Elders — Their Duties

Text: 1 Peter 5:2-3

Series: Restoration Sermons

Date:

Speaker: Ed Rangel

Location: Waupaca Church of Christ

Bible Version: NASB 1995

Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. State the warnings and admonitions Scripture gives to elders.
2. List the elders' duties toward the flock.
3. Understand the congregation's duties toward its elders.

Thesis

The eldership is an office of great responsibility, not mere honor: elders are warned against serving by compulsion, for money, or as lords; admonished to guard themselves and their households; charged to feed, oversee, and watch for the flock — and the flock, in turn, is to honor, obey, and imitate them.

Burden

No honor in the church is to be enjoyed without great responsibility, and none more so than the eldership. Men sometimes want the title without the toil — the standing without the watching. This outline will not allow it. The duties of an elder are as specific as his qualifications, and Scripture spells them out plainly, with warnings attached. But the lesson cuts both ways: the congregation has duties to its elders too — to honor, obey, and imitate them. The burden of this lesson is to recover a high and serious view of the eldership on both sides: shepherds who truly shepherd, and a flock that truly follows.

Introduction

Such an important office carries important duties; no honors are to be enjoyed without great responsibilities, and the elders' duties are as specific as their qualifications. Peter charges them: "shepherd the flock of God among you... not under compulsion, but voluntarily... nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock" (1 Pet. 5:2-3). The outline treats the subject in four parts: warnings to elders, admonitions to elders, their duties to the flock, and the flock's duties to them.

I. Warnings to Elders (1 Peter 5:1-3)

Peter warns the elders against three corruptions of the office:

1. "Not under compulsion" — not serving grudgingly, as though forced, but willingly.
2. "Not for sordid gain" — not as a means of making a living or lining a pocket.
3. "Not lording it over" the flock — not domineering, for an elder leads by example, not by tyranny.

The very first word to elders is a warning, because the office is so easily corrupted into compulsion, profit, or power.

II. Admonitions to Elders (Acts 20:28)

1. "Take heed to yourselves" — first guard your own soul (Acts 20:28); a shepherd who loses his own way cannot lead the flock.
2. Rule his own house well — the home is the proving ground (1 Tim. 3:4-5).
3. Hold fast the faithful word — "holding fast the faithful word... that he may be able both to exhort... and to refute" (Titus 1:9).
4. Be examples to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3) — leading by what he is, not merely what he says.

III. Their Duties to the Flock (Hebrews 13:17)

1. Take heed to the flock (Acts 20:28).
2. Feed the church of God — nourish it with the word.
3. Take the oversight of the church — watching over its life and direction.
4. Rule well — "the elders who rule well" (1 Tim. 5:17).
5. Watch in behalf of souls — "they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account" (Heb. 13:17). The elder answers to God for the souls in his care; no duty is weightier.

IV. The Flock's Duties to the Elders (Hebrews 13:7, 17)

The congregation is not passive; it has real duties toward its shepherds:

1. Honor them as fathers in the faith.
2. Obey them as God's shepherds — "Obey your leaders and submit to them" (Heb. 13:17).
3. Receive no accusation against them except on the testimony of two or three witnesses (1 Tim. 5:19) — guarding them from frivolous charges.
4. Count them worthy of double honor (1 Tim. 5:17).
5. Imitate their faith — "remember those who led you... and imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7).

Application

This lesson searches both elders and members. If you are an elder, weigh the warnings: are you serving willingly or grudgingly, for the flock's good or your own gain, leading by example or by force? And take up the duties — guarding yourself, your home, and the word, feeding and watching the flock as one who must give account. If you are a member, examine your side: do you honor your elders as fathers, obey them as God's shepherds, protect them from loose accusations, and imitate their faith — or do you treat the eldership as a useless appendage, as one generation was warned not to? A church is healthy when shepherds shepherd and the flock follows; it suffers when either side neglects its duty.

Conclusion

The eldership is responsibility before it is honor. Elders are warned against compulsion, greed, and domineering; admonished to guard themselves and hold the word; charged to feed, oversee, and watch for souls. And the flock owes them honor, obedience, protection, and imitation. Where both sides keep these duties, Christ's design for shepherding His church is fulfilled.

Invitation

The Chief Shepherd appoints undershepherds to watch over souls because every soul is precious to Him — including yours. Come under the care of the Good Shepherd today: believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and be added to the flock He bought with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Come while we sing.

Word Study

Scripture Interlock Table

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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 51. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (elders' duties and the flock's reciprocal duties, drawn from 1 Pet. 5, Acts 20, Heb. 13, 1 Tim. 5; shepherding by example, not domination); no correction. First of a five-part eldership cluster (51-55). Style audit: OCR cleanup. Source note: no primary-text line; 1 Pet. 5:2-3 (the central charge to elders, cited at I) supplied as text and flagged. Supplied supporting references (1 Tim. 3:4-5; Titus 1:9) flagged; Boles' own citations retained.