1 Peter 5:1-4 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-- not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
James Patterson and Peter Kim researched the 10 sleaziest ways to make a living and the 10 most admired occupations. Let me read the worst five.
1) Drug dealer, 2) Organized crime boss, 3) TV evangelist, 4) prostitute and 5) street peddler. I found it interesting that a TV evangelist was listed worse than a prostitute.
In this day and age clergy do not have a very good image. Regularly there are some Christian ministers being named in some type of scandal. What does that do for the cause of Christ?
How can you tell if someone is a false teacher or not? I am not speaking about a cult that ignores Jesus Christ; like New Age movements, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam. I am talking about people claiming to be Christian leaders and teachers. Within the evangelical circles there are many false teachers. Can you discern which are of God and which are not?
Most people will readily admit that they don't know the Bible like they should. Many are unable to discern the differences between heresies that pervert the central Christian truths and minor differences of interpretations of unclear passages of the Bible. To most a disagreement is a disagreement. It is confusing to know who to believe as a spiritual leader.
Peter tells us how an elder should act. He was writing to fellow elders. The term "elder" was carried over into the church from the synagogue where they were the rulers of the synagogue, the custodians of the property and of the copies of the books of the Old Testament which were very expensive. They directed the worship and usually designated some visiting rabbi to read and expound the Scriptures.
Although most Jews knew what it meant, the Gentiles did not use that term as much as the term meaning an overseer or superintendent, which was translated bishop. The terms bishop and elder were used interchangeably of the spiritual leaders. We might call them pastors who are the teaching elders.
Application: Peter wrote in times of persecution. Christians needed good spiritual leadership. God will judge Christians and He will especially judge Christian leaders and pastors. I ask myself regularly, am I sharing to the best of my ability and knowledge out of conviction from God's Word and true application for our day, or do I work on trying to make people feel good about themselves? Because many have abused the office of elder or pastor, it is important to look at Biblical criteria for judging who is of God.
This week we will present some things to help give Biblical discernment.
Dale
