WOLVES IN THE CHURCH

The Church is the Body of Christ, the congregation of Believers, a Sacred place of prayer and worship of the Almighty God of the Universe. It is a place where God's true Word is preached and practised wholeheartedly.

It is not supposed to be a place where wrong is found. It is supposed to be a place where people who truly love God and obey His commandments are found - a place where integrity is the underlying character of members.

It is therefore shocking to hear and learn of people in the Church engaged in one vice or the other, something that is only common to non-believers.

The question is, how can someone who has heard God's Word, believed it, accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah still engage in fraud and deceit of his or her fellow believers?

When such things are heard outside of the Church, it is expected because the Light of Christ is yet to shine on such person(s).

Members of the Church are expected, in obedience to the commands of Christ Jesus, to evangelize and spread the Gospel message of Repentance and Salvation to those persons who are yet to believe.

The Church is supposed to be populated with people who act as ambassadors of Christ Jesus both in their words and deeds. This is because the Gospel message is the ultimate message that every human being needs. It is the perfect message that brings peace, joy and love to anyone who wholeheartedly receives it.

As God's Word, the Holy Bible states in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."

From this scripture passage, we see that anyone joined to Christ Jesus comes out of the darkness of sin and unrighteousness into the Light of righteousness found ONLY in Jesus Christ.

Christianity is therefore God's only acceptable way of life because a Christian's lifestyle is reflective of what God commands in His Word.

Having said all these, it is necessary at the point to draw readers' attention to people I would refer to as wolves in the Church. They have always been there even from the times of the early Church as recorded in the Bible and in today's world, they are there in large droves.

These are people who claim to be followers of Christ but their very character points to the opposite. They say one thing and do another. They are actively involved in most or all church activities and so other believers see them as sincere Christians.

Once such people are able to gain the trust and confidence of other believers, they start the process of deceiving such unsuspecting believers. They borrow money and refuse to pay.

Even when their deeds are exposed, they still continue to look for new members of the Church to draw into their list of victims of their deceit.

They make commitments they are decidedly unwilling to keep right from the onset. They hear the Word of God being preached that those who do these things will die and go to hell but rather than repent, they continue to do worse things.

What is most unfortunate about such people is that their behaviour is capable of causing great discouragement to new converts who have made up their mind to let go of their previous life of sin and focus wholeheartedly on serving and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ.

The reason for today's post is to make it clear that such people, wolves in the church, exist and therefore true believers should not be discouraged by their activities or use it as a yard stick for measuring Christianity but should rather focus on Christ Jesus, our Master and Saviour as the ONLY yardstick for measuring Christianity.

Why I say so is because Christ Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 19:13) and the Word of God is the ONLY yardstick by which everyone will be judged.

We are told about wolves in the Church in God's Word in 2 Peter 3:20-22 "For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse that the beginning.

For it would have been better for them not to have known they way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ' A dog returns to his own vomit,' and 'a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.'

Dear friend reading this, are you a new convert who has found such persons in your congregation? Please do not be discouraged because Jesus Christ our Messiah is our focus and yardstick for measuring holiness and righteousness.

If you, reading this now, are a wolf in the Church, God is giving you another opportunity today to retrace your steps before it is too late. 

Jesus Christ will not pity you when you die and end up in hell because by your current continuous sinful lifestyle while in Church, you are not only bringing disgrace to the Holy name of Christ Jesus but you are again crucifying Him on the Cross, an act that is truly offensive to God.

It is sad to note that wolves in the church give satan and his demons great joy because their intention is to destroy the ONLY place where truth and righteousness is found - The Church or Body of Christian Believers in Christ Jesus.

All others outside the church engaged in sin are already in satan's camp so he must fight to try to achieve his foolish aim of making every human being end up in hell where he and his demons have been condemned forever.

I therefore urge all true believers to feel sorry for wolves in the Church and pray to God to have mercy on them, to open their eyes to see the evil of their deeds so they can truly repent and return to the fold of true believers.

May God bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus' Precious Name, Amen.

Gabriel Ama