What an amazing verse: deacons who serve well obtain for
themselves two things – a good standing and great boldness in the faith. The
first of these is easily understood. A man with all of these qualifications who
takes care of the benevolence needs of the church and ministers well to the
sick, the widows, and the orphans is going to be greatly loved and respected.
That is the simple truth! Don’t misunderstand. The verse isn’t promising that
you are going to get a personalized parking space at the church, but it does
mean that those in the church and outside the church will recognize that you
are a man of integrity and have a heart of compassion.
Do you know why this is important? When you are respected
for your work ministering to people in need, you gain their trust. They listen
to what you have to say. It places you in a position where you can share your
faith with boldness and confidence. Not only is the deacon emboldened to share
his faith, but also his message has credibility with those who know him. It’s
like James stated: ministry is taking care of needs – not just telling people
that everything is going to be fine (my paraphrase).
So having said all of this, some of you might still be of
the opinion that the work of the deacons is the business of the church. And I
would say to you that you are exactly right as long as you realize that the business
of the church is ministry. The early church’s deacons understood that. Stephen
and Philip were two of these men who because of their faith in God were able to
take care of the widows and orphans and were great proclaimers of the gospel
who impacted their world and ours. Go back to Acts 6 and read a few chapters.
You will be amazed at what God did because these men were men of integrity and
filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now to take care of a little business. I will be transitioning my blog from this site to a WordPress site. The address will be https://bnshayes.wordpress.com . Check it out, but be patient because we are still working on it.
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