But returning to the main subject of this series, it should
be clear to you, the reader, by now, that we are not to seek
financial reward for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We
are not to do it for filthy lucre's sake. If you've felt the
call to be an Ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then
I truly hope that you're willing to preach simply out of your
love for lost souls, even if you never receive any reward or
recognition here on Earth. After all, we have our reward, and
it is in Heaven.

So again, these money-minded preachers are misrepresenting the
Gospel. They are giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ a very bad
name. They are being lords over God's heritage, and living the
so-called "abundant life" at the expense of their flocks. They
are fleecing their flocks much like the greedy shepherds which
are described in the thirty-fourth chapter of the Book of the
Prophet Ezekiel, as we see here:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto
the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do
feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill
them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock . . .
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a
prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field,
because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds
search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and
fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word
of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand,
and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will
deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat
for them."
Ezekiel 34:2-3, 7-10, KJV

What a stinging rebuke to modern day false shepherds who do
the very same thing! They wear their fancy clothes and their
expensive rings. They ride around in their luxurious cars and
build their multi-million dollar mega-churches. Some even own
vast amounts of real estate and large companies worldwide. We
see flashy preachers making multi-million dollar deals with
various facets of the mass media, while others preach a vast
array of strange and unscriptural doctrines. These wolves in
sheep's clothing preach about living the "abundant life", but
they are the only ones who are actually living it! Our faith
has also been shamed by preachers and preachers' wives who
have been unfaithful to each other, while others have been
involved with homosexuality and pedophilia. Yet others are
discovered to be entangled in questionable financial deals,
and on and on the bad dream goes.

Is it really any wonder then that modern-day Christianity has
obtained such a bad image, and a bad name? Is it really any
wonder that some people see the superficiality and hypocrisy
of some Christian churches and leaders today and say "I don't
want any part of that! I'd rather be a Buddhist, or a Muslim
or a Wiccan, or a New Ager, or an atheist"? Tragically, while
I don't agree with their choices, I can't say that I really
blame them to a certain extent. What kind of an example have
these people been given by the so-called "leaders" of modern
Christianity? I must fully concur then with the Apostle Paul
when he states that this kind of abusive behavior has indeed
hindered the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has prevented some
people from entering the Kingdom of God, and in some cases,
it has made it difficult for some people to believe in God at
all. In fact, I am reminded of a similar comment that Jesus
made to the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees of His day
when He said:

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go
in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go
in."
Matthew 23:13, KJV

Of course, in that case, I believe that Jesus was saying that
those religious leaders had placed the bar so high, through
all of their special laws and requirements, that no one could
have gained Eternal Life even if they had wanted to. Not only
that, but it is quite evident that the Scribes and Pharisees
persecuted and threatened anyone who dared to believe in and
follow Jesus. As I point out in other articles, not only did
they murder Jesus in cold blood, but they then proceeded to
persecute, incarcerate and kill His followers in the Book of
Acts. What some of these church leaders and famous preachers
are doing today isn't quite the same, but the end result is
still the same; and that is that they are hurting the message
of the Gospel, through their dandy bad examples of hypocrisy,
materialistic living and superficiality, and they are driving
people away from our Christian faith, instead of towards it.

One thing is certain. According to the Scriptures, some day,
these shameful and irresponsible Christian leaders will be
held accountable for their actions. In fact, we all will; for
as it is clearly written in God's Word:

"If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that
pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy
soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every
man according to his works?"
Proverbs 24:12, KJV

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father
with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works."
Matthew 16:27, KJV

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of
persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time
of your sojourning here in fear:"
1 Peter 1:17, KJV

". . . I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I
will give unto every one of you according to your works."
Revelation 2:23b, KJV

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
labours; and their works do follow them."
Revelation 14:13, KJV

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and
the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works."
Revelation 20:12-13, KJV

As I pondered the previous verses, and wondered what kind of
a reward these money-making Bible hucksters might receive on
their day of judgment, the verse that came to me was this:

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt."
Daniel 12:2, KJV

I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to be scorned
for all of eternity; can you? It would be simply dreadful;
yet that is apparently what some people are going to have to
endure, as a result of their sins in this current life.

In thinking about the rampant commercialism that's perverted
and corrupted our Christian faith, I'm reminded of the Lord's
message to the church at Laodicea, as written in the Book of
Revelation. In the third chapter, we find the following dire
warning:

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent."
Revelation 3:15-19, KJV

Such is the danger of being enticed by, and overcome by, the
materialistic pleasures of this current world. We become so
complacent and spiritually blind that we're no longer capable
of seeing our true spiritual condition. The physical comfort
that riches bring can draw us away from the Lord without us
even realizing it. It is a slow, subtle process. The Apostle
John was fully aware of this danger, and thus he warns us:

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the
will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15-17, KJV

If you would like to learn more about this subject, please
consider visiting the "Snare Of Riches" article section of
the Endtime Prophecy Net website.


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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