14
Nov
2008
RESPONSIBILITIES OF MESSAGE BEARERS
On TV news casts we often see reports of terrible happenings in various places. We don’t blame the TV station or the reporter for those happenings. We would blame them if they did not report it. When someone calls on the phone to report some bad news, we don’t blame the phone company. We would blame them if they refused to let the message through or if they changed the message content. Message carriers have responsibilities.
Those of us who are dedicated to preaching the Gospel are also message bearers. What we bear and are obligated to deliver as it written, is a message of good news. It is bad news only for the disobedient and for those who refuse to believe God. A major responsibility for those of us who bear the message is to remember that we are not authors of the message. It does not belong to us. We have no authority over what it says. We are responsible for delivering it intact and unchanged, whether it pleases you or not. It is God’s message to mankind. The privilege of making it kinder or more unkind, or making it more conservative or more liberal, is not ours to give. It is what it is. We must deliver it kindly and in love, but we must deliver it. If the messenger delivers the message as it has been sent from God, it is not reasonable for someone to despise the bearer for what it says. Yet many people do. Neither should we expect him to change it.
Hearers of the message also have serious responsibilities The fact is you should be more offended if the bearer deletes part of it or alters it for some such reason as thinking you might not like to hear it. I would like to see more of us understand that when a proclaimer puts forth a message purporting to be from God, our first reaction should not be to judge him as to whether he is ugly spirited, nice spirited, judgmental, or what. The first step is to check the message for accuracy by comparing it with the Bible. If we do that and determine that it is not accurate to the original message, then we are justified in concluding that he is mishandling it. But this should not be our first reaction before we check it out carefully.
The Bible tells us that God sent this message by chosen prophets, and in the New Testament, by apostles. His word repeatedly warns about pseudo or “false prophets.” Jesus Himself began stating this warning in His personal ministry and the apostles continued it. There are very good reasons for this. As Paul said to the Galatians, there is no other Gospel and thus inaccurate preachments are counterfeit. Paul also said that Satan is transformed into an angel of light and his ministers appear as “ministers of righteousness” and they do preach incorrect messages. John said, “Many false prophets are gone into the world.”
The idea of trading away our souls for eternity by being careless about this, receiving incorrect messages claiming to be the Gospel, is frightening. At least it should be. That is why the Bereans searched the scriptures daily to verify the teaching of even such a great message bearer as the apostle Paul. (Acts 17:11) The Holy Spirit commended them for that. Paul himself said, “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)
Folks, false prophets are not just harmless brethren with a little different opinion. From the throne of God comes warnings that they are destroyers of souls. False doctrines are not just innocent differences of opinion. They are lies against the God of heaven. God forbid that we should fail to distinguish between them and help deliver falsehoods instead of the authentic message of God. The right thing to do is to obey the Biblical command, “Test everything. Hold fast to what is good.” (1 Thess. 5:21) Yes, it is that important. Why would anyone object to this distinction unless he has something to hide?