125 Qualified Defenders – part 2

1 Timothy 3:8-13

November 16, 2025

Tonight I want us to return again to our conversation

Regarding deacons in the church.

I TOLD YOU THIS MORNING THAT

· It is time for us to consider adding some deacons to our current deacon body.

· We are down to 5, and even though they have been faithful, even they will tell

you that they are getting older.

· Someone pointed out that Tommy is our youngest deacon (at least before we

added Daniel) and he’s over 70.

This morning we talked about the duty of a deacon.

It is admittedly hard to clearly define the duty of a deacon in the Bible.

· It’s never explicitly laid out.

· We know the word means “servant”

· But that is far from clarifying as to specific duties.

We even said that the text we looked at this morning is debated and scrutinized

As to whether those men were actually deacons or not.

We don’t argue that they were, but we do see that what they did

Very likely became a foundation for what the deacon ministry

Would one day become.

So as we looked briefly at the duty of a deacon,

We have settled on the idea that deacons are “Qualified Defenders”.

That is to say that they are defenders of the ministry of the word.

· They are NOT preachers or teachers.

· They are NOT required to be “able to teach” as Paul said about overseers.

· They are NOT required to be able to silence men who contradict as Paul told

Titus.

But clearly in Acts 6 they did take care of ministry needs to free up the apostles to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

One of the books that our deacons will be reading

As we go through the training process for our new deacons is

“Paul’s Vision For The Deacons” by Alexander Strauch.

As he debates and considers the role or function of a deacon

He actually prefers the term “assistants” as opposed to servants.

Since every believer in Christ is commanded to be a servant,

He would argue that you cannot just identify a deacon in that way.

He points out that the word for deacon is at times in the culture rendered “assistant” and that is how he prefers to see it.

I think we can agree with that,

Even regarding what we examined in Acts 6.

· They assisted in the ministry,

· In everything except the preaching and teaching,

· So that the flock would be cared for

· And the elders could devote themselves to prayer and preaching.

THAT IS A GREAT WAY TO LOOK AT IT.

So we see that these men serve in an assistant pastoral role to the flock,

And that explains why they must fit certain qualifications.

· They are more than just faithful church members who serve.

· They are men who carry out pastoral assistance on behalf of the elders and

thus must be qualified just as elders are.

That is what we see in 1 Timothy 3.

Paul outlines qualifications for OVERSEERS in verses 1-7,

Then in verse 8 he goes directly into qualifications for DEACONS.

He even begins with the words, “Deacons likewise…”

What is clear to us is that

· Both overseer and deacon are offices in the church.

· They are not the same office.

· They are both serious offices since they both have qualifications.

· These offices work together since their qualifications are nearly similar.

All of that only reinforces that the role of deacon

Does exactly what we have suggested from Acts 6.

They assist the elders.

They defend the ministry of the word

· By taking care of other ministries in order to free the elders up to fulfill it.

This is a very important ministry.

And it requires qualified men.

Tonight we want to examine those qualifications.

As you have been asked to nominate men for the role,

It is important to do so with these qualifications as your guide.

· No man is to be nominated just because he is well liked.

· No man is to be nominated out of some sense of reward as though he has

earned it.

· No man is to be nominated out of bias or with corrupt motives.

· No man is to be evaluated by worldly criteria.

THESE MEN ARE DOING PASTORAL WORK

· These men are going to be in homes.

· These men are going to be in hospitals.

· These men are going to encourage and help and minister.

· And they’re going to do it as ministers of First Baptist Church.

Picking the right kind of men is essential.

With that in mind, let’s look at the qualifications tonight.

I want to break them down into 4 categories.

#1 THE DEACONS FOCUS

1 Timothy 3:8-9

Clearly when you read those two verses

There are some character issues that sort of come at you instantly.

And we don’t want to miss that.

“Deacons likewise must be men of dignity”

“dignity” is (sem-NOS).

It means venerable or honorable or grave or honest.

Alexander Strauch comments on the qualification by saying:

“It describes a person whose attitudes and conduct win the admiration of others. It refers to a respectable, well-thought-of person. The New International Version better renders the term as “worthy of respect”.

A good example of a man who was “worthy of respect” was Timothy. Luke wrote that: “He was well spoke of by the brothers” (Acts 16:2). Timothy’s character had earned him a good reputation, which is most commendable in a young man. This attribute qualified Timothy to travel with Paul and assist him with his gospel mission.”

(Strauch, Alexander [Paul’s Vision for the Deacons, BER; Colorado Springs, CO; 2017] pg. 89-90)

And that makes sense to us.

If Timothy was going to be an extension of Paul’s ministry

Then certainly he needed to be worthy of respect.

That is true of anyone who is going to minister in the name of the Lord or of our church.

· There must be respect there.

· We certainly would not ordain a man whom no one respects.

Paul also said, “not double-tongued”

That Greek word is (DE-lagos)

Literally it means “saying the same thing twice”

Matthew 5:37 “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”

It would be a man whose integrity is so recognized

That he doesn’t have to double down to get you to believe him.

It also carries the idea of consistency.

That you don’t say one thing to one person and another to someone else.

James 3:8-12“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”

James pointed out the obvious inconsistency

Of a man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth.

Often times in ministry

You are called upon to deal with dissension or unhappy people.

· A man who tells everyone what they want to hear is of no benefit to the church.

· You don’t have to be rude or blunt but you do have to be consistent.

· You don’t need a man in such a position who lacks the character or consistency to speak the truth in all situations.

Paul continues. “or addicted to much wine”

We can have all the debates about Jesus turning water into wine.

We can point out how Paul doesn’t even here prohibit all wine.

It is clear even from this letter to Timothy that at the very least some wine was needed to purify the water.

1 Timothy 5:23 “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”

So we’re not going to get into some sort of traditional Baptist debate here

You may have noticed on our Church’s App

There is a section called “Recommendations” where we put links and articles and videos and stuff that bring further study opportunities.

I’ve put several in there regarding deacons

For you to read or examine as you nominate men to serve.

There are a few videos from John Piper in there, and I like how he addresses this issue.

He defines it as men who are “preoccupied with alcohol”.

https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/qualifications-for-deacons

That’s a good way to put it.

· They may not be drunks.

· But you don’t really want a guy who is preoccupied with drinking either.

· The guy always holding a beer in his Facebook pictures.

· The guy always having wine at dinner.

· The guy commenting on different types of drink.

We all know the problematic stumbling block that alcohol is to so many in our culture and even the sinful connotation that often comes with it.

That’s just the point here.

There are things that aren’t necessarily sinful, but they are risky,

And for the sake of ministry Paul addresses it.

As you consider men as deacons

We want men who are not preoccupied with alcohol.

The same can be said for this next qualification. “or fond of sordid gain”

I like the old King James translation of “filthy lucre”.

They can’t be preoccupied with wine,

But they can’t be preoccupied with money either.

WHY?

Because lots of money passes through the church.

We all remember the problem of Judas:

John 12:6 “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”

You take those men in Acts 6

· Who were put in charge of feeding the widows.

· You certainly want men who can handle all the money it’s going to take to feed

them.

BUT IT’S NOT JUST THAT.

Men who are going to be in charge of money

Need to have the right kind of attitude regarding money.

The church’s objective is not to make money or even save money.

I do realize the church has monetary responsibilities

And so we don’t just throw it out as soon as it comes in either…

But the church is here for ministry, not to get rich.

Luke 16 is all about money,

And a great reference chapter to our understanding of how Jesus expected His people to deal with money.

It starts with the parable of that unrighteous manager

· Who was squandering his master’s money.

· When he found out he was about to be fired he took quick and decisive action to relieve some debts in such a way that it would make him some friends.

· He knew if he got fired he’d need some friends.

Jesus responds to that action.

Luke 16:9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

Jesus taught us that money is NOT to be horded,

It IS to be used and especially used for eternal purposes.

The chapter ends with that story of the rich man and Lazarus.

But I think one of the most telling portions of the chapter is:

Luke 16:14-15 “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

· Clearly you don’t want Pharisees as deacons.

· Clearly you don’t want men who are too preoccupied with money.

So those first 4 criteria all have a character connotation to them.

We could even skip down to verse 12

· Which says, “Deacons must be husbands of only one wife” and speak about the moral requirement of no adultery.

There is a character evaluation that must take place with each man.

· We see that he is a man of integrity.

· We see that he is a man of honesty.

· We see that he has self-control.

· We see that he is not greedy.

But I DON’T want you to think that

The idea here is only of moral evaluation.

THERE IS MORE HERE THAN THAT.

A man might check the moral boxes

And still not be a good fit as a deacon.

And that is made clear to us by the way Paul introduces verse 9.

He says, “but…”

So now Paul is giving us a comparison.

He is giving us a contrast to the type of man described in verse 8.

“but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

That is to say:

· We don’t want a verse 8 type of guy,

· We want a verse 9 type of guy.

· We don’t want a man of the world who has no respect, lies, loves to drink, and is greedy for money.

· We want a man of God who holds to the gospel and believes it.

In other words, we want someone who is REAL.

Not a Christian in word, but a Christian in deed.

WE DON’T WANT

· One of those Pharisees who seats themselves in the chair of Moses

· But who really only loves praise, devours widows houses, loves money, condemns the innocent, etc.

That would be the wrong kind of guy to select.

WE WANT A MAN OF GOD.

“holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.”

“the mystery of the faith” is just another title for the gospel.

Romans 16:25-27 “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.”

Colossians 1:26-27 “that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

1 Corinthains 2:6-7 “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;”

Paul referred to it as a mystery because though it was seen in the Old Testament,

It was hidden from the eyes of man until the Holy Spirit brought illumination.

Once the Spirit of God moved in and eyes were opened,

The mystery of the gospel became clear.

Paul is talking about gospel driven men.

They know and hold to the truth.

And they hold to it “with a clear conscience”.

That is to say,

· They believe it.

· They live it.

· They measure their lives by it.

It doesn’t matter if a man has been successful in business…

It doesn’t matter if a man has a great amount of fame…

It doesn’t matter if a man is very popular…

Such things are of no account in the church.

And simply being moral men is still not enough.

Not drinking, not womanizing, not lying, having a good reputation…

We are looking for men who know the gospel

And let it direct their lives.

This idea of “clear conscience”

Is a pretty big concept to Paul.

Even in his letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

1 Timothy 1:19 “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.”

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,”

2 Timothy 1:3 “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,”

You see that it has to do with men who know the truth and stand on it.

· They are men who do not abandon the truth of the gospel.

· They are men who do not deny the truth of the gospel.

And that is why we say the first criteria

Has to do with the DEACON’S FOCUS.

· The reason he is trustworthy…

· The reason he is honest…

· The reason he is not preoccupied with money or alcohol…

IS BECAUSE THE GOSPEL HAS TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE.

SO WHAT IS THE FOCUS OF THE MAN’S LIFE?

As you consider what men to nominate as deacons in the church,

· Don’t nominate a man whose focus is on the world,

· Nominate a man whose focus is on the gospel.

You’re nominating someone to serve as an assistant in pastoral ministry,

You need a man who is focused on such things.

The Deacon’s Focus

#2 THE DEACON’S FAITHFULNESS

1 Timothy 3:10-11

Here see that not only should the right type of men be selected,

But they should all be “tested”.

It’s a word that means examined or scrutinized.

Luke 14:19 “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’”

· There it is “try them out”.

THAT’S WHAT MUST HAPPEN.

The men who are nominated will certainly pass through some scrutiny at the hands of the current deacons in case there are some character issues that are unknown to the congregation.

And Paul says they must be “above reproach”

That does not mean perfect, it simply means

· He keeps a clear account.

· He has no outstanding moral debts

· Mistakes are repented of and abandoned

· He’s the real deal

BUT THEN, THEY WILL BE TESTED OR TRIED OUT.

It’s like a probationary period.

You’ve got to see whether or not they will do the job?

A man may have a great resume,

But if he won’t do the job he’s of no use to the position.

SO THEY ARE TESTED.

What are we looking for?

Well, how faithfully and well do they minister?

· Do they visit the flock?

· Do they care for the church?

· Do they meet pressing needs?

· Do they rightly handle money issues?

If we were to apply Acts 6 here we’d ask, “Did they feed the widows?”

WELL THAT’S IT HERE.

How faithful will they be to the ministry of the church?

I think it should stand without saying that you want deacons

Who are faithful to the church and the ministry of the church.

It should certainly start with ATTENDANCE.

· We have Sunday School, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.

· We have youth and VBS and Disciple Still and ministries like that.

· There are prayer ministries.

· There are children’s ministries.

But there should also be INVOLVEMENT.

· If a man is to be ordained and recognized as a deacon he ought to be

committed to such ministries.

IS HE FAITHFUL?

Now, when we come to verse 11 we get to a CONTROVERSIAL segment.

For years the King James translated it “their wives”

· It was treated as though verse 11 meant that a deacon’s wife also had to fit

certain qualifications.

First of all, let me say, IN A SENSE THAT IS TRUE.

You’re going to see down in verse 12 that a deacon’s family is going to be evaluated.

So we don’t just ordain a man without looking at his family.

However, verse 11 is NOT talking about a deacon’s wife.

For one, there is no possessive pronoun in the Greek.

· The word is just “women”. (Not his woman or his wife)

Secondly, it would be really strange for deacon’s wives to have criteria to fulfill but overseers wives to not have any.

No, it is much more probable that

Paul was referring her to female deacons.

Romans 16:1 “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea;”

To which you would rightly ask:

· Then why don’t we have women deacons?

· Why aren’t we ordaining women deacons?

And the answer is because in the Baptist church

There seems to be some confusion regarding the role.

In the Baptist church deacons are often given an element of authority.

· Most decisions pass through the deacon body.

· Most recommendations come from the deacon body.

· Deacons overlook committees.

In essence deacons have often operated

In some sort of authoritative capacity in the church.

We’ve discussed this before, but in the church that role is for the elders, a plurality of elders who according to 1 Timothy 5:17 do have authority in the church.

Deacons are not given such authority in the Scripture

Therefore it is perfectly obvious why you would have women deacons.

There are some tasks that would just be far more suited there,

Especially as it came to caring for widows.

But since 1 Timothy 2:12 forbids women from having authority in the church we cannot, under our current structure ordain women as deacons.

Should we ever transition to an elder model,

On that day women deacons should be ordained.

But that is a longer conversation for a different time.

THE POINT to be made here is that the focus is still on FAITHFULNESS.

Paul says, “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.”

We are talking about the deacon’s faithfulness.

· Faithful to the church.

· Faithful to the ministry.

· Faithful to Christ.

If these men are to be assistants in ministry

Then faithfulness is required.

So we test them to see if they are faithful.

The Deacon’s Focus, The Deacon’s Faithfulness

#3 THE DEACON’S FAMILY

1 Timothy 3:12

Here is another widely debated point of contention.

In fact for many churches it seems to be the only criteria that is ever evaluated.

“Deacons must be husbands of only one wife”

Some say, it means polygamy. (as in “one wife at a time”)

· Certainly that would be included.

· But later in 1 Timothy 5:9 widows are told to be the “wife of one man” and since polygamy was never a woman with multiple husbands it would stand to reason that polygamy is not first on Paul’s mind.

The word simply means “a one-woman man”

And that is a wide connotation and doesn’t always clarify a lot.

Simply what we want to know is

Whether the man is faithful to his wife.

· You certainly don’t want a man who is a flirt or a womanizer.

· Pornography would be a definite disqualifier.

· A man having an affair would disqualify.

For years the only thing that has seemed to matter

Is if a man has been divorced.

But that is perhaps too broad and too short-sighted.

· What about men whose divorce was permitted in Scripture?

· What about men who were divorced years ago and have a track record of faithfulness?

· What about men who were divorced even before they were saved?

I know the brow beating and staunch debating that goes on here,

I used to be one of them.

But as I consider what men like Timothy and Titus were up against,

I have certainly lessoned my harshness.

Timothy and Titus were ministering in cultures that had very recently been pagan.

· All of the men of their church were relatively new converts, at least in the last

10-20 years.

Can you really hold a man to be permanently disqualified

For the life that he lived before he even knew Christ?

Now, that doesn’t mean if a man had an affair last month,

And got saved last week

That we’re going to make him a deacon tomorrow.

Obviously there is some wisdom to be applied

Regarding reasons for a divorce and timing of the divorce, etc.

But the main thrust is that when you look at this man is he faithful to his wife?

Is he a one-woman man?

WHY?

Because the way he loves and serves his wife

Is a great indicator of how he’s going to love Christ’s wife.

And that is true for his children as well.

Paul says:

“and good managers of their children and their own households.”

That is the same thing Paul said about overseers and there he explained it.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),”

It makes sense doesn’t it?

How he manages his children is a good indicator

How he will care for God’s children.

This goes right with the testing aspect introduced up in verse 10.

We want men who are faithful.

· Faithful to the church.

· Faithful to their wife.

· Faithful to their family.

They rightly manage their family and that gives us hope that

They will rightly manage the ministry they are assigned.

And that MANAGER ROLE in the family encompasses it all.

· It denotes that he is a good provider.

· It denotes that he gives his time to his family.

· It denotes that he rightly disciplines his family.

· It denotes that he rightly encourages and instructs his family.

· It denotes that he rightly leads his family.

· It denotes that he rightly loves his family.

ALL OF THAT IS IN PLAY.

Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

So you examine his family to examine his faithfulness.

· A man who isn’t faithful to his wife is disqualified.

· A man who can’t manage his children is disqualified.

And as I said, when we studied elders a few months ago in Titus.

I DON’T hold to permanent life-long disqualifications.

I know some do, but I don’t.

Now certainly you can’t be hasty.

1 Timothy 5:22 “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.”

· We don’t quickly look past things that disqualified a man and we are not quick

to ordain,

· But we don’t condemn forever either.

Our very religion is one of redemption and grace.

We read every week the writings of apostles who denied the Lord,

Who persecuted the church, committed acts of terrorism,

And once extorted the poor.

But they were redeemed men and usable to Christ after a time.

WE HOLD TO THE SAME.

· We examine a man,

· Perhaps the last several years,

· We want men who have been redeemed

· And who will faithfully serve Christ’s church.

Certainly their reputation matters, we saw that in verse 8,

And the road to redemption may be slow,

But ultimately we want men who are faithful.

So we see the deacon’s focus, the deacon’s faithfulness, and the deacon’s family.

#4 THE DEACON’S FRUITION

1 Timothy 3:13

THIS IS THE END RESULT.

This is why it matters that the church get this right.

Paul says:

“For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves”:

TWO THINGS:

“a high standing”

(kal-OS bath-MOS)

A beautiful influence.

A good influence.

An approved influence

That is to say, when you ordain a man as a deacon

And he goes out and serves in the role,

He’s going to obtain a voice of influence in the church.

It’s like Paul said about women being saved through the bearing of children.

A woman can’t teach or have authority in the church but no one denies her influence.

After a man visits in the home or visits in the hospital

Those who are visited

Are going to have a greater appreciation of what he has to say.

This is why deacons are often so loved and appreciated

And listened to in the church, and rightly so.

But it is also why you must be selective who you pick.

He also says that deacons will “obtain for themselves”

“great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

“confidence” is (par-ray-SIA)

It is defined as “freedom in speaking;

openly without concealment; boldness; confidence”

YOU SEE IT IN:

Mark 8:32 “And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.”

John 7:13 “Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.”

That is what a deacon is going to earn.

· He’s going to earn a great reputation.

· He’s going to gain great influence.

· He’s going to be afforded the right to speak confidently.

You see that in our deacons now don’t you?

Does the church not pay attention when something comes from the deacons?

· If one of our deacons speaks up, does the congregation not weigh it a little more heavily?

· They have influence.

· They have earned a right to be heard.

WELL YOU SEE WHY IT MATTERS WHO YOU SELECT.

· You certainly do not want a worldly man gaining such influence.

· You certainly do not want a lying man gaining such influence.

· You certainly do not want a drunk or a greedy man gaining such influence.

· You certainly do not want an adulterous man gaining such influence.

· You certainly do not want a man who can’t manage his family gaining such

influence.

YOU DEFINITELY WANT GODLY, FAITHFUL MEN IN SUCH A ROLE.

So church, we need you to evaluate the men of our congregation

According to the qualifications that God has set forth

And we need you to nominate men to serve as deacons.

Men, if you are nominated and you fit the qualifications,

WE NEED YOU TO SERVE.

THIS CHURCH NEEDS MORE DEACONS.

· Someone has to do it.

· Someone has to step into the role.

There will be examination.

There will be training.

I NEED YOU to do it

So that you might allow me to devote myself to prayer and preaching.

THE CHURCH NEEDS YOU to do it

So that they might not be overlooked.

And we commit this to prayer that God might guide our steps.