If the elder qualification lists in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 were undoubtedly exhaustive, we could simply say that being above reproach means meeting every qualification in both lists.
Yet since the lists are different (and don’t even include all the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5), we are wiser to conclude that the lists are intended to be representative, rather than exhaustive, and so we probably should not use the lists as definitive. Being above reproach, then, is probably more than just checking off the items on these virtue lists. But it’s not less.
To be above reproach is, arguably, the most general of all the elder qualifications, so it has to be defined more generally. A good start might be to say that it means being beyond reach of any criticism or accusation that, if true, would either disqualify a man from office for aberrant conviction, deficient character, or sinful outward conduct; or would cast serious doubt on the credibility of his own personal profession of faith in Jesus and the reality of his repentance. He certainly is not sinless, but neither does his example invite the kind of disparagement that undermines his public ministry or
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
