As Christians, we have dedicated our lives to God. That means, we study the Bible, and to the best of our ability, we follow the direction contained within the Holy Scriptures. Yet, we all fall short at times, but we repent, and we move on, and we renew and rebuild our walk with Jesus Christ.
However, what about when our Christian leaders not only fail us, but themselves?
Unfortunately, this is something that’s occurring more and more these days.
Personally, I attribute much of this failure within our faith on society. Oh, that’s not an attempt to shift the blame. Rather, it’s an important note, that — as Christians — we are to remain separate from the world. Yet, many Christians are not doing that, and even worse, neither are our Christian leaders.
- If that were not true, Christianity would not be dwindling.
- If that were not true, trust in our Christian leaders would not be at an all time low…
Hey, when our leaders succumb to the temptation and sin that Satan offers, it not only drags them down, but the rest of us as well. They are supposed to be our guiding light on earth.
Our Christian leaders are supposed to be the ones who stand tall, strong, tell the flock the truth, and deflect the fiery darts of the wicked. When they cannot do that, they not only compromise their faith and standing with God, but they compromise our own, and tarnish Christianity.
You see, if our Christian leaders cannot set a Godly example for us, who will?
Look, pastors are supposed to be “blameless” and “upright,” (1 Timothy 3:2).
Pastors are to,
Titus 1:9
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
These days, more and more, our pastors cannot even convince us, much less the gainsaying world.
In fact, less than a third of Americans say clergy is highly honest and ethical.
Isn’t that terrible?
Ahh, but at least they rank above bankers, journalists, car salesmen, senators, and congressman.
Then again, that’s not saying much, is it?
Society has soured on Christianity, as our leaders fail God far too often.
- How many times have we heard about priests molesting children?
- How many times have we heard about pastors sexually assaulting church members?
It should never happen, much less continually.
Yet, it does!
It happens over and over again, and the world hears about it, and mocks our faith for it. This in turn, tarnishes Christianity, and makes it much more likely that people will reject the teachings of Jesus Christ. All because some pastors cannot stand firm and “upright” in the faith.
Hey, if you can’t stand for God, then back away from the pulpit.
You have absolutely no business being there.
We don’t need weak men in positions of power, we need strong men for God in positions of power.
I was reminded of this after reading an article the other day. A pastor recently stepped down from his role when it was revealed to his latest church, that he molested a 12 year old girl 35 years ago.
Now hey, that’s a long time, and people change.
The man was a youth preacher at the time. He went over to another church members house and stayed the night with the family. Only to invite the 12 year girl old into his room where he molested her, and told her, “Don’t tell anyone about it.”
This pastor did this for five long years!
Yet, he continued to preach about God each and every Sunday.
Even more cruel and disgusting, the father of the girl continually donated to this pastor.
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It’s amazing that pastor is still six feet above ground.
Then, there was another article. This time, it was about a Christian investor that was recently found guilty of defrauding banks of billions and manipulating the stock market. Mind you, the man pleaded guilty to such charges prior, at another hedge fund he ran years before.
Now, I’m not the judge…
But I have to ask, are these people even Christian?
Why do I say that?
Let me tell you why…
Look, when we fail in life, when we fail God in life, we feel terrible about it.
We feel something called, “remorse.”
If we are truly following God, then we don’t continue in the same heinous sin, over and over again, while putting on our smiley face at Sunday service like nothing’s wrong.
- How can you molest a 12 year old girl and pray to God with a true heart?
- How can you defraud someone of billions of dollars, to enrich yourself, and praise God?
My friends, Jesus said it best…
“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
Matthew 7:18
Do you understand that?
We’re not talking about some mess up here…
We’re talking about heinous sin.
We’re talking about evil fruit that’s being brought forward by Christian leaders.
That is not acceptable.
That is not tolerable, and these people need to be called out for it.
Let me further the point…
“Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”
James 3:11
Absolutely not!
A spring does not provide sweet and bitter water.
It’s one or the other my friends.
So if this sort of thing is going on in your Christian circle, it’s your duty to stand against it. It’s your duty to call it out for the wickedness that it is.
If we don’t stand against it, who will?
If we don’t stand against it, and clean up our faith, who will?
If we allow our Christian leaders to keep dragging down our faith due to their perversion of reality, we soon won’t have a faith left. I mean, who wants to become a Christian, when all you hear about is Christian leaders molesting kids and stealing billions?
If that’s the way of the Christian, perhaps the Devil isn’t so bad after all…