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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | pastors and deacons | Titus 1:6 | isaiah4031nc | 158824 | ||
Why is it in quilifaction for pastor and deacons that every one stop at the husband of one wife and then tell me what man would fit the quilifaction of being blameless who is blameless but Jesus Himself, havent most of us did things that would make us to be be blamed for something? And also where does Gal. 6:1-2 and where does restoration come into play. Does not Restoration mean to put into place that one once was. And if not why is it that every sin can be forgivene and true repentence can be established in every thing but divorces ? | ||||||
2 | pastors and deacons | Titus 1:6 | Makarios | 158825 | ||
Greetings Isaiah4031nc, True, the Bible does say that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But the qualifications for elders and deacons (or pastors, if you will) were given by Paul so that the church would have some type of guidelines for choosing able and spiritually lead people to lead the church, and there is arguably no better representation of a person's spiritual status than that which is reflected in his or her own life. Even with that said, Paul was not referring to sinless perfection in Titus 1:6 when he said the word "blameless", but to a personal life that is beyond legitimate accusation and public scandal, since neither one of those would be benefitial for leadership, serving only as a public distraction. Now, I believe that the phrase "husband of one wife" literally means "a one woman man", and possibly does not mean "married only once" (as the original RSV stated) nor "must be married" (you can't be single) as disqualifications for church leadership. Notice that the qualifications also include the children and their faith as well as their behavior, which proves that Paul was putting an emphasis on the 'overall character' of the candidate rather than one or two things that may or may not prove a person as qualified for leadership. Hurt, pain and sin are unavoidable in life, and no one can choose a path that is entirely free of those three. I, for one, believe that it is not and should not be impossible for a man who has once fallen (say divorce, for example) to be completely disqualified for service to the Lord, even to be a pastor. Charles Stanley is one example that comes to mind. He keeps on preaching even though his wife left him and quietly divorced him. But I do know for a fact that such an emotionally trying ordeal that a divorce is leaves pain and many scars to deal with as life goes on, and you tend to be shaped by many things, including that pain that you hold inside and continue to have to deal with. And that, my friend, is the very thing that is worrisome to a church board or D.S. or whatever; the very fact that your situation has been compromised (your marriage) tends to set off some 'warning flags,' and the reason why they don't appoint you at once is because they feel that you haven't gotten past your pain, you haven't put all of that behind you. And if you are still dealing with that yourself, still hurting yourself, still punishing yourself, then how can you be expected to deal with another family's divorce in the congregation that you hope to lead? The recovery from a divorce is a healing process that takes many a lifetime to get over. Pastors, deacons and elders are not "supermen." They are ordinary people, even fallible people at times. And sometimes it just takes people longer to recover and get over their past so that they can be useful in that specific office again. I post this in love and not to ridicule in any way, and I pray that you take this to heart. Please stop punishing yourself for the past, and know that Christ took your divorce upon Himself, along with all of your other sins and the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), and took those to grave with Him. The quicker you can release yourself from the bondage of your past, the quicker that you will be back towards doing (and showing that you can do) that which you believe that you were called to do. Blessings to you, Makarios |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Titus 1:6 | Author | ||
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vonroskie | ||
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RobS | ||
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bluemystic338 | ||
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sotmhg | ||
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isaiah4031nc | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Pmjohnson | ||
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Pmjohnson |