Are you blameless?

In our sermonette (mini-sermon 5-10 min's, listen below) today, we discussed being blameless or above reproach. Lit." not able to be held" in a criminal sense, meaning that there is nothing valid that can be held onto in order to lay a blame against an overseer. No blatant, flagrant sin can scar the life of a man who is called to be an example to the people of God (Heb 13:7, 1Pe 5:3, Php 3:17, 2Th 3:9, Ps 101:6) Blamelessness (above reproach) is the waving banner for all elders; all the other requirements expound on what it means to live that way.But remember an elder is to be an example for all the people of God to follow. So that means that you too (if you are a lay person) must make these requirements your own. Every believer is called to a priestly type of life, therefore, we all must take pains in the joy of living 1 Timothy 3:1-7, which is truly an exemplary life.

Explaining Grace

If your a Calvinist, people may sometimes ask you, "Why has God chosen some people for salvation and not others?" What do you say? I would suggest that you say nothing other than precisely what God has said through the Apostle Paul in Ephesian 2:7.
Your conversation might go something like this,

Question-Asker- Why would God pick some people for salvation and not others?

You- So that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace।

And remember, always be graceful in explaining God's grace.