Touch Not the Lord’s Anointed!

How often have you heard these words: “Touch not the Lord’s anointed!” in reference to a pastor or preacher? Now I know I may create a bit of an issue with a few of you over this, but I encourage you to prayerfully consider the validity and truth to what I am saying. Pastors and preachers will even spew these words out when they are backed into a corner by some irate individuals. (Truth be told, I have used that phrase myself in years past to get some relief from attacks by irate or otherwise heated individuals.) But, does that make its usage right? I suppose the real question should be, “Is there any Scriptural truth to it?”.

The phrase is definitely Scriptural. It is derived from 1 Samuel 24:6 where David is given the opportunity to kill King Saul in order to assume his rightful place on the throne of Israel but he refuses. Note what he says: “He said to his men, ‘The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.'” However, I find problems with carrying this passage over to preachers in the New Testament church.

The verse referred to David physically murdering the king in order to assume his position. Granted, GOD had definitely anointed David to become the next king so we can assume that by the standard of the day and the fact that Saul was trying to kill him, he would have been justified in his actions of killing Saul. But, he chose to to allow GOD to work it out in His time.

When we carry that over to modern day, we all agree that physical murder is out of the question but how often do we see preachers being “murdered by character assassination?” That simply should never occur. However, we are perfectly within our rights to question a preacher’s doctrine if he appears to be straying from it. We are also within our rights to question a preacher’s ability to continue to lead a church when he develops health issues that create an atmosphere of uncertainty due to those issues or when a preacher’s age begins to create problems with his ongoing ability to preach and lead as the church requires.

I see this in churches today. I see pastors and preachers who continue to assume the pulpit regularly who have reached a point in their life where their issues are hurting the church. The congregation is not being fed properly anymore. The regular duties of the pastor are being overlooked. People are hurting and not getting the guidance they need. Or, worse yet, Scriptural doctrine is no longer being kept and many are being led astray. I see pastors refusing to step down from the pulpit of the church fearing that no one will be able to take over. It is so important that we never reach that place where we begin to think that I am irreplaceable. The church belongs to Jesus not to any pastor or church leader. Jesus will take care of His church.

As members of the Body of Christ, we have a responsibility to ask honest questions about a leader’s behavior or decisions and to prayerfully consider actions to protect the people in the church. Certainly, we are called to submit to our spiritual leaders, but it is not wrong to disagree with them as long as we do so with a respectful attitude.