Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible





The Presiding-Officer should be a man of blameless character; a faithful husband; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skillful teacher, not addicted to drink or brawling, but of a forbearing and peaceable disposition, and not a lover of money; he should be a man who rules his own household well, and whose children are kept under control and are well-behaved. read more.
If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how can he take charge of the Church of God? The Presiding-Officer should not be a recent convert, that he may not be blinded by pride and fall under the same condemnation as the Devil. He should also be well spoken of by outsiders, that he may not incur censure and so fall into the snares of the Devil.

My reason for leaving you in Crete was that you might put in order what had been left unsettled, and appoint Officers of the Church in the various towns, as I myself directed you. They are to be men of irreproachable character, who are faithful husbands, whose children are Christians and have never been charged with dissolute conduct or have been unruly. For a Presiding-Officer, as God's steward, ought to be a man of irreproachable character; not self-willed or quick-tempered, nor addicted to drink or to brawling or to questionable money-making. read more.
On the contrary, he should be hospitable, eager for the right discreet, upright, a man of holy life and capable of self-restraint, who holds doctrine that can be relied on as being in accordance with the accepted Teaching; so that he may be able to encourage others by sound teaching, as well as to refute our opponents. There are, indeed, many unruly persons--great talkers who deceive themselves, principally converts from Judaism, whose mouths ought to be stopped; for they upset whole households by teaching what they ought not to teach, merely to make questionable gains.

How true is that saying! When a man aspires to be a Presiding-Officer in the Church, he is ambitious for a noble task. The Presiding-Officer should be a man of blameless character; a faithful husband; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skillful teacher, not addicted to drink or brawling, but of a forbearing and peaceable disposition, and not a lover of money; read more.
he should be a man who rules his own household well, and whose children are kept under control and are well-behaved. If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how can he take charge of the Church of God? The Presiding-Officer should not be a recent convert, that he may not be blinded by pride and fall under the same condemnation as the Devil. He should also be well spoken of by outsiders, that he may not incur censure and so fall into the snares of the Devil.

If a man is hungry, let him eat at home, so that your meetings may not bring a judgment upon you. The other details I will settle when I come. Verse ConceptsPhysical HungerDiscipline Of The ChurchChurch OrderComing TogetherGoing To ChurchFeeding The Poorcommunionhungerorder


Briefly then, just as a single offence resulted for all mankind in condemnation, so, too, a single decree of righteousness resulted for all mankind in that declaration of righteousness which brings Life. Verse ConceptsAtonementJesus Christ, Obedience OfJustification Under The GospelSalvation, Possible To All MenLife In ChristCondemnation Of The WickedAll PeopleLife Is In ChristPatience In Relationships


You may be sure that such a man has forsaken the Truth and is in the wrong; he stands self-condemned. Verse ConceptsTwisted Wayscondemnationcorruption

Above all things, my Brothers, never take an oath, either by heaven, or by earth, or by anything else. With you let 'Yes' suffice for yes, and 'No' for no, so that you may escape condemnation. Verse ConceptsBad LanguageConsistencyAffirmationsethics, personalOaths, HumanAffirmative ActionConversationHeaven, Glimpsed By HumansCursingSwearing Being ForbiddenAssentingDissentSwearing OathsNot Swearing OathsNo CondemnationSwearing



How true is that saying! When a man aspires to be a Presiding-Officer in the Church, he is ambitious for a noble task. The Presiding-Officer should be a man of blameless character; a faithful husband; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skillful teacher, not addicted to drink or brawling, but of a forbearing and peaceable disposition, and not a lover of money; read more.
he should be a man who rules his own household well, and whose children are kept under control and are well-behaved. If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how can he take charge of the Church of God? The Presiding-Officer should not be a recent convert, that he may not be blinded by pride and fall under the same condemnation as the Devil. He should also be well spoken of by outsiders, that he may not incur censure and so fall into the snares of the Devil. So, too, Assistant-Officers should be serious and straightforward men, not given to taking much drink or to questionable money-making, but men who hold the deep truths of the Faith and have a clear conscience. They should be tested first, and only appointed to their Office if no objection is raised against them. It should be the same with the women. They should be serious, not gossips, sober, and trustworthy in all respects.




How true is that saying! When a man aspires to be a Presiding-Officer in the Church, he is ambitious for a noble task. The Presiding-Officer should be a man of blameless character; a faithful husband; living a temperate, discreet, and well-ordered life; hospitable, and a skillful teacher, not addicted to drink or brawling, but of a forbearing and peaceable disposition, and not a lover of money; read more.
he should be a man who rules his own household well, and whose children are kept under control and are well-behaved. If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how can he take charge of the Church of God? The Presiding-Officer should not be a recent convert, that he may not be blinded by pride and fall under the same condemnation as the Devil. He should also be well spoken of by outsiders, that he may not incur censure and so fall into the snares of the Devil. So, too, Assistant-Officers should be serious and straightforward men, not given to taking much drink or to questionable money-making, but men who hold the deep truths of the Faith and have a clear conscience. They should be tested first, and only appointed to their Office if no objection is raised against them. It should be the same with the women. They should be serious, not gossips, sober, and trustworthy in all respects.

Do you, however, speak of such subjects as properly have a place in sound Christian teaching. Teach that the older men should be temperate, serious, and discreet; strong in faith, love, and endurance. So, too, that the older women should be reverent in their demeanor, and that they should avoid scandal, and beware of becoming slaves to drink; read more.
that they should teach what is right, so as to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, and to be discreet, pure-minded, domesticated, good women, ready to submit to their husbands, in order that God's Message may not be maligned. And so again with the younger men--impress upon them the need of discretion. Above all, set an example of doing good. Show sincerity in your teaching, and a serious spirit; let the instruction that you give be sound and above reproach, so that the enemy may be ashamed when he fails to find anything bad to say about us. Urge slaves to be submissive to their owners in all circumstances, and to try their best to please them. Teach them not to contradict or to pilfer, but to show such praiseworthy fidelity in everything, as to recommend the teaching about God our Savior by all that they do. For the loving-kindness of God has been revealed, bringing Salvation for all; leading us to renounce irreligious ways and worldly ambitions, and to live discreet, upright, and religious lives here in this present world,