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The Book of First Timothy :
Message Nineteen
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
Following the
2nd
World War, there was a slogan in Germany that was
very popular. It was "Without Me." If there
was something to be done, it had to be done
"without me." What was true in that country
is true in our churches. Many are the members who
want the church to go and grow and glow, but
"without me." But there were some
Christians in the early church that didn't feel that
way. They were stretching out their hands for places
of leadership and labor even though it meant pain and
persecution, and death itself. So the apostle Paul
wrote in 1st
Timothy 3:l, "If any man desire the office of a
bishop, he desireth a good work." Now the word
"bishop" in this verse means
"overseer," and it refers to that person
who's responsible for the spiritual affairs of the
church. The Bible gives the qualifications for that
office, and they're applicable to any kind of
Christian life and leadership. Let's look at them.
A leader in
the church, says the Bible, "must be
blameless." Does that mean sinless? Oh, no! If
it did, we wouldn't have any officers or members. It
means "not open to attack" or
"affording nothing of which an adversary can
take hold." One day I said to a boxer, "I'm
surprised you lost. Everyone said you'd win. What
happened?" "I left a part of my body
exposed to the enemy," he confessed. Don't leave
any part of your life exposed to evil or the enemy.
The devil and his disciples are mad after your ruin.
They'll fight you and find fault with you. Live such
a Christlike life that you'll be above and beyond
criticism and collapse.
A leader in
the church, says the Bible, "must be the husband
of one wife." The ancient world was in a state
of moral chaos and confusion. A Jewish leader at that
time said, "By ancestral custom a man can live
with more than one wife." And a Roman leader
said, "If you were to find your wife in
adultery, you could kill her without any court
judgment; but if you were involved in adultery, she
wouldn't dare to lift a finger against you, for it's
unlawful." Another one said, "Only the ugly
are loyal." It was into that ancient world of
vice that the Bible raised a standard of virtue. And,
today, when a man or a woman becomes a Christian,
that one is saved from debauchery to decency, from
vice to virtue, from immorality to morality. While
conducting evangelistic campaigns in the interior of
South America, a leader in one of the pueblos
professed conversion. "Now that I'm saved,"
he said, "I'm going to get married."
"Did you just meet the one you'd like to take as
your wife?" asked my co-worker. "No,"
he answered, "I've been living with her for a
long time. Now I want to be married and be the
husband of one wife." The Christ within always
makes a change without.
A leader in
the church, says the Bible, "must be
vigilant," that is, alert and awake, careful and
cautious. Mr. Harry Pridgeon, who circumnavigated the
globe in a tiny sailing vessel, said to a reporter,
"It wasn't storms I was afraid of, but the
clear, calm weather, when a good breeze was blowing.
In bad weather, when a man goes on deck he holds fast
to something: for he knows he might fall overboard;
but in fair weather, he might become careless and
walk around the deck without thinking. Then a little
roll of the boat could throw him over the side and
he'd be lost." When you think you need to watch
the least, that's when you need to watch the most.
The Lord Jesus said, "Watch and pray, that ye
enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak."
"Watch,
for the time is short; watch while 'tis called today;
Watch, lest
temptations overcome; watch, Christian, watch and
pray!
Watch, for the
flesh is weak; watch, for the foe is strong;
Watch, lest
the Bridegroom knock in vain, watch, though He tarry
long."
A leader in
the church, says the Bible, "must be
sober," that is, he must be calm and collected
in spirit. This state of mind comes to that Christian
who has an unfaltering faith in the unfailing Christ.
He's the master of circumstances because he's
mastered by Christ. One night a man of God boarded a
crowded bus with a Bible under his arm. A number of
rough fellows began to mock him and to make fun of
him, but he wasn't rude or rash. Silently he prayed
that Christ would keep him calm and kind. Just as he
was about to get off the bus, one of the fellows
sneeringly asked, "Say, how far is it to
heaven?" Kindly and compassionately he answered,
"It's only a step. Won't you take it now?"
Because he kept his temper, he had the joy of leading
that fellow to the Lord.
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
Click here to go
to the next message in this Sower Scripture Study on
the book of First Timothy.
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
