Pastors As Examples

An often quoted exhortation by the writer of the Hebrews letter is found in the final chapter. He urges us to

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ... 

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. - Hebrews 13:7, 17 ESV

The Hebrew Names Version of the World English Bible puts the above verses like this:

Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith. . .  

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you. - Hebrews 13:7, 17 HNV

Five commands pop out from these sentences:

• Remember
• Consider
• Imitate
• Obey
• Submit

He is speaking about those called into the ministry of Word and Sacrament, usually known among Christians as pastors, shepherds, reverend fathers, bishops, etc.—our clergy. What is he urging us to do? Let's start with remember. 

To remember is, of course, much more than recalling our pastor's name or sending him a card on his birthday. It means to be mindful of a person and then to act upon what you learned by remembering him. One example will suffice. 

Jesus speaks about what it will be like immediately before He returns to bring judgment upon the world (Luke 17:24-37). People will keep on doing what they've always done, eating, drinking, marrying and giving their daughters and sons in marriage. That's the way it was right up until the flood came in the days of Noah's building the ark. It was also that way on the day that Lot and his family fled Sodom before fire and sulphur rained down from heaven. 

But, says the LORD, remember Lot's wife (Gen. 19:17-26). What did she do or not do? She went with her family, but only so far. Finally she couldn't leave her home and everything in it. She couldn't obey the command to get out and not look back. And what happened to her? She got caught in the devastation. All that was left of her was a pile of salt! Remember that and do not follow her example. 

Now turn it around with pastors, assuming that they truly live godly lives. Remember them! Consider the results of their conduct. What happened when they lived as they did? By and large they are men who are examples to follow. That's why he urges us to imitate their faith. The Apostle Paul was willing to be an example. For instance he writes, 

For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ... It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. - 2Th 3:7, 9 ESV

Many of us have watched our pastors and learned to imitate them. We thank God for these living examples of a living faith in our LORD Jesus. This is also why we willingly and joyfully obey them and submit to their guidance and teaching. We know that they are called to watch over our souls. They do not want us to be deceived by the many, many false and confusing teachings in this world. And we know that one day they too will have to give an answer to the LORD for their teaching and their leadership.

Keep your pastors in your prayers and joyfully follow their examples.

To Remember Is To Act

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The Day of Rest
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Biblical Teaching About Time

—An online book about rest and worship—
By Dr. Al Franzmeier
Chapter 5
The Jubilee Year

(part 2)
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As stated, our entire life is tied into what the Sabbath symbolizes. We'll explore that in chapter 6, but  before doing that we must consider what it means to remember the Sabbath. 

Remember the Sabbath
Israel was commanded by the LORD to remember the Sabbath. The act of remembering is much more than recalling the command and observing the day. To remember is to follow the example set by the LORD Himself.

In a similar manner we Americans recall certain things about our history when we celebrate the 4th of July or Memorial Day. On those days we go on picnics, listen to speeches, watch fireworks, but that is only a little of what the Hebrew word ‘remember’ means.

Turn to the story of the Flood in Genesis 7-8. Every living land creature was wiped out during the 150-day flood. Only Noah and those with him in the Ark remained. Then we read that “God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” In this case to remember meant that God acted to rescue the inhabitants of the earth and to fulfill the promises He had made. He remembered His covenant and did not destroy all life on the earth. Now He promises to continue remembering the covenant and as a sign He has placed a rainbow in the sky after every rainfall (Genesis 9:8-17).

The same kind of thing happened when Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was living in the doomed city of Sodom. The LORD sent angels to lead Lot and his family to safety. “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived” Genesis 19:29). God’s remembering was the cause of His gracious action and the fulfilling of His promise to bless Abraham.

During the time of the Exodus we read that God heard the groaning of His people in Egypt and “remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob” (Exodus 2:24). His remembering led Him to the great acts of delivering the Children of Israel (Jacob) from their bondage and leading them to the promised land of rest.

From these examples, we can conclude that when the LORD commands us to remember the Sabbath, He is commanding us not only to recall what the Sabbath means, but also to act upon it. This refers in our own case to putting our entire trust and faith in the One to whom the Sabbath pointed, namely Jesus Christ. It refers to setting aside time each week to stop working in order worship Him in the presence of His people. It emphasizes the importance of both hearing and teaching His Word to our children. We can to on and on. We’ll have more to say about this later. 

Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy 

One final point before we leave this topic. The Children of Israel were to remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy (Hebrew: Kadosh). The LORD alone is holy, of course. Hosea recorded the LORD’s words: “For I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you” (Hosea 11:9). God’s holiness is a paradox. It is both fearful (He will allow no other gods before Him) and attractive. Even sinful men are fascinated by this God who is totally and completely the Other, the Creator, Himself uncreated and eternal. God shows Himself holy by His righteousness and His justice (Isaiah 5:16). He did this at Meribah (Hebrew for “quarreling”). At Meribah Israel grumbled about not having sufficient water. Moses, in turn, struck the rock twice with his staff instead of speaking to the rock as the LORD had instructed him. Water came out and both the people and their livestock drank from it, but Moses was henceforth forbidden to enter the Promised Land. He had disobeyed. It was there that the LORD “showed himself holy among them” (Numbers 20:13).

The people were to be holy, even as the LORD was holy. They were to submit to Him, obey His commands, fear to disobey Him, confess their sins before Him, seek His mercy and forgiveness and daily and weekly renew their commitment to Him. These same lessons apply to us who follow the LORD, now come among us in the person of Jesus Christ.