No, religious cult leaders are not infallible; their perceived infallibility is a tactic used to maintain control over followers, allowing them to demand absolute obedience, and discourage critical thinking.
The bible clearly says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” see Romans 3:23 NKV. However, many Christian cults and dominations will attach some form of pope-like infallibility to their leaders. They may admit that their leaders have failed in the past, but they will often also claim that their leaders can’t fail now, due to being appointed by God, and God wouldn’t allow them to fail.
Is there a precedent for this kind of God-supported infallibility in scripture? We will examine that in this article, as well as taking a look at more recent Christian leaders such as Martin Luther and John Nelson Darby.
All of the following can be regarded as great workers for God, and you can expect to meet all of them in heaven, if you also have your trust in Jesus.
However, all the key characters such as Noah, Moses, Abraham, and David in the old testament, and Peter and Paul in the new testament, have some record their human weakness as well as their great deeds, and often these recorded failings are after they had already shown themselves to be great servants of God, and great leaders of His chosen people.
The Bible makes no attempts at glossing over the misdeeds of God’s great human workers, but captures everything just as it is, good and bad alike.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us – 1 John 1:8 KJV
There is none righteous, no, not one – Romans 3:10 KJV
Examples of great people in the bible, and how each has failed:
Adam
- Virtue: Father of mankind; made in God’s image – Genesis 1:27
- Failing: Disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit – Genesis 3:6
Noah
- Virtue: Righteous, obedient, trusted God through the Flood – Genesis 6:8-9
- Failing: Became drunk and lay uncovered, leading to family shame – Genesis 9:21
Abraham (Abram)
- Virtue: Father of faith; trusted God’s promises – Genesis 15:6
- Failing: Deceived a king into thinking Sarah (his wife) was just his sister – Genesis 20:2
Moses
- Virtue: Humble leader and lawgiver; obedient to God’s call – Numbers 12:3-8
- Failing: Struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God had instructed – Numbers 20:7-12
Aaron
- Virtue: Israel’s first high priest; supported Moses – Exodus 7:1-2
- Failing: Made the golden calf under pressure from the people – Exodus 32
Miriam
- Virtue: Prophetess; helped save baby Moses – Exodus 15:20 and Exodus 2:7
- Failing: Spoke against Moses in jealousy and was struck with leprosy – Numbers 12:9-10
Gideon
- Virtue: Obeyed God despite fear; trusted God with few soldiers – Judges 7
- Failing: Made a golden ephod that led Israel into idolatry – Judges 8:27
David
- Virtue: Deep faith, skilled warrior and musician, demonstrated deep repentance, etc – there are many references to David in scripture, Acts 13: 22 summarises it well
- Failing: Committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged her husband’s death – see 2 Samuel 11 for the original transgression, and Psalm 51 for the later repentance and trust in God
Solomon
- Virtue: Great God given wisdom – 1 Kings 3:10-12
- Failing: Turned to idolatry through foreign wives – 1 Kings 11:1-12
Peter (Simon)
- Virtue: Passionate faith, powerful leadership, and given huge commission from Jesus – for example see Matthew 16:18-19, Acts 2:37-41, and Acts 5:15-16
- Failing: Denied Jesus three times; sometimes acted impulsively – see Luke 22:54-62 and John 18:10-11
Paul (Saul of Tarsus)
- Virtue: Tireless missionary; profound faith and intellect – many references in the new testament, for example Acts 9:22, Acts 19:11-12, and Acts 14:19-20 (the journey from Lystra to Derbe is approx 60 miles (96 km) – to do that by foot, 1 day after being stoned to the point of appearing dead, is no mean feat!)
- Failing: In Acts 21 it is recorded that he went to Jerusalem despite prophetic warnings. As a result, his public service ended, and temporarily, he returned to some of the old Jewish rituals that Jesus had set him free from. The influential protestant thinker John Nelson Darby has an interesting paper on this.
Further examples, post Bible era:
Martin Luther
- Virtue: Martin Luther took a courageous stand taken against the corruptions of the Roman Catholic church, and was instrumental in helping thousands discover the wonderful truths contained in the Holy Bible.
- Failing: In his later years, Luther became anti sematic (against Jews)
John Nelson Darby
- Virtue: Exposed corruptions within the established church denominations of his time in the 1800s, and set on a purer non-denominational movement that influenced the beginnings of many sincere churches today such as the Open Brethren and the Local Churches
- Failing: When trying to counter the heretical teachings promoted by Benjamin Wills Newton, he introduced a closed circle of fellowship that was at odds with scriptures like John 17:21, and effectively reversed some of the Bible-based doctrines set out in some of his early papers such as Considerations on the Nature and Unity of the Church of Christ.
Can organisations such as Watch Tower Society or The Roman Catholic Church fail and lead people astray?
Sometimes religious organisations may claim that while individual members of the church can fail, the church itself cannot.
Sometimes a religious group will claim the presence of the Holy Spirit of God is within the church itself, or claiming that they are the only true church being led directly God at the current time, for example:
- the Catholics believe that their church is the only true continuation of the original Church that formed soon after Jesus ascended to heaven in Acts, and that leaving the Catholic church is an apostate act that shows you are not saved
- the Jehovah’s Witnesses make simultaneous claims that the Watchtower is not infallible but also that it should be trusted implicitly as God’s chosen and only guide to God’s people today – as demonstrated in this article.
There are literally 1000s of churches who believe they are the one true church, so if you’re in 1 of these, the chance that your church is right and all the others are wrong is extremely slim!
The only safe church leader to trust is Jesus, and His followers are contained within many Christian denominations. Not everyone calling themselves Christian and not everyone within these churches will be saved, but we can be assured: “the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19) and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Why is it important to understand that every man except Jesus Christ is fallible?
Unless you understand that the leader of your church is capable of making mistakes, and capable of leading you astray (even just temporarily before getting right again before God), you will fall into the trap of putting blind faith in a fallible man, and that man will tend to come between you and Christ and reduce your dependence on God for your next steps.
Crucially, having a leader who apparently can’t fail is a key foundation for the following cult attributes:
- Demands for obedience: Cults are built on absolute obedience, where members are taught not to question the leader or their teachings, even when they are wrong.
- Discouraging critical thinking: Free thinking, free will, and free speech are limited in cults. Members are discouraged from questioning the leader’s authority or their ideology.
- Self-elevating claims: A key characteristic is the leader elevating themselves and claiming infallibility to maintain power. In older cults, the leader is able to do this by reverencing past cult leaders, and then the followers translate that into reverence for the current leader, allowing the current leader to appear humble at the same time.
So if the cult members can be made to realise their leader is not infallible, and can fail (just like every man or woman on this earth can, except Jesus), then the cult leader can no longer manipulate his or her followers in this manner.
If you believe that following and trusting in your church leader is all you need to do in order to keep safe and in order to walk in a pathway pleasing to God, then you will lose the earnest exercise that God intends you to experience as you grow in faith, and you will become vulnerable when “grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” – Acts 20:29 KJV.
By all means, look up to and respect the wisdom and experience of your church leaders – this is a concept that scripture strongly supports. But the moment they claim they can’t fail, and ask for blind trust even if they appear to be wrong, that’s a red flag that you’re in a cult, not a mainstream Christian church. As outlined above, the bible does not support the concept of infallible leaders (other than Jesus).
The good news
The one true man who never sinned, and who never will – Jesus – stands out unique among all who have gone before or after Him.
Imagine that you and your best friend were both caught in some great crime, and you both had to appear in court to be judged. You are a kind person, and love your friend so much that when you hear your friend is fined an enormous sum, you offer to pay the fine on their behalf. However, the judge then turns to you and says “by they time you’ve finished paying the fines for your own offences, you will have no money left to pay the fine for your friend as well”.
Jesus is the only one great enough to pay the penalty for your sins, and set you free from eternal judgment. And because he has no sin Himself, he has the riches needed pay the price of your sins (“the wages of sin is death” Romans 6:23). And he won’t just pay the price and take away your guilt, He will also give you eternal life, and peace. In fact, He will give you the peace that He himself enjoys as the perfect son of God, see John 14:27.
When there was disputation at Corinth over which leader to follow, the apostle Paul made it clear that only Christ can save, even saying “was Paul crucified for you?” see 1 Corinthians 1:12-13.
In John 5:31-47 Jesus speaks of how anyone bearing witness of themselves is not true. However, Jesus bore witness of the Father who sent him, and served Him rather than serving himself see Luke 22:41-44. This is why we can trust Jesus for both salvation and guidance, unlike the many human leaders who draw their followers to themselves, for their own personal gain, not for God’s glory.
Jesus is greater than every other man before him and after him – here is a summary of biblical examples.
