Summer Sermon Series #3: Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Word Faith

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1 Summer Sermon Series #3: Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Word Faith The Book of Acts gives an account of many miracles that the apostles accomplished at the beginning of the Church Age. The church begins with the appearance of tongues of fire and the ability of the apostles to communicate in languages they did not know. Miracles, healings, visions, and tongues seemed to be the normal experience for the early church. The question is, should the church of today experience the same kind of phenomena? That is, should believers expect to speak in unknown languages, to heal the sick, to have supernatural visions, or to accomplish other miraculous signs and wonders? A large segment of the church teaches that the experience of the apostles should be normal for the church in all ages. The modern church should encounter the same phenomena that the early church did, especially miraculous healing and speaking in tongues. Those who teach this are called Pentecostals or Charismatics. And they number close to 500 million adherents. Background and history of this movement The term charismatic comes from the Greek word charismata, which means gifts of grace. Charismatics teach that the Holy Spirit still grants supernatural, extraordinary gifts and powers to believers, such as faith to perform miracles, the power to heal, to prophesy and interpret prophecy, and to speak in tongues (glossolalia). They believe that all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible still exist and should still be practiced in the church, including the miraculous sign gifts. The Pentecostal movement has its roots in John Wesley, an eighteenth-century revival preacher, and the Methodist movement he founded. The modern Pentecostal movement in the U.S. began in 1901 at Bethel Bible College, in Topeka, Kansas, when an eighteen-year-old girl named Agnes Ozman received what she called the baptism of the Spirit and spoke in tongues (Chinese, supposedly). Soon, most of the others at the school were speaking and singing in tongues. In 1906, the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles became the center of a revival where hundreds fell under the power of the Spirit. Visitors took the experiences back to their home churches. Most consider the revival at the Azusa Street Mission to be the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement. In 1960, in Van Nuys, California, the modern Charismatic movement (or neo- Pentecostalism) began in an Episcopal Church. After that, the movement spread among the mainline denominations like Lutherans and Presbyterians. The movement spread to Dartmouth, Stanford, Princeton, and even to the Roman Catholics at Notre Dame.

2 Charismatics trace their movement through three waves : 1) Old or Classic Pentecostalism, which began in 1901; 2) New Pentecostalism or Charismatic Renewal, beginning in 1960; and 3) The Signs and Wonders Movement, a name coined in This supposedly new movement of the Spirit is sweeping into churches that have not traditionally been part of Pentecostalism. Evangelical churches began opening up to charismatic experiences as part of this third wave. Within the 3 rd wave Charismatic movement is the Word Faith movement, also known as the prosperity Gospel, or health, wealth, and prosperity, or name it and claim it theology, or positive confession. Unfortunately, this is the fastest growing segment within Christianity. Influential within this movement are characters such as Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers, Jesse Duplantis, Paula White, TD Jakes, and Rod Parsley. Kenneth Hagin ( ) was the grandfather of this movement, but it actually originates in mind-science cults like Christian Science. Some of the key ideas of Word Faith are not biblically based. Another form of charismaticism has arisen recently (began in 2001), a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR, not NRA). I ve heard it described as Pentecostalism on steroids. It has much in common with Pentecostalism and Charismaticism, but goes beyond them in some ways. There is even more emphasis on the sensational and bizarre within the NAR. People in that movement are even more willing to accept unusual and outrageous behavior. Are there genuine believers within the charismatic movement? Yes, I don t doubt that many within the movement are genuinely saved. Many of them have a great love for God, his Word, his church, and the lost. Many are serious in their devotion to God and service to the church. They generally affirm the fundamentals of the faith and have a deep devotion to Christ. We would agree with them on many things. We don t want to characterize the whole movement by the worst elements of it. We don t define a movement by its excesses or extremes. E.g., we would not want to be defined as Baptists by the worst examples of those calling themselves Baptist, and there are many bad examples that we would repudiate. So we must do the same for the Charismatic movement. We try to define it by what the majority of the movement believe and practice. Unfortunately, even if we consider the mainstream of the movement, there are still serious errors evident. Because there is so much error in the movement, I believe that many within it are lost. Many are in serious doctrinal error. In some churches, the Jesus that they teach is not the Jesus of the Bible. The message that they preach is not the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is in large part a man-centered appeal what can God do for me? How can I become prosperous? How can I have authority in my world? How can God solve my problems?

3 Why do the charismatic/pentecostal/signs and wonders/word Faith/NAR movements threaten the church? I. They promote doctrinal error. A. As with all doctrinal error, all of it is bad, but some is worse. The Bible talks about error, heresy, damnable heresy, and even doctrines of demons. Some error is relatively minor and is fairly inconsequential. But other forms of error, if believed, call one s profession of faith into question. B. Some of the Pentecostal and Word Faith preachers are in very serious error doctrinally. The misuse, misinterpret, and misapply the Bible. 1. Some deny the Trinity. They deny that God exists as one God in three eternal Persons. They assert that the one God reveals himself in different ways he s YHWH in the OT, Jesus in the Gospels, and the HSp in the church age. So the one God has three modes of existence (modalism), not three persons who are equally God. Where did that idea come from? Back in 1913, during a Pentecostal camp meeting, a Pentecostal preacher named Frank Ewart claimed to have received a divine prophecy revealing a non-trinitarian view of God. Those who adopted his beliefs called themselves oneness or Jesus Only Pentecostals. They are non-trinitarian. United Pentecostal churches are here in our area. They deny the Trinity. I have a hard time believing that someone who denies the Trinity is a Christian. 2. Virtually all charismatics deny the sufficiency of Scripture. That is, they all believe that God is still speaking to us today outside the Bible. They believe in extra-biblical revelation. a) Charismatics commonly claim to hear directly from God not only in the Bible, but also through personal experiences. They hold that any believer may hear from God through a vision, a dream, or even an audible voice.

4 b) They typically deny that such personal revelation is equal in authority to the Bible. They claim that such direct revelation must not contradict the Bible. They often say that they believe the canon of Scripture is closed. They don t add their revelations to the Bible. But they believe God speaks to them outside of written revelation. c) Some, such as those in the NAR, believe in the continuing offices of apostle and prophet. (1) One of the NAR leaders, C. Peter Wagner, claimed that the offices of apostle and prophet were restored in (2) Many churches are led by self-professed apostles, and they claim to have apostolic authority. That is, they speak for God; God speaks through them. (3) They do not affirm sola scriptura Scriptures alone as the authority for faith and practice. Their authority is the Bible and whatever anyone might say under the anointing. I.e., God continues to speak to us through tongues, through a word of wisdom/knowledge, or through a prophecy. (4) When you believe that, you are saying that the revelation we have from God in the Bible is not sufficient. Quote: False teachers are not content to remain within the confines of Scripture, but invariably add erroneous interpretations, revelations, visions, words as if from the Lord, while claiming to have advanced knowledge, new truth, or hidden wisdom available only to them and their followers. d) They are open and receptive to theological error because they do not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Illus.: Oneness Pentecostals followed the supposed divine prophecy of Frank Ewart, who denied the Trinity after he claimed to have received a direct revelation from God.

5 (1) It s not uncommon for the prophets and apostles of the movement to claim that what they are teaching is new revelation. They distinguish themselves from others in the movement by claiming revelation unique to themselves. (2) Because they are not bound/limited by Scripture, and because they are open to continuing revelation, errors abound within the movement. Ezekiel 22:28 [The] prophets [are guilty of] seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, Thus says the Lord GOD, when the LORD had not spoken. 3. We believe them to be in serious error regarding miraculous sign gifts. 2Co 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. a) The apostolic sign gifts existed during the times of the apostles. The apostles and prophets were the cornerstone of the church. b) There is no continuing office of prophet or apostle, at least not in the original sense of those chosen by Christ and commissioned to receive direct revelation and do miracles. Thus, there are no continuing signs of an apostle. c) I believe that speaking in tongues as practiced in Pentecostal and charismatic churches amounts to little more than gibberish. The tongues we see in the Bible are real languages. The tongues spoken in most Pentecostal churches are not real languages. In the beginning of the Pentecostal movement, the leaders believed they were speaking in other languages. They sent their missionaries to foreign lands without language training, assuming they could use the gift of tongues to communicate when they arrived. They soon discovered that they could not speak other languages. Their tongues were not actually other languages. They had to change their definition of tongues to fit the fact that they were not speaking in unknown human languages.

6 d) Likewise with other supposed experiences, like prophecy and words of knowledge I don t believe the charismatic claims about such things. e) I am absolutely convinced that most of the supposed miraculous signs and wonders claimed by the charismatic movement are not truly miraculous signs and wonders. They are false and fraudulent for the most part. We don t deny that God can do the miraculous. But the supposed miracles that we see within the charismatic movement bear little resemblance to what we read about in the NT. 4. We believe them to be in error regarding the baptism of the HSp. Many charismatics hold that the baptism of the HSp occurs sometime after salvation; it is subsequent to and distinct from conversion/salvation. This second blessing occurs when you get the gift of tongues. Speaking in tongues is an evidence of the baptism of the HSp, they would say. The Bible seems to be fairly clear that the baptism of the Spirit occurs at the point of salvation (1 Cor 12:13). We can be repeatedly filled with the HSp (Eph 5:18), but the baptism happens only once. 5. Some of the most serious errors exist within the Word Faith branch of the charismatic movement. These are not extreme or unusual positions within Word Faith; they are mainline, common ideas within those churches. They teach errors such as a) Positive confession name it and claim it. We are able to bring things into being by faith, confessing them with our words. According to positive confession, faith is a kind of power that activates or unleashes spiritual forces. These forces have the ability to transform the spoken word into reality. In other words, faith is the means through which human beings can persuade God to grant their desires. 1 1 Tim Challies, Blessed: the Prosperity Gospel in (and Beyond) America. From a review of Kate Bowler s book Blessed.

7 b) God has promised wealth and prosperity to believers, and all we have to do is claim our inheritance. This is the prosperity gospel God grants financial prosperity to those who turn the key to success. c) Along with prosperity is good health. God wants us to be both wealthy and healthy. If we are sick, we should claim our healing, we should speak our healing and health into existence. Health and healing are rights, not privileges, for the child of God. All we have to do is receive our health and healing by faith. Lack of health or healing is either weak faith or the work of the devil. d) Humans are gods little g gods, but gods very much like the God of the Bible. Quote Creflo Dollar You are gods because you came from God and you are gods. You are not just human. The only human part about you is this physical body that you live in. Kenneth Copeland claims, We are a class of gods. e) Kingdom authority. We are children of the king and gods, we have the power to be victorious in our circumstances, our finances, and our careers. We can overcome all our problems because we are in the kingdom. We are victors, not victims. We have the power to transform and dominate the world. Myles Munroe The good news is not Jesus. The good news is the kingdom. C. Peter Wagner When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of God and He expects His kingdom-minded people to take whatever action is needed to push back the long-standing kingdom of Satan and bring the peace and prosperity of His kingdom here on earth. That s why we must live our best lives now. Now is the time to dominate, to be victorious over poverty and illness. This is why we can live in luxury and enjoy health and wealth we are powerful in the kingdom.

8 II. f) Some of them teach rather odd things about Jesus, such as that (1) He was punished in hell, he lost his spiritual life, and he needed to be born again just like we do. (2) Some teach that Jesus did not always exist as God. He was a man unusually anointed with the Spirit. Creflo Dollar Jesus didn't come as God, he came as a man, and he did not come perfect. Jesus didn't show up perfect, he grew into his perfection. Trans: Doctrinal error is pervasive and persistent within the charismatic movement. Most of the error stems from the fact that they allow for additional revelation from so-called prophets and apostles. And the rest of the error comes from their constant mishandling and misinterpretation of the Word. The Bible must be our primary authority for faith and practice, not the visions, voices, and mystical experiences of self-professed prophets and apostles. They are guilty of disorderly conduct in the church. A. In the book of Acts, we see speaking in tongues for the first time. Tongues was a miraculous spiritual gift given by the HSp whereby certain believers were able to speak in languages they did not know. B. Then in 1 Cor 12 and 14, Paul mentions the practice and puts various limits on it. 1. Only 2 or 3 are to speak in tongues during a service. 2. The tongues speakers are to speak in order, one after the other, and not all at the same time. 3. There should be a translator/interpreter present to translate the language. If no interpreter is there, then keep quiet. 4. The key principle is that everything done in the assembly should be done decently and in order (14:40). C. If you ve ever witnessed a charismatic service, you know that they seldom follow the biblical pattern. Decency and order are generally not evident in many of these churches. Just the opposite is true. Some of the most bizarre and disorderly behavior happens in charismatic/nar churches and events. 1. Usually, many people speak in tongues all at the same time. And usually no one is interpreting.

9 III. 2. Some are slain in the spirit. 3. Some participate in holy laughter. 4. Some seem to be experiencing a kind of trance or an altered state of consciousness. 5. Some may be hopping around or rolling around on the floor, babbling, flailing about 6. All of this activity leads to chaotic and disorderly worship services. Question: is the HSp really responsible for all this mayhem? I am seriously doubtful whether this is all done under the anointing of the HSp. D. To the charismatics, these experiences validate or confirm the presence of the Spirit. So anyone having these experiences is assumed to be a genuine believer under the influence of the HSp. Experience becomes evidence. Almost any kind of unusual activity is assumed to be an evidence of the Spirit. I simply don t buy it. Trans: It should be obvious that decent orderliness is not often evident in many charismatic churches. They typically hold an unbiblical view of healing A. Healing within most of the charismatic movement is very important. Almost all the leaders within the movement promote the idea that God wants Christians to be healthy and that supernatural healing is available if we claim it. B. They teach that God is capable of healing, but that our healing is based on the quality of our faith. So if we fail to enjoy good health or healing, it s because of a lack of faith. It s the sick person s fault for lacking faith to be healed. Lack of faith, sin, or the work of the devil is the cause of our sickness, they say. It s rather ironic that all these faith healers of the past have died Kenneth Hagin died from heart disease. Oral Robert died from pneumonia. Rex Humbard died of heart failure. Tammy Faye Bakker died of cancer. Paul and Jan Crouch, founders of TBN, both died of physical problems (heart disease, stroke). Why is it that the leading faith healers die? Why do they have surgeries? Why do they need glasses, hearing aids, and knee replacements? Why don t they enjoy good health? Something is wrong here.

10 IV. C. The main problem I have with charismatic claims about healing is that their claims of healing are not the same as that found in the Bible. They claim the same power and authority as the biblical apostles and prophets, yet they don t heal people like the apostles did. If we look at the healings that Jesus and the apostles did, we find absolute, perfect healings. And the healings often had nothing to do with the personal faith of the one healed. So if they were really following the biblical pattern, they could go into a region and heal everyone with sicknesses, diseases, and demon possession. They could even raise the dead. This is clearly not happening in the Charismatic movement. Trans: I believe the charismatic teaching on healing and health is unbiblical. They tolerate pure charlatans. 2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. A. Many of these preachers know very well that what they are preaching is not true; it s not real. People are not really speaking in other languages. People are not really being healed. People are not really becoming healthy and prosperous. B. They know that the prosperity gospel is false. They know that name it and claim it is not true. They know that you can t speak things into being. They know that humans are not little gods. They know that people are not being healed at their services. They know that these things are wrong, but they persist in promoting them because they are making money; it s a business that is quite lucrative. Remember the pragmatic viewpoint of many today if it s working, it must be true. If the ministry is growing and making money, it must be a sign of God s approval and blessing. C. These charlatans are getting rich from the contributions of wellmeaning but gullible, immature, undiscerning people. The only people who send money to these hucksters are those who don t know any better.

11 D. One of the most common means of fundraising for the charismatics is the seed faith fraud. Your financial gift is like a seed that will return a vast increase if you sow it into my TV ministry. You need to have faith and sow your seed i.e., give a financial gift. You need to make a vow to God and seal it with a generous gift. The way to breakthrough is to sow your seed. And when you do, God will cause that seed to grow and you ll reap a harvest of prosperity. You become healthy and wealthy by giving your money to me. God is like a cosmic vending machine who will give me what I want if I make the right contributions and press the right buttons. E. Beyond financial misdeeds, many of these people are pure false prophets. 1. They preach things contrary to Scripture. 2. They predict things that never happen. 3. They make claims that cannot be verified. 4. They prey upon the most weak and gullible, who fund their lavish, luxurious lifestyle. Illus.: Robert Tilton is one of the most infamous of the prosperity gospel hucksters. Back in the early 1990s, he was bringing in $80M a year through his TV show Success N Life. His church had 8000 members. But then an investigation showed that the whole thing was a giant scam or fraud. Everything fell apart shortly after that expose. F. As I mentioned earlier, one of the most serious errors taught in this movement is the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. 1. The prosperity gospel seems to be working out very well for many of these Word Faith preachers. Many of them live a very luxurious lifestyle. That s what they preach and that s how they live. a) Jesse Duplantis lives in a $3 million, 35,000 square-foot, the five-bedroom, seven bathroom house in St. Charles Parish, LA. He has plans to buy a new $53M business jet, and he wants his viewers to buy it for him.

12 b) Creflo Dollar -- the Atlanta area megachurch pastor stirred up public outcry in 2015, when he asked his followers to raise money to buy a $65 million Gulfstream business jet to replace his old one. c) Kenneth Copeland recently purchased a private jet for about $6M, and is urging his supporters to give another $2.5 million worth of upgrades to the plane, and $17 million for a hangar. 2 Copeland s net worth is about $760M. He lives in a $6M lakefront mansion. How can rich men like these justify begging their viewers for more money, just so their worldwide travel can be more convenient? d) Benny Hinn ministries collects about $100M per year. He flies on private jet, stays in $25k a night hotels, and owns a fleet of luxury cars. e) Joel Osteen lives in a home valued at $10.5M. f) Joyce Meyers is reportedly worth about $100M. g) I read an article that suggested Robert Tilton was still raking in over $20M a year through his TV shows. Isaiah 56:11 Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain 2. I have nothing against prosperity and wealth if you ve earned or inherited it, but not when that prosperity comes from the sacrificial donations of people who think that the money they are giving is supporting Christian ministry. Much of the money that people give to these ministries ends up paying for an ostentatious, luxurious lifestyle. Illus.: Costi Hinn, Benny s nephew, describes his experience: 2

13 That year was a whirlwind tour of luxury: $25,000-a-night royal suites in Dubai, seaside resorts in Greece, tours of the Swiss Alps, villas on Lake Como in Italy, basking on the golden coast of Australia, shopping sprees at Harrods in London, and numerous trips to Israel, Hawaii, and everywhere in between. The pay was great, we flew on our own private Gulfstream [jet], and I got to buy custom suits. All I had to do was catch people and look spiritual! 3 G. Prosperity preachers appeal to two of the most base desires of fallen humanity pride and greed. 1. Pride they tell us that we are little gods and kings with authority over our problems. We can speak reality into existence with our powerful words. We have the power to control God we release God s power through our prayer and our words. The prosperity gospel is man-centered, not God-centered. The primary goal is to get what I want. It s all about success, living your best life now. 2. Greed God wants us to be prosperous and wealthy. We should all be living in luxury. The more faithful you are, the more wealthy you ll become. The more seed you sow the more wealth you ll reap. 3. Then they blame failure to be healthy and wealthy on a lack of faith. If the divine vending machine does not give you what you want, it s a lack of faith or a failure to contribute enough. H. They misrepresent the Christian life. 1. They claim that all faithful, godly Christians will enjoy health, wealth, prosperity, and authority. If you have faith, sow your seed, and positively proclaim what you want, God will fulfill your dreams. You ll be healthy, wealthy, and powerful. You ll have a nice house, nice cars, a healthy family, and a big bank account. You ll be victorious over all of life s problems. 2. Is that the picture of the Christian life that the Bible gives us? No. a) All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 3 Christianity Today, October 2017, Vol. 61, No. 8, Pg 104, "Riches I Heed Not"

14 b) You will be hated by all men for my name s sake. c) Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. d) You cannot serve God and mammon. e) Sell all your possessions, give to the poor, and come and follow me. f) He who does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. g) The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. h) A mark of false teachers is that they believe that godliness is a means of financial gain. i) Peter talks about believers suffering within the will of God. j) Paul had a thorn in the flesh that Jesus would not heal. k) Timothy had frequent infirmities of the flesh. Trophimus was left in Miletus sick. l) The believers mentioned in Hebrews had lost many of their possessions because of their loyalty to Christ. m) Tell believers in N. Korea that they would be wealthy and powerful if they only had more faith. Tell it to the persecuted believers in Sudan that they would be powerful and rich if they only would send in an offering to the TV show. n) The historical norm for Christians has been persecution and loss of property and wealth, not health, wealth, and prosperity. o) The model of the Christian life that the Word Faith movement promotes might work in among greedy, selfish, ignorant people, but it doesn t work with those who know the Bible and history. The Pentecostal and charismatic brand of Christianity are growing. I read that this branch of Christianity is growing more than any other group within the church.

15 We should be careful not to define a movement by its worst characters. Most of those in the traditional wing of Pentecostalism, such as the Assemblies of God denomination, are not guilty of the worst errors I ve mentioned. Many Pentecostals are genuine, godly believers who disavow most of the crazy stuff going on within their movement. I would seriously disagree with them on many issues, but I still believe they are brothers in Christ. But the 3 rd wave of the charismatic movement includes some of the most serious errors that are a significant threat to the church. Namely, the Word Faith name it a claim it, positive confession, health/wealth/prosperity gospel preachers the Joel Osteens, Kenneth Copelands, and Creflo Dollars of this world these present a clear and present danger to the church. A good number of these preachers are pure charlatans who know that what they are preaching is wrong. They are genuine false prophets who see the Christian religion as a means of financial gain. We can t eradicate this charismatic Word Faith NAR craziness, but we can refuse to be part of it. We can refuse to support it. We can refuse to watch their TV shows or contribute to the networks that carry them. We can warn others about their errors and confront their supporters. We can inform ourselves about these hucksters and become more discerning about these issues. Quote: This ugly movement substitutes what is material for what is spiritual, what is lasting for what is fleeting, what is holy for what is profane. It creates its own metrics (wealth and health) and then uses them as the sure measure of a person s faith and as the means to guarantee a successful life. In this way and so many others it radically overturns orthodox Christianity. In this way it is nothing less than a false gospel that [we must rebuke and repudiate]. 4 In 1 Tim 6:3f, Paul describes false teachers perfectly and they tell us what we should do. [They] suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. 4 Tim Challies, Blessed.