How To Treat The Pastor Lesson 2

Last week we started to look at what the Bible has to say about How to Treat the Pastor. We looked at 1 Thes. 5:12-13.

1Th 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; 1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.

We are beseeched to esteem the Pastor very highly in Love. Then we let the Bible define love for us and we seen that Biblical love is different from this, strong today weak tomorrow worldly emotion that the world calls love.  Biblical love is a choice. It gives to the needs of others. It acts, it sacrifices. It has patitence, is kind, does not envy. Biblical love does not behave unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. 1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  That is biblical love and we are instructed in the Word of God to love our pastor. We are to love our Pastor the way the bible defines love.

And last week we also saw that we are to Respect the Pastor.

1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.

We are to esteem them very highly. Men of God should be held in high esteem. To esteem is to put a high value on, to regard with reverence, respect.  Respect the pastor. Have a high regard of him. Speaking against him to others is not pleasing to God. We should treat him with respect in the church house and in the drive home in the car.

And we saw why we are to love the pastor and esteem him. It is for the work’s sake.

1Th 5:13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.

For the work’s sake. Winning souls and doing the work of God in building up those that have been saved in the faith, is more important than personalities.  How to Treat the Pastor. First Love Him and Respect Him.

We are to obey him.

Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you.

We are to obey him. I did not write it. I am just the messenger. God calls out a man to lead and puts him over the flock. God says obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves. Every group need a leader to direct its activities. Without that you will have chaos. What would happen if in our military every one just did their own thing? What would happen if everyone in the military was a general? If that was the case, how long would this country remain free?

Everyone understands the necessity of a chain of command in the military. When you say to a private, obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves. No one thinks that is crazy. They think well, duh, of course.

I work for what could be considered a small company. And I can tell you that there is the same need for leadership and a chain of command. If someone was not in charge of watching the expenses, or the advertising, or the purchasing and so on. If there was no leadership, or if everyone tried to be the leader, then it would not be long and there would be no more company.

Everyone would be trying to take the company in a different direction and all they would do is tear the company apart. You state that employees should obey them that are over them and submit themselves. And people say yep. That’s right. If they don’t then the company will go under and there will be no more paychecks. Someone has to be in charge for the company to survive and thrive.

So why do so many think it an awful thing when you tell them that they should obey the pastor? The same principal that applies to the military or companies applies here. Without leadership and a chain of command you have failure and chaos.

We are sup post to be in unity and striving together in doing the work of God. You can’t have a bunch of people pursuing the same goal in unity unless someone is in charge. That is just the way it is. And God has chosen to give that leadership to the pastor. Not to a committee, or a deacon, or anybody else.

Christians are to Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves Well that implies that you have someone over you. Here is another place in the bible that shows that you are sup post to have a pastor to submit to. You cannot submit yourselves unless you have someone to submit to. We are to obey.  You can't read this verse any other way.  It says what it says. 

We are to obey. Then comes the question, how far am I to take that.

Would you do everything that your employer told you to do at the job site? What if he told you to lie? Or cheat? Or cook the accounting books? Well no. Of course not. If it goes against the bible then I will not obey my employer. We need to apply a little common sense.

You say, ok, but how about a verse. Are children to obey their parents?

Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Notice the words real carefully. It does not say Children obey your parents. It says Children obey your parents in the Lord.

In the Lord. So if a wicked parent tells a child to drink whiskey so that he can laugh at the kid. That is not in the Lord and the child should not obey that.

Are wives to obey their husbands? Col 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. We see similar wording. Submit as it is fit in the Lord. If a husband tells a wife to do something that is against God’s word, then no she should not obey.  Telling a wife to kill her baby for example is not in the Lord and the wife should not obey that. 

However, if the command is in the Lord. If it lines up with God’s word then obey.

So as long as what the pastor is asking you to do lines up with God’s word then we are to obey.

This is one of the reasons why it is so important to study the word of God for yourself. People who are biblically illiterate are the ones who blindly follow a man into some heresy. Ignorance of the word is why you see so many blindly following false teachers.

We are to follow, obey, and submit to pastoral authority. However, we are not to do it in biblical blindness. As long as the pastor is leading biblically, then we are to follow.

For they watch for your souls.

Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you.

Let me ask you a question. Do we have an adversary? Does this adversary love Christians?

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Does our adversary use trickery and deception? He has a whole arsenal of temptations. Is our adversary in the religion business?

• 2Co 11:13 For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
• 2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
• 2Co 11:15 Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Satan is in the religion business and he does have ministers. He has false teachers and deceitful workers and they can look real good on the surface. It says Satan's ministers are transformed as the ministers of righteousness. However their end shall be according to their works.

These false teachers will try to destroy every good church they can. They will try to ship wreck as many Christians as they can. Lead them astray. And they are all around. T.B.N. is full of them.

Part of a pastors job is to watch for your souls. He is to teach and preach against the temptations of the devil. You are to listen and obey that preaching. Why? So that you don’t get hurt.

A pastor is also to warn against false teachings and false teachers. You are to listen and heed it. Why? So that you don’t get led into being a ship wrecked Christian.  One of the reasons that God gives us a pastor is for our protection. He is to lead the flock and keep them safe, and keep them from hurting themselves.

They are a gift from God Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

The He there is Jesus. And it says that He gave pastors. They are a gift from Jesus.

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph 4:14 That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:

A pastor is a gift to edify us in the faith, to help us be in the unity of the faith. To keep us from being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men. A pastor is to help us grow in the Lord.

We need to understand that and then submit to his teaching, preaching, and leadership.

for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account As they that must give account. Any good pastor continually realizes that he must give account to God for the way he fulfilled his office. He will advise you, teach you, and pray for you with that in mind.

One you should be thankful for that. Two you should respond correctly. It says so that they may do it with joy and not with grief.

You should love your pastor enough to not want him to have to give his answer to God with grief. You should respond to his leadership in a way that will let him give his answer to God with joy. And notice real close the end of the verse.

that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you.

The pastor might have to give an answer with grief because of you, but it will not be unprofitable for the pastor. It says it will be unprofitable for you.

You see every Christian will stand one day before the judgment seat of Christ. Rom 14:10 … for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. If you cause the pastor to give an account with grief, Jesus is going to make you give an answer for it when you stand before Him. And the Bible says that will be unprofitable for you.

The fact of the matter is that God has give the pastor a very difficult job. A job that includes watching for our souls and to help keep us from falling into some sin or heresy. We should not rebel against his leadership. We should submit to it knowing that it is God’s plan.

Some people have a problem with humbling themselves. But God’s word says:

Jam 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. The pastor has been made your commander in chief. And it is God who has placed him in this position. No one has the right to tear him down.

Instead we should trust him.

Submitting requires some trust doesn’t it. Understand that a good pastor does what he does with our good in mind.

LISTEN TO HIM

Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

I believe that Christians should be a thankful people. We should be thankful to God for giving pastors that are according to His heart. Men that will feed the flock. We should listen.

It amazes me some times to watch people and how they listen to say their doctor. The doctor said that I should quit eating this. And so they do. The doctor said that I should take this pill. And so they do. The doctor said that I need my gall bladder taken out. And so they do.  They listen to the doctor. They consider him a professional and an expert in his field. And so they take his advice.

Often people will do the same thing with their mechanic. Your brakes are shot and you need new ones. And you listen. Same thing goes for the dentist or just about any other professional. People go to professionals and get advice about finances. They listen and then they put forth their hard earned money.

God sends a man, who studies the Word of God every day. He reads it, prays over it, meditates upon it, and lives it. God enables the man with spiritual wisdom and understanding. God puts a message on his heart and he gets up and declares it to you. The message is from God’s Word. God wants what is best for us. He is not a hard taskmaster. It would be best for us to listen.

So why don’t more Christians listen to the man that God sent them? A good pastor is a gift from God, we should listen to him.

SUPPORT HIM

One way is to be in attendance at all services. 1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

To be in attendance is a help to the pastor. And we need every message that he brings. Every message can build you up in the faith, help fight temptation. Listening to every message can make you a stronger Christian. And will lead to you being more and more, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

The pastor was called to build you up in the faith. You need to support him in that area. To do that you have to be here. We should also support him financially.

1Ti 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

The elders that rule well. – that is talking about a good pastor. Those that rule well. They are to be counted worthy of double honor. – that is talking about wages. The context for that is in the next verse.

1Ti 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer [is] worthy of his reward.

A good pastor is worth the honor of a good paycheck. It actually says double. A scriptural way to figure out what a pastor should make would be to average up all the salaries in the church. Get the average and then double it.

encourage him Pro 15:23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word [spoken] in due season, how good [is it]!

Saying the right appropriate thing to someone at the right time can be a good thing. This does not only apply to pastors. My point is that we should not exclude pastors from it.

PRAY FOR HIM

1Th 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.

Rom 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in [your] prayers to God for me;

Pray that God will give you pastor wisdom for every message.

Pray that God will do a work in hearts while he is preaching.

Pray that God will help the man lead the church in the correct way.

For the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in [your] prayers to God for me;

The Bible teaches us that we are to love the pastor God gave us with a real working biblical love.

We are to respect our pastor.

We are to obey our pastor.

We are to understand that the pastor is to watch for our souls. He is to teach, preach, and admonish us to stay away from sin that will hurt us.

We are to listen to him. We are to support him, encourage him, and pray for him.

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