Sermon Tone Analysis

*Biblical Eldership, Part 2 – Whom Does God Want Leading His Flock, the Local Church?

(Titus 1:5)*

* *

Before we return to Titus, I want to back up and give us a broader context of the whole counsel of God by starting with the question:

Where did this whole idea of leaders called shepherds or elders come from?

What was the background to NT readers?

The answer is the OT, and that’s where we’ll start today.

We need to see that elder leadership was not a NT invention or convention or temporary early church tradition

 

Ezekiel 34:1-10 (NASB95) \\ 1 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves!

Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat /sheep /without feeding the flock.

4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.   5 “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.

6 “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek /for them./”

’ ” 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:      8 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but /rather /the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep.

So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”

’ ”

This is the same God who inspired 1 Peter 5:1-2:

“I exhort the elders among you … *shepherd the flock of God* among you … *not for sordid gain* … nor yet as *lording it over* those allotted to your charge, but proving to *be examples to the flock*.”

This is the same God who inspired Acts 20:28 where Paul says to the elders of the church in Ephesus:

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all *the flock*, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to *shepherd the church of God* which He purchased with His own blood.”

This is not mere man’s work or man’s word on how God’s church should be run and led.

This is the Living Word of God the Father who owns the church, and the text says God the Son purchased the church with His own precious blood, and God the Holy Spirit makes men to be overseers or elders to shepherd God’s flock.

-         This shepherd-leadership is a monumental trust, a convicting and challenging responsibility that no godly man takes lightly.

-         I think I can speak for myself as well as all the elders when I say with the apostle Paul, “who is sufficient for such things?”

-         This is a responsibility beyond what even the best man can fulfill on his own.

And we’re going to see that God never intended a man to do this on his own.

-         There is no more serious or sobering or weighty charge in scripture.

-         There are no stronger words our Lord has than for false shepherds who misuse their position and abuse those entrusted to them (Jude 12 “who /shepherd /[care only for] themselves”)

-         This is language with gravity and weightiness.

This is no small thing, but is a sacred work to be approached with fear and trembling and much prayer and we need much of your prayer.

How does God want His church to be run and governed?

/Democracy/ – pure congregationalism rules the church?

/Deacons/ or Trustee Boards or Businessmen or Marketers?

/Denomination/ or higher powers outside local church?

/Dictatorship/ - Single-Elder Rule ~/ Solo Pastor as King?

            /Devoted/ Loving Leadership by a Plurality of Godly Elders?

Our church believes and practices the principle of leadership by elders.

And today I want to give you some biblical reasons why

 

Last week we saw the Priority of Elders.

OUR OUTLINE TODAY:

1.

The *Plurality* of Elders

2.      The *Parity* [*Equality] *of Elders

3.      The *Polity [Government] *of Elders

 

Next week, we’ll see the PURITY of Elders (Titus 1:6 says elders must be “above reproach” or “blameless” and then he talks about marriage fidelity as “husband of one wife” or “a one-woman man”)

 

*First, let’s consider their PLURALITY*

Titus is instructed to “appoint elders in every city” or town church

 

Where are leaders called elders\shepherds first mentioned in Bible?

The answer is Exodus 3

 

It is to the shepherd Moses when God reveals Himself in the burning bush as “I AM” in that famous speech and self-revelation that God mentions elders as leaders of God’s people and whom God wants Moses to involve in leading the exodus from Egypt

\\ 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’

Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’

What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’

This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

16 “*Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them*, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

… 18 “They will pay heed to what you say; and *you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him*, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.

So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

Exodus 4:28-30 (NASB95) \\ 28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs that He had commanded him /to do./ 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled *all the elders of the sons of Israel;* 30 and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses.

He then performed the signs in the sight of the people.

Exodus 12:21 (NASB95) \\ 21 Then *Moses called for all the elders of Israel* and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and *slay the Passover* /lamb./

Exodus 17:4-6 (NASB95) \\ 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people?

A little more and they will stone me.” 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and *take with you some of the elders of Israel*; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”

And *Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.*

Exodus 18:12-26 (NASB95) \\ 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and *Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.* 13 It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening.

14 Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people?

Why do you alone sit /as judge /and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

16 “When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.

18 “You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; *you cannot do it alone.*

19 “Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you.

You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, 20 then *teach them the statutes and the laws*, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.

21 “Furthermore, you shall *select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place /these /over them /as /leaders* of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

22 “Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge.

So it will be easier for you, and *they will bear /the burden /with you.*

23 “If you do this thing and God /so /commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

26 They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge.

Exodus 19:6-7 (NASB95) \\ 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

*These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.*”

7 So Moses came and *called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words* which the Lord had commanded him.

Leviticus 4:15-16 (NASB95) \\ 15 ‘Then *the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on* the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be slain before the Lord.

16 ‘Then *the anointed priest* is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent

 

If you read the whole chapter, it is dealing with sins of the congregation or people in general, then v. 22 talks about when a leader sins, and then v. 27 speaks of when “one of the common people sins”

When the people as a whole congregation are in sin is the context of v. 13.

It’s interesting that the elders here identify themselves with the people and it is the elders that lay on hands (we’ll see this later in the NT when this pattern of elders laying on of hands continues, showing their public identity with the one they lay hands upon in behalf of the people).

Notice also that verse 16 distinguishes the priest from the elders.

Both OT & NT never confuse priests with elders, those are different roles.

It was the priest who made atonement.

This is important, because those who argue for church democracy and congregationalism use as their most common battle cry the NT teaching of “the priesthood of every believer”

 

Priesthood doesn’t have anything to do with elder leadership.

An elder or teacher of God’s Word was always a separate position.

Christ has replaced and ended the priestly and sacrificial system because He is our High Priest and our Sacrifice and completed that work, but He did not discontinue leadership by a plurality of men.

Of course it’s always been true that God is and always was in OT times the Ultimate Leader, the Ultimate Teacher, the Ultimate Judge, Ultimate Overseer, the Ultimate Shepherd, Ultimate Head over all, but He also has always worked through godly men who bore those human titles and positions with delegated authority.

Not their own innate authority or power, they were to serve with God’s.

Even with the greatest of leaders like Moses, God intended spiritual leadership to be shared, rather than a solo ministry.

Some have tried to argue for the solo elder or single-pastor model of government by appealing to the image of shepherd, which they think requires one man over an entire flock.

But this ignores the fact that in the Bible we find flocks being shepherded by multiple men at the same time.

In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we have all of Joseph’s brothers watching the flock.

And by the beginning of the NT, this was still the case as we read in Luke 2:8

“In the same region there were /some /shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock [singular] by night.”

It would be a tough and lonely task to have to shepherd a flock all alone in the cold with unruly sheep and wolves with all the dangers and difficulties and discouragements and no other shepherds.