CHRIST THE STANDARD - PART 2



 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" 1Peter 2:21(KJV)


 I want to continue from where we ended in the last edition of our Journey called " CHRIST THE STANDARD". In our last edition, we looked at the unfortunate incident of the Pastor who shot and killed his wife in Florida, USA. Although there a lot of imposters who parading as men of God or prophet of God as stated by Paul according to 2 Timothy 3:12-14 (GNB) “ ………… and evil persons and impostors will keep on going from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived themselves”

The truth also is, there are equally many pastors who are not impostors but genuinely called by God; some of these men of God are usually very anointed and have a large following. The trouble with most of them is that because they have not taken time to go through the process of becoming ready for the work of ministry, their ministry and attitude give conflicting sound about the Christian faith. Perhaps this young Pastor might fall into this category. 

Sometimes the church makes the mistake of rushing such usually anointed and gifted individuals into a leadership position, only for them to end up destroying themselves. This phenomenon is also not new,  and Apostle Paul also admonished us when he said, " ....... he must be matured in the faith, so that he will not swell with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was. He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the church, so he will not be disgraced and fall into the Devil's trap" 1Timothy 3:5-7(GNB)


 There is also a category of pastors who are genuine and mature, but they sometimes also do things that are not in line with God's character. And this because they are human and are also work in progress. But doing the wrong stuff is not a huge part of their character. When Apostle Paul said “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” 1 Corinthians 11:1 (KJV) what he sought to communicate was that Jesus Christ is the only standard of our Faith and no one else; the standard of our Christian conduct is not our Arch Bishop, the bishop, the Apostle, the Prophets, the Pastors, the evangelist, etc but Jesus Christ alone.

Apostle Peter's also shared a similar view with Apostle Paul when he said that " For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" 1Peter 2:21(KJV). Apostle Peter, Just like Apostle Paul, was emphasizing the need for the believer to follow Jesus Christ in all situations and circumstances. In other words, when a believer finds himself in a tough situation and doesn’t what to do, or have an obvious example to follow, he should look at what Christ would do in that situation he finds himself in and do the same.

Frequently, Jesus Christ projected himself as the only standard for his disciples; and I quote from Mathew 4:19(KJV) “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mathew_8:22(KJV) “But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead”. In his bid to explain the cost of being a disciple, Jesus Christ said in Mathew 16:24 (KJV)  “ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”  When a rich young ruler attempted following Jesus Christ in the book of Mathew  “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”  Mathew 19:21(KJV)

Now, it is becoming obvious to us that the standard is Jesus Christ: CHRIST ALONE IS THE STANDARD. However, from the scripture I alluded to earlier on, Apostle Paul gave us the only condition that should cause us to follow our spiritual leaders. The only condition is if our spiritual leader himself is following the examples set by Jesus Christ. So in effect, we have no business following the examples of our spiritual leader if they are not following the examples set by Jesus Christ.

I want to bring this week's edition of our journey to a close, I will continue from here in my next edition. God bless you.

By: Pastor Wisdom Afawubo

Whatsapp:+233233868205

 

Location: Accra, Ghana

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