On Being Reformed - Commitment #7: “Submit to the elders of the church as they seek to shepherd my soul.”

As we come to the second-to-last commitment of the Knox Membership Covenant, we’ve seen several things up to this point. We have seen that Christ calls His church to pursue holiness together and that, as a gathered body of Christ, every member has a responsibility towards one another. In the last commitment, we looked at church discipline specifically and noted that the elders play an important role in the shepherding process. This naturally raises the question of who the elders are and why Christ has commanded the church to submit to them. We now turn to the seventh Membership Covenant commitment: to submit to the elders of the church as they seek to shepherd our souls. 

One thing we should mention before going any further is that in the Bible, we often see several different names used for an elder. This list includes overseer/bishop and shepherd/pastor to go alongside the term elder. They are interchangeable, and when the Bible uses them, it is most likely to address specific responsibilities of the position rather than to distinguish between positions. Scripture teaches that Christ gives elders to His Church (Eph. 4:11), and that the Holy Spirit appoints qualified men to shepherd God's people (Acts 20:28; Titus 1:5–16; 1 Pet. 5:2). Their responsibility is to oversee the church, equip the saints for ministry, and model faithful Christian living. 

We know that Christ alone is the Head of His Church, yet He entrusts elders with delegated authority to shepherd His local churches. And to be clear, their authority comes from Scripture alone, as we established when we looked at the first commitment. An elder, therefore, possesses authority only insofar as he faithfully teaches and applies God's Word. It is because Christ has appointed these men to shepherd His Church that Hebrews 13:17 commands, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account." 

So what we see is that we are called to submit to our elders because Christ has appointed them to watch over His flock. And when we look to the Scriptures, we see many different responsibilities entrusted to elders as they faithfully shepherd God's people. 

First and foremost, elders are called to faithfully minister the Word of God. Just as Christ fed His people through His teaching, so He continues to nourish His Church through the faithful preaching and teaching of His Word by those He has appointed. Paul therefore charges Timothy to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Tim. 4:2). Elders must also hold firmly to sound doctrine in order to instruct God's people and refute error (Titus 1:9). Their responsibility is to proclaim the whole counsel of God, equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11–12), and help God's people mature in Christ. 

Alongside this ministry of the Word, elders are entrusted with guarding and caring for Christ's flock. Paul warned the Ephesian elders that false teachers would arise both from outside and within the church, and therefore commanded them to "pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock" (Acts 20:28–31). Faithful elders protect the church from false doctrine, care for those who are struggling, pray for the sick (James 5:14), lead with wisdom, and oversee church discipline when necessary. In all of this, they serve not as lords over Christ's people, but as under-shepherds who will one day give an account to the Chief Shepherd for how they cared for His flock (1 Pet. 5:1–4; Heb. 13:17). 

So we are called to submit to the elders, not because they are wiser, holier, or somehow superior, but because God has called them to keep watch over the souls of His people. Our submission to God, therefore, compels us to willingly submit to the elders, since they are entrusted with the stewardship of His authority. In doing so, we receive one of the ordinary ways Christ graciously cares for His people through the shepherding of His Church. 

Biblical submission is not blind obedience to whatever an elder has to say. Sadly, there are elders who abuse the authority Christ has entrusted to them, exercising leadership according to their own desires rather than according to God's Word. 

This is why it is so important to remain grounded in the first commitment of our Membership Covenant. As members of the church, we are called to submit to the elders only as they submit to Scripture. As soon as an elder attempts to teach or exercise authority contrary to Scripture, that teaching must be rejected. Indeed, if anyone—even an apostle or an angel from heaven—preaches another gospel, Paul says he is accursed (Galatians 1:8). Scripture is always the ultimate authority, so whenever an elder contradicts it, Scripture wins. 

However, this doesn’t mean that we refuse to submit whenever an elder makes a decision that goes against a member's own personal point of view. The elders may make a decision for the church, and members may respectfully ask why that decision was made, but as long as it does not go against Scripture, we are still called to submit to it, even if we do not personally agree. Far too often, with the individualistic mindset that is rampant today, people are only willing to submit when the church/elders do things the way they’d like them to be done. As soon as it contradicts their own wants, they tend either to leave the church or to refuse to submit. This is not submission as laid out in Scripture. Submission is shown exactly when these situations arise, and we willingly submit ourselves to the wisdom of the elders who have been entrusted to guide Christ’s Church.

We also see this oversight extend into church discipline, as we discussed in the previous commitment. While the process of Matthew 18 begins with ordinary church members lovingly seeking to restore a brother or sister caught in sin, elders bear a unique responsibility to shepherd both the individual and the church by carefully applying God's Word with wisdom, humility, and impartiality. As Paul reminded the Ephesian elders, they are to "pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock" (Acts 20:28), protecting Christ's Church from false doctrine, addressing persistent unrepentant sin, and seeking both the purity of Christ's bride and the restoration of those who have wandered. 

This also reminds us that church discipline is never about elders exercising personal authority or winning disagreements. Rather, it is one of the ordinary ways Christ lovingly shepherds His Church through the leaders He has appointed. Every decision should therefore be marked by humility, patience, prayer, and careful submission to Scripture, knowing that the goal is always repentance, restoration, and the glory of Christ. In carrying out this responsibility, elders themselves remain accountable to the Chief Shepherd, who will one day judge how faithfully they cared for His flock (1 Pet. 5:4; Heb. 13:17).

Biblical submission is a humble and willing disposition that recognizes Christ has appointed these men to shepherd His Church for our spiritual good. It is expressed by receiving the preaching and teaching of God's Word with eagerness, seeking their wisdom and counsel in difficult seasons of life, accepting loving correction when it is needed, praying faithfully for them, and supporting them as they labour for the good of Christ's Church. Because they are watching over our souls, we should desire to make their ministry among us one of joy rather than discouragement.

This is exactly how Hebrews 13:17 continues after commanding believers to obey and submit to their leaders. The author writes, "...Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." The church, therefore, has a responsibility toward its elders just as elders have a responsibility toward the church. This requires humility, laying aside our own preferences and seeking the good of Christ's Church above ourselves (Phil. 2:1–4). There will certainly be occasions when we would have chosen a different course of action than our elders, but provided their decisions remain faithful to Scripture, those moments become opportunities to demonstrate genuine submission, encouraging our elders as they faithfully shepherd Christ's Church. 

This commitment ultimately matters because it reflects God's loving design for His Church. Christ has not left His people to navigate the Christian life alone or determine individually how His Church should function. Instead, He has graciously given His Church faithful shepherds to teach His Word, protect His people, and lead them toward maturity in Christ. When elders faithfully shepherd according to Scripture and members willingly receive that shepherding, the entire church benefits. Healthy biblical leadership promotes unity, protects the church from false teaching, encourages holiness, and points us to Christ Himself, the Chief Shepherd, whose under-shepherds find both their authority and their example in Him (1 Pet. 5:4). 

As members of Knox Baptist Church, this is precisely what we committed ourselves to when we entered into our Membership Covenant. We are committed not merely to attend the church but to joyfully live under the biblical leadership Christ has established, trusting that He governs His Church according to His perfect wisdom. May God grant our elders humility, faithfulness, and courage as they shepherd His flock, and grant us humble and teachable hearts that gladly receive their shepherding as they faithfully follow Christ. In doing so, may our church increasingly display Christ's wisdom, holiness, and unity to one another and to the watching world.

Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor Steven Larson