What is "Grace"?

1Pe 5:5-6 ¶ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

We have seen that a key to success in serving Christ is humility: we are to seek low positions, not high ones; and we are to submit to the human authority that God puts over us. Doing this gives us humility, and humility gives us grace.  So, what exactly happens when God gives you grace?

Paul explained what grace did for him: 1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Paul wrote that grace had changed him, and it made him work hard for the Lord; grace gave Paul the desire and ability to do God's work. Have you tried to serve God, but failed? Did you eventually give up trying? If so, you need grace, which God gives to the humble.

Who Rules Over Us?

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.

1 Thess. 4:9 ...for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

We have seen that humility is a key to spiritual success, and that submitting to authority is a key to humility. We also saw that the people whom God has put over us are able to teach us His Word; if they are not able to do this, God has not put them over you, regardless of their titles. Now we see that the people God has put over us "watch out for your souls."

A person who has seized leadership in violation of Scripture often finds it necessary to engage in church politics in order to hold onto that leadership. The person has to work against feared opponents, justifying his sin by claiming that it is necessary in order for him to carry out God's work.

One hallmark of a dying church is criticizing other Christian churches, because the leadership fears that their people will go to those other churches. The result is that when some of God's people finally do get out, they don't go to church anywhere. God, however, teaches us to love one another. A person who teaches you otherwise does not have authority over you, regardless of his title.

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.

2Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Hebrews 13:7 is rarely preached on for two reasons: it offends the followers, and it offends the rulers in a church. The verse clearly teaches that people who have not taught a congregation the Word of God cannot be their leaders. They don't have to be the best teachers, and it doesn't require than to teach every Sunday, but before God makes a leader out of anyone, He makes a teacher out of him.

We have already seen that God tells us to take the lowest rooms in a church and to trust Him to advance us if it is His will. People who maneuver their way to the top through back-room church politics have not trusted God by obeying  this command. They don't have a faith that we should follow.

And then it continues: "considering the outcome of their conduct." When people seize leadership out of God's will, failure often follows. Attendance declines, soul-winning declines, baptisms decline, and the quality of God's Word being taught declines.

These people can hold any office or title they want, but they don't have authority over you.

How to Become Humble Part 2

Jas 4:6-7 ... God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God...

1Pe 5:5-6 ¶ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time

Over the years, I have met  Christian rebels who claim that God has told them to continue in a sinful path. Writers on Christian hate sites sometimes claim that God has called them to warn people against certain Godly men or Godly institutions. And despite their failures in obeying the Great Commission, they claim success, because they are obeying God's will for their lives....But they're not.

The two previous passages show us that submission to God includes submission to the human authority that God has ordained. Many sincere Christians will object that these authorities are often evil. Are you willing to submit to God? He told you to obey those authorities. There is no such thing as a humble Christian rebel. And a Christian who objects to the idea of God speaking to him or her through God-ordained authority is not submitting to God.

The second part of obtaining humility is this: Abandon the idea of  being  a Christian Lone Ranger, too good to answer to anybody but God. God has established leaders for you to obey. Which brings up a problem: How do you recognize the leaders whom God has called you to obey?

How to Become Humble Part 1

Lu 14:11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I know of three Scriptural ways to become humble. The first is given in Luke 14: do not seek high positions for yourself at church. Seek low positions, and then trust God to elevate you if it is His will. 

One meagachurch has successfully started over a dozen other churches. A group of men were cleaning up after the morning service in one of them when a stranger walked in. He enthusiastically told them that he liked what they were doing, and he wanted to be a part of it. They agreed. Then he explained that he wanted to be a leader. The assistant pastor agreed, and told him to get a vacuum cleaner out of a closet and to start on the main auditorium. Afterwards, they would need his help cleaning the rest rooms.

Surprised, the man explained that God had called him to take a leadership position in their church. The assistant pastor then explained that if that were true, then God had called him to start working as a servant, because that's where their leaders came from. The man refused, and the church grew and succeeded without him.

Did God call him to be a leader there? If He did, then the man failed; he didn't follow the teachings of Luke 14. And if God has called you to be a leader, He has called you to seek positions of service as well.

How to Recognize the Right Approach

After using the illustration of people who are invited to a feast, Jesus concluded with His explanation of WHY He was correct:

Lu 14:11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Notice what  Jesus said : "Whoever" exalts himself will be humbled. Jesus did not say, "Whoever exalts himself, unless he is right," or "Whoever exalts himself unless God told him to do it," or "Whoever exalts himself except those with decades of experience in leadership positions." Jesus taught that ANY Christian who exalts himself into a possition of leadership is going to get humbled.

So, how do you humble yourself? How do you know if you are humble? How do you not know that you aren't so proud that you think you're humble, when you're not? Despite all the jokes about "Humility and How I Obtained It," the Bible really does gives ways to become humble, and ways to tell whether or not you are humble.

The Right Approach

Lu 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

We have seen that people who will only take positions of leadership usually fail in their Christian service. But Christians who are willing to take low positions succeed because any advancement they make comes from God, not themselves. Are you willing to go to your pastor and volunteer to do any task that needs to be done? What if the task is setting up chairs, mopping floors, cleaning rest rooms, washing dishes after church meals, or tending to the church grounds?

One large Baptist church that we were members of always had plenty of nominees for deacons, but the pastor had to plead nearly every Sunday for nursery workers. Everyone who ran for deacon could not possibly have been called to do so, but everyone who volunteered to work in the nursery had genuine opportunities to serve God. In another large Baptist church, some men who were not elected as deacons were so upset that they were put on the school board as a "consolation prize," where they hindered the work of our Christian school. In other churches, people would fight and scheme to be put in charge of an adult Sunday School class, while refusing to teach a children's class; and although it may have happened elsewhere, I know of no instance in which such a person did a good job teaching the adult class. In yet another church, we had a successful teen-age Sunday School class, because inexperienced young Christians were bringing their friends; meanwhile, older, more experienced Christians seized the leadership, and ran off 3/4 of the attendance in one year.

Do you want to serve God to get results, or do you want to serve God to glorify yourself? If you want results, seek out opportunities to SERVE, not opportunities to rule.