Deception In The Church (Part 4)

A few years ago a friend of mine told me, "You know we preacher's stretch the truth!" It shocked me to hear this coming from a fellow pastor, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. So many churches have stressed numbers and statics for so long that many pastors feel they have to "stretch the truth" just to fit into the conversation. God help us to remember what Paul said about becoming a castaway. "Stretching the truth" is just a fancy phrase for telling a lie. If anything at all in the church is sacred it must be the man in the pulpit responsible for telling the truth each week. We are all fallible and can stumble and fall, but for a godly man it is often unintentional. Because of our calling we are held to a higher standard than most and we must make sure that we walk circumspectly in our congregation and with our brethren.

Pastors, we have to revisit and reclaim what we believe. It isn't enough to just pastor a Bible believing church. You have to know what you believe in the Bible! You need to know the what and the why of your beliefs! You have to know the absolutes and stand on them in the face of a society that would rather you embrace license, tolerance, and inclusion. Don't just buy what the media says or even what another preacher says. If we preach the truth then we must live the truth and be honest with our congregation and each other. Deception in the church often begins and ends with the one standing behind the pulpit. If we don't hold ourselves accountable we must remember that God does.

The Word proclaims for us to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Revisit what the Word says about truth and the way we treat one another. Revisit what the great Christian theologians, scholars, and pastors of yesteryear embraced and don't let down the standard. Take up the warrior mentality again because we are facing an onslaught of lies from the enemy that is destroying our brotherhood. This is not a time to cower down and hide. We must take courage that God is with us and preach the truth as we live it.