Wanted!

A Few Good Men!

 

1221-B

 

 

A few years ago that huge, familiar billboard was an imposing sight indeed. As you rounded the curve on US 281, a lifelike picture of a suntanned, rugged looking Marine sergeant was staring down at you from his somewhat condescending perch above the traffic. A hint of steel characterized his eyes. His face was taut. His close-cropped hair seemed to all but cry out “discipline”. Underneath his portrait were only five words, but they said it all. They said: Wanted: A few Good Men!

Not many words‑ but a message it was, indeed. It said, by implication:

1- This was not for everyone. This was not a general call for the average man on the street. The word “few” indicated that this was an isolated, somewhat specialized opportunity.

2- There was a need. The word “wanted” indicated that there was a role to fill, and someone needed to fill it. Not everyone could, but someone must.

3- The request was not limited only by number, but by quality. “A few good men” meant only those of a certain caliber need apply.

4-The word “men” meant it was limited not so much because of discrimination, as by specifics. This call was for men because this job had been assigned to men. Other jobs, just as important, had been assigned to women‑ but this one was for men.

So the call was clear. A specific need existed that could only be filled by a few special men who would have to be a certain kind of men to qualify. The very exclusiveness of the appeal added to its desirability. An element of intrigue existed simply because the inference was “not everyone need apply, not everyone could qualify”.

Wanted: A Few Good Men! I hate to break it to the Marine corps, but they didn’t originate that appeal. Some 2,000 years ago, the first real recruiter of our age, a man named Paul wrote a letter to his able assistant, a young corporal, if you will, named Timothy. Tim was in Ephesus, trying to untangle a web of theological confusion while his mentor was composing and dictating his instructions from far off Macedonia. And in what we have come to know as chapter three of his first letter to young Tim, you might well summarize the chapter with those five immortal words: Wanted: A Few Good Men!

The chapter preceding this one was a call to pray for those whom God would choose to lead his people; both those in positions of civil authority, and those in positions of spiritual authority. Then Paul proceeded to explain the issue of prayer as it relates to the Gospel; that God has a desire that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth.

Then the apostle moved into a somewhat dangerous war zone: the process of defining the role of the godly woman. It was a word that would in the years to come be often misquoted, and just as often misunderstood, but nonetheless, a word that properly received, would crystallize like a beautiful stained glass window, a picture of Christ and His bride, the church.

Okay, you men who have been reveling in the parameters placed on womanhood in the passage just concluded might well hold on to your spiritual hats. Now the apostle is going to shift the message to the role of men in the church, and the accompanying limitations and exclusions make the Marine Corps look like the kiddie corps by comparison.

God was looking for a few good men, and for good cause. He wanted them to shepherd the flock that Christ had called out to Himself before His return to the father.

Wanted: A Few Good Men! A few spiritually qualified men whose lives demonstrate the nature of God with such clarity that they might be like beacons set before the body of Christ to lead it through this age.

I must admit that the nature of these qualities surprised me a bit as I began to attempt to categorize them and examine their basis for being attached to this office.

As we begin our look at God’s concept of the godly man, we must be reminded that His standards have not changed in the nearly 2,000 years since they were penned. The grass will wither; the flower will fade, but the Word of our god will abide forever. Like the One whose Word it is, it is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

“This is a true saying…”

Paul now begins his task as a recruiter for men to engage in the greatest conflict in history, and he makes the transition from the role of the woman to the role of the man with this simple statement:

“This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” I Timothy 3:1

“This is a true saying…” That would almost seem unnecessary. But the, nothing is unnecessary in Scripture. What is Paul saying? The word translated “true” in the King James Version is the word (pistos) meaning “faithful” or “trustworthy”. It literally means, here is a statement you can take to the bank. It is used only one other time in the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 1:18, where Paul writes, “Just as God is true…” So here is an irrefutable truth: this isn’t just “true”, in the sense that it’s accurate as things stand today, this word is “faithful”… it will always be true.

And what is it that Paul is about to say that is of such infallible importance? He is saying, “if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” There are three keys to that sentence. They are “desire”, “bishop”, and “good work”.

Perhaps the first enigma in the passage is that world “desire”. We are told in Scripture not to seek to be exalted. We are told that “he who exalts himself will be humbled”. And now Paul tells us that there is an unchanging, undeniable truth etched in the concrete of eternity that says if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires something good. How do we reconcile this?

That word “desire” is the key. It is the word (oregatai); a word translated “sets his heart upon”. It means to aspire to something noble and grand, something that might indeed be beyond the grasp of the average person, but something that nonetheless everyone can reach for.

One example might be the office of President in the United States. Millions of people in this country, from the ages of six to sixty aspire to that office. In any one of their adult lifetimes, maybe ten will have that honor. Not very good odds. But by aspiring to be President, they set their sights on excellence; on the stars if you will, not out of a greed to attain, but rather out of the noble aspiration of wanting to be, that quality man or woman.

That’s what Paul is saying! He is saying that the man who aspires to be the quality of man God wants in a spiritual leader is on the way to becoming God’s kind of man. And that’s what God is after‑ a few good men. Gentlemen, I ask you. Does your heart beat faster at the very thought that God in you could make of you a man after His own heart? A man whose very nature reflects that of “The Shepherd”? Oh, beloved, Paul says, aspire to that! Pray for that. Give your life to be like that. The issue isn’t whether or not you become an elder or a pastor. Not everyone does. Not everyone can. Not everyone wants to. But every man ought to want to be qualified. Every man ought to want to be suited to be. Every man ought to aspire to be‑ that kind of man.

The qualities God is after are connected to a spiritual office. The King James Bible translates it “bishop” in most places, but that is not a good word in our language. The word comes from the word (episkopeo) “to look upon, to oversee, to care for”. There is a second word used in like context, which is, translated “elder” in most places in the Bible. That word is the word (presbyteros). But Titus 1:6,7 seems to indicate that the two words represent one and the same office. Acts 20 seems to confirm that. In verse 17, we read that Paul sent for the “elders” (presbyterous) of the Ephesian church, but in verse 28, he calls them “overseers” (episkopous). Philippians, chapter one, further demonstrates this truth.

So we can thus conclude that the terms elders and bishops were used interchangeably and that both refer to the same office in the New T4stament church. The proper word to use would be that word “overseer” and this the word you find in most current translations, someone called to “oversee” the flock of God, under shepherds, if you will, carrying out the work of the Good Shepherd, whose flock it is. Aspire to be qualified for one of God’s most noble tasks, something indeed worth giving your life for.

Most men, unfortunately, really do not have a goal for their life. Some desire to attain greatness in their profession, but only a few do, and those who do often find themselves empty and unfulfilled, even at the top. Some desire to attain wealth, as though the more they get, the more fulfilled they’ll be, but somehow even those who find millions within their grasp, so often find with it, loneliness, emptiness, and grief. These are not things worth giving your life to gain. As the Psalmist said, “when you die, you leave it all behind.”

No, there is only one goal worth giving your life for... the goal of becoming God’s kind of man, or God’s kind of woman. So Paul begins the process of enumerating the qualities that a godly man will possess, and the behavior a godly man will demonstrate.

For those of us who find ourselves in any form of Christian leadership, it is a difficult passage to study, because the yardstick by which we find ourselves being measured appears to be one no man can attain. That, of course, is true, apart from the grace of God. He alone gives us the capacity even to aspire to these qualities. Let us now read the first section together and humbly and yet diligently seek to uncover its meaning.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” I Timothy 3:2-7

After reading that passage I not only feel inadequate to be a Christian leader; I feel inadequate to teach that passage. But teach it I must, and so with fear and trembling, and yet with a spirit of anticipation, I ask you to swim into these swirling waters with me‑ our objective to find the will of God for choosing and becoming shepherds in the flock of God.

There are countless ways to analyze and categorize these qualities. But before we list them and define them, let’s look at least at two. Let’s see how they line up as areas of life, and how they appear as basic qualities of life. The first is by dividing the passage into the inner qualities; then the outer qualities as they are displayed in the home, in the world, and in the church. It would look like this:

The Godly Man is…

vigilant

sober

blameless         

patient

not covetous

In The Home

His children are in subjection

He is a one-woman man

In the World

He is of good behavior

He is not a brawler

He is not given to wine

He is not greedy

He is not a striker

He has a good report

In the Church

He is not a novice

He is hospitable

He is able to teach

A second way to look at the qualities of the godly man from I Timothy 3 is to see them grouped by their attributes. That grouping gives us a clear definition. It looks like this:

The godly: One who is a man of moral excellence, exercising a spirit-controlled life with consistent staying power, thus demonstrating the attributes of a leader.

Moral Excellence

Blameless, of good behavior,

Not covetous, of good report

Spirit-Controlled Life

A Self-controlled Man

One-woman man

Vigilant

Sober

Not addicted

No striker

Not a brawler

The Leader

hospitable

apt to teach

ruler of own family

not a neophyte

Staying Power

Patient

Not a new believer

A one-woman man

Well, just what do those words mean? Let’s take a look:

 

The Quality	The Root Word	The Definition
Blameless	Anepilambano	Not open to attack
One woman man	Mias gunaikos andra	A man committed to one woman
Vigilant	Nephalion	Calm, dispassionate, circumspect
Sober	Sophruna	Self-controlled, serious earnest
Of good behavior	Kosmion	Orderly, respectable, well-behaved
Hospitable	Philoxenon	Ministering through an open home
Apt to teach	Didaktikon	Capable, qualified teacher
Not given to wine	Me paroinom	Not addicted; not tarrying in wine
No striker	Me plekten	Not violent; not quarrelsome
Patient	Epiekes	Mild, gentle, sweet reasonableness
Not a brawler	Amachon	Not combative; not contentious
Not covetous	Aphilarguron	Not driven by love of money
Ruler of family	Proi stemi idios	Substantive leadership in the home
Not a novice	Neophystos	Not newly planted; not untested
Of good report	Marturian kalen	An excellent testimony with unbelievers

For the next lesson or two, we’ll take each of those qualities and examine them in the light of just what God is saying to the men of the church. We must be prepared to be convicted, encouraged, perhaps startled, and hopefully transformed by responding to God’s Spirit in an attitude of honest self-evaluation.

We must be open to our wives’ and colleagues’ evaluations of how we measure up, and we must be constantly reminded that God is not trying to discourage us by comparing us, He is trying to draw us to godliness by calling us to become what only He in His power can enable us to become. But we must recognize the need, honestly face the issues, ask God for specific grace, and the, by faith, do (in His energy) what He has called us to do. God is looking for a few good men. And the more He can find in this fellowship, the more pleased His heart will be.

The first criterion of a man of God has dual meaning. It is defined by the word “blameless” in the King James Bible. It is a quality of its own, but to a larger degree, this is the umbrella, which describes all of the others.

The Umbrella of a Blameless Life: Character beyond Criticism

The word “blameless” literally means” not to be laid hold of” and indicates a life that is not open to attack, because it does not knowingly afford the adversary any weaknesses that would destroy the portrait of what he claims to be.

It does not even imply sinless perfection. It does, however, erase all of the hints of hypocrisy that characterize so many of our lives. The blameless life is what it pretends to be. And more than that, it represents itself to be a Christ-dominated life, so the extraneous behavior that we simply excuse as “just the way I am” will not cut it.

There are really six words or variations of words found in the New Testament that are translated “blameless”. All are related, but perhaps this one, found in I Timothy 3:2 and also in I Timothy 3:7 is the most descriptive. It describes a quality of guiltlessness so profound that even when caught up unexpectedly, there will be no sin to be laid to their charge. It is used of someone who would be attacked unexpectedly, like a wrestler caught unawares, but this one would be so well prepared, even an unexpected attack would yield no damage.

In practical terms, it is a life that hasn’t left any loopholes for the devil to use against you. It is a man who keeps all known sin confessed, and anything, which might stumble another under control. All of the other qualities mentioned in this passage are only expressions of this one, for the man who is blameless will have a good report from those without, a good report of those in the home, and a godly heritage in the church as well.

He will not stand piously in the pulpit on Sunday and be greedy for gain on Monday. He will not speak peace from the pew on Sunday and be a contentious brawler on Monday. He will be in the marketplace what he professes to be in the holy place.

The word literally means “one against whom it is impossible to bring any impartial charge of wrong doing”. It means a holy sensitivity to everything he says and does and how it will affect those around him. He doesn’t lose his temper on the job. He doesn’t lose his temper in the home. He isn’t impatient in the grocery line or on the freeway. To do so with any degree of consistency would give others a justifiable charge to make against him. He would no longer be “blameless”. The goal of his life is to be “above reproach”.

And the longer he walks with God, the more conscious he becomes of how the little things he says and does affect those about him and his testimony both to the world and to the church. In meetings, he is the epitome of grace and understanding. He doesn’t lash out at others because they disagree with his position. He listens, he prays, and he gently responds with God’s perspective‑never contentiously, never vindictively, and never selfishly. He is becoming‑a blameless man.

Gentlemen, the question is this, and it is a tough one. If the mirror of God’s word is held up against your day to day behavior on the job and in the home, are you the kind of man Christ was when He walked this earth? Is Christ in you so apparent that were a tribunal of judges trying to find something in your life with which to discredit the Gospel, they would come up empty-handed? Or do you accept the day to day compromises in your life as natural because “God isn’t finished with you yet”? You’re right. He’s not. But He’s not condoning the behavioral offenses as acceptable. He’s told you to behave in such a way that you are blameless before men. By His grace, you will, as you behave, become the man within you are portraying without. You must spend time in His word and time in His presence for His spirit to make you into that kind of man.

Ah, but as you are becoming, behave. Behave blamelessly. At the end of every day stand before God and before your family with this check list we are about to study and see if as much as possible, you have not knowingly given the enemy any charge to bring against you.

Your conversation must be pure. Your temper must be controlled. Your patience must be evident. Your love for your family must be secure. Your openness to share must be constant. Your generosity must be natural. Your life must be‑ blameless. Not perfect. You will slip and fall. But as you begin to condone continually slipping on the same banana peel, you are justifying ungodliness by saying, “it’s natural”. God never called us to be natural. He called us to be supernatural. And then He gave us His Spirit to guarantee that we could be. So the power is His‑ but the choices are ours. And the choices are crucial, if we are to be the kind of men we were meant to be.

God is looking for a few good men. Dear Lord, may you need to look no further. Amen.

 

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Sermon By: Russell Kelfer