The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: “Hear the word of the LORD!” Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, “Declares the LORD,” when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, “Declares the LORD,” although I have not spoken?”
“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, “Where is the coating with which you smeared it?” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.
“‘And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
“‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD.’” [1]
Addressing the wondering crowds who had been drawn by the manifestations of the Spirit to hear the disciples on Pentecost, Peter quoted Joel.
“In the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
[ACTS 2:17-18]
Since that time, individuals have often claimed that they are prophesying in the Name of the Lord. I’m not saying that every prophetic word is false, the purported prophetic activity may or may not be of God. However, the people of God are responsible to distinguish between false spirits and those spirits which reveal the mind of the Lord. The challenge presented to people of faith is as ancient as mankind itself. How may we know whether the Lord has spoken? And how may we be assured that what is spoken reveals the mind and will of the Living God?
During the days of exile, Ezekiel, that prophet of God who saw weird and wonderful visions, spoke forcefully against foolish prophets who produced prophecies so-called out of their fevered imaginations. The prophet was deeply concerned because he witnessed those who spoke false words and who saw lying visions, deceiving the people of God. Consequently, he pronounced a curse against all such false prophets. Christians do well to be cautioned against falling into a habit of claiming to speak prophetically in this day late in the Age of Grace. Moreover, we who follow the Risen Saviour do well to be admonished to study to discover what prophecies honour the Lord.
WHAT ARE THE MARKS OF FALSE PROPHECY? God, speaking through His prophet, delivers four primary marks of false prophecies. The marks are given in verses ten, eighteen and nineteen of our text. In these verses, the LORD gives us insight into the motivation of false prophecies. It is critical for Christians to recognise these marks. Let’s list the qualities Ezekiel gives us. The false prophet exhibits:
• a desire to lead the people astray by seeking easy, or even comfortable, paths (verse 10);
• a desire to mask the reality of sin (verses 10 & 11);
• a reliance upon devices to build faith (verse 18);
• a desire to enrich oneself (verse 19).
Let’s consider each of these in turn as Ezekiel has provided them.
Consider that tenth verse, in which the LORD says, “[The false prophets] have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace” [EZEKIEL 13:10a]. This is a disturbing warning, disturbing because it is increasingly witnessed in this day. In effect, this situation arises because those purporting to be prophets are saying what the people wish to hear rather than speaking the Word of the LORD. They say what the people have decided they want to hear rather than saying what needs to be said.
This situation is exemplified by a preacher declaring that abortion is acceptable in the sight of God because that preacher imagines this to be the popular view of the society in which he conducts a ministry. It could be compared to a preacher justifying transgenderism because he imagines it is the generally accepted position within society rather than daring to say what is written in the Word of God. The one who teaches in truth, the one who speaks truthfully, must hold to what has been delivered in the Word of God rather than attempting to appease listeners by saying what has become popular.
In the situation Ezekiel confronted, the people had already been deported to Babylon and those left in Judea were facing trying times as result of the conquest of the nation. The people were consoling themselves that there would be no problems in the future, that the worst was past. The Prophet equates their effort to building a shoddy stone wall without interlocking the stones, and then covering the wall with whitewash as though the whitewash would lend strength to the tottering wall. The people desperately wanted a message of peace, and the false prophets were only too glad to give them what they wanted. The false prophets were saying what the people wanted to hear rather than speaking the mind of the Lord. The true preacher must speak the Word of God truthfully. He need not always be mean or speak of things that are frightful, but he must ensure that he speaks the Word that the Lord has given him.
I recall a group of parishioners in a former congregation complaining that my preaching was too hard. The spokesman of that group whined, “We want milk; we can’t chew the meat you’re feeding us. We need comforting messages, not these demanding messages.” The man’s whinging reminded me of the Apostle’s charge to the Corinthians, “Brothers, [I] could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-3a].
I was not attempting to be harsh with this congregation, but I was deeply concerned for their spiritual well-being—I’m still concerned for them. Whether they realised it or not, they saw church as a mere organisation that existed solely for their benefit. The responsibility to glorify God and to honour Christ through growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a particular concern. They were focused on how they felt after they had been to church. They did not understand who they were.
There shall come a day when preachers will unite in delivering a message guaranteeing peace. It will be in the last days immediately before the Master returns. Paul spoke of that time when he wrote, “Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” [1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-3].
Of course, the false prophet promising peace when there can be no peace compels conscientious Christians to recall the futile search conducted by the lost as they search for peace. The Christian that attempts to soothe the turmoil of the heart that is not at rest must never imagine that mere words can give rest to the restless. The wise follower of Christ will point listeners to the God of Peace, for only the presence of the God of Peace can give rest. The restless heart will always be in turmoil until the God of Peace reigns in that heart. No false prophecy, no groundless fantasy dreamed up in the fevered imagination of a false teacher can bring peace to the heart in turmoil. And whatever respite one may imagine could arise from words without divine foundation will prove transient, temporary, fleeting, and momentary. The unwary fall prey to the false prophet who can only speak out of their own fantasy and wild imagination.
It is a sad truth that those choosing to live sinful lives can never know peace. Perhaps they can delude themselves for a brief moment, perhaps their conscience is temporarily silenced, having been seared as with a branding iron [see 1 TIMOTHY 4:2 NASB], yet each time they allow their minds to actually think on their life choices, they are fully aware that they have offended God. Though these morally impoverished souls may protest and attempt to justify their self-delusion, they have no doubt that they stand in jeopardy before the Living God. Why else would the homosexual care what the faithful think? Why do they feel the need to compel society to agree with their choices? Why should the adulterer care what the preacher says concerning her sinful behaviour? Doesn’t their response arise from the weight of their own choice pressing down on them [cf. ROMANS 1:32]? Thus, the preacher who condones sin and attempts to make the sinful feel good about themselves is revealed to be a false teacher and a false prophet.
Again, note how the false prophet seeks to mask the reality of sin. Notice that Ezekiel says that the false prophets smear the walls they have erected with whitewash. In short, when the people seek to set parameters, the false prophets minimise the need for the wall, making the barrier appear less traumatising. The Prophet Ezekiel says, “[The false prophets] smear [the wall they have erected] with whitewash.” Thus, God’s prophet is instructed to speak, “Say to those who smear [the wall that was erected] with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out” [EZEKIEL 13:10b-11].
If the actions of these false prophets seeking to present easy paths and endeavouring to mask the reality of sin was not horrific enough, they are exposed by their effort to introduce a reliance upon devices to build faith. In EZEKIEL 13:18 we witness Ezekiel warning against reliance upon magic bands and veils for the head. God’s prophet sees these accoutrements as a means of hunting the souls of unwary people.
The false prophet has erected a phantasm, a gossamer web that gives a superficial appearance of substance, or strength. However, when the deluge comes, and a deluge will always come eventually for each person, the delusion the charlatan has built will be transformed into a nightmare for those who trusted in what the phony has said. When the world is crashing in, nothing can give peace except the One Who is the Author of Peace. The attempt to use devices to distract thinking about the consequences of sin, the attempt to divert attention from the errant choice that condemns an individual, exposes the one suggesting the devices as a false teacher and as one under the censure of Holy God. And what the false prophets did during the days Ezekiel prophesied, false teachers are doing in this day.
I knew a woman who discovered that her husband had been unfaithful to her. She sought counselling to help her cope with the devastation she had experienced at this betrayal. The counsellor she consulted, if such a title could be allowed in this instance, recommended that this woman needed to find a boyfriend and have an affair of her own. The counsellor suggested that this particular action would make the woman feel better. I was horrified when I learned of this suggestion. The recommendation was the height of foolishness and utterly mad to think that a sinful act will somehow erase the pain arising from a sinful act. Let me say quite pointedly so that no one mistakes what I am about to say—it is never wise, never beneficial, to imagine that one can fix the devastation arising from one sinful act by performing another sinful act! Sin cannot atone for sin, and sin can never give peace. Any satisfaction will be temporary and soon replaced by regret. What the “counsellor” recommended was a device that was purported to give peace! That “counsellor” was a false teacher.
A vile suggestion such as the one that was made to this woman is akin to thinking that the politicians who drove us into debt are the ones to get us out of debt. It is akin to the idea that the political opportunists who took away our freedoms are the ones who can restore the very freedoms they have taken away. Trusting those who have destroyed us to restore us by using the identical techniques that brought ruin is the height of folly.
As an aside of some considerable significance, and I won’t charge any extra for this observation, our society is rapidly approaching conditions that will soon be impossible to fix, if we have not already reached that point. Paul made a stunning observation of the sinful behaviour of those who sought to oppress the Christians living in Salonica. He wrote, “You, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in union with the Messiah Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from the people of your own country as they did from those Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last” [1 THESSALONIANS 2:14-16 ISV]!
The Apostle noted that those living godless lives and opposing the message of grace delivered through the saints of the Thessalonian congregation were continually adding to the punishment that God delivers to those who set themselves in opposition to Him and to His grace. Consequently, that society was already being judged and the ultimate judgement would not be delayed. Anyone looking on the city of Thessalonica at that time would have said that everything was working just fine. The great naval fleet was in port and the city continued as a vibrant centre for trade, people still got married and anticipated raising their families in the great city, but God was even then beginning the process of sifting the inhabitants of the city. Judgement had already begun.
Contemporary society is rapidly approaching a point of no return. I suspect that judgement is already farther advance than we could imagine. The mad pursuit of wealth and power is even now sapping our spiritual energy, leaving us destitute and empty inside. As I look on life in the cities, the towns and the villages of North America at this time, I fear it will be either revival or ruin for us. In no small measure, this present peril has been brought on by the failure of the churches to silence the false teachers that have been tolerated for far too long. And because the moral arbiters were corrupt, the vacuum was filled by those who had no moral authority.
Finally, and perhaps most damning of all, the false prophets see their “ministry” as a means of enriching themselves. God exposes the false prophets when Ezekiel writes, “You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies” [EZEKIEL 13:19]. Is the ministry of the Master only a means by which to make money? Is it not an opportunity to exalt Christ and to build up those who hear the message which is delivered? And yet, the appeal for money from televangelists and other ecclesiastical stars has become the stuff of caricature.
Does not God appoint whom He wills to shepherd His flock, declaring His Word? And does He not provide for those whom He appoints through those whom He has gathered as congregations? How is it, then, that the work of the service of God to His churches is treated as a job? Why should the faithful be compelled to “hire” a preacher rather than trusting that God shall appoint a shepherd to serve the people of God? And why would any follower of Christ imagine that they have the right to hire and fire the one whom God has appointed? Either the Spirit of Christ reigns among the faithful gathered as a congregation, or we are just another religious organisation.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF FALSE PROPHECY? We need to consider the impact of false prophecy on those who listen to and who embrace such error? In two verses, Ezekiel provides four consequences arising from false prophecies. In the NINETEENTH VERSE of our text, the Lord GOD speaks through His prophet, warning, “You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to My people, who listen to lies” [EZEKIEL 13:19]. According to the Word of the LORD, false prophecy,
• ensures that the Name of God is profaned;
• warns that death comes to those who listen to the lies.
In the TWENTY-SECOND VERSE of our text, we witness the LORD speaking through His prophet to warn, “You have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life” [EZEKIEL 13:22]. Thus, it is evident that because of false prophecy,
• the righteous are disheartened;
• the wicked are encouraged.
Let’s weigh these consequences of listening to the lies of false prophets and false teachers in the order in which they are presented. The first consequence presented by the Prophet is that the Name of God is profaned. I know that recent days have witnessed continual reports of religious leaders who are revealed to be immoral. I am adamant in stating that immorality in a religious leader does sully the Name of the Saviour. There should be no discussion of attempting to restore fallen preachers to leadership—they must be removed just as we are taught when the Apostle wrote, “Those guilty of sin must be rebuked before all, as a warning to the rest” [1 TIMOTHY 5:20 NET BIBLE]. No concern for restoring errant leaders arises in this statement. The concern is that dismissing sin will encourage others to treat sin lightly, thus surrendering to their own fallen desires.
Know that the impact on the people of God when they tolerate false teachers is far worse. A soiled life of a church leader is a disappointment, but a soiled message condemns those who hear and who embrace the errant message that is proclaimed. That message, built on a lie and presented in a manner that deceives the unwary condemns many to eternal separation from the Living God. His Name is profaned because many claiming to believe Him will have denied His Word and His character. Those who are deceived are condemned, and the lost imagine that this is the normal course of the Faith.
It is a tragic truth that in the last days many will be deceived, and even after the Lord has taken His people out of this broken world, many more will be deceived and thus destroyed, as the Apostle has written. “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-12].
Paul makes it clear that living as the world lives dishonours the Lord. He writes, “While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” [ROMANS 2:21b-24].
If you embrace a message built on falsehood, Ezekiel warns that it can only lead to death. Surely this truth is evident when you read the words written to the Romans, as the Apostle cautions, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness” [ROMANS 6:16]?
If you embrace a message of lies, it leads to death. It does nothing to extend days on the earth and it assuredly leads to condemnation when you at last stand before the Great White Throne of the Judge of all the earth. How terrible is the warning delivered as the Revelator hears the words of the Lord God after promising to be the God of all who receive Him as Master. We are warned, “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” [REVELATION 21:8]. To adopt a message built on lies is to identify yourself as a liar; and God warns that all liars have a dreadful end.
Perhaps I have alluded to the fact that those accepting the message of lies delivered by the false prophet and the false teacher dishearten God’s holy people. It remains that the people of God are disheartened by false teaching and those who deliver such error. They are disheartened because they are grieved at the knowledge that some whom they know are condemned, and no follower of the Christ rejoices in the death of the unsaved. We know some who will be condemned, and some of them have bought into the lies that were propagated by supposed religious leaders, though they were actually false teachers. Like the servants who discovered the weeds sown in the field of wheat, we are dismayed and grieved for the disruption of the harvest.
We who follow Christ are disheartened because we are compelled to answer the lies that are disseminated by the false teachers and those who embrace the error that they spread. We know that we twice-born followers of the Risen Lord of Glory are tarred with the same brush as people witness the words and the lives of those who adopt the error declared by the false teachers. Knowing that this is the case, we are grieved.
I confess that I am disheartened whenever I hear some outsider sneer at the actions or words of some saint who has sinned, “If that is the way Christians act, I’ll never be part of the church.” Well, Christians do falter, and we do sin; but no follower of Christ enjoys sin. She is miserable because she knows she dishonours the Saviour and she no longer enjoys the filth that attaches to her life. Like Peter when he had denied his Lord, the Christian who has fallen into sin will go out and weep bitterly [see LUKE 22:62].
I’ve often cited the words of a colleague of mine who said on multiple occasions, “A sheep may fall into a mud puddle; but a sheep will never lie down in the mud.” Unlike a pig, a sheep doesn’t enjoy the filth into which that sheep may stumble. Just so, the follower of Christ does not enjoy the filth of the world. Sin may give a momentary sense of gratification, but sin can never give lasting joy. This is especially true for the one who follows the Saviour. The twice-born follower of the Lord is miserable at the knowledge that she or he has fallen into sin.
This truth is emphasised when we read the words Peter penned as he wrote of God’s judgement on those who sin. The Lord has said through His servant Peter, “If God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority” [2 PETER 2:4-10].
James insists that we who follow the Risen Saviour are responsible to take definite steps to be godly. He writes, “Put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out—he will be blessed in what he does” [JAMES 1:21-25 NET BIBLE].
Ultimately, the errant words of a false teacher encourage the wicked. Any message the suppresses the truth, any message that stifles the advance of the Faith, any message that flows from the fertile imagination of a mere mortal, can only encourage the wicked. That message that disheartens the righteous serves to encourage the wicked. The actions that God condemns through Ezekiel’s words mirror what He says through the Prophet Jeremiah. How horrifying is this divine statement censuring false prophets!
“In the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
[JEREMIAH 23:14]
God is revealed as the true God [see JEREMIAH 10:10]; and He is demonstrated to be true in all that he is whenever one receives the message of life that is revealed to us in Christ Jesus as Master [see JOHN 3:31-36]. God is true, as testified throughout the Word [e.g. 1 JOHN 2:27]. We witness the Lord through the Apostle of Love testifying to all who will receive it, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” [1 JOHN 5:20].
HOW MAY WE GUARD AGAINST FALSE PROPHECY? False prophets pose a serious danger to the Faith. A fraudulent banker can steal my moneys, leaving me penniless. A medical charlatan can threaten my physical well-being, rendering me crippled or weakened; the medical quack can even be the means by which I am killed. But a religious charlatan threatens my spiritual well-being and ultimately jeopardises my eternal soul. A false prophet or a false teacher is an eternal threat to the people of God.
The faithful are endangered by false teachers; the congregation of the righteous left in tatters by a false teacher who has received a hearing. An errant message confuses the unwary and deceives those who are untaught or ungrounded. Congregations are shattered and the flock scattered more frequently than one might imagine by the introduction of just a “little bit” or error. False teachers are so earnest and their character is so charismatic, and many are unwary as they give them an ear.
I know of a congregation that failed to act swiftly to confront a false prophet. Before this destroyer of the Lord’s Vineyard was finished, he had delivered a coup de grâce to the assembly, even drawing some of the members after him. False prophets, and false teachers are dangerous in the extreme. The people of God must take heed and act decisively to turn from all such people and to remove them from any position that allows them a hearing among the membership.
How shall we guard against such error. In the first place, the people of God are responsible to ensure that those who provide leadership are appointed by God. The congregation must ensure that those who are accepted as elders know the Word and that they teach the Word in truth. Paul emphasises this truth to Timothy when he writes, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” [2 TIMOTHY 2:1-2]. He repeats this emphasis when he writes, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” [2 TIMOTHY 2:24-25].
Those who would be overseers must be known to bear the imprimatur of God Who appoints to holy orders. They are recognised through the observation and recognition of the congregation. This is the clear understanding of the instruction delivered to Timothy in an earlier missive. There, the Apostle has written, “An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil” [1 TIMOTHY 3:2-7].
This instruction is strengthened by the instruction Paul provided Titus, saying, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” [TITUS 1:5-9].
Not every elder is polished in rhetorical ability; but every God-appointed and God-approved elder will know what must be said and guide those who hear to listen to what God has already revealed in His Word. Therefore, the congregation of the Lord must observe those who teach, those who would stand behind the sacred desk, those who would speak in the Name of the Lord God, ensuring that they speak the truth in love and that they are speaking according to the revealed Word of God. This responsibility is imposed upon each member of the congregation. Indeed, God holds to account the one speaking to the congregation of the faithful, but that accountability is seen first when the assembly demands truthful exposition of the one addressing them.
Again, each member of the assembly must accept responsibility to know the Word of God. How can the people of God assess the accuracy of the message that is delivered from the sacred desk if they do not know the Word themselves. I’m not suggesting that each Christian must be a scholar, but I am insisting that each follower of Christ must hear the Great Shepherd, listening for His voice. That means they will read the Word on a regular basis, and their reading will be done out of joy and not out of obligation or as a mere duty. Moreover, because they will have invested time listening to the voice of the Master through the Word He has given, they will be attuned to the Spirit so that they are hearing not mere words, but they are understanding the Spirit of Christ.
As the Saviour addresses the seven churches of Asia through the Revelator, one phrase is heard repeatedly: “hear what the Spirit says to the churches!” This divine demand is repeated to the church in Ephesus [REVELATION 2:7], to the church in Smyrna [REVELATION 2:11], to the church in Pergamum [REVELATION 2:17], to the church in Thyatira [REVELATION 2:29], to the church in Sardis [REVELATION 3:6], to the church in Philadelphia [REVELATION 3:13], and finally, to the church in Laodicea [REVELATION 3:22]. It is essential that the congregation be attuned to the voice of the Spirit of Christ.
At last, the congregation must police itself. By this, I mean that we who are gathered as a congregation are responsible to love and admonish one another. When we witness a brother or sister straying, we are to go to that one and urge him or her to return to walk with us in godly concord. When a member of the assembly is recalcitrant, obstreperous, and disorderly, we must hold them accountable, even putting them out of the assembly if they will not heed our pleas to honour the Master.
The example of this action is provided when Paul admonishes the Corinthians, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
“For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge” [1 CORINTHIANS 5:1-12]?
In love for Christ, we hold one another accountable. However, we must never forget that when the sinner repents, we must be equally eager to restore the penitent to fellowship within the assembly. Paul also addressed this issue when he wrote later, “Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him” [2 CORINTHIANS 2:5-8]. The one who had been put out of the congregation was to be welcomed back into fellowship when repentance was evident.
Let us, then, guard our hearts and hold one another accountable to lead all into obedience to the Master. Let us encourage one another to faith and good works, so that Christ can work powerfully among us as His holy people. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
