Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 171:682 (Apr 2014)
Article: Are The Qualifications For Elders Or Overseers Negotiable?
Author: Benjamin L. Merkle

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BSac 171:682 (April-June 2014) p. 172

Are The Qualifications For Elders Or Overseers Negotiable?

Benjamin L. Merkle

Benjamin L. Merkle is Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Qualifications for elders or overseers are mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.1 These qualifications are seen by many evangelicals as normative guidelines that must be upheld today as the standard for those seeking leadership positions in the church. But how stringently must these guidelines be followed? Are some of the qualifications merely optional based on one’s particular context? If so, does that open the door to dismiss other qualifications if one finds them outdated or overly restrictive? For example, in his commentary on the Pastoral Epistles written more than a hundred years ago, Bernard commented,

It must be remembered that St Paul is not enumerating here the essential characteristics of a bishop; he is dwelling upon certain moral and personal qualities which, in the Church of that day, it was desirable that he should possess. And it has been argued with considerable force that regulations of this sort cannot be regarded as of universal and permanent obligation, for circumstances may so change as to render them unwise or unnecessary.2

He argued that the requirement for a bishop to be the husband of one wife “may be modified by circumstances” based on the various ways the church has interpreted this phrase.3 Regarding the qualification

BSac 171:682 (April-June 2014) p. 173

that an overseer be “able to teach,” Bernard stated that this requirement was, “perhaps, not part of the formal duty of the ἐπίσκοπος; it was a desirable qualification in view of the special circumstances of Ephesus and Crete.”4 Astonishingly, he also wrote that the prohibition against drunkenness is not necessary in the present age because “each age has its own special sins to guard against.”5

If one takes Bernard’s approach, the qualifications are somewhat negotiable. In a different age and culture, the qualifications that Paul lists are not universal. They are limited to a particular time and place and can therefore be enforced or ignored. But is this the correct approach? Are some of the qualifications negotiable or mu...

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