After
attending a church over a period of time, believers often have to confront a
common question about how they should perceive their pastors’ authority. Do they just blindly submit to every whim and
woe of their pastor? Do they look up to
their pastors as mentors, and take everything with a grain of salt? The question concerning pastoral authority
may seem simple and unnecessary, but the end results of how believers respond
to their pastors tend may have major implications and ramifications...if
pastors accidentally, or intentionally, skew their teachings away from the Word
of God.
So how
should we interpret the following instructions, presumably written by the
Apostle Paul, to the Hebrews?
“Obey
your leaders and submit to their authority.
They keep watch over you as men who must give account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy,
not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)
In
regard to the above passage, if you look at the origin of the word obey in the Greek language, it actually
means many things – such as obeying, making friends, having confidence,
trusting and so on. In the same sense, submit means to yield. In other words, there are different ways of
looking at this passage, but the overall them remains the same…believers are to
show some sort of respect to their pastors in order that they better fulfill
their purpose in leading others, with joy and not as a burden.
As for
submitting to leaders, we can argue about how much submission is healthy and
realistic. However, why should believers
submit to leaders? The old adage found
in the Book of Proverbs – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
– explains how people can learn from one another and become stronger in their
faith, just by being accountable to one another. (Proverbs 27:17 NIV)
On the
other side of the argument, many believers will graciously follow their pastors
to a degree…but not “blindly” follow their pastors to the extreme. The reason being, they believe that the Bible
teaches that believers should remain accountable to their pastors. However, they also believe that people are
ultimately accountable to God for their actions, and they cannot blame anyone
else (even pastors) for their inactions…especially when most people spend their
time outside of the church, except for worship-related activities.
In the
Book of Matthew, you find Jesus Christ explaining that people will have to give
account for every careless word they
have spoken, not just how they conducted themselves in a church environment. Likewise, you find the Apostle Paul
reiterating this same point in his letter to the Romans.
“But
I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every
careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36 NIV)
“So
then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (Romans 14:12 NIV)
As for
the main question, to whom are we accountable…and for what? Jesus Christ makes it clear that we are ultimately
accountable to God. In contrast, pastors
watching over us are still accountable for how they minister to our spiritual
needs, and we are to submit to them in making their work in the ministry a
joy…so that they can help easier help others.
In other
words, the pastors’ roles are overseeing
their respective congregations, by helping ensure everyone utilizes their
individual talents and spiritual gifts in a beneficial manner to the overall
purpose of the church. As a result,
believers should yield themselves to
their pastors out of respect in helping them fulfill the mission of the
church. While at the same time,
believers need to remember that their pastors are still only human, just like
themselves, and subject making errors in judgment.
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