The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
The Corrupted Pulpit
Have you ever questioned why some spiritual leaders insist you need their interpretation of Scripture rather than developing your own relationship with God's Word? This thought-provoking episode challenges the notion that our spiritual lives should be mediated through religious authorities rather than direct engagement with Scripture.
We examine a powerful historical precedent: when John the Baptist arrived as the prophesied forerunner to the Messiah, Israel's spiritual leaders failed to recognize him. Even more remarkably, when Jesus Christ himself began his ministry, these same religious authorities opposed him, prioritizing their traditions over divine truth. Jesus confronted this directly, declaring, "By your traditions, you make the word of God of none effect." This raises a crucial question for today's believers: can modern religious leadership fall into similar patterns?
The corruption of religious authority didn't end in Jesus' time. Throughout Acts and the Epistles, we see ongoing struggles between institutional power and spiritual authenticity. Even after Paul's conversion, he faced opposition from those claiming religious authority. The message becomes clear—while respected teachers can provide valuable guidance, direct access to God through Christ represents the revolutionary heart of Christianity. What can never be corrupted is an honest, sincere relationship with Jesus Christ developed through personal engagement with Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
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Hey everybody, this is C-Dub with another Wofo, Yo Short Wanted to talk to you. I'm just getting back from an event I had to go to. Let me ask you a question why get in the Word for yourself? We've been talking about a lot of things recently and you know, to be honest, I have a lot of friends in ministry that are doing ministry different kinds of ways, but still have a lot of friends that are in traditional ministry. So you got to ask yourself the question why get in the word for yourself? Why is it so important? Why is it so important to build that relationship for yourself, rather than what a lot of people are teaching, which is how you need to go through your pastor, this minister and that minister and the church board and everything else, to make all these decisions Plain and simple? You have John the Baptist. If you get into the word for yourself, you'll find out that you have John the Baptist coming, the predecessor to the Messiah, the forerunner to Jesus Christ, and those that are in charge, the ministry people, the very ones that are supposed to be spiritually guiding this nation of Israel, don't know what to do. Then you have the son of God, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, God in flesh, coming as the light of the world, as the living word of God, and they don't know what to think of him because it's all about their agenda, it's not about God's agenda. They've gotten so stuck in the way it's been done because that's their tradition of the elders and they are stuck on that in that time. And Jesus, when they confront him about, hey, you're violating the tradition of the elders, he goes. You're violating the word of God by sticking to your traditions. By your traditions, you make the word of God of none effect, and so the very ones that are supposed to be spiritually leading and guiding this nation, these people, are corrupted. So let me ask you a question. You know why. Get in the word for yourself. Well, ask yourself can the pulpit be corrupted? And I'm not trying to accuse anybody of being corrupted, I'm saying simply ask the question can the pulpit be corrupted? Because if you don't think it can, I would issue a challenge to ask who is the pulpit of the day when Jesus hits the scene? Who's the pulpit, who's the one that is supposed to be the main mouthpiece for Israel? Who are the guys? Are the guys? And then you have to ask yourself if I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. Can the pulpit be corrupted? Because if the pulpit can't be corrupted, if the pulpit is infallible, then Jesus would have been wrong for ever confronting them, and we know that's not the case. So why do we think just because, rather than being Jewish which there's something to be said about, understanding the Jewish roots of Christianity we miss out on a lot? I know that's going to upset a lot of you. Get over it. There's a lot to be said about that If we think simply because we're Christians rather than Jews. If you think that same thing can't happen, I challenge you to get in the word for yourself.
Speaker 1:Read the book of acts, because you're seeing right there that the Saul of Tarsus. He was operating under that pulpit of the time. The Lord gets a hold of him and now he gets involved. He gets born again. Praise God, he is a new man to the point where he changes his name to the Apostle Paul. But even then, him and the followers of James are having a dispute. Not him and James, but their followers are having a dispute to where, when Paul wants to walk it out like he's received it directly from Jesus, it's causing problems. Why? Because there's been some corruption in that pulpit? You don't think there's been some corruption in that pulpit? You don't think there can be some corruption in the pulpit? Look at Ananias and Sapphira. Well, they weren't in the pulpit. I get that. They were trying to get influence into it, though.
Speaker 1:So read your book of Acts. Read some of the things that are going on. John had issues, the Apost going on. John had issues. The apostle John Paul had issues with people wanting to assume a pulpit. And well, hey, I'm the, I'm the head person in charge, I'm, I'm behind God's sacred desk, and because you think you're there, all of a sudden you buy into the, the system rather than the relationship, and so I especially want to challenge and this goes to me too. If you don't think a pulpit can be corrupted, read your Bible, develop that relationship with the Holy Spirit, and then ask yourself the first person you ought to ask if their pulpit can be corrupted is yours, and if the Lord starts dealing with you about that, then it's time to repent and get it right. So now that I've thrown those hand grenades out there, y'all have a great rest of the week, and we'll catch you back up on part two of our full episode.
Speaker 1:But think about it. Can a pulpit be corrupted? And you know what can't be corrupted An honest, sincere relationship with Jesus Christ. Get in the word for yourself. Wofo Yo. Hey everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to grow. You can always check us out at wofoyoorg, contact us there or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Audible, or check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is C-Dub, reminding you. If you're going to grow, you've got to. Wofo Yo. Get in the word for yourself.