It is said that if a Scottish sheep dog is left to guard his master’s coat, he will not leave it until the master returns. Nothing can draw him from the task to which he was appointed. If a rabbit runs by, almost under his nose, he will not move. A deer may break from a standstill and cross the area in front of the dog, so close that the dog could easily bring him down; yet the dog will not move. If the dog had the mind of some Christians, he might reason, “Oh my master was unaware that a rabbit would pass by or a very valuable deer. Surely, he expects me to use my intelligence and leave my appointed job to run after the game.” There are Christians today that run away from their responsibilities to which they have been appointed to follow something that seems more appealing.
Paul discusses in this passage that God has given us certain responsibilities in our relationships with one another by which God wants to maintain peace within the church.
The key idea of this passage is that we have a responsibility to behave in a certain way toward one another. If each of us does not fulfill our responsibility there will be no peace in the church.
1. Your Relationship with Your Pastors
Paul begins this section by describing your relationship with your pastors. And in this passage he gives us two commands concerning how we respond to them. Now this is a difficult message. Speaking about how you should respond to your pastor is more difficult for me than preaching about the terrors of hell or preaching concerning specific sin that the world sees as all right. But I hope that this first part of the message will open a window into who I am and what I am doing in ministering to you. And I hope that those of you who do not yet know me well won’t think I’m a little off for speaking in the way that I am today.
A. Recognize and respect what they do
The first command that Paul gives concerning how we respond to our pastors is that we are to recognize and respect what they do. This is what Paul describes in verse 12. Here he says, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction.” The word translated as “appreciate” means literally “to know well.” In other words Paul is saying to recognize the true worth of your pastor. In as much as I am to know you, so you are to know who I am. There is nothing in the Scripture that teaches the modern notion that pastors should stand aloof from their congregation. This is the language of the business world not the language of the Bible world. The church is to be a family not a business. On the contrary part of my ministry to you is that I am to be an example to you in the way that I live. And if you do not know me then how can this take place? Paul says that you are to know and respect your pastors because of three different ways in which they care for you.
i. They labor diligently
The first way Paul says that they care for you is that they labor diligently. The pastoral ministry requires diligent labor.
Let me mention how I labor diligently for you. First, I’ll mention my schedule. God has, by His grace, allowed me to be disciplined. I think this kind of ministry would be impossible if God hadn’t granted that to me. Because I don’t keep set hours in the sense that I clock myself in and out. No one checks up to see when I am here and what I am doing (except God Himself). Most of the time I am doing ministry from 8-5 Tuesday through Friday. I am here whatever time I need to be to finish everything up on Saturday and usually about 10-11 hours here on Sunday. But that isn’t the limit of my time here. Though I normally take time on Mondays to be at home, if necessary I will visit someone if need be or take time for some other unforeseen necessity. But I don’t watch the clock. I am here because there is ministry to be done. And this doesn’t include other times in the evenings in which I am involved in some kind of ministry to others. And I always say that if you really want me to keep track of hours I can do that, though that would be just a time waster that I could do without.
How else do I labor diligently (Can you see why this is difficult for me? I feel as foolish as the apostle Paul said he did when he defended his own apostolic ministry before the Corinthians)? I pray for you by name and bring your difficulties and struggles before God on behalf of you at least every other day. I divide the church into two groups, “A-J” and “K-Z” and alternate each day. But I also have some of you on additional lists because of some special situation for which you want me to pray.
I seek to diligently prepare messages from the Word of God to give you three square meals a week. I meet with some of you individually as I have opportunity and bring the Word of God to bear upon your life. I share your burdens and agonize with you over them. I hurt when you hurt and ask God to intervene in behalf of your life.
I also limit my life for your sake. I take opportunity on Saturday evening to keep that time as quiet as possible. Lora and I don’t usually plan anything on that evening that would keep us out late. As a matter of fact I try to slip into my room to have some time to read and pray by 7:30 so that I will be well rested for the corporate worship of the Lord on Sunday. Now I am not legalistic about this. If someone needs to meet or other things take place that call me away then I will go but it is my normal practice to limit my schedule in this way and other ways to be able to serve you diligently with the Gospel.
ii. They lead you spiritually
The second way Paul says that they care for you is that they lead you spiritually. In the middle of verse 12 Paul says, “They have charge over you in the Lord.” The word means to direct or rule. One New Testament dictionary says that it combines the concepts of leading, protecting, and caring for. But in this statement Paul defines this kind of leadership. He says that it is “in the Lord.” We are not a corporation. The leadership that I give here is a leadership that seeks to conform our organization (or maybe organism is a better word) toward godliness not gain. The leadership that I express here must be one that encourages godliness. If we see ourselves as anything else besides a haven to build us up in the faith and equip us to reach out to those who are lost then we have missed our purpose. My goal is to bring each one of us to a place of complete dependence upon God so that we can live our lives before a watching world with a passion for seeking Christ.
We won’t run this church like a corporation because God has not made the church so. Jesus has said that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. But unfortunately it seems that in some churches Burger King’s “have it your way” ideology has prevailed against it.
If my expectations for the church are not found in the Bible then I will begin to work against the plan of God. If my expectations for the church are found in beating the church down the road in the number of baptisms we have then we will find ourselves stretching against God in whatever way we can to do that. If my expectation for the church is to have the largest Sunday School classes in Southern New England then we will find ourselves changing to do that. But if I understand the Bible’s teaching about what the church should be then we will find ourselves as a church not in competition with others to show how great we are but in dependence upon the Spirit of God to show others how great our God is.
But not only is the idea of leadership included in this word, but also protection. I make it my ambition to protect you from falling into sin and falling into false teaching. I hope you can understand this. When I say, “It’s not wise to do this or that,” I am speaking either from experience in having seen others made the same mistake before or from the principles of Scripture. I also need to keep you from false teaching that inhibits your spiritual growth. As a shepherd I need to look out for you. I have concern and heaviness in my heart when you want to head off in your own way without following my direction. What I say to you in those times are for your spiritual well being. Please don’t neglect it.
iii. They admonish you tenderly
The third way Paul says that they care for you is that they admonish you tenderly. At the end of verse 12 it says, “And [they] give you instruction.” The word can describe the giving of a warning or reproof. And yet in the way that Paul uses it, it is not something that is done with harshness. In 1 Corinthians 4:14 Paul says, “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.” This is the spirit that we are to have in reproving another. Each of us could understand better that in the necessity to admonish others it must be done with tenderness. Harshness should not be part of our response in seeking to bring the Word of God to bear upon someone’s life. And so it is my goal to admonish each one of you when necessary but to do so in a tender way. This does not mean that it is an easy thing to do because it is done with tenderness. It is perhaps even harder to do so in this fashion. This is probably one of the hardest aspects of the ministry for me. It requires the wisdom of God to know when and how to approach someone about an issue in their lives that they need to get right. I hope you can understand this aspect of the pastoral ministry because we all need admonishment from time to time. And I hope that you would receive it as a part of the care and concern that I have toward you.
So Paul says that you should recognize and respect your pastors because they labor diligently, they lead you spiritually and they admonish you tenderly. I hope having explained some of these things will help you to follow Paul’s command to recognize and respect your pastor. If this has accomplished that then I am thankful to God for it.
B. Think highly of them
The second command that Paul gives concerning how we respond to pastors is that we are to think highly of them. In verse 13, Paul says, “And that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” Literally the verse says, “Consider them super abundantly in love.” There is a call in this command to hold the pastor in high regard. He is to be thought of with respect. But this is not some respect of a mere position, sort of in the way that we respect our governmental leaders like our president. No, this is a respect that is borne out of love for the pastor. I don’t want some cold mental assent of respect as if I was magnified because I am your pastor. I want you to be able realize a respect for me because I am seeking to serve you for your own spiritual good and this respect would really well up out of your own love for me.
I also want you to realize that I do the work I do because I want to, not because I have to. I am here because God has called me here and has given me a task to do in Plainville, Massachusetts. And I will be here, Lord willing, for many more years in this task.
2. Your Relationship with One Another
In verses 13b-15 Paul moves on to discuss your relationship with one another. What Paul wants us not to be mistaken about is that we are bound to one another in this church. This is the commitment of joining the church and pledging ourselves to upholding our church covenant. We are members one with another. At the end of verse 13 Paul says, “Be at peace with one another.” We are to maintain peace with one another. This is something that Paul says we are going to have to work on. To think that peace is something that just happens without struggle or effort within the church is wrong. And peace doesn’t come by ignoring the duty of doing the difficult. In fact, in these next verses, Paul says that this peace comes by carrying out five responsibilities we all have toward each other.
A. Admonish the undisciplined
The first responsibility that we have toward each other is that we are to admonish the undisciplined. In verse 14 Paul says, “We urge you brethren, admonish the unruly.” The word unruly is a word that was used to describe those in the military who were without discipline. It also described an army that aligned themselves in battle array in a disorderly fashion.
What is Paul saying? We need to reprove those who are undisciplined in their Christian lives. If there are believers you know who have no discipline in their lives to maintain their spiritual walk with Christ, if they are not reading their Bible or neglecting to pray, if they fail to come to church regularly they need to be admonished about their conduct.
It also could have referred to people who were not working but living off the others in the church because they believed the coming of the Lord was so near. It described those who were idle or careless in the way that they lived before a watching world.
And if you know someone who is leading this kind of undisciplined life then Paul says you need to confront them about such behavior. Friends, the passage declares that we need to be accountable to one another. As much as I try to be involved in your lives I cannot have as close a view to each person. You may have a closer relationship to someone in the congregation than me. So what are you to do when you notice that they are slipping in their walk with the Lord? What are you to do when someone is becoming lazy in their spiritual disciplines of seeking the Lord? Let me tell you first what you don’t do. “Hello, pastor. This is John. I wanted to let you know that you should speak to Fred about his walk with the Lord. He is struggling right now and doesn’t want to read his Bible.” No, you go to him and speak to him about his walk with the Lord. Remember that admonishment doesn’t mean coming down hard on someone. Gently restore such a one. Help them; encourage them in how to walk with the Lord. Walk beside them and show them how God has called us to live as believers. Admonish the undisciplined.
B. Encourage the dejected
The second responsibility that we have toward each other is that we are to encourage the dejected. There is no cookie-cutter mold among believers. We are all different. We all struggle in different areas. And we cannot deal with different people in all the same way. We must use the Scripture in every case in helping one another but how we approach different people varies. And here Paul gives this second responsibility to encourage those who become easily dejected. Paul says, “encourage the fainthearted. The word that Paul uses here is literally small-souled.
These people do not need to be reproved like the lazy and undisciplined but they need to be lifted up and helped along. They need to be reminded to keep their focus on the Lord and His work in their lives. They need to be encouraged to keep relying on God’s strength and let His joy infuse their lives by setting their thoughts on the Word of God. The dejected and harassed need to hear the Word of God just as powerfully as those who need to be admonished but the focus of the Word needs to be tuned in a slightly different way.
Isn’t this true? When you are discouraged you don’t need someone to reprove you. You need someone to come alongside and encourage you to get up and keep going. You need someone who will walk beside you and remind you that God is still sovereign. He hasn’t lost control of the universe and that all things still work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose. People like this need to be helped along with the grace that God promises to them. And they need to hear those promises.
C. Help the spiritually weak
The third responsibility that we have toward each other is that we are to help the spiritually weak. As Paul says here, “help the weak,” it brings to mind Romans 15:1-3, where he says, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘the reproaches of those who reproached You fell on me.’”
If you consider yourself stronger in the faith, God has given you that faith to help those who are weaker. It is for no other purpose. God has given some, according to His grace, more strength than others so that you can look around you and see how you can help those who are weaker. Perhaps someone you know is new in the faith. Take them and teach them how to pray in dependence on God. Show them how to read the Word of God. Encourage them to hide God’s Word in their heart so that they can grow in it.
Let me give a warning to you who count yourself strong in the faith. Someone who is strong in the faith might have a tendency to look down upon those whose experience and walk with Christ is not as strong. Don’t let this allow you to become proud because God has worked in you differently. God says let us look to one another to help them. If you perceive weakness in someone’s faith then pray for him or her. Ask God on behalf of this person to strengthen their faith, O you who are strong. Don’t look down upon this person as Paul says in Romans 14 to not regard your brother with contempt. And ask God to build up your faith through what you see God doing in their lives. It is your responsibility to help the weak.
D. Be patient with everyone
The fourth responsibility that we have toward each other is that we are to be patient with everyone. This is how Paul concludes verse 14, “Be patient with everyone.” Paul knows that differences in character and personality, differences in spiritual gifts, differences in backgrounds can cause misunderstandings and difficulties between us. This is why Paul urges us to be patient with all.
Because we all have different functions in the body we tend to view others who are not gifted as we are as more or less important than ourselves. And when we have this wrong attitude in ourselves we tend to be less patient with others. But we must be careful not to hold to these wrong thoughts. As God has made us each different parts of the body for the proper functioning of the body we recognize that the eye does not do the hearing and the ear does not do the talking. We see that the hand does not do the walking nor does the foot carry things. In the same way we must accept each other and their part in the body.
Let us remember to be patient with all. Find your part in the body and do the work has called you to do. Be patient with everyone else whom God has gifted differently.
E. Pursue doing good to all
The fifth responsibility that we have toward each other is to pursue doing good to all. Now here Paul expands this responsibility outside of the confines of the local church. In verse 15 he says, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” Do you see how Paul expands this? Not only does he say that we should do this for one another within the church but also for all people.
What is it that Paul is calling us to do? As Christians, those in whom Christ has placed His Spirit, we are to follow the golden rule. Do unto others what you would want done to yourself.” Only a Christian can follow this fully because of the power of God’s Spirit working in our lives.
Not only are we not to repay evil for evil but also we are to seek after what is best for others. We are not to seek the harm of those who have hurt us. What a wretched state we have fallen into when bitterness has crept into our soul because we refuse to forgive those who have hurt us. If we seek to repay evil for evil we are acting in our flesh because we have forgotten how much God has forgiven us in Christ. We have neglected to remember how much we have offended God. And what we have done to God, what we have done to Christ in putting Him on the cross is far worse than anything anyone could have done to us. So if you are seeking to repay someone evil for evil you are thinking very little of how much you have wounded Christ.
And worse yet, if we fail to forgive, bitterness will destroy our lives. Hebrews 12:15 says that it becomes a root of trouble that grows and defiles many. If we harbor bitterness in our hearts toward others we will lose the joy of our salvation and ruin our close fellowship with the Lord.
But Paul goes beyond that. He says not just do not repay evil for evil but consciously seek their good. The word is to pursue. Chase after doing good to others. Seek what is best for others, yes even those who have hurt you.
Why are we to do good to others? We are merely to seek to do good to others as an extension of the great good that God has done for us. We never deserved His grace to be poured out upon us. We never deserved the adoption as children that He has given to us. We never were worthy of the gift of God’s Spirit to dwell within us. Yet God has lavished all this upon us. And we see just how much God has done for us, who were poor miserable wretches. So how much more should we be willing to pursue the good of all those around us.
In the book, “And the Word Came with Power,” a story about a missionary’s efforts in translating the Bible, the author relates a story of the power that the gospel made in the life of one individual. This man’s father had been murdered by his uncle. Yet the man would not avenge his father’s murder though revenge killings were the normal practice in that society. But not only did he not repay evil for evil but also he was paying for the murderer’s children to go to school. And he was doing this good to them because of the inestimable good that God had done for him. We need to be like this man who in receiving evil from another refused to retaliate in kind. Only God’s Spirit can produce this kind of love for those who hate us. Only the supernatural work of God in our lives can produce this wonderful fruit. Will you allow the Spirit to work in you in this way?
So let me ask you some questions? In what light do you consider your pastor? Do you recognize and respect him for his care for you? Do you esteem him very highly in love?
Are you fulfilling your responsibility to one another in the body? Are you seeking the peace of the body by being involved in the lives of those around you? Don’t neglect to do what God has called you to do in being actively involved in the body.
Have you been seeking to repay someone evil for evil? Have you failed to pursue the good of those around you? Don’t let bitterness rob you of your joy and dishonor the God who saved you for His glory and your good.