Can I Pastor a Church Without Being Ordained?

Can I pastor a church without being formally ordained? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. Our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes or so, and we would love to hear from you. That number again, 1-833-843-2673.

As always, you can post your question on one of our social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can actually watch us live and see Pastor Adriel do his thing in the studio on YouTube, and you can email us a question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to a voicemail that we received yesterday.

Yes, good morning. In the Old Testament, the word everlasting is used frequently, and especially with regard to the Israelites keeping certain everlasting ordinances. Are the Jews yet, under some of these forever and everlasting ordinances spoken to them, even though believing in Messiah? I can see where this could be confusing and why especially many of the Messianic Jews still choose to keep these forever and everlasting ordinances. God bless. Thank you.

Bye-bye. Yeah, well, thank you for that question, and I'm not sure which ordinances specifically you're referring to, but I do know that in places, different places in the Old Testament, circumcision is referred to as an everlasting covenant, if you will. I believe it's in Genesis chapter 17, same with the Sabbath in the book of Exodus, and so some people could read that and think, look, this is everlasting.

We're bound to this. The church should continue to observe the Saturday Sabbath, for example, and there have been people who take that position. The word everlasting, I mean, a lot of times in the Old Testament does mean for eternity, that kind of a thing, or it can also just refer to a very long period of time, a long duration of time, and it's very clear to me when we get to the New Testament that, especially things like circumcision, for example, that those were set aside, that they were associated with the worship of God for a particular time, and sort of marking the covenant people of God under the old covenant, but that for believers in Jesus Christ, we don't have to do those kinds of things as a religious ritual to make us right with God or a part of the covenant family, and that's exactly what you see all over the place in the New Testament. In Acts chapter 15, for example, you have the Jerusalem council, where the disciples, the apostles all come together, and they say that very clearly.

The entire book of Galatians makes this point, and so the question is, well, then in what sense were these everlasting or enduring? I wonder if there isn't a spiritual reality that they pointed to that is real for us today. For example, in the book of Colossians, in Colossians chapter two, verse 11, the apostle Paul said, in Jesus, also you were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God. A lot of these ordinances, these rituals that you see in the Old Testament, they have these spiritual realities that they were pointing to that are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and we are in Christ. We have the reality, and that's why we don't go back to the types and shadows, the signs. Paul actually just a little bit later in Colossians chapter two makes this point again.

He says, therefore, verse 16, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. I think that's the best way to parse that question out.

I'd appreciate it. It's a very good question, and thanks for giving us a call. There's a bigger issue that we often talk about here on this program regarding Old Testament laws, and something that Paul referred to as the Judaizers, those individuals who want to return to the Old Testament laws and believe that somehow that is part of maybe earning their salvation or getting a gold star from God.

How would you respond to that? I would say read the book of Galatians, because that's the focus in the book of Galatians. There were these agitators that were creeping into the church, trying to get Christians to Judaize, if you will, to basically accept and embrace the law of Moses for their justification, for their salvation.

Paul says, don't do that. You're muddying the waters of the gospel. You're actually preaching a false gospel, a gospel which is no gospel at all. If you're calling people to observe the law of Moses so that they might be justified, you're leading them astray. The Bible speaks so clearly to this, and I think in the book of Galatians, we see that. We actually have a wonderful core question on this topic.

If you go to our website, corechristianity.com forward slash questions, it's called The Difference Between the Law and the Gospel, and we'd encourage you to read that. Well, Adria, let's go to a Facebook live question we received from Julie. She says, is the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth literal, or is this the church age?

Hi, Julie. We're getting into some deep eschatology here. The word eschatology is a sort of fancy word that we sometimes use to talk about the study of the last things, the end times. You're referring to a passage in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 20. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who was the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the 1,000 years were ended.

After that, he must be released for a little while. Now, there are some who are of the opinion of the belief that that 1,000 year reign with the binding of Satan is something that's going to happen in the future. There's going to be a literal reign of Christ on earth for 1,000 years while Satan is bound. There are others who are of the opinion that this 1,000 years is a symbol for the entire church age, and that right now, primarily through the work of Jesus Christ, what he accomplished on the cross, Satan has been bound. Of course, Jesus uses that kind of language in the gospels where he talks about binding the strong man so that now the gospel can go out to the nations. It's really interesting because there in Revelation chapter 20, there's a purpose clause.

This binding is so that he may not deceive the nations any longer. That is, now the nations are flocking into the church through the gospel. That view understands that the 1,000 year reign to refer to the church age. I actually am sympathetic to that view.

That's my view personally. I think one of the reasons I hold to that view and one of the things I think we have to remember when we're looking at books like the book of Revelation is that oftentimes, numbers are used symbolically. You think of the seven spirits of God that are described earlier in the book of Revelation that even the number 666, the number of man in Revelation, I believe it's chapter 14. You have oftentimes in apocalyptic literature symbols just rich in symbolic imagery.

I think that's one of the things that we have here. Obviously, it's not something that Christians need to divide over. It's not at the core of Christianity, if you will, the core of the gospel, but important things nonetheless. Let me just plug, if you want, our Revelation Bible study that we recently published. A great resource written by a professor I had while I was in seminary, Dennis Johnson. You can get a hold of that resource on our website, corechristianity.com. Just go to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation to get your hands on that great Bible study on this very confusing book.

I mean, at times we have a lot of Christians who call us and ask us about some of the symbolism, the metaphors that you see in Revelation. So get your hands on that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation. Well, our phone lines are open right now.

If you have a question for Pastor Adriel about the Bible or the Christian life, we would love to hear from you. You can call us for the next 15 minutes or so. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Give us a call right now. Let's go to a voicemail that we received earlier this week. Yes. Hello.

I have a question. Like, if part of a church and the pastor came out and said that he had an affair, was the biblical backing behind whether or not he should return to the pulpit? And if he was to return to the pulpit, is there a time frame on whether that should happen with him? Thank you very much. Well, I'm really sorry to hear about this situation. It's a very, I mean, well, one, this is heartbreaking, the pain that comes to the church and comes to families through something like this.

And so I'm sorry to hear about it, brother. First, I would say, I mean, immediately when something like this comes out, the pastor needs to be removed from his position. You know, Paul in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 1 gives real clear qualifications for pastors, for elders. One of those qualifications is being above reproach, being the husband of one wife, you know. And so when you have a situation like this, it's very clear that this individual is not qualified to do ministry, to lead the church in any official capacity.

And so they need to be removed from office, from the position that they're in. Now the question about restoration and a timeline, I think frankly, so often in the church, we err on restoring too quickly. Usually, you know, something like this will come out and people will say, oh man, we need to be gracious, we need to show mercy, that kind of a thing. And there is grace and mercy for repentant sinners, but just because we extend grace and mercy doesn't mean a person should be reinstituted into that position or that office.

Certainly not anytime soon. The apostle Paul in the book of Galatians, he says in Galatians chapter 6, if anyone is caught in any trespass, in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness. And there, when he talks about restoring them, I don't think he's saying if a pastor falls, they should be restored to their office, you know, once they come forward and repent. No, he's talking specifically about just being restored to fellowship, to that sense of communion, grace with Jesus. If there is a restoration to office down the line, it should be something that happens when there's been enough time for there to be healing, for there to be healing with the family in particular, the pastor's family, but also the other family involved, healing for the church. I know that when stuff like this happens, the church is just wounded, hurt, betrayed, feels betrayed, and those feelings last a long time. And so you imagine somebody else, you know, somebody getting back into a position of leadership with those feelings still there, it's just not a good situation. And so a lot of time would need to go by, there needs to be healing, and the restoration should happen in the context of the church and the church saying, we think that this is a good thing. And I know from experience of seeing this in churches before that when that does happen, it does take a long time. I don't think it's helpful to say, hey, you know, it takes five years or it takes seven years, that kind of a thing.

It really, you can't put a number on it. But definitely, we need to make sure that we're protecting the church and that the people that we're putting in front to lead and to preach and to teach are people who are qualified to be there. Good counsel. You were listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. How does God want us to worship him? And how does the Bible define worship?

We actually have a free core guide for you that answers those questions. Yes, Bill, you know, usually I'm the one who gets to answer questions from our audience. But I want to pose a question to our listeners. What comes to your mind when you think about worship? Is it a church's music? Is it, you know, the kinds of programs that they have?

Really important questions for us. What is the essence of the church and what is the essence of worship? And that's why we want to get you this free resource, Nine Things You Should Know About Worship. It's a resource that helps to clarify what the Bible says about worship, what it is, what it isn't, and why the world of worship in scripture is more magnificent than Christians often imagine. And so get a hold of this resource. We want to get in your hands for free. You can go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to find it. Once again, it's called Nine Things You Should Know About Worship. You can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673.

Again, that number is 833, the core. Well, here's a voicemail we received from one of our listeners named Rusty. Hello. Is formal ordination required for someone who feels called into the ministry to pastor or plant churches, either locally or globally? Thank you.

Hey, Rusty, I love that. That question is such an important question. I think ordination is a really important thing. I think it's described in various places of the New Testament, in the Old Testament, you think of the ordination of the priests. I mean, they didn't call themselves to that particular office. They were called by God, and they would go through this process of ordination.

And they needed to be... I mean, in particular, the New Testament with pastors and elders and church planters, people who are going to go do church planting, they needed to be qualified. And we get those qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1. Paul told Timothy, and he talked to Timothy about when the elders laid their hands on him, the gift of God that he received, 1 Timothy 4, is sort of a picture of ordination there. In Acts 6, you have what I believe is a description of the ordination of a group of deacons. And so the Bible values ordination.

And so that's one of the reasons I think that we should as well. Now, there are four things that I often point to when somebody is interested in pursuing ministry. I say there are four things that you have to have.

One, you need to be called, okay? 1 Timothy 3, verse 1, it says, if anyone desires the office of an overseer, they desire a good thing. There's this sort of internal calling, this desire, this sense that you have, individually, I want to serve the church in this capacity.

But that's not enough. It's not just an internal calling, an internal desire to preach and teach. You also have to be called externally by the church. So the church should be able to see you, the gifts that you have, the way in which the Lord has used you, because you're a part of the church. And the church is also calling you to this. We don't, you don't call yourself to the ministry.

Nobody calls themself to the ministry. They have this desire, this internal desire, and the church calls them. And so calling is important, but you need to have the church that's doing the calling. And ultimately, God calls people through the church. Character, that's the other thing.

Calling, character. 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, when it talks about those qualifications, at the heart of these qualifications is this person is a person of character. They're above reproach. They should be up there preaching and teaching because they lead by example. They're an example for the flock.

That's, I mean, that's key. Most of what you have in the qualifications are matters of character. Number three, competency. Another thing that you have in that description of qualifications is are they able to teach? Can they teach God's word? And within that, I think, do they know theology? Do they understand how theology works? Can they rightly divide the word of truth as they're opening up the scriptures? This is, again, what you see in 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. You know, we want to study to show ourselves approved workmen who can rightly divide the word of truth. Too often, we focus on competency and giftedness within the church, and that's what we value at the expense of these other things, character, and maybe even the church coming in and saying, you're called to this. You have an individual who wants to do it.

He's gifted, and so they just put him on a pedestal, and in the end, oftentimes, that can be very disastrous. And the last thing I'll say is compatibility with a particular church. If you're called to minister and you're serving, leading in a particular place, is there compatibility? I would say that one's not as sort of the same level as the other ones, but I think it's also very important, and so we really need to recover, I think, a robust understanding of what it looks like to be called into ministry.

We don't call ourselves, and also to be qualified. And so ordination is a part of that process, and I think it's important. Thanks for your question, brother.

Great answer on that one. I'm sure there are lots of people who have felt called to ministry and wonder about the proper procedure, and I'm so glad you spelled that out. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's the number. If you have a question, that's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Jerry in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jerry, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, I have a question. It says, the right hand of the Father, and I was wondering, at the end, will Jesus—will there be two?

Yeah. Well, Orthodox Christianity, what we believe in and what Christians have believed in, preached for 2,000 years based on the teaching of the Bible, is that God is one in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and those persons are distinct. Jesus, while he was on earth, prayed to the Father.

The Father sent the Son into the world to accomplish redemption by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and through the eternal Spirit, Jesus offered himself up. We don't confound or confuse the persons of the Holy Trinity. When scripture talks about Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father, it's this position of authority, it's this position of power, but Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the eternal Word of the Father, is not the Father.

He's at the Father's right hand. There's one God eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. So we wouldn't say that there are two gods. We say that there's one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and in heaven, we are going to worship the Holy Trinity. Thanks for your question, Jerry.

Let's go to Wendy from Wellington, Kansas. Wendy, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, we're currently attending a church that observes the Lord's Supper each and every Sunday morning, and it's open to visitors. We came from a church where they only did that a couple of times a year on a Sunday evening, and it was closed to just members.

I would like to know what your thoughts are on those differences. Yeah, I mean, this is the question of open versus closed communion. So my position is when we're observing the Lord's Supper, you think about what the Apostle Paul said in the book of 1 Corinthians.

I mean, this is serious stuff. We should examine ourselves as we come to the table. The Lord's Supper should not be administered in a way where it's just sort of willy-nilly, and it doesn't matter what you believe, whether or not you've been baptized. If you just kind of feel like you want to come up and participate in this kind of thing, go ahead. No, that's wrong.

I think that that minimizes what's taking place. It's against, I would say, what God's word says, but more broadly, there's the question of what about for Christians who are visiting our church and who aren't a member of our particular church? What I say when I administer the Lord's Supper every week is I say this is a meal for Christians, for those who have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, for those who believe the Gospel, who confess the truths of the Christian faith, trust in Jesus Christ. If that's you, then this is a meal for you, and we come in faith as we're called to come. Again, the passages to look at are what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11.

That's my position. I don't think that a person needs to necessarily be a member of my particular church to be able to observe the Lord's Supper or participate in the Lord's Supper in our congregation, but they do need to be a Christian. They need to be a believer. They need to be baptized.

Churches that just sort of open it up, and it's this sort of fully open communion. There's no question about whatever you want, whatever you believe, if you want to do this, go ahead. I think that's wrong. That's not biblical. Thanks for your question, Wendy.

Thanks so much, Wendy, for being a regular listener. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's an email we received from a listener named Mike, and Mike says this, I had a pastor say we shouldn't label ourselves as sinners, but as saints.

What are your thoughts on this? I think we could say both. We're saints and sinners. The apostle Paul, after his conversion, could still refer to himself as the chief of sinners.

Martin Luther, he had this wonderful phrase. He said, we're at the same time just and sinners because we've been justified, not on the basis of our righteousness, not on the basis of our good works, on the basis of the fact that the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been imputed to us, that is credited to us by faith, and yet we still battle with sin. Positionally, we're saints. This is why the apostle Paul, for example, when he's writing to the Corinthians, a church with a lot of struggles, a church with a lot of sin could refer to them as holy ones, as saints, as sanctified in one sense. It's because of their position in Jesus Christ. We're saints through Jesus, and yet at the same time, we still struggle with sin. Day by day, we're seeking to put to death the sinful deeds of the body by the grace of the Holy Spirit, as Paul talks about in Romans 8. We're no longer identified with our sin, even though we sin, which is to say, I don't think that we should say, I'm a Christian drunkard, that kind of a thing. The New Testament's very clear.

You can't be. You're not a Christian if you're saying, I'm a believer, but I also love and engage in and practice this thing. There's a huge contradiction there. We are believers, justified, who still struggle with sin. In that sense, we're sinners.

I think it's okay to talk in that way. I think the New Testament talks in that way. The most important thing about you, if you trust in Jesus Christ, is your identity in him, the new life that you have. You've been baptized into Christ Jesus. Now, we present ourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead.

And what a wonderful thing that is. We are alive in Jesus. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.