The apostle says to Remember your leaders. That is, all who had accurately spoken or preached the Word of God to them, whether apostles, evangelists, or pastors. “Think of their work in preaching the Word of God, and follow or imitate them in their faith.” We are to follow someone else’s example. However, only if they are speaking the truth about Jesus to us. We are to imitate their faith. We are not to follow mere men as our model and example in all things is Christ supreme. We should follow the clear genuine example of Christian teaching only where we see those values displayed in Christian leaders. Even the apostle says that he himself is an example to believers (1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:6), but adds a limiting factor, that they should only follow him in as much as he followed Christ: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Grammatically, his is a present active participle used as an imperative. In other words, DO IT with emphasis. These leaders who we should follow, like those in the list of the faithful in chapter 11, remained faithful during life and until death. They never gave up on preaching and accurately teaching the whole council of God. Additionally, the apostle tells the first century Hebrews to also imitate the faith of their more recent teachers. The earlier rulers are people, who had been their spiritual rulers, but who have now died; they have finished their course and they have kept the faith with patient endurance. There are three characteristics of good teachers: they accurately proclaim biblical truth; they are men of faith; and they live a spiritual lifestyle worthy of imitation.
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