The Rule of Elders<\/a>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhile this verse includes elders, it is not limited to elders. It applies to all people in the church to lead and guide others through their teaching and example.<\/p>\n
And be submissive<\/h3>\n
The Greek word for “submissive” is\u00a0hupeiko<\/em>, which means to yield, to listen to, or be persuaded by. As many leaders will admit, it is hard to lead when others refuse to follow. This is especially true in the church where leaders are forbidden to use heavy-handed approaches. “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock<\/em>” (I Peter 5:2-3). As Vines points out, “The obedience suggested is not by submission to authority, but resulting from persuasion.”<\/p>\nFor they watch out for your souls<\/h3>\n
All leaders in the church, but most especially the elders, are not acting for their own personal benefit. They are there to benefit the members of the church. They are trying to get as many as they can to heaven. The reason for submitting to such men is realizing that they are helping you. “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, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-13).<\/p>\nAs those who must give account<\/h3>\n
Those who lead are under authority themselves. This is hinted at by Peter when he told elders, “and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away<\/em>” (I Peter 5:4). Leaders are responsible for where they lead others; they are taking on an additional burden. “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment<\/em>” (James 3:1). Paul compared his work to that of a builder. “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ<\/em>” (I Corinthians 3:10-11). A builder has to follow the plans and a leader doesn’t have the authority to do as he pleases.<\/p>\nLet them do so with joy and not with grief<\/h3>\n
Continuing the idea of a leader being like a builder, it has to be recognized that in the church the builder has to work with what he has available to him, and not all building material is the same. “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire<\/em>” (I Corinthians 3:12-15). A building can be well laid, but when tested, some of it might not survive. The fault is not in the builder but in the material. Yet the builder is still going to suffer because the effort he invested was lost.<\/p>\nA leader’s goal is to get people to heaven. Come Judgment Day what a joy it will be to see that all the hours of hard work paid off — to see that those you taught, advised, scolded, and encouraged walk through heaven’s gate. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth<\/em>” (III John 4).<\/p>\nBut at the same time, it is a heartache to know some you worked so hard to save didn’t make it. “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ<\/em>” (Philippians 3:18). “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward<\/em>” (II John 8).<\/p>\nFor that would be unprofitable for you<\/h2>\n
If a leader is filled with grief about losing a soul he has striven to save, what does that say for the soul lost? The conclusion then is for the Christian to take full advantage of the efforts of those trying to save him so that both may enter arm-in-arm into heaven with joy.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hebrews 13:17 states “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.“ There are two schools of thought that I’ve heard regarding this verse.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[123,1064],"class_list":["post-31448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-elders","tag-hebrews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/overseers-of-the-flock\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":0},"title":"Overseers of the Flock?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Marvin L. Weir A faithful child of God realizes that he must battle with those within the kingdom as well as with those outside the kingdom. It is sad that one's energies and efforts must be expended on exposing those who \"will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/01\/Julien-Dupre-A-Shepherd-and-His-Flock-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14950,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-christian-have-the-right-to-privately-criticize-an-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":1},"title":"Does a Christian have the right to privately criticize an elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does a church member have the right to privately confront or send a message to an elder, for the purpose of disagreement or criticism? If this not acceptable, what consequences should follow a disagreement? Answer: \"Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17635,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/any-advice-for-a-new-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":2},"title":"Any advice for a new elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a brother in Christ who's been an elder for a short time. There are two older elders who have been in the church for many years and he feels like a junior elder and they are senior elders. The church recognizes it at times because it's being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18265,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-person-leave-a-church-that-doesnt-have-elders-or-deacons\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":3},"title":"Should a person leave a church that doesn’t have elders or deacons?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How long should a person attend a church that does not have any elders or deacons?\u00a0 What are some of the problems associated with a church not having any\u00a0elders or deacons? Answer: The follow-on question is: Are there no elders because none one currently attending is qualified, or are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18943,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-elders-have-the-consent-of-the-congregation-in-order-to-serve\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":4},"title":"Must elders have the consent of the congregation in order to serve?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Curious what you would have to comment on related to this topic of elderships and having the consent of the Lord's body to serve as elders.\u00a0\u00a0 Flavil Yeakley in his book Church Leadership and Organization\u00a0makes this assertion: \"One thing that has confused some people about the authoritarian style of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/murmurers-and-complainers\/","url_meta":{"origin":31448,"position":5},"title":"Murmurers and Complainers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Michael R. Baggett The word \"murmur\" is not often used in our vocabulary. The King James Version uses this word to describe complainers who mutter, grumble, or express displeasure privately or publicly. Murmurers or complainers may complain against God (see Vine's, Murmurer, Jude 15-16). Moses experienced murmuring throughout the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}