Wolves Need To Be Outed

Yesterday I asked for Pastors to preach the word . Not just bits and pieces of the Bible but the whole counsel.That is their primary task . But another very important role of a good shepherd that faithfully attends to his flock is protection.The shepherds job was a very dangerous one at times . They would have to use their staff , sling and a sword to fend off thieves,bears,lions or other predators that  would threaten the sheep.

The  threats to the sheep  within the Church are very real as well in a spiritual sense . You will have those who are in plain site like the cults who deny the truth , the new atheistic screeds who try to cast doubt but these are from the outside so to speak. Dangerous and not to be ignored but those who operate within are the most dangerous.When Paul wrote Galatians it was to confront false teachers who were holding sway , leading the flock astray. Paul was as blunt as a hammer . As we need to be.

We are warned in scripture of wolves who will undermine the truth of the gospel . Through out the ages many great Christians had to stand sometimes almost alone in fighting heresy. From Athanasius in the 4th century who contended for the deity of Jesus and we derive the council of Nicea , Augustine in the 4th and 5th century against the monk Pelagius over the doctrine of sin and free will , Luther in the 16th against the Roman Catholic Churches corruption and faulty gospel . The list could go on and on of  faithful men of God who stood against the wolves within and exposed the evil for what it is , apostasy and heresy.

Today the climate is no different. Recently online a video by popular emergent Pastor Rob Bell promoting his new book has caused quite a stir. He has long been on the radar as a question mark when it comes to orthodoxy. But this new book , if the promo video is to be believed , endorses universalism . A denial of hell .If this is true , he has moved away from 2000 years of truth to heresy. The sad truth , his teaching has been well received within many so called Evangelical churches .

Bell along with others like Brian Mclaren ,Joyce Meyers,TD Jakes teach a faulty theology but the fact that many Churches have some of their books in their libraries is sad.

When Paul told Timothy  to reprove and rebuke , part of that process is to openly confront error and heresy . Paul openly named names. He did hide behind a curtain or remain silent. But more importantly look at the way Jesus dealt with the false religious teachers . He called them a den of vipers and white washed tombs. If a wolf has entered your pasture , you don't politely try to get them to leave . You stand and defend the sheep with your life. You take the offensive .

Its a matter of protecting the flock . The sheep a Pastor has been given are not his own but God's and He has given them to you to feed ,tend and protect. Just as my family has been given to me to feed.tend and protect. If someone breaks into my house to do them harm , I would bring lethal force to secure their safety. As it should be in God's house. A Pastor needs to bring lethal spiritual force , exposing the error , and calling those in apostasy to repent.

It is not a task for the timid or the weak .However if you have entered into the call as shepherd then its is part of your call. The gospel is at stake , the glory of God and souls . Is it not time to stand and be counted.

Verse Of The Day  :    [13] Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 
                 ( 1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV)