Why Do Pastors Cheat Lay Christians? Who Is To Be Blamed?

            A news site report that a pastor in Nigeria allegedly built a swimming pool with healing powers is fascinating, “Twitter user, Kevin Odanz revealed a pastor in Kubwa, Abuja who built a swimming pool in church called ‘pool of bethsheba’.

            The pool allegedly has healing powers and once you enter, your problems would disappear.

            However, they charge the congregation per swim. For full swim, the pastor charges N50,000. For people who can’t afford this, they are offered a bottle of water from the pool which goes for N10,000.

            Also, on some days, they offer free swim for the congregation.”¹

            Another pastor sold pictures of himself while he apparently was in heaven!²

            Instances such as this are endless. Every city would boast of multiple instances where pastors cheat their fellow Christians with so-called holy products.

            While some pastors are busy selling these holy products, there are Christians who are more than willing to buy these holy products.

            Who is to be blamed? Pastors or Christians?

            If there are no buyers, sellers cannot sell their products. As long as there are buyers, sellers will continue to sell their products. This is common sense.

            While pastors cannot escape from being blamed, we should also blame the lay Christians (equally if not more) for this appalling situation in the Christendom.

Bible Knowledge

            Many Christians do not know their Bible. They may have a Bible, but they do not read it.

            The holy products being sold by the apparently holy pastors mean nothing and do nothing. Consider the response from Gotquestions.org about holy water, which is one among the holy products peddled by some self-styled holy pastors:³

Question: "What does the Bible say about holy water?"

Answer: The Bible is silent about holy water the way it is used today. For baptism, Matthew 3:11 speaks of "baptizing with water for repentance," with nothing in the context suggesting that the water itself is holy. Baptism is a symbolic ritual, identifying oneself with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. A closer parallel to the modern use of holy water would be God's laws in the Old Testament, which required cleaning ritually unclean things with water to purify them before one could touch them (see Leviticus 15, 16, and 17:15). See also a specific reference to ritually unclean people in Numbers 19:17.

Holy water is now permanently retained at the entrance of Catholic churches, blessed at the first of each lunar month, and sprinkled over patrons as they enter. This practice was created to supplant the pagan celebration of the new moon, according to Canon 65 of the Council of Constantinople (691). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest modern uses of holy water appear in the ninth century. With that, coupled with the New Testament's silence regarding the practice and use of holy water, it can be concluded that the tradition of holy water was created for the sole purpose of putting a pagan ceremony out of commission, using a scant few biblical references to water for purification.

Any practice that makes us feel closer to God and furthers our walk with Him should be encouraged (cf. Romans 14, esp. v23). But also consider 1 Corinthians 6:12. If a practice is beneficial to a relationship with God, keep it; otherwise, throw it away. This is all the more true when said practice has little biblical foundation. The Bible nowhere instructs Christians to use "holy water" in any way, shape, or form. The Catholic use of holy water is not biblical.

            God forgives our sins. God heals. God purifies us. Go to God and not these products or places.

            Holy pools, holy water, holy this and holy that are a sham.

Idolizing Pastors

            Many Christians idolize their pastors. Their obedience to their pastors is a blind obedience.

            These naïve and gullible Christians worship their pastors more than they worship God. Once again, lack of biblical knowledge motivates such a dreadful practice among Christians.

            An excerpt from an article in Beliefnet entitled 3 Signs You’ve Made Your Pastor An Idol offers this wisdom:⁴

Worshiping Leadership

Leadership, authority, hierarchy, accountability, and submission are heavily promoted in Christian, especially evangelical, circles, and while the modern interpretation of the paid pastoral position isn't in the Bible, those who love power quote Hebrews 13:17 as a means of keeping church members (the sheep) in line:

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy.”

Interestingly, this verb "obey," cross-referenced in Strong's Concordance, is in other verses translated as "trust in," or "have confidence in," a strong distinction from "obey." Even if one chooses the latter action, it is best not to do so until the former two options have been achieved. For all Christians, the primary Shepherd is Jesus, who “lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11-12). We worship -- and obey -- Him alone…

Putting Our Pastor's Voice Over God's

There are many good teachers who study God's word with a sincere desire to grasp truth from it, passing it on to their fellow believers -- with whom they are equal in Christ. These men and women mirror the humility that Jesus showed when He washed His disciples' feet, and are little rewarded (materially) for their pains.

There are others, however, who do not "enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climb in by some other way." (John 10:1)

Thieves and robbers, they demand our respect, time, money, and obedience, which should raise alarm flags.

Before we listen too seriously, too well, and too passively to another person's voice, we should ask ourselves why we're doing this, as well as remind ourselves that, in a church situation, choosing to attend any particular congregation is a completely voluntary process, unlike the submission demanded by government, employers, rulers, and kings.

            Pastors are mere human beings. They are fallible. They make mistakes.

            They lie when they build a so-called holy pool and attribute healing powers to that pool. Similarly holy water, holy this and holy that.

            You do not need to buy everything your pastor sells.

            Respecting your pastor is different from idolizing your pastor. You need not, with all due respect to your pastor, buy anything from him.

Why Do Pastors Cheat?

            Pastors cheat because they know that their audience can be cheated. This is the brutal truth.

            Moreover, these pastors cheat because they are greedy for wealth and fame. They are the wolves in sheep’s clothing (cf. Matthew 7:15; 6: 24).

            Significantly, these pastors cheat by willfully disobeying God. They are self-seeking. The Bible condemns such a practice, “…but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.” (Romans 2: 8, NET; cf. 2 Timothy 3: 2).

            Beware of these pastors. They may not be Christians to begin with.

            To conclude, worship God. Love HIM and obey HIM. Know HIS Word. Grow in HIM.

            May this excerpt from the Westminster Shorter Catechism guide our spiritual journey in Christ our Lord:⁵

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, [a] and to enjoy him for ever. [b]

[a]. Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev.

4:11

[b]. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev.

21:3-4

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, [a] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. [b]

[a]. Matt. 19:4-5 with Gen. 2:24; Luke 24:27, 44; 1 Cor. 2:13;

14:37; 2 Pet.1:20-21; 3:2, 15-16

[b]. Deut. 4:2; Ps. 19:7-11; Isa. 8:20; John 15:11; 20:30-31;

Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 John 1:4

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, [a] and what duty God requires of man [b].

[a]. Gen. 1:1; John 5:39; 20:31; Rom. 10:17; 2 Tim. 3:15

[b]. Deut. 10:12-13; Josh. 1:8; Ps. 119:105; Mic. 6:8; 2 Tim.

3:16-17

Endnotes:

¹https://idonsabi.com/pastor-builds-swimming-pool-with-healing-powers-in-church-charges-50k-per-swim/

²https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35944680

³https://www.gotquestions.org/holy-water.html

⁴https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/galleries/3-signs-youve-made-your-pastor-an-idol.aspx

⁵http://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/shorter-catechism/

Websites last accessed on 27^th November 2019.