Scripture Twisting -- Conclusion

The portrait of today's Word/Faith preaching is not encouraging.  In general, we have little choice but to recommend that much, if not most, of Word/Faith preaching return to the drawing board to develop a hermeneutics that honours the Word of God.  The situation is extremely serious.

Word/Faith preachers at time emphasize the necessity "to stay with the Word," "to stay with all of the Word," and "to stay with the Word only."  That advice is excellent but the practice usually lags far behind the theory.

To preach the prosperity gospel is not to "stay with the Word."  It has correctly been called "a modern heresy. . . to say that those who have genuine faith will unfailingly experience health, wealth, success and freedom from trouble."  It is simply unbiblical to advocate that God is the author of health and wealth, Satan the source of sickness and poverty, and that the believer has the right to demand health and wealth.  It is biblically unconscionable to insist that upon paying the tithes (Malachi 3:10), or any kind of "seed" money (II Corinthians 9:6-10), the Christian may decree physical vigor, financial success, a comfortable home, a new car, or even the salvation of a loved one as part of his reign over anything satanic and evil.  The "name it and claim it" position cannot be reconciled with biblical truths such as found in Genesis 15:13; 50:20; Job 1 and 2; Psalms 119:67, 71, 75; Amos 3:6; John 15:18-20; 16:2; Romans 8:18-23; Hebrews 11:35-38; 12:4-11; Revelation 2:8-11, and so on.

Further, to make success and the "name it, claim it" message, the main focus of one's ministry is not to "stay with all of the Word."  At worst it is heresy and at best majoring in minors.  The whole counsel of God vanishes from view (Acts 20:27), and so does the truly "full Gospel" of Christ (Romans 15:29).  Modern Word/Faith preaching is advised to return to the solid themes that in the past brought on the genuine and mighty revivals, such as total depravity, original sin, sovereign grace, the substitutionary atonement, regeneration, repentance, saving faith, justification, holiness, the judgment, and the two-fold eternal state.

Finally, the all-to-frequent references to private communications from God or the Spirit do not square with the emphasis "to stay with the Word only."  Since the canon is closed, there is every reason to hold that such communications have ceased.  New and authoritative revelation is a thing of the past.  Reliance upon extra-biblical revelation, therefore, brings the sufficiency of Scripture into serious question.

The only standard of faith and practice is, indeed, the Word, all of the Word, and the Word only.  But a formal commitment to this is insufficient.  It takes a properly constructed and detailed systematic and biblical theology to flesh this out and to ensure substantive adherence to it.  Regrettably such theology is not in evidence.

Under the present circumstances no respite can be expected from the interpretive process either.

The possibility thinker makes self-esteem the material principle of the interpretation of Scripture and therefore the ultimate determinant of its meaning and of the theology built upon it.  The net effect is "another gospel."  The contention that Jesus came into the world to save from the shame of a low self-image and to instill self-esteem hardly warrants any other conclusion.

The positive confessionist has a similar problem.  For him health and wealth is the material principle of the interpretation of Scripture.  The upshot is that he believes that every Scripture passage and every Scripture doctrine affirms that the believer may anticipate, indeed, decree, success.  This is "another gospel" as well.

On balance, it is appropriate to recommend that much, if not all, of Word/Faith preaching take a second look at its hermeneutics so as to ensure that the voice of God, the full voice of God and only the voice of God comes through to the audience.  Otherwise, the listener should be advised frequently to make his first look his last.

- Henry  Krabbendam

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.