Thursday, March 13, 2008

Heb 13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

Heb 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

It's kind of tough to realize that we, as Christians, are to be ruled over by other Christians. It is definitely not "the American way." But we do get some leeway in deciding WHO will rule over us.

From these two verses, we see that we are to be ruled by people who teach us the Word of God, whose conduct will bring a good reward, and who watch for our souls. Elsewhere, the Bible establishes the local church as having authority from God. If the pastor of a local church does not meet the descriptions of a "ruler," you need to leave. But if he does meet those descriptions, he is meeting God's requirements to lead God's sheep, and you will grow spiritually if you follow his lead.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

UNDERCOVER AGENTS FOR GOD

"...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting..." Ephesians 4:14

I'll sometimes meet Christians who bitterly complain about being expelled from a church. Some complain about being expelled from several churches. They usually tell the same story:

The church, pastor, elders, deacons, etc., wanted to go in a certain direction. The person wanted to go in a different direction. After failing to convince the leadership, the person began a secret campaign to change the direction of the church. One tactic is to seek an adult Sunday School class; there the person can teach his own doctrines and standards, contrary to what the church believes. The person openly admits (later, after getting caught) that he was trying to change the church into what he thought it should be. A few will actually defend being deceitful, because "God called me to do this, so I couldn't tell them what I was up to." How do you know whom to believe?

Ephesians 4:14 warns us not to be carried about by doctrines that are brought in deceitfully. The preceeding four verses explain that God calls church leaders to lead the church in spiritual growth. The people who plot against the church leaders are described as being deceitful and cunning. But what if the person doing the plotting is right, and the leaders are wrong?

Obviously, the person believes he is right. But if he is, he needs to either submit to the authority of God's ordained leaders, or he needs to leave quietly.