“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, ... Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:1-3.
Note.—For the qualifications and duties of elders, see 1 Tim. 3:1-3; Titus 1:6-9; Acts 20:28-31; and the scripture just quoted. How God regards rebellion against divinely appointed authority and leadership, is illustrated in the expulsion of Satan and his angels from heaven, and in the fate of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. See Rev. 12:7-9; Numbers 16. The unity and harmony which should exist among believers is described in John 13:34, 35; 17:20-23; and Eph. 4:1-6. The evil of place-seeking in the church is shown in Mark 10:35-45 and Luke 14:7-11; and of ecclesiastical tyranny, in Dan. 7:25; 8:24, 25; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4; and John 16:2. The course to be pursued toward offending members, and in cases where differences arise, is pointed out in Matt. 18:15-18; 5:23, 24; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 5:19, 20; Titus 3:10, 11; 1 Corinthians 5; and Acts 15. And the guide-book in all matters of both doctrine and discipline should be the Bible. Isa. 8:20; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 4:1, 2.
Has some one seen Christ in you today?
Christian, look to your heart, I pray;
The little things you have done or said—
Did they accord with the way you prayed?
Have your thoughts been pure and words been kind?
Have you sought to have the Saviour's mind?
The world with a criticizing view