If you'll open in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3.
1 Timothy 3.
I'm going to pray again
just asking God for His help.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ,
Lord, just that - help us.
Help me.
God, You've ordained all things
and You've ordained the means of all things.
Help us to look to You
and then walk in obedience to those means.
God, as our brother said,
every blessing in Christ is ours,
but You've ordained that they come to us
through the means of things like prayer
and obedience.
So help us to walk in these manners,
to obey You, to honor You, to look to You.
So come now and meet with us.
Be with us.
God accomplish something -
not just here in this sermon,
but in this conference.
God, that You would get the credit alone;
that it could not be given to the power of man;
it could not be something that we've done,
but something that You've done where You would get glory,
You would get credit, God, in each of us.
Thank You for Christ our Savior.
In His name we pray, amen.
1 Timothy 3 -
a text we looked at yesterday.
I'm going to read again to begin us here.
Starting in v. 14.
"I hope to come to you soon,
but I'm writing these things to you
so that if I delay,
you may know how one ought to behave
in the household of God,
which is the church of the living God,
a pillar and buttress of truth."
We looked at that text yesterday
and we recognized this,
that Scripture does give us
direction pointedly on how we are to behave
in the church -
what our roles are,
what our responsibilities are,
and how we are to relate to one another.
If you were with us last night,
we looked at the role and responsibility
of pastors, of elders.
We noted first that for the church
to be functioning in order,
it's necessary that they have
pastors and elders.
And so we should be praying
and working towards that.
We noted yesterday too
that the elder, the overseer, the pastor
is describing the same office.
It is elder, overseer, pastor
in the same office there.
It is describing one person
which there are to be a plurality of.
We saw also yesterday that elders
are to be biblically qualified men,
and they are to remain qualified.
It's not just that they're qualified
as they enter into or are considered for that role,
but they are to remain qualified
by having careful watch over themselves.
We noted yesterday too that elders
are made overseers by the Holy Spirit.
They oversee the affairs of the church.
We saw also that they are called
to collectively in the plurality of elders
to shepherd or pastor the flock of God
that is before them.
And we saw that they pastor
by knowing the sheep -
knowing who these people are
that God has entrusted to them.
We also saw that they are to lead the sheep.
They are to lead by example.
They are to be an example to the sheep
in conduct, love, faith, and purity.
We saw too that they are to feed the sheep.
They feed them the whole counsel of God's Word.
And we saw that they are to protect the sheep.
And we noted yesterday,
yes, to protect the sheep from the outside influence
of the world coming in,
but to protect the sheep from wolves
that have crept in unnoticed among us.
We noted something about those wolves yesterday -
that they seek to draw away disciples after themselves.
They have contagious personalities,
a contagious zeal,
but they begin to speak twisted things
to draw disciples away from the flock
unto themselves.
Well, today we're going to look
at what Scripture has to say
regarding the responsibility
of the congregation to their pastors.
We'll be in a few different portions of Scripture,
but I'm going to have you turn over one page
to 1 Timothy 5.
1 Timothy 5.
In chapter 5, Paul is giving instruction
to the church.
Again, how we ought to behave
in regards to our relationships
to one another.
At the beginning of the chapter,
he speaks about how young men
are to relate to older men in the church;
how they're to relate to other young men in the church;
how they are to relate to the sisters in the church;
how they are to relate to older women
in the church.
In v. 3-16, he instructs us how
we are to relate to widows in the church.
And then in v. 17,
Paul gives instruction for Timothy
regarding elders, pastors, overseers.
Beloved, this will not be an exhaustive look
at the congregation's responsibility
to the elders.
So, there will be more that can be said,
but hopefully it will give us some direction
in regards to these things
and maybe quite possibly
some correction in regards to these things.
Let's look at v. 17.
Paul writes to Timothy,
"Let the elders who rule well
be considered worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor
in the preaching and teaching.
For the Scripture says,
'you shall not muzzle an ox
when it treads out the grain;'
and 'the laborer deserves his wages.'
Do not admit a charge against an elder
except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
As for those who persist in sin,
rebuke them in the presence of all
so the rest may stand in fear."
First, notice again here that Paul
uses the plural.
Let the "elders..."
We mentioned this yesterday.
That God's design for the church
is to have a plurality of elders -
more than one.
And again, I know we live in the providence of God here.
But we should be working towards
the raising up of more men
that there would be more than one elder
in the churches.
And he continues here:
"Let the elders who rule well..."
I want to stop there for a moment.
Pay attention to these words.
What is it that the elders are to do?
They are to rule.
They are to lead.
They are set over and preside over the church,
and again, the affairs of the church.
Saints, this is what Scripture teaches.
There is authority given here.
There is order.
Without authority,
without order there's chaos.
I know in all of us at some level,
whether it's at home -
maybe wives with husbands -
maybe it's in your workplace with a boss;
maybe it's in a church that you've had
an experience where you've experienced
an abuse or a misuse of authority.
And that can be very difficult
to come in and then hear that God has given
authority in the church to men.
But here's something important.
We cannot allow our bad experience
of abuse or misuse of authority,
or even the potential danger
of misuse of authority
to remove or soften what Scripture teaches
regarding the role of pastors and elders.
Beloved, this is why we have to be careful
who is an elder.
This is why there are qualifications given
when we're considering who should become an elder
because there is authority given here.
As I thought about this struggle
of the reality that God has given authority
to elders and pastors in the church
and it's a struggle for us -
I just began to think through
what are the struggles that we have
with authority?
I thought of a couple things.
One I mentioned -
some of us have experienced
an misuse or abuse of authority.
It makes us skeptical to authority;
to the idea of having someone over us.
Second maybe, I know that we
who are in the church
are new creations in Christ -
we're no longer slaves to sin,
but we live in this suit of flesh.
And there are desires in the flesh.
And the desire of the flesh is one of autonomy.
It's one of self-rule.
It's one of pride.
So the temptation of self-governing and pride
can lead us to believe at times:
I don't need anyone over me.
I think being an American
does not help in this area.
The notion of America is one of self-governing.
And as it pertains in relation to
the government in our lives,
there is some good about the concept
of "we the people" - self-governing.
But you can't take the notion
of American thought and way and culture
in regards to government
and then allow that to have you
be resistant within the church
to those who God has given to be over you.
In addition to that,
you remember maybe 20 some odd years ago,
there was a major shift when some men
who hold the title of elder or pastor
decided that they needed to think
of new and innovative ways
how to grow the church.
So what they did is they went to
secular marketing business gurus.
And they said how can we grow
the number of people?
And they got secular marketing plans.
And they brought them into their churches.
And they came up with the notion
what many have referred to
as the seeker-friendly movement.
An attempt through carnal means
to put people in the seats
and get the machine rolling.
And I know us sitting here - I imagine,
most of you if not all of you,
we looked at that and we stand
in resistance to that.
We know that's not God's means
of growing the church.
He grows the church supernaturally
through the proclamation of the Gospel,
regenerating people and drawing them
into the church.
And that's how God grows the church,
but we have to be honest as well
that this notion - maybe many of you
were in some of these churches.
A lot of the people in our church in Dallas
came out of those churches
and there's residue that's left on them
from coming out of those churches
that has to be undone.
What happened during that time
is we had what's called maybe
a consumer mentality to the local church,
where the church was marketed to people;
where people went out and asked people:
Hey, what is it that you are looking for?
And they asked unbelievers,
what is it that you would like to see in the church?
And then they began to create those things
and draw people in through those carnal means
and then they realized,
we have to continue in those carnal means
in order to keep these unregenerate people here
so we can keep the machine running.
But what happened in all of that
and bled maybe into some of our churches unknowingly
is this consumer mentality of the church
where the church is here for me.
It's to meet my needs.
And the moment that the church
doesn't meet my needs
or do it the way I want,
well, I'll just go to the next church down the street.
And so people, you can hear
even how they talk when they come
into the churches sometimes
and you begin to talk with them,
and they talk about using shopping terms
when they're looking for the church.
And that's what people do today.
They shop for churches.
Well, who's going to best meet my needs?
And we need to be honest,
if we've come out of that environment,
some of that has stayed with us.
And it can make us resistant,
because if I come to you and say
I'm going to market this to you,
and then I don't do things the way you want,
you just say fine, we'll leave and go somewhere else.
And I see that as bled into many of our churches.
And it's impacting our understanding
of how we're to relate to one another
because maybe for some of you for so long,
the "pastors" that you sat under
just marketed to you to meet your needs.
And then when you come under
a biblical eldership,
who's mindful of the people,
but they're looking to the Word,
and they strive to be faithful and govern
according to the Word,
and you may disagree,
but they don't change their mind
just to meet your needs or your preferences.
And if you have a consumer mentality
regarding the church,
I'll just go to the next one then.
Another reason that this could be hard for us.
We just need to be honest here.
Pastors are imperfect people.
They make bad decisions sometimes.
And we're going to get into this
a little bit more in depth
and try to flesh this out as we go through this.
Because if they are called to rule,
govern the church,
there will be times when you disagree
with your pastors
and the decisions that they've made.
And I want to ask Scripture,
what are we to do about that?
What are we supposed to do
when they don't do things the way I think
they should be done?
So hopefully we can find
how the Scriptures speak to us.
Let's continue in v. 17.
"Let the elders who rule well
be considered worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor
in preaching and teaching.
For the Scripture says,
'you shall not muzzle an ox
when it treads out the grain;'
and, 'the laborer deserves his wages.'"
What does Paul mean when he says here:
"be considered worthy of double honor"?
I think he has at least two things in mind.
One is the valuing,
the esteeming of elders.
Holding them in high regard.
And the second is dealing with financially supporting them.
Let's talk about this first one.
The honoring of elders by holding them in high regard.
Paul says something very similar
to the church in Thessalonica.
Let me read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13,
and you see if you hear a parallel
to this call to honoring.
He writes, "We ask you, brothers,
to respect those who labor among you
and are over you in the Lord
and admonish you,
and to esteem them very highly in love
because of their work."
Did you notice the reason
that you are to honor your pastors?
Did you notice the reason you are
to respect them? To esteem them?
And look at the words:
"very highly in love."
Is it because you agree with them
at every step and turn they make?
No.
Why does Paul tell you here to show honor,
to respect, to esteem your pastors?
Because of their work. That's why.
Paul holds the work, the role,
and the responsibility that pastors have
as a high regard;
as a very vital and essential aspect
to the church.
And because of that work,
he says I want you to honor them and esteem them.
Not because you agree at every turn they make.
Just because of the work that they do.
Let me tell you what Paul's not saying.
Paul is not saying that you
as the individual church member
get to decide how well you think your pastors are doing
in their ruling, in their being over you,
and then if you don't agree with them,
you don't have to show them honor.
That's not what he's calling you to.
He's stating a fact that they are called
to rule, to oversee.
And he says I want you to honor them
and I want you to respect them
because of the work that they do.
Paul is telling Timothy
and the churches to recognize
that God has put these men over you
in the Lord.
And notice I didn't say "in between" you and the Lord.
This is not a mediator.
This is not the Catholic church notion.
Okay? God in His love and His kindness
has put men over the church -
under-shepherds.
Not in between you and the Lord.
You don't go through your pastor to get to God - none of that.
But over you in the church.
There is one Mediator in the church.
It's the Lord Jesus Christ.
So what do we do when these men are imperfect?
They have faults.
They have weaknesses.
And we don't always agree with their decisions
or their rule.
Typically I hear the argument
in this area of this:
Are you asking us to just blindly follow these men then?
Are you asking us just to blindly follow these men?
And Paul would say to you: No.
And I am in no way telling you to blindly follow men.
But we do need to see the role
that they have of ruling;
of being over you in the affairs of the church.
I'll tell you this,
you may be looking at me right now
and saying, we'll, you're a pastor.
Maybe it sounds like I'm making a power grab.
But I can say this for one time,
thankfully none of you are in the church
that I pastor.
Not one person here is in the church that I pastor.
So in regards to you,
I have no personal gain
in sharing these things with you.
I don't get anything.
If you say, okay, we're going to honor our pastors -
personally it doesn't impact me
in the church that I pastor in Dallas.
But I want you to know this,
as a pastor and of the pastors here,
you need to put these things
before your people in your church.
Because who else is going to teach them these things?
Not many people will get up and teach these things.
Preaching these things in your own church
does sound self-motivated,
but I will not apologize for what it is,
because we're looking at God's Word.
We're looking at multiple places in Scripture -
not an obscure passage.
Multiple places in Scripture
that speak to the role,
the authority, and the rule
of elders within the church.
I'm sharing these things with you
because this is God's Word
and because as you obey these things
and submit to these truths,
it goes well for you in your church.
I'm speaking these things to you
for your edification and for the health
of your local church,
and ultimately then for the glory of God.
So we'll speak more about what do we do
when we disagree here in just a few moments.
Pastors, let me share this with you though.
If you have any fear about getting up
in front of your church
and sharing these truths with them,
I want you to know this.
They will gladly receive them
because they see that you love them.
It's through our serving the saints
that they may be tempted in a moment
to think this is self-serving; this is a power grab of our pastor,
but when you are sitting there laboring with them,
praying with them,
sitting across tables with them,
demonstrating your love with them,
they'll humble themselves in these moments
and they won't perceive it as a power grab
as you teach them God's Word.
Well, Paul goes on in regards to honor.
And he said not only should this mean
respect for the role that they have,
the job that they do,
but he is speaking also of financial support.
And you notice here that he says:
"especially those who labor
in the preaching and teaching of the Word."
Paul's argument for financially supporting
the pastors is tied to Old Testament texts.
It's tied to Deuteronomy 25
and Leviticus 19.
"You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain."
And "the laborer deserves his wages."
Paul fleshes this out if you want to study it more
in 1 Corinthians 9.
But Paul so values the role of pastors
and particularly within the eldership
or the plurality, those who are given
to the preaching and teaching of the Word
that he says whenever it's possible,
working towards this end,
that you should set that person apart
for the ministry of the Word and prayer.
Beloved, let me ask you this:
Do you think about that when you're giving?
This is of value for you.
I know that sometimes that's not a possibility in the moment.
And I think most of us here who are pastoring
probably were bi-vocational.
I worked bi-vocationally for 8 years.
And I want you to know it was so hard
on me and my family.
But it also wasn't good for the church.
And again, we live in the providence of God,
but to the degree that we're able,
we should be giving so we can
set these men apart - especially those who labor
in the preaching and teaching of the Word.
Set them apart so they can be
fully devoted to these things
for the building up of the church.
What you'll see very often
when he differentiates here
among the plurality,
that you will see within the plurality,
all of them need to be able to teach,
but you'll see very often where there will be
one or two of those elders just set apart
for the preaching and teaching of the Word.
And when you recognize that,
strive to set those people apart
by supporting them financially
so they can fulfill this call.
Even the ones who are set apart,
remember this, within the plurality though
it's a co-equal shepherding.
Just because one is given
to the preaching and teaching of the Word,
it does not mean that he's a senior pastor.
There are pastors.
There's no levels here.
They're co-equals.
They shepherd collectively together.
And some of them within the co-equal
are given to the preaching and teaching of the Word.
So far we've seen that elders are called to rule;
to preside over the church.
The congregation is to see that
and to honor that.
They're to respect the elders
and to esteem them highly in love
because of their role.
They're to provide for the elders in the church
material as they feed you spiritual.
Especially those who are given
to the preaching and teaching of the Word.
Beloved, any true pastor is not in this
for greedy gain.
Peter warns about that in 1 Peter 5.
Let me share this too though.
I've heard this notion - again,
you aren't in the church I pastor,
so remember, I don't have a motive for you here personally.
Keeping your pastor poor is not holy.
There's this notion: if we pay our pastor
this much money, he'll be in it for the money.
If he's in it for the money, he's disqualified.
No one's going into this calling
for material gain,
but don't go into it with
a monastic mentality.
Just keep them poor. It will keep them holy.
I'm not advocating to make him rich either.
But don't ask this man
what's the least amount of money
you could possibly humanly survive on?
And then give him that amount.
You don't treat anyone else like that
and you don't treat yourself like that.
Be mindful of your pastor.
Give him enough money
that he can be an example in his own giving.
That's a good rule.
He needs to lead in all ways.
He should be an example to the church
in his own giving to the church
and to missions.
But if you've said, well,
this is the least amount you can live by.
We'll give him $10 over that.
How is he to lead then in the example of giving?
Be mindful of your pastor in these ways.
Let's look at v. 19.
This might be one of the most important parts
about your relationship to your pastors.
Paul tells Timothy in v. 19,
"Do not admit a charge against an elder
except on the evidence
of two or three witnesses."
The NASB renders it,
"Do not receive an accusation..."
The NIV says, "Do not even entertain
an accusation except on the account
of two or three witnesses."
Paul seems to understand something.
As people struggle with this idea
of elders being over the church
and the resistance to that
that is often within the church,
Paul recognizes that one of the ways
some people might try to deal
with an elder's decision they don't like
is by lobbing an accusation against them.
And Paul's telling Timothy here -
remember Timothy is acting as an elder
in this church right now.
And he's telling Timothy,
hey, when you're in there
and you have these elders with you,
don't receive; don't even entertain
an accusation against the elders
unless it's on the account of two or three witnesses.
Paul's trying to protect the elders.
Not because elders don't need accountability.
They do.
There again's another reason for the plurality.
And not because they're not capable of sin.
They are.
In fact, we'll see in the next verse
how he deals with elders who are in sin.
But Paul seems to recognize
that there will be many accusations
made against elders or an elder
in the church.
And he's telling Timothy how to handle this.
How to handle it when people
don't agree with the elders
and then begin to make accusations against them.
Paul is not saying that if you have an accusation -
you become aware of sin against an elder,
that you shouldn't do anything.
He's not saying that.
Remember again, Paul's functioning as an elder.
So if someone in the church there
saw or heard of something
in regards to an elder being in sin,
they're to go to Paul
and bring that accusation to the other elder.
But what Paul is telling Timothy here
is but do not entertain it;
don't consider it until there's two or three witnesses.
Let me tell you what that does not mean.
That does not mean that if someone
has an accusation against an elder,
that they are to go out then
and find other church members
and share with them their understanding
of the issue they have with the elder
so they can get two or three witnesses
and then they can go in and present
their case against the elder.
That's not what it means.
What he means here is that
when sin becomes public to someone,
they go to an elder in the church,
and that elder hears it. He listens.
He begins to pray.
And then when somebody else -
not because they've come together
in some plan -
but when someone else,
God brings that sin to the surface,
they become aware of it,
they go to the elder as well.
And now we have two people coming
as witnesses in regards to an accusation.
And Paul says in the next verse,
you deal with that swiftly
and you deal with that publicly then.
And there's a principle here for all of us.
If Timothy is not to entertain or admit
a charge against an elder,
except on the evidence of two or three witnesses,
do you think there's a principle for us in there?
Let me tell you the principle I think
is in there for us.
When someone begins to disagree
with an elder or decisions that the elders have made,
they may not run around and claim
sin against the elder upright.
But very often, what we see happening
is that they do begin to go to other members
in the church
and subtly begin to make accusations
against the elder or the elders
because they disagree.
Now if Paul tells Timothy
do not entertain an accusation
against the elders except on the evidence
of two or three witnesses,
what should that look like for you?
When someone in the church comes to you
and inevitably they present this to you
as great concern they have for the church -
I've got great concern for the church right now
and I want to come to you
regarding this elder and this decisions
or the elders and the decision,
and the elders are what they're saying.
Are you not in that moment entertaining
an accusation against the elders?
Think of what that means: to entertain.
To consider the accusations.
We disagree with the elders in this area
and here's why.
Is that a church member's responsibility
to other church members?
No.
That's not a church member's responsibility
to other church members.
It's not to go and present
your disagreements with the elders
to other church members to gather a coup.
That's not your role.
And I would guess many of you are not doing that -
hopefully none of you are,
but one thing I want to warn you to be careful of:
are you on the receiving end of that though?
Are you on the entertaining end of that?
Where someone in the church has a disagreement
with the elders and they come to you
and they say,
"Well, I don't know if I agree with the elders in this area then."
And you sit down and you begin to entertain these things?
Can I tell you what's happening when you do that?
You're allowing an undermining -
a seed to be planted in you regarding the elders -
and it will create a lens for you
through which you will begin to look at everything
your elders do in light of that.
It creates division in the church.
Entertaining accusations against the elders.
Now, when you begin to talk like this,
people get concerned because they say
what if the pastors are asking us
to clearly go against Scripture?
Are we just supposed to sit quietly by
and do nothing?
No.
But I want to be honest with us.
In these scenarios,
for the most part,
the issues that are brought up
are not when a pastor or pastors
are asking you to disregard Scripture.
They're most likely not telling you
there are other paths
to forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
They're usually not dealing with
the person or the nature of Jesus Christ.
Usually when these things arise
we're dealing in other matters.
Usually it's in areas where we may disagree
with the ways that pastors have made a decision.
Or it's another what we might call
a secondary issue.
A non-salvific issue.
Where you hold to a different understanding.
Or even more likely - a preference.
How we do things in the church
that we disagree with.
And saints, I want you to have healthy churches.
And it's usually in these areas
that I find people going around and saying:
You know, I really need to share with you
where I disagree with the elders in this area,
and why I think they're doing this wrong,
and why I think they're wrong.
And we sit very often and begin to entertain these things.
If you have an issue where you believe
your pastor is leading you
or your pastors are leading you
contrary to the Word of God,
you need to go to your pastors.
You need to do it in a spirit of humility
because they are over you in the Lord.
And you need to share with them
why you disagree with them.
But again, most of what I see happening out there
is not in regards to a pastor telling you
to disregard Scripture,
or to forsake something God's told you to do.
Most of the time it's in regards to:
I just disagree with the elders here.
Are the elders not accountable then?
What do we do if an elder does persist in sin?
Look at v. 20.
"As those who persist in sin,
rebuke them in the presence of all
so that the rest may stand in fear."
Listen, when elders and pastors are in sin
they are dealt with very quickly
and they're dealt with publicly.
When elders are in sin and presiding
and continuing in sin,
it goes before the church.
God uses it redemptively
to bring fear into the church
of how serious sin is
in regards to these things.
Elders are under accountability.
They're accountable to God.
They're accountable to the Scriptures.
And in that sense, they are accountable
to the congregation.
They're accountable to the other elders there.
God's not allowing pastors
to not be under accountability here.
He deals with sin in pastors very quickly.
I want to turn to one other portion of Scripture.
That's in the book of Hebrews.
We looked at this verse yesterday.
Hebrews 13:17.
If you'll turn there with me.
One more verse.
The writer says here,
"Obey your leaders
and submit to them,
for (here's the reason)
they're keeping watch over your souls
as those who will give an account.
Let them do this with joy
and not with groaning,
for that would be of no advantage to you."
Obey your elders. Obey your leaders
and submit to them.
That's clear.
Obey them and submit to them.
Why?
They're keeping watch over your soul
and they're going to give an account.
The author is not calling you to blind obedience.
If an elder calls you to disregard Scripture,
you should obey God rather than man.
But again, when we're dealing with
differences of preference;
when we're dealing with a different understanding
of maybe a portion of Scripture,
what are you to do?
What do I do when the elders make a decision
I disagree with?
When if I'm being honest, they're not asking
me to disregard Scripture, but I just see it a different way.
How we should live this out.
What does he call us to?
Submission.
It doesn't mean you fully agree
with what the elders have decided.
It means you recognize the place
that God has given them in their local church.
And as they're striving to pastor
in accordance with Scripture,
you may disagree with something.
What do I do when I disagree?
You submit.
Let me share something that is kind of hard for us.
Submission is not demonstrated when you agree.
Submission is most demonstrated when you disagree.
When God calls you to submit to Him,
Paul seems to think one of the ways
that you demonstrate your submission to God
is by demonstrating your submission
to the authority that He's put in your life.
In the book of Ephesians,
he seems to say something like this:
Are you submitted to God?
Well, yes, I am.
Well, then, wives, show that submission
as you submit to your husband
who I've put over you.
What if I don't agree with my husband?
You submit.
Yes, if your husband asks you
to forsake the Bible,
you obey God rather than man.
We've dealt with that. This isn't blind submission.
But let's be honest, most of our struggles
with submission is not because our parents,
our husbands, our governing authorities
are telling us to turn away and forsake Scripture.
It's because we've come to a place of disagreement.
And what does that mean?
That when there's a place of disagreement,
we recognize the order, the structure
that God has put into place.
God, I'm submitted to You, I just can't submit to my husband.
What does 1 Peter 3 say?
Even when some don't obey the Word.
God, I'm submitted to You,
but my parents... I just disagree with them.
I won't submit.
Children, you demonstrate your submission to God
in your submission to your parents.
One brother working through this idea
of submission in regards to your pastors
gave an illustration I found very helpful.
He said something to this effect:
In your struggle to submit to imperfect elders
because you don't always agree,
if I was your pastor, let me ask you a question.
What do you want me to tell
your rebellious teenager
when they come sit down with me?
And they say to me:
Pastor, I don't agree with my parents.
Do I have to submit to them?
What do you want your pastor
telling your teenager
when they don't agree with you?
Should they submit?
I think a good pastor would say to that teenager this:
If your parents ask you to disregard clear Scripture,
you obey God rather than man.
But if you come to a place of disagreement,
you submit and demonstrate your submission to God
as you submit to your parents.
You don't want a pastor telling your teenager:
hey, only submit to your parents
when you agree with them.
Otherwise, you're free to do whatever you want to do.
That's not the idea of an order.
And that's the notion given here in Hebrews.
Submit to them.
The writer then says this at the end:
"Let those who watch over you
do this with joy and not with groaning,
for that would be of no advantage to you."
Do you see how he reasons with us?
Don't you realize that when you disagree
with someone that God has placed
in authority over you and you refuse
to obey and submit to them,
that you're actually making it harder on yourself?
When pastors are having to deal
with people who refuse to submit to them,
they're often taken away
from the ministry of the Word and prayer
that could be of benefit to that very person
who refuses to acknowledge
the order that God has given.
It distracts from the church.
It takes away from the church.
It takes away from the joy of pastoring.
And we as pastors, this is something
we have to go through.
We understand that.
And so we lay our lives down for these things.
But the writer here wants to reason with you.
When you don't acknowledge God's order,
it goes worse for you.
You're not going to agree with everything
your pastors do.
So in summary, if they're asking you
to disobey and disregard
clear teachings in Scripture,
you obey God rather than man.
But when they make decisions,
arrive at different conclusions
than you do in Scripture,
it is not your job to go around the church
and try to persuade others
why your pastors are wrong
and why you're right.
And you're not to be on the receiving end
of those conversations
in the principle we learned
of entertaining those things.
Saints, there's an order that God has given us
in our churches.
It's for our good.
Pray for your pastors as they make these decisions.
When you disagree, it's okay to go talk with them.
But it's not okay to say,
well, I'm not going to submit.
That's not your role.
Your role is one of submission.
And I want what's best for you.
So I won't apologize
for the clear teachings in Scripture in this area.
And I'm going to exhort the pastors here again
before we close.
We need to be putting these things
before our people regularly.
It's regularly in Scripture.
And it's uncomfortable in your own church
to preach and teach these things.
But let's not be men that apologize
for the Word of God.
Let's pray.
Father, we come in the name of Jesus Christ.
Father, we want to honor Your Word.
Father, we want to fulfill our roles
and our call.
We want to be faithful
in how we relate to one another
because You've given these things for our good.
God, help pastors to be faithful.
Help them to be men of the Word.
Help them to not be domineering
and lording over people.
But help them also not to shy away from leading,
which involves making hard decisions.
Help Your people then, God, to honor
the role that You've given them
to submit even in some areas of disagreement, God.
To honor You as they submit to those
You've put over them.
Help us to demonstrate our love and honor to You
as we demonstrate our submission to those
You've put over us.
For the good of the church.
For the edification of the church.
And for the glory of Your name
in these places.
We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.