Your Daily Slice

Av 26

Good Reputation

“And he should even have A GOOD WITNESS from those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” (1Tim 3:7 ISR, emphasis mine)

I believe this is the verse that ties everything we have been studying together; all of the attributes are brought together here in this one verse.  A congregational leader will have a good reputation, a good witness, a good testimony, a good name, be well regarded, have a good report with those who are outside of our Torah observant community if all of the different qualifications found throughout 1Tim 3:2-6 are present and visible.

We have looked at the concept of being blameless, and above reproach, which is again mentioned here in our opening verse.  We have examined what kind of a family life a leader should exhibit; he should be committed to a relationship with one wife, have children that are well mannered and treat their parents with respect, and his household should be well ordered, without chaos or strife.  We know that the overindulgence of alcohol should never be permitted, and that there should be a kindness and gentleness evident in relationships with others.  The ability to teach others is of importance, as is the knowledge of Torah, the subject which is to be taught.  A congregational leader should never be one to meddle with any form of strife or quarrels, and neither should he allow financial gain to dictate his words and actions.  And finally, such a leader should have a maturity that comes from walking Torah for an extended period of time, something that can only be gained from experience.

Messiah Yeshua warned us emphatically that the world will hate us, simply because we are not like them (see John 17:14; John 15:19).  However, in spite of this, non-believers should be able to look at a congregational leader and see a person of integrity, someone who is a person of their word.  And truthfully, this shouldn’t be true of just leaders; we should all of us be people of our word.  The world should know to whom we belong, simply by watching our lives, and our lifestyle, as we incorporate all of these leadership qualifications into the how we live and function.

“I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Messiah Yeshua who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, to keep this command WITHOUT SPOT OR BLAME until the appearing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” (1Tim 6:13-14 TLV, emphasis mine)

“Because of this, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent, spotless, and without blemish, that you may be found by Him in peace.” (2Pet 3:14 HRB, emphasis mine)

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