Thematic Bible: Who should not drink
Thematic Bible
Drunkenness » Who should not drink
Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work." A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching; not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous; read more.
but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity. (If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?) He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil. It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil. Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain, but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience. And they must also be well-tried men, and when found to be of unblemished character then let them serve as deacons. Deaconesses, in the same way, must be sober-minded women, not slanderers, but in every way temperate and trustworthy.
but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity. (If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?) He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil. It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil. Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain, but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience. And they must also be well-tried men, and when found to be of unblemished character then let them serve as deacons. Deaconesses, in the same way, must be sober-minded women, not slanderers, but in every way temperate and trustworthy.