August 10, 2024
“But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the seep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.” John 10:12-13, KJV
Jesus is the door for the sheep, and His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. They will not follow a stranger. However, many nominal or cultural “Christians” will follow a stranger, a hireling, who pretends to speak for Christ.
Jesus is also the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep. This is something the hireling will not do. When the hireling sees the wolf, he flees because he doesn’t care about the sheep but only his own life and well-being.
A simple story with deep meaning. Who is the good shepherd? Who are the sheep? Who is the hireling? And who is the wolf? This article will examine their significance and how they apply.
Christian Leaders, such as pastors and teachers
Possibly the most immediate inference is to Christian leaders such as teachers, pastors, bishops, elders, and prophets. They are shepherds of the flock of Jesus Christ. Many Christians (the sheep) look to them for spiritual guidance, safety, and instruction. When these leaders cease to protect the sheep from the wolves (false doctrines, false teachers, false prophets) and flee for their safety, the shepherd (pastor, teacher, pastor) becomes a hireling. “To flee,” they may not leave the flock, but simply embrace the lie or false teaching. Instead of fleeing from the sheep, they let the wolf in the front door and welcome it to devour the congregation (sheep).
How many so-called Christian leaders have already surrendered to lies and continue to compromise God’s truth because they fear the wolves? The wolves threaten to destroy their reputation, influence, church growth dreams, and church finances. Hirelings run away (from the truth) when threatened. They retreat and give in to lies. True shepherds stand firm and refuse to compromise the truth of Scripture.
We are seeing an increasing number of evangelical pastors and leaders who are becoming hirelings and abandoning their responsibilities as true shepherds. They yield to woke ideologies and doctrines influenced by wolves. There are many examples of this. These pastors are embracing the lies of the wolves. Their churches are becoming affirming, approving, and welcoming of gay lifestyles. These blind guides mistakenly believe that this makes them more appealing to the lost. Many of them even buy into the fashionable lie that ‘love is love’. They reject what God declares about ‘vile affection or vile love’ between homosexuals, as mentioned in Romans 1. As a result, they support gay marriage and the existence of a gay Christian. They are hirelings of the worst kind. Some may even fall prey to the lies of progressives regarding white privilege, social justice, critical race theory, and others. Their discernment has died when their fear of man begins to dominate.
I listened to one of these hirelings talk about homosexuality and say something that seemed compassionate but was deceptive at the same time. With his voice choking, he said that he did not want to discuss only those things that are important to white Christians and not address the issues important to non-white Christians. He also suggested that the Bible ‘whispers’ about homosexuality and speaks loudly about other issues such as social justice. Therefore, the church should whisper about homosexuality but speak loudly about white privilege, racism, and social justice. He is a hireling fleeing from the wolves that threaten him. He fears man rather than God. His fake compassion is leading him and his flock into great error.
Don’t you think that a good pastor should address the moral issues of the culture and the church body, irrespective of race and gender? White privilege is a concoction of the left and Marxist ideology. Many white people live at the bottom of the social and economic ladder, just like many minorities. These poor white folks have the ‘privilege’ of living at or below the poverty line, sleeping in their vehicle or on the street, and collecting food stamps. The only rampant racism I ever hear about and see with my own eyes is Black racism coming against white people. I am sure that there are white racists and white supremacists out there, but they are few and have little influence. I suspect that some black racists have more impact, and some are even on TV.
For this pastor, to state that the Bible ‘whispers’ about homosexuality is so utterly ridiculous that it is a wonder that he is thought to be qualified to be in the pulpit. The Bible ‘shouts’ about the abomination of sodomy and baby killing. It does not whisper about either of these two great sins. As a hireling, this pastor doesn’t want to talk about homosexuality because he selfishly fears the wolves. The hireling flees from the wolves by joining them. True shepherds speak the truth, especially when it is offensive. True shepherds give their lives for the sheep, just like Jesus did. True shepherds fight off the wolves; they do not invite them in.
To let a homosexual believe the lie that they can be a genuine Christian and go to heaven while they remain a homosexual is not love. It is cowardice and a dereliction of duty. It reveals that the hireling hates the homosexual because he refuses to tell him the truth and will let him go to hell for eternity. Hirelings flee from the truth because they do not love their flock.
Parents are shepherds too.
Christian parents and parents in general are shepherds of their children and bear a great responsibility. But many parents, both inside and outside the organized Christian Church, have become hirelings because they refuse to chase away the wolves. They let the wolves of wokeness and progressivism devour their children. They let their children be subjected to all manner of sexual and gender deviancy in the classroom. In addition, they refuse to deny their children harmful forms of entertainment and amusements. They refuse to discipline their children and teach them the word of God personally. They expect others to do their job for them. They act like hirelings and flee when the wolves start howling.
Tactics of the hirelings
Some of these pastors, leaders, and parents are even trying to make the case that Christians should support illegal immigration because that is the loving thing to do. If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (and we are), then we should allow anyone and everyone to come to this country without being vetted. What utter nonsense. Real love toward our current neighbors tells us that we should vet all newcomers to this country so that none of these people come here to steal, rape, and murder our neighbors. Real Christians believe in immigration of vetted people who will contribute positively to our nation, not destroy it. An open border is the most unloving thing that can be done and that is why the Democrats and Christian hirelings love it.
Here’s a couple more examples, and then I’ll stop. Progressive “Christians” and leftists want us to believe that we love our neighbor when we wear a mask or get an experimental shot. They claim that not getting the shot and not wearing a mask means we are not loving our neighbor as Jesus commanded. Once again, it’s more nonsense from the same “Christians” who refuse to tell gay men and women that they are living in sin and must repent or be damned.
Then there is constant nonsense about the existential threat of man-made climate change. We are told by progressive Christians and leftists that love means we must submit to the extreme measures of the climate alarmists or we are not showing Christian love. More superficial Christian nonsense. The fear-mongers want to destroy our economy, way of life, and throw all of us back into the dark ages so that we can save the earth. (Real Christians value clean air and water as much as anyone else). If we actually listened to them, many millions of people could die from starvation or exposure if we eliminate most fossil fuel use. Their ideas are evil, hateful, and they know it. That doesn’t stop them from virtue signaling that they are being loving, even as you and your family eat bugs, starve, or die of exposure. Most of those crazy people believe the world is overpopulated, and this is just another big lie to kill two birds with one stone: save the planet from fossil fuels and reduce Earth’s population at the same time. Now that looks like love—if you’re the devil.
Jesus is calling for shepherds willing to give their lives for the sheep. There are many job openings for these precious souls. Let us pray that Jesus will remove all hirelings from Christian pulpits and ministries across this nation if they do not repent. Shepherds remain steadfast and faithful to God and His Word. Jesus said those who try to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives for His sake will find them. Hirelings run away to save themselves when the wolf appears.
It has been the goal of the progressives to infiltrate Evangelical Christianity because this group or voting bloc is substantial. It stands in the way of totalitarian control over this nation and eventually the world. They take Marxist ideology and couch it in Christian language so that gullible and ignorant Christians will swallow it. Don’t be fooled. Read your Bible. Pray and think about what you are being told. Unfortunately, many pulpits across this nation are filled with hirelings.
