Not A Disturber of the Peace

# 82 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 3:2 A bishop (pastor) then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, Next on the list of qualifications for those who would serve in the office of pastor is he must be “of good behavior,” Well this seems kind of silly. Of course he must be of good behavior, we can't have a little brat running around shepherding the people of God! Well, as you probably have guessed, there is more to these words than rebellious behavior. The Greek word used here is “kosmos,” from which we get the word cosmos, which is defined as an “orderly, harmonious systematic universe.” It is the exact opposite of “chaos.” A pastor then must be one who has his “act” together. The biblical commentator Lenski says “a pastor's whole make-up should be “orderly,” spiritually, mentally, and in his habits.” This word then speaks of stability. A pastor must be spiritually stable, not apt to chase after doctrinal shadows. “Oh look, here's something new we should believe!” In other words, he must have unwavering trust in the doctrine, and steadfast faithfulness to the doctrine handed down by the Apostles! He must also be mentally stable, with full use and control of his mind. And he is also to be one with observable stable behavior. This speaks of outward conduct that is “orderly” as opposed to “disorderly conduct.” Think of people arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. What is this catch all crime? Most of the time it is a matter of disturbing the peace. The pastor should be a model law-abiding citizen (as long as the law of the land doesn't contradict the Law of God,.) The only peace a pastor should disturb is the false peace of a contented sinner!