Without A Biblical Foundation
And so the Word Faith movement has concocted a theology that makes sinners gods and requires the sinless Son of God to be born again. Moreover, it sees Satan as the righteous judge who exacts payment for sin from Christ. Such teaching is convoluted and totally unbiblical. It demeans our Lord and His work. Jesus does not merely have eternal life, nor did He buy it for us by paying off the devil. He is eternal life. As He said in John 14:6. 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life' (cf. John 1:4; 5:26). Although Jesus took upon himself human nature in the Incarnation, and although he bore out sins on the cross, He never ceased to be God. Furthermore, the atonement did not take place in hell. It was completed on the cross when Jesus cried, 'It is finished' (John 19:30). First peter 2:24 says that Christ 'bore our sins in His body on the cross, not in hell. Colossians 2:13-14 says he canceled the debt of our sin 'and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.' Ephesians 1:7 says 'We have redemption through His blood ['blood' here refers to his physical death—the actual shedding of his blood on the cross], the forgiveness of our trespasses' (cf. Mat. 26:28; Acts 20:28; Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Eph. 2:13; Col. 1:20; Heb. 9:22; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:19; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 5:9). Jesus promised the repentant thief on the cross, 'Today you shall be with Me in Paradise' (Luke 23:43). Clearly, he was not preparing to serve a sentence in hell. Instead, he served notice to hell that the powers of evil were defeated (cf. 1 Peter 3:19). The Bible knows nothing of the kind of atonement that the Word Faith movement describes. That is because the Jesus of the Bible is not the Jesus Word Faith teachers are talking about." — John F. MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos pp. 279-280 READ ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Wrong Jesus John F. MacArthur
"Next, if healing is in the atonement and if it applies physically today, those who ask by faith for physical healing and are not healed have no logical right to be assured of their salvation. In contrast, God says that if we are saved, we have every right to believe in our salvation. So if physical healing were in the atonement and if we ask to be healed and are not, not only do we lose our assurance of the physical, but we should also lose our assurance of the spiritual. Fortunately, such an unbiblical conclusion can be reached only if we have first taken a wrong approach to what the atonement is really all about-the forgiveness of our sins." — Richard L. Mayhue, Is There Healing In The Atonement? READ ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE Is There Healing In The Atonement [Keynote article] Richard L. Mayhue True Belief John F. MacArthur What Kind Of Things Do And Do Not Prove The Genuineness Of Saving Faith? Grace To You The Gospel Of Inclusion And Carlton Pearson On Doctrine
Those who claim that their teachers and preachers have some special anointing from God or special privilege that removes them from criticism or censure, place themselves in a position where they deceive themselves regarding the teaching of the Scripture and as a consequence it is unavoidable that they will be deceived by the very teachers and preachers that they support. In addition, they claim and assume that those leaders are actually doing God's work and no one should hinder that work, upon which it is said that God has His hand. Falling into the trap set by their leaders, they adopt as a defense the Scripture in 1 Chronicles 16:22, "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." Claiming that they are the "anointed ones", those teachers maintain that the verse applies to them, and no one is to "touch" them (meaning to speak against them or contradict what they do or say) regarding their conduct or doctrine. Undiscerning Christians mimic the same claim in defense of their favorite teachers because they have not read 1 Chronicles 16 and do not understand that the "anointed" in the verse are not their teachers, preachers and prophets, because none of their "prophets" can prophesy and their teachers and preachers do not speak the same words as God. The term to "touch" has nothing to do with speaking against what is being said or done, but is connected with verse 21 and refers to physical oppression in the manner of striking violently. The phrase, "...do my prophets no harm," also has nothing to do with speaking against what is being said or done, but is the same as "touch," referring to physical contact in the manner of bodily injury, death or imprisonment. Apparently these teachers and preachers are presumed to be greater and more "anointed" than the apostle Peter and the apostle Paul, because they are immune from criticism and scrutiny, whereas the apostle Peter and apostle Paul were not. In addition, the prohibition against touching was applied to those who actually were prophets and could prophesy accurately, and those who actually spoke the words of God. The Scripture in the New Testament defines who the "anointed" are, and they are not a special class of teachers and preachers who are self-proclaimed to have a unique position in relation to God. The anointed are all Christians in concert as stated by the apostle John, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. . . . As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him," 1 John 2:20, 27 (NAS). False teachers and false prophets even attempt to circumvent that reality by claiming that they are not only anointed like every other Christian, they are doubly anointed, claiming they are twice as significant and important in the eyes of God as their followers, and then they claim that their ministry is anointed also. Perverting the Scripture in order to maintain their self-proclaimed status, they exalt themselves to a position which they do not have, and undiscerning Christians support them in their outrageous claims and in the process submit the Bible to the authority of their teachers instead of demanding that their teachers come under the authority of the Bible. Christians are deceived by their false teachers and preachers, because they willfully ignore what the Scripture says, and as a consequence they deceive themselves, resulting in deception by others. — On Doctrine, Why Do You Criticize God's Anointed? READ ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE Heresy And Concession Benjamin B. Warfield Why Do You Criticize God's Anointed? On Doctrine Faq # 13
God doesn't care what you believe, as long as you're sincere,' she wrote, echoing an opinion I have heard many times. 'All religions lead ultimately to the same reality. It doesn't matter which road you take to get there, as long as you follow your chosen road faithfully. Don't be critical of the alternative roads other people choose.' To those who accept the Bible as God's Word, the folly of that thinking should be immediately evident. What does the Bible say about following your chosen road faithfully? 'There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death' (Prov. 16:25, 14:12KJV). Jesus said, "The gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it' (Matt. 7:13). He urged people to change directions, to enter the small gate that leads to the narrow way that few find. Actually it is Satan who doesn't care what you believe—or how sincerely you believe it—as long as what you believe is error. To portray God as tolerant of all forms of worship is to deny the God of Scripture. After all, this was His first commandment: 'I am the LORD your God. . .You shall have no other gods before Me' (Ex. 20:2- 3). If we believe the Bible, we cannot concede that other religions might be true as well. If we believe that Christ is Lord of all, and we truly love Him, we cannot countenance the doctrines of those who deny Him (1 Cor. 16:22). Christianity, if true, is exclusively true. Inherent in the claims of Christ is the assertion that He alone offers truth, and all religious systems that deviate from His truth are false. Jesus said, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me' (John 14:6). Peter proclaimed, 'There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12). If this is true, every other religion is a lie (cf. Rom. 3:4)." — John F. MacArthur, Reckless Faith, "What Are The Fundamentals Of Christianity?" p. 91-92.. READ ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE A Caveat Against Unsound Doctrines Augustus Toplady
Do you want more evidence that evangelicals are losing confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture? You will see it in the rise of evangelical mysticism—the belief that Christians need to listen to God speaking directly to them through strong impressions in their mind, a voice in their head, or other mystical means. Some evangelicals have become obsessed with Satan and demonic powers. They imagine that they can command demons merely by speaking to them. All such mysticism is in reality nothing more than dabbling with the occult. It stems from a loss of confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture. Those who aren't convinced the Bible is a sufficient revelation of truth will be continually looking elsewhere for more 'revelation' and new mystical experiences. In doing so, they open the door wide to the worst kinds of demonic deception." — John F. MacArthur, Think Biblically, Recovering A Christian Worldview, "Embracing The Authority And Sufficiency Of Scripture," p. 23. READ ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE On Binding Satan Ray Stedman
An entire doctrinal system has been built around definitions of its use that bear no relation to what is found in the Scripture. In the view of the movement, the use of tongues becomes an identification badge, supposedly separating the real Christians from those who are not, and the spiritual Christians from the rest. Tongues becomes the defining factor, by which people judge others as to the legitimacy of their claim to be a Christian, and is the confirming factor by which a person believes that they are a true Christian and have achieved a higher level of spirituality. Those who have sought the gift of tongues and have not found it are looked upon by those who have manifested the phenomenon as being substandard spiritually or not being Christians at all, and to be without the manifestation in one's life is to cause a person to question whether they are truly a Christian. So, within the community who believe in the gift as practiced today, there is a great division between those who have manifested the phenomenon and those who have not, which is as serious, or more so, than the division between those who believe the gift is for today and those who do not. The line between tongues being a gift imparted to those who are already Christians and the belief that it defines a Christian, becomes increasingly blurred. There are Charismatic groups who speak in tongues, such as Oneness Pentecostals, who deny the Trinity and define the godhead as being modalistic; as a result they deny the actual person of Jesus Christ, asserting that He is just an appearance or manifestation of the one God cloaked in the appearance of Jesus Christ, which is a heretical belief. The manifestation of tongues seen in the movement today, as a verification of salvation or having received the Holy Spirit or being in the body of Christ, is not an accurate measure, because it can, and does, give a false verification." — On Doctrine, Conversations With A Charismatic, "The Apostles And The Gift of Tongues: To Whom Did They Speak?"
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