Scripture to Read: 1 Timothy 3:7
God finishes up with the qualifications for pastors today in 1 Timothy 3:7. God talks about the pastor’s reputation among people who are still lost because they don’t have a relationship with Christ yet. God says that a pastor’s reputation must be a good one with lost people. Having a good reputation should be true for every believer. The only way to develop this good reputation is by being involved in serving the lost community around us. For pastors and all other believers, God never intended for us to simply meet together as believers and close ourselves off from the lost world around us. God wants us to build relationships with lost people. God wants us to serve the lost by hosting them for meals in our homes, helping them with needs when those needs arise, and building friendships with them. Pastors, and all believers, should be known as people who are enjoyable to be around. The reason pastors are to have a good reputation is so that their lives and the ministry God has called them to will not be disgraced or discredited. For all believers, having a good reputation means walking in God’s Truth in Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” To those who are lost, living without Christ, we (pastors and all believers) are to appear as lights to them so we shine for Christ.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about a pastor’s reputation, and about yours among lost people?
2. How are you living out Philippians 2:14-15 and 1 Timothy 3:7?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!