“Deacons –Do We Need Them Today?”

What if someone where to come up to you and ask you this question, “Do we really need deacons today?” What would be your answer? Or I should ask how would you answer that question? Some people might go on to say, “Well we live in the twenty first century, maybe deacons have become obsolete.” How would or should we, as Primitive Baptist respond to such a question?
Let me add another question to this, “When was the last time that you heard or were taught anything with any depth concerning the office and work of the deacon?” I ask this for a few reasons, first, because I was ordained and served as a deacon, before I was ordained as an elder. And second, because I believe it is important for us who live in God’s Kingdom Church to understand the function of the office of a deacon. And on top of these reasons, can be added this question, can there be any doubt that it ought to be included in the preaching of the whole counsel of God? And third, because we in the little church at Dixie of which I serve as pastor have been considering weather or not we need another deacon, and who that person might be.

We are admonished by Holy Scripture in 1 Tim 5:22, to “Lay hands suddenly on no man.” And with good reason…how many troubles have come into the churches as a result of not following after this very critical passage? I mean that there is a reason for every word that has been written by the inspired men of old; “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It is important because it is written for, and to the “man of God” so that he “may be perfect,” and “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” We need to know the answer to such questions as, “Who is “qualified” to be a deacon? Is he to be a married or a single man? How many deacons are needed, and how long will they serve? Who does the choosing? What are the wages of the deacon? What is the difference in the ordination of an elder and a deacon? These questions and more are thoughts that I would like to take out some time to prayerfully consider.

As far as I can see the only reason that anyone would even consider the thought that deacons may be obsolete today is because they simply don’t understand the scriptures. And the reason is that for most people the office of deacon simply has not been clearly defined and is often little understood by some that are in the church, and this is often true in speaking of other pastors and deacons that are already serving in their offices. The result of this being uninformed is often a place that sometimes serves to cause tension between a pastor and the deacons within the church. Sometimes there may even be open warfare between the two because the pastor and deacons simply CANNOT or WILL NOT work together or they simply don’t understand how God has designed these two offices to work together. And sadly these types of problems only serve to cripple the body of the church. And there have even been instances where deacons have…for whatever reason…taken for themselves an authority, which can frankly only be viewed as being contrary to the scriptures, and is always detrimental to the Old Line Baptist Church of Christ. For example, there have been cases where a deacon became the “boss” of the church, and have become “lords” in their office over God’s people, and these end up literally holding the membership under a heavy hand, and also that we; because of our own false understanding, believe that a deacon are somehow to be the “directors” of the church.

Beloved this is simply not the case at all, and it ought never to happen in any church. And anywhere that we find this sort of thing happening in the churches there are going to be those who will come to the false conclusion that maybe deacons are not needed anymore! And under these circumstances can’t we truthfully say that we would understand it…well, wouldn’t we? Yes, we most certainly would understand, but the real truth is that the church doesn’t really need that type of deacon, elder or any member for that member that would bring about such disharmony and disorder to the church congregation!
Yes, beloved we most certainly do need deacons today. But we the true Church of the Living God need them to go about it in way and manner that is prescribed to us by His word…the Bible; And we thus must rely only on “thus saith the Lord.” We must hold to the “old paths” and the “good ways” if we are to be in harmony with God’s word. Yes, dear child of God deacons are needed as much today as they were needed in the first Old Baptist Church in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago. But we today, more than ever need to have the right and proper understanding of the use and function of the office of deacon.

With that all being said, lets move on to our first consideration. Are deacons obsolete? Do we need deacons today in this modern world? And the answer to the first question is NO…they are not obsolete; and to the second, YES…we most certainly do need deacons today! They are needed today just as much as they were way back then because they are a vital part of the New Testament pattern that has been set down to us from God the Holy Ghost. Just like God said to Moses when the children of Israel were going about to build the tabernacle; in Exodus 25:40, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” And it’s this pattern that sets the Old Line Primitive Baptist apart from other worldly religious orders of people. It’s the plain teachings of Holy Scripture that is enough for us to determine the doctrines and practices of the Old Line Churches, adding nothing to it…and taking nothing away from it. There can be no other reason for any other belief or practice then simply that the Word of God has established the pattern that we must follow; and deacons are a part of the pattern.

And the first place that we will need to go in our efforts to understand and properly use the office of deacon is to God the Holy Ghost, the first person of the Godhead, and ask Him to lead and to guide our thoughts and to aid us in a proper understanding of the office. Then only after doing so will turn and go the scriptures.

Now in the sixth chapter of the book of Acts of the Apostles we learn that it is not always the storms of persecution from those outside of the church that damage the church, but it is the storms from within the church which do the real damage. In Acts 8:1, 4 we find that “…at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem…’ and ‘Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

And thus we see that it was one of these storms that occurred within the church that came before the first Church at Jerusalem in Acts chapter six. It seems that the “widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” And the solution was that the apostles, who were being led by the Holy Ghost, called together “the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reasonable that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out from among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:1-4). And the church chose out the first seven men to fill the office of deacon in the church. We will pause here and the next time we will try to consider the “function of the deacon” and whether or not we are seeking those who are “qualified” or whether we are seeking certain “qualities.” May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

“Deacons – Qualification or Quality?”

In our last article we tried to take out a little time to consider the office of deacon, and we asked the question “are deacons really needed today?” And we understood that the God the Holy Ghost gave the office to the church so that she might be completely furnished, lacking nothing; especially that which man might attempt to add as his so-called improvements to the church.
And so now moving on I think that it would be a good idea now to take out a little time to consider the thought of whether or not 1 Timothy chapter three is what most folks tend are the “qualifications” of a bishop or pastor and a deacon.

And just before we go there I would like to point out that none of the offices were considered to be a temporary office, limited to just one church, such as in this case; at Jerusalem. We know this to be true because we read in Philippians chapter one verse one where the Apostle Paul writes, “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints which are at Philippi, with BISHOPS and DEACONS.” Notice the phrase “BISHOPS and DEACONS is used here, and this is some thirty years after the choosing if the first seven men as deacons in Jerusalem. There can be no doubt at all that the office of deacon started at the first church and was blessed by the Holy Ghost to be in other churches as well? And as it was then so it is today.

Beloved the work of the deacon is vital to the health and well being of the church! And since the work of the deacon is so vital, we must look to the scriptures to know what type of man would be suitable to fill this vital office. It’s imperative that we prayerfully and carefully study the word of God; the Bible so that we might fully understand this critical process. And beloved, as we undertake this goal we must move forward with much caution. For I believe that these scriptural “qualifications” are not so much “qualifications” as they are “qualities.”

And would you agree with me when I say that not every person who is to be considered for the office of deacon will be perfectly “suited” or “qualified” to fill the office? Yes, maybe a few may be, but in the real world it is certain that perhaps not any at all will perfectly suited these spiritual concerns.

For example, lets take out some time to consider 1 Tim 3:12, where we read, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” Does this passage mean that ALL deacons must be married? If that is the case then there ought to never be any single male deacons. And we must not lose sight of the fact that 1 Tim. 3:2 plainly tells us that a “bishop” or “pastor” and “elder” must also be “then must be blameless, the husband of one wife.” Are we here also to conclude that all elders who are called to the office of pastor…MUST BE MARRIED as well? Are all “elders” and “pastors” married? The real truth is that the answer is no that this is not always the case.

And again these same passages also say that a deacon must be “grave” (1 Tim. 3:8), but beloved does that then mean that every male member who is “grave” automatically become qualified to be a deacon? And you would agree with me and say no, of course not. And I believe that this would be a proper understanding of these passages. But it is also proper to say that each and every man who is to be considered for the office of deacon MUST be “grave,” just as the scriptures describe to us. And so the conclusion must surely be that no deacon has all of the scriptural qualities brought to perfection; these are “qualities” more than they are “qualifications.” These spiritual “qualities” must be found in any one who will be considered for the office, even before it is decided what the work of the deacon will be are discussed. To neglect or cut corners here would bring disaster, shame and much trouble to the church of God and the Lord’s people.

But who is the right person? Who is worthy of this office? If any man who is in the right spirit reads the third chapter of First Timothy as “qualifications” he will no doubt say to himself, “I feel to be so unworthy, I know that I am not able to be all of these things.” And what elder for that matter who reads and considers these passages would not come away with feelings of shame, unworthiness, and inadequacy? I know that I myself most certainly feel that way!

And dear child of God it would be foolish on our part to expect that we will find a perfect man to fill the office of deacon. After all, all of us who are born of the Spirit of God, have two district natures while we live in this would; the inner or spiritual man or and the outward nature of the flesh. Therefore the only complete and real perfection that we will ever have will be found when we are on the other side of in heaven. So until that day we must rely on God’s grace to help us in every capacity, to lead and direct us in the world, and especially in matters of the Kingdom Church.

And I would like to say to those who would are being considered for the office of deacon and feel that their shortcomings are only a hindrance to the service of Christ and His people; I would not decline the office “because you are not good enough.” The truth is that none of us are really good enough but I can tell you that if you are waiting until you are better, that day will never come, and I can assure you that you will never get any better by declining the work and service to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom Church. And I also want to assure you that if you have these “qualities” within yourself that are there only by and through the Spirit that God will most certainly give you sufficient grace to grow and to serve Him in the way and manner that He will be pleased to bless in.
Well we’ll pause here until next time, and then we’ll try to look at the “Wages of a Deacon.” God bless us all to live according to the leading of the Spirit.

Elder Thomas McDonald
 

Notes on Matthew

Chapter 1 Part 8

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

The above verse states the main purpose for which Jesus came into the world. The angel was God's messenger and was relating God's message to Joseph and ultimately to us.

The name, JESUS, means saviour. He came into this world as a saviour. He came for the purpose to save his people from their sins.

We can gather a lot of information about the purpose of God by taking each word in the phrase, "he shall save his people from their sins." "He" is the subject of the sentence and indicates who is doing the acting. "He" refers to Jesus. We are told later in this chapter that his name is also called Emmanuel which is interpreted to be God with us. Thus, God came down to perform the action in this sentence. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he came for a purpose.

Second is the word "shall." This word, connected with the fact, that it is God, who is doing the action, gives us the certainty of the action being completed. Notice it did not say that he might save his people, or he would try to save his people, or he would like to save his people, but the word "shall" speaks of the certainty of the accomplishment of this action. One of the things that we know about God is that he cannot fail nor lie. Thus, when the scriptures say that God shall do something, it is as good as done.
"Save" is the verb of the sentence. "Save" indicates what is going to be done. Save means to deliver. Thus, there is a promised deliverance. Since God made the promise the deliverance is sure.

"His" is a possessive pronoun indicating that God has possession of the object. The object belongs to God. The object is "people." From this, we know that they were already His people. They were his people before he ever come into the world. They belonged to him. It was "His people" that he came to save. There is no promise that he would save anyone but his people. He did not come to save a people that might become his people sometime in the future, because these were already his people. He came to save a people that were already his.

"From their sins" indicates what he came to save them from. His people were sinners and had need of saving from their sins. Since they could not save themselves from their sins, it was necessary that God come and save them from their sins. If it had been possible for his people to save themselves from their sins, then there was no need for Jesus to come.
There were no conditions attached to this sentence. It did not say that he would save a people if they would let him. It also did not say that he would save them if they would cooperate. It stated without condition that He shall save his people from their sins. There is no condition placed upon His people.The noun, sins, is in the plural. He did not come to save his people from some of their sins, or most of their sins, or from all of their sins but one. Rather it is stated that he shall save his people from their sins meaning all of their sins.

All of this implies that Jesus was capable of saving his people from their sins. He came holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He also came without sin.

Chapter 1 Part 9

"22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Sizeable groups of people who claim a belief in Christ deny that Christ is God. They deny the deity of Jesus Christ. The above scripture plainly teaches that Jesus Christ is God. The name Emmanuel is interpreted to mean God with us. Thus, Jesus Christ is God with us. Couple this with the following verses and we prove that the scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is verily God:

1. Jesus said in John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." I AM was the name that God told Moses was God's name.
2. Is. 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
3. John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men."
4. 1 Tim. 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
5. Heb. 1:8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
6. John 5:18 "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
7. Phil. 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God."
8. Col. 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
9. 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
10. Rev. 19:13 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
11. Heb. 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

These verses directly speak of Jesus Christ being God. There are also numerous verses of scripture when connected together also prove that Jesus Christ is God.

Chapter 2 Part 1  The Wise Men

2:1 "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." It is generally believed that there were three wise men that came to the manger where Jesus lay shortly after that he was born. We will show in a later section that they did not come to the manger, but rather it was approximately two years after the birth of Jesus that the wise men came to where Jesus lived. Many people assume that there were three wise men because of the three gifts that were brought. However, most likely four or more wise men came to Jesus.

Some people depict the wise men as being three kings based on Old Testament prophesies:

1. Ps. 68:29 "Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee."
2. Ps. 71:9 "They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him."

If indeed the wise men coming to Jerusalem is the fulfillment of the above prophecies then there were at least four kings who came including the kings of Tarshish, the isles, Sheba and Seba. From the above we cannot tell if "the isles" is referring to one or more kings.

This we know, there were wise men that came from the east to Jerusalem. They were "wise" men. We know they were wise, first, because the scriptures tell us they were wise. Second, we know they were wise because they came seeking for Jesus. Furthermore, they must have feared God, because the scriptures say, Ps. 111:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."

Though the wise men were wise, yet, they made a faulty assumption. They assumed that Jesus would be at Jerusalem. They had followed a star and when they came near Jerusalem, they assumed that is where they would find him. People make this same kind of faulty assumption today concerning Jesus. They go to the most popular and widely acclaimed places and assume that Jesus must surely be there. Yet Jesus was in the small town of Bethlehem. They lost sight of the star when they came to Jerusalem. We lose sight of the truth when we assume whatever we have been previously taught is the truth rather than following the word of the Lord to find the truth.
Next, the wise men were spirit born children of God even though they were not of Israel, nor had they heard any gospel preached. We know this because the scriptures teach that a person who has not been born of the Spirit will not seek the Lord nor fear him. Yet the wise men were doing both. Furthermore, the Spirit was leading them by a star and Rom. 8:14 says "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

Elder Vernon Johnson