1 Timothy Chapter 3 The Bible On Polygamy Of Church Leaders 1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Note: Bishop simply means a high ranking Church official. Pastors, Deacons, Apostles, Priests, etc., are allwithin this category. Its worthy of note that being disqualified from being a Church leader does not preclude one from being a Christian. One can and should still be able to teach, preach, worship and do other Christian duties for self edification and the for the edification of others. It pains my heart a great deal to see many Church leaders in Nigeria from the White Garment Churches to the Protestants and down to other denominations having more than one wife and also having so many concubines even amongst their own Church members. They publicly flaunt this evil and put to mockery the very God they claim to serve. My pain is increased when members of their Church ignorantly defend the lust and evil of their Church leaders. These members seem to support their Church leaders because the nurse in their heart to also have more than one wife. Many of these Church leaders have 5- 9 wives at a particular time. We are servants of God because we accept and follow His word as written in the Bible for without obeying the words of the scripture we are anything but Christians. What do we preach if we ourselves privately and publicly go against the teachings of the Bible? Matthew 7 vs 15-20 summarily said this :: we should be vigilant against false Prophets and teachers; they come to us appearing as sheeps but are wolves. We will know them by what they do for a healthy tree bears good fruits while a poor tree bears bad fruits. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit just as a poor tree cannot bear good fruits. Let us then understand that false Prophets are known by what they do and thus by their fruits we shall know them. I know many Christians are moved by miracles and prophecies but the Bible in Matthew 7 vs 21- 23 was quick to point out the evil on the dependence on such supernatural works lest we confuse them with the power of God. It says Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants them to do. In the Judgment day, many will say to me Lord, Lord! In your name will preached Gods message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles. Then I will say to them, I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!. By now you should realize that performing miracles even when you mention the name of Christ does not mean you do so with the power of God. Let no man deceive you into accepting his evil ways just because he claims and act as a Prophet of God. Once again, we do not condemn people, their works and their fruits condemn them. If you are guilty of these sins, then repent. For those who are not guilty of the sin of polygamy but you support Polygamy, know that you are guilty of allowing the sinner to perish in his sins. Be a watchman like Ezekiel who tells people their sins just so they will repent and turn away from destruction. Let he who has ears and eyes, listen and see what God says.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 07:05:14 +0000
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