The Disposition of Godly Elders Described

The point: Do not go beyond or fall short of what God warrants or commands in your position of leadership, and do not give more or less to your leaders than Christ requires.

Martin quotes John Brown's commentary on 1 Peter 5, describing the church as a free society but a monarchy administered by inferior magistrates (elders) who execute the King's laws. This sets the stage for understanding the authority and accountability of elders.

Commenting on this particular passage, John Brown writes, A Christian church is a very free society. That is, no one is brought into it by compulsion. At the end of a gun, or under the pressure of a club, or blows upon the head or the shoulder, a Christian church is a very free society. But they mistake the matter who view it as a democracy.

2:59 - 3:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not go beyond or fall short of what God warrants or commands in your position of leadership, and do not give more or less to your leaders than Christ requires.

This example illustrates the sinfulness of church members giving more authority to leaders than God requires, leading to tragic consequences like the Jonestown massacre, contrasting it with giving less than Christ requires.

Sin is the want or lack of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. It is sin, for those who are appointed to be Christ's administrators of Christ's law and rule in Christ's kingdom. It is sinful if they go beyond what God warrants them to do, and it is sinful if they fall short of what Christ commands them to do. And likewise with the members.

6:32 - 7:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Honestly assess whether you have an internal defense system against negatives or an openness only to positives in God's word.

Martin quotes A.W. Tozer's analogy of breathing (inhaling oxygen, exhaling poison) and the capacity to love and hate, to illustrate the necessity of both positive and negative instruction in ministry and Christian life, countering the desire for only 'positive' sermons.

Are you awake and are you grasping what I'm saying? It's critical, dear people. And it's critical in your evaluation of any pulpit ministry. I'll never forget old Dr. Tozer saying, he said, people come to me all the time and say, now Dr. Tozer, you're too negative. He said negative with a Western Pennsylvania twang. And you got to go positive, Dr. Tozer.

26:45 - 27:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Parents, be discerning and not content simply to control your children's external behavior; seek cheerful compliance of the will.

Martin shares a personal anecdote from his childhood where his mother insisted on cheerful compliance, not just external obedience, illustrating that God cares about the motives and manner of our actions, not just the actions themselves.

In that simple little injunction, all three strands of the biblical ethic are brought together. What you do, why you do it, and how you do it. You see, kids, that's why if you've got discerning parents, they're never content simply to control your external behavior. I can still hear my mother saying, Dad, give him some more, he's not sweet yet.

30:59 - 31:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third couplet describes the elder's manner of relating to the flock: not 'lording it over' (heavy-handed, dominating, bullying authority for personal ends, like Diotrephes)…

This analogy describes the worldly desire for preeminence and dominance, which Jesus condemns, contrasting it with the humble service expected of leaders in His kingdom.

The movers and the shakers are the ones ready. The ones ready to ride over the belly of any to get where they want to go and then to stay on the bellies of any who would rival them. You kids know what it's like when you're playing King of the Hill. Do you still play that?

48:51 - 49:07 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third couplet describes the elder's manner of relating to the flock: not 'lording it over' (heavy-handed, dominating, bullying authority for personal ends, like Diotrephes)…

The biblical figure Diotrephes from 3 John is presented as a graphic negative example of an elder who 'loves to have the preeminence' and lords it over God's heritage, illustrating the very behavior Peter condemns.

Rather than do that, the ones that Peter is condemning are the elders who bully by coercion intimidation and carnal pressure. They become the sons of diatrophies who not only govern by his own will but would brook no rivals. You read about him in 3 John verses 9 and 10. You want an example of what it is to lord it over God's heritage?

51:50 - 52:18 Read in full sermon