Good Morning,
The third of the three looks at the work of the minister in accordance with the Directory of Church Government gets to the “main” labors that we think about when we think about what a pastor does in his daily ministry. There are seven duties listed below: preaching, teaching, explaining, sacraments, benediction, diaconal, and ruling. While we can’t give sufficient space to all of them for today’s confessional help we are going to walk through each of them and see how they each work together. Sometimes a pastor can be doing all of them at the same time. Think particularly about the sacraments. When I give the table warning at the start of the presentation of the bread and the cup there is a gospel presentation along with a catechetical and teaching introduction to why we do what we do. We could summarize all of them into the example that we have been given in what follows, that the minister is in continuity with the priests, Levites, and prophets of old in that they were ministers of the revelation of God for the community of the faithful in the old covenant. That their work has been structured into one office broken off from the tribal obligations of the Jews is part of the beauty of the new covenant. Simplicity and order is the way of the Lord, and we should embrace the servant nature of these glories.
Here is today’s selection:
To feed the flock, by preaching of the word, according to which he is to teach, convince, reprove, exhort, and comfort.
To catechise, which is a plain laying down the first principles of the oracles of God, or of the doctrine of Christ, and is a part of preaching.
To dispense other divine mysteries.
To administer the sacraments.
To bless the people from God, Numb. vi. 23, 24, 25, 26. Compared with Rev. i.4, 5, (where the same blessings, and persons from whom they come, are ex mentioned,) Isa. lxvi. 21, where, under the names of Priests and Levites to be continued under the gospel, are meant evangelical pastors, who therefore are by office to bless the people.
To take care of the poor.
And he hath also a ruling power over the flock as a pastor.
It would probably be easiest at this point to examine each of the points one at a time. To be found preaching means more than just the pastor talking for thirty-thirty-five minutes in the morning and twenty-five to thirty minutes in the evening. It describes a heartfelt soul-stirring message from God to His covenant people delivered through the testimony of the man called to such. You have heard me say that we often have not because we ask not, and the same is true about whether or not we “get something” out of the preaching. Preaching should not be seen as a one way street. It’s an interactive dance amidst the word, the Spirit, and the power of godliness.
To catechize is to instruct the people in the mysteries of the faith, and this Thursday devotion is an example of that kind of catechetical labor. We need to be regularly reminded of what we believe and why we believe it. We fall into a trap of thinking we do not need discipled, that we have made it far enough, or on the other end we convince ourselves that theology and stuff is for the preacher to think about and to do. You have not so learned Christ. All of the knowledge of the things of the Lord are for you, and for you to grow in faith and love. The more you grow the more contentment and peace you will feel in the Christian life.
Administering the sacraments sounds like soulless government bureaucratic way of describing God’s blessings in baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but it is an important part of how we rightly understand how it is we receive the grace of our Savior in the sacrament itself. The pastor is taking what he has received and providing it at the direction of his king. By the authority of the same king he brings the mercies available to the children of God through the witness of the covenant promises that the sacraments represent. The question for all of us is that are we invested in what the minister has to say as he both fences the table and welcomes repentant sinners to come to the table of refreshment. The reason why the minister alone has the authority to dispense the sacraments is found in that word minister. He is an ambassador of the Sovereign and alone by the commendation of the Lord’s church and the fruit of the promise of Christ he then takes that gift and like a magi of old brings it the place where the believer resides for their love.
Like other parts of worship, the Benediction can be somewhat overlooked in what it does and what it means for you. The Benediction is not a prayer. It is blessing. Defined properly it says, “good word”, bene – diction. It is a sending out in the same vein as the pastor dispensing the sacraments. He is doing it on behalf of Christ, who is the one actually applying the blessing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul warns Timothy about people who have the form of godliness, but deny its power. A good way to test where you sit on that spectrum is how you act during the benediction. Is it something that you can’t wait to be over so you can leave? Or are you savoring the last little morsel of meat that the Lord is providing for you in public worship?
Lastly, the final two sound like the jobs of the other officers of the church, the deacons take care of the poor, and the elders rule. There is a sense of course where this is true. However, at Bethany one way we see the former take affect is that the congregation has blessed me with a non-member benevolence account where God in His grace has allowed me to help those who may not be connected to the local church. When it comes to the “rule” part there is two ways to close out our time to consider. First of all he serves as an advisor on all the committees of the local congregation. He provides advice, counsel, wisdom, etc… born out of his familiarity with the Bible. He rules not as an elder, but as an older brother, with grace in the heart.
Here’s a last word for today:
https://www.prca.org/resources/articles/administration-sacraments
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser