THE
CHARACTER
OF DEACONS
AND OTHER
CHRISTIANS
I TIMOTHY 3:8-13
Today is a great day for the Lord’s church here is
Hollister.
When the elders were installed January 7, 2007 Bob
Gard made the statement:
Since the church started here in Hollister
(April 23,2000) it has been “our desire to do what God
wants us to do.”
In order to follow God’s pattern for the New
Testament church we needed elders.
We now have elders.
But the church also needs to have deacons to fulfill
God’s plan for the church.
Today is the day that we are going to install deacons.
The word deacon means servant.
This morning let’s talk about some characteristics that
a deacon should have in his life as well as every
Christian.
A deacon should be:
Sincere
He should be very serious and sincere in the
responsibility he is under taking.
He should believe in what he is doing.
Romans 14:22-23
Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.
Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what
he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he
eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever
is not from faith is sin.
But all Christians should be sincere.
Joshua 24:14
Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity
and in truth.
Mark 12 :30
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength.
If we are doing this then we are loving God with our
total being and we can’t but help be sincere in our
service to the Lord.
John 4:24
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and in truth.
A deacon should also be an:
Example
An example in what?
I Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to
the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in
faith, in purity.
Because deacons are a select group, people will be
looking to them as an example.
All Christians are a select group.
I Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, His own special people, that you may
proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness, into His marvelous light; who once were
not a people but are now the people of God, who had
not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Because we are a Christian people will be looking to
us for an example
What will they see?
Matthew 5:13-16
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its
flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for
nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot
by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on
a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and
put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it
gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven.
A deacon must be:
Righteous
Look again at the qualifications.
I Timothy 3:8-10, 12
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for
money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure
conscience. But let these also first be tested; then
let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
Let the deacon be the husband of one wife, ruling
their children and their own houses well.
The qualifications give a description of a righteous
man.
All Christians should be righteous.
Paul tells us to “put on the breastplate of
righteousness,” Ephesians 6:14
Titus 2:11-12
For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
A deacon should be a:
Volunteer
He should serve voluntarily.
This is a qualification for an elder.
I Timothy 3:1
If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires
a good work.
God wants only those who are willing to serve Him.
So a deacon should serve voluntarily.
Christians serve God voluntarily.
We choose to follow God.
If any man will come after Me; or desires to come after
Me, Matthew 16:24
God only wants those who voluntarily follow Him.
A deacon must be a man of:
Action
The word deacon is transliterated from the Greek
word diakonos which means servant.
There is no such thing as a lazy (idle) deacon.
A deacon is a man who doesn’t wait for some one
else to act.
He is one who gets up and does.
The Christian also is a person of action.
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.
I Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
A deacon is man who is:
Near The Spirit
Acts 6:3
Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven
men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Although not called deacons, these seven men did
the work of deacons.
They were to be full of the Holy Spirit.
All Christians are to be near the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.
Remember we are baptized in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 28:19
The deacon is a man who will use his:
Talents
There is a work that needs to be done.
These are the men who have stepped up and said,
“I will do it.”
They not only have the willingness, they also have
the ability.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me.
All Christians have talents.
The amount of talents people have is dependent on a
person’s ability.
Matthew 25:15
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and
to another one, to each according to his own ability.
I Corinthians 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each
one for the profit of all.
The question is not “Do I have talents?” The question
is “Am I using them for the glory of the Lord?”
So what is the point of the lesson?
The elders and the deacons are two different offices
in the church.
Philippians 1:1
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons.
Both are mentioned as a select group by themselves.
Everything they do will be under the microscope or the
magnifying glass. That is why both groups must be
found blameless, I Timothy 3:2, 10, and Titus 1:6.
Another point is, these characteristics we mentioned
for deacons should also be found in every Christian.
Along that same thought, with the exception of two
or three, the qualifications for elders and deacons
should be characteristics that all Christians should
desire have in their lives.
A deacon must be:
S--Sincere
E--Example
R--Righteous
V--Voluntarily
A--Action
N--Near The Spirit
T--Talents
A deacon is a servant.
All Christians should be servants.
Matthew 20:26-28
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires
to become great among you, let him be your servant.
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be
your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom
for many.
Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you preset yourselves
slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you
obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience
leading to righteousness?
HOW IS YOUR
SERVICE TO THE
LORD?
ARE YOU
SERVING HIM
TODAY?

Given by David Hamlin on March 25, 2007 am
Hollister, Missouri church of Christ
www.hollisterchurchofchrist.org