What is the Church Supposed to be Like?
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.TIT.1.5-9
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL READING
What is the Church Supposed to be Like?
What is the church supposed to be like? We all have our opinions. We may wish our church did more of this or that, or less of it. We may wish for a church that is more sensitive or more evangelistic or more “seeker friendly.” But what does God want the church to be like? Does He say anywhere in the Bible? The answer is yes—in the Pastoral Epistles: First and Second Timothy and Titus.
In these three little letters, we find a descriptive and prescriptive pattern for church and ministry. That is, we find not only an example of life in an early Christian congregation, but also a divinely appointed set of directives for how we are to live and minister among God’s people.
These books teach us about church administration, public worship, and qualifications for ministers, elders, and deacons; the role of women in the work of the church; who ought to provide for the needy, and how; how to give spiritual counsel to both older and younger men and women; the importance of sound doctrine; the demands of consecrated living; the value of creeds and confessions. They also reveal the closing activities in the life of the apostle Paul and the nature of church life at the end of the first century.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote these letters for our instruction, and God expects us to pattern our life and ministry on them. He’s not simply making suggestions, but rather laying down a permanent pattern for Christian ministry.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL READING IS PULLED FROM: NIV Storyline Bible
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