The Hireling

 

By Hiram E. Sutton

What type of shepherd would put the sheep in harms way?

According to John 10:12-13 it is one who is a hireling. Who himself is a wolf in sheep's clothing. In John 10:12 John uses the Greek word for "hired hand misthotos /mis·tho·tos (one who is hired for pay).

It must be understood it is not wrong to compensate as a reciprocation to those who rule well and work hard at preaching and teaching or handling the affairs of the church (1Tim 5:17-18). It is obvious that they are deserving of wages earned. Their motive  is to, " shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid  gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. (1 Pet 5:2)" Simply paying a pastor doesn't automatically make him a hireling.

The true pastors motive is diametrically opposed to the hireling who only seeks their self interest. In (2 Cor 2:17b) Paul says the hireling peddles the word of God, the greek word for peddling (kapeleuo /kap·ale·yoo·o) which means to engage in retail business, with the implication of deceptiveness and greedy motives—‘to peddle for profit, to huckster, such is the motives of the hireling. While the good pastor 1. handles the word of God with sincerity  (2 Cor 2:17c) 2. feeds the flock ().

The hireling has no desire to deny self when he should be executing the tasks of shepherd to the flock. (Matt 16:24, Luke 14:33). Their preference is to live off of the "fat of the Lamb" and cloth themselves in the luxury of their wool for a life of ease. The hireling seeks to make merchandise of God's people for personal material gain. The apostle Peter says that "in their greed (greek pleonexia /pleh•on•ex•ee•ah ) their desire to have more, they "exploit you with false words" (2Pet 2:3).  Peter goes on further to say they "exploit" (emporeuomai /em·por·yoo·om·ahee ) i.e. to commercialize; make merchandise of, to use others for personal gain. These hirelings are artificial, not genuine in any sense. They are not interested in the will of God but only their self interest even at the expense of the flock.

Note the following article of how the word of God is prostituted for person gain. 

According to an article posted 06/24/2009 by Dionne Walker an Associated Press Writer Creflo Dollar is being sued by a California business man, Devone Lawson, who claims Dollar stole his idea for charging donors a monthly fee for receiving devotional text messages. Looks like these guys got one up on the temple money changers, they have gone high tech!.

"Attorneys for Lawson estimate the $4.99 per month subscription service generates more than $50 million a year in revenue.

James Evangelista, of Page Perry, LLC, stated, “This lawsuit exposes the absolutely worst kind of greed and malfeasance — that which is conducted under the cloak of a religious enterprise. Apparently, Rev. Dollar and the Dollar Ministries do not practice what they preach, unless the ‘prosperity gospel’ they preach justifies fraud and theft in the attainment of material wealth.” 
Creflo Dollar is not alone in turning the church into a place of business , there are others making outlandish promises of wealth to those who send them money, claiming that God has told them to tell the people to send a "seed of faith."

Pastors are now being called CEO's, they have adopted all the persona of the business world even its practice of profit making, their speech is that of the secular business world."

Our Lord Jesus said thus, ..."“Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” (John 2:16)

 The Hireling sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees

From what does the hireling flee from. He flees from what should be his normal duties when the wolf approaches, which should be pursing the will of God for his station in life. These duties should always:  (1) have the concerns of the chief Shepherd (Christ) in mind. (1Pet 5:1-4)   2. Protects the Flocks as a Watchman (Acts 20:28-29)   3 Feeds the flock and builds them up (Eph 4:11-12)   4. Gathers the scattered, strengthen believers (Acts 14:21-22, Acts 15:32,  Acts15:41, Acts16:5, Acts 18:23, Heb 12:12). This is the pattern that God has laid out for those who shepherd the flock of God. These duties are to be carried out in the context of self sacrifice. (Mark 10:28)

The hireling flees from the labor of his office; He flees from the sacrifices of his office; He flees from the self denial of his office; He flees from the  reproaches of his office; He flees from the the responsibilities of his office; He runs from the cares and anxieties of his office.

Because the hireling has no interest in executing the duties of his office he will never sacrificially give himself to the flock, because he his a hireling, a wolf in sheep's clothing himself. As a result the wolf__ his pack members, both male and female__ are able to bring destructive heresies and false teachings practically unchallenged into the church, seeking to draw disciples after themselves, they savagely go through the flock of the hireling and ravish it (Acts 20:29-30). Once a hireling is in place you can be assured that the wolves will dine often where he is, bringing in false teaching after false teaching, poisoning and infecting the flock every chance they get. Making them dependant on the intoxication of false teaching, so they may continually eat of the fat of the lambs.

The hireling fears having sound doctrine taught to the congregation, because to do so exposes him and the pack he runs with and deprives him of the hireling benefits. The hireling nor the wolf will never exegete scripture according to sound hermeneutics nor will they ever teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27) so as to warn the wicked person of their way and to protect the sheep.  The hireling will never test a wolf to see if he is approved by God (1John 4:1) or to see if his message aligns with the word of God, such as the believers did at Berea (Acts 17:11). 

Because they compare one another to each other, rather than the word of God the wolf will always find an open door to walk in and brutalize the sheep, for there is no shepherd serving as the door and representing the concerns of the Chief Shepherd

The hireling exploits the sheep by means of false words literally, “fabricated words” (greek plastois)  and teachings (2 Pet 2:3) in pursuing their selfish ambition. They are good at mixing the concoction of truth and error to produce spiritual sickness and ultimately spiritual death. The most heartbreaking thing about the exploitation by the hireling is the fact they are able to blend in with the sheep themselves because there is a lack of discernment and Biblical knowledge within the Church. This has allowed the hirelings to flourish like weeds in an unkept lawn, to the extent the grass__ true shepherds__ are barely recognizable. One day the Lord Jesus will strip the sheep's costume off of the wolf exposing them for what they are (Matt 7:22-23).

 I want to quote from a message given by Dr David Ryser call "The Prostitute in the Pulpit" as found on blog True Discernment.
“… I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God–much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ–that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?"

The hireling would have you be and remain a prostitute by hiding the truth about the one who loves you so much that he gave his life for you.

 In some cases material gain is not the goal of the Hireling but a pursuit of recognition, distinction, fame and power.

Even though the application of the Greek term for hireling is 'misthotos', which implies money, yet there are other unworthy motives which influence worldly- minded ministers. The hireling may have a desire to live at ease, to provide against want, to be distinguished from the crowd, etc. The hireling minister may pursue distinction, fame or power, etc., while money may be no consideration. The man who is ruled by any one of these desires, displays a worldliness that is oppose to the will of God.

I was told of a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama who made the statement that he wanted people to know that "he" had been the Pastor of his particular church. He wanted to do this by leaving a legacy of things "he" had accomplished, so folks would know "he" had been there. This is typical of the hireling, they are only concern about their own interest and not that of Christ.

In their self absorption they "commend themselves" thinking they are approved of God. In commending themselves, they set themselves up as the standard (2 Cor 10:11-12) thus failing to realize it is God who commends (2 Cor 10:18) not man.

The hireling takes pride in outward appearance and image (2 Cor 5:12b). They appear as ministers of righteousness but they are in reality agents of Satan (2 Cor 11:14-15). In projecting their images of righteousness they forge alliances and friendships with those in the world who are of like mind, to accomplish what they believe are works of righteousness without following the truth of God's word. 

The hireling is incapable of echoing the words of Peter, "...“Behold, we have left everything and followed You.”  (Mark 10:28) nor the words of Paul, " Not
seeking mine own profit," says Paul, " but the profit of many, that they may be saved." (1 Cor 10:33)


Read what God says in Ezekiel 34:1-10 about the hireling shepherds:  

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,

 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

 3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.

 4 "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

 5 "They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.

 6 "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them."'"

 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

 8 "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

 10 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'"

Ezekiel gives us vivid characteristics of the shepherd that is a hireling in contrast to the characteristics of a Godly shepherd:

Hireling Shepherd

Godly Shepherd

Feeds themselves (v1-2)

Feeds the flock and builds them up

Starves the flock (v3)

Protects the Flocks as a Watchman

Abuses the flock (v4)

Cares for the Flock

Puts the flock at risk (v5)

A Godly Shepherd always has the concerns of the chief Shepherd (Christ) in mind.

Neglects the Flock (v6)

Gathers the scatter, strengthen the sickly

Those entering the ministry should ask themselves these basic questions and have them settle in their hearts.

1.       Why do you want to enter the ministry and does it align with God's word?

2.       Has God truly called you, what validation do you have in your life to let you know God is calling you?

3.       Do you have a passion to reach the spiritually lost for Christ and strengthen believers through the teaching of the word of God? 

4.       Do you have a strong desire to obey and pursue the will of God as found in the word of God?

5.       Are you willing to deny self and lift Jesus up to perform the task at hand?

6.       Have you been born again?  (Number 1)

7.       Have you or are you preparing yourself in the study of God's word so that you are a workman that need not be ashamed?  

If you cannot, answer these basic questions, with an absolute "YES". God has not called you to the ministry.  For you to enter the ministry for any other reason makes you a "Hireling".  By the way this applies to you if you are a Pastor, ‘Sunday School’ teacher, leading the youth ministry, choir ministry or any position where you are providing a ministry of any sorts to the body of Christ.

Next ! The Need for Spiritual Discernment in Today's Church

(*) This article in part used as a base the Sermon “Hireling Preacher”  presented by A.G. Cameron, Ph.D. Published in 1847; Digitizing sponsor: Princeton Theological Seminary Library