Clergy Accountability
Blessings to you as we move ever more closely to the celebration of Christmas. We are only ten days from Christmas Eve! Yay!
Christmas is a wonderful time in the church! So many visitors and with the season comes the special music and often programs which are simply made for creating memories. The life of the church takes and upswing as the holidays approach.
Today we hear Paul begin to address the life of the church with regard to their worship services. It is very important for us to understand that the way we worship today does not bear very much resemblance to the style of worship in the 1st century. We work to carve out one or two hours on a Sunday morning. Our brothers and sisters in the faith during Paul’s day found it very difficult to accomplish everything they desired in a full day.
Many of the same elements were present in their time of worship. They sang songs, prayed, and worshiped God with earnest. There were baptisms and every Sunday included the celebration of the Lord’s Supper! However, they were not limited to an hour and because of this, there were often multiple preachers who would share the Word of God with the believers present. Please remember, there was no official church structure and there were no “paid” clergy. There were the believers and the ones whom God has chosen to be the “prophets” in the midst of the congregation were the preachers of that assembly.
In our text, Paul begins to lay out what the day of worship should look like and what should be included in their time of worship. Hear this opening section on the worship life of the church.
What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything is to be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 1 Corinthians 14:26-29
Notice, tongues is still a topic pressing heavy on the heart of Paul, but he does not dwell on it in our text. He speaks of multiple people bringing hymns. This could be suggestions, leading the singing, or even solos! Then he mentions teachings which would tend to emphasize applying the Old Testament to the current day, while “revelation” would bring the focus of how Christ taught something new which enhanced what they Old Testament revealed. Then there are tongues with the stipulation that the number of speakers be limited and there must be interpretation. He has covered this to a great extent in the past texts.
Paul then moves his focus to the “prophets.” Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. It is important that we remember there were no formal seminaries to train preachers for the churches in those early years. Young pastors were generally mentored by those who were well grounded and experienced. We find this being done in the later years when the Apostle John mentored young Polycarp who served one of the churches near where John lived as he pastored the church in Ephesus.
As young men were raised up to serve, it was because they were recognized as having been given the gift of prophesy by God. As those who were chosen, they would bring the message, or the proclamation of the Word in the worship services. Also, please understand, this was not a 30-minute sermon. Do you remember the story on Acts where young Eutychus fell asleep as Paul preached well into the evening. He fell out of the window and died which resulted in Paul raising him from the dead. Can you imagine what the rest of that evening’s worship service was like?
Paul addresses the fact that in Corinth there is more than one preacher whom God has raised up. They were all to be given a chance to bring the Word of God throughout the day, but they are also told to evaluate each other! What is the purpose of this?
It is a hard thing for us to imagine, but by the time Paul is writing this letter there are already false prophets who are leading Christians astray. Paul addresses this pointedly in his letter to the Galatian church. Can you imagine someone in the church stating that the Apostles had the message of the Gospel wrong, and they should be ignored! Those doing this were not Jews leading the people back to Judaism, but Christian shepherds who were deceiving the people with a different message of Jesus. Paul is very aware this could happen in any Christian assembly, that is why he calls for accountability.
Any time a preacher/pastor desires to be a lone ranger and fly solo, the people of God should be leery. Other pastors or at a minimum knowledgeable Christians should check the messages given to ensure the content is Biblical and everything said adheres to the Word of God. Those of you who know me will have heard me say numerous times that it is the responsibility of every Christian sitting in the pew to ensure the Gospel is proclaimed in every service. A worship service without the focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins is a waste of time. Any preacher who fears accountability should never speak a word. Accountability ensures the truth of God is proclaimed in the midst of God’s people. This is why Paul is calling on all the prophets to evaluate each other concerning the messages they give in the church.
Paul has a great deal more to say about worship, and we will hear it all in the coming weeks. While our style of worship is different, the content and focus on the Gospel ties us together with all the saints of old who have gone before us. Christ has only one Church which spans all time and history. It is the Church born of His blood and committed to proclaiming His saving name. May we always be counted among that number!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
Christmas is a wonderful time in the church! So many visitors and with the season comes the special music and often programs which are simply made for creating memories. The life of the church takes and upswing as the holidays approach.
Today we hear Paul begin to address the life of the church with regard to their worship services. It is very important for us to understand that the way we worship today does not bear very much resemblance to the style of worship in the 1st century. We work to carve out one or two hours on a Sunday morning. Our brothers and sisters in the faith during Paul’s day found it very difficult to accomplish everything they desired in a full day.
Many of the same elements were present in their time of worship. They sang songs, prayed, and worshiped God with earnest. There were baptisms and every Sunday included the celebration of the Lord’s Supper! However, they were not limited to an hour and because of this, there were often multiple preachers who would share the Word of God with the believers present. Please remember, there was no official church structure and there were no “paid” clergy. There were the believers and the ones whom God has chosen to be the “prophets” in the midst of the congregation were the preachers of that assembly.
In our text, Paul begins to lay out what the day of worship should look like and what should be included in their time of worship. Hear this opening section on the worship life of the church.
What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything is to be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 1 Corinthians 14:26-29
Notice, tongues is still a topic pressing heavy on the heart of Paul, but he does not dwell on it in our text. He speaks of multiple people bringing hymns. This could be suggestions, leading the singing, or even solos! Then he mentions teachings which would tend to emphasize applying the Old Testament to the current day, while “revelation” would bring the focus of how Christ taught something new which enhanced what they Old Testament revealed. Then there are tongues with the stipulation that the number of speakers be limited and there must be interpretation. He has covered this to a great extent in the past texts.
Paul then moves his focus to the “prophets.” Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. It is important that we remember there were no formal seminaries to train preachers for the churches in those early years. Young pastors were generally mentored by those who were well grounded and experienced. We find this being done in the later years when the Apostle John mentored young Polycarp who served one of the churches near where John lived as he pastored the church in Ephesus.
As young men were raised up to serve, it was because they were recognized as having been given the gift of prophesy by God. As those who were chosen, they would bring the message, or the proclamation of the Word in the worship services. Also, please understand, this was not a 30-minute sermon. Do you remember the story on Acts where young Eutychus fell asleep as Paul preached well into the evening. He fell out of the window and died which resulted in Paul raising him from the dead. Can you imagine what the rest of that evening’s worship service was like?
Paul addresses the fact that in Corinth there is more than one preacher whom God has raised up. They were all to be given a chance to bring the Word of God throughout the day, but they are also told to evaluate each other! What is the purpose of this?
It is a hard thing for us to imagine, but by the time Paul is writing this letter there are already false prophets who are leading Christians astray. Paul addresses this pointedly in his letter to the Galatian church. Can you imagine someone in the church stating that the Apostles had the message of the Gospel wrong, and they should be ignored! Those doing this were not Jews leading the people back to Judaism, but Christian shepherds who were deceiving the people with a different message of Jesus. Paul is very aware this could happen in any Christian assembly, that is why he calls for accountability.
Any time a preacher/pastor desires to be a lone ranger and fly solo, the people of God should be leery. Other pastors or at a minimum knowledgeable Christians should check the messages given to ensure the content is Biblical and everything said adheres to the Word of God. Those of you who know me will have heard me say numerous times that it is the responsibility of every Christian sitting in the pew to ensure the Gospel is proclaimed in every service. A worship service without the focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins is a waste of time. Any preacher who fears accountability should never speak a word. Accountability ensures the truth of God is proclaimed in the midst of God’s people. This is why Paul is calling on all the prophets to evaluate each other concerning the messages they give in the church.
Paul has a great deal more to say about worship, and we will hear it all in the coming weeks. While our style of worship is different, the content and focus on the Gospel ties us together with all the saints of old who have gone before us. Christ has only one Church which spans all time and history. It is the Church born of His blood and committed to proclaiming His saving name. May we always be counted among that number!
In Christ,
Pastor Russ
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