JP of the Bereans vs the Bible and JT of the Christadelphians

Brother JP's claims are, again, simply uninformed and another indicator of the spiritual state of the Berean community. Not only is bro. JP wrong again, but those in fellowship with him allow him to repeatedly make claims that are untrue — without responding to them.

It is sad that such a theory as promoted by bro. Jim is founded on trying to distance the Berean position from that of being called a hireling. If there were no sense in which a person may be a shepherd, which is what Jim argues, it would be impossible to be a hireling shepherd. The words of Christ therefore have no meaning according to Jim's argument! Is this not exactly how the Word of God is made void?

Bereans believe that if there is no such thing as an ecclesial shepherd then the Bereans can claim that they have no responsibility to tender care to Christ's brethren. If Christ is the One and only shepherd they can wash their hands of any responsibility. Unfortunately for the Berean claim, the position is not only unscriptural but rejected by John Thomas, Robert Roberts and Frank G. Jannaway.

"And when the chief Shepherd (Gr. archipoimen) shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1st Peter 5:4)

"Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd (Gr. poimen), and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." (Matt 26:31)

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors (Gr. poimen) and teachers" (Eph 4:11)

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28)

Not only does the Bible contradict brother JP's claims, the pioneer writings also contradict his claims:

"The hirelings have no objection to a set maintenance. On the contrary, it is what they most particularly appreciate and aim to secure. The consequence is seen in what Jesus says happens in times of peril: “The hireling fleeth because he is an hireling and careth not for the sheep.” When he sees the wolf coming in the shape of any danger, “he leaveth the sheep and fleeth.” How little he cares for the interests he professes to have in charge becomes apparent when he cannot turn them to his personal advantage. To be out of pocket or put up with disgrace is quite out of the line of what he feels himself called upon to submit to. This is quite beyond his calculations of prudence. The least smell of danger in this shape makes him look round for a decent pretext to get away. In complete contrast to this is

"The shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.—This primarily refers to Christ himself, who offered himself a sacrifice of “sweet smelling savour” to Him who required this declaration of His righteousness, “that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3.) But it is true of all shepherd men who have received the truth in the love of it, and estimate the work of Christ as their sweetest occupation and their highest honour. There is “a chief shepherd” (1 Pet. 6:4), viz., “that great shepherd of the sheep,” our Lord Jesus, who was brought again from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Heb. 13:20). This implies under shepherds, namely, the apostles and all who enter into their work in the line of things indicated to Timothy in the words of Paul: “The things that thou hast heard of me, among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Men of this qualification are the true “successors of the apostles,” and they have been found wherever faithful men of ability have received and espoused the faith of Christ with the ardent appreciation and disinterested aims of the apostles. They require no hiring to look after the sheep, and when the wolf of danger in any shape presents himself, they sally forth with clubs to beat off the beast at the peril of their lives." (Robert Roberts, The Christadelphian, 1887, p. 495-496)

The hireling is quite simply someone who cares more about self than Christ's brethren.

"On the other hand, the elders are exhorted to 'feed the flock of God, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly; nor for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind neither as being lords over the heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder; yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (John Thomas, Man in Society, Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, 1854, p. 6)

"These seven Asian ecclesias were very different in 'gifts,' 'administrations,' and operations,' from anything extant, called 'church,' in our time. The assemblies of the faithful in Christ were constituted of two classes of saints—the rulers and the ruled. 'Obey them that have the rule over you,' says Paul, 'and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account'—Heb. 13:17. 'The Elders which are among you,' says Peter, 'I exhort, who am also an elder * * * feed the flock of the Deity which is with you, taking the oversight, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; not as domineering over The Heritages, but being examples of the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away'—1 Pet. 5:1.

"These official brethren, called episcopoi and diakonoi, 'overseers and assistants,' (Phil. 1:1, ) constituted the pneumatikoi, or spirituals, of the congregations, because they were endowed with pneumatika, or spiritual gifts, (Gal. 6:1, ) while the rest of the saints, constituting the ruled, were styled idiotai, or privates. To the Spirituals were given nine different gifts, called spirits, (πνευματα pneumata—1 Cor. 14:12, ) not for their own gratification, but for the common good. These spirits are enumerated as, 'a word of wisdom,' 'a word of knowledge,' 'faith to remove mountains,' 'gifts of healing,' 'inworking of powers,' 'prophecy,' 'discerning of spirits,' 'kinds of tongues,' and 'interpretation of tongues;' 'all these inworked the one and the same Spirit dividing to each one respectively as he willed'—1 Cor. 12:1–11. Being thus ordered in Corinth and elsewhere, Paul said to them, 'Ye are Christ’s body, and members partitively'—they were all of the body, but it was only specially endowed saints who constituted the foot, hand, ear, eye, and so forth, of the body; these special ones were members ek merous partitively—special parts of the whole." (John Thomas, Eureka)

"When they received the word, they received it gladly and were immersed; and then 'continued steadfastly in the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers;' and while in their 'first love,' 'the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; and great grace was upon them all.' In this primitive condition of affairs, the ecclesias were all the heritages, hoi kleroi, or clergy, of God, constituting 'the flock;' while 'the rulers' or 'elders' were its feeders under the supremacy of the Chief Shepherd at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens. These ruling brethren took the oversight of the flock, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; and they demeaned themselves, not as lords and reverends, but as examples to the generality of their brethren in the faith." (John Thomas, Eureka)

"Another maxim illustrative of the principles of these angel-sealing brethren, of 'Donatus the Great' is exhibited in the question they used to put, according to Optatus,—'Quid christianis cum regibus, aut quid episcopis cum palatio?' 'What have christians to do with kings, or what have bishops to do at court?' They had learned from the scriptures that the principles of the doctrine of Christ were pure, peaceable, impartial, without hypocrisy, and full of good fruits; and that the rulers and courts of the nations were the concentrics of spiritual wickedness and political abomination; and that the overseers, or shepherds, of Christ’s flock had no divine call within those circles but to reprove them. They held with James, that 'the friendship of the world is enmity against the Deity;—and that whosoever therefore is a friend of the world is the enemy of the Deity;' and every true believer, in all ages and generations since knows well, that those ministers of religion only obtain access and favor with the authorities and their recognized public, who prophesy smooth things and pervert the truth." (John Thomas, Eureka)

Berean Claims About Shepherds