Feed the Sheep: Simple - Saved by Faith

From 1 Peter 5:1-5,

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 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. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

This was the text from the first pastoral exhortation and lecture for ministerial training, given by Pastor Nate Harlan of Trinity Pastors College in January, 2010. Those pastoral exhortations were similar to Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students, "colloquial, familiar, full of anecdote, and often humorous." In that first lecture, however, Pastor Harlan implored with sobriety that I desire and learn to "Feed the sheep with simplicity." (Not because the Saints are simplistic or simpletons and dull-witted, but because the Gospel is simple -- it is gift, it is grace.)

Since that first charge was delivered a deep conviction has solidified: to "feed the sheep in simplicity" is best accomplished when the Saints are taught that "the glory of Christ is the most precious reality in the universe" (John Piper, Counted Righteous in Christ, 14). But what is the glory of Christ? In the Gospel of John, there is a pun/world-play used when Christ is raised on the cross: Christ was raised up on the cross: Christ was raised, meaning "lifted-up", and Christ was raised up, meaning "glorified", on the cross. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." This is the glory of Jesus Christ: he laid down his life as a penal substitute for the atonement of the sins of those given to him by the Father. The glory of Christ is that no human being has ever contributed to their justification. He accomplished everything; he deserves all the credit for what he accomplished.

Feeding the sheep in simplicity means this: declaring that Salvation is based solely on the merits of Jesus Christ, and is solely the result of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the Believer. The Saints contribute nothing to their salvation. It is Christ who has accomplished everything.

The message is simple. Salvation is a gift that the just receive by faith. Only those clothed with humility will receive the simple grace of Salvation. So, "Feed the sheep with simplicity."

God's Word - God's Deed

Following the logic of Gerhard von Rad, Sidney Greidanus discusses how the OT Prophets and NT authors understood God's word as being God's deed:

"You have been born anew ... through the living and abiding word of God." If anyone should wonder what the word of God is precisely, Peter explains: "That word is the good news which was preached to you" (1 Pet 1:23, 25). Like the prophets and Paul, Peter is convinced of the power of the preached word. That power is not some magical force in the words themselves but is the power of God whose word it is, for the gospel "is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" (Rom 1:16). The New Testament, therefore, views preaching as "God in action." Preaching is not merely a word about God and his redemptive acts but a word of God and as such is itself a redemptive event (The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Language, 5). 

NT: 1 Peter 3:15-17 - Character is the Prepared Answer

Character prepares and provides answers.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing” (1 Peter 3: 15-7).

Our innocence and godly-character, first and foremost, will be our primary answer to every man that asketh us the reason for the hope that is in us.

Oft I have heard this verse quoted—“be ready always to give an answer”—and certainly Christians should be able to do that; Christians should be able to provide answers to their antagonists.

The thrust of these verses, however, transcend the imperative to believers—having premeditated, formulated answers is only half of the equation, and the less important half at that. Notice the thrust and tone of these verses: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,” “with meekness and fear: having a good conscience,” “your good conversation in Christ,” and “it is better … that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” Overall, I would argue that the text focuses primarily upon the character, innocence, godly speech, and good works conducted by the believer, and less upon that believer’s reply to the antagonist’s questions.

The reason is obvious: Innocence and godly-character not only speak louder than words, but with greater clarity and power. After all, if we are sanctified and meek (not prideful), then upon what basis other than being a follower of Christ will an antagonist bring accusations against us? False accusations tell us more about the antagonist/accuser than the accused; namely, that the accuser is the one with fault/sin, and not the accused that is innocent.

So, will the antagonist accuse us for being charitable? I hope not. Is he going to accuse us for taking care of orphans and widows? Again, I hope not. Is he going to accuse us for being self-controlled and sober? Again, I hope not. Is he going to accuse us for being faithful in our marriage to our spouse? For loving our children? Again, for a third time, I hope not. I hope that we are not accused for holiness, but it may be the case that we will be accused—“it is better … that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”

Which brings me to two points to conclude with: First, rejoice if you suffer for well doing, for we know that Christ also suffered for well doing, and as a result he reconciled and brought sinners to God (1 Peter 3:18). Let this, therefore, be our aim: If we must suffer for well doing, that sinners might notice our innocence, and as a result, they might be reconciled and brought to God by the grace of Christ. Second, don’t forget that if you are a believer suffering for evil doing (e.g. pride, lying, etc), the only appropriate and covenantal response is to repent for your sin, and then go forward innocent, sinning no more.