Exposing Charlatans In the Church

By James Quansah, Pastor

GOVERNMENTS OFTEN expel diplomats for espionage. Police officers in most nations of the world arrest and prosecute law-breakers. Political parties are noted for ex-communicating members who fail to conform to their rules and regulations. These actions are taken purposely to serve as a deterrence to others.

Now, what should be done to necromancers, sorcerers, magicians, herbalists, traditional priests and diviners who have sneaked into the Body of Christ, the Church, especially in Africa parading themselves as ministers of the Gospel? What is the position of the Bible on matters as stated above? False ministers, who are the charlatans in the Church are planted by the devil.

The Lord Jesus Christ describes these false men and women in a parable as weeds and the true ones as wheat (Matthew 13:25-29). Is it not necessary for these weeds to be uprooted to allow the wheat the freedom to grow properly? Jesus Christ was told, “…do you want us to go and gather them? But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them” (Matthew 13:29).

Jesus then instructed thus, “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30). Here, Jesus does not want charlatans to be destroyed before the appointed time, but Paul recommended that such impostors and their evil works be exposed (Ephesians 5:11).

Christians must understand that satanic spirits are able to inhabit or possess men and women to counterfeit the work of God. They infiltrate the Church of God just to dent it and lead many believers astray through their ungodly activities. These men and women also establish churches to lure ignorant believers. But they are false prophets and teachers whose fruits expose them.

In Acts 13:4-12, we read about the apostle Paul travelling to many places including a town called Paphos to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. In that town, Paul and his team of ministers met a certain magician or sorcerer operating in the area. This sorcerer operated as a prophet, and called himself Bar-Jesus. What a ‘powerful’ name! In Ghana and many parts of the world today, he would be called prophet Bar-Jesus.

Ignorant believers would likely be deceived into regarding him as a brother or son of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and accord him all the necessary respect, honour and support. They would believe every teaching and spiritual direction he might give them without cross-checking their accuracy in the light of the written Word of God. After all, he is called Bar-Jesus, meaning son of Jesus.

And the Bible says, “…believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed” (2 Chronicles 20:20). So Bar-Jesus managed to win the heart of an intelligent man in the area called Sergius Paulus, who was the proconsul, a governor or military commander. This means a worldly person can be highly educated and prominent in society and yet be deceived into following false prophets and their practices.

However, Paul who was filled with the Holy Spirit would not be deceived by prophet Bar-Jesus’ antics. Paul knew who he was. Bar-Jesus, aka Elymas, was a false prophet. He was never a prophet of God as Agabus and others were, but a false minister, a son of the devil, who was busily doing the work of his father, the devil.

Some people, including Christians, doubt that the devil has children. But the Bible says he has. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself indirectly called those Jews who did not believe in Him children of the devil. “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires…” (John 8:43-44).

And so apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops and teachers whose ministrations, practices and operations contradict the Word of God are false and sinful. They are sons and ministers of the devil. So Bar-Jesus, who was met by Paul, was a false prophet, a son of the devil, as he practised sin and worked for his spiritual father who had captured him.

Today, there are many similar false ministers in Ghana and several parts of the world. They are psychics, numerologists, astrologists, necromancers, magicians, sorcerers, diviners, occults, enchanters, witches and wizards, who have sneaked into the church to dent it. They call themselves some funny names, speak and advertise their services weirdly.

Like the Jewish Bar-Jesus, all false prophets prevent people they have deceived from hearing the gospel of salvation at their meetings. They are enemies of righteousness, full of deceit and villainy. They are fraudsters who swindle unsuspecting believers. They never stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord.

But Jude has this information for them: “Woe to them! … wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever…These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favouritism to gain advantage” (Jude 11-16).

Now, let the true Christians learn to test all spirits and examine the activities of preachers to separate the genuine from the fake, sheep from the goats and sons of God from sons of the devil. Let true disciples of Christ Jesus be bold and expose the evil elements of the devil by speaking and writing to differentiate them from the true ones.

James Quansah is the Executive Director of Christ-Conscious Leadership Centre (CLC) and lead Pastor of End-Time Christ’s Commissioners (ECC), Kumasi, Ghana. James is also a journalist by profession. He is married with four children.

Email: [email protected]