Obeying Our Leaders
Hebrews 13:17-19

Several years ago, a water main broke near Tse Bonito, New Mexico. The company I worked for was hired to repair it. We shut the water off, dug up the line and measured the fittings. Our supplier agreed to bring the proper size pipe and fittings after hours so we could get the line up and going that night. The guys pumped out the hole, and got everything ready while they waited for the parts.

When the supplier arrived , the parts were quickly installed, and the water turned back on. The repair leaked like crazy. As it turned out, the original pipe was made in Belgium and was a metric size. Standard American fittings were just slightly oversize and would not seal. For four days, we had to leave the hole open and the line leaking until the proper parts arrived from Belgium. It was really frustrating.

God has given some responsibility for building the church and training Christians. Paul describes the job in Ephesians 4:11-15.

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

Christians that refuse to cooperate with the leader can be just as frustrating as the improperly fitting parts were to the foreman. He could not finish his job until the proper parts were received, and had to give account to the water company why he hadn’t finished. The leader has to give an account to God for how he did his job. It will be somewhat frustrating to report that he was unable to complete the job because some of his people refused to do their part. Each individual will be held accountable for his refusal to do his part according to Romans 14:12. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” The leader will not be held accountable for the actions of those under him. He cannot take your responsibility.
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With that in mind, the author instructs, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you,” (Hebrews 13:17).
It will be very unpleasant to find that we have hampered Gods work by not doing our job.

We need to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Even the best leader can get focused on the wrong things and lead into problems like David numbering the people in II Samuel 24. Paul told the Corinthians, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,” in I Corinthians 11:1. He told the Thessalonians, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:” (I Thessalonians 1:6)

Clearly we are not to blindly follow the leader or pastor. In a situation where religious leaders were giving instructions, the Apostles pointed out that our responsibility is ultimately to God. “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men,” (Acts 5:29). A sergeant is not qualified to countermand the written orders of the general. The soldier is responsible to obey the general’s orders if he knows the sergeants are incorrect.. It is the sergeant’s responsibility to correctly relay them to the soldier. The Bible is our written orders.

“Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner,” (Hebrews 13:18-19). As a leader, the author desires their prayers. He left with a good reputation and relationship. There is need for more work and among the Christians and churches and he would like to come back and continue what he had started. He did not burn his bridges behind him like so many do. He recognized that there might be a need for him to return in the future.