Godly Character–Part Two 

1 Timothy 3:2 

Palm Springs Baptist Church 

10/17/99 AM Service

In a nutshell: Godly character for leaders and those seeking to attain that position is characterized by temperance, self-control and a life that adorns the gospel.

I. Introduction

A. If I Were An Elder

Glen V. Wheeler, in his book, 1010 Illustrations, Poems and Quotes, includes this short article that he calls, "If I Were An Elder".

If I were an elder, I would expect to be an example to all the members of the church (1 Peter 5). Although the standards for being an elder or a deacon are high, I would do my best, not to be a lord over God's heritage, but to seek earnestly to be of humble heart. I would be sober and vigilant; because my adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.

As an example, I would seek to be a complete elder. I would realize that presiding at the Lord's table on the Lord's Day would be within the scope of my responsibility as a Christian, but not my sole responsibility as an elder.

I would expect to visit the sick as a pastor of the Lord's flock, praying for forgiveness of sin and healing (James 5). I would work with my pastor, to the glory of God and the perfection of the saints for the work of the ministry, and the edification of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4).

I would remember God's promise that where two or three are agreed in His name, He will help them. I would, therefore, as an overseer of the Lord's body, the church, which He purchased with His own blood, be present at each service possible.

I would realize the great honor, as well as the great reward that is promised God's elders, never forgetting the teaching of Jesus that one to whom great responsibilities and duties have been given will bear great condemnation for willful failure.

I would be an example to the flock, not only in my presence at the services and my ministry to the congregation, but I would also dedicate my talents and my substance to the kingdom of God. I would not be accused as a robber of God before the community, nor in the judgment of God.

In all things I would remember that the Lord God expects His elders to be ideal Christians throughout their lives. (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing, 1967, p. 133).

That is one of the best descriptions of "Setting your heart," or STRETCHING your life toward the goal of being God's kind of leader, that I've ever read.

This is the third message in a sermon series that I'm calling "Choosing Church Leaders, God's Way." And I hope you've picked up from what I've been saying over the past couple of weeks that this kind of maturing in our Christian faith, and the end goal that I've just read in that short article, isn't just the exclusive prerogative of a chosen few. Rather, in a healthy church, it is something that each person in the church needs to be aiming for, or stretching to reach, if we're going to be used by God to accomplish His purpose and advance His Kingdom.

And as we're finding out, the qualifications for leaders, listed in 1Timothy 3, are good measuring sticks that we all can use, to determine how well and how far we are stretching our lives.

B. Last week

Last week we began looking at specific things that need to be stretched in our lives, by looking at the area of character. And if you'll remember, we looked at just one specific character issue last week–the issue of sexual purity.

Today, we're going to finish looking at specific character issues, by looking at the character traits of Temperance, Self-Control, and Respectability. So, with that in mind, let's look again at the verse where we began last week...

1 Timothy 3:2 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable...

D. Handles

I really like the imagery of the phrase that Paul uses in this verse–"above reproach". From last week's message, you know that this literally means "without handles". In other words, Paul is saying that in the areas he is going to specifically mention in this portion of his letter to Timothy–the areas of character, church life, home life, daily living, and personal life–there can be nothing for the devil or those outside the church, to grab hold of to keep a church leader or any maturing Christian, from stepping out in faith, and moving ahead to accomplish what God wants to accomplish through a local church.

Things like pride, guilt, re-occurring sins, divisiveness, luke-warmness and bad decisions are all characteristics of a church that is led by people whose character have handles. People with handles in their lives are not qualified to lead a church, according to God's standards. So, let's finish looking at this issue of character, this morning.

II. Three Other Areas of Godly Character A. Temperate

The next character issue that's listed in verse 2, is what Paul calls, "Temperate". At first thought, when we think of "Temperance" our minds might wander to things like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, or the Constitutional amendment against the use of alcohol, or maybe just the moderation in the use of alcoholic beverages. But that's not at all what Paul had in mind here. He addresses the who issue of alcohol later in this same text. But here, he isn't talking about alcohol at all when he lists "Temperance" as a character trait of a leader.

1. The Example of Issachar

There is a great illustration of Biblical Temperance in the Old Testament.

Illustration: One of Jacob's twelve sons, was a fellow by the name of Issachar. His mother was Leah. Before Jacob died, he gave a blessing--a kind of prophesy about the future--for each of his sons. When he got to Issachar, Jacob said this...

Gen. 49:14-15 14 "Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. 15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.

Illustration (cont.): What Jacob was saying is that Issachar was strong, and his descendants would be strong like a raw-boned donkey. But this donkey wasn't skiddish, it wasn't hyper-active, it wasn't flighty. Instead, this donkey layed down with its burden on either side of him. And after carefully surveying the situation (or his surroundings), this donkey gets up, and puts all its strength into carrying the saddle bags, and doing its duty.

That's the prophesy of what this man, Issachar, and his descendants, called the tribe of Issachar would be like.

Now, hundreds of years later, when David assumed leadership of Israel after Saul died, many fighting men from the southern area of Israel came to be on David's side and fight with him. But not many of the warriors from the northern tribes joined David in the beginning–however, strong fighting men from the tribe of Issachar did. So, in 1 Chronicles 12:32 we get a beautiful description of these descendants of Issachar, hundreds of years after Issachar received his prophesy from his father, Jacob...

1 Chronicles 12:32 32 men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-- 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

We don't know much about the man Issachar, or the tribe that bore his name, only these two things. But they illustrate for us exactly what Paul was saying regarding the qualification of character called, "Temperate".

God wants leaders in His church who are strong–but who can control that strength. Leaders who are "Temperate" are leaders who understand the times, and know what the church should do. They take care not to make hasty decisions, but wisely gather all the information they can, survey the situation, then act with strength.

So, how do we develop this Biblical concept of "Temperance" in our lives?

2. Developing the character trait of "Temperance"

Take a look at this verse from the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. I've translated this as a...

1Thes 5:8 8 But let us who live in the light keep sober, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the hope of salvation. (TLB)

Now, this word that is translated here, "sober", is the same word as "Temperate." And Paul says, if you want to develop this ability to understand the times and know what to do, then you have to focus on three things in your life...

a. Faith

First, you have to have faith in your life. Faith is...

Hebrews 11:1 1 ... being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Illustration: An evangelist told the following story in one of his campaigns. He said, "I have a friend who during the depression lost a job, a fortune, a wife, and a home, but tenaciously held to his faith -- the only thing he had left. One day he stopped to watch some men building a stone church. One of them was chiseling a triangular piece of rock. 'What are you going to do with that?' asked the man. The workman said, 'Do you see that little opening way up there near the spire? Well, I'm shaping this down here so that it will fit up there.' Tears filled the eyes of this man who had gone through such pain in recent years. God had spoken through the workman to explain the ordeal through which he was passing."

Faith is trusting God to chisel our lives down here, so we are prepared for eternal life up there.

b. Love

Besides faith, if we are going to be people of "Temperance" as Paul describes it, 1 Thessalonians 5:8 also says that we must put on love. Love in the truest sense of the word for a church leader is acting and reacting to the people in the church in the same way that Jesus would if He were here, clothed by your skin.

1 Cor 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

A church leader has have a genuine love for the people in the church–as described in 1 Corinthians 13, if he or she is going to lead by understanding the times and knowing what to do.

c. Hope of salvation

The last thing we need inorder to be "Temperate" leaders, is have the hope of salvation.

Illustration: There is an inscription in the dome of our Capitol in Washington D.C., which few people know about. It says: "One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." Billy Graham told a story about a visitor who saw this inscription and asked the guide what it meant. The guide said: "I think it refers to the second coming of Christ." Billy went on to say, "Its interesting that when that building was built, some God-fearing official ordered that inscription to be etched in the dome of our seat of government, believing that its truth was vital to the concern of our nation."

A leader who is "Temperate" never loses sight of why he or she are leading–the confidence of Jesus Christ's return, and the task of the church to get people ready for that event. Like Rick Warren likes to say, (front of bulletin) "There are only two things that we can do here on earth that we can't do in heaven. One is sin, and the other is to introduce sinners to Jesus Christ. Which of those two do you think God has left us here to do?" A maturing Christian man or woman knows the answer, and never loses sight of it!

B. Self-Controlled

The next character trait of a godly church leader that Paul lists in this second verse of 1 Timothy 3, is called, "Self-Control". In the Greek, this word literally means "thinking rightly" or "being of sound mind". The best way I can describe this character trait is in this story that I read several years ago...

Illustration: "One of my very best friends from my days in our church's youth group was a great guy by the name of Danny O'Neill. Danny was a couple of years older than I was, and he always seemed carefree, so happy, and always ready with a great comeback that could instantly ignite the whole youth group into a spontaneous uproar of laughter. He was funny! But one fall, Danny was drafted into the Army and went 3000 miles away to fight for the United States in the little country of Vietnam. I didn't see Danny again for several years, but when he came home, I realized that he was not the same Danny that I used to know. He was different. He had changed. There was a new seriousness about him that I had never seen before. See, Danny had been to war, and I had not."

Danny had learned, first hand, that life was more than fun and games. He understood the seriousness of life.

Friends, a maturing Christian man or woman who is being of sound mind, or self-controlled, is a person who has battle scars from fighting on his or her knees in prayer. Having a sound mind, or being self-controlled means that you will see that...

Ephesians 6:12 12 ...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The dimension of spiritual warfare must always be at the front of a maturing Christian's mind. Satan is the enemy–not the people who disagree with our Christian position on issues; not Bill Edelen; not the editors at The Desert Sun; not the Pastors in your church–but the devil. And you only think this way, when you've been in that war!

The church that is going to be used by Jesus Christ to advance His Kingdom, and carry out the Great Commission, will be a church whose leaders have been in spiritual battle and have seen the power of God at work in people's lives. And are in awe of the power of God to come against any problem or situation a church can face, and overcome it.

C. Respectable

Finally we come to the last character trait of an overseer. The NIV translation calls it "Respectable"

This word is an interesting one in Greek. Paul uses the Greek word, KOSMIOS. This is the word that we get our English word, "Cosmetics" from. It literally means, "TO ADORN". Let me show you a passage of scripture that uses this word in its fullest meaning. Look at these verses from the book of Titus...

Titus 2:9-10 9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

That word "Attractive" is the same word that Paul uses in 1 Timothy 3, that is translated, "Respectable"–KOSMIOS.

What Paul was saying to Christian slaves, was that when they did everything to try and please their masters: -when they didn't talk back, -when they were honest, -and when they did everything that a slave was supposed to do, THEY WERE A COSMETIC TO THE GOSPEL. In other words, they enhanced the desirability of the gospel to their owners. They were the flesh and blood, eye liner, rouge, lipstick, foundation and make-up that would attract their owners to follow Jesus Christ.

Illustration: My wife Diane used to sell Mary Kay cosmetics. One of the things she learned how to do very well, was something called, "make overs". I can remember a time when our daughter, Jori, had some friends from high school, over to our home for one of these "make over" sessions.

Diane helped each girl pick out the right skin cleanser for her skin, the right foundation make-up for her skin color, the right eye shadow and lip gloss, and rouge, etc. etc. And you know, after spending time learning how to apply the makeup properly, these girls left our house more beautiful and attractive and appealing than when they came in.

That's the picture of our lives when we are RESPECTABLE! Our lives make the gospel appealing to people who aren't following Jesus Christ!

And you know, when our lives aren't good cosmetics on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we know it.

Illustration: I have a bad temper, that is especially hard for me to keep under control when I have a bad day on the golf course. When we were first married, and I was in my first church, Diane and I went on vacation to northern Wisconsin in the summer time. I was just learning how to play golf, and I wanted to play at least once while we were up in that area. So, one day we went together, and I was trying to show my bride how good I really was–only I really wasn't. On one hole I tee-d up the ball, took a mighty swing, and promptly dubbed it into the ground, and the ball went only a few feet. I took out my three wood and hit it off the grass, and I missed hit it again, and it only went a few more feet. I put my woods in my bag and took out my three iron, and promptly proceeded to miss hit this as well. At this point, Diane was in the cart, I was as frustrated and angry at myself as I could be, and in my anger, I took that three iron and threw it down the fairway as far as I could. Then I went back into the cart picked up the ball and placed it where my club had landed.

The course wasn't crowded that day, so we breezed through most of the rest of the holes. But on the second to last hole we caught up to a retired couple who were also golfing together, and they asked if we'd care to join them for the final two holes. We did, and we started talking and getting acquainted. As I was lining up my putt on the final hole, this lady and Diane were talking, and the lady asked, "What line of work is your husband in." Diane proudly said that I was a pastor. And the older gentleman said just as I was about to hit my put, "Oh, I didn't know pastors threw their clubs."

I cringed. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Losing my temper and throwing my club certainly wasn't a very good testimony. Why wasn't it? Simply because, as a leader in the church, I wasn't being a very good cosmetic for the gospel.

To this same Ephesian church, Paul writes these words...

Eph. 4:1 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Is your life a worthy cosmetic to what you have received from Jesus, and have been entrusted to share with the unbelieving world that's in your circle of influence? A church leader's life–a maturing Christian's life must be just that.

III. Conclusion

I want to close our service by having you bow your heads right now. With your heads bowed, and eyes closed I want you to do some deep personal evaluation of your character–with honesty and integrity before God.

Moral purity, Temperate, Self-Controlled, and Respectable–not one of us is perfect in all four. In fact some of us may be very weak in all four areas. So, let me give you a three step plan to begin your stretching to reach the goal of maturity in your faith.

First, identity where you are most weak? That's the place to start. The consistency of a godly character will only rise to the level of your weakest point.

Second, you begin shoring up your character by confessing, right now to God, that this weak area of your character is a result of your sin–maybe pride or guilt or willful disobedience. Never the less, it's your fault, not anyone else's. And ask Him to forgive you.

Third, ask God the Holy Spirit, to empower you to begin improving in that specific area you've just identified.

If you're serious, then God won't leave you alone. He'll begin the "shoring up process" by giving you strength and opportunity to begin to grow in the area where you're most weak–and it will start right now and continue during the coming week. Now open your eyes, because I want to show you a promise that is yours because of that prayer you've just prayed...

Philippians 1:6 6 ...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God's at work in you. Count on it! Amen!