In Matthew 10:28, Jesus told his disciples: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” In other words, the one with the power to sentence body and soul to eternal damnation is God. If you are going to be afraid of anyone, it should be Him.
Question: Why is it then, that so many Christians would sooner trust an unlearned pastor with the supreme task of watching over and giving an account for their souls (Hebrews 13:7), than they would a doctor with no formal education, but who happens to be really good in biology?
A.W. Pink has something to say about these kinds of shepherds and their preaching.
“It is because so many untaught men, unregenerate men, now occupy the pulpits that “another gospel” (Gal. 1:6) is being so widely and generally disseminated. Multitudes who have neither “tasted that the Lord is gracious” nor have “the fear of the Lord” in them, have from various motives and considerations invaded the sacred calling of the ministry and out of the abundance of their corrupt hearts they speak. Being blind themselves, they lead the blind into the ditch. Having no love for the Shepherd they have none for the sheep, being but “hirelings.” They are themselves “of the world” and therefore “the world heareth them” (1 John 4:5), for they preach that which is acceptable unto fallen human nature and as like attracts like, they gather around themselves a company of admirers who flatter and support them. They will bring in just enough of God’s Truth to deceive the unwary and give an appearance of orthodoxy to their message, but not sufficient of the Truth, especially the searching portions thereof, to render their hearers uncomfortable by destroying their false peace. They will name Christ but not preach Him, mention the Gospel but not expound it.”
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 5, 2010 at 11:27 am
Martha
Be careful with the idea that just because a “Pastor” has a Masters degree in theology, that they are “qualified.” I personally know this NOT to be the case.
Look at scripture, Peter, was “unlearned” from the view of the scholars of the day. He was a fisherman for Pete’s sake. Yet, one speech in Acts, changed the destiny’s of THOUSANDS of people. What you posted scares me a bit.
“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13
What did Peter have? He had BEEN with Jesus! He certainly did not have a Masters degree.
Remember this: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW-IT’S WHO YOU KNOW!
Thank you Jesus!
February 5, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Christina
Martha,
Thank you for you commenting! I know that there are many who are thinking the same thing that you are, and I want the opportunity to be clear.
I am not suggesting that the measure of a pastor, or a man is an advanced degree. I do take issue with the low-view of education that many Evangelicals and Charismatics have, but that is neither here nor there. I have a much larger point.
I agree one-hundred percent with your example of Peter, but Peter WAS a learned man. He spent with 3.5 years with Jesus. He was “unlearned” only when Jesus found him. Sadly, many think it’s spiritual to STAY unlearned! My point here is that there are pastors who are shepherding the flock of God who do not know what their biblical mandate is. Their biblical mandate is to feed the flock of God. It’s that plain and that simple. They are not fulfilling their job description which is to declare the purposes of God and not shrink back. Read Acts 20:26-28. Many can’t declare the purposes of God because they don’t know the purposes of God. The reason they don’t know the purposes of God is that they have no fear of God and so they don’t put any value on the knowledge of God which is the Word of God. As a consequence, these shepherds are guilty of shipwrecking the faith of the very sheep they have been charged with protecting. One day they will be called upon to give an account . If you are a pastor your job is to study the Word so that you know it, teach the Word so that Christ can be formed in your people, live the Word, and be able to correct people who go off.
Attached are two links. They are long but worth it!
February 5, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Christina
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/GTY121
http://www.gty.org/search/what+to+look+for+in+a+pastor
February 5, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Sam
Marha,
I think you missed the whole Point of this post. A.W. Pink was speaking about men who were not qualified to preach and teach. And I agree that nobody should be in the pulpit without an Education Period. Without an Education you are unqualified to Teach the Word of God because you can do much damage not being able to Rightly Divide the Word of Truth. So many are in the pulpit today who have much Charisma but do not have a working knowledge of Law and Grace and abuse either one when they preach. Either to heaviy on the Law and condemn people or to heavy on grace and preach licentiousness. But the man who has been FULLY TRAINED as Jesus said will be like his master. So TRAINING/EDUCATION is VITAL.
But a Master’s Degree is not required. Pastor Mark Keiler the former Pastor of First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach was the Teaching Pastor for a few years at that church. He did not go to Seminary. But his Eduation exceeded a Seminary. He studied 30 hours a week for years on his own and far exceeded many with a Masters in Theology. Peter was not an unlearned Fisherman who preached the day of Pentecost. Peter was a Seminary Graduate From the School of Christ where he was enrolled for 3/12 Years and classes were held 24/7. So Peter’s education far outweighted a Seminary student today.
I think you are missing the whole point. Wether self-taught/seminary the bottom line is the preacher must be able to accurately handle and divide the word of Truth. Today many pastors are sincere but are not able to preach Christ from the scritpures. They preach morality and how to but preaching is not about us but about JESUS. Preaching Christ from the Scriptures is what set’s men Free not preaching ourselves or our stories.
There are many men today in the pulpit with Doctrates who are preaching a man centered gospel. So you are correct that a Master’s Degree is not the answer. But that is not what A.W. Pink was saying. I hope you see that now.
God Bless.
February 5, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Martha
Thank you both for responding. I love having my iron sharpened and I’m sure you do too.
I was responding to this particular analogy: “Why is it then, that so many Christians would sooner trust an UNLEARNED pastor with the supreme task of watching over and giving an account for their souls (Hebrews 13:7), than they would a doctor with no FORMAL EDUCATION, but who happens to be really good in biology?”
I’m unsure who typed this statement: “Whether self-taught/seminary the bottom line is the preacher must be able to accurately handle and divide the word of Truth. Today many pastors are sincere but are not able to preach Christ from the scriptures.”
This statement is very much along the lines of how I feel as well. There is an education that comes from the life God has had us lead. I have no formal education in Theology and certainly no degrees, but Jesus has chosen to use me, more times than I would have presumed possible. Will God call me to warm a pulpit in the future? Who knows? If God does ask this of me, I hope the person that looks down on me for my lack of degrees, has the sense to take their complaint to God. This is what I know about being chosen by God:
1 Corinthians 1:27
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Being chosen by God, is slightly insulting from a non-spiritual point of view. Makes sense He would choose a woman like me, when you look at it through that lens. Who is a bigger fool than I am? Not many I can assure you.
There’s training that God puts certain people through and there’s no other proof, than the fact that God moves powerfully through that person’s words and their hands and feet. It’s a supernatural training. One isn’t handed a certificate for that, I assure you. Once you have been with a man or woman who has been trained in this way, you will know that, just like Peter, they too had BEEN with Jesus.
Love you both and I don’t even know who person number 2 is, but that’s just how I roll!