Beware of the Pastor

We had an interesting discussion of false teachers at this week’s Bible Study. Going through 2 Peter, we considered the means, motives and characteristics of what they were doing, and what they still do. Jude’s style and content is very similar, so it might be that both writers were tackling the same false teachers in the same churches. We talked about what we can do to avoid false teaching, and not be part of the ‘many’ whom Peter says will follow them. We agreed that we should be people so immersed in the scriptures that we would guard against such deviation from the truth.

I asked: what if it was the pastor himself who spouted theological nonsense and taught ethical compromise? In many respects, the pastor can be a more dangerous opponent that some visiting speaker. He may rule the roost, have about him a reliable band of yes-men, have time to move about the different parts of the church, securing loyalty and devotion from the less discerning. Peter says that the false teachers secretly admit their heretical ideas, so few notice their onset. A little falsehood mixed with truth is a more lethal brand of poison than a bottle of green liquid bearing a skull & crossbones label. Pastors are people to whom we commit our secrets, our weaknesses, and spiritual well-being. This makes them all the more able to lead astray and beguile the gullible.  

Please do not read this and I assume I am some rejected pastoral candidate, still bitter and smarting from the rebuff of some church or college tutor. I am a minister myself. Naturally, Salem Chapel boasts a wonderfully sound pastor, a paragon of theological accuracy and scriptural fidelity. But then they all say that, don’t they? So, how does one guard against pastors leading astray their own congregations?

May his preaching be tested

Not for its eloquence, but its faithfulness to scriptural truth. Like the Bereans, search the scriptures to see if what he says is so. This does not mean nit-picking, nor insisting he subscribes to every matter of peripheral importance. Yet we must not assume that what he teaches is correct unless the Biblical writers testify likewise.

May his preaching be expository

Preaching through a chunk of scripture, a Bible book or a series, is better than picking odd lines, phrases or verses. Texts without contexts are pretexts. This style of preaching will avoid reliance on hobbyhorses and pet doctrines, and better allows the Bible to speak for itself rather than being a set of pegs upon which he can hang his own dogma. It is sometimes appropriate to preach in other ways, for example, taking a theme or even a single verse, but excessive use of these methods is more conducive to error than plain exposition.

May he be held accountable

One-man ministries are usually accountable to no-one but God, by which the one-man-minister means himself. There should be elders, or deacons, or leaders and trustees there to challenge and steer the execution of his office. He should not be required to especially please some over-bearing elder, neither is he the personal servant and employee of the board of deacons; God knows that other church officers can be just as crooked and twisted as any pastor. Yet there should be a relationship of mutual support, of critical friendship, of wholesome and honest exchange.

May he preach Christ rather than the church

A good teacher explains how his pupils may work out for themselves a correct answer. They demonstrate a skill that the students may themselves acquire it. A proficient teacher should always seek to make himself redundant, so his services are no longer required. Pastors should create a culture where the church may flourish well enough without him, and where others in the church are invited to minister and share their giftings. If he preaches about Christ being the anchor of souls, rather than his church, he will nurture mature believers who will stand aright themselves.

May he be genuinely called by God

Some who ‘feel the call’ seem to be doing it for the prestige it brings or to slake their love of their own voices. Consequently, their ministries seldom glorify God, for He never ordained them. Entering the ministry for the money will demonstrate his greed and avarice. For the prestige, his pride and arrogance. For the influence, his desire for power and self-aggrandisement. This is my own test of the certainty of my own call: I would prefer to give it up but dare not for fear of displeasing my Master. How pleasant life would be not dealing with others’ problems or receiving awkward emails! How lovely were those days when I merely swanned off, preaching at different churches each week! Yet I dare not appear before Him to give account of my time in the body, without having done what He required me to do. Until He dismisses me, I continue.

May he be servant, not master

The good pastor, like the Good Shepherd, feeds, guards and cherishes the sheep. For its edification and salvation does he labour and school his congregation. He is not the high priest, the awesome prophet, the powerful CEO. He is a humble servant of both Christ and Christ’s people. This does not mean he is a human door-mat, a skivvy of any who care to issue orders. He will be frank and honest when someone is out of order. He will identify and counter falsehood, he will remove from the congregation those who would jeopardise the faith of others, who bring disharmony and querulous discord. Yet he is chiefly Christ’s overseer, a bondservant among the bondservants, who will be held the more accountable.

May He live aright

Peter makes it clear that false teachers may be known by their godless lifestyles, their low standards, their covetousness and greed. Some descend into a perverted hedonism, others, a legalistic and hypocritical pride. He need not be perfect; if he is, he is already with Christ in heaven and little use to the church on earth. He will still be tempted, perhaps more so. Furthermore, he may still fall and make some poor choices. But if he justifies sin and demonstrates propensity towards evil, he is either a hypocrite or a pedlar of false doctrine. Begone with him.

May He honour Christ

Peter describes the crooks of his day as ‘denying the very Lord who bought them’. They either deny His divinity, or humanity, or denigrate His authority and refute His saving work. He that would rob Christ of His rightful pre-eminence and glory in the church is unfit to minister. By denying Christ, he affirms falsehood. By minimising the Saviour, he maximises himself. Swollen with pride, he will burst like the cheap balloon he is.

May he be dismissed

The church does not owe him a living. I know of several pastors who own their church premises; it really is their way or the highway. This is deeply problematic, for a church should have the right to remove its officers, be they deacon, elder or pastor. It is true that churches can be dominated by cliques, often single families, who call the shots and sack the pastor when he doesn’t dance to their tune. Yet I know that I must be faithful to Christ's truth- if I am not, the members at Salem will not suffer me to remain. And if I am sacked for being faithful to truth, their pastor I would not suffer to be.

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Acts 20:28 (NKJV)

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