True Ministry in the Body of Christ
There is an attempt by Satan to hijack true
ministry in the body of Christ. And in doing so, he uses ministers who
desire to make a name for themselves. These so-called ministers could also be
called “maverick” ministers because they “went” – but were never “sent” by the
Holy Spirit.
In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, the apostle Paul wrote to
his son in the Lord, Timothy, and said, “I charge you therefore before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing
and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to
fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of
an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
In 2 Timothy 3:13, the apostle Paul exhorted
Timothy saying, “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Today, believers must be aware that within the
church there may be preachers, pastors, and ministers of God’s Word who are of
the same spirit and life as the corrupt teachers of God’s law in Jesus’ day.
In Matthew 24:11-24, Jesus warns that not everyone who professes Christ
is a true believer. Not all Christian writers, missionaries, pastors,
evangelists, teachers, deacons, and workers are who they claim to be.
These ministers will “outwardly appear righteous unto
man” (Matthew 23-28), but they come in “sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15).
They may base their message silently on God’s Word, proclaiming high and
righteous standards. They may appear sincerely concerned about God’s
work and kingdom, show great interest in the salvation of the lost, and profess
love for all people. They may appear to be great ministers of God
and commendable spiritual leaders anointed by His Holy Spirit. They may
perform great “miracles” and have great success, and multitudes may follow
them. (See Matthew 7:21-23, 24:11, 24 and 2 Cor. 11:13-15.)
In Hosea 4:1, Hosea began to describe in great
detail Israel’s sin, the root of which was a lack of knowledge of God and the
Scriptures. In Hosea 4:2, crime and violence had reached a critical
point. Fear and misery prevailed in the land. An increased manifestation of
violence always occurs when a nation does not acknowledge God and His Word as
its ultimate authority. Hosea 4:6 states how Israel had rejected
knowledge. The lack of personal knowledge of God was destroying the
people, but not because knowledge was unavailable. The people were, in
fact, willfully rejecting the truth God had given them through the prophets and
His written Word. Even within the church today some are being destroyed
by the sinful ways of the world because they do not know God and His inspired
word.
Hosea 4:9 states, “And it shall be: like
people, like a priest.” Instead of leading the people into paths of truth and
righteousness, the priests (like many of our modern-day false ministers,
pastors, and evangelists) were following the people and telling them what they
wanted to hear. They no longer rebuked them for their sins. Therefore,
God would punish both the spiritual leaders and the people for their
wickedness. The priests (ministers) were using religious and pious language to
deceive the people and turn them away from the pure worship of the Lord.
False teachers know how to use Biblical language to communicate
unscriptural teachings. We must listen carefully to what is preached in order
to evaluate whether the ideas being expressed are a proper exposition of the
written Word of God.
These imposters attain a place of influence in
the church in the ways of Balaam. Some false preachers/teachers began
their ministry in sincerity, truth, purity, and genuine faith in Christ.
Then, because of their pride and moral depravity, they lost their first
love of Christ; thus their personal commitment gradually dies. They are
severed from the kingdom of God and become instruments of Satan, while
disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. 2 Cor. 6:9-10 states, “Do
you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Jesus warned his disciples 13 times in the
Gospels to be aware of leaders who would mislead them and cause them to go
astray. Elsewhere in God’s Word, believers are exhorted to examine
teachers, preachers, and leaders
in the church.
The following steps can be used to test who is a false teacher and/or false
prophet:
- Discern a
person’s character.
Does one have a diligent prayer life and manifest a sincere and pure
devotion to God? Does one manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians
5:22-23), love sinners (John 3:16), hate evil, love righteousness (Heb:
1:9), and cry out against sin (Matthew 23)?
- Discern a
person’s motives. True
Christian leaders will seek to do four things: (a) Honor Christ (2
Cor. 8:23 and Phil.1:20); (b) Lead the church and its members into
sanctification (Acts 26:18); (c) Save the lost (1 Cor. 9:22); and (d)
Proclaim and defend the gospel of Christ and the apostles.
- Test the
fruit of a person’s life and message. The leaders’ fruit will
often be found to exist in the converts to whom they teach – especially
those who are not totally committed to all of God’s Word (see Matthew
7:16).
- Test a
person’s integrity with respect to the Lord’s money. Does
one refuse large amounts of money for himself, and handle all finances
with integrity and responsibility? Does he or she seek to promote the work
of God in ways consistent with the New Testament standards for leaders?
(See 1 Timothy 3:6-9.) It must be understood that in spite of all that a
faithful believer can do in evaluating a person’s life and message, there
will still be false teachers within the churches who, with the help of
Satan, remain undetected until God determines to expose them for who they
are.
The apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:1,
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are
of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Their
teaching must be tested against the revelation of God’s truth in Scripture. It is the spirit
of the teaching that must be tested. Does the teaching
mirror the same kind of spirit and emphasis as New Testament apostolic
teaching? Beware of any teaching that a person claims to have received
from the Holy Spirit or an angel that cannot be supported by sound Biblical
exegesis. Truly, we are seeing many so-called ministers, both men and
women, who claim they have received a great revelation from God. They proclaim
that God has given them a divine mandate to gather together the body of Christ
from around the world. They claim to have a special revelation from the
Holy Spirit to begin a church, a fellowship, or a gathering together of saints
where they become the head. They give themselves titles such as, apostle,
prophet, evangelist, pastor/ teacher, and bishop.
Yet, astonishingly, these same people do not
submit to any authority or have any other oversight. They propose to have a
full revelation of God’s divine plan and purpose for mankind. The
first thing that you normally notice is that a website has been put into
operation. Invariably, it catches the eyes of those who feel a kindred spirit
with them. They always seem to have received a revelation from God in which
they are an instrument in the hand of God – helping usher in the Kingdom of God
in a manner that no one else is doing. Many of these ministries are not from
the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these maverick preachers once had a true calling
of God upon their lives; but they went into ministry before their time. They
did not wait upon God for the word to go and begin their ministry; and thus,
they move ahead of God’s timing. They “went,” but were not “sent” — because you can
do the “right” thing, but at the “wrong” time! It is the Holy
Spirit who anoints us for service to God; the ministry belongs to the Lord
Jesus Christ, not to any individual, according to Ephesians 4:11-16.
Because the ministry belongs to Jesus Christ, no one has the right to
hijack His ministry, and use it to further one’s own desires. Doing the right
thing, at the right time, in the right way, with the right help, will give you
the right results!
In these last days, the Holy Spirit is moving
to take back the reins of leadership in the body of Christ. The
leadership of the body of Christ belongs to Christ. The Lord is raising up
true, anointed ministers with integrity and accountability. “That He
might present her (the church, which is His body), to Himself a glorious
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).
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