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On why local churches need elders in the last days

Jesus warned that in the last days, the church would face two particular dangers: 1

Deception (see Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24)

Persecution (see Matthew 24:9)

And this would lead to some within the church giving up following Jesus (see Matthew 24:10).

Now from the descriptions of the early church we find in the New Testament, it is clear that the last days have begun (see 1 John 4:1-3; Revelation 2:10, 14-15), and it is because the last days have begun, that the church needs elders.

In Acts 14, we see Paul and Barnabas appoint elders for the local churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. These churches needed elders to strengthen the members of the church and encourage them to remain faithful to Christ when they faced hardships (see Acts 14:21-22).

In 1 Timothy 3, Paul gives Timothy instruction about who should be appointed as elders (overseers) in the church in Ephesus.

"This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." (1 Timothy 3:1)

Then in the next chapter, we get a hint about why it was so important that the right men were appointed.

"Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

The church in Ephesus needed elders to protect the members of the church from the false teaching present, which had already led some astray (see 1 Timothy 1:19-20).

One of the key reasons that Paul wrote to Titus was to tell him that he needed to appoint elders for every local church in Crete (see Titus 1:5).

Like in 1 Timothy, we see that the reason elders needed to be appointed was because of the presence of false teachers in the churches (see Titus 1:10-11). Elders were needed because some of the members of the churches in Crete were being deceived.

Elders are needed because we are in the last days

Elders are needed to stop members being deceived in the face of false teaching. Elders are needed to stop members from giving up in the face of persecution.

How?

The church needs elders to teach sound doctrine. The elders of the church have a very similar function to the elders of Israel. They have the responsibility of ensuring that sound doctrine was taught (see Acts 4:5-7; 15:5-6).

It is no surprise that in the list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, both "able to teach" and "encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it" are present.

The church needs elders to teach sound doctrine so that members are not deceived by false teaching or give up when they are persecuted

The way members will not be deceived by false teaching is if they have been taught the truth.

The way members will not give up when they are persecuted is if they have been taught the truth that reminds them that “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

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