The willingness to accept discernment when talking about cults, false religions, and well-known charlatans is one thing. But when the lens of discernment is turned to the celebrity pastor, teacher, podcaster, or fellow, professing “brother,” the willingness for discretion is deleted, particularly when it’s pointed at “our” favorite celebrity.
(Justin Pierce – Bible Thumping Wingnut) The Christ-chosen, Spirit-inspired Apostle, Paul, told Timothy to warn “the brothers” of false teachers, the wolves, who bring false doctrines and demonic lies disguised as truth.
“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus,being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.” 1 Timothy 4:6
The “good servant” is to do this. The “good servant” can be recognized by the sheep as one who is doing this. It is a mark of faithfulness, of obedience in a life wedded to Christ’s truth and willing to endure scorn for the sake of his Lord and Savior. These “good servants” are men of God, a gift to the church given by Christ Himself. They are worthy our attentive ears because they are the Bereans.
Bereans are being slaughtered by professing brothers
In our contemporary church, however, Bereans are being slaughtered by professing brothers who falsely believe unity is enhanced by the lack of biblically-informed, biblically-commanded, critical discernment. The professing church is murdering Bereans.
It is more popular to murder with scorn and disregard those who use the Biblical gift of discernment than it is to simply thank them for loving the brothers enough to expose and kill the wolves and false teachers who wear the clothing of a shepherd (“kill” them by the very act of destroying their false doctrines with God’s truth and exposing them as charlatans).
The mantra of today’s worldly, deceived “Christianity” has become “Touch not the Lords Anointed.” Either the explicit or implicit clamoring of this ill-used phrase wreaks a disastrous effect within the church and, it is exacerbated most visibly by the increasing prevalence of “celebrity” Christianity that has overtaken every facet of the modern church.