Christianity in Crisis: A Time of Departing!
Christianity is facing a crisis of major proportions today; there are many different kinds of voices proclaiming contradicting messages in the name of Christ. Many are saying that the world is in a process of experiencing a Great Christian Revival, and others are saying that the Church is in the final stages of apostasy and the counterfeit bride is being prepared for a counterfeit Christ.
Every genuine believer in Christ wants to see a revival in their church, but in its place they are receiving a combination of Hindu (new age) philosophy with a sprinkle of Christian terminology; empowered by the influence of darkness. "Imaging" and "Visualization" are increasingly appearing as Christian meditation or a consciousness-awakening experience in Christian Churches across America. The power of speaking things into existence also is found in the philosophy of Gurus in India, these concepts all originated in the metaphysical realm of Hinduism, and have crept into the Church without notice.
Many television evangelists promote this heretical doctrine and their audiences love it! The Apostle Paul states: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teacher; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
(2 Timothy 4:4-5)
Extra-biblical experiences and teachings are seducing Christians into one of the greatest delusions of all time. Today many Christians are moving away from the authority of the Word of God, and seeking after an experience based Christianity which is part of the great apostasy that the Bible foretells will occur in the last days.
Let us take a closer look at the religious deception Christ foretold. He issued a warning: "take heed (beware) that no man, deceive you." For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many....” (Mt 24:4,5) “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many....”(v11) For there shall arise false Christ’s, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (v 24) Its seriousness is emphasized by being repeated three times. Its nature is specified: false Christ’s, false prophets, and false signs and wonders. His repetition four times of the word "many" indicates a worldwide deception of multitudes.
Paul issued a similar warning: "Let no man deceive you by any means...." He explains that the spiritual deception to which Christ referred will infect the professing church. That is evident from his words "falling away," or apostasy: “...for that day [of the Lord] shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [Antichrist] be revealed, the son of perdition" (2Thes2:3).
While a true Christian cannot fall away, a false Christian can. Fall away from what? From the faith in Christ which he or she has outwardly professed without inward reality. Those few apostates who announce themselves as atheists or convert to Buddhism or Hinduism are not the concern of Christ and Paul. They are warning of a turning from the truth within the professing church. Other scriptures confirm this, as we shall see. "Then the LORD said to me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of their heart." (Jeremiah 14:14)
While Paul warns us not to be deceived into thinking that the apostasy won't come. It must. Such a warning can only mean that in the last days many will reject the biblical teaching that apostasy is inevitable. The false prophets to whom Christ refers will use their signs and wonders to support their false teaching that revival, not apostasy, is underway. Paul therefore warns not to be deceived with talk about revival: the apostasy must come or Christ will not return! That fact is clarified by other scriptures. False signs and wonders will be an integral part of the apostasy.
The departure from the truth will be spearheaded by apparent miracle workers, and the delusion will be made possible by a prevailing emphasis upon experience over doctrine: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine" (2Tm4:3). Christ declares, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Mt 7:22-23).
These apostates of whom Christ speaks do not lose their salvation; they were never saved ("I never knew you"). Yet they are high-profile Christian leaders apparently performing signs and wonders in the name of Christ. Tragically, they seem to think that their ability to prophesy and to perform wonders proves that they belong to Him. The signs and wonders are so impressive that doctrine no longer matters -exactly what we see today!
Surely these of whom Christ speaks in Matthew 7 must be the same "false Christ’s and false prophets" to whom He refers in Matthew 24. Moreover, the signs and wonders they are able to perform are apparently so impressive that without discernment by the Holy Spirit even the very elect would be deceived by them. Obviously, something more than mere trickery is involved. These miracle workers are backed by the power of Satan, whom they unwittingly serve in the name of the Lord.
Clearly, the Bible predicts a last-days signs and wonders movement-but it will be of Satan, thus a delusion that will deceive many. After a solemn warning that in the last days "perilous times (not revival!) shall come," Paul makes this remarkable statement: “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these [apostates] also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” (2 Timothy 3:8)
Jannes and Jambres were the magicians in Pharaoh's court who, through the power of Satan, duplicated (up to a point) the miracles God did through Moses and Aaron. Paul thus declares that the last days opposition to the truth will not come so much from outside the church but from those within who are reprobate concerning the faith, depraved men who corrupt the truth. And they do so by performing apparent miracles in Christ's name but which (when more than mere trickery) are actually of Satan. In that way, they deceive and lead many astray-not out of the church, but into false doctrine and thus a false hope within the church. Satan has no more effective tactic to damn souls!
Considering the Apostle Paul’s example regarding Jannes and Jambres, in this same manner we shall explore the mysticism and heretical doctrines that have crept into the Church.
There is a form of teaching in Christian circles today that instructs you to fall in love with the delicacies on the Master’s table instead of falling in love with the Master our Lord Jesus Christ. Like us examine “The Word of Faith Movement” and let us determine if this faith is the same faith that was once delivered to the Saints.
What's wrong with the "Faith" movement? Its leaders include many of the most popular television evangelists. Its adherents compose a large percentage of charismatic evangelical Christians. Its emphases on faith, the authority of the believer, and the absolute veracity of Scripture could appear to be just what today's church needs. And yet, I am convinced that this movement poses one of the greatest contemporary threats to orthodox Christianity from within. Through it, cultic theology is being increasingly accepted as true Christianity. Much of the theology of the Faith movement can also be found in such clearly pseudo-Christian cults as Religious Science, Christian Science, and the Unity School of Christianity.
It is important to note at the outset that the bulk of Faith theology can be traced directly to the cultic teachings of New Thought metaphysics. Thus, much of the theology of the Faith movement can also be found in the Hindu philosophy and such pseudo-Christian cults as Religious Science, Christian Science, and the Unity School of Christianity.
Over a century before the Faith movement became a powerful force within the Christian church, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866), the father of New Thought, was popularizing the notion that sickness and suffering ultimately have their origin in incorrect thinking. Quimby's followers held that man could create his own reality through the power of positive affirmation (confession). Metaphysical practitioners have long taught adherents to visualize health and wealth, and then to affirm or confess them with their mouths so that the intangible images may be transformed into tangible realities.
Although proponents of Faith theology have attempted to sanitize the metaphysical concept of the "power of mind" by substituting in its stead the "force of faith," for all practical purposes they have made a distinction without a difference.
New Thought writer Warren Felt Evans, for example, wrote that "faith is the most intense form of mental action.” In treating a patient, Evans commented that "the effect of the suggestion [or positive affirmation that the patient is well] is the result of the faith of the subject, for it is always proportioned to the degree in which the patient believes what you say."
Likewise, H. Emilie Cady, a well-known writer for Charles and Myrtle Fillmore's Unity School of Christianity, explained that "our affirming, backed by faith, is the link that connects our conscious human need with His power and supply." Cady also claimed that "there is power in our word of faith to bring all good things right into our everyday life." Such statements strongly indicate that the distinction between the "mind" of metaphysics and the "faith" of Faith theology is nothing but a figment of the imagination.
There is no denying that much of Faith theology is derived directly from metaphysics. Some of the substance, style, and scams endemic to the movement, however, can be traced primarily to the teachings and practices of certain post-World War II faith healers and revivalists operating within Pentecostal circles.
For example, both Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin point to T. L. Osborn and William Branham as true men of God who greatly influenced their lives and ministries. Of course, Osborn himself has consistently followed E. W. Kenyon's Scripture-twisting antics, and Branham has (among other things) denounced the doctrine of the Trinity as coming directly from the Devil.
Unfortunately, Hagin and Copeland are not alone in affirming Branham; Faith proponent Benny Hinn gives him a hearty "thumbs up" as well. When it comes to style, however, Hinn gravitates more toward such faith healers as Aimee Semple McPherson and Kathryn Kuhlman. In addition, Hinn has given his endorsement to notorious revivalist A. A. Allen, who was truly a huckster if there ever was one. Faith teachers such as Robert Tilton and his female counterpart, Marilyn Hickey, have copied many of the scams pioneered by Pentecostal preachers such as Oral Roberts and A. A. Allen.
Let us now examine the teachings of The Word-Faith Movement:
Kenneth Copeland- "You don't have a god in you, you are
one."(1)
Kenneth Copland- "Pray to yourself and you're in myself. We
are one Spirit, saith the Lord." (2)
Kenneth Copeland- "I say this with all respect so that it don't
upset you too bad, but I say it anyway. When I read in the
Bible where he [Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just smile and say,
'Yes, I Am, too!' (3)What group would say such outrageous things? What group
would have the nerve to perpetuate such blasphemous doctrines?
Could it be the Jehovah's Witnesses? The Mormons? The
Unitarians? The New Agers? Could it be...the Christians?
The Word-Faith Teachers,this is the group that would seek to
convince us that Jesus and His disciples were rich, that to be
poor is a sin, to be sick is a sin, and that faith is a creative force
that we can use to shape our world just like God supposedly
created this world and universe that we live in through His faith.
Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch, John Avanzini,
Robert Tilton, Fred Price, and Benny Hinn (who has authored
the number 1 best selling Christian book in America,
"Good Morning, Holy Spirit') are just a few that spew out this
theological vomit. To name just a few of the more outrageous things that have been
said by these so-called teachers will stagger the senses:
John Avanzini is convinced that "Jesus had a nice big house", (4)
Jesus wore designer clothes", (5) and "Jesus was handling big
money". (6)
Fred Price also claims that Jesus was rich and that He left us with
an example to follow. That is why Fred drives a Rolls Royce; he
is following Jesus' example!
Mr. Price also communicates one of the more sickening beliefs of
the Word-Faith teachers which shock even those with a mild
amount of common sense. He says, "How can you glorify God in
your body, when it doesn't function right?....What makes you
think the Holy Ghost wants to live inside of a body where He
can't see out through the windows, and He can't hear out the
ears?" (7)
This insulting and insensitive comment regarding the handicapped
and crippled among us stirs up anger in even the most hardened
of consciences. Yet this statement by Mr. Price is followed by
exuberant applause and approval from his congregation
(I would like to hear Mr. Price say this to Joni Eareckson, or
Tony Melendez). These kinds of statements boggle our mind and
stagger our senses. It would seem that most people would see the
error in these teachings, yet millions follow these men with a
militant passion.
If this was as far as the teaching of these men went, if their only
error was that they think everyone should be wealthy and healthy,
then we could maybe shrug this movement off as a novelty and
realize that soon people with an ounce of common sense will see
the error in these teachings.
Unfortunately, these teachings are but the tip of the iceberg. They
are but the rotten fruit of a foul, putrid, blasphemous and heretical
root. The erroneous actions of the faith teachers is but the
symptom of their twisted and diseased teachings concerning the
nature of man and the nature of God. I think you will see, after
examining what they believe in these two key areas, that we are
not dealing with a Christian sect gone awry, but that we are
dealing with a non-Christian heretical group that is as deadly in
their doctrine as any major cult.
Who is God to the faith teachers? Kenneth Copeland will tell you
first off that "God is the biggest failure in the Bible...the reason
you've never thought that is because He never said He was one."
(8) Copeland also teaches us that "God is a being that stands
somewhere around 6'2, 6'3", (9) intimating that God has a body,
an error subscribed to by the Mormons. Copeland states, without
any biblical warrant, that the earth we live on is a "copy of the
mother planet" (10) which God lives on, again imitating a Mormon
doctrine.
Never mind that the Bible plainly states that "God is spirit"
(John 4:24), never mind that the Bible never says a thing about this
earth being a copy of any so-called mother planet. Yet these
arguments don't work with the faith teachers because they have
supposedly received these teachings by direct revelation from
God. Therefore to oppose them is to oppose God. These men
have lifted themselves above any critical investigation yet they
have forgotten the biblical mandate that anything not in accord
with the Word of God must be rejected. We will examine shortly
their reactions to any kind of criticism.
After the faith teachers have thoroughly belittled God to slightly
more than an exalted man, they then proceed to exalt man to the
status of God. Adam, to the faith teachers, was an exact duplicate
of God. Copeland teaches, "Gods reason for creating Adam was
His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a reproduction of
Himself. He [Adam] was not a little like God, he was not almost
like God, He was not subordinate to God even". (11) Copeland
even states that "Adam is God manifested in the flesh", (12) a title
that can only be truly applied to Christ Jesus alone.
The perceptive man can easily see that the problem here is
confusion about what it means to be made in the image of God.
The faith teachers claim that being made in the image of God is
synonymous to having the nature of God. To be made in the
image of God is to be a "little god" they would admit. Yet is that
what the church has commonly taught.
The overwhelming consensus of the church has been that man is
created in the image of God in the sense that he is a person as
God is a person, possessing mind, will, and emotions, that he is
reasonable, unique among creation, a ruler over creation, and
capable of personal fellowship with God. We bear the image of
God, but we do not share His nature or substance or make-up.
We are not omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, or infinite.
God is the only being that is holy in and of Himself (Rev. 15:4).
We are made in His image and have dignity because of that, but
we are not an exact duplicate of God in any sense of the word.
That status is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ alone. (see
Col 2:8, Heb. 1:3, 2 Cor. 4:4)
Beginning with this foul root of error, the faith teachers proceed
into more putrefying departures from the Christian faith. The faith
teachers claim that when Adam fell in the garden he forfeited the
nature of God and took on the nature of Satan.
This error is but a link in the chain that connects the faith teachers exalting of man
and belittling of God. You see, salvation for the faith teachers is
not the removal of sin through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Salvation for the faith teachers is not the forgiveness of
sins and the restoring of a right relationship between God and
man. Salvation for the faith teachers is instead the removal of the
nature of Satan from man and the restoring of the nature of God
in man.
How is the restoring of the nature of God in man to come about?
The answer that the faith teachers give is that Jesus had to take on
the nature of Satan on the cross. In fact, the whole sacrifice of
Christ on the cross takes on a completely different emphasis and
meaning for the faith teachers.
You see, it is not enough that Christ died physically in the
theology of the Word-Faith teachers. In order to take away our
satanic nature and restore our God nature, Jesus Christ had to die
spiritually as well as physically. He then had to descend to hell.
Then while in hell he was born again and through His act of being
born again He conquered the devil.
You must follow the steps of this error very carefully for it is but
the doorway into the single most blasphemous and heretical
teaching of the Word-Faith teachers.
Bible says that Jesus is God the Son, God manifest in the flesh.
Jesus therefore possesses the attributes of deity such as
omnipotence, omniscience, eternalness, immutability, etc.
Though in His incarnation, He chose not to exercise all of His
attributes, He still retained them. One of God's attributes which
Jesus shares is His immutability. This means that God is
unchangeable in His person. Although He acts in time, and
establishes and changes relationships in time, His essence, which
includes His perfect and holy attributes, never changes. God does
not change (Mal. 3:6) and neither does Jesus. "Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb 13:8).
But the faith-teachers begin their error by claiming that the Holy,
undefiled, unchangeable Son of God became evil to the core
taking upon Himself the nature of Satan. Blasphemy! Our holy
God does not become unholy.
1) On the cross Jesus took upon Himself the nature of Satan. The
Bible says that Jesus is God the Son, God manifest in the flesh.
Jesus therefore possesses the attributes of deity such as
omnipotence, omniscience, eternalness, immutability, etc.
2) Jesus died spiritually. Again the unchanging God-man did not
die spiritually, but physically. 1 Peter 3:18 states: that Jesus was
put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit. Jesus did not
need to die spiritually as well as physically to gain our salvation.
The offering of His body was enough. Colossians 1:13 states "He
has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death";
Hebrews 13:12, "therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the
people through His own blood"; Hebrews 10:10, "We have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ".
Was Jesus lying when He cried upon the cross, "It is finished"
(John 19:30) was there yet more to be done to secure our
salvation? That comforting cry from the lips of our blessed Lord
can be nothing but true and our salvation was completely bought
and paid for at this most climactic moment of all of history!
3) Jesus descended into hell a mortal man. Seeing that there is no
need for Christ to have done any more to procure our salvation
then what had already been accomplished, this point becomes
nothing more than an embellishment to the truth. Jesus Christ did
not suffer in hell. He descended to Hades, to the abode of the
dead. There was no need for Him to do anymore for our
salvation. Satan had already been defeated and conquered
(Col 2:14-15). Also, Jesus was not, nor ever will be, a mere mortal
human being. To be a mere mortal, He would have to stop being
God, and that is one thing that is against God's nature and
attributes.
4) Jesus was born again. Jesus had no need to be born again.
Jesus was not a lost and hell-bound sinner who needed
regeneration. He was the Almighty, Eternal, and Holy Son of
God. The faith teachers will drag Jesus to the lowest depths in
order that their teaching will have at least a hint of logic. This idea
that Jesus was born again is the crucial link for the faith teachers
that enables them to cry out at the end of their wicked formula for
salvation, "I am a little god."
5) Jesus defeated the devil by being born again. We now have
Jesus, a mere mortal man, suffering in hell. Jesus then decides to
be born again. He defeats the devil and becomes the first-born
among many brethren. Now here is where the Scripture twisting
really becomes ludicrous.
Copeland states: that nowhere in the Bible after the book of Acts
is Jesus called the unique and only begotten Son of God. He then
twists Romans 8:29 to mean that Jesus is the first born again man.
This first re-born man, Jesus, has set the pattern for a new race to
come. And according to the Faith Teachers, we are that new race
to come. We are equal to Jesus for we are born again just as He
was. Do you see what has happened here? The faith teachers have
so suppressed the deity of Jesus that they have, in essence,
denied it.
Copeland goes the farthest in this revelation He supposedly
received from Jesus, "Don't be disturbed when people accuse
you of thinking you're God. The more you get to be like Me, the
more they're going to think that way of you. They crucified Me
for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was God; I just
claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah.
That's what you're doing." (13)
The Jesus of the faith teachers has so little in common with the
Jesus of the Bible that it is clear to anyone with a grain of
discernment that the Jesus of the faith teachers is not the Jesus of
the Bible but instead is the kind of religious decoy that Paul
warned us to be on the lookout for. "But I am afraid, lest as the
serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led
astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if
one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not
preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not
received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you
put up with it easily enough" (2 Cor. 11:3-4) And we are putting
up with it! We are taking this so calmly. Another Jesus, another
gospel, another spirit is mocking the true Jesus, the true gospel,
and the true Spirit and we are so tolerant of it that we allow it on
our TV set and call it Christian!
This is why it's so important for the faith teachers to ignore such
explicit passages as 'It is finished', etc? Why must they have Jesus
dying spiritually as well as physically, entering hell as a mortal man
capable of failure, and being born again to defeat the devil?
The reason is that the faith teachers have a diminished view of
Jesus.When Jesus is downplayed as nothing more than an
anointed man it brings the faith teachers up to the level of Jesus.
In fact, both Kenneth Copeland and Fred Price have publicly
stated that if it was just the physical death of Jesus on the cross
that saves us then anyone could have done it.
Kenneth Copeland says, "And the whole New Testament calls
Him the first-born....The word "born" began to ring in my spirit;
it just began to roll around: born, born. I never had let Him go
through that in my own thinking....And while I was laying there
thinking about these things, the Spirit of God spoke to me. And
He said, "Son, realize this: Now follow Me in this, don't let your
tradition trip you up." He said, "Think this way: A twice-born man
whipped Satan in his own domain." And I threw my Bible down. I
said, "What?" He said, "A born-again man defeated Satan. The
first-born of many brethren defeated him." He said, "You are the
very image and the very copy of that one." I said, "Goodness
gracious, sakes alive!" And I began to see what had gone on in
there, and I said, "You don’t mean--you couldn't dare mean, that
I could have done the same thing?" He said, "Oh, yeah, if you'd
had the knowledge of the Word of God that He did, you could
have done the same thing, 'cause you're a re-born man, too." (14)
No mention is made of the sinlessness of Christ. No reverence is
shown toward the unique virgin birth of Christ. See the depths to
which the Word-Faith teachers have desecrated our Lord. Jesus
Christ could pay for our sins because He was sinless, being
uniquely born of a virgin, and thus not sharing in the sin nature of
Adam and his descendants, a fact to which neither Copeland nor
anyone can likewise boast of.
The sickening outcome of this wickedness is that the Gospel
message is no more 'Turn to the cross of Jesus, ye wretched
sinners, and plead for God's forgiveness. Find rest for your sin
and guilt beneath the blessed cross of the great and mighty Savior.
Instead the faith Teacher's gospel message is, 'You shall be like
God'! The original lie of the devil is now the gospel message and
is broadcast around the world for all to hear! He must be pleased!
And the end result is the blasphemous cries of those who
subscribe to this wickedness.
Kenneth Hagin: "You are as much the incarnation of God as Jesus
Christ was...the believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of
Nazareth." (15)
Benny Hinn: "Are you ready for some real revelation knowledge...
you are god" (16) "You are a little god on earth running around."
(17)
Kenneth Copeland: "I say this with all respect so that it don't
upset you too bad, but I say it anyway, when I read in the Bible
where he [Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just smile and say, 'Yes, I Am,
too!' (18) "You don't have a god in you, you are one." (19)
Paul Crouch: "Do you know what else that's settled then tonight?
This huge and cry and controversy that has been spawned by the
devil to try to bring dissension within the body of Christ that we
are gods. I am a little god. I have His name. I am one with Him.
I'm in covenant relation. I am a little god. Critics be gone!" (20)
Am I just theologically splitting hairs here? If this were a matter of
when and how to baptize, or how many times a year should the
Lord's Supper be observed, or whether the rapture was post,
mid, or pre-trib, then I could rightfully be accused of that. Yet this
is not a minor issue. At stake here is the very character of our
God and Savior Jesus Christ and the great salvation that He has
given us. If you have the wrong Jesus, you have the wrong
salvation and it should be clear from the evidence presented
above that the Jesus of the Word-Faith movement is a far cry
from the Jesus of the Bible!
When Shirley MacClaine chants over and over on national TV,
"I am God, I am God!" we evangelicals go into an uproar. Yet
when those who claim to be in our own ranks say, "I am a little
god", we don't even flinch, but rather applaud them and their
supposed evangelical efforts. Michael Horton has rightly written,
"It must cause our heavenly Father much grief that we would
consider unity more important than the One in whom we are
united. It must quench the Spirit to see Christians treating
blasphemies, heresies, and scandalous statements as though they
were no more than odd "emphases."
The simple fact is that it is not the ones that are zealous for sound
doctrine and orthodoxy who are the divisive ones. The Word-of
Faith teachers are the ones who are guilty of being divisive. They
are fully aware that what they are teaching is relatively new. They
constantly ask us to put away our traditions and forget our
creeds.
Benny Hinn says to an audience, "Are you ready for some
real revelation knowledge?" then proceeds to inform them "you
are god." (21) Hinn also, after teaching his audience that God
consists of 9 distinct substances, boasts "You think you're in this
church to hear things you've heard for the last 50 years?" (22)
The Word-Faith teachers expect everyone to accept their
authority and teachings without criticism or testing. Whenever
anyone challenges their teachings they promote division instead of
discussion. Before his death, Dr. Walter Martin sought to
dialogue with Kenneth Copeland over his teachings, yet Copeland
refused to meet with Walter Martin.
Fred Price has publicly stated that he will not meet with a critic
unless he has as many followers as him. Last Spring, the Christian
Research Institute, a very reputable and trustworthy counter-cult
and apologetic ministry, devoted a week of radio programs to
exposing the errors of the word-faith movement.
Immediately after the shows were aired, Paul Crouch had this to
say about CRI during his televised "Praise-a-thon" program amid
shouts of "amen" and "you tell 'em brother" from the studio
audience: "I think God's given up on a lot of that old rotten
Sanhedrin religious crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I
think they're damned and on their way to hell and I don't think
there's any redemption for them...the heresy hunters that want to
find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian's eye and
pluck that little mote out of their eye when they've got the whole
forest in their own lives and in their own eyes. I say to hell with
you! Oh hallelujah. Get out of God's way, quit blocking God's
bridges or God's gonna shoot you if I don't! I refuse to argue any
longer with any of you out there. Don't even call me. If you want
to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten out somebody over
here, if you want to criticize Ken Copeland for his preaching on
faith, or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don't even want to talk to you or hear you. I
don't want to see your ugly face! Get out of my face in Jesus'
name." (23)
Notice that there is no desire to dialogue about the issues. Notice
that Paul Crouch doesn't explain why they believe what they
believe and subsequently why CRI was in error for presenting the
programs. All that Paul does is attack the people, he does not give
an account for the hope that is in him. The Faith teachers
erroneous and blasphemous teachings are what are promoting
division. It is not those who criticize them and seek to dialogue
with them in a reasonable matter that are to blame. It is the
childish and unresponsive Word-Faith teachers that are to blame.
But you say what about the good they do? Dear friend, no one
gets everything wrong! Even the Jehovah's Witnesses, the
Mormons, the New Age, etc. get a few things right every once in
while. But isn't that the substance of deception? The skin of the
truth stuffed with a lie. An appearance of righteousness yet inside
rottenness and dead man's bones. No, the evil propagated by
these teachers so outweighs the good that we must reject them
entirely. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
I, for one, am embarrassed by the Word-Faith teachers and I am
ashamed to be represented by them. These men represent
Christianity to millions. They present a false picture of what it
means to be a Christian and I think it is abhorrent. Michael Horton
has rightly asked, "Do those who occasionally view televangelistic
programming know that evangelical Christianity offers an
intelligent interpretation of and hope for human existence? Does
the average unbeliever come away from an ordinary telecast with a
better grasp of the substance of the Christian faith?"
The Word-Faith teachers and Trinity Broadcasting Network on
the whole defeat their very purpose. They seek to evangelize but
they are only preaching to the choir. The vast majority of people
who watch already claim to be Christian, and the occasional non-
believer that tunes in is quick to see the unreality presented and
the apparent con-game that is going on. And to make matters
worse, the sparse amount of teaching that is usually presented to
the Christian is of the lethal type that we have been discussing and
instead of strengthening the body of Christ, it poisons it.
What should we do? I see at least three things that can be done
and they are not minor operations. When a cancer is first
recognized in a body, the procedure to remove it is quick, easy,
and relatively painless if the cancer has been caught in its early
stages. But when a cancer has gone unnoticed for years and has
been allowed to nurture and infiltrate an entire body, then the
procedure to remove it will be much more complicated, slow, and
painful. The Word-Faith teaching is a spiritual cancer that has
infiltrated the church to its very marrow. We must take action now
and it will not be pleasant.
First, the most obvious thing to do is to not support any of these
ministries monetarily. Don't watch any of the Word-Faith teachers
programs and encourage and warn others to do the same. Don't
buy their books. If your local Christian bookstore carries their
material let them know that you will not frequent their stores if
they continue to carry this spiritual cancer.
Second, take a stand for Jesus! Why won't the church take a
stand? I have asked myself that question over and over. Are we
afraid to attack evil in the supposed name of unity? Is it that we
are so far gone that we don't figure that it matters what you
believe as long as you "love Jesus"!? If so, let's quit calling other
religions false and accept the cults into our fold. Let's bring in the
Jehovah's Witnesses who love their Jesus (even though to them he
is the archangel Michael, the first and greatest created being).
Let's bring in the Mormons, and the Unitarians, etc. Let's say
good-bye to the creeds and sound doctrine. Let's forget the
stern warnings of the Apostle Paul to beware of false teachers and
false doctrine which spreads like gangrene.
Let's all just "love Jesus" (whoever that Jesus might be to us) No! We cannot
forget the creeds, we will not abandon truth. We must obey our
Lord when He tells us to "Beware of the false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous
wolves. You will know them by their fruits" (Mat. 7:15-16). The
fruit of the Word-Faith teachers is none other than the fruit that
the devil deceived our ancient mother Eve with. It is still as deadly
and still as putrid in God's sight as it was then. The Word-Faith
teachers and their movement must be actively opposed and
rejected as non-Christian! Who will stand for Christ?
Third, this would not have come about if more Christians knew
their Bible and what it taught. This would not have come about if
more Christians knew what the Bible has to say about the nature
of man, the nature of God, the doctrine of the trinity, etc. It is
time to return to teaching sound doctrine so that the common
Christian man can be armed against error. It is time to study the
great foundational doctrines of our faith so that we won't be
deceived by religious charlatans.
Doctrine is not just for theologians. Words like propitiation,
sanctification, justification, trinity, incarnation, predestination,
redemption, etc. are not just useless theological words but are the
very foundations of the faith.
It's time to use our minds again. It's time to quit being so
emotional, mystical, and man-centered in our doctrine. It's time
that Christians took some in-depth journeys into the wonder of the
Holy Scriptures to find out about truth and reality.
Christianity is truth, and as Art Lindsley has rightly stated, "There
is nothing that produces emotion like the truth". Do you want a
vibrant growing faith? Search the Scriptures. Do you seek truth,
real truth? The kind of truth that infiltrates every area of your life
with purpose and meaning and joy! You won't find it on a TV
station. You won't even find it in a church service. You'll find it
when you spend time alone in an attitude of worship and prayer
with an open Bible and the very God of the Universe teaching you
and loving you through His blessed Holy Spirit applying His most
Holy word directly to your life.
Theology is not always entertaining but it is always enriching. It is a lot easier to turn on
that TV and turn off your mind but you'll be at a loss because of
it, and you will miss out on one of the most wonderful blessings
of life: communion with the Living Lord.
CONCLUSION
Stated most simply, the error of the faith movement is that they
exalt man and decrease God. They exalt man to God status and
reduce God to man's status. They are aware that what they are
teaching is unorthodox and controversial to say the least, yet they
have no wish to change their tune. They refuse to be accountable
to anyone.
No man is an island unto himself. These men who are spokesmen
for the Christian faith to the public and represent the Lord Jesus
to millions through their television programs are preaching a
different Jesus, a different gospel, and a different spirit than what
is revealed to us in Holy Scripture.
The Apostle Paul has some strong words for these men and with
them I close. I pray we will take them to heart and that the Spirit
that so moved Paul to action against false teachings will move
within us to produce in us a holy zeal for truth!
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called
you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really
not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and
want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though we, or an
angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to
that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we
have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to
you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be
accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9)
REFERENCES:
1. Kenneth Copeland, "The Force Of Love" tape # 02-0028
2. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory", Feb. 1987,
p.9
3. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on
TBN, recorded 7/9/87
4. John Avanzini, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on
TBN, recorded 1/20/91
5. John Avanzini, "Believer's Voice of Victory" broadcast on
TBN, recorded 1/20/91
6. John Avanzini, "Praise the Lord" broadcast on TBN, recorded
9/15/88
7. Fred Price, "Is God Glorified Through Sickness?"
tape # FP605
8. Kenneth Copeland, "Praise-a-thon", broadcast on TBN,
recorded 1988
9. Kenneth Copeland, "Spirit, Soul, and Body", tape # 01-0601
10. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham"
tape # 01-3001
11. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham"
tape # 01-3001
12. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham"
tape # 01-3001
13. Kenneth Copeland, "Voice of Victory" Vol. 15, No. 2, 2/87
14. Kenneth Copeland, "What Happened from the Cross to the
Throne" tape # 02-0017
15. Kenneth Hagin, "Word Of Faith" Dec. 1980, p. 14
16. Benny Hinn, "Our Position In Christ", tape # AO31190-1
17. Benny Hinn, "Praise-a-thon" broadcast on TBN,
November, 1990
18. Kenneth Copeland, "Believer's Voice of Victory"
broadcast on TBN, recorded 7/9/87
19. Kenneth Copeland, "The Force Of Love" tape # 02-0028
20. Paul Crouch, "Praise The Lord" broadcast on TBN,
recorded 7/7/86
21. Benny Hinn, "Our Position In Christ", tape # AO31190-1
22. Benny Hinn broadcast, recorded 10/13/90
23. Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-thon" broadcast on TBN, recorded
4/2/91