In his sermon, Peter Allison discusses the qualifications for church overseers as laid out in 1 Timothy 3, emphasizing their broader application to all Christians. He examines the seventeen qualifications, focusing on their Greek connotations and importance. The sermon highlights the need for overseers to be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, and hospitable. It stresses that hospitality is not about entertainment but a love of serving others, showing kindness without expecting anything in return. Furthermore, being 'apt to teach' is explored, requiring wisdom, patience, and the ability to apply God's word to various situations. Allison argues that these qualities are vital not only for church leaders but for all believers, encouraging them to grow in faithfulness and love. The sermon concludes with a call for Christians to embody these virtues, serving others with love and teaching with patience and understanding.

Our scripture reading is 1 Timothy 3. I'd like to read these seven verses again that give the seventeen qualifications for overseers. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach.

Not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous. One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

May each of us say with David, I will delight myself in your commandments which I love. Heavenly Father, May your Word be a lamp to our feet, a light to our path this morning. May it guide our thinking. May you sanctify us this morning. And may we be encouraged and built up to greater faithfulness and obedience of Your commandments, Your greater love for You.

And I ask that You would sanctify my sinful lips that from a vessel of clay, the riches of your grace might be brought to us this morning. In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, I thought that this morning we might finish these qualifications, but each week that as I've begun to look at what is involved in each of these qualifications, they seem to grow and grow, and I never get quite as far as I had hoped. And so we have stepped through these qualifications rather slowly in order to accomplish several goals. First, we want to understand the connotation of the Greek words behind these qualifications and not just the basic denotative meeting.

The denotative meeting of aroma, odor, and scent is the same. It's something that's perceptible to our nose. But of course, as native English speakers, we know that the connotation of those words is vastly different in terms of connotation, odor, and aroma are nearly opposites. And secondly, we want to distinguish between words that are close in meaning. There are 17 qualifications given here, and some of them are very close in meaning.

But Paul is not being redundant in this list of qualifications. Although there is definitely overlap between some of these words and some of these qualifications, each of these words adds nuances and different aspects that are not supplied by the other words. And so we want to understand those differences. And thirdly, we want to understand why each of these qualifications is important. Why Is it necessary that an overseer must be all of these things to successfully carry out the work of an elder?

If we don't appreciate the importance of these qualifications, we might be more tempted to ignore them or to downplay them in our evaluation of candidates. And then lastly, in going through these qualifications, we have also looked at how each of these qualifications apply to us as Christ followers, even if we are not overseers in the church. And so we look then at blameless, which is the first qualification. We saw that means above reproach, to not be guilty of shameful or scandalous conduct. It's to live in such a way that no one can bring a charge against us that would stick.

But it doesn't mean sinless. Blameless does not mean sinless. Otherwise, no one would be qualified. Secondly, it was the husband of one wife which requires an elder to be married. And most of the dissenters from that view based it on the assumed fact that Paul was never married.

But we saw that while the Scripture is quite clear that he was not currently married during the days of his missionary labors, the Scripture is completely silent on whether he ever was or had been married in the past. And so we can't negate a clear command of Scripture here, must be the husband of one wife, by an assumption regarding something about which the Scripture is silent. So if the Scripture says that an elder must be the husband of one wife, and it tells us that Paul was an elder who was not presently married, if there's an assumption to be made, the assumption should be that Paul has been married at some time in the past. That would be an assumption that doesn't negate the current command. Thirdly was the requirement to be temperate, which speaks more to being vigilant or watchful and level-headed.

We saw that though The concrete meaning is holding no wine or the ability to exercise self-control with respect to alcohol. That's not the way it's used in the New Testament. In the Bible, it refers to a self-control that produces a vigilance or careful attention to our duties and responsibilities. Watchful. Sober-minded is closely related to that and refers to being in control of oneself so as to exercise careful attention to our actions to avoid unnecessary extremes.

It's to be intent on what needs to be done, how that needs to be done, and when that should be done. And then we saw that good behavior focused on the need to lead a decent and well-ordered life, orderliness. And that brings us to this next requirement, which is hospitable. An elder must be hospitable. That's receiving and entertaining strangers or guests with kindness and without any expectation of reward.

It's not a, I'm giving you this gift, and I'm expecting to get a gift in return. You know, actually most Christmas gifts are probably not really gifts because they're given with the expectation that we're going to be getting something else often. Certainly not always, but often. And hospitality is giving, showing kindness, without any expectation of reciprocity in terms of an invitation back. Now, but the word for host, well, I should say, let me back up.

The word for stranger can also mean host. So hospitality is literally a love of strangers. It's two Greek words, it means love of strangers. But that word for stranger can also mean host. So this could mean someone who loves hosting.

And I think that's a helpful way to understand this requirement here. In Romans 16, 23, Paul passes on a greeting from Gaius, whom Paul calls my host and the host of the whole church. And that word for host there is the same word for stranger. See Gaius served as the host of Paul and and of the whole church so he may have regularly provided a room in his home for the church to meet for worship or he may have provided food and a place to eat that food at a fellowship meal or both of those things. So he was in that case exercising hospitality.

And so it is a love of serving as a host. Hospitality is not entertainment. It's not necessarily pulling out fine china and serving a gourmet meal or a rich, elaborate and elegant food. Like that's entertaining and that's nothing wrong with that, but that's not hospitality. Hospitality is a willingness to, as it were, share our toys.

It indicates a willingness to share what God has given with those who need it. To share what God has supplied to us with those who may have a lack at that time in their life. The Apostle John said in 1 John 3, 18, that we're not to love in word or in tongue, but we're to love in deed and in truth. Not in words. We don't love in words.

Saying, I love you, saying don't love that way. It's okay to say that. Certainly need to say that. But don't think of that as, well, I'm loving them. We love in deed and in truth.

Hospitality is loving in deed. Hospitality is love in action. And it's the evidence of genuine love more than how many times we say, I love you or send a card. 1 Peter 4.8 says, above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." So there, even though the word hospitality means love of strangers, Peter is saying we are to show this love to one another in the body.

Minister it to one another. As we've been given grace, We are to minister it to one another in the body, without grumbling. So showing mercy, showing this kindness with cheerfulness. You know, if we show this kindness, if we minister to one another, but we do it with a dour look on our face, and we sort of do it grudgingly, like, well, I need to do this, but my heart really isn't in it. We're not showing hospitality in a way that blesses, in a way that encourages.

It can be a very discouraging thing. So hospitality is showing kindness with a cheerfulness, with a willing heart, with gladness, and not like the miser who's clinging on to everything that they have. It also though, includes hosting people that are not members of the local church. It's not just getting together with friends and buddies and throwing some brats and burgers, rots and burgers on the grill. It includes that.

But it's more about sharing what we have with someone that has a need for those things, and somebody that may not even be part of our local body. And it's believers that aren't previously known to us, and hence they are strangers in that sense. Hebrews 13.2 says, Do not forget to entertain strangers. And that word entertain strangers is essentially the same word. It's a verb form for by so doing some it says have unwittingly entertained angels remember Ray had entertaining the strangers from Israel that led to the saving of her life and all of her family?

Or you remember Watt entertained those strangers who came to Sodom who turned out to be angels that were sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And as a result of his hospitality and Abraham's prayers, he was saved. That story or account is given in Genesis 19. And it, I think, illustrates hospitability. Now, the two angels came to Sodom in the evening.

Notice the definite article, The Two Angels. These were the two of the three men that in the previous chapter had come to Abraham and Sarah and had informed Abraham that he and Sarah would have a baby in a year. And they also informed Abraham of the judgment that was coming on Sodom and Gomorrah, which led to Abraham's famous, well-known interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah that the Lord wouldn't destroy it if he found even ten righteous people there. And so it says, the two angels, these two angels. These two angels, well Genesis 18 says, then these men turned away from there and went towards Sodom.

And so it's these two men. They simply appeared as men who needed a place to stay in the city of Sodom. So the account goes on. There was Lot sitting at the gate of Sodom, And when Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with a face to the ground. And he said, here now, my lords, please turn to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet.

Then you may rise early and go on your way. Lot just saw these two strangers show up at Sodom and need a place to stay and he offered his house to stay the night, wash their feet, get a bite to eat. And they said, no, but we will spend the night in the open square. And Lot then at that point just walk away and say, okay, as you wish. No, he said, but he insisted strongly.

And so they turned into him and entered his house. Those angels tested him a little bit. Did he really mean to offer them this hospitality? And they found out, yes, he did, because he insisted strongly. And then he made them a feast, and baked a leavened bread, and they ate it.

And it was then that they told Lot about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and directed him and his children to flee the city. But hospitality is not just a requirement for overseers and elders and shepherds. Hospitality, as we've seen, is the calling of all Christians. It's included in that list of graces that followers of Christ are to exercise. That's given in Romans 12.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. This is just a list of commands for us as Christians. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love and honor, giving preference to one another, not lagging and diligent, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

And here it comes, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. It's right there with praying regularly and these other aspects that we would consider a very important part of our Christian walk and Christian graces. We're to show hospitality to one another, to the needs of the saints. And so just as we're called to minister to those within the body of believers. We're also called to minister to those believers who are not a part of our local body, who are strangers to us.

And we show that hospitality without expectation of reward. It should be motivated by love. 1 Corinthians 13, 14. That all that you do be done in love. Love is the fulfilling of the law, Romans tells us.

And So in showing hospitality, we are serving Christ directly. Remember the sheep and the goats that were separated at the day of judgment? Jesus tells the believers in Matthew 25, then the king will say to those on his right hand, those are the sheep, come, you blessed of the father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food. That's hospitality.

I was thirsty and you gave me drink. That's hospitality. I was a stranger and you took me in. That's hospitality. I was naked and you closed me.

Hospitality. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. That's hospitality. Then the righteous will answer and say to him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you a drink?

When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and close you, or in prison and visit you?" And the king will answer and say to them, Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these of my brethren, You have done it to me. Our hospitality in ministering to one another is ministering to Christ Himself. And you notice this list of people, this list of things that He gives that's separated when he describes the difference between the sheep and the goats. It's not about how much scripture they read and how many times they prayed and how infrequently they missed church and so forth. It's about how faithfully they showed hospitality to the least of the brethren.

It's important to read God's Word and to pray, to memorize the catechism, and to lay God's Word up in our hearts. Those things are all very important. That is how we remain faithful. That is how we cling to Christ. But that's not what Jesus points to here, is it?

Jesus, when He speaks to those on His left, the goats, He points to their lack of hospitality. He said, I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you didn't take me in naked and you didn't clothe me sick and in prison. And you didn't visit me.

And they're gonna say, well, when did we see you and not do these things? Surely, we never saw you like this. And Jesus said, because you didn't do it to the least of my brethren, you haven't done it to me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but they're righteous into eternal life. Hospitality is important, brothers and sisters.

It's important evidence of our love for Christ, that we have a love for one another that is in deed and not just in word. But this is also a very essential part of an overseer's work, a shepherd's work. A heart that doesn't care to share material belongings with those in need is indicative of a heart that simply doesn't care about people. When a shepherd or overseer that doesn't care about people is as useful as a one-legged basketball player. In other words, not very useful.

Because caring about people is the heart of the work of a shepherd It's analogous to what Jesus told Nicodemus He said if I tell you earthly things and you don't believe how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things. If somebody doesn't care about a person's material needs, they certainly won't care about their spiritual needs. And so it's very important for the work of an elder. It's also a requirement. You know, it's also necessary if there to be a good example.

Elders are to be an example to the flock. And since hospitality is required of all believers, it's a necessary virtue in the life of an elder. They should be exemplary in that. So that's hospitality. The next requirement that we'll look at today, the last one, is apt to teach.

The elder must be hospitable, able to teach. This is the one requirement that's given for elders that is not given to deacons. And it means skillful in teaching. It doesn't merely mean a good speaker or a good communicator. It doesn't necessarily mean having a seminary degree and great fluency in Greek and Hebrew, or being learned, although those things are helpful.

And it's good to be learned to some extent. But that's not the essence of what this is talking about. It really maybe could be described as being able to apply the Word of God to the varied circumstances of the people of God in edifying and helpful ways. Being apt to teach in this context is being able to apply the Word of God to the varied circumstances of the people of God in edifying and helpful ways. This word apt to teach because it's one word in the Greek.

It's just one word. It's fleshed out a bit more in two parallel passages. One parallel passage is a parallel passage because it uses the same word. And it's actually the only two places in the whole Bible that this word is used. And the other passage is a parallel passage because Paul is describing the same requirement or the same qualification that he's giving here.

So, the only other place where this word is used is in 2 Timothy 2, 24, where Paul is instructing Timothy, his son in the faith, regarding his duties as an overseer in the Church of Jesus Christ. He says in verse 23, But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. Now that provides a lot more context about what this apt to teach means. First of all, we see that it's set in contrast to quarreling over ignorant and foolish matters.

And so apt to teach here has to be able to mean an ability to distinguish between matters which are vital to the faith from those matters which are not vital to the faith, but would constitute a foolish or ignorant dispute. It requires knowing what doctrines we must maintain at all costs, what doctrines we must be willing to die for defending, And what is foolish and ignorant dispute which must be avoided? And everything that's in between there. Nothing, of course, in the Word of God is foolish or an ignorant dispute. All Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for teaching, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

But Scripture can be misused and misapplied in foolish ways. People that the Apostle Peter calls untaught and unstable can twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. And so apt to teach then is not about how many arcane and obscure doctrines someone can debate about or know about or be fluent in. It's about how well someone can keep the main thing the main thing and avoid the unnecessary and unedifying disputes. So it means, First of all, the ability we see here to distinguish between what's important and what's not important.

But secondly, and closely related, it's contrasted with not being quarrelsome. You know, when somebody knows a lot of doctrine, it might be very easy for them to get into a lot of debates. And that's the opposite of what apt to teach is. Somebody who is apt to teach is somebody who is not quarrelsome, who avoids debates and quarrels. And has the ability to avoid disputes that arise from differences in doctrine.

And this requires, Paul says, gentleness and Patience. See, when someone is not listening to us, our flesh wants to rise up and put them in their place. We want to get the hammer out and push that nail down that's sticking up. But an overseer needs to be able to resist those temptations to sin, those urges of the flesh, and to be patient. Being apt to teach means, as we see here, not being easily offended or becoming short-tempered when someone doesn't believe or doesn't receive what's being taught.

Or maybe even challenges, openly challenges what is being taught. You know, there are good challenges like the Bereans that arise from a genuine desire to know what Scripture is saying, to compare what they are hearing with what the Scripture teaches, to ask how those are consistent. That's a good challenge. And there are wrong challenges that arise from a rebellious heart. But in either case, an overseer must not quarrel or become short tempered, must not respond in the way that they are being talked to, Must not respond in a similar way to which they are being treated.

It also means being open to being corrected when someone can improve our teaching. And there's certainly a right and a wrong way to do that. Remember Apollo's teaching and how Aquila and Priscilla came alongside him. And they did so privately. But even if it's done improperly, an overseer must not be offended or become defensive, and become quarrelsome.

They are to be gentle and patient. And it means being patient when someone pushes back. It means being able to see through that pushback and discern a desire to truly understand. Some people are simply wanting to understand and they're trying to ask a question for clarification. And an overseer must be patient, also when people are slow to understand.

They have to be willing to gently and patiently explain something again and again and again and again if that's needed. They have to be willing to go slower, to go line by line or word by word instead of paragraph by paragraph. They have to be willing to go slower, to go line by line or word by word, instead of paragraph by paragraph. They have to be willing to explain things with different words and not rely on jargon and acronyms or simply fall back on repeating what we used to call in nuclear power school key words and tricky phrases. The professors wanted key words and tricky phrases back when they asked questions about things.

If they didn't see those key words, then they would mark you down. But an elder must be willing to explain in different words, to explain the meaning behind those kinds of words, and not just rely on the sovereignty of God or the covenant and expect everybody to understand what's all involved in those things. Being apt to teach means being willing to explain in more extended but simple words what those concepts are. It means being able to illustrate them and to give examples so that people who didn't understand can now understand. And that takes patience and a gentleness.

The other parallel passage though is in Titus 1.9 where Paul is also listing the requirements for overseers. And although Paul doesn't use the same word in Titus, he is giving the qualifications for the same office. And he's giving the same qualifications. And so what we have in Titus 1.9 is an explanation of the same qualification, apt to teach, but using different words to do it. And that provides us some insight into what is meant by apt to teach.

So first Titus 1 9 says the overseer must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine, that sound teaching, both to exhort and to convict, or those who contradict. So Paul's giving to Titus the same qualification, but he's doing it in different words. He has to hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, as the overseer has been taught it, that he may be able by sound teaching, sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convict those who contradict. So they first we see they have to hold fast the faithful word as they have received it. They have to hold that word in their own hearts.

That word has to first transform their own heart. It has to be something that they cling to, that they hold on with, and that they are fed by before they can feed other people with that word. But convict here has the sense of refuting or rebuking with authority and strength. Titus 2.15 says, Speak these things, exhort and rebuke. And that word rebuke is the same word translated convict.

Rebuke with all authority, let no one despise you. See there's a degree of strength required to refute or rebuke those who contradict or convict those who contradict. Paul is saying you've got to do this with authority. There needs to be some strength there. But it needs to be a strength that is covered in velvet.

It needs to be steel that's covered with a cloth, so that there's gentleness and patience. But there has to be strength. It's not an angry, quarrelsome, or domineering use of authority. Though at times we can say it needs to be a resolute and stern authority, and sometimes even anger. There is a time for righteous anger.

Jesus was righteously angry at times. Paul was righteously angry at various doctrinal errors and heresies that had crept in and taken people captive. But anger is a very slippery slope, And so we are called to be angry and not sin. We are warned that we are not we are to be angry, but not sin. Because it's such a close, such a strong temptation.

We're so vulnerable when we're angry to sinning. But this is an element, though, that should be present. It's not that people are wimps and not able to stand against those who would refute or contradict the gospel. It's just not an angry, quarrelsome, or domineering response. It's a gentle, patient, strong response.

And so This is what is involved then for an elder to be apt to teach. Now how is this all relevant to us? I said this requirement is something that's not listed for deacons. It's not. Because there is a difference there between the work of a deacon the focus of a deacon and The focus of an elder something that an elder must have it's not something that a deacon must have Although they can Steven as a deacon was somebody who preached.

But this is something that all of us need to grow in and learn and be qualified in, be apt to teach. It doesn't just apply to elders because husbands are to teach their wives. Remember, wives are commanded to be silent in the church and if they have a question, to ask their husbands at home. So, husbands are to teach their wives. Fathers and Mothers are commanded to teach their son and their daughters, their children.

So mothers need to know how to be apt to teach. And older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be keepers at home. So older women need to teach, younger women need to teach. And children need to learn this too, right? Because they're going to grow up to be husbands and fathers and older women and so forth.

So really children should also be learning how to teach. You can teach your younger brothers and sisters the things that you've learned, and you can do it with gentleness and patience. And so we see again, once again, that these qualities, these requirements, are something that apply to all of us as believers. They are things that we all ought to be growing in and striving to excel in, but they are must haves for those who would be overseers in the church. May God enable us all to both grow in our ability to teach patiently and gently and to recognize this gift in those that God is calling to be overseers in His church.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word that is explicit, that instructs us in the way that we should go that guides us. And we ask your forgiveness where we have resisted the teaching of your word, where we have challenged it or even rebelled against it in our heart. Father, may You give us a teachable ness, that we would have a heart of flesh and not of stone, that we would be willing listeners, like the Bereans, searching the scriptures, to see if the things that are being taught are so, to understand them better ourselves, that we might be teachers of them. For indeed, you have said that those who ought to be teachers have not gotten to that point, but have to learn again the elementary things. Father, may you give us a diligence and a maturity to be able to be teachers of your commandments and not those who must go back and learn relearn the elementary doctrines yet again Grant us Lord this maturity by your grace and grant us wisdom through Jesus Christ who has become for us the wisdom of God and our righteousness and our sanctification and our redemption.

In His name we ask, Amen.