| Subject: Faith Movement |
Author:
Vince
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Date Posted: 12:05:53 06/21/04 Mon
In reply to:
Hayley
's message, "Church" on 05:17:06 06/21/04 Mon
Hi Hayley,
Sorry to hear about the bad expereinces you have had. What you need to realize though, is that much of the heresy that we see is the result of the Word Faith Movement trying to infultrate the church. This is not classic Pentecostalism, but a heresy rejected by many Pentecostals.
"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." (2 Peter 2:1- 3)
I firmly believe that the above quoted text finds startling fulfillment in what is happening in certain sections of the Church today. Many Christians seem to think that error is something that always occurs 'outside' the Church. This certainly does occur with the existence of such groups as Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, but, as you have recognized yourself, error has also manifested itself in the Church as well. Indeed, the founders of Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses were brought up in Church environments.
The above text in Peter describes how false teachers will rise up 'amongst us'. The heresies that they introduce are subtle distortions of biblical Christianity. In today's Bible illiterate Christian world, many Christians think that doctrine is not important. Weak sermons devoid of biblical truth are preached and much emotionalism is passed off as a work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, many Church goers do not recognize heresy when it is introduced. The ancient Israelites were often led into error because they were not sufficiently grounded in the knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1, 6) and many Christians today are equally being led into error because they are not testing what they hear by the standard of God's Word. The text in Peter says that "They will secretly introduce destructive heresies..." They will 'deny the Lord'. These teachers do indeed deny the Lord by what they say.
Peter foretells how "Many will follow their shameful ways..." Sadly, this is happening today. Christians seem to think that just because many of these leaders have large ministries, with a large following, then they must be of God. However, is the size of a leaders following the correct way to determine if a ministry is of God or not? There are some who would seem to think so. However, by using the same reasoning one would have to arrive at the conclusion that Mormonism is also of God, with its millions of members.
Peter also describes how these teachers "will bring the way of truth into disrepute." The Living Bible paraphrases this in the following way: "...because of them Christ and his way will be scoffed at."
Sad though this is, there have been many high profile leaders who have taught so many ridiculous things, fleeced people for money, and promoted such carnality, that unbelievers look on and mock the entire Church and say: "If that's Christianity, you can keep it." Such one's then keep Christ and the Church at arms length not realising that they have simply been exposed to a counterfeit gospel and a false Christianity.
Peter also speaks of these teachers being filled with greed. Certainly, a consistent theme that emerges with many of the Health and Wealth Prosperity teachers is the emphasis on money. Christians who attend their crusades and become partners in their ministries are regularly pressed to give money. Some of the poorest Christians are manipulated to give what they cannot afford to support the lavish lifestyles of these men and women. I have personal experience of seeing the tragic effect of this first hand. Many years ago, I worked as a care assistant in a nursing home. There was a disabled man there who was on the Morris Cerullo mailing list. On a regular basis this poor brother would be sent letters with appeals to give his money. Once I accompanied this man to a large gathering in Birmingham and was horrified to hear how people were being pressurised to give. This brother sincerely believed that by giving he would be healed or blessed in some way. Sad to say, but he returned home with his disability as well as being considerably poorer! Money is not the only thing that these teachers are greedy for. Some are also greedy for power and recognition.
A final observation on the 2 Peter passage, in connection with some of the teachers in today's Church, comes with the mention of believers being exploited by these false teachers with stories they have simply invented. Rather than be like the early Bereans, whom the Apostle Paul called "noble" for testing his words against Scripture (Acts 17:11), many Christians tend to gullibly believe anything that is said. It seems that these days, any teacher can come along with a charismatic personality, claim to have had a vision from God or a prophecy etc., and they are simply believed.
So be aware that the heresy that is about is seperate from Pentecostalism, but is trying to pass itself of as such.
On finding a good church, free of the above chaos? There are a lot of good churches still out there. Visit a few and ask the elders/pastor where they stand on some of the things above. If you see a stack of booklets by the likes of Kenneth Hagin, Copeland, or Hinn, etc. you can see that as a Church best avoided. If the church seems to be clear of these things, go a few times, and observe whether they have regular prayer meetings and Bible studies. What is the fruit of the church like? Is it truly loving? Give it a chance, but remember that no church is perfect. If it was Jesus would never have had to come in the first place. Also, remember to make some effort yourself and attempt to initiate some conversations. I am sure a good church will have members who will come to you first anyway, but it takes 2 to tango, as the saying goes.
Phew! That was a lot wasn't it?! Didn't mean to go so long. Anway, hope it helps.
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