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Jesus had core disciples following Him from the beginning of His ministry. They were being trained to minister as apostles. They were the second class apostles after Christ Jesus who the sole first class apostle. The apostles were used to establish doctrines for the Church.
After them emerged prophets, teachers, evangelists, pastors and other classes of apostles, including those who minister today. However, these servants of Christ who openly confess to love Jesus, sometimes, betray the Lord.
Scripturally, the first apostle to commit this sin against Jesus Christ was Judas Iscariot. As a core disciple, he was being trained to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. But he fell from grace after being tempted to betray his Master.
People are usually tempted to sin with things they love or with things that are available to them. If you love sex, you will always be tempted with sex. If you love money, you will frequently be tempted with money and so on. Joseph was tempted with sex because Potiphar’s wife was available to him, but he fled (Genesis 39:12).
Judas Iscariot was the accounts officer of Jesus Christ’s ministry (John 13:29). He took charge of the money people donated to the Lord. However, he loved money the presence of the Lord and His efficacious teachings and preaching notwithstanding.
Consequently, Judas was tempted with money (30 pieces of silver) to sell his Master with a kiss to be crucified (Matthew 26:14-15). The apostle took the money after he had listened to the suggestion of the devil to do so (John 13:2). His love for money prevented him from preaching the gospel.
It may look as if only Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for personal gain. But the reality is that today many church leaders continue to betray the Lord for money. They do not necessarily betray Him by kissing Him. Rather, they betray Him by refusing to testify about Him.
What is it when a church leader collects offerings in the name of the Lord Jesus, but refuses to preach the message about His death, burial and resurrection for the salvation of souls? A pastor who does this has not only denied both the Lord and his faith but also betrayed Him.
Remember that Jesus’ key assignment on earth was to die for the propitiation of the sins of the world so as to restore the love relationship between God and man. And His key instruction to all church leaders was to ensure that the message of the cross was diligently preached.
Therefore, a pastor who peddles the gospel betrays Jesus, because he has hurt Him. Indeed, the love of money has blighted the hearts of many church leaders to the extent that they do not see the need to preach and teach about the message of the cross of Christ Jesus.
However, they always have messages to teach about money, success and prosperity when they themselves did not prosper by applying those messages. Money, success and prosperity are important in this life, but Jesus Christ is most important in this life and in eternal life.
He instructed His servants to preach the gospel to make disciples of all nations, and to teach them to observe all His commands (Matthew 28:18-20). The Lord also warns that His servants cannot serve both God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24).
The Lord’s words imply that Christians must prioritize devotion to God above the pursuit of material wealth. We should work hard to make money to provide our needs and to ensure national development. But we should dare not love money more than Jesus. Doing so is tantamount to betraying the trust of the Lord.
By James Quansah
