False Ministers in the Assembly

I have noticed that the devil has infested the Church of Jesus Christ in an unprecedented manner. Some of his agents now occupy the top echelons of our churches. They have filled the whole place with their fallacies and have occupied our airwaves with their unscriptural teachings and in most cases lead many large congregations. Are all pastors, evangelists, prophets, apostles, GOs, Bishops etc of God? Are miracles, prophetic utterances, oratory skills, wealth, influence and size of congregation the marks of a true minister of God? According to the Bible “Some of these ministers will on the outside “appear to people as righteous” (Mt 23:28). They come “in sheep’s clothing” (Mt 7:15). According to the Full Life Study Bible “They may base their message solidly on the Word of God and proclaim high righteous standards. They may appear sincerely concerned for God’s work and kingdom. They may show great interest in the salvation of the lost while professing love for all people. They may appear to be great ministers of God, commendable ministers anointed by the Holy Spirit. They may perform miracles and have great success and multitudes may follow them (Mt 7:21-23; 24:11,24; 2 Cor 11:13-15).” However, away from the crowds and in their hidden lives, they like their spiritual ancestors in both the OT and NT, are given over to “greed and self-indulgence” (Mt 23:25). They are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean (Mt 23:27), full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Mt 23:28). Their lives behind closed doors involved such things as lust, immorality, adultery, greed and self-centred indulgence.

Some of them begin their ministry in sincerity, truth, purity and genuine faith in Christ but because of pride, greed coupled with their immoral lives have made the love of Christ to gradually die. Consequently they are severed from God’s kingdom (1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5-6) and have become instruments of Satan while disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness (2Cor 11:15). On the other hand there are those who have never been part of the kingdom but, have been planted by Satan from the very beginning of their ministry (Mt 13:24-28; 36-43). They use their ability and charisma to deceive the people and gain success.

Having said all these, you will ask me “what then are the marks of a false minister?” Our Lord Jesus Christ warned His disciples fourteen times in the Gospels to watch out for leaders who would mislead (Mt 7:15; 16:6, 11; 24:4,24; Mk 4:24; 8:15; 12:38-40; 13:5; Lk 12:1; 17:23; 20:46; 21:. We are advised as believers to test teachers, preachers and leaders in the church (1 Th 5:21; 1 Jn 4:1). Brethren please note very seriously that it is not a sin to compare/contrast the messages and lifestyle of your pastor, GO, daddy etc messages and lifestyle with the Word of God to know whether he or she is of God or not.

Tests of False Ministers
Discern their character:
i. Do they show a pure and sincere devotion to God?
ii. Do they manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)?
iii. Do they love sinners (Jn 3:16)?
iv. Hate wickedness and love righteousness (Heb 1:9)?
v. Do they cry out against sin like our Lord did in Mt 23 and John the Baptist in Lk 3:18-20 or do they sweep it under the carpet?
Discern their motives:
i. Do they honour Christ by focusing the minds of their members to Him and not to themselves (2 Cor 8:23; Php 1:20)?
ii. Do they lead the church into sanctification (Acts 26:18; 1 Cor 6:18; 2 Cor 6:16-18)? Save the lost (1 Cor 9:19-22) and proclaim and defend the gospel of Christ and the apostles (Jude 3)?

Test fruit in life and message:
The fruit of false preachers will often consist in converts not totally committed to all of God’s Word (Mt 7:16).
Discern their level of dependence on Scripture
This is a very key issue. Does your pastor, GO, Bishop, etc believe and teach that the original writings of both the OT and NT are fully inspired by God, and that we have to submit to all its teachings (2 John 9-11)? If not, you can be sure that the message of your pastor, GO, Bishop or whatever appellation he/she goes with are not from God.

Integrity with respect to God’s money
Does your pastor, GO, Bishop etc refuse to take large amounts of money for themselves or do they keep all or most for themselves in order to maintain their flamboyant and grandeur lifestyles? A true minister of God handles the Lord’s money with integrity and responsibility. He seeks to promote God’s work in ways consistent with NT standards for leaders (1 Tim 3:3; 6:9-10).

Conclusion
Are you a minister of the gospel and your reading this article has raised some issues in your life that must be addressed. I humbly suggest that you go to the Lord, humble yourself in His presence and ask Him for mercy. Ask Him for grace to live for Him. On the other hand are you a member of a church and have noticed some of these issues raised in your pastor’s life, I advise that you go to him most respectfully and discuss them with him. If he repents you have won a brother back to the Lord but if he refuses, I advice that you prayerfully look for somewhere else. But if you are in a highly hierarchical church where the pastor does not even know you, I suggest that you quietly ask the Lord to lead you to another congregation. Brethren no church can save you. It is not about denomination, it is about Christ and His Kingdom. But you have to be in a place where there is a balanced teaching/preaching of the Word of God.
Let me remind you of the word of our Lord, “Not everyone who saith unto Me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who doeth the will of My Father Who is in heaven.” Are you doing His will? If your answer is ‘Yes’ do not despair. Continue in your labour of love. If not, repent of your sin and seek His face. Remember that Heaven is real. Hell is real. But the choice of where you’ll spend eternity is yours.

God bless you.


I encourage you to visit www.livingseed.org and www.momentoftruthministry.com or connect to its YouTube link for more messages. You can also access more of our audio and written teachings on www.divineseedministries.org or through our website to YouTube.

Nobody cries out against sin these days because for one, no one will listen and secondly, you get attacked if you do so.