1406-29A XXX

PRACTICING SUBMISSION (2)

(1 Peter 5:1-5)

TEXT:

SUBJECT: Christian Leadership

F.C.F: How does a Christian leader lead by serving?

PROPOSITION: Since Christ was our servant, we must serve one another.

INTRODUCTION:

A. “It’s not what you would expect.” We have to keep saying that in the Christian faith because God’s Word is so frequently counter-cultural, the opposite of what comes so naturally to us. And that’s because human nature, since the fall, has been under the domination of Lord Self instead of Lord Christ. So when we go back to Scripture, God’s Word, we find the culture of God’s kingdom, and it will always be in opposition to the culture of self.

B. We see this in the distinction between the worldly value of management and the godly goal of Christian leadership. Management uses people to attain its objective. Management may develop the skills of individual people, match those skills with certain tasks, and even seek to foster positive relationships among those individuals to keep the machine functioning properly. But there’s the flaw in the analogy—it’s a machine, with replaceable, expendable parts, a machine whose purpose is to achieve or manufacture some other stated goal.

In the church of Jesus Christ, however, people are not used for some greater good. People are the greater good. So Christian leadership has no higher aim than the people themselves. This is so clearly evident in our Lord’s Great Commission which is to “go and ‘make disciples’ of all nations.” The point is not “going,” nor is it developing “nations.” But rather, it is the people, making disciples, bringing sinners to repentance and baptism and then into personal obedience to Jesus Christ. A disciple, as we have seen in 1 Peter, is one who has changed allegiance from Lord Self, to Lord Christ.

So as Peter addresses the leaders of the church, fellow elders like himself, he necessarily calls them not only to making disciples, those who have put off Lord Self and who are putting on Lord Christ, but first and foremost, to be disciples, to personally put off Lord Self and put on Lord Christ.

C. If you are not an elder of the church, you still have a vested interest in this text, and I will explain why that is. Our call is to obey Christ by submitting to those representatives he has called to serve in leadership, in exercising oversight over us. This also is counter-cultural, highly so. We think we belong to ourselves—that nobody has the right or the responsibility to “watch over” us (“What are we, children?!”). That independent, go-it-alone, individualistic attitude is pervasive, I know. But ask yourself, does that sound more like the attitude of Lord Self or of Lord Christ, who said he always submitted to the will of his heavenly Father? The question answers itself, and Peter addresses it explicitly in verse 5.

I. ELDERS MUST SUFFER WITH CHRIST.

A. Peter employs the time-honored image of God’s people as his flock, the sheep of his pasture, and the elders as shepherds of that flock, under-shepherds really, who serve under the call and authority of the chief Shepherd.

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.”

Here is an interesting note, though it is not to the main point. The PCA is officially a “two-office” church. We believe that the New Testament establishes two offices, that of elder and deacon. You say, “Well, what about pastors? Why do we have pastors if there are only elders and deacons?” And the reason is because the office of elder has some specializations. Peter himself was an apostle. But he calls himself a “fellow elder.” So the office of apostle, a unique office, was really a specialized form of elder. And today we recognize that some elders will be especially called to teach (called Teaching Elders) and some especially called to give oversight (called Ruling Elders).

B. And elders, Peter says, are to prepare themselves for suffering even as they hope in future glory. This was the experience of our Lord, and Peter strongly implies that this will be the experience of Christ’s elders as well.

I think that this is not as clearly communicated today as it should be, and I fear that the church is not well served by this omission. I had a friend who was a pastor many years ago. He happily arrived at a medium-sized church, his first charge, eager to get to work. And he was soon devastated. As he told me later, “I thought everyone would love me. Instead, they tried to tear me to pieces.”

If the call of Christ to “come, follow me” necessarily involves carrying our cross (an instrument of death), if Christ’s call is to come, suffer and die with him that we might share in his glory at his coming, and if that is for the ordinary church member, what does that say about the church leader? Should the elder, ruling or teaching, dream of stepping into a position of instant prestige and respect? Should a pastor or ruling elder expect that others would bow ever so slightly as they pass, hang on their every word, and fawn over them? And this is not to mention the scorn of the world.

But this suffering is not only to be expected, it is to be embraced. Suffering, as we have seen, is one of God’s chief tools to neutralize and destroy the pretensions of Lord Self. Have we forgotten that James calls us to “count it all joy” whenever we face painful trials of many kinds because God uses these trials to bring us to maturity? And so by God’s wise counsel and kind favor, he calls us to suffer, all of us. Elders even more must suffer with Christ.

And secondly,

II. ELDERS MUST SERVE WITH CHRIST.

A. It seems almost like a contradiction in terms to say that elders lead by serving God’s people. We tend to place these in opposition: either you lead or you serve. But that’s only if we confuse Christian leadership with mere management. If elders were managers, then we would expect this kind of “chain of command” and “do as I say” situation. But Christ led us by serving us, that is by going to the cross for us. That’s because we were his goal. So to accomplish his goal, he served us.

And this is evident from the manner of ministry God requires from elders as church leaders. “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.” To shepherd God’s people is to exercise oversight, to watch over them with diligent care to the end that they grow into maturity as disciples of Jesus Christ. The staggering sheep must be strengthened and encouraged. The stumbling sheep must be raised up, re-established and built up. And the straying sheep must be called back and restored on the right path.

B. Beloved, I speak here not to elders but to church members. You know in your deepest heart that you need spiritual fathers and brothers who will serve you in this way. But you also hear a contrary voice pleading within you, “No, you don’t need that. You are strong enough on your own. You can handle it. And who do they think they are anyhow? They’re no better than you are. You don’t need to listen to anyone else.” Do you recognize that other voice? It seems to be coming from within. And it is, because that is the voice of Lord Self. And betwixt those two voices calling to you, you are on the razor’s edge between joy and destruction. As God said to Cain, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)

C. And then Peter offers three contrasts to demonstrate the servant heart of true Christian leadership. All three follow the “not that…but this” pattern. “(N)ot under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you….” Peter acknowledges that this will not come easily to anyone. Lord Self will never serve. So we must serve willingly, practicing obedience for the sake of Christ, having put off Lord Self and put on Lord Christ.

And “not for shameful gain, but eagerly….” The promises of prestige, of job security, of an easy, comfortable life, or of financial reward must all be forsaken in favor of something better and nobler. We must find a new motive so that we serve “eagerly.” What new motive could that be? What affection or affections would propel us into the admitted suffering of service in the church? This takes us back to the very beginning of Peter’s letter. Christ’s resurrection, the new birth, and grateful, joyful love for Christ are the prime motives for all of Christian obedience and service.

And (of course!) “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” Examples of what? Examples of mature Christians who have overcome the iron grip and relentless demands of Lord Self to rule, to command, and to dominate others. From a worldly standpoint, this makes no sense at all. But from God’s perspective, it can be no other way. If church leaders try to rule by command from on high, they are operating as Lord Self, and they will necessarily give a bad example, teaching God’s people to remain under the thumb of Lord Self also. So church elders must make it their aim to suffer with Christ and to serve with Christ.

III. ELDERS WILL SHARE IN CHRIST.

A. And church leaders must likewise lift up their hearts to the hope of sharing with Christ. Peter’s counsel is surrounded by a couple of bookends, and each one is the word “glory.” “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:” and “4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

You’ve probably already noted that each time this glory is spoken of in the future tense. Are you alright with that? I think you probably are. After all, you know that the fullness of your salvation in Christ is yet in the future, yet to be revealed. Oh, you have already tasted of the love of Christ and of the transforming power of his Holy Spirit. But this is only the appetizer. Better yet, it is the mere aroma of the Thanksgiving Day turkey roasting in the oven, making your mouth water and causing you to long for the fullness, even though it’s only nine o’clock in the morning.

B. So while it’s suffering now with Christ and serving now with Christ, it will soon be glory, glory, glory with Christ. Are you up for that? Can you hope in that, and patiently endure in that? Can you serve and sacrifice in that hope?

Jesus, the chief Shepherd, did. For our sakes he humbled himself and suffered his whole life long, in the manger and on the cross. How is that for the bookends of a life? The humility of the manger and the humiliation of the cross. And if he is the CHIEF Shepherd, what does that say for us? And that’s why we must arm ourselves with the hope of sharing with Christ in the glory of the age to come.

CONCLUSION

Tuesday night I’m leading our second summer seminar on the wildly popular book, Heaven is for Real. This is not a good book. Its worst feature is that it inevitably distracts us from this book, which shouts from every page that heaven is our blessed hope.

Why has this silly and childish book sold millions of copies? I’m convinced it’s because God’s people dearly long for that hope, but our pulpits have been largely silent on God’s promises for the age to come. The church has foolishly bought the lie that people are only interested in the here and now, and so to attract people we must promise them the glory of the good life in the here and now. We must promise that we in the church, like counselors and therapists, are able to fix all of their problems and keep them interested and entertained in the here and now, and we must ignore any “pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye” notions about heaven or future glory. And then a childish book comes along talking about heaven, and millions, millions are interested while the church of the here and now is in freefall.

And you see that God’s Word leads us in precisely the opposite direction. It’s hardship now and glory to come. It’s serving with Christ now, it’s suffering with Christ now, and it’s sharing in the coming glories of Christ in the age to come.

And we must fix our hope there, not in “Your Best Life Now,” but in the blessed life then. ” 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

J

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