Woe to the Popular Preacher

Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

I suppose to some degree we all like to be accepted. No one sets out (intentionally) in life to be rejected, misunderstood, hated, or persecuted. As a matter of fact, many people spend their whole lives trying desparately to please other people. If you're one of those people who crave approval, then you really need to read this article. Books have been written on this topic, so rather than writing an exhaustive treatise on the dangers of approval addiction, I would rather just bring a biblical perspective to the table. Now I write this for everyone, but I really hope that I can reach some of my fellow ministers out there who have fallen into this horrible trap of Satan unawares. You see, if the devil cannot discourage you to the point of quitting and convince you that you are a failure- he'll do the next best thing which is far more cunning and sinister- he'll get you so addicted to the praise of men, that you will care much less what God thinks of you and everything about what the masses think of you.

This becomes much more of an end-times issue, but it has always been a problem. There has always been the temptation to compromise the message to keep the people happy. Just think back to the whole incident with the children of Israel and the golden calf. :

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

When the people became impatient, they brought their demands to Aaron. (Never mind that they had just heard "thou shalt have no other gods before me.") Rather than commanding the people to follow the Lord and receive the instruction from the man of God (Moses) up on the mountain.......he acquiesced to the wants of "the people." Now what's interesting to me is that in verse 4 (above) it says that Aaron "fashioned" the calf with his tool. Yet when confronted by Moses, he made this excuse :

Exodus 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

Human tendency of course is to blame someone else or "random chance" when it comes time for accountability....but I digress....

Men have always had a desire for preachers and prophets who would say things they want to hear.

Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: 30:10Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Micah 2:11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

The bible warns that in the last days, not only will people listen to false teachers- they will "heap" to themselves teachers which preach the very false gospel they love to hear:

II Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4:4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Additionally, men have always had a disdain for those who would preach against the sins of the day:

I Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so

In the New Testament we read of King Herod's affinity for John the Baptist:

Mark 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly

And yet when his own sins were confronted by John the Baptist- his response was slightly different:

Matthew 14:3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. 14:4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

John was eventually beheaded for his willingness to speak the truth. I wonder how many of today's preachers have that same boldness (I wonder if I would have that same boldness).

I thank God for Spirit-filled men like Peter and Paul who were willing to go against the grain.

Acts 4:18And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard

Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ

I get concerned whenever the media portrays a minister in a positive light. I get concerned when a preacher becomes acceptable to the politicians of his day. I get concerned when all of "Christendom" (tongue in cheek here) has nothing but praise for a particular minister. When these ministers begin to get a public platform, we often rejoice and make statements like "God is raising this man/woman up for such a time as this." While it is true that sometimes God will open a special door for us (even allowing us to preach to "dignitaries" at times-just look at the life of Paul), we should never expect that a true gospel preacher will be welcomed by the world. If he is.....you should begin to intercede for him.....because Jesus said "woe" to the man that everyone speaks well of. Paul spoke of the "offense of the cross" (Galatians 5:11). He told the Corinthians that the preaching of the cross was to the Jews "a stumblingblock" and to the Gentiles "foolishness." The minute that you start making sense to the world around you, you should be concerned. Notice what the the beloved John said about this:

I John 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 4:6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error

This clear biblical truth should be apparent to all. The world will not hear the message of a real messenger sent from God. When the world begins to take note and accept the message of any particular preacher-beware-he's probably not sent from the Holy One of Israel. I know that most of you who read this site know that you must be discerning and that there is much deception out there. But I find that many are still under the impression that because someone has a "word" or a "message" that he has been sent from God. Let's look at some scripture to clarify this point and show the fallacy of this line of thinking:

Jeremiah 27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 27:15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you

Jeremiah 29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

Many false prophets may think that they are prophesying the word of the Lord, but instead it is something from their own imagination. Because they are motivated by money and bigger crowds, they are more than eager to convince themselves that God is in the arrangements

Ezekiel 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 13:4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. 13:6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

So much of what passes for "prophecy" today, is nothing more than manipulation. In the book of I Corinthians we are admonished to judge prophecy for it's validity and conformity to the revealed word of God in scripture. A so-called prophet who only prophesies "smooth things" (Isaiah 30:9) has probably not been sent by God. A true prophet sent from God will say some things that offend man's sinful nature. Let's look at some of the ministers in scripture, and the mandates they were given.

Isaiah was uniquely called by God. We love to recount the story of Isaiah and we often refer to his words "here am I Lord, send me." But we don't often hear about the nature of his ministry. Notice the commission he received from the Lord:

Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed

Right now many pastors may be thinking "you just described the church I pastor." Well, if you're preaching the whole counsel of God, then that may not be that far off base. In any given congregation of believers, there are likely wheat and tares. The parable of the sower and the soils reveals that many will hear the Word, but not everyone will bring forth fruit. What about Jeremiah?- this was a man sent from God-called from the womb- surely he would be a popular preacher right?

Jeremiah 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant

Notice God said "be not afraid of their faces." Why do you think He said that? Was it not because He knew the message would not be palatable to an ungodly world? When your message is to "build" and to "plant" people don't get too upset. We hear a lot about how to "build" a megachurch these days. But when your message is to "root out", "pull down", and "destroy", then you should be prepared for opposition. I want to make it clear that a preacher's message isn't always a negative one, (there are times for edification, encouragement, etc.) but there should be a balance. A minister that only talks about the positive points and refuses to confront sin and avoids the offence of the cross, will soon find himself under the judgement of God. What about Ezekiel- surely this man would be well-received right?

Ezekiel 2:4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. 2:5And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. 2:6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

Are you starting to see a theme here? (I hope so). Jesus Himself taught us that the world would not receive our message. He spoke in very plain terms. Paul told Timothy that "all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Peter said "think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing were happening" John the Baptist used terminology like "generation of vipers"...Jesus used terms like "white-washed tombs"....He certainly wasn't afraid to offend and to confront sin head on! Jesus said that He didn't come to send peace, but a sword. Truth will divide. Yes, there is a unity of the Spirit that we must strive for. There is great power when we are unified under the blood-stained banner of the cross of the Lord Jesus. On the day of Pentecost they were all "in one accord" and the power of God fell upon them. But the church is never in unity with the world. We are to be separate- we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light. In John's first epistle he states "marvel not if the world hates you" and in his gospel Jesus declared these words :

John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

I probably could have summed up this whole article with just that passage above. The world hates Jesus and it always has. Those who say that there are many paths to God recoil in disgust when we say that Jesus is the only means of salvation- He is the way- He is the truth- He is the door! We are labeled as intolerant but we shouldn't be surprised by this. If they persecuted Jesus (and they did- even to the point of crucifixion) ,what makes us think that we are so much greater that we should be above all of that. You would think that people would appreciate it when you tell them the truth about salvation, but often we feel like Paul when he told the Galatians "have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16)

Let's take it a step further- some are willing to accept that Jesus is the only means of salvation- but many are not willing to believe that faith in Christ demands obedience. They have bought into a cheap-grace "easy-believism" that tells them they can live any way that they choose and still be saved. The bible is very clear that our walk must match our talk or else our religion is in vain. Look at the book of I John some time and notice how many times it states "If we say....."- it is important that we live what we profess. James warned that "faith without works is dead." Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" (Romans 1:5 & 16:26). Jesus said "not everyone that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom...but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Have you ever wondered why Paul so often said in his epistles "be not deceived" "know ye not?"

Some are motivated by money:

II Peter 2:3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

II Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness

I Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil:

Some are motivated by power and influence

Acts 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one

Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

III John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not

Whatever the motivation- be very careful when you start to fit in with the world! So the next time you take a stand for righteousness and are labeled a fanatic or intolerant or weird....just remember the words of Jesus. And be thankful that your detractors are keeping the "woe" off of you. May God richly bless you as you study His Word and give you the grace to stand for truth in this sinful and adulterous generation!