I Timothy 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Not long ago I was in a little shop off of Route 66 in historic Williams, Arizona. The proprietor of that shop is a craftsman. He is crafting holsters and other leatherwork. He is making a beautiful buffalo skin coat for a western reenactor, and he is making custom-made cowboy hats. It occurred to me, as it has before, that today we are so automated and digitized that we seem to collectively miss the craftsmanship of days gone by.
In I Timothy 3 the Bible is talking about what ought to be true of a person who is going to be a bishop, an overseer, someone like your pastor. The Bible says in verse 6, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” So he should not be a prideful person, but he should be a competent person. “Not a novice” means “not a neophyte,” literally, “not a person who is newly planted.” Now all of us have a beginning and are young at some point, but all of us need to develop and cultivate competence in our lives as we serve God. We need to take service to God as seriously as a craftsman takes his art form. How do we do that?
There are three characteristics that I would note here. First, there is desire. Verse 1 says, “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” Now, just because I desire something does not mean it is God’s will. However, God does place an emphasis on the desire of a man to serve Him in “the office of a bishop.” So, a desire to serve the Lord is the first thing that ought to be developed in our lives.
The second thing to be developed is character. Verse 2 says, “A bishop then must be blameless.” The Bible does not talk so much about what a bishop must do, but what a bishop must be, fundamentally, his character.
So, there is the desire he has, the character he exhibits, and finally the practice he takes. Verse 4 says, “One that ruleth well his own house.” In other words, the best way to not be “a novice” and to be accomplished at serving God as an overseer is to learn how to do that first of all in the smaller confines of your own home. If you want to be a good preacher, you ought to begin by being a good father. None of us are perfect, but all of us ought to take care of the things that are most fundamental to our lives.
The Bible says of a deacon, “And let these also first be proved.” So, whatever it is that God would have you do in service to Him, you have to be tested. Growth should come with age but is not automatic. Growth is primarily a deliberate decision. It is choosing every day to cultivate and develop competence as you serve God.