Foundations of a Faithful PastorSýnishorn

Are You Committed to the Right Things?

In Acts 17:11, Luke records Paul and Silas moving from Thessalonica to Berea and teaching from one synagogue to another. Once in Berea, Luke notes that the Bereans were noble because they did not take Paul’s teaching at face value. Rather, they “received the word with eagerness, examining the scriptures daily” to determine the accuracy of the teaching.

One of the saddest examples of bad pastoring is when a pastor proclaims false doctrine. This can certainly look like teaching a false gospel, but it can also look like teaching his personal traditions or preferences as God-ordained directives for the church body. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for this very thing in Mark 7:9, and even points out that sometimes traditions can cause a person to violate the clear directives of God.

This can also look like teaching true doctrine but living a hypocritical life that violates one's own teaching. This is Jesus’ point in Matthew 23:1-3 when He warns the crowd about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were teaching accurately the things of God but not practicing what they preached. Whether a pastor teaches false doctrine or teaches accurate doctrine that he ignores in his own life, it is a sign that the pastor is not a faithful man of God and should no longer be followed.

Application Questions

·Even though pastoring is an incredibly busy role, are you faithfully setting time aside each week to study and prepare a message from the Scriptures?

·Looking back at your last 3 sermons, were your main points the points of the passage, or were you drifting into main ideas that reflect your personal views and preferences?

·If someone in your church went home and studied the passage that you preached more in-depth, what concerns would they have? Would they see the same clear teaching that you presented?

·Take time to read Mark 7:9 and Matthew 23:1-3 and commit to preaching the Word of God rather than your personal preferences or sermons that simply make people happy and commit to living in a manner that is consistent with what you preach.