"A Word to Ministers"
[I Peter 5:1-5]
September 30, 2007 Second Reformed Church
Judgement begins with the household of God.
Last week, one of the things we saw in the text preceding the one which was read this morning is that judgement begins with the household of God. The judgement of the Church is now and continuing. So, one incentive for us to suffer for Christ and to do what is right in the Name and for the Sake of Christ is that judgement begins with the Church.
This does not merely mean that God punishes the sins of the Church in this life: God punishes us for some of our sins in this lifetime, just as any human being reaps what he sows. We shall see the repercussions of the things we do -- at least to some extent -- in this lifetime.
However, the main point of what Peter is saying is that God disciplines us. John recorded the words of Jesus to the Church of Laodicea: "I counsel you to buy gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent" (Revelation 3:18-19).
So what is discipline? What is Jesus telling the Church of Laodicea? Jesus is saying that since He loves them -- discipline occurs in love -- since He loves them, He will give them His Word -- gold, He will be an example of Holy Living for them, and the means to it, and He will guide them to the holy, away from evil, and root out the sin in them through suffering and repentance -- clothes and eyesight. Discipline is about teaching the Truth, guiding and being an example, and rooting out what is harmful and evil.
So, Peter says, since judgement beings with the household of God, "Therefore, I exhort the elders" -- the presbyters -- the teaching elders -- the ministers -- those who have been called to serve as one who preaches and teaches God’s Word, to rightly administer the sacraments, and to practice discipline -- "among you." And some of you have already asked me if you had to listen to this sermon if this word is for ministers, and the answer is "yes," because it is not just what the ministers are to do, but how the flock, the congregation, must respond.
Peter addresses the teaching elders, the ministers, and says that he does so with authority: he is a fellow elder. He also has been called to preach and teach the Word of God and all that comes with it. He is a fellow servant, of equal rank and call. He is a witness to the sufferings of Christ, both literally and figurative. He knew Jesus. He saw Jesus actually suffer. And now he has suffered for the Sake of Jesus. And, he is with them, and all Christians, a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.
Peter tells them that they ought to listen to him and obey him because he was called to the same calling to which they were called. He knew Jesus when Jesus suffered in the flesh on earth, and now he suffers in the flesh for Jesus. And he is co-heir with them in the glory that will be revealed. And ministers ought to understand from this that they are not above being taught. Ministers are not above the wisdom and authority of other ministers. Ministers ought to be engaging each other in the ministry, sharing their gifts and wisdom for the sake of the Gospel. And, you, the congregation, ought to support and encourage your ministers to meet and learn with and from other ministers, so that we might serve you and Jesus better.
After this statement of his authority, Peter says that the call to the ministry consists primarily in three things: a minister is to preach and teach God's Word. A minister is to care for and watch out for the flock. And a minister is to be an example of holy living for the flock.
"Shepherd the flock of God that is among you."
First, a minister is to shepherd the flock of God. Ministers are called to shepherd God's flock. The flock does not belong to the minister; the flock belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. A minister is sent for a time to preach and teach, but he must always remember that the flock does not belong to him, they belong to the Lord.
It is the minister's duty to preach what God has said -- all of it -- and to teach the congregation what the Word of God means, and how to apply it to their lives. The minister's primary duty is to be about the Word of God -- to be in constant study and prayer, that he might deliver and explain the Word of God as clearly and as fully as he is able.
Paul told the young minister, Timothy, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (II Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, the minister ought to preach and teach only the Word of God, and he ought to do so in a way that exposes the flocks' sin and calls them to repentance, exposes and corrects errors in the flocks' understanding, and teaches them how to live after God's Word.
That devotion and commitment to the hard and lifelong study of the Scripture is the work of the minister. What is the flock to do? What is the congregation to do to help the minister accomplish his work?
The congregation ought to be in prayer for the minister -- that he would spend the time and effort in the Word of God that is needed, that he will be in prayer and rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom. They ought to encourage the minister in his work and not keep him from doing the work he was called to do; the minister must be allowed the necessary amount of time to prepare for preaching and teaching. John Wesley wisely said that a minister should be in prayer and study for one hour for every minute he preaches.
The congregation ought also attend to the Word -- the congregation ought to desire to be in the worship service, and in prayer meetings, and in Bible study learning the Word of God. All of God's children ought to hunger for His Word and long to hear it preached and taught. And then, the congregation ought to submit to the Word -- to what God has said is good and right and necessary -- and submit to the loving discipline of the minister and the elders.
Now, this does not mean that the congregation should accept everything the minister says without thinking: there are people functioning in the role of minister whole neither have the call nor the ability to be a minister. It is the duty of the congregation to check the Scriptures to make sure that what the minister is preaching and teaching is what the Bible actually says. Paul speaks commendingly of the Bereans, "they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:13b). The minister ought to preach and teach the Word of God alone, eagerly, and the congregation ought to eagerly check the Scripture and submit to it.
"Exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but eagerly;"
Second, the minister is to care and watch out for the flock. That is, the minister ought to show the flock the enemy and warn them away from him. The minister ought to remove dangers from the flock. And the minister ought to discipline the flock.
The minister ought to exercise oversight, as a shepherd over the sheep, but not merely out of duty, but out of love for the flock, and not resentfully, but thankfully, for the privilege and honor and responsibility of serving the Master by caring for His sheep. The minister ought to exercise oversight, not just for the material sustenance -- not just for the paycheck, but because he loves the congregation. And though he has the authority of a shepherd over them, he ought to recognize, in love, that he is also a sheep of the Great Shepherd, so he is not better than the sheep under his care.
The minister is to love the congregation that he is caring for. In that love, he is to protect them and to guide them into green pastures. In that love, he is to guide them away from the cliffs to the safe ground, and nudge them strongly along with his staff, as necessary. The minister is neither lord of the flock, nor is he an unloving watchman. The minister and the congregation ought to have a relationship of love, one for the other.
That means that the flock should love enough to come to hear the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and follow after it, if what the minister has preached and taught is truly written in the Scripture. This continues the line that we drew before.
The flock should also love the minister enough to provide for him materially. If the flock loves their shepherd, they will make sure that he has enough money to care for his own needs as well as theirs. The minister ought to have more than enough money to care for himself, so that he might also use his money to care for the congregation, both in tithes and offerings and in specific gifts and meeting specific needs. As Jesus said, "the laborer deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7b).
The flock ought also love enough that they submit to the preaching
and teaching of the minister and respect the minister. If the minister is abiding in his call, the minister ought to be the most respected person in the congregation, if not the community -- and that leads to our third point:
"Nor domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."
Ministers ought to be examples of holy living to the flock. Paul wrote, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1). Ministers are called to imitate Christ, and the flock is called to imitate the shepherds as they imitate Christ. The flock ought to be able to look at the shepherd and say, "I am going to live like our minister, because he is an example of how to live like Christ -- how to live the holy life we are all called to live."
So ministers ought to be very conscious of themselves -- what they are saying, as well as what they do. People are watching -- the world is watching -- the flock is watching -- little children are watching, and the minister is saying, by his office, "be like me."
And no one in the flock should be misled in thinking that any minister -- any shepherd -- has reached a state of perfection -- of sinlessness -- because no minister, except Jesus, has. Not a single person ever, except Jesus, can say that he has lived up to the call of holiness on his life.
Still it is a serious call for the minister; it is one of the minister's duties, to work hard at holiness, to do everything he can to be an example of holy living worth following, and also showing the way to repentance and forgiveness when he sins and falls. And the flock ought to follow and be like him, as Paul says, "as he is like Christ."
Paul puts the charge to young Timothy, "I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is the judge of the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, enduring suffering, do the work of the evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (II Timothy 4:1-5).
"Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time -- he who is blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen" (I Timothy 6:11-16).
That is the call that ministers -- shepherds -- have upon them.
Then Peter ties these things all together in that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd. He is the Perfect Holy Shepherd. He perfectly delivers His Word. He perfectly exercises care and discipline over His flock. He is the Perfect Example of Holy Living for us all to follow. And ministers are told to abide in their call, as under-shepherds, and when the Chief Shepherd returns, they will receive the lasting, or unfading, crown of glory.
However, as James reminds us, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1).
God says, the ministry is hard work, but it is a rewarding work. However, understand that ministers will be held to a stricter standard in the judgement. That should give anyone pause who desires to enter into the ministry. Yet, ministers, like everyone else, are saved by Grace Alone, not by their works. It is only by that Grace that ministers can rightly stand before the congregation and say, "This is the Word of God, obey it, obey me, and be like me in the ways that I am like Christ."
And to those who are younger, whether it be in chronological years or in years of spiritual maturity, Peter says to be subject to the ministers. Ministers ought to have some spiritual maturity about them. The congregation ought to recognize that and submit to it.
But all are to be clothed in humility. Humility ought to reign supreme in our dealings with each other. The love of Christ ought to teach us that we are all eternally indebted and beholden to Him, and we ought to deal with each other in love, even as we understand that some serve in positions of authority.
True ministers function as Christ's representatives on earth, as shepherds of the flock. They are called to preach and teach the Word of God, lovingly care and watch out for the flock, and be an example of holy living for the flock.
The congregation ought to respond by allowing the minister to do what he is called to do for Christ and them, providing for him materially and time-wise, praying for him, submitting to the Word of God eagerly, and following after the example he exhibits, as it is that of Christ.
Let us pray for our ministers, that they would be faithful to their calls, and for each other, that we would be faithful to our ministers and our Savior.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Great Shepherd of the Sheep, we thank You for giving us ministers. We ask that You would raise up ministers who are faithful to You in all that You have put on their lives. We ask that You would be with me, as the minister to this flock. We ask that You would make me more faithful, more diligent, a better example and guide in all things. Make me more like Jesus that we would all see You and rejoice and be satisfied. We ask that this flock -- this congregation -- would be full of love, that we would support our minister and this ministry in prayer, time, finances, dedication, and devotion to You Word. Give us Your Wisdom as we seek to be Your people and witness the Truth of Salvation in Jesus Alone to Irvington and the world. For it is in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.
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