BIBLICALLY PEOPLE do not just get up and announce to the world that they are Christian pastors. They must qualify as the Bible describes their calling as heavenly, high and holy. The God who calls them is holy, righteous, faithful and loving. Thus, Christian ministers who have been delivered from the power of sin and filled with the Spirit of God are expected to live like their God in character to glorify and honour of His name.
Consequently, pastors are expected to possess certain biblical qualifications to accredit them to serve as ministers of God. Now, the greatest biblical qualification all ministers must possess is sincere love for Jesus Christ. Christ will not commit His Church to anyone who does not deeply love Him.
Ministers of God must pass the test of loving God above material things before they can be entrusted with heavenly responsibilities.
Peter confessed that he loved the Lord more than material prosperity, before Christ entrusted him with divine assignments. Scripture says, “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’”
He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep” (John 21: 15- 17).
God anointed Peter in Christ with the Holy Spirit and power to minister as an Apostle because he proved that he first loved Jesus Christ. And Christ knew that Peter really loved Him. The Lord foresaw that Peter would deny Him, but he would not forsake and reject Him. A person who will not sincerely love God and his neighbours is unfit to be a minister of God.
Paul, the apostle, also outlines other qualifications in 1Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 which we must pay attention to. Firstly, Paul says a minister “must be blameless.” The words “must be” stress the fact that what follows is absolutely necessary. Being “blameless” i.e. above reproach means “not to be held” in criminal sense.
This is an important character qualification for the ministers of God, and the others that follow elaborate what it means to be “blameless.” What this means is that there is to be no unrepentant sin that can be publicly named or pointed to in which the church or civil community is aware of in the life of the minister. It does not, however, mean that the ministers are sinless or have never sinned, but that they cannot be held contempt, either criminally, morally, socially or ethically.
The second issue, Paul talks about is the fact that the minister must be a “husband of one wife.” This simply means that a pastor must be a one-woman man. This is not referring to his marital status but his sexual purity. It does not mean ministers cannot have been widowed or be single, for example, but that they are to be solely devoted to one woman each if (and while) married. This qualification comes immediately after the necessity of being “blameless” because the area of sexual purity is where many church leaders fail and, thus, become disqualified to serve as ministers of God.
The next qualification listed is “temperate.” This means a minister should be someone who is emotionally calm and controlled. It also means he must be alert, watchful or clear-headed. An author wrote that, “The ministers of God need to have good heads on their shoulders and be watchful for things that might creep into their congregation, such as sexual sin, heresy or false teachers.
Moreover, “sober-mindedness” is a qualification a Christian minister ought to have. This means they are to be serious men who know how to order their priorities. The requirements above are followed by another one which enjoins ministers to be “of good behavior.” It means they must be orderly, excellent … as opposed to being chaotic or disorganised.
Similarly, God requires of His ministers to be “hospitable,” which means they must be generous, have a love for strangers and be willing to address the plight of others. The ministers of God must set the example about how to be open and available for others, always being ready to be social and receptive of Christians and non-Christians alike.
The list of qualifications Paul gives continues with an expectation of ministers being “able to teach.”
Here, a pastor ought to be endowed with the spiritual ability to teach the Word of God to build other believers up, destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought to captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
In addition, ministers of the gospel are required to “not give in to wine.” The ministers must refrain from consuming alcohol because they can be called upon at any time of the day or night to perform their duties. The wisdom in this requirement is based on the fact that ministers’ sense of judgments can be clouded if they take alcohol.
The Bible adds that ministers must be “not violent,” which literally means that they should not be throwing blows. Ministers are to be humble, patient men who are calm and gentle and do not react with physical violence when provoked.
To be continued…
By James Quansah
jamesquansah@yahoo.com