Sermon: For Those Who Desire To Be Elders Pt.2

Those Who Desire To Be Elders – PT.2

(1Tim 3:1-7 & Titus1:4-9)

            Last Sunday morning, we discussed the function of the elder but spoke very little about what the qualifications for eldership are. This week, we begin the task of looking at the Biblical qualifications and investigating what each of them mean by both the biblical description and putting them in the proper context by using the Bible as its own best commentary. Some will be pretty obvious, while with others we’ll need to look into the Greek wording and use our minds in an attempt to draw logical conclusions.

            First, we need to understand where these qualifications originate. If you asked most people where the qualifications come from, they’re answer would be something to the affect that Paul was the one who came up with them and we know what they are because of the letters he wrote to Timothy and Titus concerning the elders.

            But was it truly Paul who put the qualifications together? Did Paul sit down one day with pen and paper and think to himself, “Now what should I teach about what kind of men the elders and deacons should be?” In his letters to the young evangelists, did he, at the time, just arbitrarily decide that he had to come up with something to tell them about the leadership of the Church? Hardly!

            Paul, as we know, was an apostle; A man who received his direction from Jesus Christ, Himself. And since we know this to be true, let me ask: do you really think that these qualifications, as we call them, really came FIRST from Paul? To the true, God-fearing Christian, the answer to that question should be obvious. These aren’t Paul’s directives, but those of Christ Jesus. They aren’t man-made, but Heaven sent. And that being the case, we need to do our very best at understanding them, in spite of what the traditions of men, which Jesus was so opposed to, has taught us. Let us, being true seekers of the Truth, look upon these instructions from Christ without bias; without preconceived notions; and without the influence of the preference of men. There are two specific qualifications that I’ve seen as controversial in nature either because of ignorance or, as I’ve mentioned, the traditional views and likes of men. I’ve decided to speak on those last. So, having said that, let us begin.

1.         ABOVE REPROACH:

Paul, in writing to Timothy and Titus, who I’ll refer to from this point forward as “the evangelists”, used two different Greek words which have the same basic meaning. To Timothy he wrote “anepileptos” (an-ep-eel'-ape-tos), which means “blameless or unrebukable”. To Titus, “anegkletos” (an-eng'-klay-tos), and that word has the meaning of irreproachable, blameless, and unaccused.

This is speaking about a man who has no handles; nothing in his life that someone else could use to control him. Even if somebody wanted to bring a charge against him, by his very nature it could be seen that the charges were false.

Now, does that mean that an elder has to be perfect? No; they can’t be. They’re only human beings with the same affliction that we all have: a sinful nature. Simply, they’re just men.

When the Holy Spirit sent Peter to Cornelius’ house, Cornelius bowed before him. Do you remember what Peter said? He told Cornelius, “Stand up; I myself am also a man” (Acts 10:26) As a man, even though Peter was an apostle and an elder, he recognized that he was not beyond human weakness. We can’t expect more than that from our elders. But they must lead honorable lives to be unaccused.

2.         HOSPITALBLE

This command is the same in both letters to the evangelists. It

literally means to be a lover of strangers. In the first century, Christians were despised by the pagans who wouldn’t be friendly toward any Christian travelers. But an elder is happy to take in a traveling brother or sister.

            3 John 1: 1-11 says, “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers, for I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God, for they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”

3.         ABLE TO TEACH

            To be an elder, you need to know what God’s word says and be able to teach it in an understandable manner. This is needed not only to advance the understanding of sound doctrine but also to refute false doctrine, when necessary. A shepherd doesn’t just know what to feed his sheep, but how to protect against the wolves and roaming lions, as well.

            Now “to be able to teach” doesn’t mean that the elders are the only teachers or even that it’s a requirement for the elder to be a teacher. If we say that, we’re making the qualification more difficult to fulfill that God has.

4.         NOT PUGNATIOUS

            If you’re like me, chances are, you don’t use this word very often. Other than talking about eldership, I don’t think I ever have. So, if you’re wondering what “pugnacious” means: according to the American Heritage Dictionary it means to have a combative nature; to be eager to fight; hostile or aggressive.

            An elder in God’s Church doesn’t use his position or power to get his way. A godly elder isn’t a bully nor does he use his office for ill-gotten gain by the use of his power. He must, in all things be meek. And if there comes a time when an elder is forced to practice church discipline, he is to face the task out of love of the person or people being disciplined; not through fighting or anger. Those are the devil’s tools.

            Mark 9:50 records Jesus as saying, “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” And Paul, speaking to the church on Corinth, said of the man disfellowshipped for sexual immorality said in 2Cor 2:6-8, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.”

            So, in no matter what situation, the elder is to deal with it, not by autocratic rule, but in the message given to us by God over and over again: in love.

5.         MANAGES HOUSEHOLD WELL

            If we take a serious look at the scriptures, we can see that, contrary to the typical thinking in our society today, the man is the head of the household. There’s been an unfortunate occurrence within the last few years. And that is that men have given up their backbone and make their wives wear the pants in the family. If you’re a man and done that, regardless of whether you’d consider being an elder or not, you need to grow one back. If you’re a woman and have taken away your husband’s God-given role as the head of the house, you need to give back what’s rightfully his. Paul wrote again to the Corinthians, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.”

            Then, there are the kids. This seems to be an area of controversy among those in the brotherhood. Paul wrote to Timothy, “keeping his children under control with all dignity” (1Tim 3:4), and to Titus, “having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion” (Titus 1:6ff). So where, you might ask, is the controversy?

            There are those who believe that Paul is speaking of any your children, no matter how old they are or even where they live. In other words, if you’re a 60 year old man living in Meyersdale and you have a 40 year old son living in California that is not a Christian, that disqualifies you from being an elder. But, does that line of thinking really go along with the context? Weren’t we talking about managing his household?

            My father passed away several years ago. And even though I was still my father’s son, I moved out when I was 22 years old. Now, while I lived under his roof I had to abide by his rules; after all, it was his house. But, after I moved out, was I still a member of his household, or did I begin a household of my own with my own set of rules and standards?

            I’ve seen qualified men disqualify themselves because they had an adult child who didn’t live with them who wasn’t a Christian. I, for one, don’t believe this is God’s intent.

            I do think that if a man can’t spiritually maintain his home, that’s an entirely different matter indeed because “if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1Tim 3:5)

6.         HUMBLE

            First and foremost, let’s understand that the opposite of humility is pride. Pride for all intents and purposes is the cause of much of the world’s sin; it’s the “me, me, me” and “mine, mine, mine”. Is that what Jesus taught; to think of yourself, first? Is that why he, being both Lord and Teacher, washed His disciples’ feet; to teach them pride?

            Of course we know that’s a ridiculous question. We all know that the reason Christ did that was to teach humility; to be a servant; to live a decent and modest life. As His gift to His Church, would expect anything to be different in that respect? Actually, we’re all to live that way. Aren’t a lot of these qualifications good standards for every Christian to obtain?

7.         OF GOOD BEHAVIOR

            I think this is pretty self-defining, so we’ll just have a brief word study. The Greek word used here is “kosmios” (KOS-mee-os) (1Tim 3:2). The general meaning is: orderly, well behaved, and modest. When doing the Lord’s work in the Church, things aren’t to be done haphazardly or with “self” in mind. They’re to be done in a thoughtful, humble manner; knowing that their work is for God.

8.         REASONABLE

            Paul, when writing about this qualification to the evangelists, writes the positive to Timothy and the negative to Titus. To Timothy, he says the elder is to be mild, gentle, and patient (1Tim 3:3). To Titus, the elder is not to be self-pleasing, arrogant, or self-willed (Titus 1:7).

9.         PEACEABLE

            The elder is a man who does his best to achieve harmony within the congregation. He’s not to be quarrelsome, argumentative, or belligerent. He’s not to be quick-tempered, but to have the ability to keep it.

10.       NOT GREEDY FOR MONEY        

            Any leader of the congregation should never let the idea of money in his pocket cloud his convictions or become a factor in his decision of what is right and wrong. Even though “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1Tim 5:18), an elder must realize and abide by the fact that right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of the cost and that “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1Ti 6:10).

11.       DEVOUT, HOLY, AND JUST

            An elder mustn’t be a new convert, but knowledgeable of the scriptures and unshakable in his faith. He is to show a high level of holiness and devotion in his service to God. In the time of Jesus, a man wasn’t taken seriously until the age of thirty because that’s when that culture decided that that’s when a man was mature.

            In Christ’s Church, does age necessarily mean maturity? I’ve seen it, and I’d guess you have, too. Where a man’s been a Christian for years, but has little practical knowledge about the Bible; then another, maybe half as long; strong in his faith and scripture. Now, assuming that this second man is not a new convert, which one do you think would make the best elder? The one with physical maturity or the one with spiritual maturity? The answer’s simple. The spiritually mature.

            Now then, we might see a new Christian on complete fire for the Lord and think, “That fella’d make a great elder with all that enthusiasm.” Well, I’ve seen a lot of new converts so excited about being a Christian that you’d think they were going to burst open from it any minute and they grow in their faith because they love the Lord. Then again, some are like fish: they’re easier to catch than they are to hold onto. Oh, they’re excited at first. Then you find yourself chasing after them, trying to encourage them to meet with the assembly of believers…After a while, you realize that you’ve done all you can do for that person, and it’s time to focus on somebody else. So you see, a man has to be committed to spiritual growth to be an elder.

12.       SELF-CONTROLLED

            We know that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Ro 3:23) And we continue to sin. I know that, and you know that. And “if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1Jo 1:8) But does that mean the elders, too. Well, are the elder included in “all”? Even the Apostle Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:12) But he also wrote, “But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1Co 9:27)

            In other words, Paul was doing his best at practicing self-control. He knew he wasn’t perfect. He knew he stilled sinned. But, realizing that, he did his best to fight off his sinful nature and live as purely as he could. Again, all we Christians should be doing this very same thing. An elder must!

13.       LOVER OF GOOD

            Finally, for this week, we end with another qualification that should be obvious to us all: producing the Fruit of The Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22) Sound like anything we’ve already talked about? You see, an elder must be these things and have these things to do God’s work appropriately. An elder, above all, has to be a follower of Christ, first.

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Php 4:8)

            Next time, we’ll look closely at two qualifications that we went around this morning.

           

Sermon: For Those Who Desire To Be Elders Pt.1

Those Who Desire To Be Elders – PT.1

(Eph. 4:11-16)

            Last week we looked at the three different types of government establishments that are possible within the Church. We talked about an autocracy, where one man sees himself in complete control. We talked about a democracy where the authority lies in the popular vote. And we also talked about a theocracy, where God has the authority. Hopefully, we saw that the theocracy is the scriptural way to govern the Church. If we didn’t, we missed something extremely important somewhere.

            In this theocracy, we also know that no man is the head of the Church. Christ and only Christ can claim that position.

            But, we still have to concede that there are men who are given to the Church by Christ to be the leaders, or perhaps a more accurate term might be representatives of Christ, in His Church. There are four functions that we see were given to the Church by Christ. Two were temporary and the other two are permanent. The two which are temporary were the apostles and the prophets. Those are no longer needed because we have their teachings in God’s complete revelation: The Holy Bible. The other two, the evangelist and the pastor/teacher or elder are still needed to this very day and will always be a part of God’s blueprint for his Church. Today, I want to begin speaking about the function of elder.

            As I said, the Church does need men to fulfill the function of elder. Why? Because God’s Church is built upon His foundation that Jesus is His One and Only begotten Son and that Foundation is what we’re to build upon. But even if you have a solid foundation, if you don’t abide by the blueprint; if you place the load bearing walls in the wrong place, the structure itself won’t hold up. It won’t last. And the reason is a very simple one: you didn’t follow the plans given to you by the Master Architect, The Lord God Almighty!

            And God takes us following His directions very seriously. He gave Noah exact instructions on how to build the ark; something that no one had even seen before. He gave Moses specific instructions on how to build the Ark of The Covenant, the Tabernacle, and the Priesthood. He went into such great detail with His instruction that the garments that the priests wore were to be woven and sewn in the exact manner that He directed (Ex. 28 + 39).

            But why am I telling you all this when I said that I was going to speak of elders? What do those things have to do with it? Well, the answer is this: God directed that there be elders in His Church, and Jesus gave them to His Church as a gift to be used. Elders then, have a purpose in God’s plan.

            So, I guess the next logical question would be: what men should be elders? If God directs there to be elders in His Church, shouldn’t we hurry up and make some men or more men of our congregation elders so we know that we’re following God’s instructions? Well…NO.

            You see, there are not only instructions about how to structure God’s Church, but there are also instructions on what kind of materials to use. Typically, when you use cheap materials you wind up with a cheap product. And if you rush through your work, there are bound to be mistakes made. First, let’s talk a minute about the rush job.

I used to work at a factory where we produced different types of cabinetry. The parts for these cabinets weren’t made by hand. They were mass produced on machines.

            It didn’t take me long to realize that, even though I was supposed to work as quickly as I could, or have my machine work as quickly as it could, if I or my machine worked too fast, the machine would produce bad parts and I’d not notice them. So, I learned that things could go too fast, but there was a point to where quantity and quality could both be met.

            Yes, God requires elders. But does He require them at the expense of quality? Paul answers that question in 1Tim 5:22 “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.”

So we can see that putting men into the role of elder just for the sake of having elders in the Church is a direction that we’re told specifically not to go. And the reason is that you can’t sacrifice quality for quantity.

So how do we make men into elders? Well, that’s the trick, you see. If a man’s not an elder before he’s ordained, he won’t be one afterwards. In other words, we can’t make elders. Either a man has the natural tendency or gift of being an elder or he doesn’t. We can’t make men into elders. Oh, we can call them elders. We can give them the “title” of elder. But being an elder actually begins within the heart of the man, and that we have no control over. That is totally between him and God.

And then, if a man has the heart of an elder, does he have the desire to actually be one. 1Tim 3:1 puts it this way: “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Paul’s not saying here that we in the congregation should be arm twisting to put men into the eldership, but that the man is to aspire to be an elder. And if he accepts that role, that function, and that responsibility, he desires a “good work” or a “noble task”.

We could, at this point, begin to go through the qualifications for a man to be an elder because there are some who say that the qualifications include the functions, but I disagree. See, there are some other issues I think we need to discuss. Such as, what is this noble task? What good work is Paul referring to?

Well, first of all, I’d like to point out what Paul didn’t say. Paul didn’t say that he accepts a noble title. Paul didn’t say that he accepts a noble office. Paul didn’t say that he accepts a noble position. Paul didn’t say that there was anything noble about being an elder except the task; the work; the function that he desires to perform. Oh, we could go on and on with this qualification and that qualification. But even with all the qualification in the world, is a man truly an elder unless he functions as an elder?

One of my personal passions is hunting. I love to get into the woods or the fields. I’m happy with hunting pretty much anything that’s in season. One of my favorite things to hunt though, is rabbits.

I’ve hunted for rabbits in a couple of different ways. One way is to kick, walk, and stumble through the brush hoping to jump a rabbit and get off a shot at it before it disappears because after it’s gone, it’s gone. There ain’t no finding it again. The other way to hunt rabbits is to use dogs; the most preferred being beagles.

Hunting rabbits is what beagles were bred to do. And, in the past, I’ve had some really good beagles that ran rabbits. I was really glad to have them and really proud to have them. For a rabbit hunter, there’s little like hearing your beagle tearing up a trail and running the rabbit back to you. But, I’ve also had beagles that couldn’t run a rabbit if you held the rabbit on a leash.

Now what I had was a beagle; a dog that was bred to perform the function of chasing rabbits. But for some reason, some of them didn’t do what they were meant to do. What was the problem? Could it have been their nose? Maybe they didn’t have the tools or “gift”, if you will, of running a rabbit. Could it have been that they were afraid to go off by themselves to accomplish what they were meant to do? Could it have been that they had no real desire to go chasing after rabbits? Whatever it was, even though they were beagles, qualified to run rabbits, they didn’t function as beagles. Not only did they do me no good whatsoever, they were actually an annoyance and hindrance to my goal of having rabbit for supper. Now, let’s get back to elders.

Looking at both lists of qualifications from 1Timothy and Titus, there are a total of 15 qualifications. At first glance there might appear to be more, but some are or mean the same thing, and we’ll get into those in the near future. But more to the point: 15 qualifications seem like a lot for a man to be able to achieve. And yet, within the congregations of Christ’s Church, elders we have. So, apparently, there are men who can meet all of the qualifications for eldership. The question is though, like the beagles that I’ve had, do they have what it takes to function as an elder? Do they have the personal ability to function as an elder? Are they afraid of the responsibility of functioning as an elder? Do they have the desire to function as an elder? I believe that even before qualification is looked at, these questions must be answered. A man who aspires to be an elder must have not just the Biblical qualifications, but also the ability, the courage, and the desire to serve Christ and His Church in this capacity.

I hope you’ve noticed that whenever I’ve referred to who and what an elder is, I’ve spoken about function and not said word one about office. If you’re wondering why that is, or even if you’re not, I’m going to explain myself.

There seems to be some controversy over the use of the word “office” when it refers to a position within the church. Some will say that the word is most definitely legitimate in that the authoritative position they hold gives them the right to carry the “title”. Others say that the idea of carrying the title and holding it out for all to see has nothing to do with spirituality. To be perfectly frank, I don’t know if anyone in the church is an office-holder or not. A lot of our translations use the word office in 1Tim 3:1, but some don’t. I looked up the Greek word and it can be defined that way, but not always.

This Greek word is used three times in the New Testament. First, is Acts 1:20: “For it is written in the book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, 'Let another take his office.” Next is again in 1Tim 3:1. Some translations say “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” while other may have, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” But when we look at the third, 1Pe 2:12, the word takes on an entirely new meaning. “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” The meaning here being the visitation of God. The general meaning is: a watching over or a visitation.

To be honest with you, I personally don’t like to use the word “office” because many places where there are offices, there is also bureaucracy, and I’m sure we all have had experience with that. So, instead of focusing on the “office”, I much prefer to focus on the function. Now I don’t mean to say that the title doesn’t matter. It does. We need to know who our elders and deacons are and who our evangelist is. I’m only saying that if you don’t perform the function, the office you hold is meaningless. Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2Tim 4:5) But is to “do the work” only meant for the evangelist? Is there not work to be done by the elder as well? Of course there is. Why else would Paul say, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work”? So, whether you prefer to use the term “office” or not, we all, especially those who hold the offices, have to understand that we must not just hold the office, but perform our function.

So, just what is the function of the elder? Well, to give a simple answer, it’s to shepherd the flock.

In 1Pe 5:1, Peter, speaking to elders, calls himself a fellow elder.  But let’s get back to that. First, I’d like to tell you about something that Jesus said concerning leadership.

John 13: 3-17 says, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean." So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

Now, lets get back to what Peter was telling the elders in his first letter. We know that in verse one of chapter five, Peter calls himself an elder. But we need to also see in the following verses, he tells them some of their duties.

He continues by writing, “Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Paul also instructed the Ephesian elders, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28-30)

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock.” Against what? Men who speak perverse things. In other words, false teaching. Elders are to guard against false doctrine. But who did Paul say it could be from? We all know that there are evangelists that don’t teach the truth. All you have to do to see that is turn on your TV and look for the “pastor” on there. But Paul here didn’t say to just keep your eye on the preacher, but from your own selves, the elders will begin teaching false doctrine. So are the elders supposed to make sure the preacher is teaching the true gospel? Absolutely! Are they to keep an eye on each other? Well, according to the Spirit inspired words of Paul, yes!

These are just a few examples of the very important role of the elder. So, I have a question for you men to ponder. If you’re capable of being an elder, why wouldn’t you want to be one? I guess what I’m asking is: If you’d like to serve God in a deeper way than you are now, why are you letting your desire and talent for service go to waste? Who of us doesn’t want to serve our Lord in a way that would give more glory to Him?

I’d like to close with a conversation between Jesus and an elder.

Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter *said to them, "I am going fishing." They *said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus *said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved *said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus *said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught." Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus *said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Tend My lambs." He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to him, "Tend My sheep.” (John 21: 2-17)

           

Sermon: What Is Your Political Agenda?

What Is Our Political Agenda?

(Eph. 4:11-16)

            Today, we live in a country, and in a world that seems to be in chaos because of the politics of the time. Throughout the world there are different kinds of political make-ups. In some parts of the world, there are dictatorships. In other parts, such as in America, we have a democracy. And still in other parts, there seems to be a hybrid of the two where the voice of the people is heard at times, and not at others.

            Of course, there has always been one type of political system or another. In the time of the Patriarchs, the head of the household was the law-giver. Then came the Judges who didn’t actually rule the people, but advised them and gave them law and order. Then came the kings, and with them came the whole can of worms. Just look through the two books of Kings and the two books of Chronicles and see how many times you find that this king or that king did evil in the eyes of the Lord. And since the king was the most influential person in the nation, practically everyone else would follow their lead.

            What about Christ’s Church? What type of political make-up do we participate in? Are we governed by a dictatorship, where one man’s rules and desires are the basis for the Church’s beliefs and actions? Is the Church an autocracy, where one man has all authority? Is this the way Christ has arranged for His Church to be governed?

            Or perhaps the Church is intended to be operated by a majority rule; a democracy where everyone has an equal voice in the governing body? Where the men who are in “leadership” positions are elected by the congregation, so shaking hands and kissing babies is how they attain their position?

            Now, I have experience with both of these political concepts in the Church, so those are the areas I want to begin my focus on this morning. First, let’s discuss the autocracy; where one man has the rule.

            If we take a close look, it appears that in much of our world that organized religion has become more of a social club than the church of the Bible because there is so little real belief that Jesus exists as the actual authority.

            Man, in his arrogance has placed himself on the throne of God and his worship is for himself. He is also continually after the worship of others. This is a reflection of Satan’s deception of Eve. Ge 3:4-5 “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” And there are those who believe themselves to be equal to God today. Take a look at the Roman Catholic Church. This religion has taken away the authority and deity of Jesus Christ and has given it to a man. They claim that Peter was the first Pope and that Jesus said that the Church was to be built on him. But let’s take a look at what Jesus really said.

            In Matthew 16, Jesus had asked his disciples who the people were saying He was. After they’d answered, He asked them who they thought He was. Peter’s response was, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

Now, I have to admit that the name Peter is translated as “rock”. But is this the rock Jesus said He was building His Church on? To find the answer to that question that removes all doubt, let’s go to the original Greek.

First is the name Peter. The Greek word is Petros. It means a piece of rock. Then the word for the rock Jesus built His Church on. That word is petra. It’s interesting that this word is a feminine word and means a mass of rock. Question: Is not the Church, the mass of Christians, the Bride of Christ? And isn’t a bride a female? So, not only did Jesus use two different words, but the word He used to build His Church is also a description of His Church! That should be unmistakable. But, how many times have we heard Catholicism referred to as “The Church”, and how many times have we heard of the decrees handed down by the Pope, which is just another name for “Head Elder”?

Head elder. I’ve heard that term in our brotherhood, too. I’ve witnessed the head elder at work. The man who believes himself to be THE leader of the congregation. He believes that the congregation wouldn’t be where it is if it weren’t for him. And, unfortunately, that assumption is usually correct. I’ve seen the stifling of the Church because of the dictatorship of this one man, who is supposed to be an example of servitude. Oh, there are other elders, but “you’d better not stand in his path, boy”.

I know that it sounds like I’m picking on elders, but that’s really not my intention. I’ve know some great men who fulfilled their role as shepherds very conscientiously.  Also, I’ve known some evangelists who had the same illusions of grandeur. “I’m here to set things in order, and in order they shall be!” Well, it is the responsibility of the evangelist to set things in order, but in a loving and guiding way.

In either case, the Church is not an autocracy with one man being the dictator. That is not God’s design, and if it’s not God’s design, it’s not God’s Church. It’s a man-made organization that caters to the will of the one man.

On the other hand, we could have a system that doesn’t have one man in charge; it has all the men (and maybe even the women) in charge. This is the system of “one person, one vote”. This is what we call a democracy. In this form of government, the people have the supreme power, and it’s exercised by them directly or by an elected representative. In the case of the Church, these elected representatives are typically the elders and deacons.

Now usually, I think democracy is a great thing. We live in a country where, at least for most of our existence, we’ve had the freedom to choose our leaders; not only to elect them into but to vote them out of office; to speak our minds freely about the things our elected representatives are doing right or wrong, and basically evoke our will upon our government. We have freedoms in this country that are enjoyed by very few people in any other part of the world. Democracy truly is a wonderful thing…Usually. But is it such a wonderful thing in God’s Church?

“On the third Sunday of January every year, we have a “vote”. What we do at the vote is elect elders and deacons so we can say that we have “leadership”. Usually, before the vote, the preacher will give a sermon on the qualification for elders and deacons just so he can feel like he’s done his job.”

“After the invitation, we all stay seated because that’s when the ballots are handed out. When we get the ballots, it’ll say at the top, “The Apostate Church of Christ Leadership Ballot”. Just under that, on the right hand side of the page, it has two words side-by-side: “Yes” and “No”. Under that there’s a heading called “Elders” and another heading called “Deacons”. Sometimes there might be some other heading like “Superintendent” or “Assistant Superintendent” and maybe “Trustees”. Well, under those headings are names of people who’ve accepted the nomination for the position that they’re listed under, and to the right of their names, under the Yes and No, are little square boxes to check.”

“So, we start the process of going down through the names. This year, there are three names for Elder. As I look at them, I’m trying to figure out which ones have been the friendliest to me over the last year; which ones might know the most people; and which ones have the most money because those are the ones I’m voting for!”

“After the elders, I vote for all the deacons. I might as well; they don’t have to actually do anything. Any of them can be a deacon. I mean, serving communion and passing the collection plate around isn’t like rocket science. Really, half the church could be deacons as far as I care. As long as they haven’t been divorced. You know, I’ve gotta draw a line somewhere. And you can’t be divorced and then get married again because then you’d have more than one wife. I mean, that’s alright for a regular Christian, but I think there needs to be a higher standard for leadership!”

“As far as the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent, and the Trustees are concerned, I couldn’t care less. There are only enough names under each of them to fill the slots, anyway. I just want to get this over so I can go home and watch the game. And besides, we have a board meeting tonight after church. That’ll be more time I have to be here.”

“And it always goes the same. All the men of the church who show up tonight sit in the corner of the auditorium to discuss the church business. We’ll elect one of the elders as the chairman and another as the secretary. Then we’ll all vote on anything that has to do with the church. It might be anything from the colors of the walls in the men’s restroom to having the preacher not talk against denominationalism so much because we really don’t want anybody to be offended, you know. But the one thing that I really like about the board meetings is that no matter what, I get to vote on what the church does. Ya, I know. We got elders. But the only thing they do is make sure all the classes have teachers.”

Now, I have a question for you. Do either autocracy or democracy have anything to do with God’s blueprint for the Church? Is it God’s intent that one man should have supreme power over everyone else or that the flock shepherd themselves? Well, I can say with absolute, total certainty that the answer is definitely not!

You might ask how I can be so sure. And I’ll say, “Let’s go to God’s word”. We’ll start by going back to our text. Ephesians 4: 11-16 says, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

There are some things I want us to notice here. First is the fact that Jesus gave apostles and prophets who are no longer needed, as well as evangelists and pastors (or elders as we would call them) who are still needed. Secondly, why did He give evangelists and elders? For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Does this imply anywhere that they are to rule with an iron fist or neglect their responsibility by allowing the saints to attempt to equip themselves? No, that’s not the role of Christ’s gifts. Do you truly think that He would even endorse these things? His desire is for us to be no longer children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

And that’s done by the leadership speaking the truth in love so that we grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

You see, the true structure of the Church according to God’s plan is that Christ Himself is the Head of the Church. Not some egotistical elder or preacher; not some voters who gather around a table once a month, but Christ.

Autocracy and democracy are man-made ideals. They are secular in nature and have no place at all in The Church. God’s Church is to be a Theocracy where God is the Supreme Ruler. And in this theocracy Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on earth”. Jesus is the one who rules the Church! Not an elder; not a preacher. Only Jesus.

Remember earlier we talked about Jesus telling Peter that on this rock, Peter’s confession of Jesus’ Christhood, that He would build His Church? We have to remember that. That it is Christ’s Church. He is the Owner, the CEO, and the Chairman! Those who are called the church leadership absolutely must be His servants, subordinate to Him in all things; taking instruction from Him and Him alone.

If we don’t get that right; if we’re not a theocracy, how can we call ourselves Christ’s Church?

Joh 14:1-6 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

The day that you stand to be judged, there’s not one person on this earth that you’ll be giving answer to – not me, not any man of this church, not any woman of this church. Only God!

Are you ready?