While many people today would argue that the plural elder model of church government is not demanded by the teaching of the New Testament, I think, it nonetheless represents the clear teaching of the NT. To hear this argument see my article How Should Our Churches Be Led 1/3. In this post, I want to address how a plurality of elders is the best model for the spiritual growth of our churches.

Let’s be honest, most baptist churches today do not have a plurality of elders, so I know that there is likely an immediate knee-jerk reaction to a young seminary student like myself who claims that the NT model of church leadership is clearly marked by a plurality of elders. Understanding my lack of long-term experience in church ministry, I hope to humbly show how an elder’s biblical function lends itself best to plural elder model.

In my previous post, I looked at the role of elders in shepherding the flock. I think shepherding the flock means caring for the spiritual needs of the congregation as well as providing biblical vision for spiritual growth of the church. Shepherding the flock is closely tied to the second distinguishing function of elders–to teach.

If you read the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, the clear distinction between a deacon and an elder is that an elder must be “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2, Titus 1:9). Titus 1:9 gives more explanation as to what this involves as Paul says an elder/overseer must be “able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Thus an elder must be able both to teach sound doctrine and recognize and correct false doctrine. Thus Paul commands Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). I think teaching the Bible implies responsibility and authority–not authority inherent in the elder, but as one given authority by the church to teach God’s authoritative Word. Thus the connection between shepherding the flock and teaching becomes more clear.

Protecting the flock against false doctrine is tied to shepherding in that a shepherd would see it his job to protect his sheep from various dangers. This is an authoritative function, an elder is not merely to teach but also to protect the flock from false teaching. Thus it would seem that Paul had in mind for NT to churches to trust their elders and follow their teaching.

As mentioned in my previous post where I looked at 1 Peter’s teaching on elders, “shepherding the flock” involves “exercising oversight” and seems to indicate that elders are given the authority to set the vision and direction of the church (1 Peter 3:2). It makes sense that the same people in the church who are given the authority to set the biblical vision and direction are also given the authority to teach. If a church hopes to move in a biblical direction it must be teaching the Bible well.

This is where the typical single elder model (functioning with a “pastor as CEO with vice president deacons”) runs into problems. In such a model deacons tend to function as quasi-elders. When the head pastor of a church is the sole elder/overseer of the church, the deacons typically function as checks/balances and advisers to the head pastor. I see three significant problems with such a model:

1. In the single elder model, deacons are typically given authority and often are not focused on fulfilling a servant role in the church. As I said in my first post on church leadership, a deacon’s job by definition is to serve. In fact, deacons were appointed in Acts 6 because the apostles said, “it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2). The verb “to serve tables” in Greek is diakoneo which is the verb that gives definition to the function of deacons–to serve. In contrast to the deacons, the apostles determine to “devote [themselves] to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Thus it seems clear that a deacon’s role is more generally to serve in the church rather than specifically to teach or lead the church.

2. The “pastor as CEO model” often gives authority in overseeing the church to men who are not involved in the teaching ministry of the church. The role of an elder is both to teach and to shepherd the flock by exercising oversight. This single elder model involves casting the biblical vision for the spiritual growth of the church. The single elder model typically gives deacons authority in counseling and advising the pastor as he casts the biblical vision of the church but typically this model does not warrant them the same authority to teach. It ought to go without saying that the primary way that elders set the biblical vision is by preaching and teaching the Bible. Deacons are servants and not those accorded authority to teach–thus the ought not be accorded similar authority to cast the biblical vision for the church.

3. The “pastor as CEO model” fails to adequately recognize the importance of service in the body. Because this model confuses the biblical role of deacons, it fails to adequately recognize those who give of themselves to serve the body when it extends deacons role beyond that of service.

I also think that the “pastor as CEO model” lends itself more readily to failure upon the failure of the senior pastor. While this can happen in a church with a plurality of elders as well, the plural elder model spreads the responsibility to teach, preach, and cast the biblical vision to multiple pastors/elders such that when a pastor falls into disrepute or leaves the church, the church already has recognized men able to teach and preach the Bible in the pastor’s absence.

While I do not think that single elder churches are necessarily in sin, I think the NT clearly points to a plural elder model. Thus, if our churches want to promote faithfulness to the Bible’s clear teaching and spiritual growth, they would do well to consider carefully the Bible’s teaching about how our churches should be led.

While this has not been a comprehensive look at the roles of elders in the local church, I hope it has been helpful to you in thinking about the Bible’s teaching on church leadership and maybe even challenged you to think about how your church ought to be structured to best display the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!

(21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

In my last post on Reconciliation, I looked at the negative side of reconciliation. The need for reconciliation implies that there is something wrong in the world. Colossians 1:21 tells us that apart from Christ, all men are “alienated” and “hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” So the reconciliation set forth in Colossians 1:22-23 must answer how our state of being separated from God may be healed and Paul does just that.

In my last post, I asked the question, “how much of a sinner are ya?” I asked the question because I think that most people will admit that they are not perfect and would even admit, to some degree, to being a sinner. However, I think most people fail to realize just how sinful we are when seen through the eyes of the holy God who created us for His glory. So I set forth two tests to see whether you are a sinner and just how much of a sinner you are. The first was death–if you can conquer death (the curse of sin in Gen 2:17), then maybe you are not a sinner. To give you a statistic–1 out of every 1 person dies! That statistic, however, is not altogether accurate as there is one who has passed this test–Jesus Christ. The second test was a test to see how much of sinner you are. The test I proposed was this: spend one week doing nothing but praising God, living wholly and completely for the God’s maximum glory through Christ.

If you are thinking that these tests are impossible, you are absolutely right. We cannot gain right standing with God, nor do we want to (Rom 3:11), so the result is alienation–separation from the God for whom and through whom we exist! We are “hostile in mind” toward God, we are his enemies and we cannot restore ourselves to God.

The good news of the gospel, however, is that Christ has conquered our two greatest enemies through his death and resurrection! Christ passes these two tests on our behalf!

Unless you have given absolutely everything to God, you are still in sin and are alienated and hostile to God, doing evil deeds. The good news, however is that there is a man who perfectly gave everything to the Father. The good news for you and I is that though we were alienated and hostile in mind, Christ has reconciled us in his body of flesh by his death. Christ gave everything to God-he died on the cross bearing our sin, so that we might be redeemed.

He was obedient, Philippians 2:8 tells us, “to the point of death, even death on a cross.” We have done nothing to deserve God’s redemption. When Paul tells us in verse 22, that Christ has reconciled us in his body of flesh by his death, he is telling us that Christ took on real human flesh and died a real human death. Christ was just like you and I in every way only without sin (Heb 4:15). Christ perfectly obeyed the Father, he lived the life you and I simply cannot live-a life wholly and completely devoted to God. I asked you earlier if you thought you could go a week without sinning-Jesus went his whole life without sinning. And I asked you earlier if you thought you could live every second completely sold out for the glory of God if thought you could do it. Jesus did. He lived every millisecond for the glory of God-something we could never do! But the good news is that both his life and his death can be applied to your account. The good news is the mystery hidden from the ages–Christ in you the hope of glory (Col 1:27). He died for you meaning that if you believe in him, He has faced the death you should have faced. He lived the life you should have lived. He is your substitute, suffering for sin and facing the wrath of God in our place. But if Christ has wrought this regenerating work in you, the Christ is not only your substitute, but he now lives in you.

Paul has a huge view of God and his view of God is rooted deeply in the God-man Jesus Christ who created everything for His own glory and whose death and resurrection has conquered the enemy that you and are helpless to conquer. Christ has conquered sin and death.

And this reconciliation that we have through Christ’s bodily death has a purpose. Look at verse 22, “he has now reconciled [us] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” So all who have trusted in the gospel are now reconciled through the death of Christ in order that they might be holy and blameless before God. Hebrews 12:14 tells us that “without holiness no one may see God.” Thus in order to be truly reconciled to God, our sinful estate must be changed. We cannot remain in our hostile mind doing evil deeds and expect to go to heaven, God must intervene and change our estate if we are to stand blameless before God and be accepted into his presence on judgment day.

Thus in Christ’s reconciliation on the cross, he not only takes on our sin upon himself and pays its penalty but he also imputes or credits to us his very righteousness.

Thus Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that God has not only placed all our sin our on Christ but God has credited the very righteousness of Christ to our account. Paul says, “for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Thus we are holy and blameless before God because Christ has died in our place and Christ is righteous in our place. So we can indeed stand holy and blameless before God because Christ took our sin and God has applied his righteousness to our account such that we are declared to be righteous before God.

Thus the first element of the purpose of our redemption is that we are declared holy before God based on Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross. Such that when God looks on us, he does not see our sin but Christ’s righteousness applied to our account such that we can be holy and blameless in his sight.

In this post, I have looked at how Christ savingly reconciles sinner like you and me to himself. In my next post I will look at the cosmic implications of Christ’s reconciliation and how he restores the purpose for which we were created.

Collin Hanson has written an excellent editorial in Christianity Today, titled Wanted: Young Men in the Church, about how young men are delaying getting married and starting a family, and in essence prolonging adolescence. Hason rightly notes that this development should concern the church. Hanson obviously has a heart to reach these young men with the gospel and asks whether our churches are poised to reach these young men.Hanson cites a couple of interesting articles on the issue of prolonged adolescence. One is from in the winter volume of City Journal by Kay S. Hymnowitz, titled “Child-man in the Promised Land,” and the second article is by David Brooks in the New York Times, titled “Odyssey Years.”

Brooks succinctly lays out the process that many young men are currently going through as they delay growing up and starting a family, he writes:

Dating gives way to Facebook and hooking up. Marriage gives way to cohabitation. Church attendance gives way to spiritual longing. Newspaper reading gives way to blogging.

Amen! if we could only get the young men in our churches to be as excited about the Lord and church life as they are about facebook, we would really be on to something!

Hanson, applies this situation to church life. He says:

Spoken or not, many churches have practiced an evangelistic strategy that doesn’t expect to reach young men until they return with wife and kid in tow. If this was ever a wise strategy, surely now it is bound to fail. Hymowitz points out that in 1970, 69 percent of 25-year-old and 85 percent of 30-year-old white men were married. By 2000 those numbers had dropped to 33 percent and 58 percent. Between 2000 and 2006 alone, the median age of marriage for men climbed nearly one year, from 26.8 to 27.5. Can our churches afford to wait at least 12 years, between ages 18 and 30, for men to return? Maybe this is a better question: Are young men doomed to self-centered pursuits so long as they haven’t tied the knot?

I think Hanson is on to something. Many of our churches simply are not geared to reach these young men. So what do we do? Do we learn how to play more video games and develop more single-minded programing in our churches? Do we need to “hook up” these single young men in order to free them from their own selfishness?

Hanson says that is not the answer, he writes:

Evangelistic appeals grounded in felt needs won’t do the trick with these men. What good is this approach when we see no evidence that these young men feel the need to change? And if we adjust our beliefs and behaviors in order to attract these men, we run the risk of peddling the gospel and precluding God-given transformation.

In other words, Hanson doesn’t call for a overhaul on all our church programming. Nor does he think that we just need to get these young men married. Instead he suggests the ancient idea of plugging into the lives of these young men and sharing the gospel with them. Hanson seems to have the hair-brained idea that difficult and demanding but joyful life of pursing Christ might just free these young men from their own narcissism.

Hanson makes the important point that “everyone wars against the sinful tendency to shirk responsibility and accountability . . . unless you know the gospel freedom that is.”

Our churches are not reaching men, but it is refreshing to hear someone so clearly get to the heart of the issue and point to the only viable solution as Hanson does. Hanson says these young men “aren’t so different from everyone else. They need the gospel to liberate them from themselves, so that they will seek first the kingdom, not the latest Will Ferrell movie.”

Hanson also suggests that part of the reason why our churches are not reaching you men is because of our lack of clarity on gender roles. Unfortunately I don’t have time to address that issue right now, but I think he might be on to something there as well.

That said, let me throw a few questions at you:

1. Is your church failing to reach young men? Why or why not?

2. What remedy might you suggest to reach these young men? Is Hanson’s solution too simple?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

So much of what we do here on elect Exiles is very serious–currently I have posts planned on Reconciliation to Christ and Divorce and Remarriage. Kevin is planning a series of posts on the various aspects of the gospel. We are quite serious in the things that we write on this blog and we should be as we want to bring glory to Christ in the things that we write on this blog. That said, I think its worth posting something fun from time to time and for the sake of alliteration, I suppose I will post these fun things on Friday!

We live in a dark world, one in which sin’s effects are widely felt. However, I think there are glimmers of image of God around us if we pay attention. So when I see a small glimmer of the image of God in man, from time to time I hope to point it out.

You may think I sound a little post-modern but I really do see the image of God (not in a saving way) in the band Sigur Ros. When God created Adam and Eve, he created them in His own image, and I think that part of what that means is that man has in inherent desire to create as well. Of course man will never come close to matching the creator’s ability to create, but nonetheless, the presence of the imago dei (Image of God) in man is the reason why man desires to create art, music, and literature.

So while I really do not know what worldview the band Sigur Ros holds to, I do know that they have created some incredibly beautiful music that reminds me that God has created me in his image. Such music isn’t possible unless we have a beautiful God who has created us in his own image.

So I wanted to tell you about an amazing video I saw this week. The video was made by the Icelandic band Sigur Ros and is titled Heima. Heima means “at home” and that is essentially what the film is about. The film follows the band on a tour through various small venues and intimate concerts played for free in the band’s home country of Iceland. The film was made in the summer of 2005, just after Sigur Ros had finished a long world-wide tour after receiving critical success for their album Takk (which I think will go down as one of the greatest albums ever made).

The music in Heima is beautiful, but so is the filming. I never thought I would have the desire to go to Iceland but after watching the film I really would like to see it. The free concerts that Sigur Ros plays are often out in the countryside of Iceland surrounded by beautiful scenery, also each of the songs includes video footage from various places around Iceland. I think the video is also an example of how music often brings people together–I think in part because of the imago dei.

While you will not be able to understand any of Sigur Ros’ lyrics (unless you speak Icelandic), I think you will find their music beautiful and an example of the fact that God has created us in His image and given us the ability to create beautiful works of art. I don’t know what worldview the band espouses and it is probably a good thing that I can’t understand their lyrics, because I can just appreciate the beauty of the music. The video above is a special version of the trailer of the film with the song “Hoppopolla” which is one of my favorite Sigur Ros songs, enjoy!

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. - Colossians 1:21-23

This post has been a long time coming. As I took a long break from blogging I thought no one would notice if I just didn’t finish this series of posts but I think this is a series worth doing so I figured I would go ahead and finish it up!

That all the world will be reconciled to Christ (Col 1:20), implies that there is something wrong with the world. In Colossians 1:21, Paul tells us just what the problem is. Its an ancient problem. A problem that is bigger than terrorism, global warming, or world hunger. It is the same problem that every person (except for Christ) has faced and been unable to overcome in and of themselves. It is the problem of sin.

In my previous post I said that sin is big deal because God is a big deal. In other words sin is our biggest problem because the one we are sinning against created us for His glory and we have rebelled and lived for our own. We were created to love, know, enjoy, and worship God and we have instead sought to set ourselves in God’s place by loving, enjoying, and worshiping ourselves.

Thus Paul explains the results of such rebellion in Colossians 1:21, he tells us that we are “alienated” and “hostile in mind” because we have rejected the purpose for which we were created. Instead of worshiping and loving and rejoicing in the one true God, we have rejected his reign and rule and attempted to overthrow Him. We have attempted to place ourselves on God’s throne. We desperately want to be in control of our own lives. But the Bible hits us pretty hard with some powerful realities. The Bible tells us that from Adam on everyone is enslaved to sin apart from Christ and that the result of sin is death.

But before I further explain the sad state that we are in apart from Christ, let me give you two tests to see just how much of a sinner you are. Maybe you don’t think you are all that bad off, maybe you are a generally good person and have never really thought of yourself as a sinner. Well here are two tests to see if you are a sinner and just how much of a sinner you are:

1. Test #1: Try and see if you can keep from dying! The wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23) and death was the curse that resulted from Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden (Gen 2:17). So, if you think you can keep from dying, you might not be a sinner!

No matter how “in-control” of your life you think you are, you will NEVER conquer death. Have you come up with a way to overcome death? Is there anyone reading this who thinks you aren’t going to die? You and I will die someday and face the God who created us for His glory. So we are all subject to death and Genesis 3 tells us that sin is the curse of death.

2. Test #2: See if you can’t go a month, a week, even a day without sinning. This is the test to see how sinful you are.

Let me give you an example. What if you were to try to go a week, just one week, without lying. Maybe you are a pretty truthful person, maybe you could do it. But lets not stop there. Also for that whole week try not to say anything bad about someone behind their back. But let’s not stop there, for that whole week do not think any sexually impure thoughts about anyone.

But sin isn’t just breaking rules, it is rejection and neglect of God! So here is the really difficult test, for that one week spend every single second of your time praising and worshiping God. Make sure everything you do, you do for God’s maximum glory . . . think you could do it?

Whether we want to admit it or not sin rules our lives and its not just that we have rejected God’s rules, the reason our sin is such a big problem is because we have neglected God himself. Every millisecond of our lives belongs to God and we have neglected to give him our time and our worship. Instead we have lived for our own pleasure and our own glory and the disastrous result is that we are cut off from God, we are alienated from Him and we cannot manage to change that fact. As Paul tells us in Romans 6, apart from Christ we are slaves to sin. We cannot please God-we desperately need him to intervene.

Apart from Christ we are all hostile in mind toward God. This word hostile implies that we are enemies of God in our minds–Romans 5:10 uses the same word to show that apart from Christ’s saving work on the cross applied to us, we remain God’s enemies. Our minds are radically opposed to Him. We have disdain for his ways but our thoughts are no the only part of us that is clouded by sin. In fact Romans 8:7 tells us that, “the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

We are not only hostile in mind toward God, but we also continue to do evil deeds. We neglect God’s commands and live our lives the way that we want to live them. We lie, we slander others, we covet the things others possess, we give into sexual temptation. So Paul tells us that apart from Christ our minds are hostile to God and further are lives are continually marked by doing evil deeds. And most importantly we more often seek to do the things that exalt us rather than that which glorifies our creator. We live for our own glory.

I think a lot of people have a hard time with this. Sin is a very hard thing to fess up to. We tend to think we are generally pretty good people and though we may make some poor decisions now and then, we consider ourselves generally pretty good people. We don’t lie often or maliciously slander others all that often, we don’t cheat on our spouses, we generally think we are pretty decent people. At least we are better than a lot people we know.

This kind of thinking, that we are not all that sinful, falls flat in the face of Colossians 1:15-20. This idea that we are not all that sinful will not hold up against the fact that Christ is before all things and therefore deserving of all glory, all honor, all praise. He is the firstborn from the dead and if you have neglected to live in light of that reality then, friend, you are alienated from God. As Isa 59:2 tells us that “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

A small view of your own sin usually means you have a small view of God. If that is you, cry out to God, ask him to open your eyes to behold his greatness and to accurately see your dire estate. May God be so big in our minds and the weight of our sin so clear that the promise of saving reconciliation through faith in Christ might become truly sweet.

1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. -1 Peter 5:1-4

In my first post on leadership in the local church, I made the case for the plural elder model, I alluded to two primary functions of elders in the local church–to teach and to “shepherd the flock,” while similar in many ways, these two functions are distinct. Understanding these functions is essential to understanding how elders should operate in a plural elder model. In this post I want to focus on what it means that an elder is to “shepherd the flock” and “exercise oversight” as the Apostle Peter tells us in the above text. In the third and final post I will breifly address the teaching function of elders in the local church.

What does it mean “to shepherd the flock of God”?

Needless to say the word gives the picture of a herder of sheep. The verb “poimaino” “to shepherd” is the same verb that is found in John 21:16 where Jesus commands Peter to “shepherd my sheep.” A literal sheep-herder would continually direct, tend to the needs of, and protect the sheep in his care. Similarly elders are to give direction to the flock of God, tend to their spiritual needs and protect them from false doctrine that would spiritually wound them (1 Tim 6:20, 2 Tim 1:14). The same verb “to shepherd” is also used in Acts 20:28 to describe the responsibility of elders in the church. Here Paul charges the Ephesian elders to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” Thus Paul understood that eldership involves the responsibility to pay close attention to those in the under the elder’s charge.

It should also be noted that both in 1 Peter 5:2 and Acts 20:28 elders are given the task of overseeing–but the church cannot be considered theirs as the church is referred to as the “flock of God” and “the flock . . . which he obtained with his own blood.” Thus whatever oversight an elder posses has been given to him as he has been charged of the Holy Spirit to shepherd the flock. Thus anyone who wishes to be an elder should remember that the Holy Spirit appoints elders–thus it is not a position that one ought to campaign for (I do not mean to sound overly spiritual here, I am a congregationalist–so I think the church approves of such appointments by voting to accept those brought before the church as potential elders). Also, because Christ purchased the church with his own blood, the church is not an entity that an elder can utilize to celebrate his power over the flock. This is confirmed in 1 Pet 5:3 when elders are challenged to shepherd in such a way that they are “not domineering over those in [their] charge, but being examples to the flock.”

So we have established essentially what it means to “shepherd the flock of God,” but what does it mean to “exercise oversight”?

Often the participle translated in the ESV “exercising oversight” is substantivaly in the NT to mean “overseer” which is a term used synonymously with “elder” or “pastor.” In 1 Peter 5:2, however, Peter has already used the term “elder” and the participle “excercising oversight” probably refers to the function elders are to serve in the church. Thus in 1 Peter the participle is utilized instead of the noun “overseer” (1 Timothy 3:1-2) to signify function. This word “exercising oversight,” “episkopeo” in the Greek is the combination of two words just like it is in english, “over” and “sight.” Visually it gives the picture of looking out over the congregation and setting its direction. Thus, I believe it is the function of the elders of the church by the leading of the Holy Spirit and under the direction of God’s word to set the vision and direction of the church.

Setting the vision for the church is not something that the elders do in and of themselves but it is something that they are to do “voluntarily, according to the will of God” (1 Pet 5:2 NASB). Thus the elders are not charged with setting just any vision, but a vision that accords with the will of God.

Finally, elders are to exercise oversight “not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” Thus elders are not to exploit their congregation for selfish benefit or monetary rewards. Instead an elder should find joy in guiding, protecting, and caring for the members of his church. Being a good elder requires tremendous humility it would seem. Also elders are not to “exercise oversight” in such a way that they domineer “over those in [their] charge,” but instead they ought to be “examples to the flock.” Thus an elder has the tremendous challenge of serving his congregation by simply being a spiritually edifying example to those in his church.

The idea that Christ is the “chief shepherd” in 1 Pet 5:4 seems to imply that every elder in every local church is an under-shepherd to Christ who has bought the church with his blood and sealed its future with his resurrection. Realizing that elders are subject to Jesus the “cheif shepherd” seems to indicate that to shepherd the flock of God and exercise oversight is no easy task. In fact, it is quite daunting. As someone who plans to be an elder/pastor in the future, this job-description in 1 Peter 5 seems a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, it is Christ’s church and not mine, he purchased it with his blood and he has set its course in eternity by his own Word and He promises to guide those who lead it as elders with his Holy Spirit! Thus, on the foundation of God’s Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, our churches really can grow through the shepherding and oversight of its elders to more clearly display the glory of Christ!

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. -Matthew 5:33-37

 

The greatest sermon ever preached, is certainly not devoid of controversial teaching! If there ever was a preacher who stirred up controversy with his preaching, it was the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus equates remarriage with adultery, tells those who lust to cut off their hand or gouge out their eye, and to turn the other cheek to the one who slaps you on the right. Jesus’ words are difficult. And certainly the issue of oaths is no less so.

Did Jesus really mean that we should never make an oath? Is it wrong to swear on the Bible before giving testimony in court? Does Jesus mean that any and every oath is sin?

This can hardly be the case given that God makes oaths (Gen 22:16-17; Heb 6:17; Gen 9:8-11; Luke 1:68; Ps 16:10, 132:11). Further, Jesus spoke under oath at his trial (Mt 26:63-64) and Paul took vows where he called God “as [his] witness” (Rom 1:9; 1 Cor 1:23; 1 Thes 2:10).

So what is Jesus’ point about oaths? I think the answer lies in Jesus’ response to false interpretations of the law which he summarizes in 5:37 when he says, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” As he so often does in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus corrects false interpretations of the law. Jews, especially the Pharisees, in Jesus’ day had elaborate categories of oaths each of which were binding in varying degrees. For instance an oath sworn “by Jerusalem” was not binding but an oath sworn “toward Jerusalem” was, an oath sworn by the temple was not binding but an oath sworn by the temple’s gold was. It was not binding to swear by heaven or earth. There are many more examples, but the point Jesus is making here is that the Jews (the Pharisees in particular) had set up unnecessary categories in an attempt to avoid God’s punishment for speaking dishonestly. Thus Jesus’ teaching was not a contradiction of Mosaic law, but rather the perfect interpretation of the Law’s teaching on oaths and speaking truthfully.

D. A. Carson, in his commentary on Matthew in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary sums up the OT regulation of oaths by saying, “the Mosaic law forbade irreverent oaths, light use of the Lord’s name, [and] broken vows. Once Yahweh’s name was invoked, the vow to which it was attached became a debt that had to be paid to the Lord” (Ex. 20:7; Lev 19:12; Num 30:2; Deut 5:11, 6:3, 22:21-23). That is why one should not swear by heaven—it is God’s, nor by eath—it is God’s, nor by Jerusalem—it is God’s. Nor should one swear by their own head, again, it is God’s. God is the creator of anything and everything we could possibly swear by. Therefore, it follows that every oath made is ultimately an oath to God himself! When we swear by any other entity, we are merely attempting to diminish the consequences for breaking our promises and not telling the truth. Thus what Jesus is criticizing was likely false categories of oaths rather than oaths altogether. Carson sums it up well when he says, “if oaths designed to encourage truthfulness become occasions for clever and [casual] deceit, Jesus will abolish oaths.”

We are all probably more guilty of making false oaths than we are willing to admit. We don’t swear by heaven, earth, or any city, but we do couch our promises with all kinds of exceptions. i.e. “I’ll be home at 5:30 so long as everything goes as planned.” Its rare that everything goes as planned in this life, so instead of feeling obligated to be home when we say we will, we just diminish the consequences by phrasing it advantageously! We also embellish the truth to make ourselves look better. When we break promises, we are the first to list all the reasons why it’s not our fault that we broke them. When was the last time you said, “I am sorry I didn’t do what I said I was going to do, I don’t have a good excuse, I broke my word, please forgive me”? Jesus responds to the type of half truths we are so prone to by saying, “let your yes be yes and your no be no.” In other words, do what you say you will do and keep the promises you say you will keep. If you can’t seem to ever keep the big promises you make, maybe you should start by making smaller promises that you can keep. Maybe you need to work at learning to apologize to those you have wronged without making excuses for everything you might have done wrong.

If you are reading this please know that I am preaching to myself here as well! Jesus, as he so often does in the Sermon on the Mount, shows us how far short we fall of keeping the law. The good news is that there is one who has kept absolutely every promise he has ever made to us, who one makes every promise “yes” in Christ (2 Cor 1:19-20). Jesus’ teaching on oaths is one that we continually fail to keep, in fact but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot keep any of Jesus’ difficult commands in the Sermon on the Mount. Thankfully Jesus has come for sick rather than those who already see themselves as healthy, and for the sinner rather than the one who already sees himself as righteous (Matt 9:12-13). I am thankful that Jesus doesn’t expect us to be righteous in and of ourselves but only to mourn that we aren’t righteous and hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:4, 6). Further, if we believe, God promises to apply the very righteousness of Christ to our account (Rom 10:4).

If Jesus’ teaching on oaths hits you like a ton of bricks and reminds you how desperately far you are from keeping his commands, then that is probably a good thing. Call out to the one who has kept every promise to us concerning our salvation. Ask for help. You can be true to your word, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has promised to all who believe!

(21) And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, (22) he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. -Colossians 1:21-23

If I could sum up the Colossians 1:15-20, the verses immediately preceeding the above text, in one sentence, it would be this: Jesus is really really big. In my last post, I looked at the big picture of reconciliation. I wrote about how Christ is the center of the universe. I looked at how Paul sees Jesus as creator and the firstborn of all creation meaning that he sovereignly rules over absolutely everything. That means that Christ soveriengly reigns over you and me, over Louisville, over Kentucky, over the United States, the planet earth and the entire universe. Everything has been created through him and for Him and He holds it all together. Were it not for his sustaining the universe, everything would disintegrate. So as we come to the second part of this series on Colossians 1 we must remind ourselves that we are not self-sufficient creatures. We are created beings. We exist by the will of God, he created us and therefore has rights over us to do with us what he will. Further, we ought to remember that we were created for God—to fulfill his purposes, to live the way that he calls us to and to do the things he commands us to do! Isa 43:7 tells us that God has created us for His glory. Thus I don’t exist for me. You don’t exist for you. I exist for God. You exist for God. Everyone exists for God.

In my last post, I also about how God has reconciled all things to himself by the blood of the cross. The need for reconciliation implies that there is a problem in the world. That problem stems from the time of Adam and Eve when they took of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in an attempt to become like God. And of course we know what happened don’t we. The image of God in which they were created from then on was marred, it was corrupted. Their sin was not just that they ate of a tree that they shouldn’t have eaten from, it wasn’t just that they broke some strange rule, their sin was that they rejected God and attempted to dethrone Him. Its not just that they disobeyed but that they thought that by doing the very thing that God told them not to do, they could become like Him. But we know what happened, in their attempt to dethrone God, they were cast out of the garden and faced the stark reality of living life in separation from God. From then on death entered the world and sin began to reign on earth, because as Romans 5 tells us, from then on everyone after Adam lived in sin.

Sin is a big deal because God is a big deal. Sin has disastrous results because the one we are sinning against is massively big and massively holy and infinitely deserving of all praise (c.f. 1 Samuel 2:2). Sin is a massive problem—it is our biggest problem. And because it is such a big problem it requires a big solution—and Jesus has provided that solution on the cross for all who would believe. So this post marks the first of a series in which I am going to write about our greatest problem and its solution. Colossians 1:21-23 will be my guide as Paul sets forth therein, the specific reconciliation of sinners to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:21 marks a shift from the general to the specifics of Christ’s reconciliation. Colossians 1:20 simply sets forth the truth that Christ has reconciled all things to himself on the cross. Colossians 1:21 shifts to tell us how the believers at the church at Colossae individually were savingly reconciled to God through Christ.

If you just glanced over Colossians 1:20, you might come away thinking that everyone is going to be saved since Christ has reconciled all things to himself. If you were to just glance at this verse without carefully reading the book of Colossians you might think that Colossians 1:20 indicates that all people will go to heaven. That simply cannot be the case because of what Paul says in verse 21-23. Thus Colossians 1:21-23 is a perfect example of how we must always read and study passages of Scripture in context. Paul is writing to believers in Colossae and in verse 21, he reminds the Colossian believers where they have come from. He says they were “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” This sets forth an all encompassing picture of our sinful estate. Sin has affected our mind, our actions, and most importantly has left us in a state of being alienated from God. And this state of alienation or separation from God will remain forever unless you put your hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ as Paul tells us in Colossians 1:23. So Paul makes clear that only those who have placed their hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ can have hope of being savingly reconciled to God. Everyone in the end will be reconciled, but Paul gives no hope of heaven for those who refuse to put their hope in Jesus Christ—those who remain alienated from God will be painfully reconciled to Him in the end because they refused to submit God and His way of salvation (c.f. Matt 25:41).

It is important that we not forget the great Christ-exalting verses immediately preceeding Colossians 1:21. Paul has just set forth in the previous verses how all things were created by Christ and for Christ and how He is before all things. The backdrop for Colossians 1:21-23 is the preeminent glory of Jesus Christ who is before all things!

Thus again we must remind ourselves of the purpose for which we were created. We were created by God and for his glory.

Because we were created by God and for His glory, our sin has cause us to be alienated and hostile in mind toward God and that is a big, big problem. But maybe you don’t think you are all that much of a sinner, so in case you don’t think you are all that bad-off, in my next post I will give you two tests to see whether you are a sinner and just how much of a sinner you are! I will also address more fully what Paul means by our state of alienation apart from Christ.

Rhonda Bryne, best-selling author and friend of Oprah Winfrey, recently released a book that she believes will change your world and your life. The book is called The Secret and it topped the NY Times Bestseller’s list for several weeks. The book is really just a rehashing of a book called The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles written way back in 1919. Wattles promoted what he called “The Law of Attraction.” Simply defined the Law of Attraction states that by the power of positive thinking you can achieve anything and have everything you always wanted. You can be rich just by thinking the right thoughts about yourself! Bryne picks up the Law of Attraction in The Secret. Both Byrne and Wattles’ thinking really just amounts to New Age philosophy repackaged, but Americans are eating it up. Bryne’s philosophy in the end simply amounts to narcissism (worship of self). If you don’t believe me let me show you, here is an excerpt from The Secret:

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.

Compare that with Colossians 1:15-20:

(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (16) For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. (17) And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (1 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Rhonda Bryne would have you believe that you are the center of the universe. The apostle Paul claims in Colossians 1, not only that Christ is the creator of all things but also that all things were created for Him. In other words, everything was created and continues to exist (Col 1:17) for Christ. Thus, Christ is the center of the universe. He is before all things. He is the “firstborn of all creation.” This doesn’t mean that he was the first to be born but is a title taken from the Old Testament which simply denotes the supremacy or sovereignty of one person over another. Christ, however in contrast to any earthly ruler is “firstborn of all creation,” meaning He is sovereign and supreme over all.

There is a huge contrast between Rhonda Bryne’s view of the world and the Apostle Paul’s. If Bryne’s view of the world is correct, God is nothing more than a dotting parent who gives into his child’s every whim. According to Bryne’s worldview, if God exists, He exists for you! Bryne’s teaching reduces God to a feeble creature that bows to our every demand and desire rather than demanding the submission of our every demand and desire at His feet–which is what the God of Scripture demands. Whoever Bryne’s god is, her God is not holy. Her God does not demand worship or deserve it. Bryne’s God is much more like you and I than the God of the Bible. Bryne’s God is a pushover and in the end Bryne would claim that you are God because everything is subject to you!

Paul’s God is holy, so holy that we cannot stand before Him unless we are completely pure (Ps 15). So holy that sinners fall on their faces before Him and cry out for mercy (Isa 6:5), one who is glorious–so glorious that we cannot measure up to Him (Rom 3:23). And yet, despite our sin, he chose to reconcile all things to himself by the blood of the cross (Col 1:20).

Paul’s emphasis on reconciliation in Colossians 1:20, ought to tell us that all is not right in the world. If everything was right, there would be no need for reconciliation. But the fact is that, much is very very wrong. Though God created everything good, his creation has undergone corruption (Rom 8:20-21) because from Adam on (Rom 5:12-13) we have rejected God in our sin. We have neglected to realize that we were created by and for God. In our sin we have rejected the purpose for which were created–to know and worship God.

God has chosen to reconcile all things to himself through Christ’s blood shed on the cross (Col 1:20). Although all things are not right in the world, God has promised to make them right through Christ. He created everything and everything belongs to Him, thus everything will be reconciled back to the purpose for which it was created. Not everyone will be reconciled in the same way. Some will be reconciled through faith in Christ to eternal joy (Matt 25:23) while others will be reconciled unwillingly and will be cast “into the eternal fire with the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).

Everything exists for God. Everything exists for Christ. He and the Father are one (John 10:30) as all the “fullness of God dwells” in Christ (Col 1:19). Our biggest problem is we have neglected to live in such a way that reveals that, indeed everything exists for God.

We are all probably a little bit more like Rhonda Byrne than we are willing to admit. We might not think the world revolves around us but often act like it. We get upset when people don’t act the way we want them to. We defend ourselves unnecessarily. We continually try to hide our faults. We try to make ourselves look better than the people around us and we point fingers when things go wrong. If we are honest, our biggest problem in life is that we want the world to revolve around us but it doesn’t. The world revolves around Jesus Christ. Our failure to recognize this has left us in a dreadful state–”alienated” and “hostile in mind,” toward God (Col 1:21). This is a state we cannot change in and of ourselves. We need God to intervene, lest we remain cut off from Him.

The good news is that God has intervened in Christ. He has reconciled all things to Himself. But how will you be reconciled in the end? Will you be reconciled to eternal glory because you have believed on Christ? Or will you be reconciled in eternal punishment?

The world doesn’t revolve around you, it revolves around Jesus . . . are you living in light of this truth? Are you living in light of the TRUE secret–that everything exists for Jesus?

In my next post I will show how Christ’s reconciliation of “all things” to himself cannot mean that all will be eternally saved in the end and address the specific reconciliation of sinners through Christ’s death on the cross.

Leadership in the local church has received renewed interest in recent days, thanks in part to ministries such as 9 Marks. It seems like more and more pastors are seeking to transition their churches from a single pastor model of leadership to that of a plurality of elders (while this is a encouraging development–pastors who are making this transition should do so very carefully and patiently!). By a plurality of elders I simply mean multiple pastors, elders, or overseers (these terms are essentially synonymous in the NT). We ought to rejoice in this renewed interest in plural eldership as such a model reflects the clear teaching of the New Testament.

Despite this renewed interest in plural eldership that I have seen in many churches recently, the majority of Baptist churches do not possess a plural elder model. Thus, the leadership model of the New Testament is worth thinking about. So in my next three posts, I will do my best to discuss the model of church leadership found in the New Testament. Thoroughly tracing the New Testament model of leadership in the local church would be a task too vast for this blog, however, I will do my best in this post, to briefly highlight some significant teaching in the NT on plural eldership. In two follow-up posts, I will address what biblical elders ought to be doing in our churches and why understanding the role of elders is important to all members of the church!

First, we should not that the church or churches in Jerusalem had elders (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 4, 6, 22-23; 16:4; 21:18). Acts 14:23 indicates that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in all the churches they visited on Paul’s first missionary journey. Further 1 Timothy 5:17 indicates that the church at Ephesus had a plural leadership model and in Titus 1:5 Paul commands Titus to appoint elders in the church at Crete.

1 Peter gives some of the strongest evidence for the presence of plural eldership in the New Testament churches. Peter’s first epistle is addressed to churches in “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” We don’t know exactly how many churches the epistle of 1 Peter was circulated to, but it was likely at least dozens, possibly even hundreds or thousands of churches in Asia Minor. Peter challenges “the elders” of these churches to “shepherd the flock of God among them.” Thus we can deduce from this that plural eldership was the pattern for all of the many churches that Peter’s letter is addressed to. Further, it should be noted that noted that there is no verse in the NT that describes one person as the single elder of a church. Although the New Testament’s teaching on elders is generally directed at churches in general, Philippians 1:1 is directed to a specific church and the model for leadership is clearly one of a plurality of elders.

While other models of leadership in Baptist churches have been espoused, the burden of proof rests on them to prove the pattern of leadership in the NT is different from that of a plural elder model.

I should mention that I believe local churches are to be led by a plurality of elders rather than ruled by them. I think that NT pattern is one of congregational rule. For instance, in Galatians 1:8-9, Paul tells the churches of Galatia reject false teaching. Thus it was the congregation’s responsibility to preserve doctrinal purity. Further, it was the congregation that ultimately holds authority in issues of church discipline (Matt 18:15-17; 2 Cor 2:6). Thus if elders are not to rule the church, what is their role?

With the plural nature of leadership in the church established, we ought to give thought to what an elder’s function in the local church is. Thus my next two posts will address the two unique functions of biblical elders—teaching and shepherding. In the list of qualifications of elders in 1 Timothy 1:6-9 and Titus 1:6-9, we see the unique qualification of elders is that they be “able to teach.” 1 Peter 5:1-4 indicates that elders are to “shepherd the flock of God.” While there is significant overlap in these two functions—but I do think they are distinct and each is worthy of our attention.

Thus, in my next two posts I will address the two unique responsibilities of elders in the local church—to teach and to shepherd the flock.

For a more thorough discussion on the plural elder model and Baptist church polity see John S. Hammett’s book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches.