow elder–he walks in their sandals.
  2. He is a witness of Jesus’ sufferings–he saw him die, which powerfully evidences the fact that he had a personal understanding of Jesus’ mission and focus.
  3. He was a partaker of the glory to be revealed–he understands the destination and the reward of the flock.
3. Then he emphasized the responsibility of shepherds:
  1. Their primary responsibility: shepherd the flock under your oversight.
    1. Stated in words more familiar to us, take care of the Christians in your congregation.
    2. Sheep are hard to care for.
      1. Their basic needs must be met continually–food, water, secure circumstances, safety are every day necessities.
      2. They need a caring person to watch over them–to see when they are injured, to see when they are not eating or drinking, see when they have a special needs because they are weak, to see when they have special needs because they are young.
      3. Sheep need taking care of, and that is the basic job of the shepherd.
    3. I do not believe that it is coincidence or accident that Christians as a congregation, as the church are referred to as a flock of sheep.
      1. Christians, like sheep, are hard to care for–they have constant needs and need constant attention–spiritual food, spiritual water, secure spiritual circumstances, safety are every day necessities.
      2. Christians need someone to watch over them–we need someone to notice when we are injured, not eating and drinking, are weak, or have special needs.
      3. The devil as a roaring lion is prowling around looking for victims to eat.
      4. There are wolves that love to rip a flock apart.
      5. We can hurt ourselves in a thousand ways.
      6. We need someone we trust, someone we listen to, someone we will respond to, someone who always has our best interest at heart to constantly look after us.
    4. As the flock, we Christians have created a serious, basic problem.
      1. At some point, we created an artificial distinction between taking care of the church and taking care of the sheep.
      2. Today we stress a responsibility for elders in a way that is not stressed in the New Testament–the elders must take care of the church, preserve the church, defend the church, and protect the church.
      3. But, too commonly, the church is not the flock; it is an institution or a doctrinal entity that exists separate and apart from the Christians.
      4. Thus we can urge the leadership to take care of the church even if it means that they hurt, damage, or destroy the flock.
      5. If elders function in ways that result in half the flock going into the world and rejecting the church, if they were “protecting the church,” it is a good thing to many.
      6. How can you destroy the flock while you protect the church?
      7. Too often we expect elders to do what is best for the church with too little regard for the well being of Christians.
      8. Such thinking would never have been understood by Paul and Peter.
  2. To properly shepherd the flock, this is what Peter said must occur:
    1. Shepherds are to exercise oversight; that is what a shepherd did for his flock–he oversaw them.
      1. He counted them.
      2. He noticed when one was missing.
      3. He noticed when one was limping and needed help.
      4. He noticed when one was sick.
      5. He noticed when one was in danger.
      6. He noticed the sheep in need, and that was the sheep that received his loving special attention.
    2. Shepherds of God’s flock do not do this because they are pressured to do it.
      1. They do this because they want to do it.
      2. They love their Chief Shepherd.
      3. They love the sheep.
      4. They know God’s great love for the sheep–when they know God’s will, they know how much He loves the sheep.
      5. They know the importance of the sheep to the Chief Shepherd and to God.
      6. Knowing that and loving the Chief Shepherd makes them eager to do the work of a shepherd–they find fulfillment and joy in helping the sheep.
    3. In my personal judgment, New Testament evidence indicates that at least some elders were supported as they served the congregation “full time” (our terminology).
      1. Don’t look at your shepherding opportunity as a job opportunity.
      2. Don’t regard your work as a shepherd as a role of authority and power.
        
        It is not an ego trip.
        It is not leadership through power and control.
      3. Shepherding is leadership through the influence of example–the flock follows you by its choice because the flock respects you, loves you, trusts you, and wants to follow you.
  3. Why would a Christian man ever accept shepherding responsibility?
    1. Because he loves and belongs to the Chief Shepherd.
    2. Because he knows the Chief Shepherd will return to receive his flock.
    3. Because he knows the Chief Shepherd will reward the shepherd’s loving care of the flock.

Before we as a congregation give loud amens to the emphasis on the shepherds shepherding the flock, let’s honestly acknowledge one other aspect of the need. The flock must want and respond to shepherding. We can’t demand that shepherds never involve themselves in our lives regardless of what is happening if we want to be a part of the flock that the shepherds love, take care of, and watch over.

Decisions: New People Ownership (Acts 6)

Posted by David on under Sermons

Have you ever heard this conversation between a husband and wife?

“I guess we made a bad decision about that, didn’t we?”

“What do you mean ‘we’ made a bad decision? I didn’t help make that decision. That was your decision, not our decision.”

“Well, I made it for us. I was thinking about you as much as I was thinking about me.”

“How could you possibly think that? When did you talk to me about it? When did you ask me anything about it? I didn’t know that you were considering that decision. In fact, I didn’t know anything about that decision until after you made it.”

“But I know you. I know how you think. I care about you. I want the best for you. I was doing what you would want.”

“That’s the problem. You think that you know what I want without talking to me. I never am asked to share my thoughts. You don’t ask for my perspective or my input. Do you really believe that you can read my mind?”

Question: is this relationship having problems?

More unnecessary relationship problems are created by poor decision making skills than any other single cause of unnecessary relationship problems.
1. Typically, people in our society do not know how to make relationship decisions.
  1. Few people know how to approach a decision when it involves than one person.
  2. Too often, one person (with excellent motives) designates himself or herself as being the “right one” to make the decision.
    1. “I’ll make it.”
    2. “I will make it in your best interest.”
    3. “Trust me.”
  3. Few people have an approach, a procedure, or a method for making decisions in relationships.
    1. Too few marriages know how to reach “we” decisions.
    2. To few congregations know how to reach “we” decisions.
2. In past generations, the typical approach to all decisions concerning a congregation often ignored the reality of relationship.
  1. There was a time, and in some congregations that time still exists, when the elders made all decisions regardless of the nature of the decision.
  2. The elders made them in closed meetings; the elders announced them; and the congregation was to accept them without explanation or question.
  3. Certainly, there are decisions that the elders should make alone.
    1. If it is a decision that concerns a specific directive from scripture,
    2. If they possess critical knowledge that the congregation does not have,
    3. If it concerns the specific teachings and instructions of scripture,
    4. They need to make the decision.
  4. But many decisions are not spiritual directives coming from specific instructions of scripture.
    1. Many decisions primarily involve matters of judgment or preference.
    2. Decisions primarily involving matters of judgment always need the congregation’s input.
    3. Decisions primarily involving matters of preference always need the congregation’s input.
    4. In both matters of judgment and preference, there may or may not be one best decision, but there will always be several good decisions.
    5. Different good decisions will always be based on different perspectives and different preferences.
  5. Decisions of judgment and preference virtually always involve relationship.
    1. These decisions always affect relationships within the congregation.
    2. Commonly, these decisions do not involve a right and a wrong.
    3. Commonly, these decisions involve wisdom and understanding.
3. In these decisions, elders need to pray fervently that their faith and wisdom will help them avoid a deceptive, destructive trap.
  1. Elders do not verify their authority by making judgment and preference decisions.
  2. They do not verify their authority by imposing control.
  3. Leadership does not justify its existence by demanding that it has control of all decisions.
  4. Leadership does not justify its importance by demanding that it has control of all decisions.
  5. The deceitful, destructive trap is sprung on elders when they feel insecure in their leadership and assert authority by demanding control of all judgment and preference decisions.
The book of Acts gives us a starting view of this type of situation.
1. First, recall the background of the Jerusalem congregation, the first congregation of baptized believers after Jesus was raised from the dead.
  1. This congregation had an incredible beginning (Acts 2).
  2. The very first day it came into existence it had 3000 members, and it immediately began growing numerically at an incredible rate.
  3. From day one of its existence it was multiethnic in membership.
    1. It began on the day of Pentecost, one of the major Jewish holy days.
    2. That was one of the holy days that Jews made pilgrimages to Jerusalem from all over the Roman empire.
    3. The pilgrims were living in what we would call other countries within the Roman empire, and had been for generations.
    4. They had difference customs, different cultures, and spoke different languages.
    5. To make the situation more complicated, some of the pilgrims were proselytes–they were non-Jewish people who converted to Judaism.
    6. Some of the Jewish pilgrims and some of the proselytes were converted to Jesus Christ that very first day.
  4. Let me illustrate the situation in this way.
    1. Suppose we had a new congregation of 3000 members.
    2. Suppose 1000 of us were visiting Fort Smith from the delta in the deep south, were converted, and decided to stay.
    3. Suppose 1000 of us were visiting Fort Smith from New York City, were converted, and decided to stay.
    4. And suppose that 1000 of us were from Fort Smith; Fort Smith had always been home to our family, and we were converted on the same day the other 2000 were converted.
    5. That would be a challenge, but it would not be nearly as complex as their situation; theirs was more like having a new congregation with converts from Italy, Germany, Mexico, and Fort Smith baptized on the same day.
2. At first, and for some time, things were incredibly good.
  1. They shared possessions.
  2. They took care of each other.
  3. They shared an incredible spirit and joy in worship.
  4. They ate together in homes.
  5. They sold possessions to acquire funds to care for special needs.
  6. Even when the congregation grew by the thousands, no person in the congregation was in need (Acts 4:34).
3. As incredible as the congregation was, in time, problems developed.
  1. First, Ananias and Sapphira created a congregational problem (Acts 5:1-11).
    1. They decided to sell a piece of property to help those in need, but they did not want to give the whole amount of the purchase price.
    2. So Ananias brought part of the money to the apostles and presented it as though it was all of the money.
    3. Peter asked him why had he tried to lie to the Holy Spirit?
    4. Peter said, “You did not have to sell the land, and you did not have to give all the money. So why did you lie?”
    5. Ananias immediately died–right there on the spot.
    6. Three hours later Sapphira, his wife, came in and affirmed the lie.
    7. She, too, immediately died–right there on the spot.
    8. Their deaths really shook the congregation–everyone was afraid.
  2. Second, the ethnic differences created an ugly problem (Acts 6:1-6).
    1. The converts who came from other places in the Roman empire accused the converts who lived in Jerusalem and the area of deliberating ignoring and overlooking their widows when the food was distributed each day.
    2. Think about the seriousness and magnitude of that accusation.
      1. The people who sold land and houses and gave the money to care for these folks were the local converts.
      2. The men in charge of seeing that the money was properly spent and the food properly distributed were the apostles.
      3. Talking about a sensitive accusation!
  3. Pay careful attention to how this serious accusation was handled.
    1. First, the apostles did not react when accused.
      1. No, “Do you know who you are talking to?”
      2. No, “Do you know who we are?”
      3. No, “How ungrateful can you get?”
    2. Second, the apostles called the congregation together–considering its size, I don’t know how they did it, but it clearly says they did it.
    3. Third, the apostles said, “We do not need this responsibility. We need to be teaching, not distributing food.”
    4. Fourth, the apostles said to the congregation, “You need to solve this problem.”
      1. “You pick seven men to be in charge of food distribution.”
      2. “You select men you have confidence in, you trust, you know will do the job carefully and properly.”
    5. Fifth, the apostles set the parameters–they gave the profile or qualifications the seven men must meet; any man who fit the profile and was selected by the congregation was okay.
      1. They must be of good reputation.
      2. They must be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
      3. “You choose them; we will appoint them to the task.”
    6. Sixth, the apostles said that they would put these men in charge of this, and they would devote themselves to prayer and teaching.
  4. Notice what happened.
    1. The whole congregation approved of this approach.
    2. They selected seven men–and all seven had Greek names, not Hebrew names, and included one proselyte.
    3. The apostles appointed them by praying and laying hands on them.

A potentially disastrous problem that could have split the first congregation and dealt a major blow to Christianity in its beginning was resolved. It was solved because the congregation made and owned the decision. It was their choice. So they welcomed it. It was not imposed on them; it was owned by them.

And, again, we see the power and the beauty of participatory leadership. The apostles set the parameters. The congregation chose within those parameters.

The apostles had nothing to prove. They did not react to the accusation. They did not regard the matter a control issue. They wanted the congregation to make an extremely important decision. The congregation both made and owned the decision. In this I see an extremely important lesson: congregations accept and own decisions of judgment and preference that they make as a whole congregation.

One of the confusing problems I have encountered is the concept of “they” and “them.” Too many say, “They have decided that.” Or “They wanted it this way.”

At Judgment, you won’t say, “That was them.” Because it’s all us. We are God’s people. We all entered His family the same way. We were all forgiven in the same way. We all serve for our own salvation. It is just “us” as His people. When we become a Christian, we are automatically added to His church. I am then personally in relationship to God’s family.

We invite you to be a part of the people of God. Then grow in awareness and responsibility toward God and His family. What you have to give matters. Your presence is important.

We don’t save — Jesus does.

We want you to know the joy of salvation and the delight in the forgiveness of sins. We invite you, not because we are great, but because He is great, and we belong to Him.

Overwhelmed By Love!

Posted by David on October 19, 1997 under Bulletin Articles

Being genuinely loved is overwhelming. It is not the fact that you are loved that overwhelms. It is the meaning of being loved that overwhelms. When you reflect on the fact that a wonderful person loves you enough to be your wife or husband, you are astounded. But when you seek to grasp the significance of that fact, you are stunned. You accept the fact, but you struggle with the meaning and significance.

God’s love affects us in the same way. Realizing that He genuinely loves “me” is overwhelming. The fact that He loves us individually is astounding. But the meaning and significance of His love exceeds our comprehension.

The bond of genuine love in a congregation has the same impact. A congregation filled with genuine love overwhelms its members and visitors. Such love is naturally obvious–you feel it as well as see it. The fact that it exists is astounding. Its significance exceeds comprehension.

Joyce and I are richly blessed by your love. Thank you for loving us! Once, after moving to Fort Smith, I was asked in a television interview about my wife. I stated–truthfully and without hesitation–that she was my greatest asset. I could not use my life as I do without her. It takes a very specific kind of person to be the wife of a preacher. It is not possible to explain all the ways that she supports and encourages me. Neither is it possible to enumerate all the ways that her devotion and service to our Lord blesses and compliments my efforts.

So many of you have told me how much you appreciate Joyce’s friendliness, love for people, sense of humor, and wit. Your appreciation for her is a great joy to me.

Your support and encouragement when she had surgery touched us. Though we were out of state, never were either of us concerned about your understanding. We knew you were praying for us and were “there for us.” In fact, we had an incredible double blessing. Our spiritual family in Oxford was also “there for us” and caring for us with the same love.

Last week you gave us a very generous check to help with the medical expenses of her surgery. Our medical insurance has an extremely high deductible. Your generosity paid the entire amount of the deductible. Thank you!

You do so much for us! You provide for our needs so wonderfully that I feel a sense of embarrassment when I consider all that you have done and are doing. Our love and appreciation for you never stops growing. My prayer never ceases: “Lord, help us be the blessing this congregation needs. May one of the ways that Your incredible love flows to them be through us.”

Leadership Profile: Crete (Titus 1)

Posted by David on October 12, 1997 under Sermons

This evening we will continue to broaden and deepen our understanding of biblical leadership in a congregation. Tonight we want to look at the profile of a man who could become an elder or bishop in one of the congregations on the island of Crete. One of the principal reasons that Paul left Titus at Crete was to appoint elders in every city.

As we approach this profile, let’s briefly review a few things we discussed last week.

Please remember:
1. Congregations in the New Testament often enjoyed four kinds of leadership.
  1. Congregational leadership provided by an apostle.
  2. Congregational leadership provided by the Holy Spirit.
  3. Congregational leadership provided by evangelists, such a Titus.
  4. Congregational leadership provided by local elders.
2. Last week I suggested that neither of the profiles in 1 Timothy 3 or Titus 1 was intended to become a check list of elder qualifications.
  1. Neither said anything about the quality of faith the man had in Christ.
  2. Neither said anything about the quality of love the man had for Christ.
  3. Neither said anything about loving the people in the congregation.
  4. Neither said anything about the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23).
  5. Neither said anything about Christian graces (2 Peter 1:5-8).
  6. If you want more discussion about these matters, please get a copy of last week’s lesson.
The situations in the congregation in Ephesus (singular) and the congregations on the island of Crete (plural) were different.
1. Let’s review Ephesus.
  1. It was the fourth largest city in the Mediterranean world.
    1. It was the religious center for Asia.
    2. It was a major center of commerce in the Roman empire.
    3. It had a wealthy, sophisticated, culturally advanced environment.
  2. That congregation had elders; elders had been leading it for several years.
    1. We know how the congregation began and how Paul worked there for three years (Acts 19; Acts 20:15-35).
    2. We know that they received leadership from an apostle, from the Holy Spirit, from an evangelist, and from elders.
    3. We know Paul was, in part, directing Timothy to address problems that Paul earlier warned the Ephesian elders were coming (Acts 20:17-35).
    4. We know that they had both good and sinful elders (1 Timothy 5:17,20).
2. Consider Crete:
  1. For a few hundred years, this region was know for its piracy–in different ages, first the Greeks and then the Romans, had to suppress the piracy.
    1. They had an earned, deserved bad reputation.
    2. Paul quoted one of their own poets, Epimenides, who lived about 600 B.C., who wrote, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
    3. Paul only stated the prevailing opinion of Cretans in his day.
      1. Cicero wrote: “Indeed, moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans consider highway robbery to be honorable” (The Republic, 3.4.15).
      2. Polybius wrote: “Their laws go as far as possible in letting them acquire land to the extent of their power…and money is held in such high honor among them that its acquisition is not only regarded as necessary, but as most honorable. So much in fact do sordid love of gain and lust for wealth prevail among them that (the Cretans) are the only people in the world in whose eyes no gain is disgraceful (Histories 6.46.1-3.)
      3. Diodorus of Sicily related the story of a Cretan soldier who betrayed his army to the Romans. He scorned Roman citizenship; he wanted money Histories 6.47.5).
      4. (Historical research provided by Greg York.)
    4. For several hundred years the Cretans distinguished themselves by their greed, violence, and earthiness.
  2. A prominent, powerful group of Jews lived on Crete well before the first century.
    1. They obtained the protection of the Roman military is 141 B.C.
    2. A group of them were present on Pentecost in Acts 2 when Paul preached the first sermon about Jesus being Lord and Christ (Acts 2:11).
  3. We know nothing about the beginning the church in Crete.
    1. Paul once was a prisoner on a ship in the Fair Haven harbor (Acts 27).
    2. Later, after imprisonment, since he left Titus on Crete, he obviously visited the churches there.
    3. Congregations in Crete had leadership from an apostle, at least briefly; as was common, they had the Holy Spirit; they had the evangelist Titus for a while; but evidently not all congregations had elders.
The question: is there any difference between the profile Paul presents in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1 regarding elders for these two places?
1. There are both parallels and similarities.
  1. That should be expected because both places need shepherds.
  2. But are there discernible differences?
2. By my count, there are sixteen characteristics listed in each scripture.
  1. I Timothy 3:1-7
    1. Above reproach.
    2. One wife.
    3. Temperate (not under the control of addictive behavior).
    4. Prudent (discreet, humble minded, modest).
    5. Respectable (decorous [conducts self in good taste]; not offensive to others).
    6. Hospitable (loves strangers, guests).
    7. Able to teach.
    8. Not an alcoholic.
    9. Not pugnacious (does not use physical force as a solution; not violent).
    10. Gentle (the opposite of pugnacious).
    11. Not contentious (a contentious man loves to quarrel, create disputes).
    12. Does not love money (not greedy).
    13. Actively provides leadership for his family.
    14. Actively guides and directs his children.
    15. Not a recent convert.
    16. Has a good reputation in the community.
  2. Titus 1:5-9
    1. Above reproach (stated twice, verses 5, 7)
    2. One wife.
    3. Children who believe, who do not live lives of dissipation and rebellion (do not act like the prodigal son before he left home–Luke 15:12,13).
    4. God’s steward.
    5. Not self-willed (not stubborn).
    6. Not quick tempered (Not easily angered).
    7. Not an alcoholic.
    8. Not pugnacious (does not use physical force as a solution).
    9. Not fond of sordid gain (not greedy).
    10. Hospitable (loves strangers and guests).
    11. Loves what is good.
    12. Sensible (self-controlled; mental soundness).
    13. Just (upright).
    14. Devout (holy).
    15. Self-controlled (exercises moderation).
    16. Clings to the faithful word so he can encourage with healthy teaching and refute those who contradict healthy teaching.
  3. Parallel qualities ( both reflecting identical qualities):
    1. Above reproach.
    2. One wife.
    3. Sound spiritual influence as a parent.
    4. Hospitable.
    5. Not an alcoholic.
    6. Not pugnacious.
  4. Similar qualities (not an exact emphasis, but areas of similar concern):
    1. Temperate (Timothy); sensible (Titus).
    2. Prudent (Timothy); self-controlled (Titus).
    3. Able to teach (Timothy); exhorts in healthy teaching and refutes contradictors.
    4. Not contentious (Timothy); not quick tempered (Titus).
    5. Does not love money (Timothy); not fond of sordid gain (Titus).
  5. Qualities that reflect a difference in emphasis:
    1. Timothy:
      1. Respectable or conducts himself in good taste; not offensive to others.
      2. Gentle.
      3. Not a new convert.
      4. Having a good reputation in the community.
    2. Titus:
      1. God’s steward.
      2. Not self-willed.
      3. Loves good.
      4. Just (upright).
      5. Devout (holy).
  6. Last Sunday night we looked at the situation and needs of the congregation at Ephesus reflected in 1 Timothy.
  7. Look with me at the situation and needs reflected by Titus in the churches at Crete.
    1. Titus 1:16–there are people within the congregations who profess to know God (because of their knowledge they understand God).
      1. However, the things they do deny God.
      2. They are detestable, disobedient (reject Christ’s guidance and authority?), and worthless for any good deed.
    2. Titus 2:11-13–God’s grace, which brought us salvation, gives us these instructions:
      1. Deny ungodliness.
      2. Deny worldly desires.
      3. Live sensibly.
      4. Live righteously.
      5. Live godly.
    3. Titus 3:1-7
      1. Obey the government.
      2. Be ready to do good deeds.
      3. Do not attack each other’s life and reputation.
      4. Do not quarrel with each other.
      5. Be considerate to everyone.
      6. Do not forget how foolish we were before we came to Christ.
        
        We were disobedient, deceived, and slaves to our own lusts and desires for pleasure.
        Our lives were consumed with malice, envy, being hateful, and hating each other.
      7. We changed for only one reason: God revealed His kindness and His love for people.
        
        God saved us.
        Not on the basis of our deeds or righteous conduct.
        But on the basis of His mercy by regenerating our lives by washing us clean and renewing us by the Holy Spirit.
      8. We are justified by God’s grace–that is what gives us a right to God’s inheritance, gives us the hope of eternal life.
    4. Titus 3:10–understanding this, reject the factious man after warning him twice because he is self condemned.
3. Put all that evidence together and look at the difference in emphasis on the qualifications.
  1. This culture and society had hundreds of years of being self-indulgent, pleasure driven thieves who loved money and had no respect for people.
  2. As a society, their deeds and lifestyles were horrible.
  3. As a society, they were mean, violent, and hateful.
  4. When Christians enter Christ and are made a part of his church, they carry a lot of baggage with them.
    1. The Cretan Christians were no different.
    2. They needed shepherds basically like the shepherds in every congregation.
    3. But, to accomplish Christ’s purposes in the society and culture of Crete, they needed emphasis on taking care of God’s work (not their own selfish ambitions), on loving good (instead of loving the evil commonly honored in their society), on being upright (instead of being devious), on being holy (instead of being sensuous and earthy).
  5. Can you see in congregational leadership that the common needs that existed in the society and culture around them determined a significant part of the focus and outlook of those who could be leaders?
4. Look at the difference in emphasis:
  1. Ephesus is a religious center in a large, successful community that has its own set of ethics and its own definitions of honor.
    1. The unique emphasis in elder qualifications stressed being respectable, being gentle, being spiritually experienced, and having a good reputation in the community.
  2. On the island of Crete you have an immoral society that steals, exploits people, and is prone to violence.
    1. Their ungodly society/community was not likely to respect anyone who had a “good reputation” as an honorable person.
    2. The unique emphasis in elder qualifications stresses being God’s steward (instead of serving an evil society), not being focused on “what I want,” being upright, and being holy.
    3. This emphasis addressed the special needs of their situation.

To me, the profiles drawn in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, do not create a “check list” of qualifications for a generic kind of leadership in congregations anywhere they exist in the world. To me, they stress this essential understanding: spiritual leadership in a congregation provides shepherding while addressing the real needs of the congregation in the real context of their existence.

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