WAGE WAR ON MERCHANTS OF GOD

MINISTERS of the Gospel are obligated to preach the Gospel, teach sound doctrine and also ensure that the church becomes the platform for discipline and character building. They are expected, just like the laity, to be the light and salt of the world.
Unfortunately, trends in the ministry of the Gospel appear to gravitate towards a situation where the ministers are compromising on sound doctrine, teaching and values.
Rather, some are using the church as an avenue to exploit the poor and the vulnerable for their self enrichment and purposes.
The chastisement by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, of some ministers of the Gospel and the concerns she raised over that development in the ministry could not have come at a better time.
In their bid to exploit the poor and the vulnerable, some of the ministers have become miracle makers overnight and also focus on prosperity theology, instead of salvation and Christ. Some now preach the Word not for the sake of Christ but for their stomachs.
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 3:18-19), apparently expressing concern over the developments in the Philippians, said, “For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their ‘shame’. Their minds are occupied with earthly things.”
Indeed, they have become merchants of God.
The trend has been exacerbated by the situation where some of the ministers have resorted to the use of visions and prophecies, some of which are never fulfilled. They also exploit the fears of the vulnerable, making them believe that every mishap in their lives emanate from some people in their families who are either witches or wizards.
This development cannot be allowed to continue. It is about time institutions such as the Christian Council of Ghana, the Catholic Bishops Conference and the Ghana Pentecostal Council initiated action to stem the tide. It is unacceptable for some ministers of the Gospel to go to the extent of sometimes stripping women naked, taking huge sums of money from the gullible and unrepented, as well as using all kinds of tricks to deceive the public.
There is the need for a programme to ensure that those who claim to have been called by God go through some basic training to obtain certification before being allowed to minister to the public. The situation where anybody gets up in the morning to claim that he has been called by God to preach should be examined carefully.
While state institutions look at mechanisms to sanitise the system, it is important for Christians also to learn to study the Word and to check the veracity of the claims being made by some ministers of the Gospel.
In the Acts of Apostles, the Christians in Berea were said to have a reputation to check the claims of even the Apostles. Just as Paul admonishes Timothy in II Timothy 2:15 “to study to show himself approved unto God, a work man that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth”, Christians need to be adept in the Scriptures to prevent exploitation by the so-called men of God.