Christianity is supposed to be about following Christ, but
some have turned their church buildings into a cult that elevates man over God.
We see it all the time in the mega churches, whether the
pastors intend it or not. People deify their pastor and look to them instead of
Jesus. In some cases, those pastors can curse, question the Bible, and conclude
there is no hell, and their followers blindly drink the Kool-Aid to their own
spiritual demise.
We also see it in the smaller churches, where even unknown
pastors are worshipped by their small congregations. There are no shortages of
20/20 stories about pastors coaxing the women in the church to sleep with them
because it is “God’s will.”
But this is nothing new. Even the church at Corinth made God
take a back seat, choosing rather to boast of following Paul or Apollos.
“…you are
still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you
not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, ‘I follow
Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not being merely human?”
1 Corinthians
3:2-4
When
we follow humans we act like mere humans, but when we follow a holy God, He
calls us to holiness. Paul continued his reasoning in verses 5-6:
“What then is
Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned
to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Make sure that your spiritual mentors are leading according
to God’s Word. Step back and evaluate yourself; are you blindly following a
human who plants and waters, or God who gives the growth?
