Are Men Of God Above Criticism?
Are Men Of God Above Criticism? It is common in Christian circles to observe that whenever Pastors or other church leaders are rebuked or criticized openly for their errors, some members will rise up in their defence.
They often use the Scripture, “Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm,” to try to cover up the sins of their church leader.
But are men of God above criticism?
Scripturally, no human, including men of God no matter how highly placed, is above criticism.
The higher one climbs spiritually, the more exposed they become to satanic attacks and this is the main reason these men of God should be made to be more accountable and transparent in the work that has been committed to them.
Moreover, men of God are also humans and are capable of making mistakes and also need correction from other Christians who may notice these mistakes that may not be apparent to them.
Remember, Jesus was criticized, although innocent but criticism was there.
This is exactly what Paul did when Peter got hypocritical with the Jews as we see in the scripture quoted below.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:11-16 (ESV)
We see Paul rebuking Peter sharply for his hypocrisy not minding Peter’s position in the church.
He criticized Peter’s pretentious disposition in the presence of everyone and we didn’t see anyone defending Peter’s sin or feeling bad that their leader was being criticized publicly.
The word of God says that open rebuke is better than secret love. Every true man of God would love correction and will not be defensive when corrected.
In the same way, true Christians will never feel the need to defend sin no matter who is involved. Either the pastor or man of God.
Are Men Of God Above Criticism? Share your thought…
