Our Joy and Your Advantage

We all live under authority and are called to submit to governing authorities. Whether it is the federal government, the state, the local government, and these authorities and meant to look out for our best interests serve the people but often they are corrupt and self serving. Politicians get rich off of the people, often doing things only to maintain their power or wealth or become tyrants all together enslaving the people to their wills. But when it comes to the church there is a unique relationship, God’s people are are called to obey, submit, and to pray, for those who rule over them in the church. But this obedience, submission, and prayer is one that is to serve as mutual joy and advantage for both those who submit and those who rule. It is obedinece, and submission and prayer that is to be freely and joyfully offered, its not like paying taxes.

Burden: Obey, submit, pray, for your leaders because it is for thier joy your advantage.

Obey and submit

These two words mean essentially the same things with slight nuances.

Now to be certain there are plenty of examples of pastors and church leaders who are and have been corrupt. There are plenty who have abused their power and authority , but those are not the ones mentioned here in these verses and God does not require obedience to such men but quite the opposite they should be resisted and exposed for the false teachers they are.

There is a continuation of the thoughts of verse 7 here that we were called to remember imitate the ones who faithfully preached the word of God and to resist being led astray by false doctrine. And now the believer is commanded to obey those who currently rule over them in godliness. The word that is in our text translated obey carries with it the idea of being convinced, be won over. The idea is that our obedience is not based purely on some hierarchical structure, but out of persuasion that the one in charge is faithful to the word of God. It is about mutual trust and relationship. We see the way that the person handles themselves with others in the community and the church and are trustworthy.

There is a clear parallel between verse 7 “consider the outcome of their way of life” and verse 18 “that they are in all things commendable”

But let me be clear this is a command, and therefore something that the believer must be willing to do for their own spiritual benefit and obedience to the Lord.

What does the watchman do? He looks out for dangers and those things that might threaten your very soul. And he sounds the alarm.

Ezekiel 33:7–9 ““So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”

He stays awake deep into the night while others sleep. You cannot watch while you sleep, and that’s the idea, that leaders are to be those who watch diligently rather than sleep. He is like a gatekeeper for the community of God people, guarding truth and preventing error. The Lord know that there are plenty of so called churches that have fallen away from truth and into error. Such leaders abuse truth and therefore their flocks.

What will the man of God give an account for? Your life and the way you live it, certainly not, but for the way that he either fulfilled his duty or failed to discharge his duty. Your pastor or anyone else is not the savior, he cannot live the christian life for your. All he can do is faithfully discharge his duty to shepherd and care and warn the flock.

The very mention that they care is not primarily physical but rather the care of eternal souls. That in the eschaton that is the begining of the eternal state they shall stand and give an account as to how they handled the souls of those under thier care in the communty of God’s people.

This is one of the unfortunate things about the church that it is the one place that people feel like they have control, if I don’t like what I hear, I can go over here, if I get upset at the pastor, I can go here, if I don’t like the music then I can go over there. But we don’t treat another relationship the same, we cant just up a quit our jobs, the IRS comes after you if you don’t pay your taxes.

This leads to a question. If a pastor is to give an account then for whom is he to give an account? Am I accountable for those.

Church membership lets leadership joy in service knowing that he has the willing an loyal support of his people.

When he stands before the eternal throne what account will he give? Those people you gave me charge over they were a joy, or those people you gave me charge over ...

Further we are told to let our leaders serve with joy and not with groanings. You know that you have the ability by your cooperation or non cooperation to say to your pastors “we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.” The faithful minister is going to discharge his duty because it is just that his duty to the Lord. But let it be a joy rather than a burden.

I know that there are some of you who maybe you are introverted or are not used to getting a visit from the pastor and I to be honest I have felt resistance like an unwelcome guest. If we come to you and ask to visit, it is only because we care and want to love and minister and care for our people.

There was a gentle man, and this man does not go here so don’t be looking around. but I would try to visit with him and I would call to pray with him. You know what he told me, he said don’t call me I’ll call you. Ministering to that man became a burden, I ministered to him out of duty not joy.

Years ago when my wife and I were first married we drove a Honda CRV great cars, lasted forever, last I remember it was a 98 with has to be over 300,000 miles and still going strong. But it was only a small 4 cylinder. When you were going up a hill and you hit the gas, it did not want to go. You had to do this just to make it up the hill, it was not responsive. But image how pleasurable it is to hit the gas of your favorite sports car to feel 8 cylinders of raw power respond in an instant.

Folks I am sure Trace feels it at times like I do like Fred Flintstone trying to push the car up over the hill.

When we ask to come over, or to visit or to pray or ask how you are doing, or even come to care don’t take it as an assault

When God’s people submit to Godly leadership everyone wins.

Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12 “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,”

Such trust is deserved and requires from those who rule faithfully over God’s people.

Example of Trace’s ordination

Christian leadership is intended for the advantage of all, not just for the advantage of those who hold positions of authority, and good and successful leadership is to a considerable degree dependent on the willing response of obedience and submission on the part of those who are under authority.

Philip Edgcumbe Hughes,

Calvin observes, “only with those who faithfully exercise their office”; for “those who have nothing except the title, and indeed those who abuse the title of pastor to destroy the Church, deserve little reverence and even less trust.”

Pray

If the pastors role and duty is to faithfully watch throughout the night then the duty of those under his care is to pray for a clear conscience and strength to discharge it faithfully. This is to the mutual benefit of all. Just as Moses arms grew weak in the wilderness, so to pastor the watchman need prayer to do his duty well with out growing tired and weak.

When the angels announced the birth of Christ they were watching thier sheep by night.

Imagine with me that a shepherd