1 00:00:00,278 --> 00:00:13,942 We are in 1 Timothy chapter three and we've just finished up the section on the qualifications for elders and we'll be headed into the qualifications for deacons this 2 00:00:13,942 --> 00:00:14,742 morning. 3 00:00:14,742 --> 00:00:16,902 But let's begin with a word of prayer. 4 00:00:18,043 --> 00:00:30,476 Our gracious Father in heaven, we bow before your throne grateful for the day that you have blessed us with, grateful for all that you have given us on a daily basis. 5 00:00:30,772 --> 00:00:36,554 mindful of your blessings and the opportunities that we have to serve you. 6 00:00:36,554 --> 00:00:50,140 We pray that we will be diligent in service, that we will be mindful of our responsibilities and our duty, that we know that while we must complete the things that 7 00:00:50,140 --> 00:00:56,443 you have told us to do, they do not replace the fact that salvation is a gift from you. 8 00:00:56,443 --> 00:00:59,372 And we're grateful for your grace. 9 00:00:59,372 --> 00:01:02,684 that has been extended to us through the blood of Jesus Christ. 10 00:01:02,724 --> 00:01:07,257 We're mindful of those who may be out on the roads in the rain and uh traveling. 11 00:01:07,257 --> 00:01:10,528 We pray that they reach their destination safely. 12 00:01:10,549 --> 00:01:15,631 We also pray for the evangelism opportunities that are going on in this congregation. 13 00:01:15,631 --> 00:01:27,148 For each individual on a card, on a name, or by name that is being prayed for, we pray that those opportunities will bear fruit and also that we will 14 00:01:27,148 --> 00:01:29,761 be diligent in sowing the seed. 15 00:01:30,042 --> 00:01:33,386 All this we pray and ask in Jesus' name, amen. 16 00:01:35,566 --> 00:01:37,542 1 Timothy chapter 3 17 00:01:40,032 --> 00:01:48,578 Paul transitions in verse 8 from discussing elders to discussing deacons. 18 00:01:49,299 --> 00:01:58,195 So my first question is, as he begins, likewise, deacons must be reverent. 19 00:02:00,241 --> 00:02:14,601 As he's given these instructions concerning elders, what was the very first thing that had to be true about someone in order for them to be qualified to be an elder? 20 00:02:16,939 --> 00:02:18,856 They had to desire the work. 21 00:02:20,767 --> 00:02:33,484 when he says likewise, he's carrying over much of the things that are naturally true about this type of role from elders to deacons. 22 00:02:34,345 --> 00:02:38,747 But there are some specific qualifications for deacons. 23 00:02:39,428 --> 00:02:41,099 Let me ask something else. 24 00:02:43,445 --> 00:02:45,322 Why are they called deacons? 25 00:02:47,649 --> 00:02:48,960 Maybe I should ask it another way. 26 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:54,434 Is deacon an English word or not? 27 00:02:55,515 --> 00:03:01,379 So elder is, shepherd is, overseer is, those are all English words. 28 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,901 Is deacon an English word? 29 00:03:05,432 --> 00:03:06,443 Correct. 30 00:03:06,443 --> 00:03:08,304 It is a Greek word. 31 00:03:08,304 --> 00:03:15,848 So translators sometimes get on my nerves, okay? 32 00:03:16,569 --> 00:03:22,013 Because historically they're rather spineless, okay? 33 00:03:22,013 --> 00:03:34,761 They will translate the word of God until you get to something that in their minds the world of Christianity disagrees on and then they just go, well, 34 00:03:35,147 --> 00:03:45,300 Instead of translating the word, we're just gonna opt out and we're going to replace it letter for letter from the Greek alphabet to the English alphabet and create a word that 35 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:51,482 doesn't exist in the English language because then we don't have to tell you what it means. 36 00:03:52,242 --> 00:03:53,242 Okay? 37 00:03:53,903 --> 00:03:58,384 The word baptism is not an English word. 38 00:03:58,824 --> 00:04:01,885 It is the Greek word baptizo. 39 00:04:03,084 --> 00:04:16,585 Transliterated, that means replaced letter for letter because the world of Christianity in the 1600s when the English King James Version in 1611 was being translated, even before 40 00:04:16,585 --> 00:04:21,413 that, the Bishop's Bible in the 1500s, disagreed on what... 41 00:04:21,893 --> 00:04:23,504 Some said, well, it's immersion. 42 00:04:23,504 --> 00:04:24,884 Some said it was sprinkling. 43 00:04:24,884 --> 00:04:26,455 Some said it was pouring. 44 00:04:26,455 --> 00:04:29,876 And some said, well, that baptism's the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 45 00:04:29,876 --> 00:04:31,736 This baptism's baptism with water. 46 00:04:31,736 --> 00:04:36,227 So instead, and they didn't use the word baptism because that's not the word they would've used. 47 00:04:36,227 --> 00:04:38,998 They immersion, pouring, sprinkling. 48 00:04:38,998 --> 00:04:41,059 So they said, here's what we do. 49 00:04:41,059 --> 00:04:43,839 ah We're not gonna translate the word. 50 00:04:44,740 --> 00:04:49,661 We're just gonna substitute the letters for the word and leave it up to the theologians to figure it out. 51 00:04:51,167 --> 00:05:12,211 So instead of having the honesty and the courage to disagree with popular opinion and translate the word in accordance with the language and the context, they said, yeah, not 52 00:05:12,211 --> 00:05:13,052 touching that. 53 00:05:13,052 --> 00:05:19,416 Here, here's a word where we've transliterated it instead of translating it. 54 00:05:21,377 --> 00:05:29,171 when it comes to deacons, what would have been the controversy that would have caused them to not translate the word? 55 00:05:35,209 --> 00:05:35,649 Okay? 56 00:05:35,649 --> 00:05:54,971 uh By the way, they do translate the word about half of the time because diakonos, which is the word, is translated as servant in many places in scripture, till you get to 57 00:05:54,971 --> 00:06:02,335 passages having to do with the role of a position like a deacon. 58 00:06:02,739 --> 00:06:14,769 in all of those places where they determined that it was best to identify the role, they didn't translate it because some religious groups hold deacons as above elders and elders 59 00:06:14,769 --> 00:06:16,000 are below deacons. 60 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,204 Some religious groups hold deacons are men only and some they're men and women. 61 00:06:21,204 --> 00:06:22,525 And so they just opted out. 62 00:06:22,525 --> 00:06:28,770 They said, here's the word and provided a great deal of confusion because guess what? 63 00:06:28,870 --> 00:06:32,893 That word they translate other places and didn't translate here. 64 00:06:33,941 --> 00:06:45,586 So from this discussion and from this failure to translate, you have discussions as to, well, can women be deacons? 65 00:06:46,607 --> 00:06:47,768 Can women hold a role? 66 00:06:47,768 --> 00:06:54,250 Because there's the word that is used elsewhere to describe people like Phoebe. 67 00:06:54,791 --> 00:06:59,531 She was a servant, because that's the translation. 68 00:06:59,531 --> 00:07:00,702 That's what the word means. 69 00:07:00,702 --> 00:07:05,683 She was a servant in the church and Paul addresses her by name. 70 00:07:06,684 --> 00:07:17,909 But because the word servant is used one place and the word servant over here is used to describe a specific role, over here they just didn't translate it. 71 00:07:18,229 --> 00:07:20,450 So of course, what do some other translators do? 72 00:07:20,450 --> 00:07:25,232 Well, they come along and they say, well, you know, if we're not gonna translate it over there, here's Phoebe. 73 00:07:25,232 --> 00:07:26,923 I'm gonna call her a deaconess. 74 00:07:30,047 --> 00:07:39,562 And more confusion arises because translators don't have a lot of courage to just leave it what it is. 75 00:07:40,223 --> 00:07:46,326 A deacon is a servant or minister. 76 00:07:46,326 --> 00:07:49,868 That's what the word should be translated as in English. 77 00:07:49,968 --> 00:07:59,617 Now, a minister, we often in our current terminology think minister and we think, okay, that means a preacher. 78 00:07:59,617 --> 00:08:05,081 Well, that's not necessarily how historically in the English language you would have understood that. 79 00:08:05,282 --> 00:08:12,147 A minister is someone who is, let's use the verb form, ministering to the needs of others. 80 00:08:12,147 --> 00:08:15,470 They're serving someone else, okay? 81 00:08:15,470 --> 00:08:22,856 So you could have a minister of the gospel and he would be a preacher or an evangelist. 82 00:08:22,856 --> 00:08:28,865 You can have a minister of earthly needs and that person would be. 83 00:08:28,865 --> 00:08:32,968 maybe helping feed people, maybe doing things on behalf of people. 84 00:08:32,968 --> 00:08:47,137 You could have someone ministering to the widows in Acts chapter six and they would be serving the widow's daily needs, okay? 85 00:08:47,278 --> 00:08:57,925 So you have the word servant, you have the word minister, and they both derive themselves in the English Bible from the word deacon, okay? 86 00:08:58,291 --> 00:09:01,942 A diakonos is one who is a servant, okay? 87 00:09:01,942 --> 00:09:11,345 Now, let's see if we can understand where one word is used to be specific and one word is used to be generic and they're the same words. 88 00:09:11,765 --> 00:09:23,339 Do you know of a scenario where someone can be an elder and not have to meet the qualifications of being an elder? 89 00:09:26,241 --> 00:09:34,227 Careful, we're looking for times where a word can be used two different ways to talk about two different people, but it be the same word. 90 00:09:36,531 --> 00:09:39,962 Okay, you can have an elder son. 91 00:09:41,183 --> 00:09:44,244 He's the elder of the three boys. 92 00:09:44,725 --> 00:09:47,986 You could have a man of older age. 93 00:09:47,986 --> 00:09:49,326 He's an elder. 94 00:09:50,247 --> 00:09:57,450 But does that mean that those two people are necessarily qualified to be an elder by way of role in the church? 95 00:09:58,010 --> 00:09:58,670 No. 96 00:09:58,670 --> 00:10:01,291 Believe it or not, we know how to handle language. 97 00:10:01,372 --> 00:10:05,001 We know how to let the context determine 98 00:10:05,001 --> 00:10:12,269 if a word is being used concerning a specific role or a generic description. 99 00:10:14,357 --> 00:10:16,698 and we allow context to decide that. 100 00:10:16,698 --> 00:10:35,709 So, when Paul tells Timothy to not accept an accusation against an elder unless it is with two or three witnesses, sorry he's not talking about all older men. 101 00:10:35,789 --> 00:10:39,131 Can't have an accusation brought against them without two or three witnesses. 102 00:10:39,651 --> 00:10:42,757 Rather, he's describing someone in the role 103 00:10:42,757 --> 00:10:47,839 of an elder who has already met all of these qualifications. 104 00:10:48,420 --> 00:10:55,822 Given that he's met all these qualifications, Paul says you don't even accept an accusation against him unless you've got two or three witnesses. 105 00:10:56,483 --> 00:11:07,258 Because the role and the function of an elder is one of leadership and responsibility and could easily become someone who comes under attack from others who are jealous of his 106 00:11:07,258 --> 00:11:08,628 authority and his position. 107 00:11:08,628 --> 00:11:10,859 uh So. 108 00:11:11,085 --> 00:11:19,365 Paul uses the term elder and we immediately know in the context what he means because of the context of the discussion. 109 00:11:19,965 --> 00:11:26,185 We ought to also be able to do the same thing with servant or minister. 110 00:11:26,385 --> 00:11:37,805 We ought to be able to be distinguishing enough without having to create a special word to understand what is being discussed. 111 00:11:37,845 --> 00:11:40,905 Okay, so I'm on the wrong side of 400 years of history. 112 00:11:40,941 --> 00:11:43,923 I the word deacon shouldn't be in there. 113 00:11:43,984 --> 00:11:46,716 I think the word servant should be in there. 114 00:11:46,716 --> 00:11:47,346 Why? 115 00:11:47,346 --> 00:11:51,709 Because in the Greek it means servant. 116 00:11:52,230 --> 00:11:57,203 When Paul used the word, he wrote the Greek word for servant. 117 00:11:59,583 --> 00:12:05,797 Now, an elder is an overseer, right? 118 00:12:06,037 --> 00:12:08,359 Because that's how Paul describes it right there at the beginning. 119 00:12:08,359 --> 00:12:15,723 Chapter three, verse one, if a man desires the position of a bishop, that word means overseer. 120 00:12:16,404 --> 00:12:17,805 He desires good work. 121 00:12:17,805 --> 00:12:22,428 In verse eight, he says, likewise, servants. 122 00:12:23,459 --> 00:12:26,090 do you see the relationship between the two? 123 00:12:26,691 --> 00:12:29,633 An overseer is someone who looks 124 00:12:29,681 --> 00:12:31,283 over something. 125 00:12:31,283 --> 00:12:40,832 Servants are those who are being looked over by the elders, by the overseers. 126 00:12:41,293 --> 00:12:42,014 Okay? 127 00:12:42,014 --> 00:12:53,045 So by the very definition of the words, you have a picture here of uh not only an authority, but a responsibility level. 128 00:12:53,675 --> 00:13:06,422 You have a categorization of these people's roles in which there are some of them who are servants, who are doing the work, and there are some of them who are observing to make 129 00:13:06,422 --> 00:13:08,785 sure the work is done. 130 00:13:12,311 --> 00:13:25,971 Can you have a servant who is not qualified to be a servant in the description of the role and qualifications of a servant? 131 00:13:27,499 --> 00:13:31,631 Yes, in the same way you can have an elder who's not qualified to be an elder. 132 00:13:31,631 --> 00:13:39,534 You can have an older man who is elderly who is not qualified to be an elder. 133 00:13:39,754 --> 00:13:57,441 You can have a woman who is diligent in labor in the church at Rome who is a servant of the church, could even be employed by the church on a full-time basis in her service. 134 00:13:59,509 --> 00:14:05,753 but it doesn't meet the qualifications of the role or position of a servant. 135 00:14:07,095 --> 00:14:16,301 It's really not that hard unless we complicate it, unless we intentionally try and complicate it. 136 00:14:16,301 --> 00:14:27,109 uh So as we go through the list of qualifications, we find here Paul saying this is their role, their servants. 137 00:14:28,107 --> 00:14:36,944 But these servants are different than all the other servants in the church because they have to meet these qualifications. 138 00:14:37,084 --> 00:14:39,967 All right, let's look at those qualifications. 139 00:14:39,967 --> 00:14:43,369 Likewise, deacons must be reverent. 140 00:14:43,369 --> 00:14:49,554 By the way, in that last discussion about deacons, I don't have a problem if somebody calls them a deacon. 141 00:14:50,015 --> 00:14:53,717 I don't care if we use the word we've been using for 400 years. 142 00:14:54,198 --> 00:14:58,221 But I do hope that we come to an appreciation about 143 00:14:58,221 --> 00:15:04,541 when someone uses it wrong, but they're using the Greek word that's in the text. 144 00:15:05,161 --> 00:15:07,021 They go, oh, that word's deacon. 145 00:15:07,021 --> 00:15:10,001 It's talking about Phoebe, so female deacons are okay. 146 00:15:10,001 --> 00:15:11,201 Hold on. 147 00:15:11,241 --> 00:15:14,401 There's a whole bunch of other times that the word deacon's used. 148 00:15:14,421 --> 00:15:22,061 And it's not talking about the special role under consideration in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. 149 00:15:22,321 --> 00:15:26,487 So we need to be discerning and not let 150 00:15:26,487 --> 00:15:32,101 fallacious arguments crop up because they're saying, well, that's the word deacon. 151 00:15:32,101 --> 00:15:40,167 Okay, now he says, likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued. 152 00:15:40,167 --> 00:15:50,054 We discussed reverence already somewhat in the discussion of elders, so we're gonna try and avoid rehashing a lot of what we've already gone through, but he says, of these 153 00:15:50,054 --> 00:15:54,517 servants, they are to be not double-tongued. 154 00:15:55,351 --> 00:15:57,470 What does it mean to be double-tongued? 155 00:16:01,385 --> 00:16:02,566 All right. 156 00:16:02,786 --> 00:16:10,672 You speak out of both sides of your mouth, one to one group and one to another group. 157 00:16:11,052 --> 00:16:27,634 If you are a overseer at work and you have a group of employees and you have one employee who you observe, they tell one story to the other employees and a different story to the 158 00:16:27,634 --> 00:16:28,725 overseer. 159 00:16:30,625 --> 00:16:32,685 There's a problem, isn't there? 160 00:16:33,146 --> 00:16:40,528 And not only is there a problem, but if they continue to be allowed to do that, there will be even more problems. 161 00:16:41,868 --> 00:16:48,730 Because they don't speak the truth when their job might be on the line. 162 00:16:49,250 --> 00:16:51,961 And yet, they're trying to impress others. 163 00:16:51,961 --> 00:16:58,733 They're trying to leave an impression that they are one thing when they're something else. 164 00:17:00,183 --> 00:17:12,098 Paul says if these servants are going to fulfill their responsibility, if they are going to do what the church needs them to do, if they are going to function as good servants, 165 00:17:12,098 --> 00:17:20,341 good stewards for the church, they must not tell different stories to different people. 166 00:17:21,702 --> 00:17:25,303 They must be trustworthy. 167 00:17:25,703 --> 00:17:30,059 They must be able to be counted on to speak 168 00:17:30,059 --> 00:17:31,166 the truth. 169 00:17:49,705 --> 00:17:50,726 Absolutely. 170 00:17:50,726 --> 00:18:07,150 So James, as he's writing in James chapter 3, discusses the tongue, and he discusses how uh you have an individual who speaks and there's a problem if they speak one way and then 171 00:18:07,150 --> 00:18:09,121 they try and speak another way. 172 00:18:09,562 --> 00:18:14,767 He says you can't have blessings and cursings come out of the same mouth. 173 00:18:14,767 --> 00:18:17,489 Now, as you examine this, 174 00:18:17,949 --> 00:18:30,381 What are some areas in which a double-tongued individual could cause problems for the church if they're only ministering in physical matters? 175 00:18:41,013 --> 00:18:51,089 You ever observe someone who praises other people when they're in front of them and runs them down when their back's turned? 176 00:18:52,453 --> 00:18:55,417 These servants are going to be working with others. 177 00:18:56,021 --> 00:19:08,607 these servants, if we were to use the special servants that are described in Acts chapter 6 in the first century church as at least a picture of a type of role that these servants 178 00:19:08,607 --> 00:19:21,313 in the church might have held, you look at that picture and you've got seven men who are gathered to meet this need of the widows, and as they're meeting that need of the widows, 179 00:19:21,313 --> 00:19:26,415 what if Stephen and Philip have a little disagreement and Philip goes around 180 00:19:26,415 --> 00:19:35,798 telling everybody about something Stephen never did to win his back's turn and then treating him like one of his best friends when he's together with him. 181 00:19:36,679 --> 00:19:38,619 You think it's gonna come out? 182 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,080 You think it's gonna be readily apparent? 183 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:46,302 Do you think the hypocrisy is going to be seen within the church? 184 00:19:46,302 --> 00:19:54,645 Here's this special servant working on behalf of the apostles and yet he's over here causing trouble. 185 00:19:55,477 --> 00:19:58,989 He's sowing discord among brethren. 186 00:19:58,989 --> 00:20:04,841 What is one of the things that the Proverbs writer tells us Jehovah hates? 187 00:20:06,602 --> 00:20:11,644 Those who sow discord among brethren. 188 00:20:12,665 --> 00:20:17,467 That's one of the things that's on the list of things that God despises. 189 00:20:18,148 --> 00:20:20,589 So as you examine these, 190 00:20:20,775 --> 00:20:21,926 individuals. 191 00:20:21,926 --> 00:20:34,159 He says not only must they be reverent, they must be those who fear God and respect authority, but they also must not be double-tongued. 192 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,364 They must be those who speak the truth. 193 00:20:38,364 --> 00:20:43,268 He says in addition to that, they must be not given to much wine. 194 00:20:43,979 --> 00:20:50,411 Here, again, we discussed this somewhat when we were in the earlier section, but we'll take just a moment and deal with it. 195 00:20:50,491 --> 00:20:58,774 The term in the English, much wine, has caused a great deal of discussion. 196 00:20:59,034 --> 00:21:02,015 well, how much wine can they have? 197 00:21:02,655 --> 00:21:07,637 First point of discussion, the word wine in this text, 198 00:21:08,914 --> 00:21:16,855 does not necessitate in any way alcoholic wine. 199 00:21:17,559 --> 00:21:33,220 Okay, the word oinos, which is in the text in this part of the text, but was not in the section for the elders, the word oinos is not a word that defines by the nature of the use 200 00:21:33,220 --> 00:21:47,329 of the word in the Greek whether the wine is in the grape on the vine, in the vat, having just been stamped out, in the, 201 00:21:47,441 --> 00:21:59,254 a vessel in which it may be sitting for a long extended period of time if someone's trying to turn it into alcoholic wine or fresh grape juice being drunk. 202 00:21:59,595 --> 00:22:02,518 The word doesn't define it at all. 203 00:22:02,519 --> 00:22:08,024 The word in Scripture is used in every single one of those contexts. 204 00:22:08,853 --> 00:22:17,924 So back in Isaiah, in the Greek translations, the Greek translations will use oinos to describe the cluster on the vine. 205 00:22:17,924 --> 00:22:21,848 Can you have alcoholic grapes on the vine? 206 00:22:22,570 --> 00:22:28,516 No, you cannot because you cannot get fermentation without decomposition. 207 00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:33,917 You can't get fermentation without a sugar process that occurs. 208 00:22:33,917 --> 00:22:39,902 So as a result of that, you can't have something alcoholic while it's still attached to the vine. 209 00:22:40,843 --> 00:22:47,248 Yet the word oinos, the word wine, is used to describe the grape in that state. 210 00:22:47,765 --> 00:22:59,474 You also have the word used all the way up to and including the point where the word wine is discussing an alcoholic fermented beverage. 211 00:22:59,675 --> 00:23:12,185 You also have the word used to discuss a dried version of the wine in which it could be reconstituted with water. 212 00:23:13,647 --> 00:23:15,889 So what does it mean? 213 00:23:15,889 --> 00:23:16,787 oh 214 00:23:16,787 --> 00:23:31,884 than in this context for Paul to say this individual must not be given to, and the idea here is given over to wine. 215 00:23:32,364 --> 00:23:34,025 What are we talking about? 216 00:23:38,669 --> 00:23:48,572 Okay, overcome is maybe another way to say it, but what character trait are we discussing? 217 00:23:50,333 --> 00:23:57,494 All right, drunkenness would qualify, obsession would qualify, what else? 218 00:23:59,015 --> 00:24:05,397 All right, contrasting, here's someone who's sober-minded, clear-headed, question. 219 00:24:06,527 --> 00:24:12,382 Which of the two of these things is condemned in Scripture? 220 00:24:12,483 --> 00:24:14,705 Drunkenness and gluttony. 221 00:24:16,545 --> 00:24:17,405 both. 222 00:24:18,547 --> 00:24:38,375 What if someone is so focused on physical pleasures, physical things, that their entire character is built around making sure they get serviced, they get pleasure, they get the 223 00:24:38,375 --> 00:24:42,308 food, the things, the drink that they desire? 224 00:24:44,407 --> 00:24:59,109 Paul is describing one who is not given over, if we take this in a spiritual, moral sense, he is not given over to his fleshly desires. 225 00:24:59,990 --> 00:25:04,674 He is not given over to his fleshly appetites. 226 00:25:05,455 --> 00:25:12,580 Those could be for alcohol, but they could also be 227 00:25:12,917 --> 00:25:14,678 for many other things. 228 00:25:15,419 --> 00:25:21,743 Here is someone who has retained self-control. 229 00:25:23,104 --> 00:25:26,066 Now, that's looking at it from a spiritual perspective. 230 00:25:26,166 --> 00:25:38,845 He's using, though, an analogy that is quite obvious because he is saying this person must not be under the control of wine. 231 00:25:38,845 --> 00:25:40,356 Okay? 232 00:25:40,356 --> 00:25:41,857 That's the idea. 233 00:25:42,005 --> 00:25:47,029 He must not be under control of wine. 234 00:25:47,791 --> 00:25:58,251 Now, when does a person begin to come under the control of alcohol? 235 00:26:00,321 --> 00:26:02,183 first time they start drinking it. 236 00:26:03,386 --> 00:26:14,311 Some have argued, well, the Bible doesn't condemn drinking alcohol, and I know my limit, and I just don't ever get drunk. 237 00:26:16,653 --> 00:26:19,833 Couple of problems with that line of argumentation. 238 00:26:19,913 --> 00:26:25,133 Number one, it's not quite true to Scripture, but we'll get to that in a moment. 239 00:26:25,133 --> 00:26:33,853 Number two, it necessitates that you've already exceeded your limits and gone into sin. 240 00:26:35,627 --> 00:26:39,795 Because how could you know your limits if you've never exceeded them? 241 00:26:43,243 --> 00:26:43,634 Right? 242 00:26:43,634 --> 00:26:46,973 Oh, well, I know my limits. 243 00:26:46,973 --> 00:26:48,485 How did you find them? 244 00:26:49,058 --> 00:26:50,292 I tested them. 245 00:26:50,292 --> 00:26:51,232 Mm-hmm. 246 00:26:53,181 --> 00:27:07,527 Name one positive picture in all of the Old Testament and New Testament of a person who is drinking intoxicating wine. 247 00:27:13,279 --> 00:27:16,871 All right, but would that be a positive representation? 248 00:27:17,832 --> 00:27:18,972 No, all right. 249 00:27:18,972 --> 00:27:32,540 So we find Noah having drunk wine, having become drunken with wine, and he is in his tent in a uh state of being naked, and the whole situation goes awry as a result of his 250 00:27:32,540 --> 00:27:33,840 drunkenness. 251 00:27:34,961 --> 00:27:41,565 There's not a single picture anywhere in scripture that is a positive look on drinking intoxicating wine. 252 00:27:41,565 --> 00:27:42,217 Now, 253 00:27:42,217 --> 00:27:52,032 Someone uh would argue, those who would argue for this position, will say, I know one, Jesus made intoxicating wine and he even made it for the entire feast there in John 254 00:27:52,032 --> 00:27:52,803 chapter two. 255 00:27:52,803 --> 00:27:57,510 Okay, so let's take a moment, turn to John chapter two. 256 00:27:57,510 --> 00:27:58,601 Yes, Eddie. 257 00:28:29,997 --> 00:28:33,687 Okay, so there's a... 258 00:28:33,687 --> 00:28:42,281 There's an understanding, and we'll get into that further as we go through this discussion, there's an understanding of what does it mean to go the other direction of sin 259 00:28:42,281 --> 00:28:51,475 and what does it mean to hug as close as you can to sin so you can fulfill the lusts your physical desires and pleasures? 260 00:28:51,475 --> 00:28:52,366 Okay. 261 00:28:52,366 --> 00:28:59,809 Now, John chapter two, verse one, on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. 262 00:28:59,849 --> 00:29:03,691 Now, both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. 263 00:29:03,701 --> 00:29:08,955 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. 264 00:29:09,156 --> 00:29:15,722 Quick question for those who kind of have a historical perspective on Jewish wedding feasts. 265 00:29:16,283 --> 00:29:23,359 How long did wedding feasts continue on in that day and time, typically speaking? 266 00:29:25,717 --> 00:29:29,529 several days to weeks, okay? 267 00:29:29,833 --> 00:29:31,316 These were not. 268 00:29:31,441 --> 00:29:32,331 small events. 269 00:29:32,331 --> 00:29:34,273 These were not American weddings. 270 00:29:34,273 --> 00:29:37,345 If we're in and out in an hour and a half, we're happy. 271 00:29:37,345 --> 00:29:42,289 And if we're in and out in three and a half to four hours, that wedding was too long. 272 00:29:42,589 --> 00:29:47,153 That was not the culture of the Israelites. 273 00:29:47,153 --> 00:29:58,420 The culture of the Israelites is, number one, many of the weddings occurred after the harvest, after all of the fields had been taken in, and people had time. 274 00:29:59,015 --> 00:30:00,446 on their hands. 275 00:30:00,506 --> 00:30:05,149 And so, the wedding feast would often be an extended period of time. 276 00:30:05,149 --> 00:30:16,897 You see this in Jesus' parables because you have the virgins who are waiting to escort the bridegroom into the wedding, how long do they wait? 277 00:30:17,338 --> 00:30:18,438 An hour? 278 00:30:19,359 --> 00:30:20,719 Two hours? 279 00:30:21,781 --> 00:30:22,981 All night long? 280 00:30:23,733 --> 00:30:32,468 Well, if you're waiting for the bridegroom to arrive for an entire night all the way into the next day, this is not a one-hour event. 281 00:30:33,090 --> 00:30:35,072 Nor is it a three-hour event. 282 00:30:38,559 --> 00:30:41,353 Jesus and his disciples are invited to the wedding. 283 00:30:41,474 --> 00:30:50,529 During the course of the event, the one who is putting on the wedding runs out of wine. 284 00:30:52,319 --> 00:31:04,769 Now, should we assume because of the text, because it is a celebratory feast, that the wine is necessarily alcoholic? 285 00:31:05,972 --> 00:31:06,833 No. 286 00:31:08,513 --> 00:31:22,840 Furthermore, when you examine the text, you also can consider the fact that the individuals who will be drinking the wine after Jesus makes the wine are still fully 287 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:31,124 cognizant to be able to discern good wine from bad wine, which means these people are not what? 288 00:31:32,045 --> 00:31:33,045 Drunk. 289 00:31:34,225 --> 00:31:40,390 If they were drunk, they would no longer be able to discern good wine from bad wine. 290 00:31:40,791 --> 00:31:46,756 Furthermore, you have a quality description in this text because 291 00:31:46,973 --> 00:31:47,693 As 292 00:32:18,347 --> 00:32:19,007 Six. 293 00:32:19,007 --> 00:32:20,387 How many gallons each? 294 00:32:21,307 --> 00:32:22,047 20 to 30. 295 00:32:22,047 --> 00:32:24,087 How much water? 296 00:32:26,067 --> 00:32:28,667 120 to 180 gallons. 297 00:32:29,207 --> 00:32:34,967 If Jesus created intoxicating wine here, He didn't become someone who created intoxicating wine. 298 00:32:34,967 --> 00:32:36,747 He went into the wine industry. 299 00:32:40,339 --> 00:32:44,673 And he said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. 300 00:32:44,673 --> 00:32:45,774 And they took it. 301 00:32:45,774 --> 00:32:55,381 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast 302 00:32:55,381 --> 00:33:02,247 called the bridegroom and he said to him, Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine. 303 00:33:02,247 --> 00:33:06,590 When the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. 304 00:33:06,991 --> 00:33:10,133 You have kept the good wine until now. 305 00:33:11,585 --> 00:33:21,772 For a Jew in this context in a feast, you could have an understanding of the good versus the inferior wine. 306 00:33:21,772 --> 00:33:25,595 The best wine was considered the freshest. 307 00:33:26,115 --> 00:33:28,877 It had not been dried out and reconstituted with water. 308 00:33:28,877 --> 00:33:31,920 It had been taken immediately from the vine. 309 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:36,063 It had been turned into juice and it had been brought to the table. 310 00:33:36,063 --> 00:33:39,004 You don't have time for it to become intoxicating. 311 00:33:40,555 --> 00:33:51,815 But further he points out that they had been drinking this other wine all this time and he says, you know, the normal practice is this, you serve the best at the beginning and then 312 00:33:51,815 --> 00:33:55,057 the quality goes down as the feast goes down. 313 00:33:56,318 --> 00:34:02,063 Why would you do that if the wine you're serving isn't intoxicating? 314 00:34:02,063 --> 00:34:08,468 If all the wine is not intoxicating, why would it matter if you serve the best first and the inferior last? 315 00:34:11,065 --> 00:34:13,057 Anybody ever drink a lot of grape juice? 316 00:34:14,957 --> 00:34:21,197 What happens to your mouth when you've drank a lot of grape juice, meal after meal after meal after meal? 317 00:34:22,757 --> 00:34:25,917 It has an effect on your palate. 318 00:34:26,137 --> 00:34:31,637 You only drink so much before you don't really, can't really tell what it tastes like anymore. 319 00:34:32,757 --> 00:34:38,193 Yet there was such a noticeable quality difference between what they had been served. 320 00:34:38,193 --> 00:34:52,712 up to this point in the feast and what they were served by Jesus that the master of the feast says, not only is this the best wine, it's the best wine being served at the end of 321 00:34:52,712 --> 00:35:04,309 the feast, which means I've had this for days and now I can tell, wow, this is of so much higher quality than what I've already observed, what I've already had. 322 00:35:04,427 --> 00:35:14,703 consider as well that if the argument was that this was intoxicating wine, then these people were already what according to the text? 323 00:35:16,465 --> 00:35:18,106 Well drunk. 324 00:35:18,826 --> 00:35:28,953 If this was intoxicating wine they had been drinking the entire time, then they're already drunk and Jesus makes them more drunk. 325 00:35:31,479 --> 00:35:48,500 Can the Son of God, who handed down scripture that said drunkenness was a sin, contribute to serving people who are already drunk more wine so they can be more drunk? 326 00:35:49,161 --> 00:35:50,041 No. 327 00:35:51,445 --> 00:36:04,249 When people come to this text and argue for intoxicating wine in this text, it's quite obvious they've never considered the reality of the situation in the text. 328 00:36:05,329 --> 00:36:17,153 There's no way possible to argue for intoxicating wine from this text because you either have Jesus going into the brewing business, 329 00:36:17,885 --> 00:36:24,117 or you have Jesus intoxicating to a further degree those who are already drunk. 330 00:36:25,761 --> 00:36:37,436 Furthermore, you have Mary, the mother of Jesus, asking Jesus, who she knows is the Son of God, to contribute to these people's drunkenness. 331 00:36:38,378 --> 00:36:44,204 All of these things are out of character, unless you're just trying to argue for drinking. 332 00:37:19,788 --> 00:37:20,583 Yeah. 333 00:37:28,319 --> 00:37:28,989 Absolutely. 334 00:37:28,989 --> 00:37:38,193 You also have the word used to describe everything from vinegar to fresh grape juice in a non-alcoholic context. 335 00:37:38,193 --> 00:37:48,557 Okay, so the word in First Timothy 3, number one, does or does not require 336 00:37:48,769 --> 00:37:50,250 So go back to review. 337 00:37:50,250 --> 00:37:57,917 Does it require that the word is used in an alcoholic context purely by the use of the word? 338 00:37:57,917 --> 00:37:59,118 Yes or no? 339 00:37:59,319 --> 00:38:00,279 No. 340 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:09,267 Does the context give us a clear connotation of the idea of alcoholic use? 341 00:38:09,968 --> 00:38:11,009 Yes. 342 00:38:11,135 --> 00:38:15,986 because of the way it's described being given over to something. 343 00:38:16,087 --> 00:38:28,011 But could there be a non-alcoholic sense in which someone is given over to wine in a spiritual sense and that they are gluttonous in their appetites? 344 00:38:28,011 --> 00:38:29,111 Yes. 345 00:38:29,551 --> 00:38:33,512 Let me provide one example that's useful in this. 346 00:38:33,512 --> 00:38:35,593 Turn back to 1 Samuel. 347 00:38:39,309 --> 00:38:49,396 As you think concerning the priesthood of Eli, you find one of the things that Eli is accused of. 348 00:38:49,776 --> 00:38:53,839 And this is instructive in this context. 349 00:38:54,039 --> 00:39:02,825 Remember that these servants are primarily functioning in physical matters. 350 00:39:03,487 --> 00:39:14,746 Their role and responsibility is not necessarily the spiritual role and responsibility and authority of elders, it is on matters of service. 351 00:39:15,407 --> 00:39:20,572 Now let's look at 1 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 22. 352 00:39:20,572 --> 00:39:31,797 Now Eli was very old and he heard everything that his sons did to all Israel, how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 353 00:39:31,797 --> 00:39:34,689 So he said to them, do you do such things? 354 00:39:34,689 --> 00:39:37,961 For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 355 00:39:37,961 --> 00:39:41,483 Know, my sons, for it is not a good report that I hear. 356 00:39:41,483 --> 00:39:44,345 You make the Lord's people transgress. 357 00:39:44,345 --> 00:39:48,487 If one man sins against another, God will judge him. 358 00:39:48,487 --> 00:39:53,890 But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? 359 00:39:53,970 --> 00:39:58,963 Nevertheless, they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them. 360 00:39:58,995 --> 00:40:03,689 And the child Samuel grew in stature and in favor both with the Lord and man. 361 00:40:03,690 --> 00:40:14,720 And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 362 00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:24,425 Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before me? 363 00:40:24,425 --> 00:40:30,447 And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 364 00:40:30,447 --> 00:40:44,612 Why do you then kick at my sacrifice and my offerings, which I have commanded in my dwelling place, and honor your sons more than me, to make yourselves fat with the best of 365 00:40:44,612 --> 00:40:48,473 all the offerings of Israel my people?" 366 00:40:51,649 --> 00:40:59,509 What was the one of the accusations that Eli was guilty of? 367 00:41:04,289 --> 00:41:09,442 When the offerings came in, what portion belonged to the Lord? 368 00:41:09,442 --> 00:41:14,516 The first and the best. 369 00:41:15,877 --> 00:41:21,220 What portion were Eli and his sons taking? 370 00:41:22,501 --> 00:41:24,322 They were taking the best. 371 00:41:25,984 --> 00:41:31,607 And they were taking exceedingly more than they actually needed. 372 00:41:32,568 --> 00:41:33,509 They were... 373 00:41:33,509 --> 00:41:34,251 uh 374 00:41:34,251 --> 00:41:35,722 gluttonous. 375 00:41:36,963 --> 00:41:48,049 And it even leads, if you remember, to Eli's death, for when he falls over having heard that the tabernacle has been taken captive by the Philistines, he falls over and dies 376 00:41:48,049 --> 00:41:54,533 because his neck breaks because he is an exceedingly fat man, the text says. 377 00:41:56,619 --> 00:42:08,287 The text makes it clear here is a steward of God's people's sacrifices, yet part of the accusation against him is he was a glutton. 378 00:42:10,871 --> 00:42:19,929 He did not control his desires for self-satisfaction, so he took even that which belonged to the Lord. 379 00:42:21,271 --> 00:42:32,561 Now here you have servants serving in physical matters, and you have one who goes, you know what, we gotta prepare for the widows, we gotta take care of the widows. 380 00:42:32,561 --> 00:42:36,905 Oh look, some of the members brought some really good stuff. 381 00:42:37,869 --> 00:42:42,315 ah You know what, that over there, set that aside. 382 00:42:42,436 --> 00:42:43,798 We'll keep that for us. 383 00:42:43,798 --> 00:42:46,111 Let's go take the rest of this to the widows. 384 00:42:49,249 --> 00:43:07,205 Here is an individual who is unqualified to be a deacon serving in physical matters because their self-interest would put themselves over others because they are under the 385 00:43:07,205 --> 00:43:11,248 control of their fleshly desires. 386 00:43:12,050 --> 00:43:14,612 So I just want us to see it in the literal sense. 387 00:43:14,612 --> 00:43:15,871 I also wanna see it. 388 00:43:15,871 --> 00:43:22,205 in the implication of someone who gives themselves over to their fleshly desires. 389 00:43:22,205 --> 00:43:26,769 Now, one last passage, I'm gonna leave you with this because we don't have time to go into it. 390 00:43:26,769 --> 00:43:39,417 Paul would state that all things were lawful for him, but that he refused to become under the control of any. 391 00:43:40,545 --> 00:43:44,238 Now he's not arguing for everything that is sinful I'm allowed to do. 392 00:43:44,238 --> 00:43:46,269 That's not the argument. 393 00:43:46,289 --> 00:43:52,514 He's not arguing for everything that others say is wrong to do, I think is right to do. 394 00:43:52,514 --> 00:43:53,494 Not his argument. 395 00:43:53,494 --> 00:44:01,600 His argument is everything that is good and allowed in his lawful is fine. 396 00:44:02,481 --> 00:44:08,825 But if I give myself over to those things to become under their control, 397 00:44:11,787 --> 00:44:13,497 Now I have a problem. 398 00:44:14,138 --> 00:44:26,101 So when a person allows their fleshly desires, their fleshly lusts, even the ones that are natural and not inherently evil, like we all gotta eat, right? 399 00:44:26,261 --> 00:44:30,723 If you don't eat, you will die, okay? 400 00:44:30,723 --> 00:44:34,283 We all have to eat, but we don't have to be gluttonous. 401 00:44:34,844 --> 00:44:39,455 So if we allow even our normal fleshly desires that are 402 00:44:39,597 --> 00:44:50,505 must be fulfilled to a degree to control us, then that individual is unqualified to be a deacon. 403 00:44:50,505 --> 00:44:52,699 Okay, thank you for your attention. 404 00:44:52,699 --> 00:44:54,301 We'll put a peg in it right there.