WORD
TO THE
wHYS
With the usual back & forth, cut & thrust & occasional parry that accompany blogs such as this one, come the inevitable questions about why I’m doing what I’m doing & the true definition of what is commonly identified as discernment ministry. I have to say again, as I have said formerly, that what I write & publish on this blog is not a ministry per se. Neither am I a discerner. Rather, it is God’s Word that discerns. Scripture is the discerner & the truth of this engrafted Word must be received with meekness, because it & it alone is able to save our souls. (James 1:21). Biblical discernment is not for a few, but rather, it is the responsibility of all believers, everywhere, at all times. I’m reminded of words from The Book of Job, ‘For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat.’. The writer of Hebrews states, ‘For The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’ (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, it would follow that if there were any discerning to be done, it will have to be done in the light of Scripture. This & this alone is the benchmark that has been set by God. His Word is the only reliable litmus test for those who will read, believe & apply it. His Word is forever settled in heaven (Psalms 119:89). His word is a lamp to our feet & a light to our path (Psalms 119:105) & I guarantee that the flame of His truth does not flicker in the way that some would have us believe.
In many respects, those who follow mainstream Charismatic teachings coming out of The USA, believe that they have a higher regard for Scripture than the traditionalists & denominationalised they look down upon. They believe that they have revelation knowledge as opposed to the sense knowledge possessed by other believers. As I write this article in retrospect, I can see quite clearly that it simply does not matter who says what by way of objection. They are sold out to the word of faith system, no matter how faulty their tentative hermeneutic.
This is one of the many, many problems with a non-exegetical experience led subjectivity. Simply put, it’s a very bad case of theological indigestion.
When believers lend more credence to experience rather than the truth of The Scriptures, whether it be theirs or that of someone else, they’re on a path to trouble. What’s worse is the fact that those who advocate a non-exegetical experience led subjectivity, will always be careful to tell their devotees that they shouldn’t seek after an experience & then they proceed to lead them into an experience afterall. There is no true barometer, not in the biblical sense anyway. What has developed right under our noses is a gross caricature of The Church & this ethereal counterfeit, shamelessly masquerades as the faith once delivered to the saints, but, my dear brethren, I can tell you most sincerely that it is not. Our answers will only be found in The Scriptures. God’s Word is A Word to The Whys.
In light of what The Bible says concerning error, I would ask my Charismatic friends & detractors to answer the fundamental questions being put to them. I answer their questions, but sadly they either cannot or will not answer mine.
Much Charismatic rhetoric bears a quality that’s often found within the teaching of groups such as The Watchtower Society or the Mormon cult. It’s an otherness that only becomes apparent when examined in the light of a genuine orthodoxy. However, this otherness is very attractive. Be careful though. I’m not talking about comparing the teachings of men to a Church tradition. I’m talking about comparing said teachings to what Scripture actually says. I have often thought that at times it’s almost as if some leaders within the movement have deliberately courted controversy by actively kicking against the pricks of convention. This is then dubbed as revelation.
And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Beroea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:10-11).
The Bereans didn’t search the Scriptures in order to see whether those words Paul preached were there, they searched in order to see whether those things he preached were so. There’s a marked difference in that.
It isn’t difficult to ask people to turn to certain places in their Bibles & read the words on the page, with no proper treatment of the passage or passages in question, except when it suits the individual preaching or teaching. Furthermore, with so many differing translations & versions available, it’s easier than ever to hop, skip & jump between readings & formulate whatever teaching you want to, whilst claiming that what’s being taught is biblical simply because the words were taken from a Bible. Such are the tactics of the pseudo-exegetes of our time.
When it suits their purpose, they will use Greek or Hebrew. When it suits their purpose, they will examine context. When it suits their purpose, they will appeal to Church history. When it suits their purpose, they will find a Bible version, paraphrase or translation that says & supports whatever they want it to. When it suits their purpose, they will claim that The Lord has spoken to them audibly. This is an untenable, but all too common bad habit among Pentecostals & Charismatics.
In this, I’m reminded of an old comedy sketch by Morecambe & Wise, featuring Andre Previn. Many in Charismatic & Pentecostal leadership are playing some of the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. However, what we face now is not a comedy sketch. It’s a tragedy. At a very basic level, what we have is a scenario in which man is putting words into the mouth of God. Brethren, these things ought not to be so.
Over the years I have watched the leading lights within Pentecostalism & Charismania build upon the false foundation laid by false apostles & false prophets. Their chief corner stone is not The Lord Jesus Christ. Orthodoxy seems to have been shelved adjacent to a conveniently open window, out of which it has been deliberately & continuously nudged. Why? Because orthodoxy is boring? Because orthodoxy is so unfashionably last century? Because orthodoxy is associated with stuffy old scholarly men, whose insistence on a right division of God’s Word makes them the object of ridicule? Logical argument good, theological argument bad?
When I see & hear what passes for exegesis nowadays, I flinch. My stomach turns with every twist & spin placed on God’s Word. Moreover, with each successive generation of men & ministries purporting to bring us a fresh & new insights from The Word, there are also countless others who shamelessly ape them. Because of this, I have asked a lot of questions. Because of this, there has been a lot of silence.
The core doctrines of our faith are Apostolic. The Apostles received said doctrine from The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. However, with the popularity of certain men & certain ministries, parts of The Church have leaned towards the writings, recordings & beliefs of word of faith leadership & in this they have become almost Patristic. These heretics have become the new Church Fathers & they are making a comfortable living at it. Today we see doctrine being rapidly replaced by spiritual laws & principles that bear more resemblance to that which is found within metaphysical cults & mind science religions, than they do to anything found within Holy Writ. WHY? The answer is in The Scriptures. The Bible has A Word to The Whys.
Of course, Charismatics & Pentecostals will claim that they are indeed adhering to The Word. Which word? Whose word? Those of my friends with whom I regularly speak about these things, spend more time filtering Scripture through the lenses their leaders provide, rather than coming to an understanding of Scripture itself, as it is. WHY? The Bible is revelation, yet my Charismatic & Pentecostal friends & detractors will contend that The Word in its written form is the basis for revelation knowledge. There’s a less than subtle difference between these two statements, but I recognise its source. For them, God’s Word isn’t revelation knowledge per se, but rather it contains it. I’m less interested in what certain men have to say about Scripture & more interested in what Scripture itself has to say, particularly when the aforementioned regurgitate demonstrably false teaching & notable heresies.
It is a sad indictment that those who claim to know & hold to the truth, are too lily livered to stand against this onslaught of falsehood. Among Charismatics & Pentecostals however, the sufficiency of Scripture has been side-lined in favour of so called revelation & this is a dangerous substitute for what God has already said. If it is indeed the case that The Word in its written form is only the basis for revelation knowledge, there is no need to study it. It will not matter what the original languages state, what history accords or what context The Scriptures are in. Why? So called revelation rises above & beyond these things, apparently. The ramifications of this belief & its tendency to take people beyond Scripture is an enormous danger. God’s Word has the answers. The Bible is A Word to The Whys.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Nowhere in Scripture do we find the prescribed & primary teachings of movements such as the word of faith, unless we’re being warned concerning them. Despite the claims of certain men in certain ministries that Martin Luther’s revelation concerning the just living by faith, began a restoration of a lost truth to The Church, there is no evidence to support this. Others, such as The Waldensians, The Lollards & The Hussites, held to a belief in new birth & believer’s baptism. Faith in Christ alone for salvation, apart from works, yes. Faith as a spiritual force released through words that have creative power, no. Yet multiplied millions believe these things to be true. WHY? Fundamental doctrine is officially old hat. WHY? Because we have moved away from Scripture. God’s Word is A Word to The Whys.
Be careful brethren, because much of what we believe to be & have been taught emphatically is meat, is not. I don’t believe that it actually qualifies as milk. Beyond this, a significant portion of the blended, spoon-fed teaching that drips from the teats of much of modern Charismatic & Pentecostal ministry, is nothing more or less than formula. I mean this quite literally. All of it comes, of course, at a price & for your love gift of any amount, you can have it.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry (2nd Timothy 3:16-4:5).
The Bible has the answers. Scripture is A Word to The Whys. The words of men, however, have come to dominate & muddy doctrinal waters. Why? A supreme lack of proper biblical leadership & scriptural discipleship within The Church has given rise to a myriad of satellite & para-church ministries, all of which are claiming to preach & teach The Word. They travel the world, constitute broadcasts on radio & television, transcribe their sermons into books & produce glossy magazines. They encourage you to partner with them, to follow them, to believe them & of course, they encourage you to donate. What a sweet deal. There’s no need for you to read or study God’s Word, because they will do all of the hard work for you. All you have to do is sit back, relax, press play & drink it all in. Why?
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not (2nd Peter 2:1-3).
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11).
We’re very good at wanting the love to abound, but we’re rubbish when it comes to knowledge & judgement, or discernment. These are not mutually exclusive elements of our walk with God & if we are not spending time with God’s Word, or being taught it correctly, we lay ourselves open to error & heresy. Our discernment begins & ends with The Scriptures.
The revelation
knowledge that’s so eloquently harped on about by popular figures in
Charismatic & Pentecostal leadership, is nothing more than a subtle mixture
of lies
& mysticism.
It isn’t
the faith once delivered to the saints. It is what I like to call, Gnostianity. This is not what Scripture
teaches. This is not the doctrine of Christ. This is not our Apostolic
faith. We have to get back to The Bible. The Bible is A Word to The Whys.
