Accountability. It is a scary word, especially when it comes to the Christian journey homeward. Jesus taught, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). The apostle Paul writes, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Truth be told, few of us are comfortable with those words. We simply do not like being held accountable for a variety of reasons. That said, few, if any, achieve any spiritual growth without it. One person writes, “We need accountability. Left to our own devices, we will soon devise or succumb to all kinds of evil.”
As we draw our study of the minor prophets to a close, we find God’s remnant returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. What got them there in the first place? What influenced them? I know, it was the sin they participated in for so many years. But what got them there? Listen to Jeremiah 23:1-2, “’Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!’ says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: ‘You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,’ says the Lord.” So, what influenced them? Their spiritual leaders. Jesus repeatedly said woe to the religious leaders of His day because they guided people down destructive pathways (Matthew 23). This caused me to think of a text found in Hebrews concerning the topic of leadership that I would like to share with you today.
“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls…” (Hebrews 13:17)
Obey! Be submissive! Like accountability, those words often leave a bad taste in our mouth. As much as these are part of the discussion, it is not my focus today. Instead of looking at what we are to do towards our spiritual leaders, I want to look at the why behind it. So, why obey…be submissive? The reason is simple; they watch out for your souls. The Easy-to-Read translation says, “…they are always watching to protect you.” That word “watch” means to be sleepless, i.e. keep awake. Why sleepless? Because souls are at stake! The words of Jesus towards the religious leaders of His day echo in my mind, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (Matthew 15:14). The responsibility of spiritual leaders is daunting. The apostle Peter, himself an elder, exhorts elders to “shepherd the flock of God among you” (1st Peter 5:2). The New Living translation says, “care for the flock that God has entrusted to you” while the King James Version says, “feed the flock of God.” A godly leader will invest his time into helping God’s people to achieve their God given mission. To imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:1), share Christ (1st Peter 3:15) and to care for all, especially those in Christ (John 13:34; Galatians 6:9-10), impacting the world around them (John 13:35). A godly leader will be used by God to help His people reach their full potential in Christ. The gravity of this task is seen in the words that follow.
“…as those who must give account.” (Hebrews 13:17)
Leaders carry a greater level of accountability and thus, more responsibility. Why? It is because these men have assumed the role of guiding God’s children, the souls of those God has placed in their hands. The apostle Paul exhorted the elders in Ephesus, saying, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28). Spiritual leadership is not about position; but rather, it is about those whom God has placed in their care. One commentator writes, “The ministers of religion must give account to God for their fidelity. For all that they teach, and for every measure which they adopt, they must soon be called into judgment.” It is with this awareness that the believers themselves, could help ease this burden of their spiritual leaders by submitting to their direction “with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable” for them (Hebrews 13:17).
Throughout history we see repeatedly the need for God centered leaders. And in that same history we can read of the downfall of nations at the hands of ungodly ones. From the very early stages of the birth of the church, the exhortation to establish capable spiritual leaders was evident as the Holy Spirit guided the apostles. Why? Because we need men willing to watch out for our souls! Men who are willing to be accountable for our welfare! Not perfect men. Not all-knowing men. But mature men who are being transformed into the image of Christ and desire nothing more than to help others in that journey.
Biddeford Church of Christ 