5 Bible Verses Abusive Church Leaders Use to Control You

What happens when Bible verses meant to guide Christians are used instead to silence questions, demand loyalty and protect leaders from accountability? In this episode of The Restore Report, Lance Ford counts down five passages that unhealthy and abusive church leaders repeatedly hide behind - and shows why the problem is not Scripture itself, but what happens when Scripture is pulled out of context and made to say something God never intended. The countdown moves from “Touch not the Lord’s anointed” and “Judge not,” to warnings about becoming an “accuser of the brethren,” demands that every concern must follow Matthew 18, and finally Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your leaders and submit to them.” Ford shows how these passages can be used to shut down scrutiny, discredit the person raising a concern, control how misconduct is reported and construct a theology in which resisting a pastor begins to feel like resisting God. But each passage looks very different when read in its biblical context. Psalm 105 does not create a protected class of untouchable Christian leaders. Jesus’ warning against hypocritical judgment does not eliminate righteous discernment. Revelation 12 does not make every truthful allegation satanic. Matthew 18 was never designed as a gag order that forces abuse victims into private confrontation. And Hebrews 13 calls Christians to be responsive to faithful leaders while also emphasizing those leaders’ example and accountability - never giving pastors absolute authority over another person’s conscience or life. The larger issue is the pattern created when all five texts are placed together: the person with the most power can end up with the least accountability. Lance closes with five questions Christians can ask whenever Scripture is used to demand compliance, along with a pastoral word to those who now hear the voice of an abusive leader whenever they encounter certain Bible verses. His encouragement is to return to the text slowly, in context, without that leader standing over your shoulder. Scripture does not belong to abusive leaders, and healthy leadership does not fear questions, correction, transparency or accountability. Download the free Episode Companion Guide for this episode, with Scriptures in context and discussion questions for your group: https://www.roysreport.com/guides This program was released on August 28, 2026, as a transcript and audio podcast: https://roysreport.com/podcast/5-bibl... THE ROYS REPORT is a media outlet dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. If you value this podcast, please consider financially supporting this ministry at https://www.roysreport.com/donate VISIT ONLINE - https://www.roysreport.com FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM - / reachjulieroys LIKE ON FACEBOOK - / reachjulieroys FOLLOW ON X - / reachjulieroys FOLLOW ON THREADS - @reachjulieroys #restorereport