Eternal Security - The Peace of Mind You're Missing!

I have not always believed in eternal security.  I was raised in the Pentecostal church, a denomination that did not believe in eternal security and frequently preached against it.  As a child, I was not threatened by such preaching.  I always loved church.  I would arrive early to claim my second-row aisle seat -- ..in front of the pastor.

There were two reasons I chose to attend the Pentecostal church.  First, my grandfather was a Pentecostal pastor.  Second, it was my mother's preference.  I can remember as a young boy getting up on Sunday morning, eating breakfast, and walking to church.  Even when my mother was unable to go, I would be there.

June was typically revival month back in those days.  In June of 1944 our evangelist for the week was a Mrs. Wilson.  Women evangelists were not uncommon in the Pentecostal church.  As was my habit, I was there Sunday morning, front and center, with every intention of attending each night that week.  After the choir finished their song, Mrs. Wilson walked to the pulpit and preached a stirring salvation message.  I don't remember anything in particular that she said; I just remember feeling a strong desire to respond.  When the invitation began, I rose from my seat and went foward.  Before I reached the altar, I began weeping.  I knelt down and started asking Jesus to save me.  Several members of my Sunday School class gathered around and began praying for me as well.

When the altar call ended, the pastor of the church asked me to step up to the pulpit and share with the congregation what Christ had done for me.  Still crying, I stood behind the pulpit and said, "I don't know all that Jesus has done for me but I know He saved me."

The pastor put his hand on my shoulder, looked at me square in the eye, and said, "Charles, grow up and be a good boy.  And when you die, you will go to heaven."  [This pastor was telling Charles that his salvation must be maintained by being a good boy.  The implication is that if you are not good you can lose your salvation which is what the Pentecostal church teaches and believes.]

Easier Said than Done

It didn't take me long to realize that being good wasn't easy.  To compound the problem, just about everything a twelve-year-old boy considered fun was a sin according to the Pentecostal church.  I was continually confessing my sins, begging for forgiveness, and hoping I wouldn't die before I had time to repent!  

During that time I began sensing God's call in my life.  That meant one of two things in those days, becoming a preacher or a missionary.  The awareness of God's call in my life only darkened the cloud of guilt under which I lived.  How could I ever help anybody else when I am constantly waivering?  I would wonder.  What if I stood to preach and wasn't even saved?  

[Pentecostals never know at any given time if they are really saved because they believe they can lose their salvation at a moment's notice.  This teaching does not give their adherents any peace of mind about their salvation or their eternal destiny.  What is the point of salvation if it can be so easily lost?]

At age fourteen I joined the Baptist church.  My decision was purely a social one.  The Baptist church had a larger youth group than the Pentecostal church, and that meant more girls!  That was when I discovered not everbody believed as I did.  I first heard the phrase "eternal security" in that little Baptist church.  Even as a teenager I was a diligent student of God's word.  Armed with my list of verses, I was prepared and even eager to present my side of the issue.  No one made a dent in my theology.  And I never expected anyone to, because I knew the Scripture was clearly on my side.  

When I left home for college, I was a staunch believer in the doctrine that one could lose his salvation.  Often in our dorm the conversation would turn to religion.  Over and over I would pull out my arsenal of verses and present my case.  Frequently, I found myself standing alone.  But my view was strengthened by the carnal lifestyles of many with whom I debated.  Men who claimed to be saved and yet whose actions gave no indication of their having a relationship with Christ.  Intellectually, I was more persuaded than ever.  But deep inside a battle was raging. 

Despite my strong defense and quiver of verses, I couldn't make it all fit.  The events of that Sunday morning in 1944 were fixed in my memory.  I remember for the first time feeling that I was at peace with God.  I knew I had been born again.  The possibility that I could lose all I had gained that Sunday morning seemed a little farfetched.  And the idea that I could lose it and regain it repeatedly was difficult to comprehend.  

Although I was troubled by my internal struggles, I never felt alienated from God.  I had an inner peace even at my lowest times.  Somehow I knew He still loved me and accepted me.  My repeated requests for salvation were more a ritual than an heartfelt sense of need.  I never felt lost.  Yet the Scripture seemed to be so clear on that point.  Consequently, I remained resolute in my defense.

Seminary Days

In the fall of 1954 I entered Southwestern Theological Seminary.  Once again I found myself in heated discussions concerning the issue of eternal security.  I continued my study of what I considered the pertinent passages of Scripture.  For a long time I did not understand how anybody could think the Bible taught that the believer was eternally secure.  But slowly that began to change.  

Strangely enough, it was my intense study of the Scriptures that caused me to begin doubting my position.  This was not a sudden change.  It took time.  Nobody convinced me.  On the contrary, after a while, nobody even wanted to talk to me about it;  I had pretty much run the issue into the ground by that point.  But as convincing as I was, I had no peace about the subject.   So I continued to study.

Verse by verse I picked my way through the passages used to support each view.  Through this process two things became apparent.  First, I was guilty of ignoring the context of many verses I quoted to defend my view.  As I began digging deeper into the events and discussions surrounding these passages, they took on a different meaning.  Second, I discovered through my study that the concept of salvation through faith alone cannot be reconciled with the belief that one can forfeit his or her salvation.  If I must do or not do something to keep from losing my salvation, salvation would be by faith and works I specifically remember the day this particular truth dawned on me.  I found myself at a theological fork in the road.  To maintain my position, I realized I would have to abandon my belief in salvation by faith alone.  

It was as if a light came on.  Suddenly I saw it.  I wanted to shout.  I felt like a man just released from prison.  I began to thank God that I had been wrong all those years.  I thanked Him for the relentlessness that had kept me searching and praying.  Then I was struck with the most awesome thought of all.  I had been eternally secure since that day as a twelve-year-old when I prayed, asking Jesus to save me.

That morning was a turning point in my life.  It was far more than a shift in my theology.  It introduced me to the true meaning of unconditional love.  It was the beginning of my lifelong journey into the mystery of God's amazing grace.  Terms such as peace and joy took on a whole new meaning.  They became part of my experience not just my vocabulary.

I realized how little I had really trusted God.  You see, it is difficult to trust someone when you are never really sure where you stand with that person. Security came to mean a great deal more that a guarantee of where I would spend eternity.  It was the perfect word to describe the sense of intimacy I felt with Christ.  I was secure.  Secure in His love and acceptance of me.  Secure in His daily will for my life.  Secure in every promise He had made.  And of course, secure in where I would spend eternity.

I'm Not Alone

I continually meet people who believe as I once believed.  If it were simply a theological difference I would be content to agree to disagree.  It is far more than that.  I know the bondage to which that kind of thinking leads.  I have lived with the guilt and the fear fostered by that view.  Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).  Freedom comes from knowing the truth.  Bondage results from missing it.  

. . . Hopefully you will be set free to enjoy the relationship God has paid so dearly to provide.  It is a relationship from which fear and worry are absent.  I know from experience that until you settle once and for all the question of whether or not you are eternally secure,  this quality of joy will elude you. . . hopefully you will be able to face life with the confidence that comes through knowing you are eternally secure.  

[If you are currently attending a Pentecostal/charismatic/Faith Movement/Victory Churches, and this subject has not come up recently, you need to ask them if you only need to be saved once or whether they believe you can lose your salvation.  If they believe and teach that you can lose your salvation you need to get to a Baptist church or one that believes in eternal security.  If you don't you will never have the peace of mind that salvation was intended to give you.]

By Dr. Charles Stanley

How Did Jesus Heal?

To make a comparison between the gift of healing being claimed today and what the Bible teaches, we simply have to go back and look at Jesus' ministry.  Our Lord set the pattern for the apostolic gifts, and He did a massive amount of healing.  In Jesus' day the world was full of disease.  Medical science was crude and limited.  There were more incurable diseases than we have now.  Plagues could wipe out entire cities.

Jesus healed disease to demonstrate his deity.  How did He do it?  Scripture reveals six noteworthy characteristics of Jesus' healing ministry:

First, Jesus healed with a word or a touch.  Matthew 8 relates that as Jesus was entering Capernaum, a centurion came to Jesus and asked Him to help his servant, who was lying paralyzed at his home and suffering great pain (v. 6-7).  Jesus told the centurion that He would come and heal the servant, but the centurion protested, pointing out that if Jesus would just say the word, his servant could be healed (v. 8).

The Lord was amazed at the centurion's faith, particularly because he was a Roman soldier, and not of the house of Israel.  Jesus said to the centurion, "'Go your way; let it be done to you as you have believed.' And the servant was healed that very hour" (v. 13).

When Jesus fed the 5,000 (John 6), He had spent most of the day healing people in the crowd who were sick.  Scripture does not tell us how many were healed -- it could have been thousands.  But whatever the number, Jesus healed them with a word.  There were no theatrics, no special environment.

Jesus also healed with a touch.  For example, in Mark 5:25-34 we find the account of a woman with chronic bleeding who was healed simply by touching Jesus' robe.

Second, Jesus healed instantly.  The centurion's servant was healed "that very hour" (Matt. 8:13).  The woman with the bleeding problem was healed "immediately" (Mark 5:29).  Jesus healed ten lepers instantaneously right on the road (Luke 17:14).  He touched another man with leprosy and "immediately the leprosy departed from him" (Luke 5:13).  The crippled man at the pool of Bethesda "immediately became well," took up his pallet and began to walk (John 5:9).  Even the man born blind, who had to go and wash his eyes, was healed instantly -- though for his own purposes, Jesus accomplished that miracle in two distinct stages (John 9:1-7).  The healing was no less instantaneous.

People often say "I've been healed, and now I'm getting better."  Jesus never did "progressive" healing.  If Jesus had not healed instantly, there were have been no miraculous element sufficient to demonstrate His deity.  His critics could easily have said the healing was just a natural process.

Third, Jesus healed totally.  In Luke 4 Jesus left the synagogue and came to Simon Peter's home.  Peter's mother-in-law was there, suffering from a high fever.  Possibly she was dying.  Jesus stood over her, "rebuked the fever," and immediately she was well (v. 39).  In fact, she then got up and began to wait on them.  There was no recuperation period.  Jesus did not advise her to sip a little honey and hot water and take it easy for a few weeks.  Nor did He goad her to "claim the healing by faith" despite unrelenting symptoms.  She was immediately well and knew it.  Her healing was instantaneous and it was total.  That was the only kind of healing Jesus ever did.

Fourth, Jesus healed everyone.  Unlike healers today, Jesus did not leave long lines of disappointed people who had to return home in their wheelchairs.  He did not have healing services or programs that ended at a certain time because of airline or television schedules.  Luke 4:40 tells us, "And while the sun was setting, all who had any sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on every one of them, He was healing them" (emphasis added).  Luke 9:11 records a similar example.

Fifth, Jesus healed organic disease.  Jesus did not go up and down Palestine healing lower back pain, heart palpitations, headaches, and other invisible ailments.  He healed the most obvious kinds of organic diseases -- crippled legs, withered hands, blind eyes, palsy -- all healings that were undeniably miraculous.

Sixth, Jesus raised the dead.  Luke 7:11-16 tells us that while Jesus was at a city called Nain, He came upon a funeral procession as a widow went out to bury her only son.  Jesus stopped the procession, touched the coffin and said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" -- and the dead man sat up and began to speak!  He also raised a synagogue ruler's daughter in Mark 5:22-24, 35-43.

People who tout the gift of healing today do not spend much time in funeral parlours, funeral processions, or cemeteries.  The reason is obvious.

Some charismatics, as we have already noted, claim that people today do sometimes come back from the dead.  Those cases, however, are nothing like the biblical examples.  It is one thing to revive someone whose vital signs stopped on a surgeon's table.  It is entirely another matter to come out of the grave four days after being buried (see John 11) or to climb out of one's casket at the funeral (see Luke 7).  Those are resurrections that cannot be challenged.  Charismatics who make such claims today do so on hearsay and with scant evidence.  They are guilty of trivializing our Lord's miraculous works.  Why is it that the only miracles ever done on television are the kind that involve no visible evidence?

Note, by the way, that Jesus did virtually all His healing and raising the dead in public -- often before vast groups of people.  His gift of healing was an authenticating gift.  He used it to confirm his claims that He was the Son of God in a way that also displayed His divine compassion.  Dispelling demons and diseases was Christ's way of proving He was God in human flesh.  John's gospel clearly demonstrates that truth.  John said all the signs and miracles Jesus wrought validated His deity (John 20:30-31).

The Gift of Healing is Gone, but the Lord Continues to Heal

The gift of healing was one of the miraculous sign gifts given to help the apostolic community confirm the authority of the gospel message in the early years of the church.  Once the word of God was complete the signs ceased.  Miraculous signs were no longer needed.  The apostles used healing only as a powerful sign to convince people of the validity of the gospel message.

In Philippians 2:25-27 Paul mentioned his good friend Epaphroditus, who had been very sick.  Paul had previously displayed the gift of healing.  Why did he not simply heal Epaphroditus?  Perhaps the gift was no longer operational or perhaps Paul simply refused to pervert the gift by using it for his own ends.  Either way, healing Epaphroditus was beyond the purpose of the gift of healing.   The gift was not given to keep Christians healthy.  It was to be a sign to unbelievers to convince them that the gospel was divine truth.

We find a similar case in II Timothy 4:20, where Paul mentioned he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus.  Why should Paul leave one of his good Christian friends sick?  Why didn't he heal him?  Because that was not the purpose of the healing gift.  (see also I Tim. 5:23 and II Cor. 12:7.)

Healing was a miraculous sign gift to be used for special purposes.  It was not intended as a permanent way to keep the Christian community in perfect health.  Yet today most charismatics teach that God wants every Christian well.  If that is true, why does God allow Christians to get sick in the first place?

In a world where believers are subject to the consequences of sin why should we assume that suffering is excluded?  If every Christian were well and healthy, if perfect health were a guaranteed benefit of the atonement, millions of people would be stampeding to get saved -- but for the wrong reason.  God wants people to come to Him in repentance for sin, and for His glory, not because they see Him as a panacea for their physical and temporal ills.

-- John F. McArthur, Jr.

Again, charismatics are wrong!

BVC -- Your Jesus is Not My Jesus!!!

PM should make it clear to his attendees that BVC doesn't follow or trust in the Jesus of the Bible.  PM wants you to think his Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible but nothing could be further from the truth.  When PM uses the word Jesus he is deceiving you.  When PM speaks the name of Jesus, he is not talking about the Jesus of the Bible.  He is talking about the newly created Jesus of the Faith Movement.  This new Jesus also died to make us healthy and wealthy.  He should not call him Jesus, he should call him Jesus II.

PM believes that people will not come to Jesus for just the forgiveness of sins.  He believes there has to be more than that as all those in the Faith Movement do.  He has no right to use the name of Jesus when he is really talking about Jesus II.  PM needs to make up his mind and decide which Jesus he serves; the Jesus of the Bible who died only for our sins or Jesus II who also died to make you healthy and wealthy.

PM cannot speak the name of Jesus and pretend that he is talking about the Jesus of the Bible -- he is not!  I, as a born-again Christian, do not believe in PM's Jesus.  I believe in the Jesus of the Bible who died for my sins only.  Sin is the only thing that can keep me out of Heaven.  The crucifixion was only about one thing -- Jesus paying the price for my sins so that I can go to Heaven.

``By His stripes we are healed" is talking about the disease of our sin, not physical healing.  This is what happens when the unqualified misinterpret Scripture -- you have the creation of a new Jesus -- Jesus II who is a fraud, a lie, a mirage, a deception!  Rest assured that false teachers will face a much harsher judgment.

The people at BVC think they have the same Jesus as I do -- they do not!  This is a very serious problem.  The people in leadership at BVC need to decide which Jesus they serve and declare it clearly at every turn.  If you declare you serve and trust in the Health and Wealth Jesus, you need to differentiate this fact from the true Jesus by giving him another name so that followers are not fooled into thinking he is the same Jesus who appears in the pages of the Bible.  You could call him:

• Jesus II
• Jesus the Second
• The Faith Movement Jesus
• Jesus, the Other
• The Reformed Jesus
• The New Jesus
• The Health and Wealth Jesus
• The New Improved Jesus

BUT NOT JUST "JESUS"

End the deception, tell the truth, be honest, no more lies, declare which Jesus you serve.

One More Thing About the BVC Jesus

My Jesus does not demand or urge me to speak in tongues/gibberish.  My Jesus does not demand that I make a fool of myself at church every week.  My Jesus does not have some Christians who are "haves" and some Christians who are "have nots."  Paul asserts that all Christians have been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ and that we have been made to drink of that one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).  BVC's teaching on tongues/gibberish is absolutely 100% totally false, not found in Scripture.  They misinterpret Scripture to create this teaching.  Gibberish is not tongues.  This fact opens up the opportunity to create some other names for the BVC Jesus.  Names they might want to try:

• Gibberish Jesus
• Tongues Jesus
• Woohoo Jesus
• Crazy Jesus
• Foolish Jesus
• Stupid Jesus
• Nonsense Jesus
• Idiot Jesus
• Wacko Jesus
• Silly Jesus

BUT NOT JUST "JESUS"

My Jesus doesn't demand so much of my income that I am unable to look after my family or save any money for my future.  My Jesus doesn't make me behave in church in such a way that my children are ashamed of me or embarrassed.  This wouldn't happen in a real church!

If you are interested in knowing why the pentecostal church / Faith Movement / Victory churches are wrong on subsequence, tongues, and seeking, you will need to read the upcoming nine or ten posts on What Was Happening in the Early Church.  The previously mentioned three movements grossly misinterpret Scripture and totally misunderstand what was happening in the early church which is why they teach the falsehoods that they do.

Other Distorted Views of Positive Thinkers

The faith teachers have misread the plain meaning of the words of the Bible in their context.  Gloria Copeland, Kenneth's wife, is a good example of how the faith teachers not only misinterpret but occasionally deliberately delete the words of Scripture that deny their view.  For example, Gloria Copeland quotes Daniel 3:17, 18, which is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo where they told the king that they would not serve their gods.  These men tell us they believe it could be God's will not to save them, but they will still trust and serve Him just like Job . . . .  But this goes against the theology of the Copelands and other faith teachers who say Christians should overcome in every circumstance.  Since the words of Daniel 3:18 didn't fit her view, Gloria deleted them.  She leaves out the words "but even if He does not".  She actually cites a Scripture in her defense that were it quoted in full would disprove the point she is making.

Consider the following areas that the faith teaching has distorted.

God

Faith teaching has distorted both the sovereignty of God and the will of God.  God is no longer sovereign if He can be forced to act on the basis of what men do.  Thus, in some cases, His will can be replaced with man's will.  In essence, what God's sovereignty lacks, human sovereignty supplies.  Not even God will interfere with the believers "divine rights."

Jesus and the Atonement

Faith teachers have redefined the mission of Jesus Christ to incorporate their beliefs.  For example, J. Osteen teaches, "did Jesus die for your prosperity?  Yes."  Robert Tilton teaches, "Jesus came to deliver man from failure, and to cause him to be once again a success . . . Christians who do not believe in divine healing, who do not believe in prosperity -- they do not believe in what was atoned for  at Calvary."  Charles Capps teaches that Jesus came and died for us to get Adam's power back to rule and dominate the earth.  Gloria Copeland states, "You have a titled deed to prosperity.  Jesus bought and paid for your prosperity just like He bought and paid for your healing and your salvation . . . .  This prosperity already belongs to you."  Here you can see these four faith teachers are saying that because of Jesus' death on the cross, He bought and paid for your healing or success now.  Their conclusion is that (even if it takes time to manifest) you can claim success or immediate healing by faith.

This is wrong.  Why?  First, because it is another misinterpretation of Scripture; namely, Isaiah 53:4, 5 and Matthew 8:17.  

Secondly, it is wrong because the Bible plainly teaches that the average Christian, the Apostles, and Jesus Himself did not teach or hold this view.  Physical healing is not the instantaneous gift assumed by the faith teachers.  The Apostle Paul himself had a physical infirmity or bodily illness he simply had to live with.  Paul told Timothy to take a little wine "for the sake of your stomach [problems] and your frequent ailments."  Paul said, "Trophimus I left sick at Miletus."  Paul never once told Timothy or anyone else to "claim your healing."  He clearly did not believe the death of Christ healed believers' illnesses.  Otherwise, how did such great men of faith as Paul and Timothy fail to know and teach that Christ died for our illnesses?  Nor was Christ's death a guarantee of success in this life.  To the contrary, by worldly standards, Paul, the apostles, and the early church were highly unsuccessful.  These godly men accepted the fact of their sickness and tribulations.  Even Jesus also accepted and expected sickness and hardship among believers.  In fact, Jesus Himself taught that sickness could be to the glory of God.  Jesus said of Lazarus, "this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it "(John 11:4).

Faith

In prosperity thinking, faith is similar to the power of magic.  J. Osteen states, ". . . faith reaches out into the invisible area.  It creates the physical realm out of invisible truths."  Here the faith teachers ascribe faith as a force to be exerted upon God forcing Him to act in our behalf.  But this is wrong.  The Bible nowhere states that God relinquished His will to each one of our wills.  He knows that would be chaos.

Man

In Positive Confession,  man is considered "a god" or a godlike being.  In some ways man is the ruler of God, who is his servant.  Like the genie in the bottle, man decides what he wants and then commands or demands God to do his bidding.  In some teachings, man comes close to deification.  

As Charles Capps states, "natural men can become supernatural" . . . and are no longer totally subject to their natural ability."  For example, the miracles done in the book of Acts were not done solely and directly by God but by believers exercising their supernatural powers and influence on others.  In Acts 14:8-10 when Paul told the cripple "stand up," the result is that "spirit words received into his spirit released spiritual power in his physical body.  This creative ability of spirit words formed in his spirit and produced physical results."

Nevertheless, the idea that men are gods is denied in the Bible.  Even Paul, a man of great faith, never considered himself a god.  

Angels

The prosperity movement is overly obsessed with the demonic and has distorted biblical teaching on the angels.  Many teach that physical illness results from demons.  They do this even though Scripture clearly distinguishes physical illness and demon possession (Luke 8:2).  Frances Hunter, for example, teaches "a demon takes a look at a woman and says, 'Wow, I think I will lay a little cancer on her. . . ' so he jumps into her body . . . and before long, the woman discovers she has cancer of the breast . . . . "  Not only does such teaching produce fear of demons in people, it offers a cruel and false hope of a "quick fix" by "exorcism" to those with serious illness.  The logical conclusion of reading some of the faith teachers' instruction has been to lead many people into fear and bondage to demons.  An example of how far this can be taken is seen by Don Basham's teaching that post-nasal drip, fingernail biting, and arthritis of the knees, among many other normal ailments, can be caused by demons. 

Conclusion

Many people have been influenced by false teaching in the church.  Some of them have been hurt because these teachings have not worked.  For example, the "faith assembly" of Hobart Freeman has resulted in the deaths of almost 100 people because his people were told that seeking medical help was supposedly "a sin" and "denial of faith."  Instead they were to claim their healing.  But sadly in claiming their healing the sick all died one by one.  This is just one of the terrible consequences of false teaching.  Not surprisingly, many of the other people felt betrayed and felt like giving up on Christianity.

Jesus stated that false teachings will lead to harmful consequences (Matthew 7:17; 24:11, 12: Acts 20:30), but He said there is a way out.  Those who truly live by His Word , the Bible, can stand the pressures of life because their lives are built on His Word, the solid rock (Matthew 7:24-27).  He promises those who know and obey His Word, that they will be set free (John 8:31, 32).  Have you neglected to learn and obey His Word, relying instead on spiritual experiences and unbiblical faith?

If you are hurt, feel betrayed, and feel like giving up on Christianity, what can you do?  First, you should not continue to fellowship where false teachings are taught (Romans 16:17).  Diligently search until you find a church where the Word of God is honoured and taught accurately, where the pastor has spent years of study in an evangelical seminary.  

Second, you must learn the Word of God yourself.  Take the time and effort to learn the basic doctrines of the Bible so that you will know when it is being "wrongly divided" (misinterpreted).

You should visit a Christian bookstore and purchase some good commentaries.

Try and help those still caught in false teachings.  The Bible encourages us to reprove those following false teachings "severely that they may be sound in the faith" (Titus 1:13).

Finally, we ask some of you to consider whether you have substituted a technique of salvation for salvation itself.  Is what you consider "faith" in God really nothing more than a mechanical technique to manipulate God for your own ends?  In John 6:26, 27 Jesus said that many people followed Him only to satisfy their own hunger.  He said instead of following Him for "food that perishes" they should rather seek the "food that endures to eternal life."  Jesus went on to explain that His food that endures to eternal life was not anything material that we can possess; rather it is true knowledge of God Himself (John 6:33-35).

Augustine spoke of this true knowledge in his commentary on Psalm 73.  There he said that God Himself should be our only treasure and reward.  To seek anything but God alone is not to seek for God.  Does this depict you?  Do you love God for Himself alone or for what you can get out of Him?

-  John Ankerberg & John Weldon

For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

"Health and Wealth" Teachers Claim Direct Counsel from God

Many of the leaders in this movement claim that God, Jesus, or angels appeared to them and taught them these ideas.  But we must ask, "Are these revelations biblical if they condone actions that are unbiblical or foolhardy?"  In fact, the supposedly divine visions, revelations, prophesies, and interpretations are often so false or unbiblical that one wonders if these visions are from their own mind or worse, from the devil.  Time and again in almost all of the writings of the faith teachers we find superficial or false interpretations of the Bible, misapplication, or serious errors of logic.  This means that the "health and wealth" or "faith" teachers are in serious trouble.  To start with, the Bible says that God is not the author of confusion or error (1 Corinthians 14:33; John 3:33; 17:17).

For example, "Jesus" told Charles Kapps, "I have told my people they can have what they say and they are saying what they have."  Does that make sense?  Does it even sound like Jesus?  Kapps also states, "The Spirit of God spoke to me concerning confessing the Word of God aloud: where you can hear yourself saying it.  He said 'It is a scientific application of the wisdom of God to the psychological make-up of man.'"  Again, does this sound like something the Spirit of God would say?

Another example is Kenneth Copeland's "Jesus," who supposedly told him one must "believe that your words have power, and the things you say will come to pass.  The result is that you can have whatever you say when you believe."  Does any Christian really believe Jesus said that in light of the Bible?  

Still another example of one of these faith teachers claiming God spoke directly to him is Robert Tilton.  He states, "The Spirit of the Lord has given me this prosperity message to share with you."  

Or Kenneth Hagin, who said, "the Lord spoke to me and said, 'don't pray for money anymore.  You have authority through my name to claim prosperity.'"  Kenneth Hagin promotes E.W. Kenyon's unbiblical and sometimes illogical text, The Wonderful Name of Jesus, by saying, "it is revelation knowledge.  It is the Word of God."

In Jerry Savelle's prosperity series we are told, "The revelation knowledge in this set was given to Brother Savelle supernaturally by God."    Savelle himself tells us "I was just sitting there, minding my own business . . . when suddenly the Lord appeared unto me.  When He appeared, He said these words to me: 'Son, my people are in financial famine in America and I am giving you the assignment to tell them how to get out.'  Then He began to reveal to me the keys to deliverance."

In summary you can see all these men claim direct counsel from God.  But is this really true?  The appearances of Jesus and angels, the words they spoke to these men -- these do not sound like the biblical Jesus or the angels that speak for God and the Bible.  God or Jesus would never encourage teachings that are unbiblical, unbalance or illogical, or which could bring spiritual confusion or ruin into the lives of those who live by them.

If these visions and appearances are real and not inflated self-delusions, then they can only result from Satan appearing as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  It is the devil (and certainly not the above teachers) who desires to distort the Word, encourages spiritual excesses and illogical thinking, and brings difficulties or spiritual destruction into the lives of Christian people.


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Ye Shall Be As Gods

Throughout almost two thousand years of her turbulent history, the Christian church has been set upon by many adversaries.  The Apostle Paul, in his great charge to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, anticipated the threat of heresy, and schism in his own lifetime:

... Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them...

[This is exactly what happened in the formation of Barrie Victory Centre -- talk to the people at Mapleview Community Church and they will confirm that this is how Barrie Victory Centre had its beginnings.  I wonder who the "savage wolves" are in this case?]

It should be observed that Paul mentions two specific categories for the attacks being made upon the Church.  The first category includes overt enemies of the faith; atheists, agnostics, sceptics, secularists, and scoffers.  It also includes non-Christian religions, the cults, and the occult.  But the "savage wolves" are even more dangerous when they are part of the second category:  "Even from your own number," says Paul, "men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them."  [The twenty or so couples who were drawn away from Mapleview Pentecostal Church in the beginning will remember exactly how this happened.]  Today the words of Paul are fulfilled in plain sight as the church is divided by schismatic sheep who mix cultic and occultic doctrine with biblical truth, perverting the Gospel of Christ.

Some, for example, teach that Christians are actually gods.  The Mormons teach that men may become gods by accepting their revelations and by submitting to their authority.  However, this is something that takes place in the future and is designated as exaltation.  Since the Mormons are genuine polytheists (i.e., believing in "many gods") as opposed to monotheists (accepting only one God), they maintain that faithful Mormons can eventually become gods in the same manner and of the same nature as Jesus Christ and His Father.  Mormonism has never been recognized by the Christian church as a bonified Christian faith since its inception in 1830 through the work of Joseph Smith, Jr.

We should not fail to note that Mormons affirm that the divinity of man is to be accomplished after the death of the body, a bad enough departure from the Christian faith but, sadly, there are those who function within the Christian church who do not hesitate to make the claim now!

The "Little Gods" Doctrine

Earl Paulk, Charles Capps, Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth E. Hagen are among the leading proponents of the "little gods" teaching.

Earl Paulk writes "Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God.  Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods."  But, he says, "we have trouble comprehending this truth."  He adds, "Until we comprehend that we are little gods, and we begin to act like little gods, we cannot manifest the Kingdom of God."

Robert Tilton asserts, "You are . . . a god-kind of creature.  Originally you were designed to be as a god in this world.  Man was designed or created by God to be the god of this world . . .. Of course, man forfeited his dominion to Satan who became the god of this world."

Kenneth Copeland insists that "man had total authority to rule as a god over every living creature on earth, and he was to rule by speaking words.  His words would carry the power and annointing of God that was in him from the time he was first created."

Casey Treat, Pastor of Seattle's Christian Faith Centre, tells us in his taped series "Believing in Yourself" to come to the point where we feel comfortable claiming our godhood:

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost had a conference and they said, 'let us make man an exact duplicate of us' . . .

When God looks in the mirror, He sees me!  When I look in the mirror, I see God!  Oh, hallelujah! . . .

Kenneth Copeland informs us, "You don't have a god in you.  You are one!"  Others in the worlds of the cults teach variations on the above themes of human divinity.  Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, for instance, teaches that there is a "god family" in which all Armstrongists will eventually share.  They will become just as much deity as the Father and Son.  (Armstrong denies the personality of the Holy Spirit, as do Jehovah Witnesses.)

Christian Science, the Unity School of Christianity, the Science of Mind or Religious Science, New Thought Metaphysics, and so on, believe that all humans have within themselves the "Christ-consciousness," or "Christ idea," which is allegedly the true divinity of all men.  They maintain that Jesus Christ had possessed this divinity to a greater degree than others which is what sets Him apart, but none of those groups confess the eternal deity of Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, and His unique relationship to the Father as the only "Begotten Son." (see John 1:18; 3:16).

In the mind science cults man is already divine -- in the Hindu - New Age sense of shared deity, or, as Mary Baker Eddy once wrote, "Man as God's idea is already saved with an everlasting salvation."  "God, Spirit, being all, nothing is matter," said the founder of Christian Science.  The Unity School of Christianity confirms that thesis:  "God is not a person . . . but very real, something we call life."  "The Christ, or perfect man . . . is the true spiritual higher self of every individual."

As we have previously noted, these cultic views are expressed by organizations that are recognized as outside the pale of the Christian church.  Nevertheless, the "little gods" doctrine taught by the leaders of the "Faith Movement" is firmly situated within groups generally -- but falsely -- regarded as evangelical.  It is circulated in Christian bookstores all over the United States [and Canada] and is widely disseminated via  Christian radio and television.  The president of Trinity Broadcasting Network, Paul Crouch, has taught this doctrine openly and once spent almost two hours attempting to convince me and three other ministers that we were "little gods."  Many evangelical organizations, consciously or not, are helping "savage wolves" spread such diabolical errors.

[If your church denies being part of the Faith Movement, but at the same time, recognizes the likes of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, or Kenneth E. Hagen as spiritual leaders in any way, shape, or form, rest assured that you are part of the Faith Movement because your leaders are identifying and connecting with the leaders of the Faith Movement.  There's no denying it.  If Kenneth and Gloria Copeland or any of the leaders of the Faith Movement names appear in your weekly church bulletin for either conferences or reading materials, you are definitely involved in the Faith Movement and consequently, you believe the "little gods" doctrine which is a cultic belief.]


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Faith Movement Televangelist and the Word of God

Just as a doctor dares not practice surgery until he has studied the several branches of medicine, so a minister, including a media minister, should not presume that he broadcasts the biblical faith until he has a grasp of systematic and biblical theology.  It exhibits a glaring deficiency in both to claim, as does Charles Kapps, that Job "was sure not under the anointing" when he said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away."  Kapps calls this statement a "lie."  Similar quotations can be multiplied.

Systematic Theology

The call for a systematic theology may seem elitist, as if every Faith Movement televagelist should have a Ph.D.  But this is not the case.  Such a call does not need to sound threatening.  Systematic theology aims at nothing more than an orderly presentation of the teachings of Scripture.  It seeks to "round up" all biblical data on a particular subject and form a conclusion as to what the Bible teaches on that subject.  Eventually a systematic order of beliefs is in place, not a grid that we press upon the Bible, but an order that we construct from the Bible.  Scripture repeatedly argues for the need to develop a sound doctrinal position (Titus 1:9).  

Frankly, it cannot be threatening.  No student of Scripture engages himself in the interpretive process without a "systematic theology" already in place, whether consciously or unconsciously, partially or fully, whether it is profound or shallow, straight or twisted, right or wrong.  This applies to Jesus (Matthew 7:28), the Pharisees (Matthew 16:2), the Apostles (Acts 5:28), and to everyone else.  From one's own doctrinal perspective, anything that is espoused must appear "good" (Proverbs 4:2, N.K.J.V.), "true" (1 Timothy 4:6), "sound" (Titus 1:9; or "wholesome"), the "opposite" of all this (see 1 Timothy 1:10), or simply "new" (Mark 1:27).

That is not to say that systematic theology should dominate the interpretive process.  It may never dictate the meaning of the biblical text or in any way be its final determinant.  The text should always speak for itself.  What it does not say it cannot mean.  Neither is this to propagate the intellectualizing of the biblical message.    The ultimate aim is not the intellectual grasp of the truth, but the submission in heart and the conformity in life to God in response to that truth.

But it is to ask for the recognition of the fact that everyone enters into the hermeneutical process with some kind of systematic theology, good or bad, the influence of which must not be underestimated.  In view of this it would be irresponsible not to develop the best systematic theology possible.  Too much depends upon it.  Although it may not impose or determine meaning, systematic theology can insure that no interpretation of a particular text clashes with any part of God's revealed truth.  It provides the parameters for possible and acceptable meaning.  Systematic theology is a watchdog then specifically equipped to challenge our interpretation of any passage when our interpretation conflicts with the overall biblical view of God, man, Christ, the Spirit, salvation, the church and the consummation.  One can fail or neglect to build a systematic theology only at one's own peril.  

In short, the parts can never be interpreted apart from the whole.  The individual pieces, in other words, have to fit the total system.  Of course, it is also true that the whole cannot be grasped apart from the parts.  In fact, the individual pieces must be allowed to perfect or change the system whenever and wherever that is necessary.  Ideally speaking, a "spiral" should be in evidence in which one's doctrinal position "checks" one's interpretation of a text and one's interpretation of a text "balances" one's doctrinal position.  But the run of the mill Faith Movement electronic message has such a glaring need for a properly developed systematic theology that in this context the emphasis upon one side of the spiral!  The deficiency in the systematic understanding of many modern day Faith Movement televangelists will be substantiated in further detail in upcoming blogs.


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Scripture Twisting

There is a solemn obligation for the minister of the Gospel to preach the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (2 Timothy 4:2), to preach all of the Scriptures (Acts 20:27), and to preach only the Scriptures (Galations 1:8).  This should be a non-negotiable starting point for any type of ministry.  After all, these Scriptures and these Scriptures only compose the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).  Every word is needed to produce and sustain life (Deuteronomy 8:3), and no other (word) is on a par with it or can claim to be without error in whatever it asserts.  Neither, therefore, can any other such "word" have unquestionable authority in what it addresses.  That is the prerogative of the Word of Scripture only (John 10:35).

The minister of the Gospel is under the equally solemn obligation to handle the Scriptures accurately (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 3:16), and to proclaim its message clearly (Hebrews 4:12).  In order to achieve this, the Christian church has insisted on developing a system or "science" of interpreting the Bible.  This science is called "hermeneutics."  It sets forth principles virtually agreed upon by orthodox Christians everywhere that form the necessary guidelines for all Biblical interpretations whether in personal devotions or in public speaking.

It is unrealistic to expect all Christians to be in agreement on the precise interpretation of every passage of Scripture.  But they should agree on the fundamental approach to biblical interpretation...there is a difference between occasional misinterpretations and unacceptable methods of biblical interpretation.  All have fallen victim to the former, but no one should be guilty of blatantly disregarding a responsible methodology.

This applies to every minister of the Gospel...whether he labours in relative obscurity or in the limelight.  After all, no minister runs a free-lance operation.  The person who proclaims the Scriptures is under strict orders from God and is fully accountable to Him.  He is God's ambassador and, therefore, his Master's voice.  Faith Movement televangelists are no exception.  The often-reported immediate "conversations" with God seem to give the impression not only that they possess a source of truth beyond the Bible, but also that they are exempt from following acceptable methods of biblical interpretation.  This should evoke a protest.  Not only is the Bible sufficient but also the proper principles of interpretation are universal and, therefore, binding upon all.

The electronic and [Faith Movement] preacher stands in need of a special reminder in this regard, since possibly more than anyone else he has the potential of being a force for tremendous good or a source of incalculable harm.  The man and his message may earn the respect of his audience and have a life-changing impact upon it.  But by who he is and what he says, he may also leave cynicism and public ridicule in his wake, dealing a severe setback to the cause of Christ.

Also the televangelist [Faith Movement] preacher must face up to the necessity of a biblical hermeneutics that heralds the Scriptures as its only starting point and champions a responsible method of interpretation.  In a word, he must honour Scripture as the only inerrant and binding Word of God, and present its meaning accurately and clearly.  Only so can he set forth God's truth properly and bring out its significance appropriately...


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Gnostic Heresy

One of the earliest and most potent threats to early Christianity came from the heretical group known as the  Gnostics.  Blending elements of Christianity, Greek philosophy, and Oriental mysticism, the Gnostics denied the orthodox view of God, man, the world, and Christ.  The Apostle John included them in the camp of the Antichrist.

The Gnostics were so-called because of their view of Revelation.  The word, gnosis, is the Greek word for "knowledge."  In many cases the Gnostic heretics did not make a frontal assault against the apostles or against the apostolic teaching of Scripture.  In fact, many of them insisted that they were genuine, Bible-believing Christians.  It wasn't that they rejected the Bible; they just claimed an additional source of knowledge or insight that was superior to or at least beyond the knowledge of Scripture.  The "gnostikoi" were "those in the know."  Their knowledge was not derived from intellectual comprehension of Scripture or by empirical research, but was mystical, direct, and immediate.  God "revealed" private, intuitive insights to them that carried nothing less than divine authority.

Here is a typical Gnostic statement:

We cannot communicate with God mentally, for He is a Spirit.  But we can reach Him with our Spirit, and it is through our Spirit that we come to know God . . . This is one reason God put teachers (those who are really called to teach) in the church -- to renew our minds.  Many times those who teach do so with only a natural knowledge that they have gained from the Bible and other sources.  But I am referring here to one of the ministry gifts.  Those who are called and annointed by the Spirit to teach.

God has given us His Word, and we can feed upon that Word.  This will renew our minds but He also puts teachers in the church to renew our minds and to bring us the revelation of the knowledge of God's Word.

Notice that this quotation does not include a direct assault on the Bible.  The Bible is recognized as God's Word.  But in order to understand the Bible we need something beyond our natural mental ability.  We need the Spirit-annointed teachers to "bring us the revelation of the knowledge of God's Word."  This is a typically Gnostic statement, but the quote is not from Valentinus or any of the other early Gnostics.  It is from the pen of a modern missionary of Gnosticism, Kenneth E. Hagan [founder of the Faith Movement].  It is from Hagan's Man on Three Dimensions.  Hagan's theology echos the tripartite epistemology of early Gnosticism (man as having three separate entities:  body, soul and spirit).

Robert Tilton [Faith Movement] also claims a direct pipeline to divine revelation:

God showed me a vision that almost took my breath away.  I was sucked into the Spirit . . . , caught away . . . and I found myself standing in the very presence of Almighty God.  It just echoed into my being.  And He said these words to me . . . exactly these words . . . .

"Many of my ministers pray for my people, but I want you to pray the Prayer of Agreement with them." . . . I have never seen the presence of God so powerful.  This same annointing flooded my Spirit-man . . . .It's inside of me now and I have supernatural faith to agree with you.

From that day forth, as I have been faithful to that heavenly vision, I've seen every kind of miracle imaginable happen when I pray the Prayer of Agreement with God's people.

It seems that in Robert Tilton the church is blessed with a twentieth-century apostle whose visions of revelation exceed that of the Apostle John and whose miracle powers surpass that of the Apostle Paul.  If we are to believe Tilton's astonishing claims, there is no reason we should not include his writings in the next edition of the New Testament.

Paul Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), has revelatory dreams and has warmly embraced the neo-Gnostic dogma.  His network has become a prime distribution center for the growing movement.  Kenneth Copeland also receives phrases from God in "his spirit."


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

You Are Now Without Excuse!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are now without excuse for getting involved in a cult or continuing in one.  The previous 25 blogs have provided you with extensive, reliable, trustworthy information on Truth and where it can be found.  Reading only the Bible will not keep you out of a cult or help you to get out of one you are already in.  All cults use the Bible to justify their "weird and unique" belief systems.  Reading books by well-respected, world-renowned, properly educated Bible scholars will.  Each of these 25 books previously mentioned has a bibliography of resources used to research the book (some very lengthy) which you can also access.  Most or all are available at www.amazon.com.

What should we be striving for as Christians?  It seems to me that our primary concern should be "absolute truth" and where it is being taught.  Surely somebody is teaching absolute truth in our world today or at least someone is teaching what would be considered the closest to absolute truth that can possibly be achieved.  With this purpose in mind, highly respected Bible scholars become a very important resource when it comes to Bible interpretation (hermeneutics).  The Faith Movement/Word of Faith and Victory Churches International do not have even one widely respected Bible scholar in their ranks, including all the television ministries.  That's why they all tell you to read your own Bible and interpret it for yourself.

We should not be willing to accept any teachings we believe to be false by continuing to sit in the pew and participating in any way in the ministry.  No matter how you look at it, churches teaching falsehoods are like a rotten apple in the barrel of Christianity. If we are fully aware that our leaders are engaging in false teachings we need to exit these churches immediately.  Staying in these churches and supporting them with our time and money makes us accessories to the falsehoods.  We will have to answer for that someday!

Now that you have more than enough information available to you to keep you out of a cult, this blog will be focusing in future on specific false teachings which are currently misrepresenting True Christianity to the unbelieving world.  As the upcoming blogs proceed, you will become aware fairly quickly that the primary source of false teachings today is found deeply embedded in the Pentecostal Church.  I believe that the Pentecostal Church is one of the main enemies of truth in our world today.  Almost every major false teaching currently out there can be traced back to the confused and  misguided Pentecostal Church.  Truth mixed with falsehood qualifies the Pentecostal Church as a cult.

Pentecostal, you will find, is a huge umbrella which includes the modern day Faith Movement, Word of Faith and Victory Churches International.  Canada Christian College is to blame for teaching an extremely aberrant form of Christianity and giving out doctorate degrees to people who are not qualified in any way.  Canada Christian College should be put out of business to eliminate the blight they have put on True Christianity.  If you are interested in teaching truth to anyone, do not attend Canada Christian College or allow your children to go there.   What they are teaching is not True Christianity and should not be supported in any way.   All of the above mentioned organizations are deeply rooted in the Pentecostal Church and its ongoing gross misunderstanding of  "The Truth" contained in Scripture.

If you are searching for Truth, make no mistake about it, the so-called truth that the Pentecostals are espousing is based in falsehood and is leading millions of people worldwide astray.  Why would you settle for anything less than the unadulterated truth?  The "Pentecostal Dictionary" shows very definitively that these people and this movement do not know what they believe, why they believe it and they know even less about absolute truth.  They have totally distorted what Christianity is all about.  Proof will emerge in upcoming blogs.  The Pentecostal Church has been one of Satan's greatest tools which he has used extensively to throw Christians off the "tracks of truth" and into the "ditch of falsehood."

You will also learn in future blogs how you can know if you are actually in a Pentecostal Church because most of them are no longer using the word "Pentecostal" in their name.  Community Church, Life Centre, and Victory Centre are a few that have become much more common now.  So, beware!

We say we want God's best for our lives.  What could be better than finding out what is "actually" truth and then "sticking with it"?  Do not listen to anyone who has something to gain from what they are telling you!  This scenario is quite common in today's churches.  Scripture admonishes us not to add anything or take anything away from the "Gospel that was delivered to the Saints".  Looking forward to sharing with you in the days ahead.

ONE VOICE

SHINING THROUGH THE DARKEST NIGHT
STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

The Facts on the Faith Movement by John Ankerberg & John Weldon

From the Back Cover

The growing and much-publicized Faith Movement has captured literally millions of Christians with its seductive claims -- but is it biblical? Authors Ankerberg and Weldon answer key questions about the Movement and its leaders:

• What are the basic teachings of the Faith Movement?
• How powerful is the Faith Movement, and why has it been so successful?
• What characteristics of the Faith Movement concern people?
• Do the Faith teachers misinterpret Scripture?

This booklet carefully separates fact from fiction regarding the Faith Movement's disturbing presence in twentieth-century Christianity.

About the Authors

John Ankerberg is the host of the nationally televised award-winning "The John Ankerberg Show." He speaks internationally and has master's degrees in divinity and the history of the church and Christian thought.

John Weldon has authored and co-authored numerous books on the cults and occult and has master's degrees in divinity and Christian apologetics, and a doctorate in comparative religion.

Section One -- Defining the Faith Movement

1. What are the basic teachings of the Faith Movement?
2. How powerful is the Faith Movement, and why has it been successful?
3. What have respected Christian leaders in the Church said about the Faith Movement?
4. Why is doctrine important?
5. Why is the idea of "unity over doctrine" a false teaching?
6. What characteristics of the Faith Movement concern people?
7. What is faith?
8. Do the Faith teachers claim that their new revelations come directly from God?
9. Why do the Faith teachers misinterpret Scripture?

Section Two -- The Teachings of the Faith Movement

1. What is operation "Caricature"?
2. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Benny Hinn?
3. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Kenneth Copeland?
4. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Robert Tilton?
5. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Hagin, Jr.
6. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Oral and Richard Roberts?
7. What are some examples of the unorthodox teachings of Paul Yonggi Cho?

Section Three -- The Faith Movement, the Cults and the Occult

1. What is the relationship between the Faith teachings and cultic theology?
2. How do angels and the occult relate to the Faith Movement?

Section Four -- The Consequences of the Faith Movement and a Scriptural Corrective

1. How do the teachings of the Faith Movement hinder personal sanctification?
2. What are some other tragedies associated with the Faith Movement?
3. Do the Faith teachers confess that their Faith teachings do not work?
4. How do the Scriptures correct the Faith teachings?
5. Should the will of God not be of concern to Christians?

The True Issue of the Faith Movement

Poverty is an evil spirit (Kenneth Copeland, Prosperity: The Choice is Yours, 4).

And do you know what is going to happen now? I am going to let you in on a little secret. Somebody is going to give me $50,000. Because you can have what you say (Kenneth Hagin, Mountain Moving Faith, 21).

God's riches are laid end-to-end across heaven waiting to be given to you (Oral Roberts, Seed Faith Commentary, 92).

Benjamin B. Warfield, perhaps the greatest theologian of the nineteenth century, commented that, "The curse of the Church has been her apathy to truth ... She has nothing to fear from truth; but she has everything to fear and she has already suffered nearly everything from ignorance."

Faith teachers with satellite communications can literally preach to millions or tens of millions of people. This means that perhaps more than anyone else they have the potential for being a force for either tremendous good or incalculable harm. Because of the Christian teacher's potential to good or evil, God warns, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgement" (James 3:1). If God says this to those who a teach a few hundred, how much more must it be true for those who teach millions?

... But the issue of the Faith Movement is not whether its teachers are sincere or whether they teach some things that are true. The issue is their overall message and its consequences in the life of the Church....

This booklet can be purchased at www.johnankerberg.org..

Christianity In Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff

From the Back Cover

"Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth."

- The Apostle Paul

Nearly two decades ago, Hank Hanegraaff's award-winning Christianity in Crisis alerted the world to the dangers of a cultic movement within Christianity that threatened to undermine the very foundation of biblical faith. But in the 21st century, there are new dangers -- new teachers who threaten to do more damage than the last.

These are not obscure teachers that Hanegraaff unmasks. We know their names. We have seen their faces, sat in their churches, and heard them shamelessly preach and promote the false pretext of a give-to-get gospel. They are virtual rock stars who command the attention of presidential candidates and media moguls. Through make-believe miracles, urban legends, counterfeit Christs, and twisted theological reasoning, they peddle an occult brand of metaphysics that continues to shipwreck the faith of millions around the globe:

"God cannot do anything in this earthly realm unless we give Him permission."

"Keep saying it ... 'I have equality with God' -- talk yourself into it."

"Being poor is a sin."

"The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah;

it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews!"

"You create your own world the same way God creates His.

He speaks, and things happen; you speak and they happen."

Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century exposes darkness to light,

pointing us back to a Christianity centered in Christ.

"Having lost the ability to think biblically, post-modern Christians are being transformed from cultural change agents and initiators into cultural conformists and imitators. Pop culture beckons, and post-modern Christians have taken the bait. As a result, the biblical model of faith has given way to an increasingly bizarre array of fads and formulas."

From the Preface

Inside the Front Cover

A modern crisis in Christianity continues to deepen as an ever-increasing number of 21st century prosperity preachers, ranging from Joyce Meyers to T.D. Jakes, convinces devotees that what happens in your life is a result of the words you speak. If you are healthy and prosperous, words created your reality. Conversely, if your baby dies or your spouse contracts cancer, you are the prime suspect.

According to one of America's most popular prosperity preachers, Joel Osteen, "The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it. This is a spiritual principle, and it works whether what you are saying is good or bad, positive or negative." Osteen's words are eerily similar to those of New Thought practictioner Joe Vitale -- contributor to Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. When asked by Larry King whether a nine-year-old Florida girl who was brutally murdered attracted this horror to herself, Vitale responded, "We are attracting everything to ourselves and there is no exception."

While Faith preachers such as Osteen have noteworthy differences from New Agers such as Vitale and Byrne, they are united in the belief that the force of faith is so powerful that even the Master of the Universe is bound by its irrevocable reality.

In Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century Hanegraaff pulls back the veil and exposes fatal flaws and feel-good fallacies that are spreading like cancer within the body of Christ.

But this is a cancer that has a cure and Hanegraaff shows us the way back to spiritual health and wholeness.

Section Titles include:

Part One: Turning Truth into Mythology

Part Two: Faith in Faith

Part Three: Little Gods

Part Four: Atonement Atrocities

Part Five: Health and Want

Part Six: Sickness and Suffering

Part Seven: Back to Basics

Appendix A: Are "God's Annointed" Beyond Criticism?

Inside the Back Cover

Hank Hanegraaff is the host of Bible Answer Man, heard daily throughout the United States and Canada. He is president of the Christian Research Institute and author of many best-selling books, including The Prayer of Jesus, Counterfeit Revival, and The Apocalypse Code. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in North Carolina and are parents to twelve children.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- This is the number one book that you need to read if you are currently attending Victory Churches International or a Faith Movement/Word of Faith church. These churches tend to have a wide range of creative names which will not necessarily identify them as Faith Movement churches. (Their teachings will !) The Health and Wealth gospel marks them as a cult.

You also need to read the book if you listen to, follow, or own any materials distributed by the prosperity preachers. The kingpins in the Faith Movement are Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, Richard/Oral Roberts, Creflo Dollar, t.D. Jakes, Frederick K.C. Price, John Hagee, and Pat Robertson. (For a complete list see the column on the right at the beginning of the blog.)

You also need to read this book if your church claims not to be part of the Faith Movement but at the same time is promoting any of the above mentioned leaders in any way shape or form i.e. meetings, conferences, rallies or selling any books, tapes or CDs. If they are, they are definitely involved in the Faith Movement.

If your church is teaching the Health and Wealth gospel, you need to read this book. Put another way, you often hear these words from the pulpit "God wants you healthy and wealthy." If you do, you are involved in the Faith Movement.

Where to get the book

1. Your local Christian bookstore will order it for you if they don't have it.
2. Go to the website www.equip.org. The book can be ordered there.
3. Go to www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.
4. Visit Chapters Bookstore. They will order it for you.

Merry Christmas, Y'All !

Davis Smith says -- What horror stories some of these people have. I am glad that you published the list of these cult leaders.

Gillian Andersen says -- Having read a lot these people's stories, it amazes me how things can get so out of hand in such a short time. At least that's what it sounds like. I am praying for all that God will restore the families.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray. Things got out of hand quickly because of the power of television. The Faith Movement owns and operates Trinity Broadcasting Network and therefore has a world-wide audience to enable them to spread the garbage that they are teaching.

Menhardt Ryker says -- I'd like to say that your blog has really opened my eyes to some of these insidious things that are going on in the so-called Christian community. The fact that these cults are on television every week is frightening. There needs to be a grass-roots revolt against these groups.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- True Christians need to be demonstrating at all of these churches with placards every week. They are on TV because they can be. Unsuspecting Christians are sending them money to supposedly spread the Gospel. This allows them to pay for television time to perpetuate their false teachings world-wide and it gives them access into millions of homes. The simple answer to this is to stop sending money.

Gayle Grisham says -- My children have been drawn deeper and deeper into one of these churches. At first, I didn't really see what was going on but I have just been uninvited for the holidays because their "new" family is coming. We always had a good relationship before they started believing that if they gave "seed" faith, they would be hugely rewarded here...there is no basis for this in anything that I have read.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- This story is a good example of how these groups, with the help of Satan, are using brainwashing and mind control to ruin families. The Grand Poo-Bah's family also refers to other members of their "church" as "mom & dad." This will be the third Christmas I haven't seen my three kids or seven grandchildren. These cults instruct their people to have nothing to do with anybody who disagrees with their teachings.

"Seed" faith appears nowhere in Scripture. This is a concept developed by the Faith Movement leaders to get people to part with large sums of their hard-earned money with the promise of a huge return on the investment. "Seed" faith has allowed these corrupt faith leaders to amass huge fortunes. It was a very clever scheme that worked. The Christian community continues to build their fortunes week after week and allows them to own cattle ranches and multiple lavish homes around the world. The answer to this problem is simple -- keep your hard-earned money!

Erika Harrison says -- I would like to add my story. Last year my fiance met a pastor at some function. He was invited to an event at this guy's church. He really liked it so decided to keep going to the men's meetings once a week. (We were new to the town and really didn't know anybody.) Within six months, he had broken up with me because I refused to go to the church with him. Now just over a year after his first meeting, he is married to someone at the church that was hand-picked by the pastor. His parents were devasted because he didn't even tell them that we had broken up.

B. & G. Adams says -- Our story is very similar to yours. Our two sons and their families have been involved with a Word of Faith church now for almost six years. We have not seen them or their families for four years. Their new spiritual family (the church) controls everything that they do...or that's how it seems to us. Please add us to your prayer list for restoration of our family. We are praying for everyone on the list.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Rest assured that we will be praying for you. My youngest son was a youth pastor for one of Bishop Keith Butler's churches in Toronto (no Bible-school training). It's a Word of Faith church. Butler has apparently raised enough money from unsuspecting Christians through his network of churches world-wide to work on running for the United States Senate. God forbid that this should ever happen.

The McIntosh Family says -- Give it up. You and these writers have no idea how wonderful it is to be part of a great community that loves and cares for us when our families have turned us away. We totally feel sorry that you all are missing the blessings of God.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- This loving and caring community you talk about is using that as a cover for their real agenda -- to get their hands on your money. You have a need to be loved and cared for. The cult knows this and is using it to take advantage of you. You need to leave this cult and go back to your family. They did not turn you away but rather you allowed the false teaching of this church to come between them and you. They are right and you are wrong. You need to ask for forgiveness for being so guillible and needy and go back home.

Terese Wyatt says -- I hope your family is reading also. Everyone who has been in any kind of contact with any of these people should read your blog.

Karl Wilson says -- Wonderful blog. We wish you all the best as you continue the fight against these cults.

Jane Teston says -- It's about time that someone took on these faith churches. They are such a crock. My daughter and her family have been in one of the churches that you have mentioned. They get more distant from us every week. They have not been involved long so I am hoping that we can get her to read this blog when we visit her at Christmas. Thank you for openly discussing your issues.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Distance between family members is a huge flag that something is very wrong. Satan is at work in their lives. He is doing some of his "best work" right under our noses inside the church (especially the Pentecostal church.)

M. Gray says -- Well, don't you think you're clever. I am sorry that you think you have the right to criticize other churches. We believe that we are being taught the whole Word of God and not just what the traditional churches teach. You really should stop writing this garbage and get yourself right with God. Then He will bless you!

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- I have a serious problem with your assertion that traditional churches teach less than the whole Word of God. This attitude is elitist and a bald-faced lie from the pit of hell. Your acceptance of this statement is also appalling. You obviously have a very limited Christian background and you don't know a falsehood when you hear it.

Criticizing false teachers and their teachings is Scriptural. When someone tells you that they are the only church teaching the "whole Word of God" it marks them as a cult. To repeat myself, this is a lie direct from the lips of Satan and many people like yourself are being suckered in.

God has called me to write this blog and He is obviously blessing it and I am thankful for that. To my knowledge it has not helped my children yet but as long as it is helping someone I will continue to write it. Only God's Holy Spirit can bring about the desired result of getting people out of these cults.

The Apostolics say -- You are really testing our patience. Your comments are unfounded as we are growing healthier each day with the help of our Lord. Before He strikes you down, you should just stop this vile blog.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- For your information, I am very well-read on the subject of these Faith Movement, Word of Faith, Victory Churches International cults. You need to read some of the books I have pictured in a previous blog. The Apostolic Movement does not have even one Bible-scholar anywhere in its ranks. If you knew your Bible, your Movement would not even exist.

Don't you think if I wasn't supposed to be writing this blog He would have struck me down by now! This blog is serious business. People's eternal destinies are at stake when it comes to these cults and their false teachings. Far too many Christians are totally unaware that Christianity is in crisis due to the existence of the Faith Movement, Word of Faith and Victory Churches International. The before mentioned groups are claiming to be Christian and have no right to do so based on their teachings. The Health and Wealth Gospel simply is not true and has no basis in Scripture.

O. Talbot says -- Having just found your blog, I find it utterly unbelievable that so many people can be taken in by something that is so wrong. No-one is supposed to expect to be wealthy and healthy as a right. If God chooses that for you, fine. But we cannot tell God what to do. I will be watching and reading your blog with some interest in the future.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Appreciate your comments. Look forward to hearing from you in the future.

T.S. Callerone says -- Isn't it interesting that we are just now seeing the seriousness of these cult leaders after many, many years of watching them come along and gradually gobble up innocent and gullible people. Having watched my church lose over half our members to the local "feel good" religious leader, I am appalled at how easy it was for him to lure these people in. Keep up the work, Brother...it is not in vain.

Annie Balder says -- I guess I was fortunate. I was invited to one of these churches and from the moment I went through the door, I knew there was something evil there. It's all very nice at first but there is a lot of darkness in the one I visited. When the chanting and gibberish started, well, I picked up my purse and left. There's nothing that could convince me to ever go back.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- The same thing happened to me. I visited Barrie Victory Centre with my wife and her daughter (in the early days before brainwashing had taken hold) for a baby dedication. After about an hour of what you describe in your comments, we had to leave. On the way to the car, we were all shaking our heads, looked at each other and said, "There's something very evil going on in that place." There was this terrible awareness of evil and darkness. We all came to the conclusion that this was Satan's church. Satan is having his way with these people. What a sad situation. Good for you. Wise decision. We haven't been back either.

R. Ryler says -- We are in agreement with your assessment that the mainstream churches are not assisting those of us with family members or friends in these cult churches. It's as if they think at least they are going to church. But with a church like this, they'd be better off not going. We enjoy reading your blog and are glad that someone like you is able to take a stand and not knuckle under to keep the peace in your family.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Most churches have programs for this and for that. There is no shortage of groups for every need or interest. In these last days there needs to be a cult-awareness program in every church to protect future generations from this serious threat. There are plenty of materials on modern day cults available.

In a free society, cults will continue to grow. Guard your children and teach them well and pray hard. Satan is very busy in the church these days.

Manny Ramieras says -- Honestly, when will these people stop whining and figure out how to get their family members back on track. Or leave them alone there and move on. If they are adults, they can choose their own path.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Your seemingly total lack of concern for this issue is alarming. It's just this attitude that allows these cults to exist and run rampant over Christian churches. It's hard to imagine that if you had family members involved in a cult that you would have nothing to say. Maybe you are not a Christian and do not understand the ramifications of such an attitude. If you read some of these books, you would have a completely different understanding of the cult issues.

H. Harry says -- What awful problems these false teachers create. I am glad that I do not have any children that I have to raise in these end times.

Bonita Inks says -- We have several of these cultic churches in our town and have watched with great concern as they have grown at an alarming rate. They started small, in people's homes, and have now moved into other churches (renting) or store-front facilities. One of our friends has had her niece start attending and she has undergone a personality change that is frightening. Your blog has provided a lot of information that I can share with my friend.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Personality change is one of the marks of a cult. My three children have all undergone personality changes. They are not the children I used to know. Please pray for Jason, Darren and Glenn and their families.

N. Boisvert says -- I was amazed at some of the stories that people are willing to share about their personal lives. Guess they have to get things off their chests but surely they see how pathetic they look when they cannot control their own wives and children. What is wrong with these people?

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- What is wrong with these people is that they are needy and cults are in the business of "meeting needs." That's how they get their converts and also how they hold on to them.

D. Grey says -- I have lost my wife to these charlatans. Her pastor has gotten involved with a number of the wives and they are now moving to another state where they can "feel the Lord" without outside influences.

The Grand Poo-Bah says -- Charlatans" is a good word to describe Faith Movement, Word of Faith, Victory Churches International leaders.

"Feel the Lord" Key word here is "feel." A belief system that is rooted in feelings will eventually let you down. You will become disallusioned, walk away from the church and never return. I am very sorry to hear about your wife.

Words of Wisdom for the New Year:

Zig Ziglar says: "Truth is true even if nobody believes it and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it."

Sign Seen on a Billboard: If you find yourself going in the wrong direction, always remember, Christ accepts U turns.

New blogs will be posted in the New Year.