The false pastor and the false church members

“Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives.” (Ezekiel 13:22)

            The false pastor preaches “out of his own imagination” (Ezek. 13:2) like a false prophet.  And he preaches like the false prophet “following his own spirit and has seen nothing” (v. 3).  The false pastor is “the foolish pastor” (v. 3).  He is like a jackal among ruins (v. 4).  In other words, the false pastor always destroys people's souls (Park).  He says that God has spoken, and speaks of “falsehood/a false vision and lying divination” (vv. 6, 7, 8, 9).  The false pastor, like the false prophet, tempts God's people by saying “Peace” when there is no peace (vv. 10, 16).  In a word, he speaks the false words of comfort (Park).  The false pastor never rebukes like a true prophet.  The false pastor doesn’t proclaim God's words of warning, rebuke, and God's holy words to point out and expose sins to the church members who are sinning against God.  He proclaims the false words of comfort from his own heart because he thinks that the church members who are sinning need comfort.  How can there be true comfort when the problem of sin is not resolved by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross?  Since there is no peace because of the problem of sin, how can the pastor preach that there is peace?  It is like building sand and cover it with whitewash (v. 10).  Now, the false pastor is building the members on the sand and making the members appear as if they are whitewashed on the outside.  The false pastor is encouraging the church members not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives (v. 22).  He is giving false comfort.  The true comfort is to repent their sin and return from their sinful ways and so save their lives.  At the same time, the false pastor is disheartening the righteous with his lies, when God has brought them no grief (v. 22).  Because of this false pastor, there are countless false church members.

The false church members listen to lies of the false pastor (v. 19).  They say “Amen” and that they have received grace when the false pastor preaches “Peace” where there is no peace (vv. 10, 16).  And with joy, they leave the church and go out into the world and commit another sin with the power of the cheap grace they have received.  Still, they live a life of a church member that neither does nor considers sin a sin.  However, when the true pastor preaches “There is no peace” or 'Peace can be found only when you repent and receive forgiveness of sin' during the Sunday worship, they will be tempted by the pastor's sermon and hate the pastor and eventually leave the church.  Their hearts are so hardened and intoxicated with self-righteousness.  They don’t realize that there is no peace in their hearts because of their sin.  But rather they say that they lost peace in their hearts and leave their churches in complaints and resentment because they think they are righteous and the pastor preaches “There is no peace” and ‘Repent of your sins.’  Such false church members like to hear a sermon about peace when there is no peace. They don’t put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).  And even worse, the false church members expect that the lies they have heard to be fulfilled (Ezek. 13:6, 19).  How can they expect the false prophets’ false visions and their lying divinations (vv. 6, 7, 8, 9) out of their own imagination (v. 2) to be fulfilled (v. 6)?  Certainly they are foolish church members.  After all, the false church members are destroying their own souls.  They continue to walk in their sinful ways because they are encouraged by listening to the false pastor who preaches “Peace” when there is no peace and who make them not to turn from their evil ways.  Still, they believe that they are now on the path of righteousness.  Therefore, the false church members don’t feel the need to confess and repent their sins to their holy God.  Even because of these countless false church members, there are countless false pastors.