 And we take opportunity on the first Sunday of each month to celebrate the Lord's Supper together. And not so frequently that it becomes a dead ritual, but not so infrequently that it doesn't have significance or meaning. And if you will, please turn your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3, 1 Timothy chapter 3. Thank you, brothers. Our sermon title this morning is Lessons in Leadership. Lessons in Leadership. And this is part 2. And we're working through 1 Timothy chapter 3, and today we are in verses 1-7, Lessons in Leadership, part 2, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verses 1-7. Last week we began to dig into this paragraph, and this paragraph dealing with the selection of overseers or leadership in the Lord's Church. Now we want to begin today by remembering our reminders from last week. Like we said, you might be initially tempted to think that this chapter is only for elders and deacons. But let's keep in mind and understand that every qualification given here in 1 Timothy chapter 3 is repeated elsewhere in Scripture for every genuine Christian. As we walk through the qualifications for leadership, keep in mind these qualifications apply to you as commands from God through Scripture for how you're to live your life. These apply to everyone. And you're to strive for those. You're to strive for godliness. You're to strive for blamelessness, to be above reproach. You're to strive for these qualifications. Secondly, we need to be reminded that we are all in ministry together, unless we think that there's somehow a split between church members and then ministers or a ministry level, we're all ministers together. When you came to Christ, you came to Christ as a full-time minister in his vineyard, as a full-time worker in his field. We are all in full-time ministry. Some of you in full-time ministry on the job, in your family, in your classes, others in the work of the church. But when we come to Christ, as Ephesians 4 says, we're all to be equipped for the work of the ministry and where to do that work. Now last week, we took a look at verse 1, and the leaders calling that strong desire with the leader, someone who's called into ministry. There is a strong inward compulsion for this work. And that inward compulsion is demonstrated, remember the two parts, by an outward striving or a stretching or a seeking for the position. Now maybe you sense that calling into full-time ministry in your life, maybe you don't. But as a Christian, certainly you can relate to this, right? Coming to Christ, you have a strong inward compulsion, and if you're a Christian, you have a strong outward stretching and striving to please the Lord, don't you? If you're in Christ, you want to please Him, you want to obey Him, you want to serve Him. That's the heart of every Christian. So you can definitely relate to this desire in verse 1. Are you doing that? Take an exhortation from verse 1 here, that desire for ministry. Think about the desire for a Christian. And are you outwardly living in accord with that inward desire? Do you stretch? Do you strive? Do you work? Do you want to please the Lord and do you follow through? This list here, that we're about to go through beginning in verse 2, is a list given by Paul to Timothy to govern the selection of leaders or overseers or bishops at the church in Ephesus and as such for all churches. And the nature of this list is interesting in the sense that it's not a job description, it is a description of the character of the person. Paul's not interested necessarily in job description as much as he is in who the person is, who they are to be. He's concerned with character. And these are the qualifications here that God has designed for the leadership of his people. And we said last week we're going to look at that in four different ways. First way in verse 1, we saw that his calling. But in verses 2 to 3 today, we're going to begin looking at his character. Following that we'll look at his experience and then we'll look at his testimony. So we looked at his calling in verse 1, let's begin today looking at his character. Point 2 on your notes, the elder's character. And this character description begins in verse 2 of our passage. Verse 2, 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 and not covetous. That begins here with the word bishop. A bishop then must be blameless. So this is one of several words that describe this one office in Scripture. Several words used interchangeably to describe the same office. We see the words in Scripture, pastor, elder, bishop, or overseer. The word pastor in Scripture, the noun is used one time that's in Ephesians 411. But there are several other places where the function of that word is used and that function is shepherding, many times with regard to the function of shepherding or to shepherd. Now the specific word here for bishop is episcopos. It's made up of two words, epi and scopos. Epi meaning over and scopos meaning watchman or to watch carefully, to observe or to look carefully. I want us to get an understanding of this so we know how this office functions. Philippians 3.14 says this, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That word there for goal is the root word scopos that we're looking at here in verse 2. That word scopos meaning to keep your eye on. And in a sense Paul is saying in Philippians chapter 3, he's got his eyes on the prize. He is watching carefully. He's looking intently at the goal. He's not taking his eyes off that. So in that sense, it's that thing which you watch. So when it describes the bishop here, the role of overseer, we're to keep our eye on. We're to watch over. We're to watch carefully the congregation, the flock of God. A bishop then is to watch carefully over the whole congregation. Now thinking of the shepherding role, what you know to be of a shepherd, that would include several basic functions and these for their health, for their well-being, for their spiritual well-being and for their safety. We've got several functions then of an overseer or a shepherd in the church. One is primary leadership of the church. First Peter 5.2, Peter says to shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, exercising oversight. And again, that word for oversight is the same word we're looking here at Episcopos. They're to teach the word, give sound instruction. They're to protect the church from false doctrine. And as Titus 1.9 says, they're to rebuke those who contradict. They're to stand and take a stand for Christ. They're to exhort and admonish the saints. We see that also in Titus 1.9. In James, they're to visit the sick and to pray. Throughout Scripture, they're to judge doctrinal issues. If we take those roles of an overseer or a bishop or an elder or a pastor in Scripture, all that is summarized by this notion in Scripture of shepherd. And we see the idea of shepherd throughout Scripture relating to God, relating to Christ, and then relating to under shepherds in this church. It's the care, the feeding and protecting or protection of the flock. Let's take a look at an example of that. Turn to Ezekiel chapter 34 with me, Ezekiel chapter 34. We looked at this briefly last week on Sunday night in terms of irresponsible shepherds. But now let's look at God, the true shepherd, in Ezekiel chapter 34 beginning in verse 11. It's interesting, but from Genesis chapter 49, that's the first place that God is mentioned as shepherd. We see David with mentioning God or describing God as shepherd in Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Right? So God is referred to over and over again as a shepherd. And in God, the shepherd, and in his servant David, Jesus Christ, his shepherd, we see the example of what's to take place in a church with shepherds. And consequently, why these characteristics listed in verse 2 and 3 are so important. Look in chapter 34, Ezekiel 34 beginning in verse 11. Look at all these first person promises here. For thus says the Lord God, indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down. What does it mean when a sheep lies down? It's safe, right? There's a feeling of safety in a good fold and feed. There's the Lord feeding again in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. That's a great picture of a shepherd, great picture of a shepherding role. God is using here imagery to help us understand this role more clearly in 1st Timothy chapter 3. Then he says, I'll destroy the fat and the strong and feed them in judgment. That's the Lord's protection. It's interesting here in verse in chapter 34 though. There is no longer in this time mediator. In God's imagery here, God is the shepherd. There is no one that comes between God and man in that. We have that in the new covenant. We have direct access to God. There is no longer a mediator between God and man other than the one mediator, Christ Jesus, the good shepherd, right? Drop down to verse 20, therefore thus says the Lord God to them, behold, I myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. There's God's protection because you have pushed with side and shoulder, but at all the weak ones with your horns and scattered them abroad. Therefore I will save my flock and they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them. My servant David, he shall feed them and he shall be their shepherd. And I, the Lord will be their God and my servant David, a prince among them. And I, the Lord have spoken, the Lord goes on to describe his protection, his feeding, his care for the sheep. And again through the Messiah, through Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd. This is a hope that are given to the people of God that the Lord himself will be their shepherd. Verse 31, you are my flock, God says, the flock of my pasture. You are men and I am your God, says the Lord God. Our understanding here, back in 1 Timothy chapter 3, our understanding here is that the bishop, the overseer exhibits these characteristics and qualifications because they're a reflection of God himself, the reflection of Christ himself in shepherding God's people. God is the shepherd, the shepherd, Christ the chief shepherd and we are under shepherds leading the flock. It is the Lord that we're to emulate in this and why these characteristics are so important. There are scathing judgments in Scripture when a so-called shepherd or under shepherd doesn't fulfill these qualifications and they're some of the most serious and scathing judgments in all of Scripture. James 3.1, let's forget, let not many of you become teachers because they will receive a stricter judgment. That's a scary thought to stand before God and give an account. So the Lord has high expectations for leadership in the church. So moving on then, Paul says, a bishop then must be blameless. Considering those characteristics, considering the role that he's got to fill, he uses here, the word day. It's a divine necessity. This must be the case. This word and the word to be that follows are both in the present tense, meaning it's ongoing. It's not that you just have these qualifications at one point and then you don't have to worry about them anymore. It doesn't mean that a person steps into leadership and develops these characteristics. You must have them and you must have them in an ongoing sense to fail in these qualifications is to be disqualified for the office. There's a continuous nature to these marks. This divine necessity here flows out of the responsibility given to leaders and leadership in the church. And we've seen, haven't we, devastation in the church when this isn't the case. When a pastor falls or when a pastor becomes disqualified or is disqualified, it runs rampant in the church. It wreaks havoc on the body. And because this office is significant, then a certain type of person must hold it. And Paul gives one word here at the beginning to describe all of those characteristics together. It's an umbrella term and every term that follows it explains what that one word signifies and what it means. It falls under this divine necessity and it is the word blameless, blameless. Our first characteristic in verse two here is blameless. A bishop then must be blameless. The word is the nephilimpton in the Greek. Its root means caught or culpable. You add the negative alpha in the beginning and it means not caught or not culpable, literally not to be laid whole of. It means a character that is inviolable or unassailable. There's no grounds of accusation that can be found. And this is important to understand. Within the person, there's no grounds of an accusation within that person that can be found. There are those that will make accusations and those that will attempt to assail. There's no ground within the person for that accusation to stick. In other words, there are no skeletons in his closet. He has an unassailable character. He's got a good report and deservedly so. It doesn't mean that people won't try to mar his character, but it won't stick. John Kitchen said this, the nobility of the pastoral office demands a correspondingly noble character, inner and outer Christlikeness. He's got a demeanor and a behavior that have garnered respect and admiration over time because of his character. It's a life worthy of the calling. We don't want someone. The Lord doesn't want someone leading in Scripture purely out of skill. You get a guy who's a good speaker. He can glad hand, he can kiss the babies. Everybody likes him. It doesn't mean he can be a leader in the church. It doesn't come strictly out of skill. It doesn't come strictly out of popularity or personality. It has to flow out of character and out of good character, all those necessary traits and skills of a leader will follow and this is so important. It doesn't mean that that man is going to be sinless raw men with clay feet. However, the emphasis here is on that external reputation that flows from character that would be a credit to the church and if you can imagine this church in Ephesus needs that. There have been false teachers and false teaching and their followers discrediting the church in Ephesus. It's going to take a person of character to go far in repairing the damage that's been done in Ephesus. So why is this so important for the leaders in Christchurch? Looking specifically at this one umbrella term of blamelessness. Why wouldn't a doctrinal scholar be sufficient? A theologian, someone who knows the Bible inside and out. Why wouldn't that be enough? Why not a really nice guy who can motivate people, get a motivational speaker in there? Why not that guy? Why not a guy who knows business? After all, church is like a business. You got finances to run, you got administrative duties to take care of. Why not a business guy? Why is it that this character is such an important aspect to leadership? Here's a few things to think about. One, because that leader is to be a testimony of Christ. God, the High Shepherd, Christ, the Chief Shepherd, were to be a testimony of Christ. Secondly, because out of the right heart, if you've been given that heart in Christ, out of the right heart and the right character will flow faithfulness and obedience to the Lord. If you're genuinely in Christ, then out of the right heart, out of the right character, it will flow obedience and faithfulness to Christ. And third, and chiefly here, because these qualities provide for a servant's heart in the church. We're not to lord it over them as the Gentiles do. We're to have a servant's heart, and it provides for a right example. The fruit of these characteristics is a good example, and leadership in Scripture is done by example. Timothy 3 here gives the qualities, gives the characteristics, but elsewhere in Scripture, it defines clearly the effectiveness or the ineffectiveness of leadership, and it does that through example. By their example, they demonstrate a servant's heart. By their example, they are a good example to the flock, someone for the flock to follow. And by their example, they're a good testimony of Christ to those outside. These character qualities, and the fruit of that character quality, which is example to the church, and a testimony to those on the outside, cannot exist if you're standing in the quagmire of a poor character. If you lack these qualifications in verses 2 and 3, and you stand there to be blamed, then the example is marred. The example is corrupted. You can't hold the office. You can't be a good testimony to Christ to the people they're going to follow. It's necessary to have characteristics that lead to a good example. Let me give you some examples of that. Flip the page to the right to 1 Timothy 4, 1 Timothy 4, and look down at verse 12. And here's Paul's further instructions to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4 verse 12. Here he says, Let no one despise your youth, but be what? Be an example. Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity, till I come, and here's how to be an example, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine, that exhortation of calling to one sign, sometimes that comes in the form of encouragement, sometimes that comes in the form of correction, sometimes in the form of rebuke. You've got to be able to do that. Give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Person of character gives themselves entirely to scripture. That's a good example to the people. That's a good example to the flock, right? That your progress, and here it is again, example, that your progress may be evident to all. If a person has this character from 1 Timothy 3, verses 2 and 3, then that character becomes evident to all in their example. And we need good examples leading the flock of God. We need good examples. Verse 16, he says, take heed to yourself. That means obey, right? Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, again, obey, for in doing this, again, obedience to the word, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. A good example out of a right good character in the Lord is to obey the word of God. And there to obey the word of God in front of the people so that the people have an example to follow. Look at a page over to the right again to Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 again. And let's give you another example of this. Titus chapter 2 and look beginning in verse 6. Here Paul says to Titus, likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded in all things showing yourself to be a, there it is again the word, pattern or example of good works. This is the word tupas, which we've looked at before. It means a pattern or an imprint. It's, you've seen before, a pattern that is pressed into a piece of steel such that it leaves that pattern in the steel. It's similar to a stamp on a piece of paper. It leaves the image. This is more than that. This is a pressing into one metal object, pressed into the other such that it leaves a mark, leaves the imprint. Pouring molten metal into a mold and forming that mold. This is the imagery in mind here with this word. There's to be out of a right character, leaders in the church of such good example that the people in the flock will mold themselves and rightfully so, deservedly so, to that image. There to be an example to be followed. Here you'll be a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you. Now, keep in mind there in Titus chapter two, that's not just pastors. That's every Christian. You're to be an example to the flock. Let me give you one more. Go to 1 Peter 5. A couple of books to the right. 1 Peter 5. Let's see one more here. Again, this example cannot be provided from the foundation of a poor character. That's why these qualifications in 1 Timothy chapter three are so important. 1 Peter chapter five, look at verse one. The elders who are among you, I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed, shepherd, as the verb form there, shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, serving, there's the servant's heart, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, there's the desire, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but what? Being examples. We're to be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. I imitate me as I imitate Christ. Paul also says, brethren, join in following my example, my tuppas, my imprint, and note those who so walk for you have us for a pattern. He says, the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me. Think about that for a moment. That's Paul's example. That's Paul's example. The things that you learned from him, received from him, heard from him, and saw him do. He says, these do. That's Paul's example. We're to follow his example that we have today in the church. Wait too many bad examples already. Some have such poor character outwardly. They don't meet these qualifications in 1 Timothy chapter 3, and they're just a miserable, horrible example. It leads to a bad example. Some have hidden a poor character that we see in 1 Timothy chapter 3, and you don't see it until they fall. And that leads to a horrible example. It leads to a horrible testimony to those who are outside. It leads to apostasy. It leads to sin in the Lord's church. It leads to turmoil, division, and discord in the Lord's church. It leads to a horrible example. And some outwardly demonstrate these qualifications in 1 Timothy chapter 3, but they don't do the work. They can't say with Paul the things that you've seen me do, these do, because they're not living that example in front of the people. And as such, they become a bad example, a horrible example. That's what we call dead orthodoxy. To them, leading is preaching a sermon. But it's not doing the work of ministry. We need men of character to do the work. We need men of character who will go out, and as Christ would go out, seek and save the lost. Men of character who will confront in sin. Men of character who will protect the Lord's church. Who will labor for peace and unity in the Lord's church. We need men of character. They don't confront sin. And so peace in the church is maintained by appeasement. They don't provide an example in evangelism. And so the church doesn't evangelize. And there's no discipleship. They don't exhort and convict. They don't convince, rebuke and exhort with all along suffering, as the Scripture would command them. And so they don't lead the people in the work of the ministry. That's the work of the ministry, folks. When you were saved, when you came to Christ through repentant faith, you came to Christ as a disciple for, as Ephesians 4 says, the work of the ministry. And that is convincing and rebuking and correcting and loving and preaching and teaching and evangelizing and loving and rebuking and correcting. And that's the work of the ministry. We're to be in that and we need men of character to lead. A great example, a servant's heart, should be the fruit of the qualifications that we see in 1 Timothy 3. That is the fruit of blamelessness. And the rest of the characteristics that follow blamelessness. And that is internally within the church. And that's why it's so important. We reflect, are to reflect Christ. However, the nuance behind this word blameless in verse 2 also carries a responsibility with those outside the church. Back in 1 Timothy, we read verse 2. A bishop that must be blameless, but look at verse 7. Here verse 7 goes on to say, Moreover, he must have a good testimony. That's the same kind of word there. Good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. These two things are linked. Blameless within the church, blameless without the church. Having a good testimony with those who are outside. Outside the body of Christ. So blamelessness evolves above reproach, both inside and outside. Now, how are we to understand this? We need to come to grips with what blamelessness or having a good reputation with those outside what that scripturally and rightly and biblically means. And it might seem easy on the surface to determine that. I'm going to tell you it's not as easy as it seems. Let me give you a test. I want to give you a test. I'll tell you a story. I have a friend, close brother, who's a Southern Baptist preacher. He pastors a church and in that church there is a textbook case of church discipline that comes up. Clear scripture, clear textbook case of church discipline. Like many congregations, that congregation not used to practicing church discipline. So this new pastor of this church painstakingly, tirelessly, with much long suffering and patience takes the congregation through two months worth of sermons on the importance and necessity of practicing church discipline. From the scripture so that they will understand why the Lord commands that church discipline is to be done. In preparation for their faithfulness to the word, for their faithfulness to the Lord in practicing discipline here. They finish the sermon series and he takes the church through this textbook case of church discipline and someone is put out of the church. After they're put out of the church, approximately 280 people leave the church. It causes the church split. And like many so-called Christians, these 280 don't leave quietly. They start blogs about him. Several blogs, they put up a website about him. They vandalize his house. They flatten his tires on his car. They cut his brake lines twice. And he's got a wife and kids. These people go from that church to another church in town. And the pastor there receives them, listens to their sob story, and then starts hurling grenades over to that church and calling him disqualified, him harsh. He wasn't gentle. He's accused of being quarrelsome. At the end of the day, he wasn't blameless or above reproach because he didn't have a good reputation with those on the outside. Let me ask you a question. Is he disqualified? Why not? He doesn't have a reputation, a good reputation with those on the outside. He doesn't have a good reputation with those on the inside. Is he disqualified? These others weren't involved in the situation at all. And yet they hurl accusations. They don't know the details. They didn't shed the tears. They didn't sit through the countless meetings. They didn't labor in that church with that sinner for repentance. And yet they call him disqualified, calling for his resignation. Is that evidence that he is not blameless? No. Charles Spurgeon. He was censured by his own denomination. In his vote for censure, there were 2,000 in the denomination that voted for his censure and seven that voted against. He had a bad reputation with those on the inside and a bad reputation with those on the outside. All kinds of accusations floating around about Charles Spurgeon. Is he disqualified because he isn't blameless? He doesn't have a good reputation. Why isn't he disqualified? Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards in 1744, some young men in Jonathan Edwards' church distributed a midwife's manual among the young men in the church. They used it to taunt and to make suggestive comments to the girls in the church. You can imagine the pictures in the midwife's manual. They were brought before the leadership and Edwards said, and he said before the church, the behavior was contemptuous toward the authority of his church, the authority of the church. What did Jonathan Edwards do? Jonathan Edwards is a faithful man. Jonathan Edwards read their names out loud in front of everyone so that their folly, as the scripture says, would be made known. Of course, parents and others in the church were outraged. They didn't stop there. There were those in the church who developed, as they said, hostility against Edwards. They accused him of being harsh, accused him of being distant. A group began to form outside the church. The leader of this group was a man named Israel Williams. It's interesting that his name gets mentioned even today. Once a fervent member of the church, now he was a ringleader and a counselor to those outside the church who were hostile and had formed a group against Edwards and against the church there at Northampton. In 1748, Edwards refused to give a man the Lord's Supper because he required, as the Bible requires, that the man give a credible profession of godliness. In a sense, this was like an act of discipline. The congregation figured out quickly that Edwards was going to have a more puritan standard of holiness for the church. And so they took a clear stand against Edwards. Edwards took a clear stand against sin in the Lord's church. What did that get Edwards? In 1750, the church with no doubt applause from this group on the outside fired the greatest American theologian from the church, his own church at Northampton. Is he disqualified then because he's not blameless? He doesn't have a good reputation with those on the inside? He doesn't have a good reputation and isn't he found to be not blameless? It's important that we have from 1 Timothy 3 here some confidence with how you reconcile blameless with persecution and accusations and baseless charges that if you're in Christ, you're going to get persecuted. All those who desire to live godly in this present age will suffer persecution. You're going to have assaults hurled at you. There are going to be character assaults, charges, accusations made made a lot of times inside your own camp by wicked so-called Christians. We see that with Christ, don't we? Jesus Christ was constantly harassed by religious insiders. You need to have some confidence with how to deal with this. Later, Edwards' cousin who was one of the ring leaders, his own cousin staunch slanderer of Edwards confessed pride and self-will. Here's what he said. I am most sorely sensible that nothing but that infinite grace and mercy which saved some of the betrayers and murderers of our blessed Lord and the persecutors of his martyrs can pardon me in which alone I hope for pardon for the sake of Christ whose blood, blessed by God, cleanseth from all sin. Norman Gardner, professor at Smith College noted in his writings the bitterness and hostility that left Edwards' church. He said they displayed a hatred, a malice and an uncharitableness which characterized this opposition, this group. Amazing bitterness. You could say that Edwards, certainly you could, right? Edwards had a bad reputation with those inside his own church because they fired him and he had a bad reputation with those outside. Was Edwards disqualified? I can tell you that history and the word of God is a man of character. As a man of courage. Faithful to the word of God. There's so many who cavalierly toss around this qualification here of blamelessness. Making the accusation that someone's not blameless. It happens all the time. We're not to do that with leadership in the Lord's church. The Lord's church, God himself in Scripture has put a process in place to follow. There is a process to follow and yet folks float accusations like they're nothing. They create disunity in the Lord's church. They create division. They create strife. They create contention. They create discord. And it tears at the fabric of the peace and unity in the Lord's church that he purchased and that is why we are so tirelessly laboring with anyone in the church who is bitter or going to leave that way because it leads to divisiveness. It leads to discord. It leads to bitterness and you simply can't leave that way. The peace and unity which the Lord has given us is too important. Specifically in verse 7 in chapter 3 here the pastor's reputation with those on the outside is emphasized here because Christians on the inside ought to know better. Christians on the inside should follow the word of God. They've got a process, it's clear they're to follow that. But in their bitterness, their rebellion, their self-will, their pride, outright sin, they just level accusations at will. Others, it's amazing to me. In direct rejection of Proverbs chapter 18 verse 17, they just receive it and repeat it. And they just continue to spread the slander, continue to gossip, continue to sow discord. That discord, disunity in the body spreads. A really strong brother in our church that took a trip to a graduation at Southern Seminary and he was talking to someone there introducing himself, getting to know one another and they're having conversation and the guy at Southern Seminary asked this brother where he went to church and the guy's countenance fell. He said, sort of taking it back by that, he said, is there a problem? He said, you are your church teaches that if you don't go evangelizing on Saturdays, you're lost. And this, we laugh, right? Amazing. This brother, a really strong brother he says, I've been at that church for eight years, we've never taught that. Now this person leveling an accusation against the Lord's church and so this brother says I believe, I trust my friend who told me and he repeats slanderous offense, repeats a slanderous charge. Christians ought to know better. There is a process to follow, that process is 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 19 and 20, turn there with me. 1 Timothy chapter 5 verses 19 and 20. The Lord's word here is authoritative. This process given in 1 Timothy chapter 5 is to protect the church. Protect the elder from a frivolous charge or a baseless charge. Protect the dignity of the office and to protect those people from sin. Here in 1 Timothy chapter 5 look at verse 17. Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially those who labor in the word in doctrine. For the scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain and the laborer is worthy of his wages. Here it is. You do not receive an accusation against an elder. That means don't entertain it at all. If someone comes up to you with a charge that guy at that church is such and such listen for the peace and unity for obedience to this passage of scripture you're to stop them right there. I'm not even going to receive that. But don't people in their flesh they just bristle against authority. They bristle, they love trash, garbage. That's why some of these newspapers and magazines do so well. We just love a good garbage story, right? And they just receive that and take it in hook, line, and sinker completely disobeying Proverbs 18 and before you know it you're defiled and you have bitterness in your heart and Satan uses that to spread disunity and discord in his church. You're not even to receive it. Don't receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses and are those two or three witnesses the 250 leaders of the congregation that left and were against Korah? What about those that were hostile outside the church against Edward? Are those unbiased witnesses? What about those 2000 that voted against Spurgeon? Are those unbiased witnesses? No, they're to be unbiased witnesses. This is to be judged properly. Those who are sitting rebuke in the presence of all that the rest also may fear. This is the process to follow. I have two exhortations for you here in considering this issue of blamelessness. Be careful before you accuse the Lord's leaders or the Lord's Church. Be careful before you accuse the Lord's leaders of the Lord's Church. Two, if you're a Christian, you need to grow a backbone of steel and a forehead of flint and learn to have confidence in how you deal with this kind of sin. It is gross and disgusting sin and it will happen. You need to rebuke it where it stands. You need to correct it. You need to not receive it. You need to stop someone in their tracks before they spread it. Because rather than do what Christians do, these that level these charges, they tell everyone else their offense. They can tell many times, I should have come to you. I should have come to you. And they never do. And they're not spreading those accusations, spreading that slander, spreading that gossip, spreading that discord. They do it anyway. Continue sowing discord in the Lord's Church. They will say, and this is the way it works folks, they'll say many things behind your back that they wouldn't dare say if they were sitting across from you at the table. As such this is cowardice and it is great sin. And it is why the church in laboring to maintain unity of the spirit in the bond of peace doggedly and tirelessly try to dig all of this out before someone leaves bitter. Before someone goes away with some offense it results in divisiveness, discord, slander, gossip. Ultimately it results in malice. It's malice. The issue is their sin but they'll complain that you went too fast. The issue is their sin but they'll say that you skip steps. The issue is their sin but they'll say that someone spoke to them harshly. The issue is their sin but they'll say yada yada yada till the cows come home. Ultimately the issue is their sin and they want to make it about something else besides their sin. And what's worse is they all gather together the 250 liters against Korah the 2000 against Spurgeon the opponents in North Hampton against Edwards they all get together. It's like a feeding frenzy against the authority of the Lord's church. Your reputation is to be good with those on the outside but that blamelessness inside and blamelessness with those on the outside is to be in your character before the Lord as your witness having no grounds for the accusation within you. It's simply to be you're to be blameless. Now people will accuse all they want you're to be blameless before the Lord. That doesn't mean that they won't vehemently disagree. Doesn't mean that you won't make enemies because of your stand for righteousness because of your stand for the gospel. It's not to me that they won't think of you poorly. And not to me that you're not going to make somebody mad because you're going to take a stand for righteousness but you're to be blameless before the Lord. The accusation in this definition of blamelessness the accusation will not stick. If they were to follow that process given by the Lord in 1 Timothy 5 the accusation will not stick and yet it's repeated as untrue all over the place. You're not guilty, you're not culpable or unassailable. That's what blamelessness is. Let me exhort you. Learn how to deal with a divisive person, the slanderous person. It's going to take a backbone but you've got to rebuke them firmly and stand for righteousness. You can see that as a Christian not just a pastor but as a Christian having a good reputation with those outside or being blameless doesn't upset you from hostility. Especially with those inside the church. You know that persecution is coming but you're to walk blamelessly before your Lord. I love this from Philippians 2.15 Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault. That's what blameless is, is without fault. In the midst it says here of a crooked and perverse generation who will accuse you among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Take up this mantle. Instead of Moses in Hebrews 11 verse 26 that Moses considered the reproach of Christ of greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt because Moses was looking forward to the reward. I like the way that the NIV puts it. The NIV says that he would disgrace for the name of Christ, for the cause of Christ of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Trust in the Lord. Be blameless. Walk in the power of His might. Continue swinging the sword of the Spirit. Take a stand for righteousness in this wicked and perverse generation and rejoice that you are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. If you're here today and you're not a Christian and great guilt there is an accusation against you that in the day of judgment will stick. And the Lord will judge. You'll stand before the Lord God of the Universe to give an account for your life and you will be found guilty because you're standing there with your own filthy rags as your own righteousness and you're not standing there in the perfect righteousness of Christ. You need to stand before the God before God perfect with the righteousness of Christ. As such you need to turn from your sin and be blameless in Christ. Otherwise you are to be blamed and you will spend an eternity in hell. Suffering torment, pain for your own unworthiness your own unrighteousness. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. He will cleanse you. Wash you with clean water. He'll make you perfect. He'll forgive you. Pardon all your sin. He'll save your soul. And you'll have heaven to look forward to. And then you can say with Moses, I count the reproach of Christ of greater value than all the treasures in Egypt. It's worth it, amen. Amen, let's pray together. Father in heaven, Lord, thank you for your word. And thank you for this teaching in 1 Timothy chapter 3. Help us to understand these things, Lord. Help us to reconcile them within our heart and mind when the wicked will cast assaults and the wicked will level accusations and they abandon your word, Lord. But help us, Lord, protect us. Help us to be faithful to your word. Help us to be diligent in protecting the flock and feeding the flock and caring for the flock. This is your flock. We are your people called by your name. We rest in you, Lord, for protection. We trust in your word. We trust in you completely, Lord. And we can stand against the tide of this wicked world as long as we have Christ. So, Lord, help us to be blameless. Help us to walk worthy of the calling with which you've called us. Lord, as a testimony of your grace and goodness and for your everlasting praise and worship. In Jesus' name, amen.