What Are The Biblical Qualities Of A Good Pastor

What Are The Biblical Qualities Of A Good Pastor

KEY SCRIPTURES: Titus 1:6-9; 1 Timothy 3:2-7

1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, able to teach.”

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INTRODUCTION

Pastor is someone that is called by the mandate of God to be a good shepherd to drive the sheep of God through the journey of life with spiritual teachings to enable the sheep to grow in the faith and in the long run, have the assurance of spending eternity with God in heaven. Pastor is not self-made, but it is calling that must follow biblical principles and guidelines of what it is expected to achieve in the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the church while a pastor is just the instrument used by God to build his kingdom on earth. The bible which is the holy book of God has some guidelines which describes the qualities which a man must attain before one can be called Pastor and if these qualities are not followed, the church may just be building on fleshy words rather than being filled with the spirit which must edify the congregation. The biblical qualities never change in who is involved to be ordained as a pastor of a congregation. 

A church can move from crisis to crisis if the pastors ordained in that church have not, do not or are not trying to measure up to these biblical qualities. For a man to be ordained as a pastor of a church, there are some biblical qualities to be followed and, in this article, we will be considering the biblical qualities of a good pastor in order to have a sound and spiritually alert congregation.

1. A PASTOR MUST BE A MAN OF ONE WIFE: Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:2

One of the first qualities of a good pastor is that he must be a man of one wife, he must be faithful to his wife and not give room for adultery in any form. Having one wife and being faithful to the wife will serve as a role model to the congregation he is leading and be faithful to the one true God that called him into the ministry of reconciliation of his people back to God.

2. A PASTOR MUST HAVE A GOOD CHARACTER: 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7-8

A good pastor must always possess a good character and behavior. He must be fulfilled with the fruits of the spirit and display them in all situations that might occur in the church. He must be spiritually alert and be sensitive to the things of the spirit. He must be patient with people because he will be dealing with different kinds of people with different backgrounds on a daily basis. His behavior must prove and show that Jesus Christ is present in such life. His behavior must draw people to the gospel of Christ which will allow him or her to win more souls to the kingdom of God.

3. A PASTOR MUST BE FILLED WITH THE WORD OF GOD: Titus 1:9

Another quality of a good pastor is that he must be filled with the word of God, he must be sound with the undiluted truth in the word in order not to be tossed by every wind of doctrine that is common in this modern-day world. He must have the right word of God in order to win souls into the Kingdom of God. He needed to be sound in the word in order to be disciples of all nations and build laborers for the kingdom of God. Through the word of God in him, he will be able to draw those who have backslidden or fallen into erroneous doctrines. The sound word of God in him, will make a pastor not to fall into the wiles of the wicked ones and he will be able to stand in the evil days due to the armor of God that dwells in him.

4. A PASTOR MUST GODLY CHILDREN: 1 Timothy 3:4-5; Titus 1:6

A good pastor must have the qualities of having godly and good moral children. Children that are respectful and not mannerless. He must have children that submit to the principles in the word of God. Children that other children in the church can emulate and be good examples to all. A good pastor must have children that are versatile, and spirit filled and good ambassadors of God here on earth. A good pastor must have good control of his children and guide them in the right way to go to the Lord.

5. A PASTOR MUST HAVE FINANCIAL INTEGRITY NOT GREEDY FOR GAIN: 1 Peter 5:3; Titus 1:7

A pastor must have financial integrity, he must be upright and truthful with the money dealings of the church. He must not be covetous or greedy for personal gain thereby leaving the work of God to suffer. He must make populating the kingdom of God the priority and not pursuing money over the kingdom of God.

6. A PASTOR MUST BE PEACEFUL: 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7

A pastor must follow peace with all men. His words and sermon must be peaceable and ensure his environment is peaceful for people to approach him with their burdens in order to encourage and strengthen the congregation in the Lord.

7. A PASTOR MUST BE SOBER NOT A DRUNKARD: 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7

Another biblical quality of a good pastor is that he must not give himself to excess wine that makes one to judge wrongly but be always sober. Excess wine can cause abnormal behaviors that fuels addictive responses, and a good pastor must avoid that at all costs in order to preserve the congregation of God.

8. A PASTOR MUST BE GENTLE AND PATIENT

A pastor must not engage in rough or noisy fights or quarrels but must be gentle and patient. He must constantly demonstrate the gospel by taking responsibility for all action taken and restoring relationships in the church. He must be able to search out a matter in the way of God and ask God to grant him wisdom to settle matters arising among the congregation. He must not be quick-tempered too.

9. A PASTOR MUST BE HOSPITABLE: 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8

The home of a pastor must be welcome to all for guidance, exhortation and encouragement. A pastor’s home must be a home that all can go to enjoy quality fellowship and solace too.

10. A PASTOR MUST BE HOLY AND LOVER OF GOOD MEN: Titus 1:8

A pastor must live a life in righteousness. He must be Christ-like in all things, he must be devoted to God and must genuinely be lover of good men, thereby drawing unholy men to God through this holy living and pure lifestyle. A pastor must also practice self-control in all things. Not everything should be edifying for him. He must be truthful, fair, open and transparent. 

CONCLUSION

All these biblical qualities must be present in the life of a man before he can attain or be named as a pastor in the congregation of God. If anyone is lacking in all these qualities, he is not truthful to the faith in which he is called. One ought to examine one’s life and ask God to help build all these qualities if they are lacking and one has the calling into the ministry of God.