The Bible has some sobering words for those who are called to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

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Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1Timothy 4: 11-16 (NIV)

The Word of God is not something to be taken lightly. Neither is the awesome responsibility of tending to His sheep. To be an under-shepherd beneath the Great Shepherd. It seems this is lost on too many preachers and pastors today who approach the Gospel from a business point of view. Who think that some collateral loss is to be expected when growing your church to mega-standard numbers. It is a philosophy that flips the parable of the 99 and 1 on its head. It actually seeks to remove the onus of shepherding completely:

(When asked about Pastors being called shepherd) - That word needs to go away." He added, "It was culturally relevant in the time of Jesus, but it's not culturally relevant any more." (Leadership Journal, "Get-it-Done Leadership," May 2006). - Andy Stanley

Stanley is far from alone as we continue to see the implementation of the Purpose Driven Church vision across the country. While pastors sold out their congregations with the Purpose Driven Life, they were reading a different book from Rick Warren, designed to have them rethink how they can grow their church. The Purpose Driven Church is what exploded the seeker-friendly movement into the vast heresies we see enveloping Christendom today. With the pastor as a CEO instead of a shepherd, his job becomes casting vision instead of tending to the flock. Worldly metrics are used to gauge success. A recent Barna study revealed the top five reasons pastors would give as determining if their ministry was successful and all five considerations were entirely carnal. Consider these next two quotes:

"I am all about blessed subtraction. There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus, and by God's grace it'll be a mountain by the time we're done""

"Be willing to let people leave the church. And I told you earlier the fact that people are going to leave the church no matter what you do (meaning if you incorporate Warren's church growth strategies). But when you define the vision, you define who leaves. You say, 'But Rick, they're the pillars of the church.' Now, you know what pillars are. Pillars are people who hold things up" and in your church, you may have to have some blessed subtractions before you have any real additions."

The first quote is from the now disgraced Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church. The pile of "dead bodies" he so gleefully referred to in this sermon quote, were real people. They were real sheep of God. They were purposefully wounded and discarded by Driscoll. It is no surprise that Driscoll was raised and trained by the Purpose Driven Church and Warren theology because the second quote here is from Rick Warren himself, speaking at a seminar on church growth. These should be frightening quotes for the sheep but even more frightening for those who consider themselves pastors or preachers. You see when you embrace purpose driven theology you lose the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. You start watering down all of it; even the parts that might apply to you as a Christian leader.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. - 1Timothy 5: 17 (ESV)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. - James 3: 1 (ESV)

We all like the double honor but we forget why it is due. The reason is that we will be held to a higher standard. The standard of judgment that applies to the sheep is much stricter when it is applied to the shepherd. In these days of expanded social media, where everyone is willing to provide their opinions, there is an explosion of people who have not been called to divide the Word of Truth thinking it is no big deal if they do. They are sorely mistaken. This is why modern day wannabe prophets who think 65% accuracy is acceptable are completely moronic and dangerous. You do not misrepresent the Lord! In the Old Testament, a prophet who did so was stoned to death! There is a higher standard when we dare to say - thus sayeth the Lord:

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand."So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. - Ezekiel 33: 1-9 (ESV)

We are not called to coddle the wicked. We are not called to help them find their purpose. We are not called to make them feel accepted in their wickedness. We are called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness and regeneration from their wickedness. The same forgiveness and restoration we needed from our wickedness. I am not talking about some milquetoast, three sentence prayer, that does not address their sin and need for repentance. I am not talking about manipulative altar calls with sappy music and "inviting Jesus into your heart." I am not talking about spontaneous baptisms of people who are just as much the goat they were when they walked in. I am talking about the eternal destination of the souls of man. It is a higher standard because it should be. The late preacher David Wilkerson seemed to understand this:

"I keep this foremost in my mind and before my eyes, because every minister of the gospel one day has to face it when he stands before the Lord. He will say, "Son of man, I made thee a watchman. You were to hear the words of My mouth and give them warnings from Me. You were to tell the wicked, 'Thou shalt surely die.' And you gave them no warning nor spoke to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked ways to save their lives. These same wicked men died in their sins, but their blood I'll require at your hands."

Keep preaching about your best life now, silly earthly prosperity, grace without repentance, how to improve your marriage, or any other nonsense and be ready to stand before Christ and be judged by a stricter standard. Wait a minute preacher! Those warnings are from the Old Testament! So? Has God changed? Does He ever change? But if you would feel better knowing this did carry over, let us turn to Paul, who clearly understood what was on the line:

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. - Acts 20: 26-27 (ESV)

This is Paul saying farewell to the leaders of the Church at Ephesus. There is no question that the warnings to Ezekiel still carry over to watchmen today. We are charged with a grave task. It is not one to be entered into lightly. Turning to our key verses we see Paul teaching young Timothy what his responsibilities were going to be; as one who was going to be laboring in teaching and preaching. The first charge is to not worry about what worldly reasons one might try and dismiss you. Too young, too old, to white, too black. It does not matter! The only thing that matters is Jesus and His Gospel! Instead, we are instructed to give them something to follow. Those that would be pastors or preachers are to be an example for believers in five crucial areas.

The first area is in speech. You cannot be boasting about leaving a pile of dead bodies in the wake of your leadership. I once heard a local pastor tell people if they could not reconcile with another sheep then they needed to leave the church! Talk about not understanding the 99 and the 1! The second area is in our conduct. The Bible says that pastors are to be above reproach. Is that a high standard? Absolutely. It needs to be a high standard because so much is on the line. Last week a mega church pastor was arrested for drunk driving. How many have fallen for sexual affairs? How many have fallen for chasing filthy lucre and greed? It seems a pastor today has no sooner released his press statement about his fall from grace when the conversation automatically turns to his "restoration" to ministry. Enough! The third area we are to be examples to the sheep is in love. I do not mean the sugar coated, "let me do what I want" love that is floated around by so many in the church today. It is not love to withhold the truth from someone. It is not love to stand up for a false teacher who is slaughtering hundreds of thousands of sheep. We are to love the sheep and love the lost. That means as pastors we do not post angry words spewing venom at politicians we may not like. It means we do not tweet about people in other countries in hateful ways when God still wants none to perish. It means we have to check our flesh and crucify it. There is a higher standard beloved. There is a stricter judgment. The fourth area is in faith. A pastor's faith cannot be fleeting. We must be all in. Instead what do we see? Pastors who preach that maybe not all of the Bible is to be taken literally. Maybe we can change this doctrine or that for the sake of inclusion, generational differences or societal pressures. No. We must be steadfast in our faith. Fifth, we need to be an example in purity. This wave of young gun pastors lack reverence. Cursing from the pulpit. Sexual innuendoes from the pulpit. Celebrating worldliness with the ripped jeans and tattoos movement. Look, I am not saying preachers need to be in a three piece suit. I am all for casual because Christ accepts us for who we are but when we come to Him there is supposed to be a change! Nowadays, we see pastors trying to look like the world. Trying to seem relevant to the culture that is sending people straight to hell. They do not need to see a pastor with a faux-hawk, skinny jeans, a leather jacket and tats all over his body. They see that every day on the streets they have to walk. We are supposed to be a shining city on a hill. We are supposed to be a peculiar people.

Next in the key verses we see what preachers and teachers are supposed to devote themselves to. Notice it is not writing books. It is not trying to get rich. No beloved. We are supposed to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scriptures, preaching, and teaching. How many mega church pastors barely even use Scripture and when they do it is ripped horribly out of context? Joel Osteen is on record as saying he will not apologize for not bringing in Scripture until the end of his messages. Since he rarely seems to understand Scripture, that may not be a bad thing. It is however an unbiblical thing. There is nothing we can say that will break any yokes off of people enslaved to Satan and this world. We do not have the words of eternal life - only Jesus does.

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." - John 6: 66-69 (ESV)

Besides the public declaration of Scripture, we are supposed to devote ourselves to preaching and teaching. Are we sensing a theme here from Paul? It is supposed to be about the Word of God. It is supposed to be about the Gospel. Seminars on how to improve you marriage should be saved for days other than Sundays. We have transformed the sanctuary into the set of Dr. Phil and it needs to stop. Lives are on the line. You can have an improved marriage and still be going to hell. The next reminder in the key verses is that those who labor in preaching and teaching have been given a gift. It is not to be squandered. It is not to be misapplied. It is not to be neglected. We are to be diligent in these matters. We are to give ourselves wholly to them. This is not a part-time endeavor beloved. This is why double honor is due to those who labor in preaching and teaching. It is not a job; it is a calling.

The final consideration from the key verses is verse 16. It is a very well known verse. I quote it often in my writing. Paul tells Timothy to watch only two things closely. His life and his doctrine. We need to watch our lives because if we err there then our testimony is ruined. If our testimony is ruined, the Gospel suffers as well. How many people never returned to church because of the fall of a pastor? How many never returned because they were hurt by a pastor or eldership? We are to watch our doctrine because what we profess to believe is equally important as how we live our lives and are often intertwined. I know that many mega church pastors today and people into experiential Christianity have tried to turn doctrine into a dirty word but it is crucial for us as believers.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. - Ephesians 4: 11-16 (ESV)

Unity is not some pajama party where we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. Unity is not agreeing without caring what the substance is that we are agreeing to. Unity is rooted in and held together by doctrine. It is doctrine that ultimately saves. False doctrine leads people to hell. Correct doctrine leads people to Christ. We cannot take on the responsibility of preaching and teaching the sheep of God and then not care what we feed them. Feeding them lies will kill them and as we have seen, their blood is then on our hands. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not need to be altered. It does not need to be made relevant. It does not need to be sugared up or watered down. It does not need to be sold. It does not need to be marketed. It does not need to be dressed up or stripped down. It simply needs to be preached. Not with our human wisdom, lest the power of the cross be emptied of its power. These are serious matters and they require serious people who will understand that doctrine is not a dirty word. It is what unifies us in Christ.

Verse 16 and thus the key verses end with a very telling instruction. Paul says we must persevere in our life and doctrine. To persevere means to persist despite obstacles, difficulties and discouragement. Just like we can expect obstacles, difficulties and discouragement in our lives; we should also expect it in our doctrine. People will challenge us to go with the flow; to compromise. To look at the vast numbers of people attending these false churches. They must be doing something right? Wrong. The road that leads to destruction is broad because there are a lot of people on it. The gate that leads to eternal life is narrow and few find it. We cannot sell out doctrine for the sake of "growth" or "reaching as many as we can for Jesus." If you change the doctrine, then you change the Gospel. If you change the Gospel then you are reaching them with a false Jesus who cannot save them.

Lastly, all of these things are important because the very salvation of our listeners is at stake. If we persevere in them then we will save both ourselves and our listeners. The job of those who labor in teaching and preaching is not to make this life comfortable. It is to ensure where people go in the life that is to come. Notice though that it also saves us; the preachers and teachers. So we come full circle. Those who labor in teaching and preaching will be held to a higher standard. We will give account for every sheep that was entrusted to us. Not just the ones who agreed with us. We will answer for every dead body we leave lying in our wake. To be called to be a watchman on the wall is a serious matter. Blood is always on the line when we step up to speak. The only question is who will be held to account for it. Those should be some very sobering thoughts for us all.

Reverend Anthony Wade - September 29, 2014

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.