When some prominent man in ministry falls into scandalous sin and becomes a shame to himself and an example of ministerial failure, skeptical people may quickly respond ‘I told you; they’re all a bunch of phonies.’ And is it any wonder that such an opinion would be held? It seems that ‘the Christian ministry’ is often plagued with such men (and now women). But how is that possible? How do such characters find any place, much less prominent places, in ‘the Christian ministry?’
Anything man can touch he can pollute. In some instances corruption seems to be an awkward intrusion, but in others it seems virtually invited. Without doubt it is a major factor promoting corruption when men can enter ‘the Christian ministry’ and then remain in positions of trust without meaningful accountability to anyone for their doctrine or manner of life. Unbiblical religious hierarchies can become massive monstrosities and hiding places for filthy men in priestly garb, all ordained and truly unfit to administer CPR to a dying rat. It is painful to see situations where “the people of the Lord” have little or no power to oust wicked men who have “crept in unnoticed;” and where those who do have some authority refuse to do what is right. And we wonder that some saints find it preferable to just stay home!
The fact that men are ‘in the ministry’ does not mean that they are men of God or even true believers. “And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there” (1 Samuel 1:3). “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 NKJV). It cannot be put much plainer than that. They were priests. They did not know the Lord. They were priests ‘in the ministry’ of the covenant God of Israel, sons of a priest who honored his sons more than he honored his God. They served themselves, regarded the worship of God as unimportant, and were notoriously immoral. Sound familiar? Wickedness may follow a millennia-old pattern.
If only God’s people would insist on applying the biblical standards for the men who serve in the church’s offices as pastors and deacons, the only way wicked men could get in and stay in the ministry would be by hook and crook, by lying, cheating and sneaking in. Churches that will not insist on following the Bible’s prescription for a healthy ministry are inviting disaster. And it is disaster when the true ministry of the gospel is lost.
There is a mainline church in a nearby town, less than an hour’s drive from my home; its minister is an admitted apostate who denies every distinctive of the biblical gospel, mocking true, gospel-believing Christians who attempt to be true to God and His Word. The ‘church’ there is thrilled with him and his Christ-denying ways. In this case, the corruption is cheered by the people, not as in the days of Eli’s sons when “the people of the Lord” were grieved by the priest’s abuses. Some assemblies who have the name ‘Christian’ are truly mislabeled.
The words of Jeremiah seem very fitting: “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it” (Jeremiah 5:30-31 NASB)? –TSA
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