Every once in a while, we come across a preacher who seems to be sharing the Good News quite different from what we have heard. For example, we may heard about some so called preachers who claim that we will receive greater rewards from God if we are more generous in our contributions or love offerings. Some are so easily taken in by such easy access to God's grace and providence, that they are duped into parting with their cash and even property, thinking that they can so conveniently and so easily buy their way to heaven. More often than not, such so called preaching is only meant to enrich the preacher.
In today's reading, St. Paul warns us: "if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one you have already heard, he is to be condemned. So now whom am I trying to please – man, or God? Would you say it is men’s approval I am looking for? If I still wanted that, I should not be what I am – a servant of Christ. The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realise this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ." St. Paul is cautioning us to be vigilant, because many preachers claiming to proclaim the Good News could emerge and give us false teaching. We could notice such preachers in their motives and in their fruits; whether what they are doing is for the glory of God, or for their own glory while lining their pockets. Let us not be so easily taken for a ride, and adhere to true and proper preaching, for the good of our eternal future.
How true!
ReplyDeleteMany false pastors are preaching prosperity not sharing in the passion of CHRIST