Using Religious Titles

David Eldridge

In Matthew 23:8-10 Jesus says, “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” In almost every denomination, this command of God is disregarded with titles placed upon their preachers to denote a higher place for them. We are all brethren and no preacher should have attached to his name a title of distinction. Let’s notice a few titles abused by the religious world in this regard.

Father. Many in the Catholic denomination refer to their preachers as father. This is what Jesus specifically condemns in the previously cited passage. Jesus commanded that we “do not call anyone on earth your father” (Matthew 23:9). To use this term to address a man in a religious sense is an outright violation of the commandment of our Lord and as such it is sin. We may refer to our earthly parent as father as Paul did in Ephesians 6:2 but to call a man father as a religious title is in error.

Reverend – Many will refer to their preacher as “Reverend so-and-so”. David, speaking of God, said in Psalm 111:9, “Holy and reverend is His name.” Whose name is reverend? David says it is the name of the awesome God and His alone. Woe unto the man who seeks by a title to set himself as an equal to God in Heaven! To refer to a man on earth as reverend is verging on, if not outright, blasphemy.

Pastor. Many, in referring to their preacher, call him pastor. This is erroneous. In Ephesians 4:11 Paul said, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” This word pastor is indicative of an overseer or shepherd. The pastor is an elder of the local church. Unless a man meets the qualifications of I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and was appointed by the church to such a role with a plurality of men he is not a pastor and should not be referred to as such. Even if a man holds such a role in the Lord’s church it is a description not a title.

There are several other titles we could list such as bishop, cardinal, priest, and so on. A Christian should not support false ideas or sin in calling any man by these titles. In the Lord’s church we are brethren one of another and though we may do different works, we are not to have titles to distinguish us from one another.