The “Church” has defiled itself. It has committed idolatry; it has prostituted itself in the search for larger congregations and bigger buildings and personal wealth for its leaders. It has turned from serving God to serving Mammon. We have hundreds and hundreds of wealthy “Church” leaders preaching an apostate message of wealth as a blessing from God. Spiritual fornicators!
Despite our blessed Lord and Savior’s numerous warnings to the contrary, there is a never-ending string of sermons that teach the gullible to pray for wealth, give money to get back money, ten, thirty, a hundred times or more! These teachers of apostasy are wolves in sheep’s clothing and there is ample warning in the New Testament about them:
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;* but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
Tit 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Tit 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
* John Wesley defines Lucre as “All that is gained (above food and raiment) by ministering in holy things is filthy gain indeed; far more filthy than what is honestly gained by raking kennels, or emptying common sewers.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say: not making the Gospel a means of gain.
John Gill says: not covetous of getting money, of amassing wealth and riches together; or desirous of popular applause and glory from men.
Matthew Henry: One who is not greedy of filthy lucre, who does not make his ministry to truckle to any secular design or interest, who uses no mean, base, sordid ways of getting money, who is dead to the wealth of this world, lives above it, and makes it appear he is so.
Seems pretty clear to me, but, when you start down the path to riches you tend to stop thinking clearly. You justify the excesses by saying things like “we’ll be able to reach more people with the “Gospel”, “it takes a lot of money to preach the Gospel”, “if I don’t charge $99.95 for my new book I won’t be able to reach more people”, etc., etc. In reality though you start buying more expensive suits, cars, housing, you start hiring on more people, usually family, and giving them larger salaries and of course the “leader” deserves a bigger salary. The largest ministries and their leaders today have assets in the millions, salaries of over a million dollars a year! They have their own planes! How far away from the apostle Paul is that? But that’s where chasing after riches will lead you, far from God and in the lap of Mammon.
Mar 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
What has happened over the past 2,000 years is that the Words of Jesus Christ have been twisted to justify the lusts of the flesh. That’s how the “Church” has gone from being content with food and clothing to seeking wealth as a “sign” of God’s blessing. The “Church” has corrupted itself and is using the principles of capitalism to run its operations. The “leaders” lie and extort “tithes” out of their congregants as if we are still under the law.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
The pastors hand out cards and ask their flocks to write down their salaries and then give that to the bankers to get them to approve a loan based on 10% of the salaries for a bigger, better “Church” building. They attend seminars on how to get bigger audiences, bigger buildings, more finances. They draw up business plans and instead of being concerned with feeding the flock they are more concerned with their bank accounts! They are not churches any more but businesses! Next they’ll be selling shares of stock!
If you’re in a “Church” like this, try and turn them back to God and away from Mammon, if you can’t, then leave. I can tell you from personal experience that riches corrupt the most sincere believers, and you are not likely to have any success in turning them away; the lure is very powerful, a very strong delusion, but you and I must continue to try.
God bless you and yours in Jesus Name,
disciple
No comments:
Post a Comment