True Shepherds vs. Merchandising Preachers
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By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
(A Study of 2 Peter 2:3 – False Shepherds – KJV)
📖 Key Scripture
“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
— 2 Peter 2:3 (KJV)
🔎 What This Verse Means
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Covetousness → Greed, desire for wealth or gain.
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Feigned words → Flattering, deceptive, or carefully crafted speech.
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Make merchandise of you → Treating believers like customers, exploiting them for financial profit instead of shepherding them in Christ.
Peter warns us that some leaders in the church will not serve out of love, but out of greed. They market the gospel, sell false hope, and drain God’s people instead of feeding them.
⚠️ Signs of “Making Merchandise” Today
Unfortunately, many modern ministries display these traits:
💰 Prosperity Gospel Marketing – selling “blessings” in exchange for seed offerings.
✈️ Lavish Lifestyle – leaders living in excess while the flock struggles.
🎟️ Pay-to-Access Teachings – locking spiritual truth behind paywalls.
📢 Fundraising Gimmicks – constant pleas for money with fear or manipulation.
⭐ Celebrity Branding – building personal empires instead of exalting Christ.
🐑 True Shepherds vs. Merchandising Preachers
Here is a biblical comparison to help you discern:
| ✅ True Shepherds | ⚠️ Merchandising Preachers |
|---|---|
| ❤️ Serve out of love for Christ and His flock (John 21:15–17; 1 Pet. 5:2) | 💰 Motivated by greed and covetousness (2 Pet. 2:3; Titus 1:11) |
| 📖 Preach repentance and holiness, the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27) | 🗣️ Use feigned words—flattery, hype, empty promises (Jer. 23:16–17) |
| 🙏 Content with provision, not using ministry for profit (1 Tim. 6:6–8) | 💵 Pressure people to give, attaching blessings to money (Mic. 3:11) |
| 👣 Live humbly, modestly, and sacrificially (Matt. 10:8–10) | 🏰 Live lavishly in wealth and excess (Luke 12:15; James 5:1–3) |
| 🐑 See people as sheep to be fed and cared for (John 10:11) | 🛒 See people as customers to be exploited (2 Pet. 2:3) |
| 🍇 Produce godliness, humility, love (Gal. 5:22–23) | 💔 Produce division, materialism, dependence on preacher (Rom. 16:17–18) |
| ✝️ Lead by example, not lording over others (1 Pet. 5:3) | 👑 Build personal empires, demand loyalty (3 John 1:9-10) |
| 📜 Anchor teaching in Scripture alone (2 Tim. 3:16–17) | 🎭 Rely on visions, gimmicks, and marketing (Jer. 23:25–27) |
| 🌍 Point people to Christ and eternity (Col. 3:1–4) | 🪙 Focus on material gain and “breakthroughs” (Phil. 3:18–19) |
🧭 How to Test a Ministry
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Does the preacher glorify Christ or themselves?
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Are the poor fed or exploited?
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Is the Word of God freely given or sold?
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Does the ministry lead to godliness or greed?
🙌 Conclusion
In the gospel of John, Jesus tells Peter three times to “feed my sheep” – this is a clear indication of who the sheep – (God’s People) belong to — JESUS CHRIST said “MY SHEEP” because they belong to God and not the local Pastor or any ministry. (John 21:17)
A true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, preaches the Word without compromise, and lives humbly for the glory of God.
A merchandising preacher uses smooth words to manipulate people, promising blessings for money, and turns ministry into a business empire. These “False Shepards” are building “their church” and Jesus never said to do that. These “False Teachers” use the name of Jesus for gain and exploit God’s people as they build their corporations they call churches. (Matthew 24:4-5).
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” — John 10:11 (KJV)
God has an entire chapter in scripture to warn the fasle shepards…
Ezekiel 34
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? 3You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. 6My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead, 9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
10This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
11For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. 12As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock.
I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land. 14I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
17This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’
20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, 22I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. 24I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
The Covenant of Peace
25I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. 26I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing. 27The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.
28They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.
29And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.
31‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
The Good Shepherd Jesus has spoken in His word. (Psalm 23:1–6; John 10:1–21)
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