Dear God,
Maybe Cain and Abel would not
kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. — Evan
Dear God,
Thank you for the baby brother,
but what I prayed for was a puppy. — Love, Susan
Dear God,
I bet it is very hard for you to
love all of everybody in the whole world all the time. There are only 6 people
in my house and I can't do it. — Nancy
Aren’t those real kids’ letters
to God great? But since this article is
for adults about church-related matters, let’s shift to an important question
we need to ask God:
Dear God,
How am I to respond to my local
church leaders?
In our last article we began studying the Scriptures together and we noted…
1.
God wants you to KNOW your local church leaders. (1 Thessalonians 5:12)
2.
God wants you
to HIGHLY VALUE your local church leaders for their work’s sake.
(1 Thessalonians 5:13)
3.
God
wants you to LISTEN to the BIBLICAL PREACHING and IMITATE THE FAITH of your
local church leaders as they point you to the Lord Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:7-9)
4.
God
wants you to OBEY the biblical teaching and SUBMIT to the practical decisions
of your local church leaders. (Hebrews
13:17)
Obey
those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls,
as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for
that would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17)
As in Hebrews 13:7, local church leaders (pastors / elders)
are designated in this verse by the phrase, “them that have rule over you”
(“your leaders” – NASB; NIV). Believers
in the congregation are then commanded to exhibit two God-honoring responses
they are to exhibit toward their local church leaders.
Hebrews 13:17, more than any other New Testament passage , addresses the issue of the
believer’s responsibility to the church shepherds: “Obey your leaders, and
submit to them.”[1]
IMPERATIVE
#1: OBEY THEIR BIBLICAL TEACHING
First of all,
Christians are commanded by God to “obey” their spiritual
leaders. This Greek word translated “obey”
(peithesthe), when in the passive voice, repeatedly carries in the New
Testament the idea of “being persuaded” (Luke 16:31; 20:6; Acts 26:26,
28; 28:24; Romans 8:38; 14:14; 15:14; 2 Timothy 1:5, 12; Hebrews 6:9), many
times resulting in a certain “trust” exercised. Furthermore, there appears to be some distinction indicated in
this verse between the concepts of “obey” and “submit.” In light of this, it would appear that
believers are being exhorted to “obey” the biblical teaching they have
heard and “been persuaded” of through the Scriptures. This command, therefore, would lead to a biblical submission, and
not a blind submission to their local church leaders. This also would imply to elders that their authority is to be
exercised within biblical parameters, not outside of it. As pastors teach the Word of God and the
Holy Spirit uses it to persuade believers of its truths, an appropriate trust
in the spiritual leaders coupled with practical submission should result. However, if pastors teach or require you to
believe or do something contrary to the will and Word of God, you are to “obey
God, rather than men.” (Acts 5:19)
IMPERATIVE
#2: SUBMIT TO THEIR PRACTICAL
DECISIONS
Secondly, Christians are instructed to “submit yourselves”
to their local church leaders. The
biblical concept of submission involves recognizing and respecting the
functional difference between a person in authority and a person under
authority. Since the Bible teaches
elder rule, not congregational rule, as God’s design for the local church (Hebrews
13:7, 17, 24), it is only appropriate that believers recognize the God-given
authority of their spiritual leaders and repeatedly (present tense) choose
(active voice) to submit in their attitudes and actions to the practical
decisions of their pastor(s). Churches
with congregational rule in essence have the sheep mandating policy to their
shepherds. This is both logically and
biblically backwards. When this occurs,
a church does not really need leaders to lead, they simply need a steady diet
of congregational votes and then people designated to carry out their
mandates. And while congregational
feedback is helpful and necessary at times, the functional response of the
congregation as prescribed by Scripture is to “submit” to the practical
decisions of the leaders.
Likewise
you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be
submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists
the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
John Phillips, in his commentary on Hebrews, emphatically
writes…
The elder's rule must be acknowledged. "Obey them
that have the rule over you, and submit to them" (13:17a). The Christian community is not a democracy
where the majority rules, nor is it anarchy where every man does whatever
pleases him; it is a theocracy over which God rules through elders. An
exhortation such as this is greatly needed today when resentment and rebellion
against authority are so commonplace in the world. In the Church, no such
carnal and satanic spirit must prevail. Those whom God has raised up and gifted
to be spiritual leaders must be obeyed.
The rule of the elder must be acknowledged.[2]
As our world has a dim and distorted view of authority,
permit me to highlight four biblical principles regarding submission to
authority that every believer needs to know and apply.
·
Submission to authority is a biblical
principle which even extends to the Godhead.
(1 Cor. 11:3) With the exception
of God the Father, everyone is under the authority of someone or something.
·
Submission to authority is designed to
maintain order and to fulfill God-given roles.
(Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:17)
Someone needs to be in charge and be the final decision-maker, otherwise
chaos instead of order and productivity results.
·
Submission to authority provides
protection for those under that authority.
This is to be true with children in a home, people in a nation, or
believers within a church. (Hebrews
13:17; Acts 20:28-32; Ephesians 6:3; Romans 13:1-7)
·
Submission to authority should be learned
first of all at home. (Ephesians
6:1-4) The objective of rearing a child
in a Christian home is to train him/her to be a servant of Jesus Christ, and to
eventually leave your home with an adult soul to match his/her adult body. If a child fails to learn humility and
submission to authority in his home, he must eventually learn it the hard way —
from a police officer, the judge, a drill sergeant, a demanding coach, or an
exacting employer — if at all.
Invariably, this rebellious mindset will create tremendous problems
if/when he/she chooses to marry.
·
Submission to authority is always first
to God and His Word, and then to delegated authority within those
parameters. (James 4:6-10)
Unfortunately, we live in a day when evangelical churches are
filled with folks whose orientation to authority has been shaped by the world
instead of the Word of God. Too often
they operate from their emotions and flesh, instead of from principled thinking
based upon the Scriptures. Thus, the pastor
is treated like a spiritual “piñata” which is regularly beaten by the
congregational stick of criticism and complaint, but who is expected to throw
in return spiritual “candy” in their direction. These things ought not so to be!
In this age of perverse narcissism and rebellion against
authority, it is especially urgent to not only understand the elders’ proper
place and role in the church, but to thoroughly understand the congregation’s
proper response to its leaders. The
tragedy, however, is that many evangelical churches operate more like secular
society than God’s community of saints.[3]
It has been my observation that sometimes those who yell
“grace” the loudest seem to manifest it the least to others, including their
church leaders. And keep in mind that
the true test of submission is not when you agree with the decision (for
then submission is easy), but when you would have done it differently. Will you at those times roll your burden on
the Lord and let Him handle the situation, submitting to your leaders as unto
the Lord?
Cast
your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the
righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)
Every church leader, like every parent, would admit that
there are certain decisions they would make differently or situations they
would handle differently if given the opportunity. Yet if the decision was made within biblical parameters and not
outside of it, submission by the congregation should be their scriptural
response. Perhaps the following diagram
can illustrate this.
Doctrine
Biblical
Qualifications
If the pastor is biblical in his doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2-4)
and morally qualified in his character (1 Timothy 3:1-7), there needs to be
tolerance by the congregation of his personality, submission to his judgment
calls, and a relaxed mental attitude regarding his preferences, appearance and
style. There are no two cookie-cutter
pastors regarding these matters, nor need be!
Each elder is like a snow-flake that is hand-molded by the Lord and who
is still in the process of spiritual transformation into Christ-likeness (2
Corinthians 3:8; Romans 8:28-29).
Instead of appreciating his teaching and leadership, carnal and immature
believers highlight his personal idiosyncrasies and faults, while demanding
that this double-edged sword not be applied to them. This hypocrisy is divisive and fails to fulfill the law of
Christ, which is love. (Galatians 6:2)
Another problem resulting from a lack of submission to local
church leadership manifests itself in the home. A parent’s failure to submit to his/her pastor is extremely
counter productive spiritually to the intake of the pastor’s teaching ministry
toward his/her children. Why would
children hear and heed the exposition and exhortations from God’s Word via the
pastor when their parents think he is “out to lunch” and they have “burnt
pastor” for Sunday supper! Instead,
parents are teaching their own children to disregard spiritual authority, which
eventually backfires in rebellion towards their own.
I have heard a number of times of the heartaches of a pastor
when people are unsubmissive and critical of his authority. Some critical believers act like arm-chair
quarterbacks during Sunday’s football game, criticizing every decision the
referee or coach makes, while forgetting that no one is knocking down their
door to offer them a coaching job on Monday!
Pastors, ironically your chief critic may actually be the person who
initially appeared to be your greatest supporter. Years ago, Harry Ironsides would wisely say, “Keep an eye on
the man who picks you up at the train station.
For he may also be the person who drives you back to the station one day.”
There seems to be genuine insight in the observation that a
pastor has approximately three to five years to establish his functional
authority within a local church. This
should primarily be accomplished by scriptural preaching, personal example, and
wise, biblical decision-making. If, by
God’s grace, the congregation responds to the Lord and submits to his
functional authority, the following years may be very spiritually productive
for that local church. Unfortunately,
many pastors are unwilling to stay the duration or do not survive the
skirmishes.
Disunity on a leadership, board level is especially
devastating and destructive to a local church.
And while doctrinal differences need to be addressed in a godly fashion
and resolved if possible, with biblical separation necessary if unresolvable,
yet normally the root problems are such things as a power struggle or unchecked
personal bitterness. Many times the
“doctrinal” issues are the camouflage in seeking to legitimize the real
internal problems. Nevertheless, the
personal fallout and division that results can be very discouraging to the
saved and disruptive to the cause and testimony of Jesus Christ toward the
unsaved.
Fellow-believers, if this kind of problem is occurring in
your local church, like the old adage says, “either you are part of the problem
or part of the solution.”
Satan loves to create division in local churches over the
color of the carpet, the style of the curtains, debating whether Adam had a
navel or not, etc. Humble believers who
are oriented to grace and God’s design for their local church, coupled with
godly pastors who are preaching the Word of God with servant hearts, serve to
eliminate most of these issues before they become a concern.
And
we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you
in the Lord and admonish you, and to
esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among
yourselves. (1 Thess. 5:12-13)
It is also noteworthy that the word “obey” in Hebrews
13:17 carries the implication of “trust,” in light of being taught the Word of
God. As children of God ultimately
trust the Lord to direct and deal with their church leaders who are teaching
them God’s Word, and as a by-product they trust their pastor(s) like they would
their medical doctor (who they trust enough to allow him/her to operate on
them), faith replaces fear, and peace replaces persistent scrutiny and
suspicion. If you cannot over time
faith-rest in this matter, you need to face your “control” problem vertically,
or you need to find a different church to attend where you can “obey”
and “submit” to the pastor(s).
But unless you address your problem of unbelief in God’s sovereign
direction over His church, you will simply repeat your “control” issues at the
next church.
The lack of biblical compliance to this scriptural injunction
to “submit” to your local church leaders may manifest itself in a number
of other ways. Legalistically, a lack
of trust in the Lord and submission to a pastor may evidence itself with
external public conformity with internal personal chafing under leadership,
usually expressed to one’s mate. And
while this married couple would be furious if the pastor scrutinized their
lives, yet they do not hesitate to hypocritically nitpick and scrutinize his,
while deluding themselves that they are spiritually-minded because of external
conformity cranked out from their moral flesh.
However, this lack of submission and self-righteous carnality may not
show itself publicly for a long period of time, though the people involved may
keep a running logbook of personal idiosyncrasies or offenses that they
perceive the pastor is guilty of in order to justify themselves.
It
(love) is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians. 13:5, NIV)
Then there is the rejection of pastoral authority due to a
subtle form of mysticism. Under this
self-deception, the people claim to be open for God to correct their thinking,
but in practice they deny that God could ever use their pastor(s) to personally
exhort them to accomplish this correction.
Or because of their high view of their own spirituality and thin skin,
they reject the pastor’s correction, as it was unloving and not gentle enough. And while cultic-like dominance by a spiritual
leader must be rejected, one of God’s instruments utilized by the Holy Spirit
in a believer’s life should be his/her pastor-teacher. However, while this mystical self-delusion
may sound so “spiritual,” it emanates from pride and a lack of humble teachability
and submission to biblical authority.
Whoever loves
instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverb 12:1)
Another form of the rejection of authority of local church
leaders is too-often done by individuals with a parachurch mentality. Instead, of ministering under the Headship
of Jesus Christ through their local church (which God designed), they pay
lip-service to the local church while they practically function outside of the
authority and support of local church leadership. And though they may salve their consciences by attending a church
on Sunday, for all practical purposes there is no submission of their ministry
involvement to their local church leadership as they spiritually practice
“the-end-justifies-the-means” and act as “God’s gift” to everyone. This independent parachurch mindset too
often drains local churches of their money and people and alleviates proper
accountability to their elders, while they then criticize the same local
churches for “not doing the job.”
But
if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)
These practical applications of Hebrews 13:17 are not to
imply that a pastor has no accountability to anyone, (for he does – Acts
20:28), nor to indicate that he is beyond any legitimate accusations by
others.
1 Timothy 5:19-20 debunks these misconceptions (which we will address in our
next article). But these applications
are designed to underscore how independent and/or insubordinate believers
“spiritualize” their practical rejection of God’s blueprint of the local church
regarding submission to spiritual leadership.
Dear friends, if your pastor is faithfully teaching you the
Word of God, obey his biblical teaching, submit to his practical
decision-making, and ultimately trust the Lord while you give your spiritual
leaders the benefit of the doubt, for love “hopes all things” (1 Cor.
13:7).
But why must believers in a local church “obey” and “submit”
to their spiritual leader(s)? Four
reasons are given in the remainder of this verse from the perspective of the
leader.
Obey
those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your
souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with
grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
(Hebrews 13:17)
First of
all, elders have a God-given responsibility to “watch out for your souls.” Jesus Christ via godly and gifted pastors
seeks to spiritually nourish you through the Word of God (1 Timothy 4:13-16)
and to alert you to spiritual dangers that are adverse to your spiritual
welfare (Acts 20:29-31). Thus, a
congregation does well to “obey” and “submit” to their leader(s).
The book of Hebrews itself illustrates the
critical need for spiritual watchmen. Some of the Hebrew Christians seriously
neglected the truth, were spiritually apathetic, compromised with Judaism's old
ways, feared hardship, were bitter, became backsliders, and disregarded God's
under-shepherds. So, the shepherds who
cared for this needy flock faced situations requiring vigilant attention. If
the elders were the ones who alerted the writer of Hebrews to the
congregation's problems, then they are an excellent example of watchfulness.
They were undoubtedly stable, mature Christians in whom the author had complete
confidence. However, they needed the obedience and submission of those under
their care in order to protect the congregation so it would experience vitality
and growth.[4]
Secondly,
elders “must give account” to Jesus Christ regarding their ministry to
God’s flock. Pastoring is a tremendous
privilege with an awesome responsibility before God and others. It is imperative that a church understand
that Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15), and that He
provides direction and administration to the church through godly elders who
teach the Word of God. Thus, a
congregation needs to “obey” and “submit” to their pastor(s), not
stand as the judge over them (1 Cor. 4:1-5).
Thirdly,
elders should be allowed to fulfill their ministry “with joy and not with
grief.” An obedient and submissive
congregation can certainly enhance “joy,” while an insubordinate church
can cause their pastor tremendous “grief.”
It is a
serious (and all too common) thing for stubborn, self-willed people in church
congregations to rob their pastors of the joy God intends faithful pastors to
have. Failure to properly submit brings
grief rather than joy to pastors, and consequently brings grief and displeasure
to God, who sends them to minister over us.
Grief (stenazontes) means an inner, unexpressed groaning. It is a grief often known only to the
pastor, his family, and to God. Because
lack of submission is an expression of selfishness and self-will, unruly
congregations are not likely to be aware of, or to care about, the sorrow they
cause their pastor and other leaders.[5]
Fourthly,
a failure for believers to obey and submit to their spiritual leaders with the
grief that results “would be unprofitable for you.” This lack of spiritual profitability for
rebellious insubordinates is true of individuals or a congregation either in
this life (due to the lack of spiritual growth and service) or in the future at
the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-11).
The
final reason we are to submit to our spiritual leaders is so they might be
relieved of grief. The term means “to
groan.” There’s probably no profession
more emotionally enervating than pastoral work. It’s filled with all kinds of groanings within the spirit that
are often too deep for words.
If we
resist this type of God-appointed leadership over our lives, we lose — it is
“unprofitable” for us. And so,
submitting becomes a matter not only of expedience — it is in our own best
interest.[6]
Having
pastored the Duluth Bible Church for over eighteen years, I personally know
something of the “joy” and “grief” referred to by the writer of
Hebrews. I am grateful to God that it
has been my portion and privilege to have shepherded (along with my
fellow-elders) a church that has been predominately characterized by a deep
respect for the Word of God and a submissive attitude towards God’s blueprint
for spiritual leadership. And though we
have had many “spots and wrinkles” (and still do, beginning with us
pastors), God by His grace has blessed the preaching of His Word to many lives
resulting in personal salvation, doctrinal integrity, corporate unity, and
growing spiritual maturity into Christ-likeness (Ephesians 4:13), all to the
glory and praise of God!
I
have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
(3 John 1:4) g