The Tragedy of Hireling Pastors and Their Funeral Sermons
"They have led My people astray saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace" (Ezekiel 13:10)
"They are misleading My people with their reckless lies!" (Jeremiah 23:32)
Few spectacles display the spiritual decay of our age more clearly than the modern funeral sermon in which a false shepherd confidently declares that an obviously unregenerate person is “in a better place.” The Scriptures thunder with warnings against such lies. Yet hireling pastors—men who have abandoned their calling to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)—have become experts at preaching the damned into paradise.
This is not merely pastoral malpractice; it is soul-destroying deception. It mocks the holiness of God, denies the gospel, comforts the unrepentant, and slanders the very truth Christ died to establish.
1. The Biblical Standard: Only Those in Christ Will Be Saved
Scripture is unmistakably clear: no one enters heaven apart from saving union with Jesus Christ.
“Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
“Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36)
“There is salvation in no one else.” (Acts 4:12)
“Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
If a life bears no fruit of regeneration (John 15:5–6), no repentance (Acts 17:30), no following of Jesus (Luke 9:23), and no perseverance (Hebrews 3:14), then Scripture gives no warrant for announcing that person is in heaven.
To declare otherwise is to speak peace, where God has declared judgment (Jeremiah 6:14).
2. Hirelings: Shepherds Who Do Not Shepherd
Jesus Himself exposes the kind of men who perform these doctrinal frauds:
“He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd… sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.” (John 10:12)
A hireling is not driven by Scripture, conviction, or reverence toward Christ. A hireling is driven by:
the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25)
the desire for approval
greed, reputation, or career preservation
sentimentalism divorced from truth
Such men refuse to say what God says about sin, judgment, and the necessity of the new birth (John 3:7). They care more about soothing a crowd than honoring Christ.
They bury people with religious lies, and in doing so, they preach a false gospel Paul pronounces as accursed (Galatians 1:8–9).
3. False Assurance Is Not Compassion—It Is Cruelty
At funerals where the deceased lived in rebellion against God, the hireling steps into the pulpit and paints a picture of heavenly rest. The unbelieving crowd receives comfort not from Scripture, but from a pastor's lies.
This is not love. It is cruelty.
It comforts the unconverted in their rebellion.
It removes the urgency of repentance.
It cheapens the sin atoning death of Christ.
It slanders a holy God who judges righteously (Hebrews 9:27).
A funeral is not a moment to eulogize the dead. It is a moment to declare with soberness the reality of death, judgment, and the only hope found in Christ alone.
4. Why Pastors Must Tell the Truth at Funerals
The minister of the gospel is duty-bound to proclaim what God has spoken, not what the grieving wish to hear.
Paul charged Timothy to preach the Word “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2)—including at funerals where the season is emotionally unfavorable and truth may sting.
A faithful pastor will:
Refuse to grant assurance that Scripture forbids
Refuse to give hope where the evidence of conversion is absent
Proclaim Christ crucified as the only door to eternal life (John 10:9)
Call the living to repentance with tenderness and gravity
Ezekiel 3:17–18 makes this soberingly clear: if the watchman refuses to warn the wicked, then God will require their blood at his hand.
5. What Should Be Preached Instead
A biblically faithful funeral sermon must contain:
Honesty About Sin
“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
The Exclusivity of Salvation by Faith in Jesus
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
The Necessity of Repentance
“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
The Hope of the Gospel—For Those Who are Truly Converted
A faithful minister can comfort the grieving without lying about the deceased by declaring the beauty and sufficiency of Christ for all who repent and believe.
6. The Real Issue: A Culture That Hates Truth
The modern world demands comfort without Christ, hope without holiness, heaven without repentance. Hireling pastors, desiring popularity, give the people exactly what they want.
But the Word of God stands against them:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20)
“My people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” (Jeremiah 5:31)
Death exposes the vanity of false religion. Eternity cannot be rewritten by sentimental clichés.
7. A Solemn Gospel Appeal
Take God's warning seriously: Death is certain. Judgment is certain. Christ is the only refuge.
The gospel announces:
God is holy (Isaiah 6:3).
You have sinned against Him (Romans 3:23).
You deserve His judgment (Romans 6:23).
Christ bore the wrath of God for His people (Isaiah 53:5–6; Romans 5:8).
He saves fully and forever, all who sincerely repent and believe in Jesus (John 6:37).
Do not bank your eternity on the lies of a hireling. Bank it on Christ alone.
Conclusion
Hireling pastors who preach the ungodly into heaven, commit a grievous offense. They dishonor Christ, deceive mourners, and obscure the only truth that can save souls. The church must reject this cowardice and demand pastors who fear God more than man.
A funeral is a moment for truth—eternal truth. And eternal truth does not bend for sentimental comfort. It stands, unshaken:
“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22)
"The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all who do wrong." (Psalm 5:5)
"God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalm 7:11)
"This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, 'No harm will come to you.'" (Jeremiah 23:16–17)
(The above was AI generated.)