The Pastors responsibility toward their flock.

BY DERMOT COTTULI

If you’re a pastor like me, I’m sure most of us would say that we’re extremely concerned with the words our people will hear from Jesus when they stand in front of him. What you should want them to hear is Jesus saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” For Jesus to say those words, you need to know what it is that he’s looking for in the lives of his followers and then you need to teach, preach, equip and encourage them to embody and practice the things that Jesus is passionate about. If you do, and your people put into practice Jesus’ commands, then you won’t be able to go unnoticed in your community. You will be compelled and propelled to the very heart of it.

Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

What is Jesus looking for in the lives of his followers?

He’s looking for good deeds that help the poor, the oppressed, the marginalised and the forgotten.

Your good works cannot open the door of salvation, only Jesus can. But once it’s open it’s your good works that will keep it from closing.

I was at a Pastors retreat recently and I was sharing about the journey God has been taking us on as a church and the emphasis we were seeing in scripture to engage in good works toward the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden and those the world has forgotten. One of the pastors present, asked how we could talk about good works without making our salvation dependent on good works (a works based gospel) because didn’t Paul say we were saved by faith, not by works lest any man boast?

My reply was, “It’s easy, we need to teach our people that our salvation is dependent on both, faith and good works.”

Now Paul did say in Ephesians 2 that we’re saved by faith and not by works and he was totally correct in what he said. Why? Because none of us are sinless and every one of us needs Jesus to pay the price of our sin so that we can receive salvation. Salvation is a free gift and it starts with the forgiveness of our sin. That’s what Jesus dealt with on the cross through his death in place of us. He paid the price that was required because of our sin. By believing in him the door into God’s presence is open for us and we can walk boldly into his throne room as His adopted sons and daughters. None of us can die for our sins so in that regard our salvation is free, a gift of grace.

If we were to die at the point of our profession of faith in Jesus we would go straight to heaven no problems whatsoever. But if we remain around on earth then what we do and how we live our lives becomes incredibly important to our future destination.

And the one who told us that our salvation was a free gift from God also writes that we can lose our salvation if we don’t change our behaviour and persist in doing good.

Romans 2:5-8
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

Jesus himself in Matthew 25 made it clear that the things we did for others were being recorded and would be used to determine which side of the ledger we’d find ourselves on when our lives were being judged after our death.

Matthew 25:46
“Then they will go away to be punished forever. But those who have done what is right will receive eternal life.”

James says that our good deeds complete our faith and without them our faith is dead and useless.

James 2:14-17
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

20-24
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

It wasn’t just Jesus, Paul and James who taught on this although most believers only reference James when talking about the correlation between faith and works. The apostle John also drew the same connection between our faith and our actions in his first letter.

1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

I John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

As a pastor you should find yourself constantly stirring your flock on to do good works.

Hebrews 10:23-25
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Don’t skip over verse 24 and go straight to verse 25. Verse 24 directly impacts their future eternity whilst verse 25 is only helpful for the present.

It’s okay if you disagree with what I’ve written above but if it helps you think more clearly about your practice then that’s a good thing. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you feel you’re disrespecting a sacred cow. We all see dimly as through a dark glass but we have this confidence that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. So let’s not stumble over the stones in the road but instead press on to take hold of all that Jesus has for us.