Rightly
Dividing The Word Of Truth For
the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead,
to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number
of
teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. II
Timothy 4:3
Sound Doctrine -
Bible Truth - Bible Teaching - Contending For The Faith - Biblical
Doctrine - Spiritual Discernment
The Word of
Faith Movement Is Biblical discernment
in the church dead?
Why would we
look at the Word of Faith Movement when so many of the
teachers like Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland,
Paul and Jan Crouch, and Fred Price among others are well
known and loved teachers on most of the Christian
Television stations and networks around today?
The number one
reason is that the doctrine and teachings of the Word of
Faith Movement is decidedly unbiblical. It is not a
denomination and does not have a formal organization or
hierarchy. Instead, it is a movement that is heavily
influenced by a number of high-profile pastors and
teachers such as those mentioned above
The Word of
Faith movement grew out of the Pentecostal movement in the
latter 20th century. Its founder was E. W. Kenyon, who
studied the metaphysical New Thought teachings of Phineas
Quimby. Mind science (where "name it and claim it"
originated) was combined with Pentecostalism, resulting in
a peculiar mix of orthodox Christianity and mysticism.
This is a sample of a very
enlightening seminar on the Word Of Faith Movement. The 2 DVD
set is available from
Justin
Peters Ministries
Kenneth Hagin in turn studied under E. W. Kenyon and made the
Word of Faith movement what it is today. Although individual
teachings range from completely heretical to completely
ridiculous, what follows is the basic theology most Word of
Faith teachers align themselves with.
At the heart of the Word of Faith movement
is the belief in the "force of faith." It is believed words can
be used to manipulate the faith-force, and thus actually create
what they believe Scripture promises (health and wealth). Laws
supposedly governing the faith-force are said to operate
independently of God's sovereign will and that God Himself is
subject to these laws. This is nothing short of idolatry,
turning our faith—and by extension ourselves—into god.
From here, its theology just strays further and further from
Scripture: It claims that God created human beings in His
literal, physical image as little gods. Before the fall, humans
had the potential to call things into existence by using the
faith-force. After the fall humans took on Satan's nature and
lost the ability to call things into existence. In order to
correct this situation, Jesus Christ gave up His divinity and
became a man, died spiritually, took Satan's nature upon
Himself, went to hell, was born-again, and rose from the dead
with God's nature. After this, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
replicate the Incarnation in believers so they could become
little gods as God had originally intended.
Following the natural progression of these teachings, as little
gods we again have the ability to manipulate the faith-force and
become prosperous in all areas of life. Illness, sin, and
failure are the result of a lack of faith, and are remedied by
confession—claiming God's promises for oneself into existence.
Simply put, the Word of Faith movement exalts man to god-status
and reduces God to man-status. Needless to say, this is a false
representation of what Christianity is all about. Obviously,
Word of Faith teaching does not take into account what is found
in Scripture. Personal revelation, not Scripture, is highly
relied upon in order to come up with such absurd beliefs, which
is just one more proof of its heretical nature.
Countering Word of Faith teaching is a simple matter of reading
the Bible. God alone is the Sovereign Creator of the Universe (Genesis
1:3; 1 Timothy 6:15),
and does not need faith—He is the object of faith (Mark
11:22; Hebrews 11:3).
God is spirit, and does not have a physical body (John
4:24). Man was created in
the image of God (Genesis
1:26-27; Genesis 9:6),
but this does not make him a little god or divine. Only God has
a divine nature (Galatians
4:8; Isaiah 1:6-11, Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 44:6; Ezekiel 28:2; Psalms 8:6-8).
Christ is Eternal, the Only Begotten Son, and the only
incarnation of God (John
1:1-2, John 1:15; John 1:14, John 1:18;
John 3:16; 1 John 4:1).
In Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians
2:9). By becoming a man
Jesus gave up the glory of heaven but not His divinity (Philippians
2:6-7), though He did
choose to withhold His power while walking the earth as man.
The Word of Faith movement is deceiving countless people,
causing them to grasp after a way of life and faith that is not
biblical. At its core is the same lie Satan has been telling
since the Garden: “you shall be as God” (Genesis
3:5). Sadly, those who buy
into the Word of Faith movement are still listening to him. Our
hope is in the Lord, not in our own words, not even in our own
faith (Psalm
33:20-22). Our faith comes
from God in the first place (Ephesians
2:8; Hebrews 12:2)
and is not something we create for ourselves. So, be wary of the
Word of Faith movement and any church that aligns itself with
Word of Faith teachings. Much of the information here is from
the website
www.gotquestions.org