heb 13v17
"OBEY THEM THAT HAVE THE RULE OVER YOU"
Hebrews 13-17
Christ has given his church
pastors to be overseers and shepherds in his kingdom. As such, each pastor is
God's authoritative messenger in the congregation entrusted to his care. In
this sense, there can only be one pastor, one voice of authority in a single
local church. He is "the angel" (singular) of that church (Rev. 3:1).
I know that this biblical principle of pastoral rule in the church is both
unpopular and contrary to man's high opinion of himself. It always has been
(Num. 16-3). But it is plainly taught in the Word of God. And it is really most
practical. When a local church is ruled by the voice of the people there is no
limit to the evil it may do. I have been in church business meetings where
people actually voted to tell their pastor he could not go to a certain place
to preach, in which the people voted to have Christmas plays, and once where
they voted a man out of the pulpit for preaching predestination!
Before a local church calls a man to be its pastor,
it should know as much as possible about that man. If he is not a man of proven
faithfulness and integrity, do not call him. ONCE YOU CALL A MAN TO BE YOUR
PASTOR, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YIELD A VOLUNTARY OBEDIENCE TO HIM AS HE
RULES OVER YOU BY THE WILL OF GOD. You are to subject yourself to him as
God's messenger to your soul. THE
BASIS OF HIS RULE AND THE BASIS OF YOUR OBEDIENCE IS LOVE AND TRUST. You
cannot put that down on paper. It is a matter of the heart. It is either there
or it is not.
WHAT
IF THE CHURCH IS NOT HAPPY WITH ITS PASTOR? If you are not happy with your
pastor, if you have reason to question his ability to watch over your soul and
minister to you, you can do one of these two things: (1) You can ask God to
remove him; and wait for him to do so; or (2) You can quietly remove yourself
from his rule. In either case, you had best be very sure of what you are doing.
BUT DO NOT EVER DARE ASSUME THAT IT IS YOUR RESIBILITY TO REMOVE THE PASTOR
FROM HIS OFFICE (Ps. 105:15; I Sam. 24:1-12). I have seen many churches
vote their pastor out of office for many reasons. But never have I seen a
church prosper after doing so, no matter what their reason was. Ichabod is
always written over the door of that assembly forever!