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Question:<\/span> <\/p>\n I read this on a web site: \u201cIsn\u2019t it\u00a0really painful to see that some pastors no longer care about\u00a0the flock today, but they \u201chave been feeding themselves?\u201d What will be the reward\u00a0of the\u00a0pastors who shepherd for sordid gain?<\/em><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In chapter 34 of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, spiritual leaders of God\u2019s people are called \u201cspiritual shepherds of Israel\u201d and all the people are called \u201csheep\u201d.<\/span> In fact, in the Holy Scripture, believers are often compared with sheep that are obedient animals but they completely lack the\u00a0ability to defend themselves.<\/span> <\/p>\n What do these shepherds\u00a0do?<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,\u00a0\u201dSon of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel Prophesy and say to those shepherds, \u2018Thus says the Lord GOD, \u201cWoe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves<\/strong>! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?\u00a0You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.\u00a0Those 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.<\/strong> (Ezekiel 34:1-4)(NASB)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What does this kind of feeding\u00a0lead to?<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n They were scattered<\/strong> for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered<\/strong>.\u00a0My 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<\/strong>. (Ezekiel 34:5-6)(NASB)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n God will demand\u00a0the sheep from them<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n Thus says the Lord GOD, \u201cBehold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them<\/strong> 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.<\/span>\u201d (Ezekiel 34:10)(NASB)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He who destroys will be destroyed<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n In the Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes that believers are\u00a0the temple of God, and pastors are those who have the responsibility to build this temple in spiritual building and\u00a0teachings that they give Christians whom they shepherd.<\/span> And about pastors who abuse their position or recklessly perform their job to which they\u00a0were called, it is written:<\/span> <\/p>\n According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.\u00a0For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.\u00a0Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,\u00a0each man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire,<\/strong> and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work.\u00a0If any man\u2019s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.\u00a0If any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u00a0Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?\u00a0If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him,<\/strong> for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.\u00a0<\/span>(1 Corinthians 3:10-17)(NASB)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Good pastors will receive the unfading\u00a0crown of glory<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n As the pastors who\u00a0shepherd recklessly or for sordid win will get their reward, so those who perform their ministry well\u00a0will receive a good reward.<\/span> The Apostle Peter wrote this:<\/span> <\/p>\n Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,\u00a0shepherd 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;\u00a0nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.\u00a0And when the Chief <\/strong><\/span>Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory<\/strong>. (1 Peter 5:1-4)(NASB)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n God help us to shepherd the flock with eagerness, according to the model of the Great Shepherd and bless all believers with such spiritual shepherds.<\/span> <\/p>\n Translated by Felicia Rotaru<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I read this on a web site: \u201cIsn\u2019t it\u00a0really painful to see that some pastors no longer care about\u00a0the flock today, but they \u201chave been feeding themselves?\u201d What will be the reward\u00a0of the\u00a0pastors who shepherd for sordid gain? In chapter 34 of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, spiritual leaders of God\u2019s people are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[7884,8996,10056,11497,16908,19751,20218,329,7961,9005,10083,11990,17560,19766,20237,942,7962,9178,10129,12035,18347,19772,20366,1101,8050,9182,10161,12190,18580,19793,20383,2224,8095,9268,10248,12418,18950,19834,20502,2524,8238,9632,10322,12438,19252,19837,23051,2911,8239,9648,10336,12742,19273,19839,23156,3000,8451,9668,10349,12873,19439,19847,25078,4151,8482,9683,10372,13015,19525,19884,4842,8604,9726,10427,13557,19549,19966,6420,8639,9748,10619,14267,19596,20003,7742,8673,9789,10723,14649,19613,20048,7796,8799,9847,10757,14670,19709,20072,7798,8834,9922,10844,14723,19712,20194,7799,8845,9961,10848,14824,19715,20200,7859,8864,10043,10897,15704,19722,20202],"class_list":{"0":"post-57939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-answer-from-the-bible","7":"tag-israel","8":"tag-model","9":"tag-sc","10":"tag-cor","11":"tag-fire","12":"tag-holy-scripture","13":"tag-leaders","14":"tag-da","15":"tag-believe","16":"tag-christ","17":"tag-ca","18":"tag-saved","19":"tag-believer","20":"tag-help","21":"tag-pastors","22":"tag-ore","23":"tag-jesus-christ","24":"tag-spiritual","25":"tag-veri","26":"tag-web","27":"tag-felicia-rotaru","28":"tag-example","29":"tag-temple","30":"tag-co","31":"tag-post","32":"tag-t","33":"tag-apostle-paul","34":"tag-sion","35":"tag-ny","36":"tag-son","37":"tag-prophesy","38":"tag-word","39":"tag-tren","40":"tag-pl","41":"tag-po","42":"tag-rom","43":"tag-i","44":"tag-animals","45":"tag-will","46":"tag-mo","47":"tag-har","48":"tag-pro","49":"tag-christian","50":"tag-but","51":"tag-wise","52":"tag-sea","53":"tag-ring","54":"tag-wor","55":"tag-ministry","56":"tag-ion","57":"tag-apostle","58":"tag-disease","59":"tag-eve","60":"tag-apostle-peter","61":"tag-rings","62":"tag-peter","63":"tag-site","64":"tag-ta","65":"tag-today","66":"tag-reve","67":"tag-who","68":"tag-food","69":"tag-dominate","70":"tag-st","71":"tag-om","72":"tag-do","73":"tag-pr","74":"tag-ims","75":"tag-mal","76":"tag-good","77":"tag-ins","78":"tag-eli","79":"tag-j","80":"tag-l","81":"tag-like","82":"tag-amo","83":"tag-1-corinthians","84":"tag-ani","85":"tag-sin","86":"tag-feri","87":"tag-le","88":"tag-mai","89":"tag-si","90":"tag-prophet","91":"tag-job","92":"tag-earth","93":"tag-christians","94":"tag-b","95":"tag-ou","96":"tag-abuse","97":"tag-elders","98":"tag-man","99":"tag-vin","100":"tag-r","101":"tag-un","102":"tag-voluntari","103":"tag-war","104":"tag-elder","105":"tag-people","106":"tag-te","107":"tag-o","108":"tag-the","109":"tag-ue","110":"tag-lie","111":"tag-teaching","112":"tag-work","113":"tag-p","114":"tag-tea","115":"tag-corint","116":"tag-ong","117":"tag-suffering","118":"tag-responsibility","119":"tag-god","120":"tag-fa","121":"tag-pasto","122":"tag-obed","123":"tag-la","124":"tag-scripture","125":"tag-gold","126":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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