Satan , pain , or death . Only eternity with Christ and fellowship with all the believers who have preceded us . Let ’ s comfort our flocks with these words amid the hardships they may be facing .
In his address to the Ephesian elders , Paul said “ savage wolves ” would come in and not spare the flock . The danger Paul is describing comes from those who claim to be Christian teachers . They don ’ t deny the Word of God outright , but rather “ distort the truth ,” with the goal of winning a personal following . This danger was so real that for three years Paul “ never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears ” ( Acts 20:31 ). Clearly , this was a real and present danger to the flock .
I sometimes find myself watching cable TV stations that feature religious programming . Some of what I find there is good and it blesses me . Sound biblical preaching is always inspiring . But much of what I view is heretical . I often think , “ How many unbelievers are watching and thinking that this represents the Christian faith ?” And how do we know that some of our precious believers aren ’ t being taken in by one of these charlatans ? Or sending money to one of the con artists with their “ seed faith ” formula aimed only at lining their own pocket ? Do we , as pastors , have a duty to warn them about such things ?
There is only one holy nation , and that is the church of Jesus Christ . Let ’ s aim for winning souls one at a time .
I know that many of us are reluctant to take that approach . We ’ d rather focus on teaching the Word and maintaining a positive tone . Also , we don ’ t want to be accused of being “ judgmental .” That ’ s a wise approach in most matters . But we have to be careful not to fall into what a friend of mine called the love
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