The Apostle Paul gives the following impossible command to the Philippian church:
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
First, he does NOT say, do your best to avoid arguments. He doesn’t say try not to complain. He does not say the overall attitude should be compliance, not complaining. No, He says, do everything without complaining or arguing. Everything. No complaints.
Second, the main concern in this command is not your psychological well-being or your need to be protected from spiritually abusive pastors. The issue is squarely one between God and His people. If you belong to God, then do what you are told to do. [note the . ] And when you are told what to do—and thus are doing what you have been told to do—don’t allow your heart to grumble or your mouth to complain. When you are thus characterized by glad obedience, you are acting as blameless and pure children of God.
Third, the sum of such a compliant, obedient heart is a powerful witness to a perverted world. The most natural activity in the world is refusing any authority outside of yourself. All of us are by nature like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings, who finds even the smallest thread of binding to be positively unbearable.
This wildness of heart and untamable demand for fleshly autonomy is evident even among Christians who have godly leaders lovingly instructing them. It has a very long history among God’s people. It was prevalent in the Israelites in the wilderness. (Numbers 14:2-3, NASB),
2 All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
In the midst of their suffering, they cried, “Why God!” Then they refused to trust the leaders God had given them, demanding instead to return to the past, which wasn’t perfect, mind you, but it was at least familiar. It was manageable. They could navigate the past. They knew they could get along comfortably there, but they had no guarantee of comfort going forward into a future which demanded faith in the place of sight. The past was easier to accommodate. It was doable. So, they grumbled at the man God provided to lead them into a promised future.
Such grumbling and complaining is both natural and wicked. It is severely and consistently condemned throughout Scripture. Jude marvels that the archangel Michael would not dare to condemn the Devil; instead, he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (See Jude 9.) Yet, mere humans crept into the church and did not hesitate to “revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals….” “Woe to them!” says Jude, “they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude 11).
Paul, likewise, has severe words for those who cannot obey without complaining. In a letter to the church at Corinth (1 Cor 10), Paul speaks of the rebellion of Israel in the wilderness. He has a particular interest in protecting the church from grumbling, so he warns them not to “try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” You see the pattern? Grumbling and complaining get you killed. It’s not safe. Not good.
Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians that the stories of Israel’s grumbling in the wilderness were written down so that later generations of God’s people might be instructed—that is, might learn from them how to follow godly leaders.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1 Cor 10:12).
Like it or not, we must be humble and obedient people, holding firmly to Christ, keeping His word, and serving His Bride as He completes His redemptive work in this world. We must not be like the rest of the world, acting as unreasoning animals, demanding our own rights, pursuing our own fleshly preferences. We must be humble, obedient, and faithful sheep listening for and responding to the voice of the Good Shepherd Himself.
What does that mean in practical terms? Consider these 4 applications:
Submit to your elders:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17)Do not entertain charges against your elders:
19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. (1 Tim 5:19)
If you disagree—or think you might disagree—go before the Lord in prayer and dive into the Word in study before ever disparaging the work of your church or its leaders.
Finally, when you feel you must question your pastor or elders, do so with fear and with faith. The issue must not be viewed as your preferences versus the pastor’s. The only issue is the preference of the Good Shepherd Himself. What does Christ command? What does His word teach on the subject? Bring your concern to the man with your Bible in your hand and the hope of reconciliation in your heart. Then, and only then, can you claim to be doing what is right before God.
This is a grievous subject. More than a few churches have divided and split as a result of grumbling and complaining. Those who grumble and find fault are often followers of their own lusts. They speak arrogantly, flattering some people for the sake of gaining advantage over others (Jude 16). They cause deep divisions in the otherwise unified body of Christ. And this is why the Bible says, “Woe to them!”
This expectation of unity and peace among believers is why Peter asks, “What kind of people ought you to be?” Then answers, “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14). It’s also why Paul lovingly tells the Philippians to do everything without complaining or arguing. Paul does not want any in the church to fall into the condemnation and woe of fleshly grumblers.
We need to think more about what this means in the church. So, what are some questions for a further post?
Why God Is Not Impressed with Our Anger
Gregory C. Cochran 
What do you do if you do not trust your elders because of their actions? If they were a party in splitting your church and when confronted they invited the people confronting them to go elsewhere? If to all appearances they attacked other elders to justify their own “preferences”? They are accountable to God just as I am, but how do I submit to my elders in this situation?
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Wow, that is a grievous situation indeed. The first thing I would do is weep! (But you likely have already done that).
My post had a different issue in mind, namely, one in which there are those holding the title of elder in the church but having none of its authority. My point in the post is to say that God does endow the elders/pastors with authority in accordance with His Word.
Your question reminds us that no one–including the elder–is an authority unto himself. If, in fact, as you say, an elder has taken authority to himself to satisfy his own desires rather than to uphold the authority of the Scriptures and the integrity of the office on behalf of the church, then that elder must be confronted and removed–for the sake of his own soul.
I say that because (as was pointed out in the article) it is not good to go against the Lord. In fact there are particular words of strong condemnation for those who divide the body of Christ. Christians are told in Titus 3:10 to have nothing to do with a divisive person. In Proverbs 6:16-19, there are 6 things the Lord hates, the seventh is an abomination to him–and that seventh sin is causing strife among the brothers.
I’m not really wanting to get into the particulars of the situation you mention, but I would say that any time one elder attacks another, by definition, that elder is being divisive. The reason I say this is that sheep must obey and follow their shepherds (see blog post above). When one elder says “don’t follow” another elder, then–by necessity– the sheep must decide to trust one elder or the other, thus guaranteeing that the flock will divide.
There are ways to confront elders (1 Tim 5:20), but I don’t know if the situation you are presenting assumes such a biblical confrontation or not. Your description makes it sound as though biblical process was thwarted and the body was divided. Over such a grievous matter, I would indeed weep, as I suspect the Spirit has prompted many to do.
Don’t lose heart, however, our God redeems loss. And if any or all of these men are genuine shepherds, they will be broken and will humbly seek reconciliation, even at the cost of a public and personal humiliation.
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