FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Acts 6:1-8

Sincere

The early church sought men of good reputation to be their leaders. The Bible tells us that they were to be “seven men of good reputation” (Acts 6:3 NKJV). They had to have a good reputation in the church and in the world as well. It is quite possible to have a good reputation in the church and a bad reputation in the office, shop, or in one’s neighborhood.

Some people are on their best behavior when they’re in the house of God. They seem to be far less particular when they are engaged in the daily routine of everyday life. Men and women who are leaders in the church are to be utterly sincere, thoroughly honest in all of their words and in their dealings with others. This doesn’t mean that their can’t be problems in their past, it just means that they recognize and realize their past is forgiven and they now live in the abiding presence of Jesus Christ.

Great damage can be done to the church when men and women of bad or indifferent reputation are given leadership positions in the church. In selecting leaders for the church, these questions should be asked:

• Is the person respected by friends and coworkers?
• Is the individual consistent in Christian living?
• Is he or she God-fearing and reliable?
• Is he or she a person of spiritual and moral integrity?

Christianity is not always taught in the practicality of real life. The great Pentecostal evangelist, Bud Robinson, was right when he stated, “I don’t care how loud a brother shouts or how high he jumps, just so he walks straight when he comes down.” Amen!

There are a number of admonitions in the Bible telling us how we ought to walk in sincerity:

• “Walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
• “Walk properly (honestly)” (Romans 13:13).
• “Walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16).
• “Walk . . . worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1).
• “Walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2).
• “Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
• “Walk carefully” (Ephesians 5:15).
• “Walk . . . worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:10).
• “Walk in wisdom” (Colossians 4:5).
• “Walk . . . worthy of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
• “Walk . . . to please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).
• “Walk in the same way . . . he walked” (1 John 2:6).

A person’s Sunday self and their weekday self are like two halves of a round-trip ticket; not good if detached. If Christ is the center of our lives, the whole of our lives will take care of itself. Christianity is either relevant all of the time or useless any time. It is not just a phase of life, it is life itself. True Christianity is not a religion despite what the world thinks. Rather, true Christianity is a lifestyle and one that is spiritually 180 degrees from the past.

Church leaders themselves need to be sincere, without pretense, polish, or gloss.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Acts 6:1-8

Select

The kind of leaders that the church needs must be very carefully selected. The disciples instructed the early church to pick out from among themselves the leaders needed (Acts 6:3). Here we learn that the democratic ideal was practiced in the apostolic church. The apostles said to the members, “Pick out from among you . . . whom we will appoint.” The whole church was invited to participate in the selection of suitable men to serve as the first leaders. This was not the decision of Peter alone, nor even of the apostles only, but rather all of the members were privileged to share in this appointment.

This passage leads us to pause and remind ourselves how serious and how solemn a business it is to exercise any influence over or to cast a vote in favor of the appointment of anyone into any position of responsibility in the Lord’s work. The seriousness of the church’s business arises from the fact that it can be made or marred, advanced, or retarded by the quality of men and women who are placed into office.

We learn from this passage that people should be selected only after much prayer. In Acts 6:6 Luke reported, “These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.”

The church today desperately needs people who will work for the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone has said that in the church there are two kinds of members; workers and shirkers. There are those who are willing to do anything, and there are those who are willing for the others to do everything. Also, there are three kinds of people; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who have no idea of what has happened.

It is the moral and spiritual responsibility of every member of the church to have a definite place where that individual seeks to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the congregation as a whole to prayerfully consider who will be elected to hold specific offices in the church.

Phillips Brooks was a great Puritan preacher. One day he said:

Oh, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be strong men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work will be no miracle; but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.

Would you be willing to say, “I am only one, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do, and what I should do, with God’s help, I will do.”

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Acts 6:1-8

Saved

No one is qualified to hold an elective office in the church until that individual has received Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior. This basic requirement for church leadership is stated in Acts 6:3, “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you . . .” The admonition is to pick out brethren, those from within the family of Christ Jesus.

The Bible teaches that these first-ordained leaders were to be selected from the membership of the body of Christ. In the early church, the members of the church were regenerate, born again. The Bible tells us in Acts 2:38 that they had repented of their sins. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost that people needed to repent of their sin and trust Christ as Savior. Those who were in the Jerusalem church gladly received the word of Simon Peter that Jesus was the Savior and that they needed to turn to Him in faith in order to be saved. Luke went on to tell us that those who received the preaching of Peter that Jesus had been resurrected and was the Savior were added to the church (Acts 2:47).

One of the tragic weaknesses of many churches is that good men and women have been placed in office, but they have never been spiritually born again. When it comes to choosing leaders for any position of responsibility in the church, the first questions we should ask are:

• Has this person a clear testimony to the saving grace of God?
• Does this person’s life give evidence of a true change of heart?

The great author Walter B. Knight delights to tell the story of his cat, Timmy:

The family loved Timmy. There was one thing, however, that they disliked in Timmy, he preyed on the birds that nested in the trees in the backyard.

One day Timmy was eating a robin. Knight snatched the unconsumed portion of the bird from the cat. He sprinkled it with red pepper. Then he dangled the morsel temptingly before the cat. Instantly the cat’s sharp teeth closed on it, only to drop it the next instant! The cat sputtered and ran away, meowing.

Did that rather drastic procedure break the cat’s habit of catching and killing more birds? No. It was the cat’s nature to catch birds. Knight could not break Timmy’s bad habit by working on him externally.

The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. It is human nature to sin. For confirmation read your daily newspaper. Lopping off a twig or a branch here and there does not change humanity’s sinful nature. We must be changed inwardly before we will act right outwardly. Not external reformation, but inward regeneration is the answer to the human sin question. The great preacher George Whitefield, when asked why he preached so often on the text, “Ye must be born again,” replied that it was because ye must be born again!

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Acts 6:1-8

The life of any church cannot rise above the level of its leaders. Someone once wrote, “Like pastor, like people; like teachers, like students.” In my experience over the years it is the same in business. A business reflects the attitudes and leadership of its employers. So too does the church with its leadership. It becomes essential, therefore, that those upon whom God has placed the responsibility of leadership should be well qualified. Church leaders should not only possess eternal life, but in actuality life more abundant.

Satan hurls many obstacles in the path of a growing church. The treasurer of the first church betrayed the Lord, stole the offerings, and then committed suicide. The church continued to grow. The apostles were imprisoned, beaten, and threatened, but the church continued to grow. Two prominent members of the church, Ananias and Sapphira, were hypocrites. They lied about their offerings, but the church continued to grow. Then there arose dissension inside the church as they argued over the benevolence fund, and church growth stopped. Today, many in a spiritual church face just as many hardships with health issues, financial and even relationship issues; anything the enemy can use to get a spiritual people’s eyes off of Christ Jesus. However, the church can overcome the devil’s opposition from without, but it can never afford division within the fellowship, that is why love for the brethren (and sisters) is so important.

In Acts 6 when the disciples saw that the church fellowship was threatened, they called the congregation together and proposed a solution. The congregation would select seven spiritually qualified leaders. These leaders would handle the ministry of benevolence. The apostles then would give themselves to praying and proclaiming the Word of God.

The church family liked this solution. They selected seven men who were honest, Spirit filled, and wise. They laid their hands on them and prayed for the ministry they would perform.

Many believe that these men were the first deacons or elders ordained by the church. We know for certain that they were the first church leaders selected by the congregation in the New Testament. The result of their ministry was miraculous. A great number of people were saved, miracles took place, and it was evident that God was blessing the church because even some of the priests were also converted (Acts 6:7-8).

The church desperately needs leaders today! What are the qualities that should characterize those who hold office in the church? In Acts 6 the church leaders are described in essence as being saved, select, sincere, steadfast, and spiritual.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.