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 Anjela Paje of Spokane, WA, from the tape, GC 70-24, titled “Questions and Answers Part 52.”  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.  ©2003. All Rights Reserved.

Questioner

I live in a Christian men’s home, and for the last year I’ve been battling the fact that they claim to be Christian, but yet there’s the yeast that keeps infiltrating through channel 40 [local "Christian" TV station], and I’ve literally watched dozens of lives destroyed by it. They’ve gotten hyper-Charismatic. They do respect you. If you can address that situation.

John MacArthur's Answer

I’m sure you have a unique ministry to those guys that are there. I’ve said this through the years, and I don’t hesitate to say it, Channel 40 is very dangerous. The reason it’s so dangerous is because there’s enough truth on there to confuse people. The best thing that could ever happen to the whole TBN NETWORK, would be, if all the people who are faithful to the Word of God, would leave. And, then, it would be what it really is. But, it is confusing, because you hear good things; you hear true things from some of the people, and then, it goes all the way to the absolutely outrageous, unbiblical. And, they prey upon the desperate. They prey upon the same people the Lottery preys on. The people who are trying to cash in on the gravy train. The people who are trying to win the Lottery. The people who are trying to win the divine Lottery by sending money to these people, thinking that somehow, if they send them money, you know, their ship is going to come in. They’re going to cash in on it.

The solution to all of this is not just to say, “Get away from it.” You can say that because it’s dangerous. Any time you mix truth with error, you create a very difficult environment for the undiscerning to sort out. It’s like walking in a meadow full of mines. You know, sooner or later, you’re going to get blown up in that environment, even though on the surface, it looks pretty inviting.

But, the bottom line, again, coming back to this is, no one is going to be able to make those kinds of judgments unless they have some biblical foundation. And, so, the great need, is not so much to drive people away from the false, as to educate them about the true. It’s critical that they be taught the Word of God. I mean, that’s the bottom line, and when they know what the Word of God teaches, then they recognize the counterfeit. This is the biggest problem we have in the evangelical world. It’s been that way for 25 years. People ask me, “What’s the biggest problem?” Lack of discernment, lack of discernment, lack of discernment. The Evangelical church literally has spiritual “AIDS”. AIDS, you know, the HIV virus, it’s a deficiency in the immune system. And, an AIDS person who has that, can die from a myriad of diseases. They don’t all die from the same disease. Different diseases attack them and their immune system can’t fight them off. When you have a deficient immune system, you can get killed by all kinds of things. And, you look at the church today and because it can’t discern, it can’t defend itself, it has a deficient immune system: it dies of a thousand errors.

So, the cry today is to try to take these people, and many of them are babes tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, and teach them the Word of God. So, I would think, the best thing you could do in that environment, you can warn them about that situation; you can use those things, if you’re looking at it with them and explain off of those things that they see and hear, the truth of the Word of God. But, get them in a systematic study of the Word of God and build a doctrinal foundations, so they can discern for themselves.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's “MacArthur's Questions and Answers” by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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