Do I Have To Obey And Submit To My Pastor? (Hebrews 13:17)

Many people think they must obey and submit to their pastors or spiritual leaders because of Hebrews 13:17.

Hebrews 13:17 says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

However, is this what Hebrews 13:17 means?

The historical context of this verse will provide insight into what the writer meant when he wrote this and what the audience understood when they read it.

Hebrews 13:17, taken out of context, is twisted and applied by many pastors and spiritual leaders to manipulate and control the people they lead.

Sadly, Hebrews 13:17 has been used by church and ministry leaders to spiritually force their members and followers into submission to their leadership, resulting in spiritual, mental, and emotional abuse and damage to their members and followers.

Based upon this verse taken out of context, members of churches and ministry organizations have been taught to not question those in authority over them but to obey their teachings and submit to their leadership.

Members believe that to question their leaders’ teachings and authority and to not submit to their leadership would be to disobey the Bible, resulting in displeasing God.

However, does Hebrews 13:17 mean that church and ministry leaders should not be questioned but obeyed and submitted to?

Let’s examine the context.

The writer of Hebrews is writing to a real group of Jewish people around AD 65 who were being pressured to abandon grace and return to the law, much like Peter was in Galatians 2 when Paul confronted him for caving to the pressure of the specific men that James sent from Jerusalem to Antioch to persuade Peter to abandon grace and return to the law (Galatians 2:11-21).

Those who received the letter of Hebrews (which they would distribute among their unbelieving Jewish friends) in AD 65 were a part of a Jewish new testament, grace-based assembly (Hebrews 10:23-25) who related to God through the finished work of the grace of Jesus (Hebrews 2:9) and not through the ongoing works of the law of Moses.

By new testament, I am referring to the testament of grace Jesus established in his blood when he offered himself to be sacrificed on the cross (Matthew 26; Luke 22); thus, securing eternal forgiveness of sins, eternal cleansing from sins, and eternal closeness with God (Hebrews 7:19, 27; 10:1-18).

The new testament of grace replaced the old testament of law that the Jewish people had been under for around 1500 years (Hebrews 8:13; 10:1-9).

The Jewish believers receiving the letter of Hebrews were being pressured to abandon the new testament assembly of grace and return to the Jewish assemblies that practiced the law of Moses (Hebrews 10:23-25).

This is why the writer of Hebrews emphasizes the word grace in his letter, using it 7 times (Hebrews 2:9, 4:16; 10:29; 12:15; 28; 13:9, 25).

The group of Jewish people receiving the letter of Hebrews had left behind the law of Moses, no longer observing the sacrificial laws of Moses and the other requirements.

Consequently, they were persecuted by the law-people, being persuaded by them to return to the law (which is what was done to Peter in Galatians 2:11-21).

These Jewish believers receiving the letter very well could have been a Jewish assembly of grace believers in Jerusalem who had been kicked out of their local synagogues for believing in Jesus as the Christ and his work on the cross.

Jesus said those in the Jewish synagogue would persecute others in the synagogue and put them out of the synagogue for believing in him and the new testament of grace (John 15:18-16:4).

This persecution was happening in AD 65, the time when Hebrews was written.

The believers in Jesus were being persecuted for not offering animals to be sacrificed and for not following the requirements of the law of Moses.

Therefore, the writer of Hebrews re-focused them on the person of Jesus, the full and forever sacrifice of Jesus, and the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and cleansing from sins.

He re-focused them on the grace of Jesus…the new testament of grace.

He tells them to offer sacrifices of praise to Jesus for all Jesus has done for them in the new testament of grace, rather than returning to the old testament of law and offering animals to the priests to be sacrificed (Hebrews 13:15).

He also tells them to do good and share with others, for those sacrifices God is pleased with, in contrast to God not being pleased with sacrificing animals under the law (Hebrews 10:8; 13:16).

The writer emphasized the word sacrifice in these ways because the reader of of Hebrews in AD 65 was under much persecution and pressure to reject the sacrifice of Jesus and to return to offering animals to the priest to be sacrificed.

The leaders of the Jewish new testament assembly of grace were also under tremendous persecution and pressure.

These leaders are referred to in Hebrews 13:7 and 17.

They were very likely well-known by the writer of Hebrews and highly trusted by him.

Because the writer of Hebrews trusted they were teaching accurately about the new testament of grace, he exhorted the Jewish believers to have confidence in their teachings and to submit to their leadership.

It would be of no benefit for the Jewish believers to resist the teachings of the new testament of grace and return to the law.

These leaders, whom the writer of Hebrews trusted, were teaching the Jewish believers about Jesus and the new testament Jesus established in his blood - complete cleansing of sins and full forgiveness of sins (holy-perfect) through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus, resulting in closeness with God.

In Hebrews 13:17 and in AD 65, the writer is telling the members of the new testament, grace-based assembly to have confidence (the word obey used in most translations is not a good translation - confidence, trust is a more accurate translation) in the teachings of the leaders because these leaders will have to give an account to God about what they taught about law and grace…the old and new testaments.

Therefore, they could trust what the leaders were teaching because the leaders knew they would have to give an account to God about what they taught about the new testament of grace replacing the old testament of law.

Paul writes about this account in 1 Corinthians 2-4.

I have an article on this.

Below is the link:

https://www.gracereach.org/blog/escaping-through-the-flames

The leaders in Hebrews 13:17 were encouraging the Jewish believers in Jesus to not return to the law but to stay in grace.

In the context, the writer of Hebrews is encouraging those who are in the grace assembly of these leaders not to give the leaders a hard time about law and grace, the old and new testaments.

It was a joy for these leaders to teach the life-changing truths of the new testament of grace, yet if some of the people in the assembly gave them a hard time about it, the joy of the leaders would turn into a burden - a heavy weight in their hearts (Paul and Timothy both understood what this was like).

The writer of Hebrews, because he personally knew the leaders and trusted their teachings on the new testament of grace, tells the Jewish believers in this new testament assembly of grace to submit - or place themselves under the teaching of these leaders because they are teaching the truths of the new testament of grace.

The word of God in Hebrews 13:7 is the teaching about the new testament of grace (see also Acts 13:38-49).

In context, the word of God isn’t referring to the Bible because the Bible was not compiled until around AD 400, and it wasn’t translated into the English language until around 1400, so it can’t be talking about a modern-day pastor’s teaching of the Bible in a local church.

The word of God is referring to the word of God about the new testament of grace replacing the old testament of law (Hebrews 8:13; 10:1-10).

The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were taught by former leaders (who the writer knew) the word of God about the new testament of grace replacing the old covenant of law.

It seems the former leaders had lost their lives because of their belief in Jesus and the new testament of grace; which is what Jesus said would happen in John 16:2.

The believers to whom the letter of Hebrews had been given were under similar persecution.

They were being persuaded to abandon Jesus and the new testament of grace.

They were being taught strange teachings that were not new testament, grace-based teachings.

These strange teachings would have included a works-based, law-based way of relating to God.

They were being pressured and persuaded to go back to the dietary laws of Moses, and if they did not, they were persecuted.

The writer was encouraging the Jewish believers in AD 65 to imitate the faith of their former leaders (those who taught them about the new testament of grace and stayed true to the new testament of grace in the face of persecution).

In the context of Hebrews 13:7-17, the writer is seeking to encourage his fellow Hebrew believers not to abandon the new testament of grace and return to the law, but to imitate the faith of their former leaders (who the writer knew personally) - these are specific leaders the people had who previously taught them about the new testament of grace.

They would imitate their faith by staying committed to the new testament of grace, not allowing themselves to be carried away by strange teachings (a strange teaching is any teaching that requires some type work to be saved, forgiven, declared righteous, justified, or to be close to God - the only requirement is faith in Jesus).

These Jewish, new testament believers in AD 65 were being encouraged to imitate their leaders (who probably came out of Judaism to faith in Jesus) by not going back to the dietary laws of Moses but eating of the new testament of grace (which is what Jesus said to eat of in Matthew 26 and Luke 22).

For a Jewish person to leave Judaism (the old testament of law) for Jesus (the new testament of grace) was disgraceful within the cities they lived.

They were mocked, slandered, and rejected within their cities, especially Jerusalem, because they no longer followed the requirements of the law of Moses.

They were no longer bringing their animal sacrifices into Jerusalem to be sacrificed.

They were made holy through the blood of Jesus, which happened outside of Jerusalem where Jesus died on the cross.

Dying on the cross was disgraceful.

People looked upon Jesus with disgust as he hung on the cross.

Jewish believers were now being looked on disgracefully and with disgust because they left the old testament of law and entered the new testament of grace.

Their leaders, the ones who taught them about Jesus and the new testament of grace, were looked at the same way...with disgrace and disgust.

Yet, the leaders were not persuaded to abandon grace and return to the law by offering animal sacrifices.

Therefore, the Hebrew believers should not be persuaded, because of disgrace, to bring animals to the priests inside Jerusalem to be presented as a sacrifice for sins.

The writer of Hebrews encouraged them accept the disgrace they were receiving from others because Jesus, too, experienced disgrace, as well as their leaders.

In the context of Hebrews 13:7-17, though they were experiencing rejection in their own cities by unbelieving Jews devoted to the law of Moses, they could focus on the city of the new covenant of grace that was to come, where everybody joyfully celebrates grace (Hebrews 13:14).

This new testament city of grace is the heavenly city of the new Jerusalem where angels sing in joyfully assembly about grace and that eventually comes out of heaven to the new earth (See Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 21:1-5; 22:1-3).

In the face of their persecution for believing in the new testament of grace, the Jewish believers could focus on and look forward to the coming new testament city of grace.

This is a large amount of information I have presented to explain the context of Hebrews 13:17, which says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

As we have learned, this verse is not talking about church members submitting to their pastors or people submitting to their ministry leaders, but it refers specifically to leaders of a new testament, Jewish assembly in AD 65 that the writer of Hebrews personally knew and completely trusted.

He trusted these leaders and their teachings about the new testament of grace; therefore, he exhorted those receiving the letter to the Hebrews to have confidence in them as well and submit to their leadership.

Most pastors and ministry leaders do not understand nor teach the fullness of new testament of grace.

Most view the new testament as a set of books rather than the blood of Jesus that has secured eternal forgiveness of sins, cleansing from sins, and closeness with God as taught in Hebrews.

Paul teaches very clearly in Galatians and Colossians that is okay for believers to not obey or submit themselves to the teachings of church and spiritual leaders who mix law and grace, placing people under religious bondage and abuse.

Believers are free in Jesus to not obey their teachings or submit to their leadership, because Jesus is the one who set them free (Galatians 5:1).

Jesus gave the same advice to his disciples about the teachings of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

If you are under a law-based, works-based teacher, leader, or pastor, you are free to leave.

You do not have to obey their teachings or submit to their leadership.

Jesus has set you free with his grace, enjoy your freedom from the abusive pastors and ministry leaders who are misusing Hebrews 13:17 to manipulate and control you.