“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (Humanity), in whom there is no help.”  (Psalm 146)

 

It has been foretold that before the tribulation period and the (a)nti (c)hrist rises, many will fall away from the Christ-ian faith. From my perspective, I see this playing out in a variety of ways. False doctrine will overtake sound doctrine in the local church, the great falling away does not necessarily mean that believers will stop going to the local church. The falling away speaks to the Absence of the Holy Spirit or the ignoring of the Holy Spirit. Another means of falling away is the personal/public fall of spiritual leaders. We are seeing men of God falling right and left. This fall does not necessarily speak to their loss or lack of salvation.

Another part of this falling away is the nominal, professing, and pretending Christ-ian being revealed as an unbeliever after all the years they sat with true believers (Matthew 13)

In this article (DV), we will focus on the man of God and his public fall and disgrace before the enemies of God and how the Church should respond to that fall.

One should remember that man is fallible, there are examples, in Scripture, that demonstrate a man of God falling. We see King Saul fall and be exposed as a fraud and an unbeliever in God.  (Belief is defined by one’s love for God, one’s trust in God and one’s obedience to God.) Saul’s actions betrayed his unbelief. David’s fall reveals a comfortableness, a complacency, or contentment that caused a rift between himself and God. This contentment allowed David to commit great and grievous sin, involving many other innocent parties.

Power and authority will reveal a man’s heart, for good or for bad. Power and authority, if not kept in check, will corrupt a good person. We see this time and time again in history and in current events. If power and authority is used properly, it’s fruit will be good. If power and authority is abused, it’s fruit will be bad and obvious.

The transfiguration of Christ in the presence of Peter, James, and John will help us respond properly to a spiritual leader’s fall. At the Mount of Transfiguration Peter, James, and John saw Christ Glorified (A Microcosm view of Christ’s return). The inner circle also saw Moses and Elijah. Peter spoke up and said they should build memorials to all three (3), Christ, Moses, and Elijah. When God the Father heard this, a bright cloud fell upon the men and He said, “This is [M]y beloved Son, in [W]hom I am well pleased; hear ye [H]im.”  “And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.”

How are we to respond to a fallen spiritual leader?
*Repent of our lifting up of men.
*Pray for the fallen leader.
*Remain friends with the fallen leader. Be a source of hope.
*Take heed, lest thou also fall.
*Ask God to send a man of God with a shepherd’s heart.
*Learn from this fall, we must keep our eyes and hearts upon Christ only.
*Understand that the local church built up the leader and set him up for the fall.

How can we avoid this in the future?
*Personally, Learn from the Word of God, complacency is not acceptable. It is unacceptable and dangerous to think you can sit under a fallible man and get what God has for you.
*When vetting a pastor, look for Christ-likeness in him. Take time to observe him. Some might say, “Yeah, that sounds good in theory, but we need a pastor now.” The quickness to get a pastor is the root of all the troubles and the continuation of building up a pastor and setting him up for a fall and it tells you that Christ is not the focus of this ministry. Remember where two (2) or three (3) are gathered together in His Name, He is Present.
*Know that a pastor is a fallible man and Christ is the Christ and He is impeccable.
*Set up the governing body of the church as Scripture would have it.
*Accountability is a good thing and will help keep everyone in check.
*Know that Christ must have preeminence in all things.

Also, know this: when a man of God falls, he inspires the enemy. However, putting that truth into perspective, the inspired enemies of God and His Church and their happiness to see a man of God fall, is a token of their depravity and their coming judgment.

Godspeed.