DEVIL-CALLED PREACHERS
By
In
Some years ago, I was talking to a young pastor of another denomination about the Lord’s work. In the course of the conversation, I asked him about his call to preach the gospel. He answered me by saying, “My parents wanted me to be a minister. I thought it would be an easy way to earn a living. So I gave it a try.”
Never in my life had I been so
shocked by such a statement. After a few moments of silence, I asked him about
his experience of grace. He replied, “I was never lost. My parents always took
me to church. I have always been saved.”
Had the sun refused to shine, I
could not have been more dumb-founded. After a few other remarks, I left his
home to return to mine. I could not sleep that night. I pondered the strange
words of this young preacher. I knew as surely as I was breathing the time and
the place God saved me by His wonderful grace. Likewise, I knew that I had
received a call from Heaven to preach the gospel. Why had this man not
experienced the same?
Suddenly it occurred to me that I
had been talking to a Devil-called preacher. According to his own testimony,
God had not called and commissioned him to preach His Word. He was a
professional preacher. I thought how pitiful the condition of this boy was. He
was a blind leader of the blind.
No one who is familiar with the
Scriptures doubts but what
Such things as Devil-called
preachers do exist.
Every good thing is counterfeited.
God does not call and commission
these false teachers. “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy
lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake
unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of
nought, and the deceit of their heart” (Jer. 14:14). It was
A false teacher can be distinguished
from a true minister by his love for money. A Devil-called preacher fleeces the
sheep instead of feeding them. “Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds;
Woe be to the shepherds of
What would happen if all the
churches suddenly terminated the salary of their shepherds? How many clergymen
would quit preaching and look for greener pastures? How large would be the
number of clergymen who would demonstrate they are “hirelings” who care nothing
for the sheep (
The religious world is filled with
men who preach a Christless, social gospel and let the congregation go to Hell,
while they draw their high salaries. Such people humanize
Like Balaam, these Devil-called
preachers love the wages of unrighteousness. They want the money in the pockets
of church members. They will secure it by fair or foul means. They serve the
Almighty Dollar, not the Almighty God. They are preaching for the money!
The messengers of
Those who “err from the words of
knowledge” (Prov. 19:27) can never teach the truth as it is in
Isaiah wrote: “His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. . . .they are shepherds that cannot understand” (Isa. 56:10-11).
A true minister exposes sin without
fear or favor to any man. He obeys Isaiah 58:1: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift
up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression and the
house of
A wolf in sheep clothing does just the reverse. He never exposes sin: “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment” (Lam. 2:14).
A false prophet preaches what the people want to hear instead of what they need to hear: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means: and my people love to have it so” (Jer. 5:31). The depraved nature of man is such that he had rather hear a lie than the truth: “. . .this is a rebellious people. . .children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isa. 30:9-10). Devil-called preachers give the people what they want to hear; therefore, they have a great following in the religious world.
The Devil calls men to deceive
people.
The Devil’s preachers corrupt the
Word of God. In II Corinthians 2:17 there is reference to “many, which
corrupt the Word of God.” They corrupt the Bible by adding their own
notions to the doctrines and institutions of
Some who pose as ministers of
These Ambassadors of Satan speak perverse things. “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).
The emissaries of
Devil-called preachers had gone
among the Galatians and preached a gospel, which was different in kind from
that which
Every Devil-called preacher speaks
as he is inspired by a demon spirit. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the
foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing”
(Ezek. 13:3). He gives “heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”
(I Tim. 4:1). He is as much possessed by the “spirit of Antichrist” (I
Knowing that such is the case,
False teachers teach for doctrine the commandments of men. “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). These blind leaders of the blind “make the commandments of God of none effect by their traditions” (Matt. 15:6). Their doctrines are the inventions of Satan-inspired men. They claim Divine authority for ideas and practices, which are simply of human origin. They exalt doctrinal creeds above the infallible Word.
The person
who is a stranger to grace and to God, teaches “strange doctrines” (Heb.
13:9). A Devil-called preacher declares a message foreign to the Bible. The
Lord’s churches are not acquainted with such teaching. They are strangers to
God who spend “their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some
new thing” (Acts 17:21).
The preaching of a false minister is soul-destructive to the preacher and to his hearers. They preach “damnable heresies” (II Pet. 2:1). He who propagates error destructive to others shall destroy himself without remedy. If the blind lead the blind, then both will fall into Hell.
Peter tells us about the doom of false preachers: “But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness. . .These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever” (II Pet. 2:12-13, 17). These people wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:16).
Under the Law of Moses a false
prophet was to be put to death: “But the prophet which shall presume to
speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall
speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die” (Deut.
18:20). The prophet
Let these messengers of
Their end shall be according to
their works (II Cor. 11:15), not according to their pretense or appearance.
They will spend an eternity in Hell with
Should a child of God stay in a
church, which has
a Devil-called preacher? Should he give his tithes to a denominational program,
which supports false teachers in religious schools and seminaries? The Bible
gives the answer: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is
according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing. . .from such withdraw
thyself” (I Tim. 6:3-5). My friend, you should not give one dime to a
minister of
It is the duty of believers to avoid
any association and affiliation with a Devil-called preacher in religious
matters. In Romans 16:17-18 it is written: “Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned; and avoid them.”
Here the duty outlined is twofold. First, we are to mark or distinguish a Devil-called preacher from a true minister. Second, we are not to debate him or engage in a dialogue with him. We are to mark him that we may avoid any connection or communion with him, lest we become infected by his errors. We must remember that their “word will eat as doth gangrene” (II Tim. 2:17 marginal rending). Heresy and heretics are like an eating sore or a cancer.
A member of a true church should
never attend the services of a false prophet, lest these Devil-called preachers
be encouraged in their work. He must never let one into his house or bid him
God speed. The Apostle
A Devil-called preacher can be known
by the fruit he bears. The best way to identify one is to test him by the Word
of God. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8:20).