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Most divisions within churches occur because of decisions or actions by church leaders, and the tragedy and pain often leave many disillusioned, disenfranchised, and discouraged. But the fallout of such church divisions isn’t limited to those within the church; it often affects those outside the church, and it becomes a poor witness to the watching world. One (often overlooked) remedy to such division and pain caused by the church’s leadership and its relationship to the church at large is the implementation of biblically consistent church polity.
The church of Jesus Christ is not only the people of God but also an organization of “called-out ones” (the literal meaning of the Greek term ekklēsia) with a defined purpose and with its members’ each using their gifts for the building up of the body of Christ. While individual Christians may certainly bear witness to Jesus in the world, so does the church as an organized structure or government. This is what we call polity.
Of course, the church’s witness should be demonstrated in how we love one another (John 13:35) and in the church’s faithful proclamation of God’s Word as it seeks to be the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). But the church’s witness can also be demonstrated in how it functions as a healthy organization, which is conveyed in its government or polity. There are at least three ways that a church’s polity can bear witness to Christ in an unbelieving world, and all three—when done consistently and according to the instructions found in Scripture—magnify Christ as Head of His church (Eph. 5:23).
First, a church’s polity should reflect the biblical instructions regarding its leaders. After the close of the Apostolic age, God designed the church to be led by two perpetual offices: elder and deacon. The elders have the responsibility to shepherd, oversee, and instruct those committed to their care. The deacons have the responsibility to lead the church in the areas of service and ministries of mercy. Both the elder and the deacon should be called, should meet the biblical qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9), and should be competent to fulfill their charge with the gifts supplied by the Holy Spirit. A poor witness comes when a church elects men who are not called, who do not meet these biblical qualifications, and who are not competent to fulfill their responsibilities. Moreover, every New Testament church had a plurality of elders, which not only provided collective wisdom and shared responsibility but also provided accountability. Having only one leader “at the top,” without such accountability, has proved disastrous for the health of the church and the church’s witness to the world.
Second, a church’s polity should maintain biblical authority and submission. Paul told the Ephesian elders, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Similarly, Peter charged elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight” (1 Peter 5:2). This oversight is one of “rule” (1 Tim. 5:17) and authority. We shouldn’t be ashamed of this, for it reflects the oversight, rule, and authority of how Jesus governs His church. Likewise, church members should submit to their God-ordained leaders: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:17). Moreover, church members should “respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and . . . esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12–13). When a church’s leadership maintains godly authority and church members maintain godly submission, the result is not only peace within the church but also a faithful witness to the authority and tender care of our Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third, a church’s polity should uphold biblical church discipline. Today, it seems that many churches either turn a blind eye to unrepentant sin among their members or are too zealous to excommunicate sinning saints in the name of purification. By God’s grace, when a Christian sins, he or she has “an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1), and the Scriptures teach us to confess and repent of our sins, that we may be forgiven. Unfortunately, some professing Christians do not confess or repent, and the Bible outlines the steps that the church should take in the discipline of the impenitent member. The purposes of church discipline include (1) the rebuke of offenses, (2) the removal of scandal, (3) the vindication of the honor of Christ, (4) the promotion of the purity and general edification of the church, and (5) the spiritual good for the offenders themselves—for it has the goal of keeping and reclaiming disobedient members. When a church allows unrepentant sin to fester or its leaders to domineer without mercy, the world takes notice. But biblical discipline—as a necessary outworking of consistent polity—conveys the call to maintain the peace and purity of the church.
One day, Christ will return to judge the living and the dead—to usher His redeemed into everlasting glory with Him and with all the ransomed church of God. And there, the heavenly elders will lead His people in the new song of the Lamb: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9). But until that day, may the church of the living God bear consistent and biblical witness through its polity before a watching world, so that Jesus might gather His people and fit them for glory.