Should A Pastor Make Judgements Of Other Churches In His Sermon?

Should a pastor make judgment of other churches in his sermon?

Paul’s Experience

Did the Apostle Paul ever call out a church by name in his letters? What we don’t know is what he said in his sermons. Surely Paul preached when he visited the various churches he planted. There can be no doubt since Paul went into the Jewish synagogue every change he had so he would most certainly have preached while he was there at the different churches he visited and he identifies himself as a preacher (2nd Tim 1:11), so the question is, would Paul have called out the other churches? Would he have made judgments about them? We know that he named names on more than one occasion because he wanted to warn the church about certain men who were bringing a gospel that is contrary to the one that Jesus Christ Himself brought (Mark 1:15) and the one that Christ had taught Paul while three years in the desert (Gal 1:16-24). He warned the church at Philippi to “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh”’ (Phil 3:1) or who taught that you can be saved by Jesus but it also takes circumcision and the law. To believe that is to believe the very opposite of what the gospel is (Eph 2:8-9).

Paul’s Judgment

To those who say we are not to judge, they make judgments every day. We all do! They judge whether the weather requires a raincoat, they judge a new car by test driving it, and they judge whether something is worth the money or not, so we all make judgments every single day. Paul had too because many were preaching another gospel and not really a gospel at all, and so he warns Timothy about “Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1st Tim 1:6-7). In Paul’s very last letter before his martyrdom, he told Timothy that “Phygelus and Hermogenes” had abandoned him (2nd Tim 1:15) but also “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia” so “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2nd Tim 4:9-11). Paul doesn’t hesitate to identify these men who are corrupting the gospel that Jesus Christ brought and taught. It is sometimes necessary to identify these false teachers and by extension, these churches who support them but also tolerate their half-truths which are really whole lies. If we never warned anyone about anything, it’d be a most dangerous world so we never warn anyone, then I guess we wouldn’t need the Better Business Bureau and they’d be out of business themselves!

Apostasy Expected

The Apostle Paul was not surprised by all of the false teachers bringing a false gospel because he wrote “that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared” (1st Tim 4:1-2) but why do so many bring a false gospel? You don’t counterfeit gum wrappers; no, you counterfeit something that can make money, just as Paul warned Titus by writing, “They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain” (Titus 1:11) or doing it just for money. This doesn’t catch God by surprise but neither did it to Paul as he wrote, “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2nd Tim 4:3-4). That time has come Paul.

Why it Matters

Why does it really matter whether we judge these false teachers and their churches who are teaching a false gospel? Will it really make a difference in the end? Yes, and yes! It will mean the difference between heaven and hell and whichever place the go, they stay; forever! Yes, it does matter. We are saved by grace and it’s a free gift of God so we have nothing to brag about (Eph 2:8) nor do we need to do any works to earn it (Eph 2:9). If we see another gospel that requires works then we must let it be known that their idea of salvation is “works + Christ = salvation” but in reality it’s “Christ + nothing = salvation.” By their equation, it’s really “works + Christ = nothing.” Most religions of the world teach “do, do, do” but with Christ, it’s done!

Conclusion

If we fail to warn others about false teachers and churches then they eternal destination is at stake. They may become so indoctrinated in these false teachings that they become blind to the real truth and that the foot of the cross is level ground, God is no respecter of persons, and doesn’t compromise with sin. If repentance, confession, the blood of the lamb, living in holiness, and that grace is a free gift from God is not taught, then you’re hearing another gospel, contrary to the only one that saves (Acts 4:12).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.