Isaiah 53:2 The Ordinary Messiah

 The last post I wrote was a short explanation and application of  Isaiah 53:1. In this post the second verse will be our meditation.

 

"For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, 

And like a root out of a parched ground; 

He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, 

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him." 

Isaiah 53:2 

    One of the reasons Jesus was rejected as the Messiah was due to the manner He came in. He didn't show up like people wanted Him to show up. Their expectations were at odds with God's plans.

   The people were expecting a great king from the house of David. This is what God promised and yet it came to fulfillment in a way no one expected. The house of David was like a barren land. None of his sons sat on a throne or held any position of leadership. Joseph was a son of David but he was a poor man living in a small town. Instead of a throne and a crown, he had a carpenter's workshop. The line of David seemed to be all but dead. But God raises the dead. The fallen house of David was about to be rebuilt through the Lord Jesus. He came out of the fallen Davidic line like a small branch growing out of a dead stump or like a blade of grass growing in the wilderness. Jesus never lived in a palace. He was never rich. But He was the Son of David, even if outward appearances seemed to say otherwise.

People in every time and age are just like the Jews of Jesus' time. People have their own ideas of what Jesus should be. Some want Him to be a heavenly Santa Claus that gives them all their heart's desire. Some want Jesus to be just a good teacher who tells people how they should live a good life. Maybe the Jesus that some people want is less holy and winks at their sins. Whatever the reason may be, people will reject Jesus as their Savior and Lord since that is not what they want Him to be. Only those who are desperate for forgiveness and repent of their sins will find in the Lord Jesus the Savior they need and the Lord they must follow.

   Painters and artists have for years depicted the Lord Jesus as a handsome man with long flowing hair and a perpetual glow of light around His head. Even His clothes are somewhat other worldly compared to whatever anyone else is wearing around Him. If you saw such a man on the streets, you would surely take notice. Right away you would think that something is special or unique about a man like that. I think people depict Jesus like this out of a sense of respect and love. But it is not a biblical portrait of the Savior. The verse we are looking at makes this clear.

  Jesus' outward appearance was ordinary. He looked like any other Jew of His time. There was nothing in His face or body that made Him stand out. People like to have a leader that has good outward features. They want him to have the look of royalty. We desire a king who looks strong, handsome, and regal. But Jesus didn't look like that. His appearance didn't attract the admiration of anyone. In fact His appearance may have been unattractive. So when Jesus said he was the Messiah and the Son of God, people rejected this due to His rather normal appearance.  Perhaps they asked how could this normal, plain, and unattractive man be the very Son of God.  God planed it this way so they would have to believe the words of His Son rather than trust His looks.

    Consider this truth for a minute. Consider how low was the humiliation of Jesus. He is eternal and dwells in unapproachable light. He is beautiful in holiness. Angels hide their faces from His glory. Yet Jesus was willing to live a life of poverty, hard work and obscurity in the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. He was willing to dwell in a normal and plain human body. His divine glory was not to be seen from His outward appearance. It is hard for people who are famous or powerful, to become low and common. But Jesus was content to do the Father's will in this matter. Only once was the veil of His human flesh pulled back. This was on the mount of Transfiguration. For the rest of His life, He looked like a normal, ordinary person. Only when He returns, will we see our Lord in His full glory on this earth as He rules as a great king from sea to sea.

    The Christian is in a somewhat similar position. We are adopted by God into His family. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. The Lord of all loves us and delights in us. We are united with Christ and will reign with Him forever. But this world doesn't see this reality. Often Christians are despised and rejected. We are mocked and persecuted. We are treated like untouchables or lepers. But let us bear with these persecutions for a time. Our Lord went through the same sufferings that we do, in fact His were worse. Let us cheerfully endure such hardships for the sake of the One who loved us so much to suffer for us.

 "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." 1 John 3:2

  "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond comparison." 2 Corinthians 4:17

Brad

   

A Question To My Infant Baptist Friends

 I have an honest and sincere question for those who practice infant baptism. I have come across this perplexity a number of times and I was hoping someone could explain it to me. So the scenario is this: A Roman Catholic comes to faith in Christ and attends a Reformed church. Since he was baptized as an infant in the Catholic church, he is not baptized in the Reformed church, but only needs to do profession of faith. I have heard it said by Reformed people that the infant baptism of the Roman Catholic church is considered a real baptism. My wife was told it doesn't matter who does the baptism as long as you were baptized into the name of the Trinity.

  The problem with this seems to be the theology of the covenant that is held by Reformed people. As I understand it, God made a covenant with believers and their children. Those who are saved, justified by faith and born again are in God's covenant along with their children. It is the faith of the parents or parent that is the basis for their children being part of the covenant. So far so good?

 The Roman Catholic church does not preach the gospel.Their gospel is a false gospel that doesn't save and therefore their church is a false church. There may be a handful of Christians in the Catholic church, but generally it is safe to say that most are not saved and have no saving faith. Since there is no saving faith, they and their children wouldn't be in the covenant, regardless of whether they baptize their children.The faith of the parents is what brings a child into the covenant. There is nothing holy in the water or in the act of baptism. Catholics may think otherwise, but that is not the orthodox , Biblical understanding. Therefore an infant baptism in the Catholic church is not a real baptism. Their children are not in the covenant. So when a Catholic comes to faith later in life shouldn't they be baptized? What if someone who was baptized as an infant in some other church, like the Church of England, which is largely a dead church, comes to saving faith later in life, wouldn't you need to determine if their parents are believers before you accept their baptism?

 This also begs another question. What about if your parents leave the church or are excommunicated and show by their life that they are not Christians. Does this not invalidate your baptism and covenant status? If the parents show in later life there is no saving faith, does this mean you need to be baptized again? Doesn't your assurance that you are a covenant child then rest on your parent's faith? How would you deal with someone who lacks that assurance because their parents are living in an ungodly way?

 Could some of my Reformed friends answer these questions for me?

Thanks

Baptist Brad

Isaiah 53:1 The Rejected Messiah

 It has been a long time since I wrote on this blog. There were lots of other projects that I needed to get to. This blog is a bit of a lower priority. But I hope that over the next couple of weeks I will be able to write some more posts.

  I have been studying the 53rd chapter of Isaiah over the last little while and it has been a blessing to me. So I thought I would share with you what I have learned in the hope that it will be a blessing to you as well.

 Isaiah 53 is one of the passages in Isaiah that speak about the Servant, who is the Messiah. This chapter is remarkable for its details about the life of the Messiah. Some have called it the fifth gospel for it seems like it was written by one who saw the suffering of our Lord. But in fact, it was written hundreds of years before the Messiah ever came. The Spirit who knows all things in the future, inspired the prophet to write down this stunning prophecy.

 "Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

Isaiah 53:1

   In the first part of this verse Isaiah asks, 'Is there any one who has believed the message we preached.' This was true in his day and is true throughout all of history. The second part of this verse is a little more tricky to understand. The arm of the Lord refers to God's power since arm is the symbol of strength. The arm of the Lord and our message are parallel ideas in this verse. Romans 1:16 helps us understand this a little better. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...." God's message is a powerful message that must be revealed by God to sinners. But it is often the case that most people still walk in darkness. This is really Isaiah's lament in this verse.

   Shockingly we are told in the first verse of this Messianic chapter that few people would believe the Messiah's message. This is not what should be expected. For hundreds of years the Jews had been eagerly waiting for the Messiah. It would be normal to expect that when He came, all Israel would flock to Him. They should have eagerly drunk in His teaching and followed Him. His message should have been embraced and cherished after waiting so long for Him to appear. How strange it is that we are told here that few have believed His message and few have recognized that He was the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity.

  Why was the Messiah rejected? This question is clearly answered in John 3:19-20, "This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."  Jesus' holy conduct exposed their evil hearts and lives. Jesus' message was one of holiness and repentance, and the Jews didn't want to let go of their sins. This reason for rejecting the Savior is the same for the Jews as well as for the Gentile.

 John quotes this verse in John 12:38 to show his readers that the rejection of Jesus was something that the Scriptures foretold. Paul quotes part of this verse in Romans 10:16 to support the truth that most of this world remains in unbelief.  The person and work of Christ is largely rejected by Jew and Gentile. Those who believe the gospel message are always few--not many. "For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14. Revivals are rare and the majority of the time sinners come into the kingdom of God in small numbers. This is the reality we live with in this present age.

  We should learn from this to temper our expectations in ministry and evangelism. We should pray for revival, but should also realize that often there may be little outward success. We shouldn't be shocked if few embrace the gospel message. When all around us people reject the gospel message, we shouldn't be downhearted. Our Lord was the best teacher and preacher. None spoke like Him. Yet most of the people in His time rejected Him. So if our attempts at evangelism are met with unbelief, we shouldn't be discouraged. The servant is not greater than the master, and if the master and His message was rejected, we should not expect more.  The important thing is to be faithful to teach and preach the gospel whether any believe or not.

 When we feel all alone in this unbelieving world, remember that our Lord went through the same experience. When tempted to despair because of a lack of success in our ministry, consider the Son of God who understands how you are feeling. Your High Priest understands your troubles better than you think.

  As we look around at so much unbelief in the world, we should weep over it like Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then we should look at ourselves and wonder that God should be gracious to me. What grace is mine that I should be chosen. What a precious gift faith is! Such love and mercy should melt our hearts to love and obey our Savior.

Brad

Martin Bucer And A Deformation In The Reformation

One of the books I got from an old friend was a copy of Martin Bucer's 'Concerning The True Care Of Souls'. Martin Bucer is a lesser known reformer who lived from 1491 to 1551. He become the pastoral leader in the city of Strasbourg which became a center for Reformed learning. Calvin and other Reformation leaders spent time in this city.
   As I flipped through the book, I came across a section or two dealing with how civil rulers are to help the church in shepherding the sheep. Bucer goes into some detail about how the civil authorities are to find and return lost sheep in the church. I had to look twice as this is not a subject you will find in today's books on pastoral care. Let me give you a few quotes so you understand Bucer's ideas.

"Rulers are to provide the church with faithful ministers, see to the education and discipline of the young, and allow no one to turn either himself or others from sound doctrine and fellowship of Christ."pg 81

"And those who embrace particular sects are encouraged to turn away from disaster by means of fines and other severe penalties." pg81

Bucer supports his view by explaining that since Augustine taught and encouraged this, we should do the same. Augustine believed that "God uses punishment and prevention by force also to restore people from false doctrine and sects and contempt of religion."pg83 Since it 'worked' with Augustine in the days of the Roman Empire, so it should also work for us is the logic that Bucer uses. He also supports his view by saying that Old Testament Israelite rulers used force to deal with the immoral and idolaters. This goes to show what errors can come when one doesn't see the difference between Israel and the Church. Bucer goes on say that while we can't force people to believe or to do good against their will, God uses the force and punishment administered by the rulers as a means of leading them to salvation. Such a view however has nothing in the scripture to support it.

Martin Bucer's view of the role of government in the church is not an abnormality in that time. This view was held by all the reformers, although that may come as a surprise to some. Philip Schaff in his book 'History of the Christian Church'  says "The Reformers founded a popular state church, including all citizens with their families." pg71 vol 8

Concerning Zwingli and the church in Zurich, Schaff writes, "The only dissenters in Zurich were a small number of Romanists and Anabaptists, who were treated with the same disregard of rights of conscience as the Protestants in Roman Catholic countries, only with a lesser degree of severity. The Reformers refused to others the right of protest which they claimed and exercised for themselves, and the civil magistracy visited the poor Anabaptists with capital punishment." pg67 vol 8 Later he writes about the Anabaptists "They were cruelly persecuted by imprisonment, exile, torture, fire and sword, and almost totally surpressed in Protestant as well as in Roman Catholic countries." pg 72

What happened in Zurich, happened to some degree where ever the Reformation spread. The Church and State were still closely connected. When a country and its rulers supported the Reformation, they made it the official church and religion of the country. Everyone in the state therefore now belonged to the state church and must attend that church. If you decided gather in a other church due to any difference as the Anabaptists did, then the government could go after you to bring you back to the church by force and with punishment. Bucer and other reformers supported this, encouraged it or at the least didn't speak out against it. This view found its way into the Belgic Confession. There it is said that "the task of the civil government is the protection of the church and its ministry in order that, all idolatry and false worship may be removed and prevented, the kingdom of Antichrist may be destroyed." Later in 1905 the last part of the sentence was thankfully deleted by the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church.

I want to point this out not because the Reformation is not important or the reformers were terrible men. The Reformation was an important turning point in the history of the church. God restored the truth of the gospel and blessed us greatly with many wise men. But some people talk and act as though the Reformation is the standard for the church. They say we need to go back to the time of the Reformation. A rosy picture is painted for us of this important time in the church while ignoring its defects.The Reformers were still sinners and falible men.

We don't need to go back to the Reformation as the standard, but like the reformers we need to go back to the scriptures. There is a constant need to always be reforming. As individual Christians we can let bad theology and practices slip into our thinking and living. Churches face the constant danger of wolves without and wolves within who would destroy the church by error and sin. Thus we need to continually go back to scripture, to immerse ourselves in its truth. Every error must be examined by the Bible. We don't need to constantly change the truth but we do need to constantly examine our life and doctrine by the scriptures.

There is also a danger we let other people form our theology. For those growing up in the church, they can accept the theological position of the church to be their position without examining the scriptures for the proof and support of those positions. New Christians are often in a similar danger. They can let their new church or some preacher set their theology, without taking the time, patience and hard work to see the truth in God's word for themselves. If we hold to sola scriptura, then let us be people of the Book. While we should not disregard the past of the church, we should not let it govern our theology but govern our lives and doctrine by God's holy book.

Let me wish you all a Blessed Reformation Day and a Happy Anabapist day! (The Anabaptists have for the most part unjustly been given a bad reputation. While there were some who deserved the reputation, many lived godly lives and were martyred because they didn't support the State church. They deserve the appreciation of the church as well. We enjoy the liberty that they died supporting. More could be said about this but that would form a book.)

Brad

The Potter and His Clay Pots

Throughout chapters 43 -45 of Isaiah, the Lord declares that He is the Creator. There are about 10 times in these chapters that it is stated that God is the Creator. He has created Israel. He has created all things. This is especially important to show the foolishness of idolatry. Idols have to be made by people who are made by God. Idolatry is strange and a reversal of things as the creators worship the created. People worship something they have made. Idolatry is stupid; that goes for the one who worships one of the many gods of India or the one who worships politicians or cows or money. We can make a god out of anything. How vain these created idols will be in the day of judgement!

Realizing that God is our Creator and we are His creatures should teach us of the right way to relate to God. Let's look at verse 9 of Isaiah 45. "Woe to the one who argues with his Maker- one clay pot among many. Does the clay say to the one forming it, 'What are you making?'  Because He is the Creator, He can do as He wishes. He has the right as creator to do as He wants with the creatures He has made. And woe to the creature that dares to quarrel with God. The use of woe indicates that there is a curse on the one who argues with the Lord. We are simply clay pots. God used dust to make the first man and when we die our bodies will return to dust. We may be made in God's image but we are still only dust.

What if the clay pots started to get angry with the potter for how He was making them? The potter can do what he wants with the pots. Or lets use a more modern example. There are computer games where you can create people, like a hockey game where you can create a player. I can make them good or bad. Maybe they will be ugly and I can decide where they shall play. I make them and can do with them as I choose. They may not like how I make things, but there is nothing they can do. So it is with God.

People may complain and argue with God for all the troubles in their lives, but woe to them. God is the one who is in control of all things, even bad things. Verse 7 of Isaiah 45 says, "I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster, I, Yahweh, do all these things."  Disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes God has created. In Exodus 4:11 the Lord states that He makes people blind or mute. But arguing with God about what He does is futile. Even if God was sometimes unwise or cruel, what could you do? You are a clay pot. You and I are completely dependent on our Creator.We have no right to complain.

Thankfully God is not cruel, unwise or unmerciful. He is full of compassion and wisdom. There is no one equal to God in love and righteousness.So you can shake your fist at God for what He does or you can submit to Him and trust a God who is sovereign and wise. The providence of God may make no sense to you, but you can either scream at God till you are blue in the face or you can humbly trust the wise doings of gracious God. The one response brings only anger and bitterness and the other brings peace and thankfulness.

 Paul uses this same imagery of the potter and the clay in Romans 9:18-23 to silence objections to God choosing some for salvation and leaving others to wrath and judgement. Since God is Creator, He has give mercy to whomever He wants to and He has hardened others unto judgement. You may say He is not fair or that God is unjust to those who can't resist His will. But Paul doesn't explain these objections. He simply says, "But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?" Rom 9:20-21. We may not understand election and reprobation, but we can't complain or argue with God. We are clay and we need to realize that and trust that God is good and wise beyond our understanding.

"Woe to one who argues with his Maker." These are convicting words. How often have we complained about what God sends us in this life. Too many times we argue and quarrel with God when we don't like the situation we are in. We don't like how we look or where we live or our personality. Anytime we complain and grumble, we are quarreling with God who is supreme and sovereign. Arminianism is really a theological position coming from people arguing against the Lord. And the truth is, sometimes we have been  practical arminianists. All this shows us the greatness of our sin. We have all argued and complained against God even through we have no right to. But God is merciful. He has provided forgiveness and grace through Jesus Christ. We all need to come to Him confessing our sins and asking for a more humble, thankful and submissive attitude.

Brad

Tracing The Finger Of God

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to listen to some talks on the lives of godly men of the past. I have heard of men like David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, John Newton, John Paton and William Carey. It has been an enriching time for my soul. Looking into God's past dealing with His children has strengthened my faith. I have marveled at the wisdom, faithfulness and sovereignty of God and I hope this post will help you do that as well.

David Brainerd was missionary to the Indians in the American Colonies. His life was short due to sickness. He died in Jonathan Edwards' house and Edwards was so moved by this man's godliness that he published David's journal and diary. God used this book to move many other people to leave all to bring the gospel to other lands. Men like William Carey and Henry Martyn and other well known men were inspired by this weak man. David Brainerd's impact on missions is hard to overemphasis.

  John Paton was a missionary to the South Sea Islands. For four years he lived and worked on the island of Tanna. He had little success and much danger and heart ache. He lost his wife and son on this island and he was sick often. Eventually he was driven off the island. A few years later a book was written about his trials and adventures in the mission field. It was used greatly by God to stir up his own denomination and the worldwide church to bring the gospel to the lost peoples of this world. Later John Paton went to another island where most of the island was eventually converted. He also traveled around the world to awaken the church to missions. Yet this could not have happen without his losses and trials on the island of Tanna.

 John Newton was known for being a wise counselor and a hymn writer. His letters are filled with wisdom and grace. He gave counsel to William Carey who became a missionary to India and the father of Modern Missions. John Newton mentored William Wilberforce, who led the movement to abolish the slave trade in Britain. Newton also befriended William Cowper who was a very depressed man. This friendship was a great blessing to Cowper. Together they wrote hymns together which have been sung all over the world by generations of Christians. Newton's Amazing Grace is one of the most well known hymns ever sung. God did all this and more through a man who once was a slave trader and a blasphemer.

 Over the last few weeks I have been looking back on our trips to Cuba for the purpose of writing a short book. It has been wonderful to look back on how God has taught us and provided for us. How patiently did God teach us so that His work would be done more effectively. I see the times He answered our prayers and the prayers of the Cubans. God brought the right people into our lives so that His goals would be accomplished. How often did He protect us from harm! Opportunities to go to Cuba were provided in way that only can be traced to the providence of God. Writing this account has led me to worship such a great and good God.

  Isn't this remembering the past deeds of God what the Psalmist often did. Just consider Psalm 105 verse 5, "Remember the wonderful works He has done, His wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced."  In a time of  crisis, Asaph said in Psalm 77, "I will remember the LORD's works; yes I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions." verses 11-12  When he did this, his faith grew strong. Instead of doubt and despair, there was hope and worship.

The past can teach us how God uses the blacks and grays on his painting of our lives. We may not see all the picture, but looking back on what is done will help us appreciate the wisdom of the Divine painter in choosing the colors that He did. One day when we look back from heaven, God's work of art will be seen to be a masterpiece.

 Remembering the past to see the providence of God is medicine for the soul. Do you do this? Do you see how God has led you, taught you, cared for you or protected you? When you see in the past your unfaithfulness and unworthiness, how gracious is our God! Do you study history, especially the history of the church? You should. What lessons would you learn! Consider the past, not to glory in you, but to glory in a glorious Lord.

Brad

Sheep Who Don't Make A Peep

As our culture rejects God and His law, they will also reject God's authority that He has placed in this world. All the recent riots are evidence of this. God has ordained positions of authority in this world. The government is called to rule over countries, cities and towns. Husbands are to be leaders in their marriages. Parents are to have authority over their children. Masters or employers are in authority over those who work for them. God calls us to respect these positions of authority and submit to them so long as they don't ask us to do anything contrary to God's word. But as people reject God and dishonor Him, they will dishonor and disobey those God has put in positions of authority. Thus people don't listen to or obey the police. Wives mock their husbands and demand they share the authority God has given to their husbands. This lack of respect of authority is seen in schools, in the workplace and in how people treat those in government. As this becomes more of the norm in our culture, the church needs to be on guard for this attitude in her midst. These truths about God's authority need to be taught often. But there is one other position of authority that God has given us that is in  great danger if we do not combat this sin of the world. This is the position of the pastor/elder in the church. People will take this disrespect for authority and undermine the elders of the church. The results of this lack of submission is disastrous.

The Bible gives us a clear command about respecting those who govern the church. In Hebrews 13:17 we read this: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will have to give account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable to you." 
  We know that this passage is talking about leaders in the church because of the phrase "they keep watch over your souls." The government doesn't keep watch over our soul. Also in this chapter the word leader is referred to and each time it refers to church leaders.
The church is not a democracy. God has given authority to a group of men to take care of His sheep. They shepherd Jesus Christ's sheep on His behalf. The elders are men in high position because God has given that position. Therefore we are called to obey the elders and submit to them. To disobey them is to disobey God. If we love and obey Christ, then we should submit to those He has put in place in this position of authority in the church.

Let me give an example of what this submission looks like. There are churches that require their members to abstain from drinking alcohol. Now I would disagree with this requirement, but maybe this is the only good church in town. The church has good preaching and the elders are caring and godly. In order to join this church I would have to promise not to drink alcohol. Also I should not try to convince others to reject this requirement. The right way to try change this requirement would be to go the elders and present my case against this requirement and ask them to change it. If they don't however, then I need to submit to their judgement.

We should respect their authority both in our words and in our hearts. We should do this without grumbling and complaining. This doesn't mean we can't give helpful criticism or advice or share with them our concerns about how they do things. But if they disagree with our concerns, then we need to submit to them. We should not complain about the elders to others. We shouldn't cut them down before others. Gathering people to your cause to bring down the elders or to force them to listen is forbidden by this command.  Even disrespect, unsubmissiveness and grumbling in our hearts is contrary to God's will for His people. This is a hard command, but it is important as we shall see.

Do we have to submit and obey our elders in every instance? So long as they don't ask us to do anything unBiblical, we need to obey them. If this is God's plan for His sheep, then it is important for us to find good shepherds. Are they qualified to be in this position? Are they godly men who can teach the Word? We should give careful thought to who the elders of a local church are before we become members. No group of elders will be perfect. They will make mistakes. If you are looking for perfection you will never be a member of a church. No, we are looking for a pattern of godly character that is progressing. We are looking for men who are skilled in teaching the Bible. I believe there are few good reasons for leaving a church. Before we leave a church because we don't think the elders are qualified, we should pray much about this decision and check our hearts for sin. We should make sure there is a church that is doctrinally sound and that has qualified leaders in our area before we leave. It is a serious thing to submit to and obey our elders, and therefore we should give great attention and care before we are members of a church.

The task of shepherding the church of Jesus Christ is one of the hardest jobs on earth. The elder is a sinner dealing with his own sins while having to call other sinners to leave their sins, which we know is at times like pulling teeth from a lion. The work of an elder is mentally exhausting as one deals with serious and difficult issues. But this hard work can get much harder when the sheep refuse to submit to their leadership. This situation is bad for the elders and bad for the sheep.

Let me illustrate from my life as a farmer. Taking care of dairy cows is a lot of work. I need to keep them fed, clean their stalls, milk them twice a day and treat them when they are sick. When the cows are healthy and calm, it is not too bad. But when you have cows that try to knock out your teeth in the parlour or smash you with their head, farming becomes a burden. Cows that refuse to listen and go where they are supposed to make simple tasks a frustration. When this happens I can become gruff with the cows and my rod and staff need to be used. The more a cow fights me when I have to give her medicine, the worse it will hurt. It doesn't pay to fight with the farmer. Sometimes the cow goes to market.

Well, the same is true in regard to elders/pastors and the members of the church. When the members don't submit to the elders, it makes shepherding difficult. The elders spend time trying to sort out the conflict rather than studying, praying or counseling. This conflict can make the elder depressed. It can make him frustrated and angry. This will hurt his preaching and teaching, which will in turn hurt the sheep. Such conflict can lead to divisions in churches and at times it will lead to church splits or pastors leaving. When the sheep don't make a peep by being submissive and obedient, the work of shepherding is a joy. When the sheep revolt, the work is a deary business, and the spiritual health of the shepherds and the sheep will suffer. Sheep who rebel only bite the hand that feeds them. This is truly unprofitable for them.

There is a downward spiral into misery in the church when the members do not obey this command to submit and obey their elders. First, some members do not listen to the elders, slandering and complaining openly about them. Then the work of the pastors becomes more difficult and burdensome. So their work of shepherding starts to suffer due to the conflict. Next these members and, maybe more, start to complain even more because the elder's work is not done as it should be. This fresh wave of hostility further burdens the elders which makes their work suffer even more. And so it goes on until people repent or the church implodes or ceases to be effective.

For a healthy church, we need faithful pastors and submissive members. If either of these two are missing, the church will be in great trouble. So I ask you to be a good sheep or a good shepherd if you are one. Pray for your leaders. Love them. Support them. And submit to and obey them as if you are obeying and loving Jesus Christ. If you don't, you will only bring spiritual illness on yourself and dishonor to the fair name of Jesus.

Brad