The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Kathy Shortridge of Billings, Montana from the tape, GC 1301-P, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 18." A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1981. All Rights Reserved.
Question
I was talking to a friend today and his church is having a little controversy
within the congregation about faith, and apparently some people are getting
involved in a the very Charismatic type of thinking. Specifically it comes from
Kenneth Copeland and he’s talking about, 'Well, it's kind of like, 'Let God and
let go thinking,' and human responsibility has little to do to exercise your
faith, you just trust God. I explained to him to look at what biblical faith was
in Hebrews 11, in the fact that the patriarchs, for example, did things and
their faith changed their behavior. I was wondering what might you suggest to
tell him to help him along?
Answer
The reason, basically, that people get involved in that: Kenneth Hagin,
Kenneth Copeland, Frederick Price and a lot of other lesser light stuff.
The reason people get involved in that is because they do not understand the
nature of God. God for them is nothing more than an utilitarian genie. You rub
the bottle, he jumps out and does what you demand. It is a man centered
theology, it is based on health, wealth, and happiness.
I could say it to you simply this way: those guys say, you can...they call it
affirmation faith. They use a lot of different terms, but ever increasing faith,
affirmation faith and you know they’re like the clock that doesn’t run, they are
right twice a day and that’s what confuses people. See I mean, they intersect
with the truth a couple of times and they are clever. But basically what they
are saying is, you can demand healing. I mean, Hagin and Copeland say they have
never been sick, never been sick, but they are going to die. But they are never
sick, they never have problems, they are always successful, they have always
enough money and so forth...that’s what they are promising.
Now I would just say, that the problem basically is they have a man centered
theology. You get into it for what you can get out of it. You demand healing,
you demand prosperity, you demand a new job, you demand a new car. They call it
faith, but it isn’t faith at all, it's indulgence under the guise of faith. They
just absolutely murder the scripture by misinterpretation. They just adulterate
it all over the place, twisting it to make their own goals. There is always a
sort of a major ego thing that you see just as big as a spotlight in the middle
of the whole deal.
Just another step I would add. Any system that comes along and promises health
and prosperity and all of that stuff is the utter antithesis to what the gospel
offers men. Jesus said, "If you’re not willing to take up your cross and follow
me, you are not worthy to be my disciple." Jesus said to the young guy who came
along and said, "I got to go home and bury my father," which means collect my
inheritance, "Forget it!" Another guy came along and said, "I’ll follow you
where ever you go," he said, "The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head," and the guy split. In
other words he said I don’t want you on the terms that you are looking for
comfort. I want you on the terms that you are going to abandon comfort. But
these guys are coming around, and the very things that Jesus rejected in
followers, they are giving to followers and saying this is the gospel and it is
the very opposite gospel to what Jesus offered.
So you see they don’t understand the character and nature of God. He is Holy. He
is Sovereign. He is Lord. They have made man the lord who will tell God what to
do. And I think as I have said before, that it is one of the most insidious
things happening in America today, because it sounds so good and they are so
flowery and warm. Copeland is almost like a stand up comic, you know, he’s
funny. He’s really funny and he sort of draws people in with his humor, and Fred
Price is a clever speaker.
But, I’m more and more convinced, and that’s why I don’t hesitate to talk about
these things, that I am called by God to preserve the sacredness of sound
doctrine. Just for an illustration of that, in 1st Timothy, just to give you the
perspective and when I get done with Romans or Matthew, I’m going to teach 1st
Timothy. But, it is says if a man desires the office of a bishop or an elder or
a pastor, he desires a good work. All right, then it gives all the
qualifications (1st Timothy 3), he has to be a one woman man, blameless, he has
to be temperate, sober minded, and it gives all these things, and they’re all
one phrase...blip, blip, blip, blip and that’s all there is to it. Then all of a
sudden, it comes down to the fact that he must have.......let's see if I can
find the exact verse. Well it goes all the way through the deacons and all the
way down to the end of the chapter and then into chapter 4, it talks about the
deacon and the deacon's wife and so forth and so on, then you come into chapter
4, "...and the Spirit speaks expressly, in the latter times comes false
doctrines..." and so forth and so forth, then you come to verse 6 of chapter 4,
"If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things you’ll be a good
minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and sound
doctrine." Then he goes on, "...refuse profane and old wives fables, and he goes
on to say, these things command and teach," read the text, verse 13, "...exhort
and teach doctrine and don’t neglect the gift." Verse 16, "...take heed unto the
doctrine." In other words, you got all these little short deals and then when he
gets into doctrine, he goes on for half a chapter, because that is the major
ministry of an elder or a pastor, is to keep the church from error.
Now if you back up into 1st Timothy, I’ll show you the same thing. 1st Timothy,
chapter 1, in verse 18, he says, "This charge or this body of truth I commit
unto you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which pointed to thee, that
thou by them mightiest war a good warfare. In other words, your a soldier
Timothy, by virtue of the declaration of the elders who affirmed your calling
and you are to, "Hold the faith with a good conscience and not be like those who
put away the faith and made a ship wreck like Hymenaeus and Alexander who I have
delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme." In other words, you
make sure you hold the faith, and you make sure you keep a pure life and don’t
fall by the wayside as those who have literally made shipwreck. And what it
means is these false teachers had a boat load of people and they wrecked them on
the shoals of false doctrine and the people are floundering in the water.
So that the primary responsibility of the servant of God is to keep sound doctrine before the people. And one of the things you have to do to do that, in Acts 20, is to warn people about false teachers and so I don’t hesitate to do that. Because I think these things are so insidious.
Look! Christians across this country are literally confused beyond hope. You
know, you are fortunate, you are in a church where there is a firm commitment to
sound teaching and its consistent and its systematic and you can depend on it
and you can learn from it. Most people sit in a church and they don’t even know
what sound doctrine is. There are a lot of places where I can go, and go in and
speak and give a message and it goes right on by people like I was talking
another language. Because they don’t even have ears to hear let alone
understanding. So its critical that we warn the people. It's amazing to me how
many people support these ministries thinking they are really supporting
something the Lord is in and its just chaotic.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and
Answers" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Our websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986