A Letter Well Written

The author of Hebrews tells every church member to "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17).

Pastors are responsible to know their flock and care for their sheep.

Pastors (also known as bishops or elders) have a responsibility to know their flock and care for their sheep. Rebellious sheep within the flock are still sheep within the flock. Elders will give an account of all the sheep in their care and some will cause more joy than others. In fact, scripture tells us that some sheep will cause their elders to give an account with grief.

That is unprofitable for everyone, but especially the sheep.

Occasionally, we get a small taste of heaven on earth. Maybe it's when the Holy Spirit is ministering peace to us on a calm, sunny afternoon. Maybe it's when one of our friends is testifying of the goodness of God. Maybe it's just enjoying a meal with those we love.

But, occasionally, we get a taste of the judgment to come.

Such is the case with pastoral letters.

Them that are Within

Let me back up a moment...

In our faith tradition, we have a practice called church membership. We believe it's right (according to the Bible) for people to belong to a local body of believers. We believe and teach that Christianity, in one's life, begins with justifying faith, is solemnized in the sign of the covenant (baptism), and then ought to be lived out in the company of other believers.

We believe in meaningful membership - that is, the church must care for the spiritual needs of the church. We ought to love, edify, pray for, and disicple one another. Iron must sharpen iron.

When a man loves a woman, he makes a commitment to her. When a man is born in a nation, he has a covenantal bond to his people. And those things do not change when a person becomes a part of the bride of Christ or a member of the kingdom of God.

The same goes for the body of Christ. When a person enters God's family by faith, they have an obligation to live that life out loud. And those bonds should be visible and real. The apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthian church about those who are "within" the church and those who are "without" the church (see 1 Corinthians 5).

Churches should have fences around their community and the only doorway in is through Christ.

Those who are within are those who are received on the basis of their profession of faith (See Romans 14:1-6). Those who are without are those who have been judged as being not in the faith (see 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Matthew 18:15-20).

And so, it behooves every believer to be a member somewhere among people of like faith and practice. It behooves every pastor to know his flock. He ought to know their names and he ought to be preparing himself to give an account of them.

I know, at Emmanuel, we have a lot of different kinds of people. We have members who will give me grief when I give an account. We have visitors who are not under my care and I will not have to give an account for them. But, we also have members who will bring me great joy when I give an account of them.

I know because I did that this morning!

Epistles of Commendation

The apostle Paul spoke of a widely used practice in his day in 2 Corinthians 3:1. He said, "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?"

An epistle is a kind of authoritative letter from an official representative. We can see the beginning of this practice in Acts 27. After Paul's conversion, the church at Jerusalem did not believe in his Christian testimony. They feared him and they had every right to refuse to receive him into fellowship.

(This is just an aside, but I think it's absolutely nuts we even need to make this case, but here we are in 2025 needing to make this case: Churches have every right to choose who they will and who they will not receive into fellowship!)

I digress. Back to the point - Paul was only received into the fellowship on the testimony of a well-known and respected leader in the church - Barnabas. But, by the time Paul was writing 2 Corinthians, his testimony as an apostle to the Gentiles was well-established. And he was saying, "Do you really need someone to send a letter to you to prove I am genuine in my faith?" Of course the answer was, "no."

At this point in his life and relationship to the church at Corinth, Paul did not need a letter of commendation for them. He goes on to say that many of them were saved by his preaching and so, their own testimony of faith was his letter of commendation.

But when a person moves from one town to another or from one church to another - those letters are really helpful. When a person moves from a church that practices meaningful membership, they will most likely pick another church that practices meaningful membership. A letter of recommendation can give a person a good "leg up" (so to speak). They will not have to begin building a testimony from scratch with a letter of commendation.

And I got to write one this morning.

I won't say who I wrote it for. We'll call him "Psmith" (the "P" is silent). As I wrote the letter for Psmith, it struck me that I was doing what Hebrews 13 talks about - I was giving an account of his time with us.

I thought of the valleys and the victories, the sad times and the glad times... It struck me that we had walked together through a lot. I'm grateful to God for my friendship with Brother Psmith, but I was even more grateful for the obviousness of his genuine faith.

I was filled with joy - not because he is leaving (he will be genuinely missed), but because I could say to his new pastor to receive him with joy.

You are Writing Your Own Letter

The thing about Brother Psmith is that he, in a sense, wrote his own letter. I didn't make anything up. No need for embellishments or imaginative fiction. The letter is a simple recording of God's work in his life during his time with us.

Each of us are writing our own letter of commendation.

It made me think of the coming day when I will stand before the Lord, not a brother elder, and give an account. I can't write the letter for anyone in my church - meaning, I cannot decide how people will live their lives and what choices they will or will not make.

All of the people who are members of the flock I shepherd are writing their own letter. I will give a report in the last day. I am faithful to do my part and then I will stand and give an account - some with joy and some with grief.

Someday, someone will stand and give an account of you. I wonder what kind of report you are giving them? Will they be able to say, "So-and-so lived as a true Christian. They submitted themselves to God's word and obeyed their rulers well."? Or, will they give an account with grief?

Not that we elders are the final authority. Far from it. But we do believe what the Bible says.

Let me encourage you to write that letter well.