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Hebrews 13:17
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Jesus gave governing offices to the church to oversee its members, particularly the office of elder (1 Tim. 3:1–7). These elders have real authority, as Hebrews 13:17 indicates, for the author of that letter tells us to obey and submit to them. This leads us to ask a vital question: What is the nature of church authority, and how far does it extend?
Reformed theologians have said that church authority is ministerial and declarative, expressing this view in places such as Westminster Confession of Faith 31. Church power is not legislative but declarative—the church has no power to create doctrines or laws that bind the conscience but can declare only what God’s Word already teaches by interpreting and applying it faithfully. Church power likewise is not magisterial or civil but ministerial—the church does not make laws for civil governance or enforce them; it deals only with spiritual matters. Dr. R.C. Sproul writes: “The church’s authority is ministerial, and it deals with controversies of faith, that is, matters of doctrine, cases of conscience, and the public worship of God. The church does not bear the sword or raise a standing army. Those are responsibilities God has given to the civil magistrate.”
Francis Turretin says that the church exercises its power by serving as the custodian of the Scriptures, the interpreter of the Scriptures and the vindicator of its teaching against heretics, and the enactor of church discipline based thereon. We see the early church exercising its power in such ways in Acts 15:1–35 and 1 Corinthians 5. Our church authorities do not offer mere opinions that we can take or leave, but they can frame confessions and creeds that summarize biblical doctrine and that are therefore binding on members. This does not mean that church authorities are infallible, but it does mean that we should show them deference unless there is a clear error that violates Scripture and, if we think we have found one, that we should follow the proper congregational and denominational channels to address it.
Church power is distinct from the power of the civil magistrate. Romans 13:1–7 tells us as much. That the church deals with spiritual matters does not mean, however, that it is obligated to be silent on all civil issues. There are times when the civil magistrate might not fulfill its duty to protect innocent life and property, and on those occasions the church may call for the state to do its duty.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Some believe that pastors always speak for God or are endowed with a special power when they speak. Because the church’s power is ministerial and declarative, however, pastors and churches cannot go beyond what God’s Word says and its legitimate application. Let us bear this in mind as we serve in our local churches.
For further study
- Proverbs 20:8
- Matthew 23:1–2
- 1 Corinthians 4:6
- 2 Thessalonians 3:14
The bible in a year
- Ezekiel 4–6
- Hebrews 10:26–39