Part Five

“Good Reputation a Qualification of Leaders”

When talking about being a “bondservant” of Christ, we have to take the Word of God and rightly divide it to come to the correct teaching about what it means to be a true bondservant.  Should we be concerned about our reputations?  Evidently so, because when Paul was instructing Timothy about the qualifications for a leader in the church, he said in 1 Timothy 3:7 AMP “Furthermore, he must have a good reputation and be well thought of by those outside [the church]…”  The entire chapter of 1 Timothy 3 instructs those who are leaders in varying capacities to be mindful of their behavior so that they will represent Christ Jesus in an honorable way.  The Bible even says that your children must behave well – Lord have mercy!

Have you ever seen the driver of a car with a religious bumper sticker exhibiting bad driving manners?  This example sounds a little foolish, but it’s true that those who are not Christians are always watching because they know a Christian is theoretically expected to be ‘Christ-like’.  Then, when they aren’t – it brings reproach not only on the person exhibiting the bad behavior, but also on Christ Jesus himself.  “Well, if that’s the way a Christian acts, I want no part of that. What a hypocrite!”  And that goes double if the person is the known leader of a Church.

Does being a bondservant of Christ mean that you will never behave badly, or that your flesh will never show up and show out, as they say?  Does it mean that we will never sin?

Does being a leader in the Body of Christ demand that all people everywhere think well of you?

I sure hope not – for if it does, I am completely undone.

But getting back to leaders:  Several of the Disciples of Christ described themselves as bondservants in the Bible.  Beginning as Disciples, and then later on, as Apostles – all of them were bondservants.   In the leadership of the Church as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 God gave Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the Church.  Other leadership offices mentioned in the Bible were Deacon, Bishop and Elder.

For those who lead in the Church, a good reputation is a requirement.  But in our next conversation, we’ll balance the letter of the ‘law’ with the spiritual principles of  mercy, grace and love, remembering that Satan is the ‘accuser’ of the brethren.  We’re not going to excuse sin, but we will talk about how God’s chosen leaders struggled with their flesh.

And I promise you we will get to the topic of Christ making Himself of no reputation.

We will come back to this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” after this coming week’s program with Philip Cameron.  Be sure to tune in for a heart-stirring time with us on the show.

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10