Not a New Convert

In this week’s message from 1 Timothy 3, we see that an overseer must not be a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. He must be spiritually mature, like a tree that has felt the storm, and have a good reputation with those outside, submitting humbly to God’s will.

Turn with me once again, and I will read this passage that’s becoming more familiar each week. We’re going to be looking at verses 6 and 7 this morning, and this will finish up the little section on the qualification of elders or pastors, those who oversee a church.

This is God’s holy, inerrant word, beginning in 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1.

The Text1 Timothy 3:1–7

It is a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it’s a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 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? And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Let me ask the Lord to bless the reading of this word today.

Father, we thank you for the truth of your holy word. And Father, we thank you that as we recognize the truth of this word, for instructions given to churches, to your church, Father, that you give us the guidelines, you teach us, you help us to understand exactly what you want from us. And Father, as we look at these guidelines once again for those who oversee your church, we recognize, Father, that these are truths that should be true of all of us, that those who lead the church should be leading each of us into these same qualities, that this should become our nature given to us as we experience the truth of your word and as the truth of your word is applied to our hearts by your Spirit.

So today, Lord, we ask that as we look at this, we would understand truth that you have for us when it comes to leadership in a church, how that differs from the way it works in the world. And we pray, Lord, that as we come to understand, and Father, as we look into ourselves, that you would use these words to sanctify us, to perfect us, to make us more the people of God that we ought to be. Please bless us in these ways today. Thank you, Father, for the truth of your word. Speak this word into our hearts today by the power of your Spirit, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, there’s a great deal in this passage that we just read when it talks about the qualifications of an overseer, an elder, or a pastor of a church. It starts out by saying that if you desire that office, it’s something good that you’re looking to. And then it starts listing the standards, beginning with above reproach. And that literally means I can’t be taken down. I mean, Satan can’t take you down because there’s nothing to get a grip on you with. That’s the idea behind that word.

And then it gives all these character qualities that should be true in good measure in any man who aspires to the office of an elder. And all of these things, it seems, why is this so necessary? Well, as we closed out last week, it is God’s church. And what we’re talking about is something that is owned by God himself, and this is God’s standard.

And so you should measure up to these things, anyone who leads in the church, because it is God’s church that we’re working and seeking to protect and to receive the blessing from.

And so today, we’re looking at verses 6 and 7. And let me, before I read this, begin this: last week we did point out that these tests of character are first shown to be true in a man in his own household. And one of the places to look to see if this is true is, is this man the shepherd of his home? Because you have to be the shepherd of your home before you can be considered to be the shepherd of God’s house. And these things must be true in good measure there, and they will show up there in the home life of a person.

You can act in all different ways when you come together on a Sunday morning, and you can convince other people that you’re a pretty good person, and you can convince yourself that you are, but in your home life your character shows up. And so that’s where we were last week, as we were looking at these qualities. They must be realized in the man’s home: how he leads his wife, how he conducts his children, are his children believers, are they under control with dignity? We looked at all those things last week.

Today, we’re looking at another commandment for the church when you’re looking at the standards of those who will lead the church. In verse 6, it says, in my Bible it says:

Not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited.

That’s a bit of an interpretation, the way my Bible is translated. The King James says something like novice there. The Greek word that underlines it is the very word that we get the English word neophyte from, the idea of a beginner, an amateur.

If you play tennis and you go up against a tennis champion, you might want to let them know that you’re an amateur, if you are. If you’re a novice, new to the game, you’re not going to do too well against someone who’s very seasoned and experienced in the game. That’s true with any sport, it’s true with business, it’s true in every area of life, and it’s true spiritually.

What is the spiritual maturity of this person who aspires to the office of an elder, as the church considers this person being actually in that office, assuming those responsibilities for God’s people? Is this person spiritually mature? That’s the real question.

Spiritual Maturity

Elders are called elders in the Bible because they’re usually older. That’s the reason for the word. But an elder, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re aged. It means that they are spiritually mature. They’ve had some years of experience spiritually, and they’ve grown in the Lord. That’s the idea.

In Timothy, as Paul writes this letter to Timothy, you recognize that Timothy is not a very old man. In fact, the apostle encourages Timothy to not let anyone despise his youth. But Timothy is a man who is deeply seasoned in the Lord. He’s a man with great spiritual maturity. And so that’s the difference.

And so my translation says not a new convert. That would be a good indicator if the person’s just come to faith. You know how it is in churches. Somebody comes to faith, if they are a very gifted person, maybe they’re very charismatic and they’re a really gifted speaker, they can speak and engage people very easily, or maybe they’re good musicians, or whatever their gifts are. Those gifts aren’t everything.

Real often in our churches we focus on things like that rather than pay attention to this commandment. In fact, when churches operate, this is one of the principles. Most churches act as if this exhortation from God is not there at all. And by the way, this is essentially a commandment of God.

And so I need to call our church into accountability to this commandment of God, because this is the word of God and we should respond to it, because this is the word of the King. We should take this very seriously, because there’s good purpose in this.

Why Churches Ignore This Command

But many churches don’t act that way. In fact, the more contemporary churches have principles that they have put in place. If I generalize this just a little bit, I think you can see it, which is you put a person in church. There’s all kinds of responsibilities in a church. Some responsibilities in a church reflect the same responsibilities of an elder. An elder must be someone who is capable of teaching, for example.

And you can take a new believer. Some churches will do this. Put them into a role or teaching position where they are feeding other people the word of God that they really don’t know themselves.

Why do they do that? Why does that become the more common practice in lots of churches? Well, I can tell you, I read the church growth books every once in a while. Well, I used to, anyway. It’s been a long time, but I’ve read them.

And so one of the things that they say in those books, their rationale, I mean, why do they want to do it? Because people pass through the church all the time. They just don’t always stay. And when someone comes into your church and you give them something to do in the church and you make them feel important, you’ve got this function from now on, they tend to come back and stay. It keeps more people in the church.

In fact, when you look at any of those megachurch manuals, that’s entrenched in their practice. They do that. How do they rationalize that in light of this verse? Well, they say, well, we give these people these responsibilities, and those responsibilities, like if they teach someone, then that will cause them to grow spiritually. That’s how it’s rationalized. The purpose is mainly church growth.

This is saying something different. This is saying that the person who is put and given this responsibility like that are to be someone who is spiritually mature enough to handle it. And it’s not just new converts. Somebody might be a professing believer for years and not qualify.

Trees That Have Felt the Storm

When I was a teenager, my dad, who worked hard at his job, it wasn’t enough for him. He just loved to work. So he started this hobby of cutting down trees and selling. He would go to places, cut down trees, and sell the firewood. In the evenings he would spend time doing that, and I would help him. We’d cut down, there’d be places where you were allowed to cut wood, and so you’d cut down, they’re going to clear this area, and so I helped him with that.

One of the things that was interesting to me that I learned as a teenager was that you cut down those trees on the outside of the forest, and then two weeks later you come back, and some of those trees that you hadn’t cut down, because of the storm that passed through that week, those are laying on the ground. You didn’t have to cut them down.

Why is that? Because those trees on the outside have felt the winds of the storm all their life. And those trees on the inside have been sheltered, and they don’t have the roots or the strength. And so when the outside trees are cut away and the wind hits those inside trees, some of them just can’t handle it. Their roots aren’t strong enough.

And it just makes good sense. The person needs to be mature enough to handle the responsibilities they’re given. You wouldn’t trust a powerful sports car to a teenager if you were a wise parent. I don’t think you would do that. They have to have the experience before they’re given responsibility like that.

And so we need to recognize that God says don’t take a new believer or someone who’s not spiritually mature and place them into a role like an elder or an overseer.

And then he tells us the purpose of this. God’s purpose in giving this is that he might become puffed up with conceit. He might fall into the condemnation of the devil. So that’s a purpose clause. Paul is giving the purpose to explain this prohibition. And it’s an interesting explanation.

Clouded by Smoke

I’ve been thinking about this passage for this week, and yesterday we had a little family celebration for the Fourth of July. We were all there, and they set off in the afternoon, way before dark, some fireworks. And I noticed the smoke coming. They set off these fireworks, and all of a sudden I was enveloped in smoke.

Well, the reason that I remember that is because that’s essentially what this word that we have here:

Not a new convert, so they may not become puffed up or conceited.

That’s a very interesting little word, because the root idea of the word, which is not the meaning of the word, but the root idea of the word is that clouded by smoke is the idea. Smoke gets in your eyes and you can’t see too well. And this person is the person whose head is in those clouds of smoke. It’s the idea. They’re not dealing rightly with reality anymore.

What’s happened to them? Well, they’ve been given a place of responsibility, and say they’re very gifted. They have a wonderful, charismatic personality. You let them lead this class or preach a sermon, and everybody comes up and tells them how wonderful it is. And you know what happens? They think it was pretty wonderful after all. “You know, that was pretty good, what I did.”

And pretty soon, they’re trusting themselves. They aren’t trusting the Holy Spirit of God to lead them, to teach them, and to instruct them. They’re pursuing it themselves. And it is a terrible sin that it leads to such pride. They begin to get puffed up.

In 1 Corinthians 13, it tells us that:

Knowledge puffs up.

You can find a person who knows a great deal about the word of God who is not spiritually mature. And so when they begin to communicate the word of God, and people begin to tell them how wonderful it is, their knowledge of the word of God, then they’ll begin to be very proud in the things that they know. And it’s a terrible problem for them.

The Way the World Works

And the temptation is just naturally there. You put somebody in a place and give them a role, and they want to aspire to the next one, to get more acclaim, because that’s what happens in the world around us. You go get a job at any business, and you want to do well in that job. And so as you pursue that, there’s steps that you take. “I want to get the next job up. I’m ambitious in my work. I want to do well here. I want people to recognize me.”

So you work on your CV, so you’ve got a nice list of all your accomplishments and your educational levels and all these things. You try to impress people. There’s all kinds of sayings, like if you don’t take your seat at the table, somebody else will. Or if you don’t take your seat at the table, then you’ll be on the menu. There’s things like that.

The idea that you have to assert yourself. You have to press on. You want to be moving upward. “I want the next greater and higher thing.” And that’s not a very Christian way of thinking.

It’s easy to be blinded by the smoke, to not be able to see reality rightly and start thinking way too much of yourself and not recognizing the glory and grace of God.

C.S. Lewis pointed out that pride is a sin that you can easily see in other people, but is very difficult, almost never see in yourself. And he said among natural people, not Christians, they virtually never see it. They never see it. When they see it in someone else, they absolutely hate it, particularly if it’s so true of them. I think that’s generally true. I think that he’s exactly right about that.

A Different Principle

Contrast to that, there’s a different principle. Booker T. Washington, he’s got a famous quote, so I’ll just give it to you. He says, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” And that’s a little closer to the mark.

So don’t look at that business section at the bookstore about drawing attention to all your achievements. We need to look and get a good grasp of a biblical principle that Jesus gave us that we really, every one of us, needs to absorb. And you can find that in Mark 10:42–44.

And let me just give you the background before I read this little passage. James and John have gone to Jesus, and they say, “Can we sit on your left and right in the kingdom?” And there’s not exactly anything wrong with that. He said, “We want to do well. We want to be close to you when we get to heaven. We want to do what we can.”

And Jesus gives them private instruction there. And it’s kind of interesting, his instruction. He says, in order to do that, you’re going to need to drink the cup that I drink. And that’s a powerful thought. I’m sure he gave complete explanation to them. And he says, “You will drink that cup. You will drink it. But the place on my right and left, well, that’s not mine to give.”

And then something interesting happened. The other ten disciples hear about this, and they’re really upset, because they think they’re manipulating to get the higher place, and they don’t have it. They feel like they’re left out or trying to be cheated out of the higher place. They’re thinking about it the same way that a person in business wants to reach that higher level.

And Jesus has this to say. He calls them to him, these ten, and he says to them:

You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

That’s the principle. We need to understand that principle. We need to apply that principle.

Before we look at that a little bit more, let’s consider: what is the condemnation of the devil? What does that mean? Well, let me give you a little pointer when it comes to reading and interpreting God’s word. Whenever you get to a verse that has an of in it, or maybe a possessive, you have to look hard at it to figure out what’s going on, because it can get a little bit tricky.

The condemnation of the devil. Because you see, in that phrase, just as it is grammatically, it’s grammatically possible for the devil to be the one who is condemning. That would be a subjective use of the phrase. Or he’s the one who has been condemned.

And so, which is it here? Is he the one who condemns, or is he the one who has been condemned? And in this verse, it’s pretty certain that what this means is it’s the condemnation of God that the devil has received. It’s pretty clear that that’s the case here. For one thing, the devil may be a great accuser, but he’s not a judge.

And also, we have a pretty good example of the devil that explains why this was true. Why did he receive such condemnation?

I Will Ascend

There’s the story of Satan, the angel who fell, and his sin was pride. And pride was the very first sin. The first sin before any other sin was the sin that Satan committed when he, as this great archangel, this beautiful creature, the highest of all the angels, started thinking in his heart and started thinking very pridefully.

So it was Satan in Isaiah 14, verses 13 and 14. Satan says:

I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mount of the assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds,

Talk about having your head in the clouds.

and I will make myself like the Most High.

That’s Satan’s aspiration. He wants to be in the place of God, to rule everything. He wants his will and his way. Five times he says, “I will.” “I’ll ascend up. I’m headed up. I want the next thing up.”

* I will ascend to heaven. * I’ll raise my throne above the stars. * I’ll sit enthroned. * I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. * I will make myself like the Most High.

And Satan’s I will statements have been repeated billions of times. The angels who fell with him. Billions of men and women claiming, “I will ascend. I will be great.”

Pride like this was the sin, really the heart of Adam and Eve’s sin, when Satan tells them:

You will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Is that what happened? Did they end up like God? No, they ended up like Satan. They ended up pretty much like Satan. That’s the model and the pattern of the people in this world.

So pride made Satan want to ascend to the heavens, to the very throne of God, but the Bible says it brought him, in the next verse, in verse 15 of Isaiah, says:

Down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

He aspires to go up. He asserts himself in pride: “I’m going to claim this for myself.” And what ends up happening is he goes down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.

The Example of Our Lord Jesus

There’s a better example. It’s the example of our Lord Jesus. Jesus said:

I desire to do your will, O my God.

Jesus, the Son of God, the eternal Word, the Son of God, is in the form of God, it tells us in Philippians chapter 2. He’s in the form of God. He’s equal with God. He’s present with God. All the angels of heaven worship him. But that passage says that:

He didn’t count equality with God something to hold on to. But by taking the form of a servant, he’s born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbles himself.

He goes down further:

By becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

What was the outcome of that? Jesus, who has everything in glory, says, “I’m giving that up for other people, for people.” And what’s the outcome of that lowering of himself? The next verse says:

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee would bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

That’s the principle that Jesus teaches. It’s a terrific contrast. Satan exalts his own will, finds nothing but misery. He’s brought misery to others. And Jesus submits himself to the will of God and finds blessing, a great blessing for other people.

So, as Peter says:

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he might exalt you.

Well, the next thing is that to qualify as an elder, a man must have an excellent testimony or witness to the church outside. And I’m not going to develop that completely. I may do that tonight.

But basically, what does it mean? It means that the test moves from the man’s heart to his witness in the community. Does he have a good witness in the community? If he shares the gospel with someone, will they hear it? Or will they look at him and say, “Well, you don’t live that out yourself”? Is his testimony solid?

And when a person lacks integrity, he falls into the trap of the devil. He has to maybe cover his tracks. He hides his sin. He tells lies. He falls into a trap. And so the devil traps the person, neutralizes the power of the church.

If you put someone like that in responsibility in your church, your church will be discredited. As it’s happened, you look around and see all the examples of pastors and leaders in the church, and it’s a shame.

So as we close this morning, do you see the benefit of submitting yourself to God’s will? You see, every one of us, just to tell you the truth, every one of us tends to prefer our own will. It’s natural to tend to prefer your own will to God’s will. And when you come to faith, it’s the exercise of the Spirit of God that transforms that and changes it.

And even Christians continually struggle with this. You want what you want. God tells you what he wants. You can look at a passage like this that says don’t put a new person in office, but then you say, “Well, we are the exception to that. Look at this person. Look at all the people he knows and how many people he’ll influence.” And we can say that we’ve got great reason to not be obedient to God’s word because our will seems so good to us.

But it’s God’s word. It’s God’s will that matters. Jesus said:

I’ve come to do thy will, O God.

And we need to say the same, to conform our will to God’s will when we hear it. When the word of God tells us, the word of the King, we need to listen to it. We need to hear it. And when we do so, as we submit to God’s will, then we receive the blessing of God’s sanctifying grace.

When we confess our sins, because we see that the way we’re walking isn’t the way he would have us walk, and we confess that, truly repent of it, then the promise of God is that he will freely forgive us, and he restores us.

Let’s look to the Lord. All of us have willful thoughts. We need to be careful to conform them to God’s word.

Let me pray for us, and then I will pray for the elements as well as we pass them this morning.

Let me just say, if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you’re welcome to share the Lord’s table with us this morning as we celebrate it. If you are not a believer and not have trusted Christ, we would ask that you refrain from taking the elements today. But these are for Christians. It is for sinners who have trusted Christ as their Savior.

Let me pray for us.

Father, we thank you for this word from the Apostle Paul that you have given Paul as he speaks to us, really your word, your words, your guidelines. We ask, Father, that you give us the grace to hear them, to submit to them, and, Father, every one of us to conform our hearts and lives to the truth of your word. Help us, Lord Jesus, as we come to a better understanding of this.

We recognize, Lord, that you’re the one who measures all men and women, that every one of us is exposed before you. You know our thoughts just like you knew Satan’s thoughts. Father, there’s nothing that is hidden from your eyes. You see the depth of our sin. And Father, it is to you that we appeal this morning. As you have taught us, Lord, we pray that you lead us.

And Father, we pray that by the power of your Spirit, we would confess our sins, and Father, that we would find your way and that you would guide us into your truth, to our blessing and to the blessing of those that we are connected with to your church. Thank you for your church. Please bless us this morning.

And Father, as we take the bread and the cup this morning, we ask your great blessing. Help us, Father, to see the work of Christ that’s illustrated by the cup and by the bread, and help us, Lord, as we do so, to worship Christ. It’s an expression of his love that he gave us this ordinance. As we share the bread and the cup today, help us to recognize the grace that we’ve received in Jesus, and, Father, grow our love for you. We pray in the name of our Savior that his name may be glorified. Amen.