PREACHER IN THE PIT

 

There will be preachers in hell. Judas Iscariot is the prototype. He stands as a warning that the externals of religion—the appearance of being a follower of Christ with much religious activity—does not make us regenerate. Here is the solemn warning:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”  (Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭23‬‬)

Sadly, there are wolves wearing sheep’s clothing—and even masquerading as shepherds!  

I must search my own heart—inviting the Spirit of God to shine the spotlight of Scripture into my soul. “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;” (II Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬‬).

It is a sobering fact—there will be people who sat in a pew on Sunday who will be in hell someday. It is also a grave reality that there will be those who stood in a pulpit on Sunday who will be there as well!  Judas Iscariot is one. What about you?

Lord, I care not for riches,
Neither silver nor gold;
I would make sure of Heaven,
I would enter the fold.
In the book of Thy kingdom,
With its pag­es so fair,
Tell me, Jesus, my Savior,
Is my name written there?

Is my name written there,
On the page white and fair?
In the book of Thy kingdom,
Is my name written there?

Lord, my sins they are many,
Like the sands of the sea,
But Thy blood, O my Savior,
Is sufficient for me;
For Thy promise is written,
In bright letters that glow,
Though your sins be as scarlet,
I will make them like snow.

Is my name written there,
On the page white and fair?
In the book of Thy kingdom,
Is my name written there?

Oh! that beautiful city,
With its mansions of light,
With its glorified beings,
In pure garments of white;
Where no evil thing cometh
To despoil what is fair;
Where the angels are watching,
Yes, my name’s written there.

Is my name written there,
On the page white and fair?
In the book of Thy kingdom,

Is my name written there?  (Frank M. Davis)

NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION

We know churches are listed as non-profit organizations, but I heard the late Vance Havner say they are often “non-prophet organizations.”  Where are the men who stand and speak as the prophets of old—confronting sin and calling for repentance?

Jesus contrasts the faithful prophet with the false prophet in Luke 6:20-26.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.  “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

It is true that these words have a general application to all disciples (v.20), but in context there is a specific application to those who claim to speak for God.  Jesus has prayed all night before strategically selecting twelve men to be His apostles (read Luke 6:12-16).  He has begun to show them the nature of their ministry by His own example of healing the hurting, delivering the demonized and now teaching the truth.  At the outset, He will paint the contrast in stark hues with these words.

The faithful prophet is marked by:

• Humility—as they admit their bankruptcy.  They are “poor” possessing nothing of themselves to enrich a congregation.  Such men will beg God to give them His power.  They bow in submission to the King for they know their ministry is about “the kingdom of God” and not building their own kingdom.  It is all for the glory of His name and not their own.  They are not concerned with their bank account but with having “the unsearchable riches of Christ” to share (see Eph.3:7-8).
• Hunger—for the message of God to proclaim and the might of God to preach it.  Faithful prophets “hunger now.”  But, the promise of God is that those who empty their souls of self will be full of the Spirit, “you shall be filled.”  As John the Baptist, we will make much of Jesus by making less of us. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
• Brokenness—as we grieve over that which grieves the heart of God.  The man of God takes sin seriously and will “weep now.”  He mourns over its affront to Holy God and consequence to man.  The faithful prophet is contrite concerning his own wicked heart first and then weeps over the evil of others.  God plows his servant with the sharp harrow of Scripture, to make him receive the seed of the Word—and the result of this will be a harvest of holiness in his ministry.  That will give cause then to wipe away the tears in celebrating the goodness of God and “you shall laugh.”
• Rejection—for the servant is not greater than his Master.  If Jesus was rejected then we may expect no better treatment.  “Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”  Prophets are honored by few, and hated by most.  If you expect other than bearing a cross, then don’t bother answering the call to follow Christ.

The false prophet is contrasted by:

• Prosperity—as they are “rich.”  They have an abundance of this world’s goods by fleecing the sheep rather than feeding them.  No mansion awaits them in eternity for they have built one on earth.  They are a “hireling” who is about getting benefits rather than a “shepherd” who is about giving blessings (read John 10:11-15)
• Passion—in being “full” of all that their flesh craves.  They are like those Paul warned about:

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.  (Philippians 3:18-19)

• Pleasure—as the false prophet will “laugh now.”  He can be entertaining—a clown in the pulpit.  He is a party animal in shepherd’s clothing.  The hireling laughs all the way to the ank.  Does he not know that everlasting sorrow awaits?
• Popularity—as a Christian celebrity is his delight.  Such are religious rock stars.  Is God impressed with their notoriety?  “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”  They receive accolades because they tell people smooth words.  Such are ear-ticklers who tell others what they want to hear, so that the congregation will tell the preacher what he wants to hear—about how wonderful he is.  His name may be noted in man’s media, but there is no record of it in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  You can have the applause of humans or the approval of heaven—which would you choose?  You won’t have both.

My prayer is that I am a genuine man of God who stands in the wondrous company of the faithful prophets of old like Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, and most of all like Jesus.  Do not let it be said of the church you serve that it is a non-prophet organization.