THE FALLIBILITY OF THE MEN OF GOD

Gavin Aleogho

Before 1870 AD, no Pope was considered fallible. Even before then, Pope Adrian VI said “It is certain that the Pontiff ... may err in those things which pertain to faith.” Similarly, Pope Paul IV said “I do not doubt that I and my predecessors may sometimes have erred.” These were men that were sincere to themselves and to the world; they understood the frailty of the human nature, the tendency of humans to err.

The infallibility of the Pope is a dogma in the Catholic Church that states that “when (the Papacy is), in the exercise of his office as Shepherd and Teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.” This implies that the interpretation of the Scripture by the Roman Pontiff who is the Pope is and should be held as the accurate truth, void of no error as it relates to moral, doctrine and the Christian faith.

In 1517 AD, Martin Luther the Reformer led a protest against the authority of the Papacy on issues bordering on Church malpractices and the interpretation of the Scriptures especially in matters that concerns the basic tenets of the Christian faith, thereby challenging the ‘Infallibility of the Pope’. Down through the line, the Reformers, which were also known as the Protestants, gave birth to what is now known as the Pentecostal, Charismatic or/and Evangelical.

Ironically, the same points that the Protestants objected to in 1517 AD are now being repeated by some Pentecostal and Evangelical Church of today. There is this unspoken but profound belief that whatever a man of God says is void of error and should be taken as a sole truth coming from God Almighty. It should not be questioned or subjected to scrutiny and verification. This has come to be because of the imaginary high position that some ministers of the gospel have placed themselves or they have been placed by their followers. This has given rise to mass duplication of heresies and spiritual error; all these because men have refused to acknowledge their limitations.

I am not suggesting that man through the help of the Holy Spirit cannot give accurate interpretation to the Scripture in matters that relates to doctrine and the Christian faith. What I am suggesting is that every Christian should learn to verify and cross examine whatever any man of God says to them or practise as doctrine. Know God by yourself. Study the Scripture by yourself. You can achieve this feat because you have the same access to the same God and the Holy Spirit dwells in you.

In our world today, especially in the Pentecostal and Evangelical settings, you will find many ministers of the gospel who indirectly claim sole ownership of Christianity and the Church, the body of Christ! They believe they have the prerequisite to dictate how the music goes in Christendom. With such position, it’s my opinion that we are only repeating the errors of history - the errors of the Church that caused the Great Schism and the Reformation.

Every human is capable of error. Jesus Christ was exempted because he was conceived of the Holy Ghost and not of an earthly father. Being born again, Spirit filled and Word loaded does not exclude any man from error. This is given to the fact that men are still putting on this flesh that is frail. The moment we accept this truth, the easier it will be to embrace the advice of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:12 (MSG) which reads: Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

All ministers of the gospel are humans, and all humans make mistakes, irrespective of the genuine men of God; they are also fallible. However, that does not negate the fact that they are called into the ministry. Human mistakes should be condoned, but spiritual errors, wrong interpretation and application of the Scriptures and doctrinal errors should be considered as falsehood and be discarded. Every believer must be on the watch against any form of falsehood in the Church especially from respected clergymen.

In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul withstood Apostle Peter when it seems Peter was living a double standard life despite the fact that he was supposed to be an elder of the Church. This implies that not even the first apostles were excluded from getting things wrong.

One of the great strategies of the devil against the Church is to strike the Shepherd so as to scatter the sheep. Take for example, if a leader of a Church of 5,000 members makes spiritual error in the interpretation and application of the Scripture, he will successfully lead his 5000 congregation into error. This is the strategy the devil has been using for ages and he has been successful with it simply because leaders have refused to acknowledge their imperfection, and their followers so venerate and dignify them as beyond the ordinary- divine and free of making errors.

Leaders in the Church of Christ must acknowledge their limitations as humans. They must know that they are mere men, susceptible to errors. Any man can fall anytime. Any man of God can veer into heresy anytime. That is why Apostle Paul wrote by the Holy Ghost:

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Romans 12:3 NLT

Down through the history, great men of God have come and gone. Many started well but ended poorly.  If you are a student of Christian history and biography, you will agree with me that most of them failed in one aspect or the other. Most of them started well but later veered into error and heresy. This has given birth to the different sects, denominations and cults in Christianity today.

Most of the Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt to the Promised Land might not have been aware that there was a bridge between the relationship of Moses their great leader and God, after he struck the rock for water rather than speaking to it. Likewise, you might be surprised to find out who you call your spiritual father or mentor has already missed it and he is already working in disobedience before God. Just like King Saul, some of our great ministers that started well; the spirit of God has already left them!

Every Christian must also acknowledge the fact concerning our Christian leaders and mentors. Thank God for their great achievements, but don’t be fooled that because of their spiritual great feat they can’t err. We must know that our leaders are not all-knowing or all-powerful, but they have weaknesses. That is why it is good to always scrutinize and evaluate our spiritual leaders’ views of scriptural interpretation, not with the eyes of being judgmental, but with an open mind so as not to be led into error.

This should compel us to have a direct and personal working relationship with God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, according to the Bible and not connecting our faith on any man of God or any denomination, sect or Church. We should let our faith be based on God’s original word rather than what one Pastor, General Overseer, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Bishop, Reverend or Teacher says.

For the veil has been divided; you now have direct access to God.

This is Apostle Paul’s own confession: “We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete… We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” 1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 MSG.