Faith works by love, not by fear and this awful means of controlling people is all based on fear and keeping the sheep from bleeting. (2 Peter 2:1-3). The authority of a Christian leader is not command authority but servant leadership. Found inside“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, ... In order that, so that. And I’ve mentioned many times the “spiritual authorities” of Ezekiel 34 and how these false shepherds, instead of caring for the sheep, devoured the sheep. Profitless, unprofitable, ruinous, detrimental. .”, NIV: “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority . They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.” (Jeremiah 14:14). to submit does not always mean to obey! The Greek word that was translated submit in Hebrews 13:17 is . Ezekiel 3:17-21 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me…, Ezekiel 33:2,7-9 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: …, Acts 20:24-26,28 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God…. (Acts 20:29-30). 10. Husbands You will recognize them by their fruits. Here’s a part of one from early 2009: A quotation I read bothered me a little. Hebrews 13:17 teaches, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Your email address will not be published. The many verses you provided are very helpful in this aspect, along with the encouragement to study carefully the meaning of scripture, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, who was given to us for that very purpose. Once they convinced you they were in control and you had to blindly submit to their authority, then the most ridiculous weird teachings came out of the pulpit and everybody did everything they were asked to do. How does he speak of, or treat his parents and other family, even if they are unbelievers? If you make their work a heavy load, it won't do you any good. Careful consideration of the author’s reference to "leaders" in this verse, as well as earlier in the chapter (v.7), reveals a mind-set about authority in the church which is patently traditional in nature. Bless your heart! That they may do it.--Be obedient and yielding to them, that they may do this (may watch for your souls) with joy and not sighing (or, groaning), for this would be unprofitable for you; if ye so live that they must watch over you with grief, this will both weaken their hands and bring on you the divine displeasure. Found insideObey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, ... do we really believe and know that ? The reference to leaders (plural) in a letter to Hebrews strongly suggests that the people still follow the traditional Jewish concept of leadership. They key difference between obedience to authority and obedience to persuasion is that the person doing the obeying still has the right and the obligation to be discerning. (Matthew 20:25-28), I exhort the elders who are among you, I being also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.  Feed the flock of God among you, taking the oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but readily;  nor as lording it over those allotted to you by God, but becoming examples to the flock. Steve Smith goes on to say about that mountain guide: However, they do not follow him blindly, as though they wore blindfolds. "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Church people often trust that because a man went to a certain seminary, he must be a good man, without closely examining the qualities needed in a church leader as outlined in the epistles. Great commentary. When I did this with the word bitter a few years ago, I discovered things I had no idea I would find. Hebrews 13:17: "Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account." Romans 13:1-2: "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. (Micah 3:5). "obey your leaders and submit to their authority" The word almost always (mis-)translated "obey" in Hebrews 13:17 is πειθεσθε (present tense, imperative mood, middle voice, second person, plural number, inflection of Strong's G3982, πειθω, "peitho") which actually means to be convinced by, persuaded by, or have confidence in.  Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Your email address will not be published. But of course those who follow false teachers never think the teachers are false. The author of Hebrews gives three good reasons for doing this. Glad to see people thinking for themselves it;s time. "Obey those who have the rule over you, and be . Every Christian is responsible for studying to show themselves approved and to rightly divide the Word of truth. I want to continue to have increasing understanding of the truths that our God has proclaimed in His Word and in His world, and proclaim those beautiful truths to others. (Side note. First, we should submit because of wrath. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. ( C) give an account. Verse 17. Poor Hebrews 13:17. Wives are commanded by the Lord to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22, 1 Peter 3:1). A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether. I should probably read it and keep it on my Heretical Books Shelf.” So sorry this happened to you, but thank you for reminding me of this book. Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Neuter Singular. That’s why it’s so easy for the false teachers to secretly bring in destructive heresies. What Did Jesus Mean When He Said “Turn the Other Cheek”? The hikers trust the leader because of his demonstrated knowledge and [presumed] good character; and they can see the blazes on the trail as he leads them. In the Bible, church leaders were ordained to lead the congregation by being chosen as worthy of leadership by those within the congregation, or appointed by a head such as Paul. In Hebrew culture the leaders were normally elders that met as a council. It’s saying, “Look, friend! In that manner. So with all those Scriptures for our framework, let’s examine the passage in question, Hebrews 13:17. It has been used to buttress significant spiritual abuse through the years. This is a different word. One of the problems that I find in Bible study is that people don’t ask themselves what Scripture doesn’t say. But when they do, we can put the first part of this verse together like this, with confidence that THIS is what the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote about the “leaders” of the Christian churches: Be persuaded by (or “let yourself be persuaded by”) the ones who have been recognized as being farther along in their lives of faith than you are, who have shown by their whole-hearted integrity that they can point the way to Jesus. Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. By Wesley Baines wesley baines They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. of adjectives. Or discounts the question his young son bravely raised his hand to ask, making him feel small and silly? The meaning of this word is basically “to be persuaded” to change one’s beliefs, leading to a change in actions. Sheer idiocy. I’ve written a much more extensive study of the book of Hebrews to get a more complete picture of what the author might be getting at in this passage. Required fields are marked *. But such as it is, I’ve seen that what I’ve thought a Christian leader ought to be—someone who is farther down the path of the Christian life (a little or a lot), pointing the way to Jesus—is just what Hebrews 13:17 is referring to. Your post was most helpful. If it walks like a duck n quacks like a duck, it’s likely to be a duck! Years ago, before I even started this blog, I was writing emails to encourage friends. It is the common word for leadership. He also argues that Peitho should be rendered "Be persuaded.". There was no New Testemant text at that time, and certainly not the compilation we have today. But Jesus called them and said, You know that the rulers of the nations exercise dominion over them, and they who are great exercise authority over them.  However, it shall not be so among you. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually descerned. Let’s follow Him together!”. Found inside – Page 144resisted the city's efforts to enforce its zoning laws, ... time I heard a message from Hebrews 13:17– “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. Parts of the KJV are so complicated with that. Thanks also to the mention of the KJV. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hi, great article I can furthEr add to this in the 1927 edition of Pgs Hopwood book on the relIgious experience of the primitive church in which several major plAces he addresses the distortions added over the early body simple formation, thus replacing a spirit led body to an eccleastical hiearchy pretty amazing to see if your interested in what A Spirit led body was like without all the political stuff added in.. The Bible is clear on the topic of being willing to submit to the authority in the church you have chosen to be a part of. If they are leaders, should we obey and submit to them, according to Hebrews 13:17? Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. And would you link to Wade Mullen’s doctoral thesis here for my readers? You make me laugh since I called it “an excruciatingly long blog post.” lol, After having experienced this type of leadership in my life on at least 2 occasions, God lead me to Ephesians 5:6 onwards… “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. We are required to “submit” to those things that we can “be persuaded” are true according to the Word of God. OBEY your “SPIRITUAL AUTHORITIES,” which is US, the church “leaders.” SUBMIT to US without question or challenge. This study guide is in list form, includes a place for your own notes and highlights prophecies about: - Jesus' Lineage - Jesus' Birth - Jesus' Life - Jesus' Crucifixion - Jesus' Resurrection - General Prophecies about Jesus which others ... It is assumed or implied that these are true not false elders. From psucho; breath, i.e. Found inside13:17, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a ... They are two separate actions or postures. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Even though we often interpret Romans 13 to mean we should "obey the laws of the land" or "obey the government," what it actually says (and what I emphasized in the previous post) is that we should "be subject to" or "submit.". Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. (You can also click on “My books” above for more information.). Should leaders be strong and authoritative or fragile and transparent? However if we look a little deeper at translation and interpretation we see this verse is much more compatible with the "mutual submission" camp. Luke 16:2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? Hebrews 13:17: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them.". Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? It encourages a good relationship of trust, but still calls for the people to be swayed by leaders. It is out of balance that some church rule with an iron hand and treat people like they own them, NOT GOD plan. Now, when the subject being led involves character and morals in any way, there’s an added dimension. Oh boy, this is a great question, and I’m glad you asked it, heh. Or empties his young daughter’s purse in front of a crowd, and belittles, one by one, the things she carefully chose to put in it? Goodness, I was just thinking about John Bevere this morning. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. In our government, citizens affirm that call by voting officials into office. The truth is—>as a Christian, we obey the law because God said so. Here is how Steve Smith described it in his pertinent essay on the subject (which he also made into a blog post on libertyforcaptives.com): We can picture a guide on a mountainside, leading a group of hikers on a path marked with blazes. 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