1 Timothy 3:7 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Moreover, he must have a good report That is, a fair or good character, or good testimony, namely, as to the time past; of them that are without That are not Christians; lest he fall into reproach By their rehearsing his former life; and the snare of the devil Which Satan might make a snare of to discourage and cast him down, or in some other way entangle him in unbelief and sin. Here Macknight remarks, “It is intimated, that the sins which a person has formerly committed, when cast in his teeth after he becomes a minister, may be the means of tempting him to repeat these sins, by the devil's suggesting to him that he has little reputation to lose. Nor is this the only evil. The people, knowing his former miscarriages, will be less affected with what he says to them. All who are candidates for the ministry ought to consider these things seriously.”