Those Who Serve Well

A number of you might be aware that the Sizzler in Pico Rivera closed 2-3 years ago. And some of you may also be aware that there is a sign posted that the location is now going to open as a Japanese restaurant.

Well, anytime a new restaurant or a new store opens, there is usually a rush of people at first, which is good for the business. But when the newness of the location wears off, that’s when we get a better picture of whether or not a store will stay open. Are people coming back?

In the world of business, the goal is to get people to come back. You want people to buy your product again and again. So, how do you do that? That’s the question that companies are trying to answer. They need something to set them apart.

Well, what is it that sets the church apart? Believe it or not, that’s a very divisive question because you have a very loud voice in contemporary Christian who would say that what keeps people coming back to a church is the same thing that keeps people going back to a restaurant or a gym or a department store. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it doesn’t set the church apart from the world. In that view, the church can only hope to do a better job than the world at providing certain services or experiences.

But the biblical description of the church is something not of this world. There may be some administrative things that align with the world’s practice, but those are not essential to the church. What makes the church distinct and what ultimately draws people to the church is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We are here to proclaim Christ. We are here to put Him on display. It’s not the flashiness of our ministries, though we want them to be effective. It’s not the charisma of our elders, though we want to be effective pastors. Ultimately, what makes the church the church is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All things are from Him and through Him and to Him. Everything is for His glory.

This is the great struggle of the Christian faith—to remain continually focused on Jesus Christ. If you’re visiting today for the first time, we want you to know that we are not here as a business, we are here as an outpost of heaven pointing you to Jesus Christ.

We were sinners condemned to eternal hell for our rebellion, but God lovingly and mercifully sent Jesus to die as a substitute for sinners. He paid the price that we deserve, and He rose from the dead in victory.

And now, every single person who bows before Jesus the King, trusting fully and only in His death and Resurrection for salvation is forgiven and made a citizen of heaven. That person will enter the glorious and eternal kingdom of Christ when He comes again to judge the world.

In the meantime, belonging to Jesus means He puts us to work. He calls us to serve Him by calling and helping others follow Jesus as well. This is what the church is about.

Now, in accomplishing that function, the Bible teaches that a local church is to have two recognized positions. Sometimes they are referred to as offices of the church. We have elders, which are also known as overseers or pastors, and we also have deacons, which is what we will be talking about today as we continue our study in 1 Timothy chapter 3.

“Deacons,” I told you, is a uniquely religious term dealing with an certain position or office in the church. The Greek term means a servant or a minister. As we wrap up our study of deacons, we are going to do so by focusing on three areas. Number 1, I want to briefly review the responsibility of the deacons. Number 2, I want to continue our discussion of the requirements of the deacons. And number 3, we will look at the reward of the deacons. That is going to be our outline today: the responsibility, the requirements, and the reward.

Our focus is primarily focusing on deacons as part of Christ’s structure for the church, but the principles are important for all of us because we are all called to serve the church is some way.

Let’s start by briefly talking about the responsibility of a deacon. What do they do? A deacon is simply a recognized servant in the church. The Bible doesn’t tell us much more than that, other than that they are distinct from the elders. The elders are the recognized leaders and teachers in a church. The deacons are the recognized servants. There are many churches where deacons function like a board of directors, but that’s not the picture we get in the Bible.

In a general sense, we could say that the deacons are responsible to take care of things that help the church accomplish its mission and fulfill its calling in order to allow the pastors to focus on their primary task of teaching the word and praying.

Here at FBBC, we are going to begin naming deacons. And the way we plan to proceed, is not by simply naming people as deacons whom we think are qualified. We don’t want them functioning like a board. We want to connect every deacon position to a responsibility.

I don’t have a specific timeline for all this, but we elders are working toward that, and we want you to be ready. We will present the names and duties of any potential deacons to you, and then, at a Sunday night members’ meeting, we will officially appoint them. It’s not going to be a congregational vote; it will simply be an announcement. And if you believe we’ve made a mistake, let us know. You may know something we don’t.

But again, I want to emphasize that our deacons are not going to function as a board that makes decisions together. They are separate leaders taking care of some ministry or practical aspect of the church. In fact, many of them are already recognized as leaders or servants in specific areas, but not all of them have taken the title of deacon.

In some cases, not a whole lot will change. But naming them as a deacon recognizes them for their work, makes them an example to others, and it gives the rest of the congregation someone to go to with any questions or suggestions related to the issue that person is serving with.

So, if you think the church needs to be painted a different color, if you think there’s something that’s being overlooked or needs to be addressed, we want you to have a better idea of whom you should go to. Deacons are the recognized servants of the church.

With that, let’s move on now to our second heading for today, and that is the requirements of a deacon. What does it take to be a deacon. If a church is going to appoint someone and give him responsibility in an area, the church needs to make sure it does not select the wrong person. A lot of damage can be done by placing the wrong person in a recognized position.

The qualifications of a deacon are Paul’s primary concern in this passage. And, as we saw last time, the focus is not on a person’s natural or earthly abilities; the focus is on character. A deacon must be someone who represents Christ. He’s not going to do so perfectly—none of us can—but he should not be someone who taints the name of Christ through immaturity, deception, drunkenness, or greed. We talked about that last time. You want someone who has proven character.

Well, the next question to address is: Can a woman serve as a deacon? Does the Bible, or the Apostle Paul, allow for a woman to serve in that position? Unlike the issue of a woman pastor, there is some wiggle room here because the answer isn’t as clear as you might like.

If you look at verse 11 in your Bible, you will either see the word “women” or “wives.” You see different translations because the Greek word for “woman” can also be taken as a reference to a wife. They are the exact same word. So, the way we translate or understand the word is inferred by the context.

Is Paul intending to talk about women who serve in some way? Or is Paul talking about the wives of the deacons?

What makes this question tricky is that in the Greek, not only are “woman” and “wife” the same word, there are also no additional words used. It doesn’t say “the women” or “their women.” It simply says, “women, likewise,” and then goes on with a list of attributes.

I am going to briefly discuss some of the features to take into account, but, I think, more importantly than where any of us fall on this issue personally is how we plan to move forward on this as a church. So, here are some of the things that are considered when answering this question.

The first consideration is that the Greek word here for women is used 9 times in 1 Timothy. The majority of those uses refer more generally to a woman. However, the immediate use of the word before and after this verse is generally translated as “wife.” Verse 2 and verse 12 say that a man must be a husband of one wife. What does that mean in this case? Well, I’ll let you think about that for yourself.

A second consideration is Paul’s use of the word “likewise.” Sometimes it gets translated differently, but it’s the same Greek word used in verse 8. Some take that to mean that Paul is describing another office in the church, while others think he is simply continuing the idea of character requirements with regard to a deacon’s wife without necessarily saying women must be deacons. Again, you can think about that for yourself.

A third consideration in this passage is that Paul does not give any requirements for the wives of the elders. Some take that as evidence that this is not referring to wives because it would not make sense to give requirements for a deacon’s wife but not for an elder’s wife. Others respond by saying the disparity makes sense because the wife of a deacon could serve alongside her husband as a recognized servant, but the wife of an elder could not serve alongside her husband as a recognized leader and teacher. Again, do with that what you will.

The fourth and final consideration is the flow of the passage. Paul begins to describe deacons in verse 8. Then in verse 11 he talks about women. But then in verse 12, he immediately goes back to the men using masculine descriptors. That is a curious shift, and whichever position you take on the issue of women deacons, you should be able to give some explanation.

So, what are we going to do here at FBBC? To start, we are not going to make a bigger issue of this than needs to be made, especially when talking to other churches. However another pastor or church understands the idea of a woman deacon is a smaller issue than how they feel about a woman pastor because we have to grant that it’s not that clear.

Here at FBBC, we elders have decided that we will allow for female deacons. We aren’t looking to fill a quota or anything like that, but if there is a person we feel is capable of assisting with some area and has a qualifying character, we have no problem naming a woman as a deacon.

At the same time, I think it’s helpful to say that we are not going to force a woman to take a title she prefers not to have. For that matter, we are not going to do that to anyone.

If you are serving in some official capacity, we want you to be deacon-qualified, but if you prefer not to use that title, we are not going to force it. Way more important than the title you take is the character you exemplify. We want people who represent Jesus Christ.

In honoring Christ, the qualifications Paul gives for women are really no different than the qualifications he gave for the men.

Speaking of the women, Paul says, first of all, they must be dignified. It’s the same word he used back in verse 8 when he began talking about deacons. It’s a word that talks about seriousness and maturity.

Ladies, don’t buy into what the world says about staying young. The world exalts flippancy and youthfulness. But the Bible prizes wisdom. Proverbs 31:30 says: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

If you want a church that showcases the glory of Christ, and leads people to Him, you don’t want a bunch of young women parading their earthly beauty. You want women who stand out for holiness.

Next on the list, Paul says women should be “not slanderers." That is a woman who can control her tongue. She’s not a gossip. She’s not using her words to tear others down. She speaks to edify others. She lifts up.

You know, the Greek term here for slandering is diábolos, which is also translated “devil.” It’s like saying a woman is diabolical. The power of the tongue is something Satan will use to ruin a church.

Next, Paul says, women are to be “sober-minded.” This is the same word Paul used for elders back in verse 2. It means she isn’t given over to alcohol or any other controlling substance. It’s the same idea he mentioned for the men in verse 8 when he said they should not be addicted to much wine.

The final qualification of verse 11 is that she be “faithful in all things.” This is the same idea of a having a man that has been tested. Whether it be a man or a woman, the person serving needs to be trustworthy—not just on Sundays, not just in the one area they may be given charge over, and not just in one season of their life. They ought to be faithful in all.

So, the requirements of a recognized servant in the church are that he or she be dignified, self-controlled with their tongue, self-controlled with alcohol, and trustworthy.

In verse 12, as I mentioned, Paul goes back to the men, but again, the principle applies to everyone. Verse 12 says a deacon must be the husband of one wife. Literally, that could be translated as “a one-woman man.” What that points to is sexual purity. This is a person devoted to God’s design for romance and intimacy. Christ will not be honored by having a womanizer or a flirt serving Him in the church. Christ is to be on display in the way a church functions and in the way marriage functions as well.

Lastly, and this is connected to what we saw with the elders, a deacon must be a good manager of his children and his household. I don’t think this mandates that a deacon be married and have kids, but I think that was Paul’s assumption. That was the norm in that day.

But the point is if you want to know if a man is worthy of serving in some recognized position of service, look at his home. Look at his family. How does he lead them and manage them? What kind of a leader is he?

Even if a man is not an elder, that doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to have any leadership. Being the recognized servant of some area in the church typically means he will have to have some kind of leadership. He will be giving direction to others. There’s a bad way to lead others, and there is a Christ-honoring way. How a man leads in the home is a good indication of how he will lead in the church.

If you take anything away form what I’m saying today, I hope it is this: Everyone who serves in the church supposed to be serving for Jesus Christ. They are serving by the strength He supplies, and they are serving for His glory. And way more important than any earthly skill or ability, Christ is going to be honored by righteousness and holiness among his people. That is how you serve Christ.

Well, with all that, we come to the final section for today, and that is the discussion of the reward of the deacons. We talked a little about the responsibility. We talked about the requirements. Now, let’s talk about the reward. This is what Paul turns to in verse 13 as he concludes his discussion on this topic.

It could be that Paul anticipated men and women deciding not to serve publicly because they didn’t want to held responsible for the requirements. Another possibility is that he wants to address the faithful men and women serving who began to feel ignored or minimized. Whatever Paul is thinking, he wants people to be motivated to serve, and I want you to feel the same way. Whether you are named as a deacon or not, Christ wants you to serve—formally or informally. Jesus wants you to serve Him.

Why? What’s in it for you if you serve Christ publicly? Let’s close with verse 13—For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Paul describes two benefits of serving well. Some people might serve publicly, but they don’t do it well. That’s not a good thing. But what is the reward for those who serve well? Number 1, they gain esteem in the eyes of the church. They gain esteem in the eyes of the church.

I know that Christ calls us to be humble, and we want to kill pride in our hearts. But that doesn’t mean that all attention is a sin. When people work hard as unto the Lord, when people are good at what they do, people notice. It stands out.

I think the “good standing” Paul is talking about here is a respect and an honor that is gained in the eyes of the church. We want to be a church that recognizes good work. We want to point our kids to faithful workers who serve with the heart of Christ. And in the end, it’s not about exalting a man or a woman so they can grow in arrogance. It is about pointing people to those men and women who will faithfully point them back to Christ.

Paul didn’t have a problem with people following him. His problem was when their attention ended at him. That’s why he says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Serve well as a servant of Christ, and people will notice and Christ will be glorified all the more through you.

So, a faithful servant gains esteem in the eyes of the church, and secondly, he earns confidence in his own faith. He earns a stronger assurance of his salvation.

The end of verse 13 says those who serve well gain “great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

Listen, you don’t need to wait until you are some kind of super-Christian to serve Christ. Serve Christ now, and your faith will increase. Christ will confirm your faith. He will use your work to help you battle fear and doubts.

Listen, if you belong to Christ, He wants to put you to work. You are not going to see some writing on the wall telling you specifically how you must serve, but you can still work to help strengthen our church family.

It is such an encouragement to me to see the people watching kids and teaching kids and youth and adults on Sunday morning. It’s a joy to see people setting up tables and cleaning it up afterwards. It encourages me when I hear that members visit one another in homes or in the hospital. God uses that not just to bless others, but to bless you who are doing it. You grow as you give your time and energy to serve Christ.

What an amazing demonstration of God’s mercy and love and joy. He empowers your service, and He rewards it because He loves you. May God continue to strengthen us corporately and individually as we seek to serve our Savior and Lord with excellence.