Elders and Deacons Part 1: The Tests of Spiritual Authority

This Week: "THE TESTS OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY"

But this morning we want to look a the issue of leadership. And this passage, this chapter, as I mentioned earlier, is in one of the pastoral epistles.
Timothy, a young pastor, an associate of Paul, is being instructed by the apostle Paul how he is to lead the church and what he is to do. And gives the qualifications for elders and deacons, and then we come to our text this morning which really lays groundwork for this whole idea of elders and deacons... officers in the church... leaders.
Because it gives us, really, a picture of what the church is to be. You know, for leaders to lead appropriately, they need to know where they're going. And these four verses really picture where the church is to be going... what it's to be about.
And so it serves as a great opportunity for us to look at this passage and for us in leadership to evaluate how we're doing. But for us as a congregation to say, "How are we doing; where do we need to make corrections and get back on course?".