He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
Summary: Paul’s instruction about having a good reputation with outsiders is a key diagnostic tool for determining someone’s fitness for serving as an overseer.
This verse goes to the heart of the entire Bible.
In this passage, Paul refers to “outsiders.” This is important! Who are they and what are they?
Since Paul’s letter is written to Timothy, a believer, and is about overseeing other believers, “outsiders” must refer to the world of non-believers.
What do we mean by “believer?”
A believer, in biblical terms, is more than someone who just acknowledges God’s existence. As James writes in his letter, “Even the demons believe [that there is one God].” (James 2:19)
The Bible’s definition of a believer is someone who believes and acts on their belief (Matthew 21:28-32). They actively love God above all else and strive to love their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40). A believer understands that making disciples for Jesus of “all nations” (Matthew 28:19) is not a matter of taking authority over people but of serving them (Mark 10:43-45, Galatians 5:13).
The story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1-3) is the story of how “insiders” and “outsiders” came to be.
Because they rebelled against God and ate from the forbidden tree, all of us who are descended from Adam and Eve have the same defect. Like them, we are born knowing — in a carnal sense — both good and evil (Psalm 34:8).
Unlike God, we cannot “know” evil and be unaffected by it. In fact, without God’s laws and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have no reference point for the difference between “good” and “evil.” Humans tend to sort “evil” into categories. Some “evil” is not so bad, and other kinds of evil are really bad. From God’s perspective, falling short of his will in any form is “evil.”
For example, telling a “white lie” is not something most people lose sleep over. However, murdering people is generally thought of as being “really bad.” Murdering thousands or millions of people is often held up as the gold standard of evil.
So how does God define evil?
God’s definition of evil is not a thing or a single action. Adam and Eve, before they sinned, had only one rule or “law” to live by: Do not eat from the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:15-17). Everything else they did was “good,” because they were walking in God’s will, and because they had no sense of self-interest (Genesis 2:25).
In short, evil is putting self-interest before God. Who among us can avoid doing that? (Romans 3:23)
When Paul talks about “outsiders,” he is talking about people who put themselves first. Self-interest is where each of us begins our faith journey, separated from God by sin.
Paul’s admonition that an overseer must have a “good reputation with outsiders” is a brutal test of a person’s faith in God. Not just their belief that God exists, but their ability to put God first in everything they do.
Application: “[A]ct justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Food for Thought: How does the devil trap us using our reputation with others?
How does the devil trap us using our reputation with others?
Reputation can be a slippery slope, that’s why we need to be firmly planted on the Rock! 🙂 For one that keeps in step with the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is evident in them, their reputation naturally goes before them, and they are a beacon of the dependability and comfort that Christ brings for those around them. They don’t need to be concerned about their reputation, they only need to be concerned with abiding in the Spirit. Their good reputation is evident. But if one is concerned about presenting or maintaining a certain reputation, they are putting the cart before the horse. And I think this is where one might give the devil a foothold. Pride, concealment, hypocrisy, and fear of man become the priority for the person and not the mission that God has given them. They become a distraction both to themselves and others around them.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
John 12:42-43 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Thank you, Chris!
Well said, and well reasoned!
GOOD JOB CH!
How does the devil trap us using our reputation with others?
Being concerned about our reputation with others is a sign of living in our flesh rather than the spirit.
We are called to live our lives in service to our Lord Jesus Christ in all we do.
This world is filled with people seeking the approval, acceptance of others. Wear the proper clothes, drive certain cars, live in specific neighborhoods, and of course associate with only those of good reputation among men. This human housing we exist in will pressure each of us to adjust our behavior and comply with the standards considered acceptable by the people we may look up to and seek to associate with.
In reality, we are spiritual beings confined in physical bodies, as we temoprarily live in this physical world which strives to convince us, the standards established by mankind are reality and must be complied with if we are to become of “good reputation.”
God tells us. Mathew 6:33, Seek ye first the kingdom go God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Satan will seek to convince us, as followers of God, we are unacceptable to this worlds standards, and will point to his ways as paths to increase our reputation among men. As believers we are Called and empowered by God to become individuals of no reputation. Empowered by and used by God to express His will to all He brings into our sphere of influence.
Philippians 2:7-10, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.
Thank you, Ron!
Yes, I agree. Whether we live in the flesh or the Spirit becomes obvious, even to the non-believer.