Post by Sheila on Jun 2, 2024 8:55:43 GMT -5
If a church leader - pastor, priest, etc - is approached by a member of the congregation who proceeds to point out the leader taught something incorrectly, the leader may give them a gentle reminder not to question them about the topic by saying "Touch not God's anointed". If someone writes an article proclaiming a church leader is twisting Scripture to support their particular view of what they teach, the leader may try to defend the teaching by stating "Touch not God's anointed". Then there are the people who follow the teachings of a particular church leader and, if anyone dares to point out the leader is teaching something not actually found in the Bible or twisting verses around to make it seem as if it is, that person will defend the leader by telling the other "Touch not God's anointed". In other words, these people are telling everyone else the church leader has a special anointing from God and no one should ever question what they teach.
The Bible does teach that God's anointed shouldn't be "touched", but not in the way these people use it. There are only two places in the Bible where these words can be found. Both 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 state, "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm". This statement has absolutely nothing to do with priests, pastors, or any other church leader we have today. When taken in context with the other passages surrounding it and in other places in the Old Testament, it can be seen this was a warning given to the kings and other people not to harm the prophets in any way. These prophets were the men chosen by God to relay his messages to the Israelites, not the temple priests and other teachers.
In the New Testament, we actually read about the church leaders being corrected in what they teach. There are many accounts of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and Sadducees. And, later, there are the examples given of the apostles correcting each other about incorrect teachings. If God's anointed should never be questioned, why did these events occur? If the command applied to all of the church leaders, Jesus would never have rebuked them because he, of all people, fully understood all of the commands given by God. The apostles were chosen by Jesus to go out and preach the Gospel and everything the new followers of Christ would need to know. They were all anointed by God to fulfill these orders, so according to this interpretation they wouldn't have any disagreements and, if they did, this command of not touching God's anointed would apply to every one of them so they wouldn't be able to rebuke each other. The verse being used by today's church leaders and other people is being used incorrectly; however, if it were the correct interpretation, both Jesus and the apostles committed a glaring sin against God because they disobeyed this command.
Church leaders today don't have any special anointing that make them any better or any smarter when it comes to being able to know what the Bible teaches. The Christians were told that they had "an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth" (1 John 2:20). This shows that all Christians have the same anointing and can know the truth. We won't know the full truth while alive in this world, but we can know just as much or more than those who are designated as the church leaders. Even if the people who don't want their leaders questioned accept this, they may fall back on verses such as Hebrews 13:17 which states, "Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give account". Using this argument, they would say that we're commanded to submit to these people and, if they teach the wrong thing, they'll be the ones held accountable. Wrong. If anyone follows a false teaching and commits a sin because of it, they'll also be held accountable for what they do.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say a Christian should never question something taught by a church leader or even speak out and say it's false. In fact, people who checked and verified the teachings of the apostles were praised for their actions. "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those of Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). If the Bereans examined the Scriptures and found something Paul taught was incorrect, would they still follow that teaching? It would make no logical sense for them to do so. Would they have pointed out the error to both Paul and other Christians? It's almost certain they would have done just that. All Christians should do the same thing today. Hear what the church leader has to say, compare that to what the Bible says in the proper context, and then either accept or refute the teaching.
Always remember that "all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Nowhere does the Bible state these uses can't be targeted at the church leader who teaches something which is either only partially true or completely false. When someone is teaching in opposition to the teachings found in the Bible, they need to be rebuked and other Christians made aware of the fact. Whether that leader is the newest ordained minister or the pope, if they're wrong, they're wrong. They and their followers try to silence those who don't agree with them by trying to convince them the command to "touch not God's anointed" applies to them because they're the leader of the church and have some special anointing from God. This is totally false, not only because the verse is misused, but also because if they're teaching something which is proven incorrect and yet insist on teaching it as the truth, they're a false teacher and can't really label themselves as God's anointed.
Don't ever allow anyone - a church leader or one of their followers - to silence you by telling you "don't touch God's anointed" if you know the teaching is incorrect. Twisting this single verse to mean no one should ever question a church leader or proclaim something is a false teaching is, in itself, a false teaching. They only use the verse in order to deflect criticism and silence anyone who challenges their teaching. Think about it, the Antichrist and the false prophet will use the same argument so that no one questions their false teachings.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
The Bible does teach that God's anointed shouldn't be "touched", but not in the way these people use it. There are only two places in the Bible where these words can be found. Both 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 state, "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm". This statement has absolutely nothing to do with priests, pastors, or any other church leader we have today. When taken in context with the other passages surrounding it and in other places in the Old Testament, it can be seen this was a warning given to the kings and other people not to harm the prophets in any way. These prophets were the men chosen by God to relay his messages to the Israelites, not the temple priests and other teachers.
In the New Testament, we actually read about the church leaders being corrected in what they teach. There are many accounts of Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and Sadducees. And, later, there are the examples given of the apostles correcting each other about incorrect teachings. If God's anointed should never be questioned, why did these events occur? If the command applied to all of the church leaders, Jesus would never have rebuked them because he, of all people, fully understood all of the commands given by God. The apostles were chosen by Jesus to go out and preach the Gospel and everything the new followers of Christ would need to know. They were all anointed by God to fulfill these orders, so according to this interpretation they wouldn't have any disagreements and, if they did, this command of not touching God's anointed would apply to every one of them so they wouldn't be able to rebuke each other. The verse being used by today's church leaders and other people is being used incorrectly; however, if it were the correct interpretation, both Jesus and the apostles committed a glaring sin against God because they disobeyed this command.
Church leaders today don't have any special anointing that make them any better or any smarter when it comes to being able to know what the Bible teaches. The Christians were told that they had "an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth" (1 John 2:20). This shows that all Christians have the same anointing and can know the truth. We won't know the full truth while alive in this world, but we can know just as much or more than those who are designated as the church leaders. Even if the people who don't want their leaders questioned accept this, they may fall back on verses such as Hebrews 13:17 which states, "Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give account". Using this argument, they would say that we're commanded to submit to these people and, if they teach the wrong thing, they'll be the ones held accountable. Wrong. If anyone follows a false teaching and commits a sin because of it, they'll also be held accountable for what they do.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say a Christian should never question something taught by a church leader or even speak out and say it's false. In fact, people who checked and verified the teachings of the apostles were praised for their actions. "Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those of Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). If the Bereans examined the Scriptures and found something Paul taught was incorrect, would they still follow that teaching? It would make no logical sense for them to do so. Would they have pointed out the error to both Paul and other Christians? It's almost certain they would have done just that. All Christians should do the same thing today. Hear what the church leader has to say, compare that to what the Bible says in the proper context, and then either accept or refute the teaching.
Always remember that "all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Nowhere does the Bible state these uses can't be targeted at the church leader who teaches something which is either only partially true or completely false. When someone is teaching in opposition to the teachings found in the Bible, they need to be rebuked and other Christians made aware of the fact. Whether that leader is the newest ordained minister or the pope, if they're wrong, they're wrong. They and their followers try to silence those who don't agree with them by trying to convince them the command to "touch not God's anointed" applies to them because they're the leader of the church and have some special anointing from God. This is totally false, not only because the verse is misused, but also because if they're teaching something which is proven incorrect and yet insist on teaching it as the truth, they're a false teacher and can't really label themselves as God's anointed.
Don't ever allow anyone - a church leader or one of their followers - to silence you by telling you "don't touch God's anointed" if you know the teaching is incorrect. Twisting this single verse to mean no one should ever question a church leader or proclaim something is a false teaching is, in itself, a false teaching. They only use the verse in order to deflect criticism and silence anyone who challenges their teaching. Think about it, the Antichrist and the false prophet will use the same argument so that no one questions their false teachings.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers