Persecution, Parishioners, and Pride

Introduction:

Practical Illustrations: Romans (7-155: Pride Unplugged (Humility))

Many people struggle with puffed up attitudes due to a perceived value of self-importance. But it only takes a little pin to burst the bubble of pride.

A young new professional was excited about his new office. As he sat behind his massive executive desk, he thought to himself “I’ve made it now. I’ve finally arrived … I’m really important.…” As his mind wandered, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. “Ah hah,” he thought to himself, “my first client.” “Yes, come in!” he yelled to the client at the door. In order to look important and overly busy, he quickly put his phone up to his mouth and started an intense conversation. “Mr. Rockefeller, I need to know your final answer now. Are you committing to the business deal of a lifetime? Can we close the sale today?… Great! Let me call you right back.” After he hung up the phone, he greeted the new client warmly, “Hi there, how can I help you today?” The client just shook his head and said, “I’m here to hook up your phone.”

Are you so busy looking at #1 that you fail to acknowledge the One and Only? Put away your pride and give the Lord His proper place.

1 Peter 5:5

“You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Transition: This evening I want to piggyback off of Sunday night’s message about faithful pastoral leadership in the face of hostility toward the faith and persecution. I want us to take a few minutes to see Peter’s shift from leadership to the attitude of the congregation being led before he gives his final thoughts.

Body:

—> Three Messages for Church Members <—

1. Submission to Pastoral Leadership - “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders…”

What does “younger men” mean?

3 Possible Interpretations:

Reference to deacons and younger church leadership (i.e. teachers, evangelists, etc.)

Reference to the younger men/women in the church

Those most likely to rebel against authority.

Those most likely to lash out against government and anti-christian persecutors.

Reference to everyone in the church except the elders.

The idea would be those younger in the faith and christian maturity, not those younger in age.

My preferred understanding.

This interpretation doesn’t require an unnatural shift in the meaning of “elders” in this context.

Biblical teachings elsewhere allow us to extend this teaching of submission to pastoral leadership to all church members.

See Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

What does “be subject to your elders” mean?

“Be subject” = imperative verb that is “decisive” (Greek aorist). It suggests that they should put themselves, as a decisive commitment, in subjection.

Matthew Henry suggests this is “to give due respect and reverence to their persons, and to yield to their admonitions, reproof, and authority, enjoining and commanding what the word of God requires.”

Vastly different from most of today’s church member’s approaches toward Church leadership.

Reproof = find another church

Exercising any kind of authority = fire him and/or find another church

Calling members in open sin to repentance = find another church

Leading in a direction that member doesn’t like = go behind his back to the deacons, criticize in the community, and/or find another church

Submission, in every context in 1 Peter, means “to defer to the authority of.” The same is true here.

It indicates a spirit of cooperation as opposed to dissatisfaction with the leadership.

It describes a willingness to support the pastor’s directions.

Responsibility of those being led according to 1 Peter and NT:

IT IS NOT:

Some church members believe they have a right to sabotage pastoral leadership, to speak critically of pastors, to slander them, to castigate them simply because they don’t like them or their leadership.

God has not given the members of the flock this responsibility. When they take this upon themselves, they allow Satan to use them as his tool for division and destruction in the church.

The message here is clear: when pastor-shepherds lead their congregation with responsible and godly leadership and members of the flock resist this leadership, those members are in disobedience to the Lord and have opened the door for Satan.

Illustration: Pastor friend who was constantly criticized in the community by his own church members for his preaching.

IT IS

Defer to the authority of pastoral leadership when the pastor is faithful to lead in the way described in the previous 4 verses.

Enact Matthew 18:15-17 when, and only when, the pastor steps outside of biblical truth or biblical leadership.

2. Humility to Fellow Followers - “and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…”

Perspective on Christlike Humility

“To clothe” refers to a slave or servant putting on an apron or towel to serve someone else.

Peter was well acquainted with this idea, after watching Jesus do this and wash his feet on the same night that Peter would deny knowing Him 3 times.

Purpose of Christlike Humility

One commentator wrote poetically: “Let your minds, behavior, garb, and whole frame, be adorned with humility, as the most beautiful habit you can wear; this will render obedience and duty easy and pleasant…”

The reality:

Humility is the oil that allows relationships in the church to run smoothly and lovingly.

Smooth relations in the church can be preserved if the entire congregation adorns itself with humility.

In the end, Peter’s message here is “The combination of godly leadership and submissive followership should flow into an attitude of humble respect for one another throughout the church body.”

Purpose of Humility

At the core, the purpose of humility in the church is unity.

Paul describes it in:

Philippians 2:1–11 NASB95

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all, but thinking only of Christ and His purposes!

3. Grace to Humble Servants - “for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Three observations about this quote from Proverbs 3:34 —>

Humility is the great preservers of peace and order in all Christian churches and societies.

Consequently, pride is the great disturber of churches and societies.

Pride is also the cause of most, if not all, dissensions and breaches in the church.

There is a mutual opposition between God and the proud.

The prideful war against God, considering themselves to be gods.

God scorns the prideful because they are like satan, enemies to Him and His kingdom among men.

Where God gives grace to the humble, he will give more grace, more wisdom, faith, holiness, and humility.

Conclusion:

God stands against pride, while extending grace to the humble.

Why does God act this way?

Because proud people invariably trust only in themselves, not God.

Furthermore, the proud see themselves only with strengths, not weaknesses.

They consider themselves the standard for others to follow.

They display an attitude of arrogant superiority and generally exude a self-centered and self-sufficient odor.

- We should be obedient to Christ by defering to the authority of the pastoral leadership set before us.

- As believers and Church members, you and I should clothe ourselves in humility.

- We should promote unity by operating with humility in our relationships with fellow believers.