This is Andrew Smith, pastor of Christ Reformed Community Church here in St. Johns County, Florida. I would like to extend to you an invitation to worship with us each Lord's Day at 1015 a.m. Our address is 161 Hampton Point Drive, Suite 2, St. Augustine, Florida, 32092. You can also access archived video versions of these same sermons on our Facebook page. Additionally, our sermons are broadcast live on Facebook every Sunday morning. Now, let's open God's Word and listen to the sermon for today's broadcast. take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14. For those of you visiting we have been in an exposition of Romans and we are coming to Romans chapter 7 shortly but this morning I think it's important that we address an issue that oftentimes comes up in the life of a church and that is the topic of leadership, the topic of elders, how the government of the church is to be structured, what are the expectations of the congregation and the leaders, and deal with those sorts of issues. In Acts chapter 14, there's a verse I want to read, verse 23. It's a simple verse, one you're familiar with, but it contains a very important biblical principle. It says in when they, and that's referring to Paul and Barnabas, when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. A true story is told of a church leader accused of financial impropriety and implied charges of sexual promiscuity. Those in the church accusing him of this had, of course, no evidence for this. In fact, the evidence from all that knew him pointed in the exact opposite direction. But the accusations were made, and the accusations that were made against this particular church leader were made by people later to be revealed as frauds and liars who were full of jealousy. But because the accusations were public, the damage was already done, and once the accusations and charges were made public, this otherwise humble servant of the Lord was forced to defend his integrity before the church. Because the nature of the accusations were public, and they were vicious, and they were malicious, he had to stand before the church to defend his ministry. And he did that by taking a pen in his hand and writing a letter to the church. The year was around 55 AD, and the church leader was the Apostle Paul. He had been accused of financial impropriety and sexual promiscuity, and as an apostle of the church and an elder of the church, he had to defend the integrity of the ministry of the gospel. And this is what he wrote. He said, I, Paul, myself, entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold towards you when I am away. That was the charge is that Paul was a wimp in person and only bold in his letters. And so Paul plays off that and he says, that's what you say. Okay. I beg of you that when I am present, I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some. who suspect us of walking according to the flesh, and by that he means living a sinful lifestyle. Paul says, For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete. Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. We're part of Christ's body, Paul says. For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters, for they say his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is of no account. Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves, but when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond limits. but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us to reach even to you." In other words, Paul says, you have forced me to boast. Boasting is not a good thing. But you forced me to boast, but I'm not going to boast beyond the limits of making my point. For we are not overextending ourselves as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. Paul's point there is that there were false teachers in the church who were saying that he had a bad reputation, that Paul had compromised his integrity and leadership. And they had boasted about this and they had boasted about their theology and their authority and put the apostle Paul down. And Paul says, you forced me to boast. I don't like to boast, but you forced me to boast about the authority God has given me because you are out of line with your behavior. And these accusations are false. Now, you can read that in 2 Corinthians 10, I just read it to you in full, but the lesson from 2 Corinthians 10 is that when a ministry comes under public attack, it is necessary for the leaders to defend that ministry so that the influence of the gospel be not hindered. And that's exactly what Paul does in 2 Corinthians 10. Now, if you take your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Timothy 3, and we're going to be bouncing around to various passages, and we'll sort of slow down eventually, but in 1 Timothy 3, Paul writes some other interesting words in verse 14. He says, I hope to come to you soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Paul writes to Timothy and says, I'm writing that you may know, verse 15, how one ought to behave in the household of God. That is to say, there is a code of ethics. There is a code of behavior in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the context of 1 Timothy 3, Paul has just given the qualifications for both elders and deacons, the offices of the church. And he says, Timothy, I'm giving you these qualifications and telling you the type of men that should serve in the office of leadership in the church because we need to know how one ought to behave in the household of God, because after all, the church is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth. In other words, this matter of obedience is a matter of obedience to the truth of Scripture, and the church of the living God is a pillar and buttress of the truth of Scripture. Paul is laying down here, essentially, sola Scriptura, that is, Scripture alone. We as Reformed people refer to this as the regulative principle. That is, that the Bible is our final authority. And Paul is saying here in 1 Timothy 3 that having elders maintains the principle cherished by the Reformers, which is sola scriptura. That the church is the pillar and buttress of the truth, and that the scriptures give to us how we ought to behave in the household of God. Now, bearing in mind that principle, skip over a couple of pages to 2 Timothy 3 to a passage perhaps you're more familiar with. And notice with me Paul's words beginning in verse 15. He says to Timothy that from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Notice this, verse 17, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Again, the idea of the sufficiency and the authority of Scripture is found here. That Scripture is breathed out by God, it's inspired, and it's profitable, verse 16, so that, verse 17, the man of God may be complete, that he may be equipped for every good work. The Greek word for complete there can mean this. According to at least one lexicon, it can mean, and I quote, qualified to perform some function. Now remember, Timothy was a man of God. And verse 17 says that the man of God may be equipped, qualified to perform a function for every good work. What Paul is telling Timothy here is that scripture is sufficient and adequate, it's complete to qualify a man of God to know how to function as an elder in the church and to live for God's glory. In fact, that phrase, man of God, it can be generally applied to any Christian, a man or a woman, because scripture has authority for every man or woman of God. Scripture has the sufficient ability to equip us and make us complete for every good work as Christians. But that title, man of God, is likely taken from the Old Testament to specifically be applied to anyone who serves in the office of leader. such as an elder or a deacon. In fact, Paul will use that phrase, man of God, again in reference to Timothy. He calls him in 1 Timothy 6.11, but as for you, O man of God, O man of God, Timothy, an elder of the church. In the Old Testament, Moses was referred to as a man of God, Deuteronomy 33, 1. In Psalm 90, verse 1, we read about the prayers of Moses, the man of God. David is referred to as a man of God in 2 Chronicles, chapter 8. According to the ruling of David, his father, Elijah was referred to as a man of God. the prophets in general in 1st Samuel chapter 2 were referred to as men of God. So that title in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 17, man of God, is specifically applied to someone like Timothy or anyone who is tasked with the responsibility of being an elder. And what Paul is saying is that These men of God become complete, that is equipped, able, and qualified to perform their functions for every good work. To know what an elder is, to know how to act like an elder, to be a leader in God's church, and then generally speaking, all of God's people are complete and equipped with Scripture because Scripture is profitable to make them and help them understand what an elder is and how an elder behaves. Now, neither the Anglican form of church government, which introduces a distinction between elders and bishops, nor the Roman Catholic form of church government, which has the pope and cardinals who have authority outside of the church, neither one of those systems operate according to sola scriptura. They don't operate according to 2 Timothy 3. They don't believe that scripture is profitable. to equip us and complete us to understand church government. They go outside of scripture to establish leadership and a structure for leadership in the church. Additionally, in our own day, the single pastor system which has been popularized by the church growth movement also fails. And while some non-denominational church plants even in this area give lip service to a board of elders, it's often the case that the church growth movement is dominated by one particular personality who runs the church. according to the Bible, dishonors God because God has established elders, 1 Timothy 3, to operate as the leaders of the church. This is not only the safest and the best way, it is the only way, it is the biblical way and it is God's will. The Bible teaches that God prescribes elders to be the leaders of the New Testament church and even tells us, as I just read in 2 Timothy 3, that these men of God are equipped, they are fully qualified to function the way God designed them to function. And if you want just a little illustration on this, it's interesting that though scripture provides principles for how godly civil governments can be structured, the Bible does not provide details. It provides principles on how civil governments can honor God, but not details. However, such is not true with respect to biblical church government. Biblical church government has very specific instructions, qualifications, and a code of behavior that the elders are to follow and the people of God are to follow. And it's all rooted in Sola Scriptura. What saith the Lord? So this morning I want to give to you from scripture five features of biblical church eldership and I think this will be helpful to clarify maybe some questions you've had throughout the years, maybe some questions about why other denominations do things a certain way, maybe some questions regarding why our church operates the way it does. We want to be rooted and grounded in the Holy Scriptures. So five features of biblical church eldership. Number one, the first feature is what I want to call the plurality of elders. The plurality of elders. The Bible says that the government of the church is to be governed by a plurality of elders. And I read to you Acts 14.23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in every church. This was the apostolic pattern that every church would have elders. In the book of James, James says, is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders, plural, of the church and let them, plural, pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Let him call for the elders, plural, of the church, singular. So there is a plurality of elders over each particular church. You can also go to Philippians 1.1 and 1 Peter 5.1. But I just want to say that the plurality of elders is seemingly a non-negotiable principle in scripture, and yet many today treat godly men governing a church as elders, as foreign, or as primitive, or even as misogynistic, or Amish-sounding, or sounding like a cult, perhaps. But I'll just remind you that just as the disciples of John the Baptist residing in Ephesus once told Paul, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. There are many church folk who say, we've never heard about this concept of elders. How does it work? Well, it works with a plurality. A plurality of elders in a local church is not something that is doubtful. Now, no command regarding plurality of elders in a local church says anything about how many there must be. It doesn't say that you have to have more than two. It might be ideal to have more than two. It doesn't demand that you have more than two. It also, by the way, doesn't say what their educational credentials need to be, or whether or not they need to be married, or have children, or how many children they need to have, or what their profession is, or what their status in the community is. This is not the stats of an athlete. There are no requirements about his height, or his weight, or his nationality. None of that. The only requirement, and this is something I can tell you by way of illustration, the only requirement I have as a coach to continue coaching at the high school level is that I need players that are good enough to compete. Now I may want bigger and faster athletes, the more you have the better, But my only requirement is to have players willing to compete that have some athletic ability that I can coach. And so I roll up my sleeves, and I do the tireless work of separating the most qualified and best skilled to give my team the best chance for victory. But the rules don't state I need more than 11. As a soccer coach, you only need 11 playing at a time. It's ideal to have more than 11, but all I need is 11. And I would not take more players, for instance, if they were people from the chess team or the debate team. people that had no athletic ability. I'd rather stick with the 11 I have that are qualified and make it work. And as a coach, I'm always looking for and recruiting possible students who could be coached to be great athletes. Now that's by way of illustration, the same is true with the church. The concept of a plurality of elders, if you know simple math, means two, at least two. Now the Puritans spoke about this often and they had a principle for, for sola scriptura, called the regulative principle, and they often argued from Deuteronomy 12, 32, which says, everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do, you shall not add to the word of God or take away from the word of God. We need to be very, very careful not to add to anything the Bible says about elders, where they're from, their educational credentials, how many of them there are. Scripture does not speak to that. The directives are clear that elders are to be appointed, however. Turn with me to Titus chapter 1 for a moment. This is now Paul speaking to Titus. Verse 5, Paul says, this is why I left you in Crete. That was an island. And Paul left him there so that you might put what remains in order. Remember 1 Timothy 3, there's a code of behavior for the household of God, how we ought to behave. Paul tells Titus, I'm leaving you in Crete so that you might help there be order in the churches. And how do you do that? Well, he says in verse 5, appoint elders in every town as I directed you. So there wasn't just a group of elders governing the whole island, there was a plural number of elders over each particular church in each town. And directives are general enough, such as appointing elders, that the application of what those elders do could be different regarding the circumstances. In other words, the situation in Crete, for example, was not identical to the situation in Ephesus or the situation in Corinth. And once again, the Puritans are helpful here because they recognized, and for example, we read this in the London Baptist Confession of 1689, these words, which really are a carbon copy of the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration. This is what they say. There are some circumstances concerning the worship of God and, listen to this, the government of the church. common to human actions in societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence according to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed. That is, there are things scripture doesn't speak about regarding elders that prudence and wisdom applied to a specific situation is in good order to abide by. Sam Waldron, a Reformed Baptist, says this, commenting on this exact section from the London Baptist Confession. He says, the thrust of this statement is that Though the written word of God is sufficient to tell us how to worship God and govern the church, the circumstances and implementation of the biblical order are left to our sanctified common sense and the general principles of scripture." And then he says this, "'Of course they are!' No book could be big enough to cover all such circumstances." So the specific form of church government, namely a plurality of elders, is laid out in Scripture, but there's no specific model that says you have to have more than two. In fact, three may be better in some circumstances, and three may not be enough in other circumstances. Twenty may not be enough in some circumstances. So judgment and reason are to be used. The plurality of elders is inflexible, it's non-negotiable, but the implementation of the form is flexible. Reasonable judgment by the elders, deciding how many elders there should be and what their specific duties should be. Another writer says this, and I quote, After examining all the passages which mention local church leadership on the pastoral level, and we've read a lot of them this morning, he says the New Testament presents a united teaching on the subject, and that is on the side of plurality. So when you're discussing biblical church eldership, there needs to be a plurality of elders, and a plurality of elders is important because the integrity of elders is important, and that takes us to the second principle. not only the plurality of elders, which is the first feature of biblical eldership, but you also have the feature of the integrity of elders. The plurality of elders is important because the integrity of elders is important. I didn't read it to you, but back in 1 Timothy chapter three, we have the qualifications for overseers or elders that is written down in scripture beginning in verse one. Now, all of these Qualities deal almost exclusively with character. Verse 1, this saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well with all dignity. keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and to a snare of the devil." All of them deal with character qualities, or character, or reputation. The only one that doesn't is the qualification that he needs to be apt to teach, as the King James says, or able to teach. And it all begins there in verse 2. He must be above reproach. This is sort of the overarching qualification from which all the others follow. There needs to be no valid charge or accusation of a sinful pattern of living. And verse 2 says he needs to be respectable. This comes from kosmios is the Greek word. It means a well-ordered life, a modest life, nothing extravagant. It's well-ordered. He has everything in line. He's respectable. And verse 7 says he must be well thought of by outsiders. This is, he's respected in the unbelieving community, not because he compromises his ways, but because he stands on his ways and people respect him for that. He's able to function well in the outside world. Alexander Strock, who wrote a work entitled Biblical Eldership, calls the elders of a church a council of equals. A council of equals. And then he suggests this, he says, in contemporary terms, It refers to multiple church leadership, plurality, shared leadership, team leadership. Strock says, I use these terms synonymously. The opposite of collective leadership is unitary leadership, monarchical leadership, or rule, or one-man leadership. And one-man leadership is not only dangerous, but it's unbiblical. And you ask why. Well, because leadership needs to be marked by integrity. And one man will inevitably have blind spots. So collective or plural leadership keeps the leadership as a whole marked by integrity and decisions and governing. Because they're to be qualified according to integrity. How do they keep that integrity? They have a plurality of men. In fact, if you're still hung up on the number two, let me just remind you that the Lord sent the disciples out in twos. He sent them out in twos, not in threes, not in fours. He sent them out in twos. Why? Well, probably at least partially for accountability. Accountability, another voice, someone to watch and watch our testimony. plural church leadership, enhances the ability of others to watch our lives. And this, first of all, offers checks and balances to individual weaknesses when you have more than one elder. Secondly, it ensures that the workload of elders works in conjunction with one's particular gifts and skill sets. Not every elder is gifted the same way. So when you have more than one, it not only guards the integrity of the group, it balances the individual weaknesses but it also allows one elder to depend upon the strengths of the other elder, and third, it provides accountability across the board. Church Father Jerome, who lived about the years AD 345 to 419, wrote a letter in the days of the early church to a young elder in the year 394, and he was rebuking the churches of his day for caring more for the outward appearance of their buildings than the inward character and integrity of the church leaders. And he says in his letter, here you have these beautiful church buildings. The pillars and the walls are glowing with marble. The ceilings are glistening with gold. And the altars are studded with jewels. But you care not the ministers or the elders to whom you put into office. In other words, it's a secondary matter, even in the early church. They sort of overlooked this matter of integrity and began to look at other things like education and experience and position, and it became a political thing. But scripture is clear that qualified leadership in the church must meet certain criteria regarding integrity. Look again at 1 Timothy 3, verse 2, therefore an overseer must be above reproach. Verse 4, he must manage his own household well. What does verse 6 say? He must not be a recent convert. Verse 7, he must be well thought of by outsiders. You have the note here that there is certainty. And in 1 Timothy chapter 5, it speaks about a public examination of sorts for those who serve in office. In Titus chapter 1, the reference that I gave earlier, Paul's words to Titus who was in Crete, you have the same sort of language that this is someone who with certainty has integrity. Verse 7 of Titus 1, an overseer is God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant. Verse 9, he must hold firm to the trustworthy word. On and on and on. And Peter writes the same issue to churches scattered in Northwest Asia. He says that the elders serving must prove to be examples to the flock. They have to prove it. So why is this so important, the integrity of elders? Well, I'll tell you why very practically. There is one principle stated in one way in the Old Testament and another way in the New Testament. In Hosea 4 and verse 9, the Bible says, like people, like priest. As the priest lives and acts, so will be the way the people live and act. Jesus copied that principle in Luke 640 in his own words and he says, everyone after he has been fully trained will be like his teacher. So elders are not to be quarrelsome or contentious or otherwise the people will turn out that way. Elders are not to be inhospitable, otherwise the congregation will be inhospitable. Elders are not to love money, otherwise the people will love money. Elders aren't to lack self-control, or the people will lack self-control. Elders, if they don't manage their households well, will have a congregation full of people that don't manage them well. And if elders don't faithfully hold fast to the Word, the people won't hold fast to the Word. But the opposite is also true, that when the elders are marked by integrity, the people from top to bottom also will be. And that doesn't mean that you won't have rogues and rebel sinners that aren't comfortable with leadership marked by integrity, because you will. Those who are deceivers, who are full of themselves, you cannot manipulate the elders. These are the type that often leave the church frustrated with no recourse but to slander the leadership as they walk out the door. And usually it's because of the sin of envy or because of jealousy. They want a position and they're not getting one. And so they slander the leadership of the church. You say, does that happen to leaders that are full of integrity? Yeah, actually quite a bit because there's no other accusation that can be made. If leaders are full of integrity, very rarely are you gonna have the accusation of financial impropriety or sexual promiscuity. Usually it's some vanilla sort of accusation. Well, I just don't like their leadership style. Or they were too harsh. Really? Elders are called to rebuke and to refute. According to the Bible, that's not harsh. That's exactly what our Lord did with the scribes and Pharisees when they were out of line. So the plurality of leadership is important because the integrity of leadership is important. A plurality of leadership allows there to be more integrity. So the plurality of leadership is important because the integrity of elder leadership is important, and the integrity of elder leadership is important because the duty of elder leadership is important. That takes us to the third feature. The plurality, the integrity, now the duty of elders. Now, generally speaking, we know the duty of elders by the titles that Scripture gives them. The two most common words are overseer or bishop. Overseer is presbuteros. The word bishop is episkopos. And there's also a third term, poimen, which can be translated as pastor or shepherd. All of these terms, presbuteros, Episcopos and Poimane are used interchangeably. In fact, when we compare these terms to parallel passages, we discover they all refer to the same office, and that is the office of elder. So the term elder and the concept of elders as a governing body is something you need to understand that is derived from Old Testament Israel. Because you may ask, where does this even come from? Well, it comes from Old Testament Israel. And it also comes from the pre-Christian context of Judaism. In Jesus' day and in Paul's day, with the establishment of synagogues, there were elders who ruled those local assemblies. In fact, Moses, the judges in the Old Testament, the priests and Levites, even the kings all received counsel and direction from the elders of Israel, or as they're termed, the elders of the congregation. I want you to take your Bibles and turn back with me to Exodus chapter 3. I think it's important that your eyes look right on the pages of Scripture to see this rather than me just quoting Scripture to you. Exodus chapter 3 verse 16. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, the Lord, the God of your fathers, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me saying, I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Cainites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. Verse 16, go and gather the elders of Israel and say this to them, I'm going to deliver my people. Why? Well, so the elders would then go give that message to the people. Chapter 4 and verse 29, then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Once again, a message from the Lord. Turn with me to chapter 17 of Exodus. In verse 5, the Lord said to Moses, Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water shall come out, and the people will drink it. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. The elders worked in conjunction with Moses. Chapter 18. The next day Moses set to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, What is it that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone and all the people stand around you from morning till evening? And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God, and when they have a dispute, they come to me, I decide between one person and another, I make them know the statutes of God and His laws. And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You're not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice. I will give you advice, and God be with you. You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy, who hate a bribe. That's integrity. They place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. And if you do this, God will direct you. You'll be able to endure, and this people also will go to their place. Verse 24, so Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of Israel, made them heads over the peoples, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, of tens. They judged the people at all times. In any hard case, they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart and he went away to his own country. The establishment of elders in Israel, it's a very pragmatic issue of having multiple counselors and sharing the workload. I read from Numbers 11, Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He gathered 70 men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. These were the elders. Judges 21 speaks about this, 1 Kings 8, Psalm 107, verse 32, Ezekiel 8, 1, Deuteronomy 5, 23, Deuteronomy 22, verses 13-17, that might be a good one to go to, Deuteronomy 22 beginning in Verse number 13, if any man takes a wife and goes into her and then hates her and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her saying, I took this woman and when I came near her I did not find in her evidence of virginity. So this is an issue of sin in the confines of marriage, what needs to be done? Verse 15, then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her. And behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity. And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, and they shall find him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. This is what the elders do when sin is found. This is a false accusation of a man who doesn't want to be married to this woman, so he accuses her of not being a virgin. It's a false accusation. The elders collect the evidence, and when they find that he is lying and he is falsely accusing her of that, He has to repent of it. He receives consequences and discipline for that. And there's even restitution. He pays a fine. All of these passages tell us that elders work with prophets and kings. They order the worship of the church. You can read about that. They judge cases of sinful behavior. They mourn over the people's sins. I didn't read those passages, but oftentimes the elders tore their clothes and sackcloth and ashes. and mourn. They give instructions to the people of God. It's interesting to me that the word congregation in the Old Testament Greek Septuagint is the same word that we use for church. It's the word ecclesia, church or assembly. So the church, therefore, of the Old Testament, the congregation of Israel, had elders. The local synagogues in Jesus and Paul's day had elders. And so it's only natural that the New Testament church have elders govern the New Testament people of God. One Presbyterian writer says this unquestionably, it was the practice of governance by elders begun by and present within Israel from the days of Moses onward that by the Holy Spirit's direction lay behind the practice of Barnabas and Paul wherever they planted churches of ordaining a plurality of elders in every church to govern and oversee it in accordance with the word of God. The church has always believed that this is in accordance with the word of God. Elders have a duty there to be marked by integrity, There is strength in numbers. Now I want you to turn to a very important passage in the New Testament, Acts chapter 20. Because in this passage we've been speaking about the titles of elders. One title is elder, presbyteros, bishop, poimen, pastor. But here in Acts 20, all of these terms are used. Notice verse 17. Now from Miletus, he, that is Paul, sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. Now notice, it's the elders, plural, of that particular church, the church at Ephesus. And they are assembled before Paul. Verse 18, when they came to him, he then addressed them. And I want you to skip over some of this, for good reason, down to verse 28. Notice what he tells these elders. He says, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. And then Paul in verse 33 begins to defend his integrity again saying that he didn't covet anyone's silver or gold. He worked with his hands. It's a way to support his statement and job description for the Ephesian elders. You can trust me because what I'm asking you to do is the way I lived my life. I was marked by integrity. So you need to be careful to pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock of which you were made overseers. There's that word again, overseers. And he says, this is the flock of God among yourselves, a particular flock in verse 30. Verse 28, all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Because after my departure, fierce wolves will come in, not sparing the flock. So you have the concept of shepherding. You have the concept of oversight with the word overseer. And you have the term used in verse 17, elders. All of these terms are interchangeable. Presbuteros can be translated elder. It can simply mean older man, but that's not the way it's used in reference to the office of elder because otherwise Paul would have been disqualified, Timothy, Titus. Timothy and Titus in particular were very young men. The Jewish elders of the Sanhedrin used elder to refer to the office, not to an age. And in fact, Presbyterian is used three times in the New Testament, and it literally could be translated body or council of elders. So elders are not necessarily older men. They're a body, a collective group that have oversight. Episcopos, that could be rendered bishop or overseer. It's used that way in Acts 20, verse 28, also Philippians 1. 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 7, and 1 Peter 2, 25, it says that Jesus is the chief shepherd and overseer of our souls. That's an important verse because it tells us that every elder represents Christ as an under-shepherd, an under-boss, under the true overseer who is Christ. And what does Acts 20 verse 28 say again? Notice it. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Pay careful attention to yourselves and all the flock. Watch over the flock. There's oversight. So elders are overseers. They govern the church. They care for the flock of God. And because They care for the flock of God. They watch over the souls of those allotted to their charge, just like Paul told the elders in Ephesus. They order and organize the church. Remember, Paul told Titus, set what remains in order, appoint elders. The implication is those elders are going to set order to the church. Elders are to hold firm to orthodox doctrine, the trustworthy word, Titus 1.9. Elders are to give instruction and sound doctrine. That's exactly what Titus 1.9 says. And 1 Timothy 3 says they are to be able to teach. Elders are also to lead court proceedings for cases of church discipline. You have that example in the Old Testament with the elders of Israel and the woman who was falsely charged with not being a virgin. But you also in the qualifications for elders in Titus 1 verse 9, you have these words, an elder must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. There is rebuking involved. One passage that really sums this up is 1 Peter chapter five. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter five. I've referenced it but we've not read it. So it's not just Paul, it's also Peter. Apostolic authority and the establishing of elders. 1 Peter 5 verse 1, Peter says, so I exhort the elders among you. Notice that language again, the elders plural, among you. As a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, Peter was an apostle and an elder. So was John, he was an apostle and an elder. And I believe Paul was not only an apostle but an elder. He says, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Now notice this language, verse two, shepherd, poimen. It's not the noun form, shepherd or pastor, it's the verb form. Pastor or shepherd, the flock of God that is among you. That is, you've been given specific oversight over a specific group of people. Exercising oversight. There's that language of being an overseer again. Not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you. Not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. There's the integrity. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders. Shepherding, caring, directing, protecting, teaching, refuting, rebuking, leading, governing, Those allotted to your charge, the flock of God among you, guard all the flock among you. Acts 20, 1 Peter 5, on and on. The confessions, by the way, are unanimous. Regarding the general duty of elders, in 1895, the Committee of Publication of the Southern Presbyterian Church, that was the Presbyterian Church before it grew liberal and all these other more conservative denominations began to be established. This was the main body of Presbyterians. This is what they wrote. The elder, in conjunction with the pastor or minister, exercises government and discipline. and takes the oversight of the spiritual interests of the particular church. It appertains to this office jointly to watch over diligently the flock committed to their charge that no corruption of doctrine or morals enter their end. Evils which they cannot correct by private admonition they should bring to the notice of the session. They should visit the people at their homes, especially the sick. They should instruct the ignorant, comfort the mourning, nourish and guard the children of the church. They should be careful and diligent in seeking the fruit of the preached word among the flock. They should inform the pastor of cases of sickness, of affliction and awakening, and of all others which may need a special attention. That's the general duty of elders. You say, what's the specific duty of elders? Well, as I said, it's going to vary with gifts, calling, education, experience. The Presbyterians are notorious for making a distinction between ruling elders and teaching elders, and I think that's a helpful distinction so long as we understand what they mean by that. When they speak about ruling elders, it doesn't mean there's a group of men in the church who only rule. Those men also teach, although occasionally. They may even give an exhortation from time to time. And it doesn't mean that the distinction is then saying that the teaching elders don't rule or don't make decisions. No, the teaching elders rule and make decisions. The primary responsibility of teaching elders is to preach and to minister the sacrament. The primary job of ruling elders is to work with the pastor. in ruling over the people of God. That's why in Ephesians 4, it speaks about pastors and teachers, which is a very bad translation because there's a definite article before that, it should be translated the pastor teachers. It's one office. There's not pastors and teachers, there's a pastor teacher. And he works alongside the ruling elder or elders to govern the church of God. So a plural elder system is apostolic, It is practical, it comes with great weight because there's integrity that is involved from top to bottom, and there is heavy, heavy duty. But if plurality is important because of integrity, and if integrity is important because of duty, then duty is important because of accountability. That's the fourth feature, the accountability of elders. As already stated, elders are tasked with holding the congregation accountable before God. Again, I go back to 1 Timothy 3, that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God. The elders help with that. Leading, governing, directing, modeling, godliness, teaching, refuting, rebuking. They lead because they shepherd the flock of God, 1 Peter 5. They model godliness, 1 Peter 5, 3, as examples to the flock, so they're involved with leading and modeling, teaching 1 Timothy 3, 2, two types of teachers, some that do it more informally. Pastors, ministers who are educated and ordained do it more formally, but all elders teach in some capacity. Fourth, protecting the people of God from false doctrine, immorality that's like leaven that will seep into the church and destroy it, divisions and factions, and disciplining. Rebuking those, as Titus 1.9 says, that disturb the church, the peace and purity of the church. Paul even says this to Titus, as for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him. knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, and he is self-condemned." In other words, you didn't condemn him. He condemned himself by his own action. Have nothing to do with him. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 5, just for a moment. We're talking about accountability. 1 Timothy 5, verse 18, the Scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. That's a principle from the Old Testament. Agrarianism, agriculture, And it's applied to pastoral ministry because all of the Bible is sufficient. It's all authoritative. And what is the principle? The laborer deserves his wages. So if there is dignity and respect to the office, verse 19, do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. That's also Old Testament policy. Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. This isn't two or three people echoing the same thing someone else says when it's a false charge. That's not what this is. These are court proceedings in the church. This is tested accusations according to evidence by two or three witnesses. That may take a while. Verse 20, and as for those who persist in sin, I don't know, like maybe falsely accusing an elder. Rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. One of the means of grace is church discipline. Because when you rebuke in the presence of all someone caught in a fault, in this case, the implication is it was a false accusation against an elder, out of order. You rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may fear. Not that they fear the elders, that's not what this is about, that they fear God. Because I can't imagine a worse thing to happen than to be excommunicated from the body of Christ. That should be a fearful thing for anyone. First Timothy 5.19, do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. I actually like the new international version translation. Do not entertain an accusation. Many are entertained by the notion of fallen leaders. You know why? Because it justifies their own sin. It makes the accuser look better. In my experience, many accusations are trumped up charges rooted in jealousy from a guy that no elder board would ever make an elder. And so the guy gets upset, full of bitterness and jealousy. He's not allowed to serve as an elder. So he leaves the church and he slanders the church. That man is pugnacious and factious. He's like the little boy on the playground who didn't get his way, so he took his ball and he ran home. because the playground was nothing more than a church playground to feed his own ego. Let me ask you a question. If your elders sacrifice reputation and church growth techniques to preach and teach the hard sayings of scripture, that is to say, if you have men of God who stand publicly on the word of God and suffer the consequences, not having a large church, being accused of being old fashioned, whatever, they stand against all the sins that our culture loves, and are hated for it. If you have men that do that, why in the world would you assume that privately they are living in contrary to the truth? Wouldn't you assume the opposite? It doesn't mean you give them a pass, it doesn't mean you turn a blind eye, but wouldn't you assume that if they do that publicly, that privately their lives are right? Of course you would. It's only if someone plants seeds of doubt in your mind that you would then otherwise question what you know to be true publicly that must also be true privately. So it's not that the elders aren't held accountable, they're held accountable because you can't bring a false charge without two or three witnesses and it is thoroughly examined. And when it's examined and it's found to be wanting, the person that does it is rebuked in the presence of all because it's such a serious thing. because you're charging someone who God has charged to hold you accountable so you don't have to be held accountable. The plurality of elders is important because the integrity of elders is important. The integrity of elders is important because the duty of elders is important. The duty of elders is important because the accountability of elders is important. And the accountability of elders is important because the authority of elders is important. That's the fifth feature, the authority of elders. Let me just ask you a simple question. What is the source of eldership? Here's the short answer. Acts 20, Paul told the Ephesian elders, the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. I mean, Paul could have said, I did that. I made you an overseer, but he didn't say that. He says, the Holy Spirit made you overseer. A divine calling, a divine calling requires human responsibility. That's why Paul told Timothy, do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress. Do not neglect the gift. What does an elder do? He defends the crown rights of King Jesus. There's only one head of the church. It's Jesus Christ. But he has an office that he has to fulfill. One historian, I think, said at one point that church government is sort of a combination of different types of civil government. It's a monarchy in the sense that there's only one king. It's kind of a democracy because the church has power. but it's also like an aristocracy because you have elders who rule the people. Not in a domineering way, 1 Peter 5. How do you know that they're not domineering over you? Do they speak to you the word of God? Do they tell you what the Bible says? If they do that, they're leaning on God's authority, not their own. Speaking the Word of God is not domineering. Obeying the Word of God is not domineering. That's what they're called to do. In fact, they're called stewards in Titus 1-7, managers. In 1 Timothy 3, they're referred to as parents because they're required, elders are, to manage their own household well. So when a man has a submissive wife and children that fall in line, that is a pretty clear sign there is integrity in his life, because those that know him best follow him. Here's what James White says. You're all familiar with James White, the Reformed Baptist. He says this, we would be remiss if we did not pause to ponder another aspect of these inspired words. And speaking to these men, that is the elders in Ephesus, Paul makes direct reference to the source of their eldership, and here it is, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has made you overseers. White goes on to say, the office of elder is divine in its origination and authority. Indeed, many of those men had been appointed to their position by Paul himself, but Paul recognized he was only the Spirit's tool. The Spirit gifts and calls men to that ministry. This aspect of the church's ongoing ministry should not be minimized, just as the church is to be ordered and organized So too the Spirit is pleased to continue His ministry of calling men into the eldership as God perpetuates the church over time. God may use means to effectuate that call, but the call always remains divine and therefore worthy of respect. Note as well that the Spirit made them overseers in the midst of the flock. This is a specific group, and just as any shepherd must know, he must know his sheep. So the shepherds of the church at Ephesus would know the sheep placed in their care. The Holy Spirit is the one that gives authority to elders. Now, wrapping all of this up, what's our conclusion? To the plurality, the integrity, the duty, the accountability, the authority of elders. Number one, elders are not necessary because God needs them. Did you hear me on that? They are not necessary because God needs them, but God ordains them, flawed as they are, for the church, for his own providential purposes. The Cambridge Platform historical document says that elders are not necessary to the very being of the local church, but they are necessary for its well-being, for order, organization, protection, promotion of purity of doctrine. Secondly, elders are required in scripture to be honored and respected. Hebrews 13, seven, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God, consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Remember them. It's another way of saying, honor them, look to them for guidance. First in the 517, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching, and you would ask Paul why, and Paul would say, Acts 20, they watch over the flock of God for your sakes. Why would you not honor and respect them? 1 Thessalonians 5, we ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. And then he says this, be at peace among yourselves. You know why he says that? Because he knows the worst thing for elders is when people aren't at peace among themselves. Esteem them very highly in love because of their work and help them out, be at peace with one another. And then the third thing that I would say, not only should elders be honored and respected, not only should we recognize that elders are not necessary for the very being of the church, but are necessary for the well-being of the church, the third, elders need to be submitted to. Hebrews 13, 17, obey your leaders and submit to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you." Pretty clear to me that according to Scripture, elders are the governors of the church, the teachers of the church, the leaders of the church, the protectors of the church. They are to be men above reproach, marked with integrity, seeking to fulfill their duty to the glory of God. They are to be respected, honored, submitted to. Whenever I want to find out the attitude of a teenager, you know what I ask them? I say, what do you think about your parents? And if the response is, my parents are great, I love them, that's a good sign that they are submissive and obedient to their parents. But when they say, they embarrass me. I mean, look how they dress. Look at what they eat. Look at what they watch. No honor, no respect, no obedience. The issue is not the parents and their style. The issue is the kid who is disobedient to the authority God placed over him or her. What is your view of your elders? The answer to that question will reveal to you where your heart is. I hope this sermon from God's Word has ministered to your soul. For more information about our church, you can visit our website, www.ChristReformedcc.com. Also, for access to more sermons, articles, and a podcast I host entitled, Today in Church, His Story, you can visit www.PastorAndrewSmith.com.