Peddling the Gospel Is A Sin!

There's one section of scripture that frightens me for the sake of my peers in the ministry. It's in the last chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 7, when Jesus is facing a number of clergy and he says, I don't know you. And they said, Jesus, we healed people in your name, we preached the gospel in your name, we did all these things in your name. And Jesus says, I don't know you. Depart from me into the fire prepared for Satan and his angels. Now, why would Jesus do that? Well, first of all, it's interesting. They knew him, but he says, I don't know you. And I think every man of the cloth wants to know that Jesus knows them. So as I pondered this, I began to think of passages in 2 Corinthians 2, 17. Paul says, don't peddle the gospel, don't sell the gospel. And if you read that immediately, the words of Jesus comes to mind. Freely you've received, freely give away. And yet there are people out there exploiting the gospel, exploiting the needs of people, people that are desperate and hurting and want to touch for God from God so badly that they're willing to pay. And so there are peddlers of the gospel out there that are exploiting people, taking their money in the moment of their greatest need in order to profit. And I think these are the people Jesus is talking to. In Matthew chapter 7, when he says, I don't know you. You know, you've got your reward now. You've made your money now. You've told these people to take their credit cards and give based on that so they can be blessed. They're giving off something they don't have. That's exploiting people. And if you're a pastor that's doing this, then you need to really go into your prayer closet and have a one-on-one with the Lord and say, look, am I in the right place with this? You don't want to get your reward now. And forego it for all eternity. You want to be a man of integrity. You want to be a person of righteousness. You want to be someone that doesn't exploit the needs of the desperate who are hurting and will do whatever they can do to get a touch from God. Freely you've received, freely give. Trust God. People come back at me and say, well, you know, don't muzzle the ox. He needs to be paid. Well, I'm not talking about livelihood or being paid. And that's a whole nother issue. There are churches out there that are exploiting their pastors and not taking care of them and shame on them. They need to step up and take care of their pastors and their families. Give them a decent wage and make sure their needs are covered. Not exploiting pastors, but pastors don't exploit the people. You need to have open books. People need to know what your income is, what your revenue is. You need to create an atmosphere of trust and not suspicion. An attitude of support and love and nurture. So let me just go back to this. Read the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Chapter 7, when Jesus is having this conversation. Read Paul's admonition in 2 Corinthians 2, 17. Think about the words of Jesus. Freely you've received, freely give. And use these measurements in your ministry, in the way you treat people, in the way you handle finances. And I think you'd be better served, not just now, friend, but for all eternity, for all eternity. You want Jesus to look at you and say, I know you, I know you.