So holiness is necessary and it should be examined prior to ordination. But what does it look like? Durham gave five positive requirements. First, holiness is evidenced by ruling a household well (1 Tim. 3:4-5). While this requirement does not preclude ordaining young men it does highlight that there can be “more confidence to discern a called minister” when a man is older. Second, he is to evidence Christian piety. That is, he is to be vigilant, sober, blameless, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, not greedy or covetous (1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7-8). Third, he is to have a good report of those outwith the church (1 Tim. 3:7).

 
Discerning readers of this short series on “Concerning Ministerial Qualifications” may be wondering whether James Durham missed the foundational qualification the New Testament outlines for ministry. After all where does Paul begin in outlining the qualifications for elders? He begins with character. He begins with who a man is in himself, and how he leads his household. Only then does he move on to ability to teach (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). But, fear not, Durham did not miss this emphasis.

Though he began with the necessity of “gifts” and “learning” to qualify a man for the ministry he spent the largest portion of his essay on the importance of “grace,” that is, that a minister be a man of evident godliness (Revelation, 255-265). As we will see, Durham, is at one with Robert Murray M’Cheyne in saying “A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” (Andrew A. Bonar, ed., Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne [1892; repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1966], 282)

Holiness Necessary

Durham was clear, then, that grace is necessary for the ministry. By this he simply meant: “he that thus carrieth the Lord’s message … should be holy.” While a man being devoid of “saving grace” and “true regeneration” did not invalidate the work of the ministry performed (we are not Donatists) nonetheless “holiness is a qualification … it is useful and necessary in many respects.”

Durham argued this from many angles. But just to highlight two. He noted that a key role of a minister is to pray for his people “as in Paul’s practice is manifest.” And then he simply asked, “what can the unrenewed Minister do here?” The answer is obvious, an unregenerate minister “is unable to be profitable in this respect.” Again Durham highlighted the importance of application in preaching, and in particular being able to comfort the “weary.” He notes that an unregenerate minister is unable to “sympathise” with his people truly, and therefore unfit to pastor them.

Holiness Should be Examined

Given the importance of holiness, Durham was insistent that a large part of the ordination process should be geared towards considering the holiness of the ministerial candidate.

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