Two Offices
Pastor Don Carpenter
Baptist Basics
Two offices within the church. Scripture only mentions two church offices—pastor (also referred to as elder or bishop) and deacon. These two offices are to be filled by godly men of integrity in each local church. (See Philippians 1:1; Acts 6:1–7; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9; 1 Peter 5:1–4.)
Let us take one final look at the illustration we introduced at the beginning of this series. Picture this scenario if you will. You wake up at three in the morning with a splitting headache. You must get relief right now. You stumble out of bead and struggle to get to the medicine cabinet. Every pulse of your heart brings an audible wave of pain radiating from the base of your skull, through your temples and settling behind your eye sockets. You must get relief and must get it now! You do not dare turn on the light for fear of more pain. Once you open the cabinet, you see shadows of perhaps a dozen different bottles and containers. It is a medicine cabinet… it has medicine… surely any bottle would be better than no medicine at all right? Wait a minute… It may be wise to know the difference between pain reliever, laxative, or a Beta Blocker for your heart. Yes it is all medicine, but you need the right one for you and for your symptoms. Even more important than taking the time to read and understand the label is that the label and the product match. If I have a bottle that says Aspirin, it would be dangerous if someone switched the aspirin with an antidepressant. Labels mean something.
This is the last of a seven week a dive into the meaning of the sign in front of our building: Evangelical Baptist Church. We have discovered that it is important to know not only that there is spiritual medicine in this church, but what kind it is. We used an acrostic to remember some basic doctrines and teachings that make up Baptist Distinctives.
B -Biblical Authority
A- Autonomy of the Local Church
P -Priesthood of all Believers
T – Two Ordinances
I – Individual Soul Liberty
S – Saved Church Membership
T – Two Offices
As we have seen through out this study, labels are important. We need to not only know what spiritual medicine we are taking, but we also must be careful to make sure that the medicine is properly labeled. Such is especially the case with this last distinctive. There is an alarming trend among Baptists to abandon their Biblical and traditional stance on church polity in favor of a Presbyterian, elder rule style. As we have discovered, we all have individual soul liberty and are to follow our conscience as we follow the word… but drop the Baptist label if you are dropping the Baptist distinctives. Some day, hopefully many many years from now, some in this congregation will have to choose the next pastor. You will need to decide if you wish to remain a Baptist church. You will need to guard against slick speaking folks who want to come in and undermine the historical and Biblical Baptist distinctives. There will be a time where you will need to go back into the archives, and blow the dust off of this sermon series to remind yourself why we stood for what we did. With that in mind, let us see what is unique about holding the Two Offices, Pastor and Deacon, position.
There Are Three Terms For The New Testament Church Leader.
Elder – Position of Rank and Responsibility
Acts 14:23 KJV
And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Titus 1:5 KJV
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Bishop – Overseer
Philippians 1:1 KJV
PAUL and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
1 Timothy 3:1–2 KJV
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Pastor – Shepherd
Ephesians 4:11 KJV
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
These Three Terms are Interchangeable
Titus 1:5–9 (KJV)
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
Acts 20:17 (KJV)
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
Acts 20:28–30 (KJV)
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
1 Peter 5:1–4 (KJV)
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Some Churches Had Multiple Pastors/Elders/ Bishops – But They All Served In a Pastoral Capacity.
Acts 20:17 KJV
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
Titus 1:5 KJV
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
James 5:14 KJV
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
These Were Elders, not Deacons.
The Deacon Is A Servant Not a Ruler
Acts 6:1–6 KJV
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
• Practical needs were not being met.
• This was not the role of the Pastor/Elder/ Bishop
• Men were chosen to meed needs and diffuse conflict, freeing the pastors to do pastoral stuff.
• These were not a board over the pastor, they served at the will of the pastor(s)
Labels mean something. Obviously, to be Baptist is not a requirement of Salvation. There are Christians with different interpretations of scriptures, and that is fine… that is between them and God. We here at Evangelical Baptist Church have embraced what we believe to be the Biblical Baptist distinctives. Hopefully you have gained a deeper appreciation and understanding for what it means to be a Baptist.
B -Biblical Authority
A- Autonomy of the Local Church
P -Priesthood of all Believers
T – Two Ordinances
I – Individual Soul Liberty
S – Saved Church Membership
T – Two Offices
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 5:42 PM March 16, 2022.