“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”
1 Peter 5:1-6 ESV
An uneasy subject in these crazy modern times is authority. To be clear, the Bible knows nothing of the sense of radical autonomy rampant in contemporary philosophy. Well, that is to say the modern default setting and not so much an actual philosophy. One thing that can be said about the modern mind, riddled and shot through as it is with the putrid premises of secular humanism, is that it operates on unargued philosophical bias. “Who can discern his errors…declare me innocent of hidden faults…” cries the Psalmist (Psalm 19:12). Such is the admission of the man of God. “Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?” Such is the cry of Paul at the end of Romans 7 before the Spirit declares praise to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation is the delivery from the great and dreadful bondage of sin. This is what it is. It is sin that fractures all, ends all, tears it up, wrecks it, and ruins a man’s life just the same as flood waters muck up and destroy a home. The premise of Scripture is, indeed, that salvation is of the Lord. The premise of humanism is that you must “be happy” or “do your thing” or “chase your dreams.” Who is on the throne of our hearts? Is it Christ or our reflection.
Winston Churchill once said of a man, “He believes he’s a self-made man and he worships his creator.”
But to all that Scripture says blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1). The wicked hear a line like “not for shameful gain” and twist it to mean something altogether different than what God means. The elders of the church are to “exercise oversight” in the Lord and for the Lord. They’re to do that to remind us of that great truth that sin destroys. They’re to do so via sound doctrine and a lifestyle it inspires. To what end and goal? To inspire the same. Sound doctrine inspires wise living. If an elder thinks more of gaining wealth or reputation than he does sound doctrine in Christ that inspires love for others, especially those within the church, he’s a wolf. Shameful gain is anything that distracts from the main goal and that is holy living in light of what God has done for us in Christ.
An elder has God-given authority for this reason only. A pastor or any Christian leader is an officer in the Lord’s army. An officer who forsakes his orders is stripped of rank. How many church leaders do we have these days who will sacrifice holiness for the appearance of peace? The whole idea of authority is to use it in service of the goal. I fear we’ve abandoned the mission by placing appearances over personal holiness. There are two prominent Christians suing each other in a case that’s quite public. I asked elders in their respective churches why the dispute between two Christians has gone to the courts. One of them has clearly sinned. Maybe both. It’s logically impossible for both to be right. Which is it?
Shrug.
“That’s not really our jurisdiction,” they say. What! I reminded them that sin within the church is absolutely their jurisdiction.
“I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.””
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 NLT
A major lawsuit between two church members over financial improprieties isn’t their jurisdiction! How appalling. No one has been called in to give an account. No one has been called to repent. When I pressed, I was told, “well…that’s not really our business.”
God disagrees.
“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers! Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers. Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:1-10 NLT
A loss of the fear of God – and we mean a true and biblical fear of God’s wrath – leads to a dangerous complacency.
An elder who doesn’t tell a professing Christian that he/she is in sin and must repent is like an officer that hides when the battle starts! That’s why you’re an elder…to exercise the authority of Scripture. Not “domineering” doesn’t mean to sit on the sidelines in the false name of peace when there’s a controversy. What peace does God’s Kingdom have with sin and pride?
On another issue between warring church members when I asked why the one who clearly had cheated another was still going to church I was told, “well…that’s not really a church issue…it was a personal business matter.” The one, an employee, had lied to the boss and cost him money. Low hanging fruit there. Last I checked, lying was still against God’s law.
The fact is, the fear of being the overbearing elder has caused many churches to guard appearances rather than holiness. We must never forget that warning people (and ourselves) of God’s hatred of and judgment of sin is a part of a healthy Christian life. There’s no way to defeat sin and endure trials without both in place.
In another case, after a lying church member was left alone by the church after the sin was brought to their attention the liar went on to do something quite terrible. This happened because the leadership there didn’t find the courage to confront the sinner with the fact of their sin. It’s icky, I get it. People lie. But the Bible provides the principles through which we can test everything! And it provides the leadership structures through which to hold each other accountable. Yes, it takes lots of work. Paul was constantly in quarrels. That won’t and hasn’t changed. What has changed is that “the church militant” has changed to the “church therapeutic.” Conflict isn’t a sign of a bad church. Most of the time it’s the sign of a church taking seriously the need of leaders to confront sin. The only one who knows the true health of the church is the One who knows the hearts. Trust me: membership numbers can lie.
Now, let’s be clear, no administration or church organization is going to fix the problem and challenge of sin. Only Christ does that. But this is to say that the church must humbly understand the nature of the battle in the first place. Have you been hurt by a sinner in the church? Have you been wronged and there’s been no justice? On the one hand we strive for wisdom and pray fervently for it so that we may be discerning. To be meek doesn’t mean be a doormat. To love everyone, even your enemies, doesn’t mean trust everyone. Test everything! Joseph tested his brothers to see if they’d changed before he revealed himself to them.
And we must pray for the elders and leaders too. Even in their failures and shortcomings. None of us are going to get this perfect. Judas was among the twelve, so we will absolutely have our traitors. We must not, though, grow resentful and forget that God will judge all. We must not grow unloving and forget that without grace all of us are lost. And we must absolutely remain humble. David rose to the peak of earthly glory amidst all sorts of danger. He “fell” when he had what everyone of us thinks they want: freedom from authority and want.
Oh, how horrendous a thing it is to tell the sinner that God has placed men in authority over him. Sin is radical autonomy and the Bible nowhere condones it. Rather it tells “young men” to submit in humility to their leaders and elders. Young men are in this case those of lesser rank and authority. Sinners hate this distinction and hate any suggestion that they should humble themselves. To humble ourselves rightly before the offices of authority God has placed in our lives is the path of holiness. Don’t like President Biden, or President Trump? That’s fine, but still honor them as president. Don’t like your boss? Submit to him and work heartily as unto the Lord. Think your elder or pastor has issues? Unless they’re doctrinal , remain submissive. It’s on matters of sound doctrine that we place our flag, which is the flag of Christ.
Are you a leader or elder? Your goal is to love and fear God. Exercise your God-given authority to His praise and glory. Elders of a church are to willingly, wisely, and without domineering or bullying, lead the people. Lead them to what? Christ! How? Via sound doctrine that inspires Godly living.
Having restraints – bosses, elders, teachers, leaders – is very often a blessing. Pride is the source of sin that ruins all and burns whole through families, friendships, businesses, and churches. Let us all, therefore, pray to the Lord for mutual humility before Him so that we all exercise and are in proper submission to the blessings of authority, knowing that holiness and the defeat of sin is the mutual goal.
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