Can someone be saved by reading the NIV?

[chev1958]

[quote]
I think Linda was probably asking about pastors who do everything right (as the Holy Spirit leads them), including ruling their house well AND dedicating themselves to their pastoral ministry as fully as the Bible recommends they do, and their wives STILL leave them. Are such men disqualified as well?
[/quote]

Wow, we're getting in the weeds now, aren't we? Let's see -- honestly, I don't see how pastors who are doing everything right according to the Holy Spirit's leading would result in a divorce. I believe the Holy Spirit would be sensitive to trouble in a pastor's marriage and should be "pinging" the pastor about that, i.e., spending more time at home.

That said, I know pastors get divorced. If the wife leaves him, I believe he is still disqualified. 1 Tim 3 says he must be the husband of one wife, so I believe that a pastor (as well as a deacon) must be married. Therefore, if he is no longer married, he is disqualified to serve as pastor. Plus, if his wife feels she must leave, how is he ruling his own house well?

What happens if he remarries? I still believe he's disqualified because he's still not blameless nor of good report.

[quote]
Matt 19:9b - and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
[/quote]

Now we can hypothesize this to death. My basic premise is that if there is divorce in the family (the pastor and wife divorce; the pastor marries a divorced woman), then he should consider himself unqualified for the pastorate. But there are many, many other ministries where he can still serve.

As to the "ruling one's house well" question, uh, there's not enough electrons available here to address that one. :D

Mitch

[lettheredeemedsayso]

Yes, you are right we can hypothesize this to death.
When I say preacher I am referring to a pastor.
The main point that I was bringing out is there is not a pastor alive that does everything perfectly.

I believe in scripture that all the leaders found in therein with the exception of Jesus Christ himself, had some sin that beset them. I believe that the Holy Spirit had it penned this way so that we would learn to follow the Lord and not the man.

I know of a preacher that went through a divorce and he was left to raise 5 small children. Which he did and they are all saved. I find it hard to believe that God would not allow him to lead.

[LAF]

Well while we may feel sorry for such a person ,we still must use the Bible as our source and guide .
And in this case listed above while our hearts go out to him he still must not be a the pastor of a church .He can still be a helper in the church but not the leader .

[pneu-engine]

Most excellent, LAF. :goodpost:

[Chelle]

[quote]
Wow, we're getting in the weeds now, aren't we?
[/quote]

:? Was that comment really necessary?

Oh well, never mind. This thread is already so far off-topic I don't think it will ever find its way back again.

[pneu-engine]

Truth be told, I like weeds. Did you know that the very best grapes come from weed-vines. The old-fashioned wild Fox Grape is nothing but a wild, weed strain. The flavor of the Concord comes from this grape, and the high sugar content comes from the Niagra. Can you just imagine what the Concord grape would taste like if it was not adulterated, not watered down, undiluted, or uncut by all that bland, tasteless, high sugar content of the Niagra. WELLA!!! That is the Fox grape. :clap: :clap:

I bet I'm really :ot: :ot: :ot: :ot: :ot: now. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Bakershalfdozen]

That is what you do best. :haha

[lettheredeemedsayso]

But Praise God for He is the True Vine :D and what wonderful fruit He yeilds!!!

[pneu-engine]

[quote]
That is what you do best. :haha
[/quote]

Yes indeedy. :haha :haha :haha :haha

[Jerry]

Linda, God gave us those requirements for Pastors and Deacons - those are HIS requirements - that is how we are to gauge whether any particular man is qualified. It has nothing to do with being sinless or without problems - God never asks or requires of us what we cannot do. He did not say the pastor must be sinless, but must be the husband of one wife, etc. and so on. It is not unloving to make sure our pastors fit those requirements - AND IN FACT IS DISOBEDIENCE IF WE STAND BY OR ALLOW PASTORS TO GUIDE OUR CHURCHES THAT DO NOT FIT THE REQUIREMENTS GOD HIMSELF SET UP. We can argue opinions all day - but those in this thread are 100& right that state that is what God said and we need to abide by it, whether we like it or not.

[John81]

The topic of pastors and wives is one I've never thought much about before.

Does the Scripture being discussed mean a man must have a wife to be a pastor or does it mean if the man is married he must have only one wife? I've heard both views from Baptists and others as well.

What if a pastor were widowed; would that mean he could no longer be a pastor?

[Bakershalfdozen]

I believe in the I Timothy passage the point is the pastor can't be a polygamist. I hadn't thought about that specifically before this thread but I do believe it to be the case. It is just my opinion that a single man or a widower could be a pastor but I don't think he should remain that way very long.

[pneu-engine]

I agree, Bakers-6, for many reasons. :goodpost:

***The temptations that Satan will throw in his path to trip him up.

***His wife is a tremendous helpmeet (aka help-sufficient) for him when dealing with other women in the church.

***Only a married man can fully appreciate the needs of the married couples in his flock.

There are many other reasons as well.

[dwayner79]

6.5 or 7 (You wouldn't really give a half of loaf extra? :wink: ),

So not being a polygamist does not rule out remarriage after a divorce. I just am curious if you would add that clarification to you stand?

PE,

I do agree with your post, and perhaps I am nit-picking here, but I know single pastors deal with this "you are not qualified to tell me how to run a home" attitude from people. It does help, but it is certainly not necessary to be married to understand what the bible teaches about marriage. Just like we do not have to be adulterers to know how to teach about adultry. You can substitute anything here and the logic works. I do not think you're saying that you have to be married, I just want to clarify the point.

Thanks...

[Bakershalfdozen]

Dwayne, I 110% believe that a divorced man is not Biblically qualified to be a pastor.

I believe that one passage is talking about polygamy because a widower can get remarried and still be a pastor. Technically, he would have been married more than once and therefore have more than one wife. Of course, God may see a widower-remarried man as only having one wife and a divorced-remarried man as still being married to his first wife so, not sure on that one.

There are other stipulations in I Tim. 3 that would rule out a divorced man being a pastor - blameless, of good behaviour, etc. There are also many other passages that deal with divorce and remarriage and a pastor is to be above reproach.