http://reformeddeacon.com/tags/biblical-foundations/ Recent content in biblical foundations on Readings in the Reformed Diaconate Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us http://reformeddeacon.com/1-timothy-3/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/1-timothy-3/ Full Text Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. http://reformeddeacon.com/acts-6/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/acts-6/ Full Text Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. http://reformeddeacon.com/biblical-qualifications-for-deacons-part-1/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/biblical-qualifications-for-deacons-part-1/ Excerpts Any man whose manner, conduct, thoughts, or attitude is not honorable, worthy of respect and admiration, and dignified does not meet this qualification and should not be a deacon. The same is true of deacons. A deacon should not be seeking dishonest gain. He should not seek to exalt himself among the flock of God by the office of deacon. He should not try to garner to himself power, control, or authority over others. http://reformeddeacon.com/gods-gift-of-deacons/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/gods-gift-of-deacons/ Excerpt It was not because the care of widows was unimportant that it was given to deacons. It was because ministry of mercy was so important that a new office was created. In and of itself, it would have been good for the apostles to show Christ’s love by serving tables and getting involved in the nitty-gritty of caring for widows. James, the Lord’s brother, who was in the Jerusalem church at this time, would write some years later, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Jas. http://reformeddeacon.com/if-you-are-a-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/if-you-are-a-deacon/ Excerpt Deacons are not to be “the servants” of the church in the sense that they personally do anything and everything that needs doing. They are servant-leaders in the church, who on the one hand have hearts willing to do the most menial of tasks for the sake of the body, yet who also have the authority to direct and oversee the involvement of the whole church in such tasks. http://reformeddeacon.com/justification-of-ordained-office/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/justification-of-ordained-office/ http://reformeddeacon.com/notes-on-ecclesiology/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/notes-on-ecclesiology/ Full Text Chapter XIX: The Deacon’s Office The communion of saints is implied in the very notion of an organized church having its polity and its ordinances of worship. But this communion is most impressively exhibited in two ordinances, both of which are emphatically denominated by the word communion, to wit: the Lord’s supper and contributions in money, or its equivalent. (Acts ii. 42-45; 1 Cor. x. 16; 2 Cor. http://reformeddeacon.com/office-of-diaconate-in-the-churches/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/office-of-diaconate-in-the-churches/ Excerpt Since the Scriptures do not provide any other concrete revelation about the general task of the deacons, we conclude that the Word of God teaches that the mandate for the diaconate contains these ingredients as normative: The office of deacon is a particularized and specialized expression of the office of all believers. In their task and calling the deacons demonstrate, model, and teach the Saviour’s love for His own. http://reformeddeacon.com/on-fasting-death-and-joy-reflections-on-my-upcoming-ordination/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/on-fasting-death-and-joy-reflections-on-my-upcoming-ordination/ Excerpt If I am going to do the duties of a deacon, then I must die. The list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 is a list that I have not, do not, nor ever will live up to. I have not, do not, and will not love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I have not, do not, and will not love my neighbor as myself. http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-for-the-ministry-of-mercy/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-for-the-ministry-of-mercy/ Excerpt Following the example of our Savior, who though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that we by His poverty might become rich, it is the duty of all saintsto be hospitable and to come to the aid of one another in material things, according totheir various abilities and necessities. The deacons should encourage members of the church to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share in order to provide for those in want, especially those in the household of faith, such provision to include not only monetary gifts or tangible gifts in kind (i. http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-of-diaconal-ministry/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/principles-of-diaconal-ministry/ Excerpt Diaconal ministry adorns the gospel when it provides tangible evidence of the love of God and of his messengers for the lost of this world. Indeed, in certain circumstances of extreme hardship the ministry of the Word can be virtually unintelligible apart from a ministry of deed. http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-report/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/opc-report/ Excerpt Para-ecclesiastical relief groups, while serving a crucial purpose at present, should actively implement a practical plan for the transfer of their ministries to churches—either through regular diaconal channels or through diaconal evangelism ministries to unevangelized populations of suffering people. http://reformeddeacon.com/some-old-testament-roots-and-their-continuing-significance/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/some-old-testament-roots-and-their-continuing-significance/ Excerpt Why did the Lord repeatedly express such great concern for the plight of the needy in Israel and warn Israel in no uncertain terms of his great wrath and vengeance to those who afflicted the needy and who did not help them (e.g. Ex. 22:22-24)? At the basis of the Lord’s special interest and care for the needy and oppressed is the fact that he, the Lord, had once led Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt and had claimed them as his own precious possession, his covenant people. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-biblical-foundation-of-the-diaconate/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-biblical-foundation-of-the-diaconate/ Excerpt That designation of servant links these officers with their great example and model, Jesus Christ the Servant of the Lord. He points to his own life of service as the model for Christians when he says in Mark 10:43-45: “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” One of the ways that Jesus served was in feeding the multitudes and in caring for the needy. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon/ Excerpt To avoid friction between members, to promote happy pastorates, and to develope the grace of liberality, nothing is more important than a good deacon, one who can be patient, who can smile at unreasonable people, and speak a soft word to turn away wrath, one who is willing to give time and take trouble on himself, and make himself “all things to all men” in order to promote the interests of his Master’s cause. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-a-divine-right-office-with-divine-uses/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-a-divine-right-office-with-divine-uses/ Excerpt While the work of the deacon is one of service to the poor and the widows; while the work of the deacon is one of serving tables and making distributions to those in need (thus, handling the monies of the church), we must never lose sight of the fact before us in Acts 6:3—the deacon is to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” It is not enough that a man be respected by or successful in the world, he must exhibit a deep spirituality if he is to be considered for the office of deacon. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-the-biblical-roots-and-the-ministry-of-mercy-today/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacon-the-biblical-roots-and-the-ministry-of-mercy-today/ God’s gift of the office of deacon and the blessings associated with it may not always be fully appreciated, especially in congregations that are financially prosperous and do not have many materially poor in their midst. However, as this book hopes to demonstrate, the importance of the diaconate goes far beyond simply providing for material needs. In order to get a proper understanding of the significance of this office, we must consider it within the context of the entire Bible. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons-handbook-a-manual-of-stewardship/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deacons-handbook-a-manual-of-stewardship/ http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship/ Excerpt That indeed, is a sadly defective state of the church where there are no poor, there must be something very deficient in its zeal and aggressiveness, if amidst the multitudes of poor around us, and mingling with us, there are none in the church itself. No church is bound to elect men to an office, however important it may be, unless her Lord has given her men of suitable qualifications, and this is the case in very many of our smaller churches. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship-a-treatise/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-deaconship-a-treatise/ Our blessed Lord does not, like some of his professed followers, make light of temporal wants. He feels, that amid all his own difficulties and discouragements, he is not standing alone—that other are alive to his circumstances, and sympathise with him, and are forward to aid him—and that he can have their advice and cooperation in many matters, which are otherwise fitted to distract and to burden. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-and-the-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-and-the-deacon/ Excerpt It is the deacon who best demonstrates the mercy and service of Christ which the elders teach. It is the deacon who thus fills out the Gospel which the elders proclaim. It is the deacon who best reminds us that power in the Church is not to be like power in the world, because true power is first and foremost the power to serve. And thus it is the Gospel which compels us to ordain deacons in the Church so that Christ, our “table-server,” may be seen in all His fullness. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-work-of-the-diaconate-a-ministry-proportioned-in-number/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-gospel-work-of-the-diaconate-a-ministry-proportioned-in-number/ Excerpt Our charity towards the membership should be such that it makes the world outside her walls jealous for the faith, hope, and charity within. Thus, our deeds toward one another should and will promote our missionary enterprise among the lod and dying of the world. Do not be come discouraged with little or slow results. Continue your labor. Be faithful in small things. Remember that you are not accountable for the timing of the harvest, but for the labor. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-importance-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-importance-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Excerpt The Church, therefore, which shuts up the channel of diaconal ministration must expect to be dwarfed in the development of experimental religion. More humble and less conspicuous their office may be than that of the elder; but it is not the less divinely warranted, nor is it unilluminated by the splendor of a glorious example. It is a striking fact that the Lord Jesus, in his sojourn on earth, did not occupy the outward seat of the ruler—he condescended to appear as a prisoner at the bar of the eldership of his own visible Church. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-new-testament-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-new-testament-deacon/ Excerpt Christians today must understand the absolute necessity for and vital importance of New Testament deacons to the local church so that the needy, poor, and suffering of our churches are cared for in a thoroughly Christian manner. This is a matter dear to the heart of God. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-pastoral-wisdom-of-john-calvin/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-pastoral-wisdom-of-john-calvin/ Excerpt There were men that would employ themselves to serve the poor. Others spared not their own property and yet they had not one penny rent. There was not a house to be had upon hire. Thus does God set a looking glass before us, where by we ought to confirm and frame ourselves. But if we look upon ourselves, we shall find the exact opposite: for it seems that we have conspired to do quite otherwise than was then observed in the ancient church. http://reformeddeacon.com/the-spiritual-nature-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/the-spiritual-nature-of-the-office-of-deacon/ Excerpt The deacon’s fund can be a powerful tool for good or ill, so cash or other assistance cannot be distributed without taking the time to assess the recipient’s level of stewardship. If the potential recipient of the diaconal aid wastes his gifts, the church rightly expects that he will be denied funds that would merely subsidize his misuse. Wisdom here is essential, and who has it but a deacon who has been instilled with biblical stewardship? http://reformeddeacon.com/women-in-office-especially-about-deaconesses/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://reformeddeacon.com/women-in-office-especially-about-deaconesses/