Four times in recent years God led me to confront preachers who were sinning against God in a blatant way. I am not speaking of they were eating too much and needed to stop gorging on food. No, not about the day-to-day stuff we all need to work on as the Lord leads us. I am speaking of really obvious, concrete, tangible wrongdoing that there is no grey area about. And no just needing to make changes over time and improvements along the way. This was very clear sin that needed to be gotten rid of. Though their sins were not all the same, their answer was the same.
All four preachers showed no godly sorrow, refused to admit any wrongdoing, and went right on preaching, teaching, ministering, instructing, and influencing others most if not all of whom seemed to have no knowledge of the preachers’ rebellion against God.
Furthermore, several of the preachers justified their wrongdoing at least in part by saying that other people including other pastors were doing the same wrong things. As though that made their wrongdoing not wrong.
I confess to you I was in ministry work for quite some time before I finally humbled myself and saw that preaching, teaching, and ministering to others while walking in rebellion against God is unacceptable to the Lord. Not only does it grieve God most assuredly, but we greatly harm those we profess to be loving and serving. Note I write “profess” to be loving and serving. Are we really loving and serving God and people when we are living in rebellion against God and refusing to repent? I think not!
I praise God He has taught me to continually purify my heart and life so I am living according to His ways as I help others to do the same.
How can we be filled with the fullness of the Spirit of God and be loving and helping others with the wondrousness of the love of God and preaching the truth of the Bible when we are holding onto sin and refusing to repent? We cannot!
If you are a preacher, Bible teacher, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, Christian camp counselor, worship leader, or someone discipling other believers in Jesus, and/or in any way preaching and teaching about God and the Bible, please consider this:
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 NKJV
“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” James 3:1 NKJV
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV
In the grand scheme of things, my heart being broken over those 4 preachers and over all the other wrongdoing I see and experience concerning people in ministry and the Body of Christ on the whole really doesn’t bear any significance.
My heart’s cry in all this is not for me that I would see what I so desire to see in the way of holiness among followers of Jesus including among preachers called by God. My heart’s cry is that all of us professing to be followers of the Lord – preachers and teachers included – would humble ourselves before God almighty and NOT GRIEVE GOD and live in a manner pleasing and honoring and glorifying to God now and forever and ever, AMEN!
And that we would so love others that we would not selfishly and deceitfully deceive them by preaching and teaching and ministering to them with our hearts and lives ridden with unrepented sin! Amen, yes, AMEN!