Who's You're Leader?
(Last week, we changed service providers, and this Blog was removed. I'm putting it back on for your reading.)
This morning, I was reading the account in Numbers 16 where there was a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Korah, a descendent of Levi, along with Dathan, Abiram, and On, descendents of Reuben, took issue with God's leaders. They said, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” Moses, in turn, told them, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy…” IE, whom He had selected and set apart to lead His people.
That is exactly what happened. If you are familiar with the story, you know that the next day 250 men were burned alive when fire came down from heaven and consumed them as they were offering “unauthorized” incense to the Lord. And, the leaders, who had refused to come to Moses, were buried alive along with their entire families when the ground opened and engulfed them! Were Moses and Aaron perfect before the Lord? Absolutely not! They would soon disqualify themselves from leading Israel into the Promised Land because they robbed God of His glory at the waters at Meribah. (Ch. 20) Yet, God’s leader was His leader, and He would take care of the discipline. The people were to follow!
Does that still apply in the New Testament? In Ephesians 4, Paul writes, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” They are God’s gifts to the church. And, are they to be followed? Again, in the book of Hebrews, the author writes, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” They are God’s leaders, leading God’s people, and are accountable to Him.
Some would say, “That’s a lot of authority!” But, then, that sounds a lot like, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them…” Is God not able to take care of Himself and His church?
Yes, God does act through His church when an elder teaches contrary to Scripture. Discipline is to be swift, thorough, and public. Unfortunately, most of the disagreements that arise in churches between the members and the leadership involve matters of preference and direction, not doctrinal soundness. After all, “isn’t the whole congregation holy!”
The incident recorded in Numbers 16 took place in the wilderness, and I am afraid that most of our conflicts are wilderness experiences. We take our eyes off the Lord and onto ourselves and what we want… what we like. But, God is leading His church forward, and He calls leaders to lead it. Who will we follow? Who will we obey? Are we who claim to be such Bible-believers as scriptural as we imagine?
What do YOU think?
This morning, I was reading the account in Numbers 16 where there was a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Korah, a descendent of Levi, along with Dathan, Abiram, and On, descendents of Reuben, took issue with God's leaders. They said, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” Moses, in turn, told them, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy…” IE, whom He had selected and set apart to lead His people.
That is exactly what happened. If you are familiar with the story, you know that the next day 250 men were burned alive when fire came down from heaven and consumed them as they were offering “unauthorized” incense to the Lord. And, the leaders, who had refused to come to Moses, were buried alive along with their entire families when the ground opened and engulfed them! Were Moses and Aaron perfect before the Lord? Absolutely not! They would soon disqualify themselves from leading Israel into the Promised Land because they robbed God of His glory at the waters at Meribah. (Ch. 20) Yet, God’s leader was His leader, and He would take care of the discipline. The people were to follow!
Does that still apply in the New Testament? In Ephesians 4, Paul writes, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” They are God’s gifts to the church. And, are they to be followed? Again, in the book of Hebrews, the author writes, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” They are God’s leaders, leading God’s people, and are accountable to Him.
Some would say, “That’s a lot of authority!” But, then, that sounds a lot like, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them…” Is God not able to take care of Himself and His church?
Yes, God does act through His church when an elder teaches contrary to Scripture. Discipline is to be swift, thorough, and public. Unfortunately, most of the disagreements that arise in churches between the members and the leadership involve matters of preference and direction, not doctrinal soundness. After all, “isn’t the whole congregation holy!”
The incident recorded in Numbers 16 took place in the wilderness, and I am afraid that most of our conflicts are wilderness experiences. We take our eyes off the Lord and onto ourselves and what we want… what we like. But, God is leading His church forward, and He calls leaders to lead it. Who will we follow? Who will we obey? Are we who claim to be such Bible-believers as scriptural as we imagine?
What do YOU think?
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