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. 

False Prophesies and a "Born-Again" Jesus

Those who teach the "little gods" heresy have also embraced other serious errors.  Among them are (1) the teaching that Jesus never claimed to be God when on earth and (2) the belief that Jesus died on the cross spiritually as well as physically, assuming the nature of Satan, going to hell, suffering punishment at Satan's hand, and being "born again" in the resurrection.  All of this had to happen, it is said, for our Lord to be our complete Saviour.  Deriving such blasphemies from E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth Copeland offered his followers and alleged prophesy from Jesus Christ Himself:  "Don't be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you are God. . . .  They crucified me  for claiming that I was God.  But I didn't claim that I was God;  I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in me.  Hallelujah, that's what you're doing."

Elaborating on this later, Copeland declared, "I didn't say Jesus wasn't God.  I said He didn't claim to be God when He lived on earth."  In response to his many critics, Copeland said, "Search the Gospels for yourself.  If you do, you will find what I say is true."  Having done just that, we find that what he says is not true and that Jesus contradicted him in the Gospel of John by affirming He was the great I AM of Exodus 3, for which the Jews sought to stone Him, claiming blasphemy as their ground.  They understood what apparently escaped Kenneth Copeland (i.e., that Jesus claimed deity).  Prophesies such as Copeland's do not originate with Christ or the Holy Spirit, and Scripture flatly rejects them as false.  We are, therefore, warned not to fear false prophets (Deut. 18:22).

In his Phillipians epistle, Paul confirms Christ's own self-understanding:  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, [existing or never ceasing to be in the form of God] nevertheless: took upon Him the form of a servant." (2:5-7, KJV).

The "born-again" Jesus concept perverts, on the other hand, the doctrine of Christ's finished work on the cross, as demonstrated in the following quotations:

It was not sufficient for Christ to offer up only His physical life on the cross.  His human spirit had to  "descend into hell" . . . .  While Christ was identified with sin, Satan and the hosts of hell ruled over Him as over any lost sinner.  During that seemingly endless age in the nether abyss of death, Satan did with Him what he would, and all hell was "in carnival." (Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, pp. 83-84.)

Jesus is the first person ever to be born again.  Why did His spirit need to be born again?  Because it was estranged from God . . . .  What is spiritual death?  The opposite of spiritual life . . . .  Spiritual death means something more than separation from God.  Spiritual death also means HAVING SATAN'S NATURE . . . .  When one is born again, he takes upon himself the nature of God.  Sin is more than a physical act; it is a spiritual act.  He became what we were, that we might become what He is . . . .  His spirit was separated from God.  And He went down into hell in our place.  (Kenneth E. Hagin, The Name of Jesus, pp. 29-32)

If Jesus paid the full penalty of sin on the cross only, that is, by His physical death alone, then sin is wholly a physical act . . . .  Jesus' work was not finished when He yielded up His physical life on the cross.   (Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, p. 94.)

It is unnecessary to analyze this error further.  It proclaims itself.  When Scripture speaks of Christ's being made sin for us (II Cor. 5:21), both the context and grammar indicate that He became a "sin offering,"  of which Isaiah spoke (Isaiah 53:4-7, 10) and which is duly recognized by a footnote on the passage in the New International Version.


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. 

More Misapplied Texts

2 Peter 1:4

Another passage often seized upon by "little god" proponents, 2 Peter 1:4, reads:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:  that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (KJV).

The first word, "partaker," is interpreted by faith teachers to mean that man actually takes the divine nature for himself, that he actually participates in the divine nature or essence.  It could be pointed out that on my last birthday, I partook of my birthday cake but I did not become part of the cake.  Similarly, Peter is certainly not teaching, in violation of all divine revelation, that man -- a finite being -- actually becomes one with the substance of deity.  Let us find out what he was saying.

Hebrews 1:3 in the original Greek reminds us that Jesus Christ is the incarnate "character" of God, and herein lies the answer.  Because of Christ's death in our place, we have figuratively "died" to sin (Romans 6:2) and are to live in the glory and power of His resurrection (Romans 6:5).  We are to seek those things that are above where Christ dwells at the right hand of God, since we are "seated. . . in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians. 2:6).  We, like Jesus before us, are to reflect the character of God in our lives.  We have been redeemed.  God has recorded to our account the righteousness of His Son and has charged His Son with our guilt (Romans 4:4-8).  The Christian, therefore, is justified by faith in Jesus Christ because he has become a partaker of the divine nature and character of God.

The image of God in man, which was shattered, marred, and defaced by sin, due to the first Adam, is restored in the last Adam, the Lord from heaven.  We have become recipients of a new set of attributes patterned after the last Adam, motives and affections that are constantly at war with our fallen nature (Rom. 7; Gal. 5:17).

We partake of the divine nature in the sense that we imitate, not duplicate, His character in our own lives.  We were "predestined to be conformed to the likeness of [God's] Son" (Rom.8:29).  As we were partakers of the fallen, Adamic nature, so now we are partakers of the resurrected Christ's character -- not partakers of His divinity but of His sanctifying grace.  We are being conformed to Christ's moral image (likeness), not to His essential deity.  We are called to resemble Him in our lifestyle, but we cannot become Him (deity) in any way, shape, or form.

John 1:12-13

"Yet to all who received Him" says the gospel, "to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God -- children not born of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

This text is usually offered, along with other passages referring to man as "begotten" by God, to erroneously prove that the believer, through a direct creative act of the Holy Spirit, becomes a god-bearing person, as Christ Himself was. (This is known in church history as the Apollinarian heresy.)  But do such texts really teach that, as "born again" children of God we ourselves share God's divinity?

In the same text cited by the faith teachers (John 1:12-13), John is urging for the uniqueness of Christ's relationship to the Trinity as "the only begotten Son of God."  As believers, we are adopted children (Romans 8:15, 23; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 1:5).  When, for instance, Kenneth Copeland states "God begets gods,"  He is ignoring the meaning of the term begotten and therefore falsely concludes, "You are all little gods."

Jesus Christ is the unique, one-of-a-kind, incarnate Son of God and is, therefore, different from believers.  "In the beginning was the Word," says John.  "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).  John the Baptist, our Lord's elder in age, nevertheless said of Christ, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me." (v. 15).  The Baptist recognized that Jesus' origin was eternal. "No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side has made him known" (v. 18).  We are adopted in time; Jesus is God's eternally-begotten Son, whose origin and deity never began but have always been.

Kenneth Hagin, therefore, is gravely mistaken when he asserts that the Christian "is as much an incarnation [of God] as is Jesus of Nazareth."  And Kenneth Copeland is wrong when he insists "Jesus is no longer the only begotten Son of God."  When the Word became flesh, God the Son remained what He always was -- the second Person of the Trinity.  Man is not an incarnation.  He is never spoken of as such in scripture -- limited as he is to finite humanity.

None of these texts in any way suggest that redeemed men are or ever will be gods.  As we have noted, Scripture forbids this as idolatry and blasphemy, in both testaments.  We can see, then, that from their very language those who maintain the "little gods" doctrine are affirming a type of pagan polytheism over against classic monotheism.  This constitutes, by any measurement, heretical doctrine.


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 Agony of Deceit - Part 3

Clearly, we are in perilous times.  We have paid the price of ignorance and shallowness, and our fall has been great.  Heretics have been tolerated as divinely-appointed messengers.  Nevertheless, God has proved Himself faithful in the trials of our own unfaithfulness.  Though we do not despair, we do call upon the body of Christ to repair its own system of beliefs and to bring its faith and life into line with sound biblical teaching without delay.  That reformation, as we see it, must take two forms:  first, it must be defensive.  Those who propagate heresy among us and refuse correction must be excommunicated by their local, regional, and national bodies.  Denial of the Trinity is, after all, more damnable than pornography.  Second, it must offensive.  We must put ourselves to the arduous -- but exciting -- task of feeding the sheep on the great themes of biblical faith.  The laity are begging for substance.  They are often more anxious to deepen their faith than their pastors are to help them deepen it.

Paul makes holding to "the deep truths of the faith" a prerequisite for holding the office of deacon or elder (I Tim. 3:9).  Those who lead our churches -- whether ordained or layperson -- are required to be educated in biblical and systematic theology.  They must not just assent to a series of simple fundamentals but must be trained in the "deep truths of the faith."  After all, said Paul, the church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (v.15).

We must heed a final caution from Peter:  "False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies."  "In their greed," Peter said, "they will exploit you with false words" (II Peter 2: 1-3).  So, too, today, the "Word of Faith" movement in particular is a destructive heresy of "false words" and it is a growing movement.  Kenneth Copeland has gone from a weekend spot to a daily telecast -- and other "Word" ministries are increasing in popularity.

These heretics, Peter continues, "indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.  Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord." (v v 10-11).  So, too, today many of the leading televangelists rave about their power over Satan and make sport of taunting and teasing the devil concerning their alleged authority over him.  "But these" said Peter, "like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed (v 12).

Throughout church history, periods of heresy, apathy, and ignorance have been both times of danger and of opportunity -- opportunity to set the record straight, to confront a new age with a old message, such a time is upon us.  Only through a renewing of our minds, a rededication of our hearts, and a reformation of our church can such a chapter of history have a happy ending, like so many chapters before it.

-- Michael Horton


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. 

What Our Readers Have To Say...

"I have been following your blog for almost the whole time. You have taken a stand which most people would just say "so what" and tolerate this situation with your boys. I wish that I had been able to do that instead of going along and ending up losing my entire family and nearly my soul as well. Thank you. (Martin O'Keefe)

It is hard to stand by and watch your family fall apart. I'm sure if I knew then what I know now, I would have put up more of a fight for my wife. Instead, I watched her slip away because I thought it was just another Pentecostal church and now am grieving her loss to the wiles of her pastor. (David Miller - South Africa)

You actually had one of your children say to you, we are "only interested in you, Dad, we have no interest in having anything to do with your wife." How disgusting! I hope that you sent them packing with a firm kick in the behind and a "don't darken my door again until you apologize to my wife." Anything else is simply not acceptable and if one of my kids had said that to me about my lovely and kind 2nd wife, it would have been the last thing that they ever said to me. (Alf Ormont)

Going along with such treatment of your wife is absolutely unacceptable. She must be a saint to have put up with this. I will be praying for strength and protection for you both during this trying time. I have been following your blog and it has been most helpful in clarifying some things that concerned me with Victory Churches as I have family members in this cult in Alabama. Keep up the writing. Thank you. (M.B. Browne)

And these relatives are Christian? How awful for you and your wife. My family will be praying for all of you during such a Satanic attack as this. (Sandra DeVilbiss)

You and your wife must be beside yourselves over these ungrateful offspring (they don't deserve to be called your children); however, it is apparent that you love them and want what's best for them so we will add all of you to our prayer chain at our church. (Bruce & Jane Ashford)

It must be difficult to have such a situation as you describe. Keep pressing on. (Ryan Davis)

Thank you for this blog. We have read all of the articles and will be purchasing a copy of the book. We found your blog when searching for information on the "health and wealth" gospel as our adult children and their families have been taken in by the Copelands. Please pray for our children as we go through this. We also have not seen our grandchildren for some years and it is most difficult. Our prayers are with you and please keep us in yours. Thank you. (Denis & Debra Lezzard)

What a great post. We also feel like we are crying in the wilderness about this subject. At least our children are out now after six years of following that false prophet, Benny Hinn. The unfortunate part is that they no longer see any value in the Christian life. We would ask that you pray for Joelene, Adam, Michael, Brenda and their families as we will pray for you and yours. (Charlotte Wu)

I have just finished reading the book. I am giving copies of this to my girls for Christmas. I had no idea they were being drawn in under Joel Osteen's milarky. (Matthew T. Grey)

Yes, it is in crisis. When are you coming back to writing? (T.S. Smith)

The Grand Poo-Bah says:

I would like to thank all of the above readers for their comments. I have printed these comments all together in a single blog for a couple of reasons.

1. You are not alone in the fight against false teaching.
2. Your comments can have an incredible influence for the cause of Christ.

If you have personal experience in dealing with Victory Churches International or any of the other false teachers of the "Faith Movement," I would urge you to share your story. You never know who you may be helping along the way -- as you can see from the above comments.

I first realized that my children were all involved in a modern day Christian cult when, one day out of the blue, one of my sons said to me, "Dad, you didn't teach us the whole gospel." Since they were raised in an evangelical Baptist church from the time they were small children, I was shocked to hear this statement out of the mouth of one of my children. I was immediately suspicious that something was wrong at the new church they were currently attending. I wondered what this church had told my children to convince them that their father, who loved and cared about them, had basically lied to them their whole lives about the truth of the gospel. Convinced that something was very very wrong at Barrie Victory Centre, I proceeded to do some research and was shocked at what I discovered.

If you attend a church which promotes any of the people on the following list, you are likely involved in a cult and need to get out ASAP and stop sending them money. The only way to stop these people is to cut them off at the knees. They have no interest in your eternal soul; they are only after one thing -- your money. Many have amassed huge fortunes by promoting a "different" gospel. People from all over the world have become caught in their web of lies and don't even know it.

Here is the list of false teachers that I have found (in no particular order):

Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, E.W. Kenyon (founder of the Faith Movement), Frederick K.C. Price, George & Hazel Hill (Victory Churches International Founders), Jerry Savelle, Joel Osteen.

John Avanzini,John Hagee, John Paul Jackson, Joyce Meyers, Kenneth "Dad" Hagan (Rhema), Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Marilyn Hickey, Morris Cerullo, Oral & Richard Roberts.

Pat Robertson, Paul & Jan Crouch (founders of Trinity Broadcasting Network), Paula White, Peter Marshall (kingpin for Victory Churches International), Peter Popoff, Peter Youngren.

Reinhardt Bonnke, Robert Schuller, Robert Tilton, Rod Parsley, Rodney Howard-Browne, Smith Wigglesworth, T.D. Jakes, T.L. Osborn, Todd Bentley, Andrew Prince and Paul & Debbie McCullough (false teachers at Barrie Victory Centre where my children attend.)

All of the above are members of the Faith Movement and promote the "health and wealth" gospel which has made the majority of them all very very rich. This list is likely incomplete due to the fact that new cult leaders are popping up every week wanting to get in on the "money feast" which is taking place at the expense of unsuspecting Christians around the world. We need to stop doing this immediately.

The next blog which I post will be a bibliography of the books I have read and that you may be interested in reading as well if you have family members involved in Victory Churches International or any other arm of the Faith Movement.

Look forward to hearing your comments. Thanks for reading.