Above Reproach

I have told you about other things related to the Overseer. But here is the one I really question. St Paul starts off saying, "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach." What does this mean? St Paul was a persecutor of the church and become an Apostle. St Matthew was a Tax Collector. But I have a friend that reminds me that Pastors are not equated to Apostles. There are no Apostles any more and St Paul does not say anything about desiring to be Apostles. These people are desiring to be overseers.

But do all Pastors desire to be Pastors. Some people desire to go into the ministry to teach or help others become Pastors. DO not ask me about these crazy people! But either way they need to be above reproach. They need to lead a godly life. These people have to be above reproach. They have to lead lives that others respect. This means their actions have implications. These actions relate to the ministry of God.

This is a very important element, but does this reflect what a person has previously done. Does being above reproach relate to before christian actions? Before I was a Christian I killed someone. I killed myself, because that was how I became a Christian. I killed the old Adam and raised to new life when I was an infant. Thus, I do not know anything before I was a Christian. But other people have lived in Darkness. Can these people become Pastors? If I killed someone, and served my time before the Government am I not clear.

Crimes have punishments. When you serve the punishment am I not free? When Christ serve for my sins on the Cross am I not free? Should this then reflect upon whether I can be a Pastor? I live in the light of Christ. I serve my Lord which I did not before. I have be changed like St Paul. I have been transformed like St Matthew. I have turned from darkness like St Augustine. Am I above reproach now, even though I was not before? Thank you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Set Theory on the Trinity

Many Theologians are not Mathematicians. But Theologies are really into Science. For some reason there is a greater cross over between Theology and Science than any other fields unless you Separate Math and Physic into different fields. But Set Theory at its basic is the idea of taking sets of numbers or things and showing relationships. We see this in Matrices or Venn-Diagrams. Now Theologians generally speaking would use a Venn-Diagram to describe the Trinity. A Theologian would usually talk about three circles one being the Father and another being the Holy Spirit and the Other being the Son. Thus, where these circles connect that is then called God. But this means that there is part of the Son which is not God. Part of the Holy Spirit which is not God. And part of the Father which is not God. This is not true. Rather you take a list of Sets. Take Set God which contains all the attributes of God. Then you take a Set called Holy Spirit it would contain all the attributes of God and y...
Read more

The Death of the Holy Innocents

Many people die for what they believe in. Some die for righteous people. But these chosen few die on behalf of the one who will save us all. These children have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. But these children die on account of the Christ Child. Many people have been martyred because they confessed the faith. These children did not stand or even get a chance to stand. They were cut down because they were seen as the threat to King Herod. Rachael mourns for her children. Rachael died giving life to Benjamin near Bethlehem. Rachael now weeps as all the children of this town are slaughtered. But just as Rachael died giving birth to life. These children die to protect the Christ Child who left the town and will die to give all of us life. St Peter once said that he would not allow Christ to go to the cross. St Peter drew his sword in the garden to die for Christ. But only these Children truly give their life for Jesus Christ to live. Their sacrifice should b...
Read more

Biblical Marriage

Marriage is defined in Genesis as a man clinging to his wife and the two becoming one flesh. This definition is standardized even in the New Testament by both Jesus and St Paul. Therefore, we have generally said Marriage is defined as one Man and one Woman being joined together in a life long union. Most people think that this Marriage union is created through a man dressed in black and woman dressed in white walking down an aisle to be joined together before some kind of altar. But this is only a ceremony of marriage. The Bride and bridegroom are actually joined together through what is known as consummation, or proper sexual relations.  Thus, St Paul can even talk in reference to a marriage bed. This concept may be overlooked by a culture that no longer views the bed as the place where a majority of sexual activity takes place. But he states this because the marriage bed is the location in which a man and woman are joined together. Just as it was Rachael or Leah's tent in which t...
Read more