One Bull And Seven Rams Theology Religion Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Restoring Biblical Criteria for the Selection of Elders

By

Richard G. Walker

NT-6267

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Introduction

1 Kings 12:31 (KJV 1900) And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

2 Chronicles 13:9 (KJV 1900) Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.

The prophetic books of scripture foresee a future ecumenical spiritual structure [Rev 17.6; 18:20, 24; 19.2] which will incorporate apostate Christianity and the other religions of that time into a single body that will worship a political figure who will claim spiritual authority, the Antichrist. It will be the unveiling of an ancient religious power, called Mystery Babylon [i] which will, through religious power, exercise influence over politics [Rev 17.2, 15; 18.3, 9], world finance [Rev 17:1-2, 15; 18: 3, 9, 11-19], and even military operations [Rev 17.6; 18:20, 24; 19.2]. Her last function will be to hand this power over to the Beast, who will proclaim himself the Deity to whom man owes his allegiance.

The road to this end-game is being paved by the neutralization of pulpits around the world. Multifaceted attacks upon the scriptures, systematic theology and gatekeeping who enters the pastoral ministry has produced large scale apostasy in nation after nation, and America is no exception. How we prepare, select and hold accountable elders is critical to the health of the local church and the communities which they serve.

I will use the story of Jeroboam in 1Kings 11-12 to illustrate the process whereby true religion was replaced by a new religion and a new priesthood. His desire to secure his own political dynasty motivated Jeroboam to implement a priesthood of his own creation. The very act of creating this new priesthood changed the character of the gospel as it was known to Israel at that time.

In like manner, the infiltration of American pulpits by unqualified persons is creating a critical mass of false teaching that is redefining the meaning of Christianity for many. I will attempt to use the example of Jeroboam’s new priesthood to illustrate why we must reassert biblical guidelines for the selection of elders.

Background: The Kingdom Divided

1 Kings 11:26–33 (AV)

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. 28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: 31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: 32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) 33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

1 Kings 11:37–38 (AV)

37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. 38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

Jeroboam was raised up by God to punish the house of David, specifically Solomon, for his betrayal of God.

God had specially and generously blessed Solomon, giving him rest from his enemies, great wealth and great wisdom. Israel was a regional power and respected by the nations. The future was bright for the nation and for the house of David.

However, Solomon developed habits that led to his rejection of the law of God. He married pagan women, which resulted in his eventually embracing their false religion [1Kings 11.4-17]. He added the worship of the bloodthirsty and lascivious gods of the nations to the worship of the true God in Israel. Solomon is still famous today for his researches into witchcraft and sorcery.

Consequently, God judged Solomon and his posterity by taking ten of the tribes away from his rule and giving their leadership to Jeroboam, one of his young administrators. The name Jeroboam means "the people will contend". Nonetheless, due to God’s covenant with David, he left Judah and Benjamin under the leadership of Solomon's son Rehoboam and his government based in Jerusalem. Of course, the temple and the ark remained in Jerusalem as well.

Jeroboams New Religion: An Ancient Church Growth Model

1 Kings 12:26–33 (AV)

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

Jeroboam, who went from nothing to king over Israel due to the gracious call of God, now worries about how he will maintain his kingdom. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Jeroboam feared the gradual loss of his population by the requirement in the Law of Moses that all the men of Israel return to Jerusalem three times a year for worship [Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles]. He did not see the God who was the object of this worship as capable of maintaining his promise of a dynasty for Jeroboam and his seed. Thus we have an ancient church growth problem. Jeroboam wondered how he could maintain his members, or citizens. He feared that he would lose them to Rehoboam, another pastor and to Judah, another church in our analogy, when they experienced the worship in Jerusalem.

Jeroboam also feared the loss of his life in this process as the people rejected him in favor of their former king. How many churches are pursuing wrong policies because the pastor fears a loss of financial support which he considers equivalent to the loss of his life?

Jeroboam set up a new religion. The Jews were forbidden to worship images of any kind in the Commandments. The reason for this is that their relationship with God was to be based upon faith [Hab 2.4] in his character and his covenants. God was infinitely greater than anything that man could create in his own mind and greater than anything to which man could associate to God such as a calf. The pagan nations worshipped images and this very worship was a testimony to their reprobate and depraved spiritual sensibilities. Paul explained this in Romans

Romans 1:21–23 (AV) 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

In order to prevent the people from worshipping in Jerusalem as commanded in the Law of Moses, Jeroboam gave them a set of symbols[the calves] that he told them represented God. He made their worship convenient by placing them at the two geographical extremities of the ten tribes, Bethel in the south and Dan in the north. In other words, he made the new false religion accessible and convenient for the people. His idea caught on with the Jews who worshipped at these shrines, but this broke their fellowship with God and qualified them all for divine judgment.

Jeroboam created the calves and then presented them to Israel using the same language as Aaron and the multitudes in the historic rebellion against God in the wilderness. Surely Jeroboam knew this event from the Law and knew how God responded to the golden calf incident

Exodus 32:7 (AV)7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

By creating the calves which would have reminded the Jews of the Egyptian religion, and by using the same language of the rebellion in the wilderness, Jeroboam was speaking great words against the Most High. The new king’s growth strategy had become so important to him that he was willing to directly insult God in order to promote it.

The people should have worshipped in Jerusalem at the temple, they should have brought their sacrifices and offerings there where God resided in the midst of the people. These offerings provided for their atonement and restoration to divine fellowship. These festivals were object lessons where the Israelites learned about their relation to God through the covenants of Abraham and Moses.

Now the temple was no longer the focus of their worship and as a result God Himself was no longer the focus of their worship. The elements needed to make their worship spiritually effective were removed. Worship became man centered rather than God centered because the very purpose of Jeroboam’s false worship was to create a system of which man would approve and in which he could participate on his own terms.

Jeroboam’s New Priesthood

31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

The priests of the Lord in Jerusalem would make themselves unavailable for service in Jeroboam's counterfeit system of worship. Therefore he would have to devise his own system of priests in order to administer his new system of worship. God provided the original system of worship to Israel as a single unit, the parts were not interchangeable with pagan practices, all of the parts were critical to its mission of providing man a means of fellowship with the true God. Israel was not free to pick and choose which elements it would use or to modify parts of the Mosaic system of worship to suit their desires. It is God who defines the limits of acceptable worship.

We do not serve under the Mosaic system today. The local church is not a ritual based system of worship. However, this does not mean that we are free to design a worship experience without regard for biblical principles which have been set down in the scriptures.

The priest and especially the high priest was specially called by God in order to perform this office, which depicted the ministry of Christ the Redeemer. The qualifications of the priest, the clothing he wore, the life he lived and the rites he performed all pointed to something greater than himself. That message was the gospel as it was revealed to Israel.

The Aaronic priest pictured the coming High Priest who would do in reality what the animal sacrifices did temporarily and imperfectly: His offering would pay the sin debt of the entire human race.

Therefore for Jeroboam to create a new priesthood was the same as creating a new gospel, a new definition of how one obtains relationship to God. This is what was at stake in changing the Old Testament priesthood. This is why the penalty for impersonating a priest was death. Nu 16.1-9.

The legitimate priests of Israel were to come from the tribe of Levi, and the family of Aaron; they were to meet certain requirements and qualifications; they were to be specially ordained, they were to live according to a defined lifestyle. We will see that this is similar to the criteria for overseers given in 1Timothy 3.

Verse 31 of 1Kings 12 essentially means that Jeroboam selected his priests without regard for their background. In fact, he appointed all who could meet the cost of a bull and seven rams [ii] . He sold the priesthood, which became a money making career for any who aspired to religious leadership. The new, false priests were partakers of the peoples sacrifices, therefore they had a guaranteed source of income [idolatry usually pays better in financial terms than true religion], they were public figures who by virtue of their positions demanded respect, they were appointed by the king. It is likely that the people were pleased by their new priests, who were their friends and relatives. It was a great public relations move.

The overseer/elder is not called or made by men: not by ordination committees or even by seminaries. These bodies may recognize and affirm a call which already exists, but they cannot in themselves create a call where none exists or bypass biblical requirements for pastors [iii] .

Implementation in the Church

1. The selection and ordination of elders must be carried out according to New Testament criteria. This means that the values of contemporary culture and the reasoning of the secular world cannot be the basis of evaluation for elders.

2. The objective of ordination is to identify the man that the Lord has chosen, the committee does not attempt to give a man what the Lord has not given him.

There are three elements to the position of elder. These are calling, qualification and preparation.

Calling

The calling to the ministry is based upon a gift that is sovereignly provided by God himself to the believer. There is no verifiable biblical testimony that indicates that this calling requires a supernatural experience of some kind. This gift is the evidence of the call of God, but it is not the totality of what qualifies one for the eldership. Every believer receives a spiritual gift which identifies the general course of their spiritual destiny upon the earth after salvation. Paul had received this gift with reference to apostleship, which he also referred to as a grace [Eph 3.2, 7-8].

Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. KJV

1 Corinthians 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. KJV

First, the called man is provided with a gift to shepherd and/or to teach the people of God. This gift is the seal which is the confirmation of his selection by God as an elder. This call must be supported by the two other elements before one may actually perform the ministry of the pastor teacher, but none can begin without it.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: KJV

God is not waiting around waiting for people to decide that they would like to pursue pastoral ministry as people decide to be a lawyer or a plumber. God has allocated the gift of pastor-teacher to a limited number of persons in history, in specific places for specific times, in order to minister to those called to salvation from eternity past [Eph 4.11-12].

This means that you cannot call yourself to the ministry, nor can you be validated by some group because you completed a course of study or received a degree. It also means that you cannot take the ministry upon yourself because you are a great speaker or because people love your preaching. It does mean that all called pastors are called by God and that he proves this calling by providing the spiritual gift of pastor/teacher [iv] .

This gift is revealed via spiritual growth. Therefore an unsaved person cannot manifest this gift, nor can a new convert. You cannot reliably identify the gift in a carnal believer either. This is why the elders of the church are given explicit instructions regarding new converts in the ministry and the character traits that accompany a person that is believed to possess the gift must manifest before he can be recognized as a teaching elder. You must have the gift, but the gift in itself is not enough to be recognized as an elder in a local assembly

This fact is a safeguard to the church. God will not send his saints to an unauthorized pastor [v] . I did not say that such a ministry will not grow. We have incorrectly associated church growth with spiritual blessing with the result that we consider a growing ministry to be blessed regardless of who is the pastor and what is being taught in the church.

Implementation in the Church

1. The committee must observe in the man being evaluated for elder the functional spiritual gift(s) that will identify him as a candidate for elder. For example, a demonstrable teaching gift, or a shepherding gift, or gift of administration or leadership. Members of the committee must give evidence of their personal knowledge of demonstrated gifts possessed by the candidate. If none have such a testimony, then a period of time must be allotted for the verification of the candidates spiritual gifts.

Qualification

Secondly, the pastor must meet the conditions of the position. This gifted individual must align with the requirements of spiritual maturity and the reputation that comes from that maturity.

1 Tim 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, KJV

1 Tim 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, NASU

All of the qualifications for the pastor which follow this statement are amplifications of it [vi] . The pastor must be gifted, but the pastor must also be an appropriate representative of Christ. The OT priest was a picture of Christ. The Pastor is not the same role, but he must engage in spiritual warfare on behalf of the Christ and the church and therefore he cannot be subject to disqualification due to his lifestyle or his history as a believer. A man cannot contradict the scriptures in his lifestyle and yet preach with authority.

Therefore the requirements for the office of elder may appear to be "unfair" from a human perspective. It appeared unfair to some in the OT that the family of Aaron should be the only persons allowed into the priesthood [Num 12.1-2; Num 16]. The criteria for the elder are not designed to conform to human standards, but must qualify the individual for spiritual effectiveness.

A person may have the spiritual gift of pastor teacher and yet be disqualified by his Christian testimony as reflected in his self-control, his family life or his Christian experience.

Qualifications: Self-Control [Vigilant [v2], sober [v2], good behavior [v2], not given to wine [v3], no striker [v3], not greedy for filthy lucre [v3], patient [v3], not a brawler [v3], not covetous [v3]]

The candidate is thinking clearly and is in his right mind [vii] . The pastor must be properly oriented to reality.

The ability to see things and see oneself as they are and to reason appropriately from that information is a product of spiritual maturity.

He must have self-control based upon this proper inward sensibility. He is not susceptible to the normal social temptations [wine, women] that enslave the rest of society and provides the basis of their well- being.

The candidate is not a physically oppressive or argumentative person. He does not need to be right or have his way in order to serve some inner need. To him truth is a settled reality which he possesses and which possesses him [viii] .

He is at peace with his lot in life and trusts in the Lord’s provision so that he does not covet riches, or that which belongs to another. He has not confused success with greatness: success belongs to God, faithfulness belongs to man [ix] .

Qualifications: Family Life [Husband of one wife [v2], ruleth own house [v4], children in subjection [v4], wives faithful in all things [v11]]

Christian marriage is a unique insight into the nature of the mystery of the Church [Eph 5.32]. Marriage is a commentary upon the organic union between Christ and the elect of this dispensation, unique from all other relationships between God and believers of other ages. It is difficult to calculate the importance of marriage in the life of the leader of the visible manifestation of the mystical Body of Christ. Marriage is also the fundamental unit of civilization and critical to its proper function. From both spiritual and secular perspectives ones function in marriage is paramount as a vehicle which can demonstrate the true power and righteousness of the gospel. The first marriage in history failed, and every subsequent Christian marriage is a judicial appeal of the first verdict upon that first marriage. The elder or deacon, the public leaders of the assembly must be examples in marriage. When this concept is taken in combination with the criterion of "blamelessness" the following is what I see in the meaning of the phrase "husband of one wife:"

1. The candidate is married. It is possible that he may become a widow while in the ministry, but he cannot enter the ministry in that condition. The argument is advanced regarding Paul’s marital status that he would not have been qualified as an elder and this is correct, he would not. Just as Timothy was not the pastor at Ephesus, neither was Paul a pastor [x] . There are no marital qualifications for apostles. Apostles were a special provision to the church to be replaced by elders and evangelists; there was therefore no need for an ongoing provision of qualifications for their selection [Matthias is the exception that proves the rule Acts 1.23]. A single pastor can become a distraction if he is in a "wife seeking mode" while performing his duties as an elder. This is very similar to the situation Paul found among the church supported widows in Ephesus, who had gone on the list on the basis of a commitment to the "wife of one husband" concept and then turned back on their commitment and sought to be married. It was not the remarriage that was at issue but the broken vow that caused the condemnation [1Tim 5.11-15]. It is also argued that if one insists that the elder be married, he must also insist that the elder have multiple children [since teknon is plural]. If the issue here is blamelessness, the character of not being able to have blame assigned, then not having children does not do violence to the reputation of the elder [xi] . On the other hand, multiple marriages or elders who are in the dating process definitely suggests moral vulnerability.

2. The candidate has not been divorced and remarried. The calls for a change in the interpretation of this passage to "a one woman man" appear to be directly proportional to the prevalence of divorce [xii] in the America and among ministers in particular. Divorce and remarriage has a definite impact upon the concept of "blamelessness" even if there were biblical grounds for divorce [1Thess 5.22]. Furthermore, the example of a divorced pastor creates a perceived "window of opportunity" for believers who wish to follow suit. Therefore divorce and remarriage for the elder diminishes the authority of his teaching on the subject of marriage and the family. For this reason the requirement is prevalent in the qualifications for elders [1Tim 3.2], deacons [1Tim 3.12] and for widows committed to public service under church support [1Tim 5.9].

3. His wife is of good Christian character and a support to him in ministry [a help meet]. If she is not these things, then he is disqualified regardless of his other qualifications [1Tim 3.11]. As I said earlier, the qualifications for the elder may not appear fair from the human viewpoint. The elder is in the position of a commanding officer in the spiritual warfare and the leader of a host, which are the saints of God. In order to effectively attack the enemy, he cannot be preoccupied with defensive weaknesses because of his marriage.

Qualifications: Christian Experience [Not a novice [v6], apt to teach [v2], good report of them which are without [v7]]

Spiritual maturity is required in an elder. He cannot lead and teach and protect the flock of God if he is still in need of milk himself [Heb 5.12]. Periodically a minister will tell the story of how he received his first pastorate as a teenager. Unless he was truly extraordinary in his spiritual development, then he was in violation of the spirit of this prohibition. A novice exposes himself and his congregation to the ravages of Satan.

A candidate may meet all of the other criteria yet for other reasons be thought of by the community as an unfit Christian. Certainly a man cannot be disqualified by opinions alone, but if there is a hint of flame beneath the smoke then it is sufficient reason to re-examine the candidate. A person may be in most respects a good candidate but in the community he is known to have many debts, for example. This may be sufficient to derail a candidacy if the matter is true and widely known. The same would apply to a person with a poor professional reputation among his coworkers. These matters reflect upon the spiritual maturity of the man in question and may render him unacceptable as an elder.

1 Timothy 5:22 (KJV 1900) Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Implementation

1. The candidate must demonstrate spiritual maturity in his self-control, and his relationships. He must have sufficient Christian experience to be trusted with the spiritual guidance of others.

2. The candidates reputation in both the secular and the Christian communities is relevant to his ordination. These things should be thoroughly investigated. A confidential background check should also be commissioned. The legal liability of the church as a consequence of a lack of thoroughness in this area must be taken into consideration. The church must not become a partaker in the sins of another.

3. The candidates family needs to be reviewed and his wife must be interviewed to determine her attitude towards the possibility of her husband taking on the responsibility of the ministry. The salvation testimony and reputation of the wife and the children must be taken into consideration.

Preparation

The matter of teaching ability leads to the third of the three elements necessary for ordination [the first two being Calling/Giftedness and Qualification] as an elder, that of Preparation. A man may be gifted and blameless yet fail to qualify as an overseer because he has not prepared himself in the Word of God. The major activity of the elders is teaching and preaching. His protection of the flock is through the things that he teaches, his feeding of the flock requires teaching, he leads the flock by his own adherence to the scripture that he has studied. The effectiveness of his ministry of prayer is based upon his comprehension of the Bible.

A chief source of victory for the devil is the preponderance of ill-prepared or non-prepared teachers and preachers. Because of them the local church is often left spiritually unprotected.

Matthew 9:36 (KJV 1900) But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

At the time of this scripture there was no shortage of bible teachers and priests in Israel. Likewise today the landscape is littered with churches, but one is hard pressed to find one that can even give a clear presentation of the gospel, not to mention the sound doctrinal instruction necessary for spiritual growth

As with the deacon, the elder must be proved [1Tim 3.10]. In the case of the elder he must give evidence that he possesses a superior grasp of the doctrines of scripture. He must be accurate and systematic in his understanding and his teaching.

Implementation

1. The candidate must pass an oral doctrinal review. The subjects of the review should encompass the major doctrines of the faith and the church doctrinal statement and distinctives. The candidate can be given a list of topics well in advance of the doctrinal review.

2. If there are small problems with the oral review, the candidate will be advised to attend a class [accredited or non-accredited] to address the issue before ordination is consummated.

3. If the candidate is already teaching the scriptures, then unannounced monitoring of his classes should periodically occur.

A properly gifted man who does not meet these requirements cannot participate in the pastorate. Some women properly complain that they should be allowed in the pastorate since these rules are so regularly disregarded when ordaining men. Although the bible does not allow women in pastoral ministry, they do have a good point. Biblically there is no difference between the ordination of a man who does not meet the biblical standard or the ordination of a woman for the ministry, both are equally disqualified. Churches have opened the way for women pastors by their toleration of unqualified men in the ministry.