(Continuing from last week)
Identity of the preachers of error
THE LUST FOR MONEY, both on the part the reprobate pastor and on the side of his laity counterpart, following the teachings of the pastor, lead both sides to blatantly ignore or negate the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and the early apostles. These errors are often subjects of perverse interpretations of the Scriptures – all in a bid to earn the unmerited applause of gullible and ill-informed congregations.
And thus begins the “falling away” predicted by Apostle Paul in 2 Thessolonians 2:2, and put more succinctly by Paul in Acts 20:30 – “Also on your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw men away disciples after them” This “falling away” – Greek “he apostasia” meaning “the falling away” or “the apostasy” occurs in the NT only in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and in Acts 20:30.
These passages make it very clear that the apostasy (the great falling away) is a Christian matter, a spiritual cunning rebellion against Christ by those who openly profess to be leading converts to Him. The subtle approach is to give offence to true believers in the church in an attempt to frustrate them, set them against some leaders of the church by fasley accusing the true believers of all sorts of imaginable and unimaginable sins ranging from adultery to not giving to the work of the gospel. Some of such reprobate pastors and teachers, even go to the extent of calling out the prayer team to pray that their target members should leave the church, in utter negation of the Lord’s declared mission in Matt. 15:24. They also ignore the principles of evangelism enunciated by our Lord in Matt. 18:12 – 14; Luke 15: 4 – 7 and Luke 15 : 8 – 10.
Such reprobate pastors, teachers and preachers deliberately ignore the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32;). This is assuming that the target believers transgressed as accused! They set a gullible section of church men and women against the true believers, thus sowing the “tare among the wheat” (Matt. 13: 24 – 30) All aimed at helping Satan to achieve his objective of apostasy or “falling away” in the church. They conveniently ignore the fact set out by Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 14:33
These false prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists etc are denoted by their lust for “fifty lucre”, pulpit gossip, ecclesiastical presumption and self aggrandizement: being concealed agents of the “man of sin” (John 7:16-18; 2 John 9) whose distinguishing characteristics include discord, money worship and confusion in opposition to 1 Cor. 14 : 33, and deliberate wrong interpretation and application of passages of the holy writ in the manner of the chief priest in Matt. 26 : 59; Mark 14 : 56. In 2 Thessolians 2 : 3 Apostle Paul employs the Greek word “anthropos” for “man:, to indicate a definite power or man – the “son of perdition” or “son of destruction”, that is, a son destined to destruction. This is the term used by the Saviour to Judas (implied in John 17:12),an apostle, once a companion and equal of the other disciples, but one who allowed Satan to enter into his heart (John 13:2, 27) that he betrayed his Lord (Matt. 26:47,50).
Peter had written at length concerning “false prophets” and “false teachers” (see 2 Peter 2 Compare I Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim.4:14,15). Though at first it might not be easy to recognize the subtle errors of their teachings, the teachers themselves could be known “by their fruits” (see Matt. 7:15-20). Thus it is today, for the “genuine fruit” of the Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22, 23) does not grow in the lives of those who teach and practice error. They may continue to pretend that they possess the spiritual gifts of the Holy Sprit for long – ecclesiastical presumption – but they will be exposed by their blasphemous teachings and personal conduct. The sincer Christian who is sensitive to spiritual things is promised that he can, if he will, detect the un-Christian spirit and motives that actuate every teacher of error.
Towards the close of the first century AD heresies of Docetism and an early form of Gnosticism threatened the church. It is becoming increasingly apparent that what was true of the early church during that period with respect to struggles with false prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists etc. seem to be true of the church in general toady. There is a colossal adulteration of the Word of God, especially in sermons and teachings on faith and prosperity. The true believer is often mislead with unfathomable wrong interpretation and application of Prov.18:21 and Job. 22 : 28. Worse still is that devout believers are intimidate into accepting to play god by the events recorded in 2 Kings 7:2. This is what Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 4 : 2 describes as “hidden things of dishonesty” and “… walking in craftiness … handling the word of God deceitfully” Although these expressions are rendered in the text in positive application, the foregoing negative rendition is to bring out their negative imports.
“Dishonesty” Geek “aischune” refers to shameful things. The Christian ministry demands transparency. The first requirement of a true minister of the gospel is to renounce and shed off completely all things that might bring shame to the cause of God. True Christianity is a way of light and never of darkness (see Rom. 13:12; 1 Cor. 4:5; Eph. 5:8) for it is concerned not only with every act, but even more with the motive that prompts the act. A true minister of the gospel must not practice deception inherent in adulterating the import or meaning of the Word of God. Adulteration of the Word of God consists of: preaching personal opinions; of removing texts from their contexts, of substituting human traditions for a “Thus saith the Lord …”, of explaining away the plain meaning of the Scriptures in order to excuse sin, of interpreting its literal meanings in a mystical or symbolic way so as to vitiate their force or of presenting an admixture of error with truth. (see 2 Cor.11:3; 12:16; Eph. 4:14; 1 Thess. 2:3,4).
Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 11:3 says ‘But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ’ This means that Paul feared that false prophets, preachers and pastors etc- emissaries of Satan –will seduce Christians as the serpent seduced Eve. The Apostle’s theology is based on the premise that the fall of man would be a historical event, which Satan would accomplish through craftiness, cunningness and deception which are his stock in trade (John 8:44).
Significantly, the statement in this passage (2Cor11:3) about ‘being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ’ emphatically denies the teachings that ‘once in grace, always in grace’… ‘that when one is saved he is always saved’ This passage proves it to be a human invention. Even Lucifer created perfect in beauty and character fell from his original purity and obedience.
The warning to the Church of the present age in this passage is that, it recognizes the possibility of dissolving the ‘marriage’ of believers in any apostate church with Christ by the corrupting power of Satan infiltrating such a Church through reprobate pastors, preachers and teachers etc, corrupting the congregation (See Hosea 4: 9) leading up to the apostasy or falling away
The apostate pastors, teachers and preachers fulfill the unction of Satan when motivated by self-interest to preach themselves, when they seek the applause of men, when they are ambitious to display their own talents, when they proclaim their own opinions and teachings of men in preference for, and in contradiction to the Word of God and when they are motivated to preach for personnel gain, or for prestige and popularity. (see 2 Cor. 4:5). And our Lord, Jesus Christ says of such people in Matt. 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”.
Christian divines are agreed that: “exaltation of human wisdom is in opposition to that superior spiritual knowledge that God imparts” (see John 17:8; Acts 17:23; I Cor. 1:27; Col. 1:9). The philosopher’s god is one created by his own thought. The true Christian’s God is the God of divine revelation. The one is subjective; the other objective; since there is nothing more self-deceptive than the speculative reasoning of conceited men, who have boundless confidence in their own inherent wisdom and power; hence the defiance of the God of heaven has ever been the mark of the forces of evil and rebellion (Isa. 14:5 – 8; Dan 7:25; 8:11; 11:36; 2 Thess. 2:4’ Rev. 13:5-8). The strongest fortress for evil is a way of life that, while professedly Christian, actually goes contrary to Christian principles. THE FALLING AWAY HAS BEGUN
To be placed in authority in the church over the faith of believers is an attribute of God (in the sense of Hebrew 13:17) which must be carefully guarded and exercised. But to abuse this privilege and give offence to the flock of the ‘Good Shepherd’ and cause a falling away of a single soul is not only ecclesiastically reprehensible but tantamounts to ‘crucifying Christ a second time’, (See Heb 6:6) such should give thought to Heb.9:28 and consider Zech.11:17
To such apostate pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists and prophets God through His Prophet Zecharia says: “Woe unto idol shepherds that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be more upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean tied up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened” – Zecharia 11:17.
And to believers in general, Apostle Paul admonishes: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” – Eph. 4:14
And in 1 Cor. 16:13, Paul commands the believers: ‘Watch Ye, stand fast in faith; quit you like men, be strong’. Emphasizing: “wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest the falls” – I Cor.16:12. And in the words of the Apocalytic seer, John the Divine I say “If any man hath ear to hear let him hear” Rev.13:9.
Unto God be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. AMEN.
