Paul's Final Proclamation To Pastors

4.25.21 Acts 20:28

28 “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

This is part of Paul’s farewell speech to the pastors in Ephesus. He was on his way to Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit had revealed to Paul that he had “chains and afflictions” waiting for him, and that none of them would ever see his face again. So this is in some ways like Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. Paul was revealing to them his last will and testament. You couldn’t have been any more serious or solemn than this right here, from one shepherd to another. It was -

Paul’s Final Proclamation to Pastors

What were his words? “Always keep watch.” Think of a secret service agent protecting the president on detail. Always watching. They case out the area in advance, always looking for the worst case scenario. You might compare it to driving through a wooded area at dusk. You have to constantly be on the alert for deer crossing the road. Always keep watch.

Paul said, “Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.” (Acts 20:31) That seems like overkill doesn’t it? Day and night, for three full years?!? With tears? What does this teach us? Paul took the threats seriously. All it would take was one slip, one moment of weakness, one moment of letting down your guard, and disaster could strike. People could land in hell.

The first line of defense? Always keep watch over yourselves. Bible history is full of leaders who were led astray in the faith.

? Think of Peter who was led astray by his fellow Jews so that he stopped eating with Gentiles for a time, giving the impression that they were saved by works and not by faith. Paul had to publicly rebuke him so that Peter and the people weren’t ultimately led into hell!

? Judas, of course, fell into sin when he helped himself to the money bag and then eventually sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

? David fell into adultery and then murder.

? Ananias and Sapphira decided to lie and deceive.

? King Asa became entered an unholy alliance with Aram near the end of his life and appeared to die in stubbornness and unbelief after a long and faithful lifetime of service.

? Paul warned that some from their own leadership would try to pull others away from them out of a sense of pride

So you can never let your guard down, no matter how old you are, how powerful you are, how faithful you are, or what kind of a position you have in life. The devil knows that if he can get a pastor to fall it can shake the congregation down to its very core. Think about the damage the child molesting scandal has had on the Catholic church because of the sins of the priesthood, and the Catholics aren’t the only ones with guilt. I’ve had several classmates who have had to resign, one was due to pornography and another because of one angry post on a social media site. All it takes is one slip, one mistake, and a lifetime of faithful service can be tainted and lost. (Out of my 30 classmates, 11 have resigned, 2 have reentered the ministry in our Synod and 2 others left for ministry in other church bodies. Thankfully only two of them were for cause.)

Luther wrote a sacristy prayer - a prayer that he would pray before he entered the pulpit. We have it written in German in our sacristy. It is a beautiful prayer of honest humility. It goes,

“Lord God, You have appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people.”

The devil knows how weak pastors are and he’s always looking for an opening. So a pastor has to be very aware of his surroundings. Think of when Vice President Pence said that he never had a meal with a woman who wasn’t his wife and the media made fun of him. Come to find out, it was wise practice. All it takes is one accusation that can’t necessarily be disproven. He has to be aware of his own weaknesses, which means that he has to be in the Word regularly and first of all apply it to HIMSELF. He has to confess his sins to God and cling to forgiveness on a regular basis. This is good advice for YOU as well, of course.