1st Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
These verses of scripture are full of instructions and prerequisites to anyone desiring to be a bishop in the capacity of a Christian church or congregation, and several specifics are laid out as being indispensable to the office in question. The apostle Paul starts out by saying that a bishop must be blameless, and the husband of one wife, meaning that he should be leading an exemplary life in his own home, before he can even think about being a bishop. Then paulgoes on to stipulate that the consumption of alcohol, and the love of money, are traits of character that should effectively debar any one from the sacred desk.
The reason for these stipulations is simple, for if a man cannot be faithful to his wife, then he will not be faithful to the flock under his supervision, and if he cannot refrain from drinking, he will not be able to make sound, spiritual decisions, that can affect his congregation for time and for eternity. In addition to this, the love of money will ultimately cause him to surrender the truth, whenever the preaching of the true gospel will affect his revenues, or hurt his bottom line. There are some folk who will not attend churches where the preaching of the unadulterated truth is the norm, for some are deeply offended when the mention of personal sin comes from the scriptures.
Thus, in order to avoid a steep drop in revenues, many bishops in our day have chosen to go an alternative route, by presenting those truths which deal strictly with love, grace, and mercy, while the very sins that caused Christ to die on Calvary, are never ever mentioned, since it has now become politically incorrect to do so. After the passage of the law on gay marriage, the economy of the United states began to plummet from the very next business day, and since that fatal day, it has not been able to recover, but instead has cascaded downwards, and is scheduled to accelerate in in that direction, as the word of God promises it will. Let's read:
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
But the voices of many bishops and televangelists have gone dead, and the silence has now become deafening, for if anyone dares to raise their voice in remonstrance, the spectre of financial persecution looms large, and because of this many unfaithful under-shepherds have deliberately chosen to remain silent, and stand idly by as the nation goes over the moral cliff. But God is now calling on bishops and laity across the land, to raise our united voices against the current evils that are weighing heavily on markets and societies across the entire globe, for in our day, nothing but a radical stand for truth and righteousness will do.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which calls on all bishops to speak the truths of God's word, in season and out of season, as is currently the case, for the eternal destiny of all souls hang on the faithful dissemination of the word of God. Let's read:
2nd Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!