What is wrong with Christian leaders in this country? Have they all lost their collective spines?!
I am very disappointed by most pastors, politicians, and corporate leaders who claim to be Christian but have remained silent in the face of devastating societal decay.
- Schools are teaching kids in kindergarten about aberrant sexual preferences and dare to say that parents have no input in what is taught in the schools!
- Men are pretending to be women so they can participate in women’s sports.
- Men and women, unhappy with their God-given sex, are undergoing reassignment surgery to change to the opposite sex.
- Incarcerated men who “identify” as women are being transferred to women’s prisons. These “men” are raping incarcerated women, resulting in several pregnancies.
- Most horrific of all, a bill in the Maryland legislature would allow a parent or medical professional to kill an infant within a month of birth!
Where is the outcry from Christian leaders calling out these atrocious behaviors? Perhaps they do not know or understand fundamental Biblical doctrine.
Christian Leaders Lack Knowledge of Doctrine
Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been distracting the people of God by telling lies dressed up as truth. These lies remain his most effective weapon hampering the walk of Christian leaders today.
Satan’s lies are effective because many Christians either accept bad doctrine or have such a limited understanding of doctrine that they accept all sorts of bad practices and behaviors.
I put a large part of the blame for this lack of doctrinal knowledge right at the feet of pastors, elders, and other church leaders not teaching solid doctrinal truth.
However, Christian leaders also need to accept responsibility for their lack of doctrinal knowledge. How can you lead your organization to bring honor and glory to God if you don’t know what the Bible says about a particular topic?
Worse yet, some Christian leaders understand sound doctrine but don’t have the courage to live it out in their lives!
I am reminded of Jesus’ strong rebuke of the Jewish leaders:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27-28).
Ouch! I think if Jesus were to encounter many of our Christian leaders today, He would make the same declaration. Leaders who don’t know or are afraid to confront unbiblical behavior are like whitewashed tombs; they look good on the outside, trying to appear as righteous, but on the inside, they are full of hypocrisy and wickedness!
The Duty of Christian Leaders
If you’ve spent any time around evangelical pastors, you may have heard the phrase, “every member is a minister.”
This claim is derived from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–13).
There are three key takeaways from this passage.
First, church leaders are responsible for teaching and equipping the body of Christ with the knowledge of God. Second, the people, that’s us, the body of Christ, are to use that knowledge and live it out in acts of service. Third, so we become mature Christians living out our faith in full.
As a Christian leader, how do you think we are doing? An honest appraisal of our society today suggests we are sorely lacking in fulfilling Jesus’ command. Sadly, we have far too many leaders who are whitewashed tombs full of hypocrisy and wickedness!
What Can Christian Leaders Do Today?
People who handle money in banks must be able to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit currency. They are not trained to detect counterfeit money. Instead, they are trained to spot the real thing. Anything that isn’t real is fake.
The same thing is true of sound doctrine. We need to train ourselves to know God’s Word. When we know God’s word, it’s easy to spot false doctrine, even when dressed up in Satan’s lies and half-truths.
Writing to Titus and church leaders on the importance of sound doctrine, Paul said,
“Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers” (Titus 1:9).
The most significant responsibility of every Christian leader is to know and be able to teach others God’s truth. In this one verse, Paul supplies four specific instructions.
1. Commitment to the Word
“Holding fast the faithful word.” To be a good leader, we must be fully committed to the truth of God’s Word. The Word of God is trustworthy, alive, and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. We must be steadfast in our loyalty to the Word of God.
2. Concern About the Word
“As he has been taught.” Christian leaders must care about God’s Word enough to know what God has to say about how we are to live. If we don’t know what God’s Word does say, how will we recognize Satan’s lies and half-truths when we hear them?
3. Capability on the Word
“That he may be able by sound doctrine to exhort.” Christian leaders who know the Word of God must also be prepared to teach sound doctrine to others. This is where many pastors and church leaders have failed society. They’ve spent years studying the Word, they know the Word, but they fail to teach the Word honestly, thoroughly, and with conviction to others.
4. Correcting by the Word
“By sound doctrine … convince the gainsayers.” Any deviation from the sound doctrine of God is unsound teaching and must be corrected. The “gainsayers” are those who dispute the truth of what God says. As Paul describes them, the gainsayers are those that believe Satan’s lies and half-truths. This idea of rebuking or correcting those who promote unsound doctrine is where Christian leaders have failed the body of Christ. We are standing by with pursed lips, staying silent while Satan’s deceivers spread their vicious lies.
False Teachers Abound
Paul expressed his concern for believers being led away from the simple truths of God’s teaching in his letter to the Corinthians (Corinthians 11:3) and the Galatians (Galatians 1:6-7). In the early days of the church, some promoted lies and half-truths, deceiving Christians, and leading them away from God.
Nothing has changed today. Those who oppose God’s Word still promote Satan’s lies. We are dealing with the decline of Biblical values in society precisely because Satan continues to promulgate his lies and half-truths, and Christian leaders are not countering his lies with sound doctrine.
The challenge that lies before us as Christian leaders is, do we want to be counted among those who hold fast to the Word of God, teach it to others, and correct bad doctrine? Or are we keeping our mouths shut, appearing righteous on the outside, while inside, we are full of hypocrisy and wickedness?
Discussion Questions
These questions can serve as a valuable framework for a thoughtful and engaging discussion about the article and how its insights and perspectives apply to our lives today.
- What role do Christian leaders have in addressing societal issues that go against biblical principles? How important is it for them to speak out against these issues?
- How can Christian leaders ensure they have a strong foundation in biblical doctrine? What steps can they take to continually deepen their understanding of the Scriptures?
- In what ways can Christian leaders cultivate courage and boldness to confront unbiblical behavior and teachings? How can they overcome the fear of opposition or backlash?
- How can Christian leaders maintain integrity and authenticity in their leadership? What practices or principles can help them align their actions with their beliefs?
- As false teachings and deceptive ideologies persist, what strategies can Christian leaders employ to effectively counteract them with sound doctrine? How can they equip believers to discern truth from deception and stand firm in their faith?
More Articles
I have written other articles on a leader’s integrity. You can find them by typing “Integrity” in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are several of them.
- #483: Follow These Four Steps to Build a Life Without Compromise
- #481: You Have Two Options When You’re Trapped Working in The Belly of The Beast!
- #400: Every Effective, Productive Christian Has These Eight Traits
- #261: Can You Separate Private Integrity from Public Actions?
- #184: How Do I Trust Thee? Let Me Count the Ways!
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Have you had to confront bad doctrine in your church or your job? If so, what was the result?
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Category: Personal Development | Integrity
Thank you for your open words. It is exactly this issue of trusting God’s word and holding fast to his perfect law of life that we are struggeling with in our church (here in Germany). The importance of sound doctrine and the knowledge of God is key.
Your thoughts just fit to what I recently read and heard in other recources and they all encourage me to bravely say where we have gotten away from faithfully trusting that God is right in all that he says.
Thanks, Matthias! I am glad this article was helpful. Sadly, you are correct when you say we have gotten away from faithfully trusting God!