“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 ESV

James 3:1 warns those of us who presume to teach that we are going to be held to a higher standard, a stricter judgment. We who speak on behalf of Christ, who stand as ambassadors of His truth to His people and to those who are being drawn to Him. And there are plenty of examples of people who have shared Christ out of selfishness and out of a desire to draw the attention to themselves. But the Gospel of Christ is only about Christ and it is never about any single individual. We do not preach or teach for our own fame, but because we have been called to do so by our Master.

The preacher who does not know humility, who promotes himself and who stands above the church rather than alongside her is a deceiver and a manipulator. Using what rightly belongs to God, they prey on the poor and the widow. They spew doctrine that tickles the ear and lines their pockets. They do not stand for truth, but they compromise it easily in order to draw as many disciples as possible to themselves. Wearing fancy suits, and with loud proclamations, they make promises they cannot keep. They speak of ‘seed money’ and wealth for this life. They focus on works and not on grace, they are hucksters and shams, snake oil salesmen, who would skip town in a moment with their earnings if their ego would let them stop.

And it is no secret who their master is. They serve self, and are not in league with Christ. Check everything you hear spoken in the Name of Christ against the whole of Scripture. Test it by what our Master says, and do not take anything we say for granted. The Word is truth, and in it we see the call to share truth and to GoLove. This is only done in Jesus’ Name and never in our own. He is our Master, it is His Name we lift up.