The Object and Nature of the Shepherd's "Rule"

In this episode, we summarize the pattern of selection, including the sphere of their leadership as defined by their watchful care of souls living in the same city in which they live. These were city-wide elders as they were not overseeing local churches but individual souls. When we create a local church and place shepherds overseeing it, we must create rules and find some proof text to support it. Suppose it can be shown, and it cannot, that such an organization exists. In that case, we might see the need for a plurality of elders to prevent the abuse of power, the principle of local autonomy that gives each church the right to make their own decisions without the dictates of another church and protect them from outside pressures to conform. This "out of the box" thinking does not describe the New Testament pattern. It conforms to New Testament teaching. That which is "out of the box" is the tradition of men that is presumed to be the tradition of the apostles and that of our Lord, and it goes "unchecked" and unverified. There can be no violation of local autonomy if there is no local church organization. These men were selected to watch over the souls of the saints in the city in which they lived. Congregational oversight is never a topic of discussion in Scripture because it did not exist in the first century. It was the creation of the "church fathers" not Jesus Christ.

After the summary and review, we introduced the meaning and nature of their "rule." It is obvious that the translation "rule" supports the ecumenical objective of the King James' translators who were under strict rules themselves, to maintain the rule and authority of the church. Any time an opportunity existed to promote this innovation of man, Greek words were manipulated to convey ideas not taught by the Holy Spirit. The rigorous work of soul watching not only involved the kind of care given the saints that would be considered an invasion of privacy today but the amount of time involved was necessary to provide an example for the saints to follow. Their "rule" involved taking the initiative to provide a pattern for others to follow or as seen in the relationship of the sheep with their shepherds, they follow where the Shepherd leads them. This does not describe the arbitrary decision-making of church administrators. It involves men who were pattern-setters and exemplars of faith and dedication to their one and only Lord.

This topic will be further addressed in next week's Podcast.