Is the WOF movement from God?

According to this guy in Charisma News, you would think that the Word of Faith movement was the next step in God’s restoration of His church, something akin to the Reformation!

The problem that I have with Tom Brown’s defence of the WOF heresy, is that he deals with a very small part of the heresy: the name-it-and-claim-it part. And then he softens that part to look like the everyday variety of faith that WOF is supposed to be restoring to the church.

I wrote a series of blog posts on this heresy back in 2005. I simply called it “Heresies in the church.” In this series you will discover the complete destructiveness of the many heresies that the WOF guys preach. They mess the atonement of Christ up completely, claim that He took on the nature of Satan on the cross, also that Jesus had to be saved in hell, Jesus had to be born again just like you and I had to, that Christians are Gods just like Jesus.

It is clear that these preachers, of which there are many, are preaching a false gospel, and according to Paul, they are cursed and hence not from God!

Quoting big names out of context

I found this review of a book that seems like pure science fiction instead of reality. The book is called “Exo-Vaticana: Petrus Romanus, Project L.U.C.I.F.E.R., and the Vatican’s Astonishing Plan for the Arrival of an Alien Savior.” Apparently a MUST-READ! I love sci-fi and always have. And this book seems to fit right in there with the best of them: Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Gate, etc. You can find out more about the book here.

The only difference between this book and the rest, is that it claims to be meticulously researched truth! It sounds more like a hashed-up conspiracy theory, and we all know how these conspiracy theories are laced together to build an alternate truth!

Of course, they can “conspiracize” as much as they like to. The problem I have with them is that they quote Francis Schaeffer as backup for their cause. Maybe Schaeffer did write something that showed that he believed like they do? The problem is that they quote Schaeffer out of context as if he does agree with them. The point is that Schaeffer didn’t!

They quote the following from Schaeffer in his book, “Genesis in Space and Time,”

“More and more we are finding that mythology in general, though greatly contorted, very often has some historical base.  And the interesting thing is that one myth that one finds over and over again in many parts of the world is that somewhere a long time ago supernatural beings had sexual intercourse with natural women and produced a special breed of people.” (p125-126)

I have “The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer” in 5 volumes. So, I decided to check it out. So, what did Schaeffer actually say?

The context in which Schaeffer made the quoted statement is within an explanation of two possible interpretations of Gen 6:1-2:

“(1)  Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,  (2)  that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.”

Schaeffer, in the context of the quote pointed out two different options for interpreting these verses of which the quote was part of option 1. In this option he explained the belief by some that angels came to earth, mated with these beautiful women and produced the Nephilim, hybrid creatures made of angelic and human DNA.

After this part, Schaeffer continued:

“The other reading—that verse 2 denotes that there were those in the godly line [of these genealogies] who intermarried with others in the ungodly line to the destruction of the godly line—fits into the whole of Scripture, for there is a constant prohibition throughout the Old and New Testaments against the people of God marrying those who re not of the people of God. The Old Testament says repeatedly: if you marry those who are not God’s people, and if you give your sons and daughters to them, the godly line will be destroyed. The New Testament contains the same command: ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?’ (2 Cor. 6:14). This passage has to do with those links which are central to men’s lives, and no link is more central than marriage. This point is made explicit in the great marriage passage in 1 Corinthians 7:”39. Paul instructs the church that ‘the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.’ The principle is clear: God’s people are to marry God’s people. It is therefore possible to interpret Genesis 6:2 as indicating the intermarriage between the godly line and the ungodly line.” (The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Volume Two, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1982, p89)

Right after this passage in Schaeffer’s book he continues to speak of the godly line, and how the genealogies lead up to Noah as the last in the godly line.

So, Schaeffer is in no way underscoring the beliefs of the writers of “Exo-Vaticana!”

Joyce Meyer teaches heresy

My stance on Joyce Meyer and her fellow WOF heretics, is that she is involved in the teaching and preaching of heresy.

Mat Slick from CARM has written a short article on Meyer and her heresies. It is always good to know what these people teach, because you probably know someone who has been hooked by Meyer or others like her.

Seminar on WOF false teachers with Justin Peters

Photograph of Justin Peters taken during a teaching session on 2 June 2012 Photo copyright, William Dicks, © 2012

Justin Peters is in South Africa to do seminars on the dangers of Word-of-Faith (WOF) teachers, otherwise also known as prosperity teachers, or name-it-and-claim-it teachers.

This seminar is aptly named, “A Call for Discernment.” He will be in South Africa until 17 June. His first seminar was on 1-2 June, which I attended. His schedule for South Africa can be viewed here.

During the seminar, Justin covers all the main heresies that these faith teachers proclaim. This was nothing new to me, as I did a blog series back in 2005 on these heretical preachers and their deadly doctrinal cocktails.

During the seminar, video and audio clips are presented to show what these false teachers teach. People like Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jessie Duplantis, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar and more.

When I did my series back in 2005, I bought books and audio tapes of these teachers so that I could accurately present their deadly poison. To see many of these people on video just makes it so much more real.

The whole time while Justin was teaching, he kept a gentle attitude concerning these false teachers, but remained resolute against their demonic teachings.

Theological blind spots

“The fact that many churches avoid uncomfortable topics, not only in the preaching of the Word but in Bible study as well, leads to the creation of blind spots in the theology of even the most devout Christians. These blind spots can then function as a door through which false teaching is introduced; hence the importance of doing as Paul said, preaching the ‘whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27 ESV).” (James White, Scripture Alone, Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN, 2004, p95)

Of course, this happens when a pastor does not have the confidence to preach through the Bible in an expository manner, and rather chooses topics to preach on each Sunday or maybe over a period of a few months. This way the pastor can easily skip difficult parts of the text, or passages of Scripture that he does not agree with.

Heresies in the church - Part 8

Previous posts in the series

Heresies in the church – Part 1

Heresies in the church – Part 2

Heresies in the church – Part 3

Heresies in the church – Part 4

Heresies in the church – Part 5

Heresies in the church – Part 6

Heresies in the church – Part 7

I wrote the initial posts in this series back in 2005. This post will be about Joyce Meyer specifically, since she has infiltrated the evangelical church to an alarming extent. She has even made inroads among members of Reformed churches. Although, I have to say, the only Reformed church I personally know of where this heretic has made inroads into is among some of the members (not officially) of a Reformed-Charismatic church. From this I assume others among Reformed churches could also have been hoodwinked by her.

To make this post simple, I would recommend to you the reader to read the first seven posts in this series to see what the Word-of-Faith crowd believe, and why they should be labelled as heretics. Once you have read those parts, I want you to understand that Joyce Meyer is part of that crowd, and should along with them, be labelled as a heretic.

Did God use Harold Camping?

Today’s post was not written by me, but by Mark LaCour from Grace Bible Fellowship, and can be read here.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (2 Thess. 2:1-2).

---

Harold Camping

Harold Camping isn't the first preacher to be a "victim" of bad math. Jonah had the number of days to judgment correct, but God mercifully extended the deadline. Hananiah shortened the number of years of judgment, and it cost him his life (Jer. 28). But bad "accounting" methods don't produce false prophets -- arrogance does. While Harold Camping and his faulty "math" has exposed him for who he is, don’t think for a second God hasn't used him. Notice a few ways:

First, God has used him to show the world how foolish it is to date the future. It's one thing to "look for the blessed appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13), it's another to circle a date on a calendar and hour on a clock. The former emphasizes our desire to be with Christ, the latter our desire to be seen as someone important with inside knowledge from God.

Second, God has used him to harden people in their arrogance. More than one atheist has patted himself on the back that he's more "enlightened." While he correctly assizes Camping as foolish, he mistakenly generalizes from that foolishness there is no return of Christ at all (2 Pet. 3:3ff.) And God uses Camping's foolishness to harden the atheist with that effect (2 Thess. 2:9-10). Laughing at the "fool on the hill" doesn’t equate to every Christian being a fool. We’re just not on the hill.

Benny Hinn: Dark lord of the Sith

This Youtube video may seem humorous, and it is intended that way, but it represents a con that has been going on in the church for too long now. Men, like Benny Hinn, continue to proclaim their heresies to a people who have no understanding, it seems. Who will stand up against these men who are clearly leading the sheep astray?

Read my blog series on preachers like Hinn and others (Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Joyce Meyer, Jerry Savelle, Fred Price, etc), called Heresies in the church, to see how these people twist the Scriptures God has given us!

Earth (4004 BC–21 Oct 2011 AD)

So, apparently the rapture (see my post on this idea here) will occur on 21 May 2011 and the end of the world will come on 21 October 2011! Forget all that Mayan nonsense of 2012. Harold Camping has made his prediction according to the Bible alone (I wonder what the other preachers have been doing?), and you just better be ready!

I better organize my son’s birthday party earlier this year

You can read more about this lunacy here.

For more on Harold Camping and his heretical views, visit Alpha & Omega Ministries.

Biblical shepherding is not for the weak

Very often these days, too often, we read about or watch so-called shepherds of God's flock being unfaithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wrote a post just recently on Joel Osteen fudging the gospel!

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians concerning the stewards of the gospel:

"[1] This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. [2] Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. (1Co 4:1-2)"

A preacher of the gospel must be a trustworthy steward of that given to him. A steward does not own what he has been put in charge of. He is to manage his charge well. And that charge is not anything found within the vast imaginative recesses of the shepherd's mind! He is to be a steward of "the mysteries of God!" If the church were a secular club of sorts, then it would be conceivable to think that the pastor (shepherd) could come up with all kinds of clever ideas as to how he would run the church and what he would say to his flock on Sundays or on other occasions.

Joel Osteen just can't resist fudging the gospel!

Well, I don't know if Joel Osteen is going to heaven, but I sure know that he is quite incapable of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to Larry King! Osteen is one of those preachers who likes to fudge the gospel to make it acceptable to the world. And once this is done, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You see, this is Osteen's problem. He seems to love the esteem of the world more than he loves Christ and His truth.

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

(Joh 15:18-19)

Does Osteen not know Jn 14:6, or that when Jesus spoke it He meant it?

Global Leadership Summit and the lack of theological discernment in the church

Bill Hybels

Willow Creek, headed by Bill Hybels, is one of the largest churches in America. One of its babies is the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) which has been running for several years. Many churches have jumped on this bandwagon of leadership and growing leadership and running leadership seminars and other leadership BLAH BLAH BLAH. Oh, sorry, I drifted off their for a second or two. Must be all this leadership talk!

The modern church is making so much of leadership and leadership principles that in my opinion, it is forgetting its primary mandate from none other than Jesus Christ Himself. In Mt 28:18-20 it is written:

"18 And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make leaders in your churches from all nations, certifying them as leaders in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all leadership principles that I have commanded you. And behold, I will put great leaders among you always, to the end of the age.'"

The regression of the modern gospel in pictures