Does Paul’s requirement that an elder be “above reproach” act as its own qualification, or does Paul mean for it to qualify all the other qualifications—as in, “above reproach by not being adulterous” and “above reproach by not being a drunkard,” and so forth?
Since it is first in the list, the most natural reading suggests the answer is both. “Above reproach” is its own qualification, and it can be applied to all other qualifications. To be above reproach is different from adultery or drunkenness. It suggests you’re not even open to accusations of adultery or drunkenness. You’re not walking up to the line or making things murky for those watching you.
Our elders were forced to consider this qualification in the heat of the moment. A pastor of our church had not crossed any one line. He had not committed adultery, was not a drunkard, was not a lover of money, was not violent, and so forth. Yet he had conducted himself in a way that was very foolish with respect to one of those other qualifications. You might say his actions showed him to be walking toward one of those lines without crossing it. Several members of the
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
