1 Timothy 3:7
7 Moreover [de] [kai] he [autos] must [dei] have [echo] a good [kalos] report [marturia] of [apo] them which are without; [exothen] lest [hina me] he fall [empipto] into [eis] reproach [oneidismos] and [kai] the snare [pagis] of the devil. [diabolos] KJV-Interlinear
7 And he must have a good
reputation with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into reproach
and the snare of the devil. NASB
The spiritual leader
must be consistent in the pattern of his life.
The word for reputation,
maturia, is derived from the word for martyr. But here he is not dying physically, separating
himself from life, because of what he believes, he is instead separating himself
from the many temptations that surround him in the world.
Reputation means
consistency within the pattern of ones life.
The spiritual teacher
cannot be a fraud.He cannot compromise
spiritual principles for fame, for fortune, for sensuous activities, for carousing
in social venues, and such activities.
He cannot take
advantage of youngsters, or widow women, or do things
that serve his own ego.
And of course this not
only applies within the sphere of those he knows, but also in other places
where he might be tempted to go, just to hide his activities. Other places such as outside his circle of acquaintances,
or in another town, etc.
His activities must be
open and public.He cannot go into the
local house of ill repute, spend the night or a hour,
and then come out and say that he was there for Jesus. Standing outside with a sign Repent, is one
thing, but going inside for a more personal confession is quite another. If you understand the
message here.
And of course this
applies to all believers with regard to their personal behavior in life. No one has the right to live two lives, one
of sin and one of virtue.The two do not
mix.
We just finished Rev.
2:14.That principle of compromising
ones principles applies for everyone.
The consistent
spiritual life, or pattern of life, must manifest itself in the personal life
of the spiritual teacher, just as it does in his public life. No Jeckle and Hyde personality
games.
Christians will face
lots of temptations, so going out and finding and adding others into the mix
will not help.
First, they face the
temptation of discouragement.People will
come and go in their ministry.That is a
fact of life.Things will go right and
things will go wrong in ones personal and public
life. It is the devils world. You have to learn to deal with all types of
discouragements and disappointments.
Maturity helps in this regard.
Second, Christians will
be tempted toward indifference. Often times we cannot see the end result. Many things do not go as planned, so why
bother?
Third, Christians face
the temptation of busy laziness.They do
what they want to do, not what they need to do.
Fourth, Christians are
tempted to compromise. They avoid saying what ought to be said for the sake of
pleasing others (political correctness).
They avoid doing things that they ought to be doing, because it is
easier to be irresponsible, as it were, rather than responsible.
In order to avoid these
and many more faults and failures in life, the Christian, especially leaders
more than anyone, need to keep the armor of God on at all times, Eph 6:11. That is to stay alert (confession) stay
focused (fellowship) and stay in obedience (Bible study).
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