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From Stand Up for the Truth
Suffering for Truth: When churches force members to leave
Have you ever gone to church leadership because of some alarming things being taught in your church?
As the Great Falling Away continues in our beloved church communities, it seems that even those who once were thought “solid” are not immune to the yeast of false teachings and rogue leadership bent on silencing concerns. It may have happened to you.
A friend of mine allowed me to re-publish her testimony on our site, and it’s one that might stir a lot of emotions for many of you. What happened to her and her family is very sad, but what her family is doing now serves as a tale and a trend you are going to be hearing a lot more about in the year ahead.
Suffering for the Truth By Jenna Guerette (Originally published at Truth or Trend)
Ever since I was a child, I always found it important to stand up for the truth. I’m talking about the truth that is only found in Scripture. My childhood church turned emergent during the 1990’s. I noted that something was wrong right away. My family had held on there for years because of our friendships that we had there. We knew that if we left we would lose them. (Sounds like great friends eh?) I was only taught Arminian doctrine.
Eventually, there was a complete exodus of most of the members of this church. The next church my family attended went emergent and word of faith. I didn’t know these terms back then. I just knew something was wrong. During my time at this church, I got married and had my daughter. My parents and siblings continued to attend along with us. One Sunday the pastor of the church announced that any who disagreed with the direction of the church could find their way to the nearest exit. He said that he was leading the congregation south and we were welcome to head north. Not surprisingly, we left that church.
My husband and I were left extremely discouraged. We decided to try a church that a family friend had recommended. Once we attended there, it was like a breath of fresh air. The pastor preached from God’s Word. He spoke out against Rick Warren, The Secret, Oprah, and The Shack. He taught us about the errors of the Emergent Church , mysticism, and contemplative prayer. For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged to a church family. My husband, my parents, and I got involved in the church. Our pastor introduced us to “The Way of the Master.” My husband began an evangelism ministry that was fully supported by our church. He and a number of other men went to the “Ambassador’s Academy.” Every Friday night they would go out and share the gospel. This ministry was thriving. We had friends, ministries we loved, and the truth from the pulpit. Life was great!
After being at the church for a number of years, things began to change. Our pastor became cold and distant. He took a six month sabbatical and wrote a book. His wife (who called me frequently) became inaccessible. The church had an elders’ board. This was a unelected board. The men on the board simply appointed new elders. The head elder was always one of two men. No others on the board would ever have this position. Our pastor became known as a “teaching elder.”
Strange things began happening. The evangelism ministry was called into question. The elders wanted the open-air preaching to stop. Apparently, there were some complaints from our community about this ministry. The men in the ministry were adhering to all the laws and bylaws for our community. This was just persecution. An executive decision was made by the elders to dissolve the evangelism ministry. The people in the ministry could still go out and witness but they could not use the church’s name when witnessing. They were to be completely separate from the church.
Around this time, a group named “Life Action Ministries” came to our church. Prior to them coming, they sent a promoter. It was kind of like what the circus would do in the old days. Believe me, this was no less of a circus. One of the men that came, spoke in detail about an adulterous affair he had had while on a business trip. He credited “Life Action Ministries” with reviving him. The whole thing was carefully scripted to elicit emotion from the congregation. I knew that something was wrong with this ministry.
When their team visited our church eight weeks later, I was astounded. They used every method of Charles Finney to manipulate the congregation. They also endorsed Keswick Theology. They believed that each Christian had to reach a crisis moment in their life. At this point of crisis, they could achieve a second blessing or filling of the Holy Spirit. The main speaker admitted that he had these revivals down to a “science.” He took many verses out of context in order to achieve his goals. Microphones were set up at the front of the church so that people could go and confess their sins openly to the congregation. People were told to write down their idols on Styrofoam cups. They were then to come to the front of the church and crush these cups with their feet.
A cursory look at the website of “Life Action Ministries” revealed that they had no problem with mysticism. They had numerous books for sale. Including those by Henry Blackaby, Priscilla Shirer, Jim Cymbala, Gary Thomas, and Mark Batterson. They also quoted Catholic mystics such as Henri Nouwen and Brother Lawrence. Here is a link to their beliefs – http://www.lifeactionministries.ca/about/. Through two visits to my church they raked in about $62,000. This ministry has long tentacles. They are involved in the SBC, Moody, and The True Woman Movement.
This ministry received a cult-like following at my church.
This ministry received a cult-like following at my church.
The women in my church decided to attend a True Woman Conference in 2012. As I looked at the list of speakers, I became alarmed. Priscilla Shirer was one of the speakers. I’ve already outlined the problems with this woman in a previous blog post. I contacted the True Woman organization regarding my concerns with this speaker. I was told that this conference wasn’t for a woman like me. I also brought my concerns to my pastor ( teaching elder) and the head elder. They weren’t going to stop the women from attending but they would go over what mysticism was with them. They appeared annoyed that I’d brought this to their attention.
Unfortunately, I soon learned that the women in my church were reading “Jesus Calling” and “1000 Gifts.” I discovered that the church library had books by Henry Blackaby and Richard Foster. I became alarmed. I brought my concerns to my pastor. I was told that he and the elders couldn’t police the church. They had too many strings on their violin to deal with it. If I kept bringing disunity to the church then I would find myself in a home church. I also tried to ask questions about Tim Keller and John Piper. Both of these men do not believe in a literal six day creation. They were constantly being quoted by our assistant pastor. I wanted some clarification about what to do with this errant belief. My pastor – teaching elder- told me to have grace for this error. He also hoped that I would have grace if he ever “fell.” My husband, family, and I were puzzled by these words. My Mom and I had used Facebook to try to warn the women of the church about Priscilla Shirer and to bring attention to these mystical books. We soon found out that this was unappreciated.
On St. Patrick’s Day 2013 my family was kicked out of our church. My husband and I were not present that day. My husband had to work and I was home with our son who was sick. My husband had been trying for 8 months to be able to meet with the elders board regarding the evangelism ministry. They were still against open air preaching and my husband wanted them to show him from Scripture where it was wrong. Instead the elders used a back door approach to get rid of us. They decided to kick my parents out. Three elders surrounded my parents. My daughter and brother were present. They did this in a back pew at the end of a service so that everyone could see it. They told my parents that they were no longer welcome to worship with them.
One elder expressed that his wife would miss my children. The elders didn’t like us warning the flock on Facebook. Facebook wasn’t to be used as an outreach or for evangelism. They were also appalled that my Mom had shared a sermon by John MacArthur about the seven year tribulation. Our pastor – teaching elder- had his own, very original thoughts regarding the end times. We were to accept these and no other teachings. Also, the head elder expressed three times that he had no problem with lectio divina, contemplative prayer, and mysticism. He also expressed that the church was going with “Life Action Ministries.” He acted aggressively towards my parents. He yelled at them saying, “Do you think you’re smarter than me?” Our pastor – teaching elder- was out in the hallway. He was waiting for their report. Finally, the horrible interview ended. These elders had the audacity to end it in a prayer about unity. They mumbled something about an official meeting where my parents could plead their case. Unfortunately, they neglected to give the time and place. As of this writing, my parents have heard nothing from any elder or leader from our former church.
We were absolutely stunned. I walked around like I was in a fog. My husband was working 14 hr. days, 7 days a week. I received 2 calls from the youth pastor of the church. Each one, I let go to the answering machine. I was in shock. I sat down to write a letter. I put nine hours into it. Everything I said was backed up with proof. My husband and I sent it to our elders and a few selected friends. The only letter we received back from the elders was one full of personal attacks. What we said was true but our tone was critical. We were also told that we were responsible for the loss of numerous friendships for our children. I was stunned.
The next Sunday, a congregational meeting was held. They stated that my family hadn’t been kicked out. Bits of my letter were read out of context. A man who had eaten numerous dinners in our home, slandered my Mom and myself in front of the church. A trusted friend told me what happened at this meeting. All in all, the meeting was a complete snow job. It was my family’s word against the elders. The elders were anointed by God. How could they be wrong?
The next Sunday, a congregational meeting was held. They stated that my family hadn’t been kicked out. Bits of my letter were read out of context. A man who had eaten numerous dinners in our home, slandered my Mom and myself in front of the church. A trusted friend told me what happened at this meeting. All in all, the meeting was a complete snow job. It was my family’s word against the elders. The elders were anointed by God. How could they be wrong?
Since this horrible event, we have tried another church in our community. At this church, we were frozen out. Apparently, they had heard our story from the elders at our former church. They made sure to make us feel unwelcome. We also experienced errant teaching while we were there. Finally, we couldn’t handle their unkindness towards us any longer. So we decided to start a home church.
Another couple who had also been kicked out of our former church began joining us. They were dismissed for Facebook infractions as well. Each Sunday we meet in our home to sing and listen to a sermon podcast. We also share in communion. It has been a time of growth. We have learned so much about doctrine. We’d never been taught doctrine at all. We were always told that it was divisive. Finally, we understand doctrine.
I’m hoping that through sharing this that I can get over the trauma. Perhaps some of you have experienced this type of abuse. That is all I can call it – abuse.
Romans 8:18 ” For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
*update*
It was brought to my attention that he does endorse Joyce Meyer though which is problematic.
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What a wonderful thing it is when a known leader retracts endorsements of false religious teachers. Lighthouse Trails reports that this has happened with Ravi Zacharias. It is important to also report the good news along with the distressing. Here is the article.
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It is not often that Lighthouse Trails can report on a major Christian leader actually renouncing earlier endorsements of the contemplative mystics. Rick Warren, Beth Moore, Chuck Swindoll, David Jeremiah, and many others have written books that have promoted contemplative teachers, and Lighthouse Trails has documented many of these situations. And in every case, even though each of these leaders learned about our challenge, none of them has ever come forth and admitted they were wrong. But in a 2012 online interview by an independent blog, Ravi Zacharias was asked the following question:
If in your book, you wrote how Eastern mysticism is completely erroneous, why did you state in one of your speaking engagements that Henri Nouwen was one of the greatest saints who lived in our time, when Nouwen is known to have been influenced by Thomas Merton and others who practice Eastern mysticism?
Zacharias answered the question thus:
I regret having said that. At the time, I based my comment on Nouwen’s story of the prodigal son which I felt was on target. But later as I learned more about Nouwen and Merton, I found their writings to be very troubling. I believe that doctrinally, Nouwen lost his way. I used to read Malcolm Muggeridge too until I read his book, “Jesus Rediscovered”. Muggeridge was morally and culturally a good thinker, but he was not theologically sound.
A little background from our perspective: In 2007, Lighthouse Trails wrote “Ravi Zacharias Ministries Points to Nouwen, Merton, and Foster.” Our article stated:
Go to Lighthouse Trails to finish HERE
Going against God “just for fun”
By Marsha West
Today we’re hearing a lot about Spiritism or Spiritualism, not to be confused with spiritual or spirituality, as in “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” or “I’m into spirituality.” The term Spiritism has replaced what was once called animism and other religious practices involving the invocation of spiritual beings.
Some religions meld Spiritualism with Christianity. For example, a blend of Christian and African folk beliefs that originated in Brazil is now practiced in the U.S. Spiritualism is much the same as Spiritism only it has adopted Christian rites and prayers. People visiting Spiritualistic services can be misled into thinking they’re Christian churches. The problem is Christianity cannot be melded with any other religion or practice.
One of the major tenets of Spiritism is reincarnation. The classic form of reincarnation originated in India in the 9th century BC. Reincarnation has become a hot topic in our post-modern culture.
There are a whole host of beliefs about reincarnation. The most widely touted belief is that upon death one’s spirit exits the body in search of another body to inhabit. Believing in reincarnation gives hope for continuing one’s existence in further lives to work off one’s karma. Karma is broadly defined as the consequences of one’s actions.
Ask professing Christians as they flow through the doors of a Sunday worship service if they believe in reincarnation, some will give you a cavalier “Yes,” as if it’s no big deal for believers to mix Christianity with mystical beliefs. However,
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HAUNTED SOULS
From Meditation into Hallucinations
By Pastor Larry DeBruyn
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.”
(Emphasis Added, 1 Peter 5:8, NASB)
Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.”
(Emphasis Added, 1 Peter 5:8, NASB)
As borrowed from the eastern mystical religions, meditative or contemplative spirituality-the operation of which involves engaging in ascetic practices and retreating into solitude (getting alone with God) and silence (remaining quiet before God)-has emerged among evangelical Christians as a popular way to experience God’s love and receive revelations from Him, for intimacy breeds communication.[1]Interestingly, this discovery among evangelicals about how to find “spirituality” now parallels the “mindfulness” revolution taking place in secular society.
By shucking their ever-present cell phones, tabloids, I-pods and other distractions, increasing numbers of people from all walks of life-athletes, educators, corporate execs and workers, politicians, government workers and members of the military-attempt to “de-stress” their lives by attending “mindfulness” retreats where under the direction of spiritual tutors, they learn to meditate with the hope that will discover “a new consciousness” to help them cope with life.[2] To promote “mindfully” working, playing, parenting, test taking, and even going to war, the practice of meditation is rising in America. Based on the increase of its popularity over the last decade, it’s estimated that in the near future more than 27 million American adults will engage in meditation.[3] To cope, they contemplate.
But amidst the rising popularity of this mindfulness revolution, a dark secret lurks in the background. One advocate of “Christian” contemplation, the Quaker Richard Foster, recommends meditation as a means for developing a deeper spirituality. But as to its practice, he also issues a disclaimer (Mark this quotation.):
I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we are entering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as supernatural guidance that is not divine guidance . . . there are various orders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation with God and his way![4]
Though a significant majority of non-Christian meditators report benefits derived from the activity, some indicate that the exercise does not invariably promote psychological wellness.[5]
So it would be well for any would-be meditators, Christian or otherwise, to consider what could happen to their minds if they engage the practice. Meditation can go mad. Examples where this has happened, both modern and ancient, are known. We begin with reports from a rehab center which focuses on helping people restore the soundness of mind they possessed before they began to meditate.
Madame Guyon: Catholic, Mystic, Apostate
Fundamental Baptist Information Service
P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061,
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
David Cloud
First Published March 21, 2001 & Updated June 9, 2004
Used By Permission
The writings of Madame Guyon (1648-1717) are very popular today in evangelical, charismatic, and ecumenical circles. Guyon was a Roman Catholic who had visions and other mystical experiences and wrote about them in her published works.
Guyon wanted to enter a convent when she was a girl but her parents would not allow it and arranged her marriage to a 37-year-old man when she was only 15. It was an unhappy marriage and she turned increasingly to her mystical experiences and a search for “union with God.”
After he husband died in 1676, she gave herself wholly to her mystical pursuits. She joined a group of ascetic Quietist Catholics led by a Barnabite monk named Francios La Combe. She toured parts of France, Switzerland, and Italy for five years with La Combe, from 1681-86. La Combe taught that meditation of God requires a passive (quiet) state of contemplation that goes beyond the level of the conscious thinking process.
Guyon claimed that she went through a series of spiritual states through her mystical experiences. The first, which she called “union of the powers,” lasted eight years. During this time, she felt drawn to God alone and drawn away from people. The second state, which she called “mystical death,” lasted seven years, during which she had a feeling of detachment from God and was plagued with deep mental depression and thoughts of hell and judgment. She frequently had dark, weird dreams, which she considered a form of revelation. In the third state, which she called “the apostolic state,” she claimed that she was absorbed into and united with God. During this time, she preached, but she did not preach the gospel; she preached mystical experiences.
As she fasted to the extreme and often went without sleep, her mystical experiences increased. She experienced what she thought was union with the essence of God. She had mental delusions or demonic visitations such as envisioning “horrible faces in blueish light.” She went into trances, which would leave her unable to speak for days. During some trances, she wrote things that she believed were inspired (Guyon, An Autobiography, p. 321-324). She claimed that she and La Combe could communicate with one another for hours without speaking verbally. She believed she could speak in the language of angels.
In 1688, Madame Guyon was arrested on heresy charges and imprisoned in a convent for several months. In December 1695, she was again imprisoned, this time for seven years. Released in March 1703, she spent the final 15 years of her life on the estate of her son-in-law.
Her work on prayer, “A Short and Very Easy Method of Prayer,” was first published in 1685.
THE POPULARITY OF GUYON’S WRITINGS
After her death, Madame Guyon’s works were published by a Dutch Protestant pastor named Poiret. In the 1700s, her books were popular among some Lutherans, Methodists, and Moravians.
For many decades, Moody Press has published an edition of Madam Guyon’s Autobiography. It contains no disclaimer of Guyon’s spiritual and doctrinal errors. In fact, the introduction states, “We offer no word of apology for publishing the autobiography of Madame Guyon, those expressions of devotion to her church, that found vent in her writings.”
At its online web site, Campus Crusade compares Madame Guyon’s Autobiography with John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress and recommends it without reservation.
On visits to evangelical colleges and seminaries, I have noticed that Madame Guyon’s works are featured prominently in the bookstores and are used in courses on spirituality.
Madame Guyon was included in the book Women Used of God by Ed Reese. The Joyful Woman magazine ran a half-page ad for the book in the September-October 1994 issue. The book contains brief biographies of 50 “Women Leaders of the Christian Cause” and is described as “Ideal for young people (especially girls) looking for role models.” In addition to Guyon, these “role models” include radical Pentecostal female preachers Kathryn Kuhlman and Aimee Semple McPherson.
THE ERRORS OF MADAME GUYON
There are some correct and helpful insights in Madame Guyon’s writings, but taken as a whole they are unscriptural and dangerous. Following are some of the errors:
1. SHE EMPHASIZED THE SURRENDER OF HERSELF TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WITHOUT RESERVATION.
Madam Guyon spoke of her goal as “perfect obedience to the will of the Lord, submission to the church” (Guyon, Autobiography). She was referring, of course, to the Catholic Church.
2. SHE FOCUSED ON HAVING AN EXPERIENCE OF GOD RATHER THAN KNOWING HIM BY FAITH THROUGH THE BIBLE.
This is the essence of mysticism. To the contrary, though, the Lord Jesus exalted faith over sight and experience (Jn. 20:29). Paul said “we walk by faith not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). And faith only comes from the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). It does not come from within or from experiences. Madame Guyon was not Bible centered in her Christian walk, and that is a grave and fatal error.
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Source Herescope
“Emmanuel” — God is with us!
By Pastor Larry DeBruyn
The mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations… has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.(Colossians 1:26-27, NASB)
Among evangelicals there’s a lot of chatter and publicity about seeking “the manifest presence of God.” For example, some musicians, singers and worship leaders boldly claim that their music can escort listeners “through the door of worship, right into the heart and presence of God.”[1] Christian worshippers are classified as “inner court, outer court, or holy of holies Christians, each one needing a certain period of time to come into the manifest presence of God.”[2] So it becomes incumbent upon the worship team to lead congregants into the divine dimension. In this regard, there are even congregations who name themselves Church of the Presence.
Other evangelicals talk about “practicing the presence,” perhaps by employing mood music, cultivating solitude and silence, or practicing other spiritual disciplines to experience it. Often spelled with an upper case “P,” masses of evangelical Christians are passionateabout experiencing Jesus’ Presence, that somehow in an exciting new way God will speak to them. In his newly published book, “Another Jesus” Calling: How False Christs Are Entering the Church Through Contemplative Prayer,[3] Warren Smith points out that, in her best-selling evangelical book Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson, 2004),[4] Sarah Young uses “The word ‘Presence’… more than 365 times….” He notes further that, “the term [presence] is also commonly used in New Age/New Spirituality.”[5]
In light of all the talk going on about contemplating or experiencing God’s presence, biblical Christians ought to know something of what Scripture teaches about God’s presence so that His Word can inform us whether the experiences of it ought to be embraced or shunned, whether they are authentic or synthetic, or worse, demonic.
The Bible and the Presence
The subject of the presence of God in heaven with people on earth is the storyline of the Bible from Genesis thru Revelation. The holy, transcendent and infinite God of the universe desires to become known by and to fellowship with finite and sinful people on earth. As recorded in Scripture, the first mention of His stated presence commences with Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible, when after they had sinned and heard God walking in the garden, they “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8), and consummates in the last book when a voice declares: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them” (Revelation 21:3). So in defining God’s presence, the Bible must be our guide.
God’s Presence—He’s Far and Near
In knowing about God’s presence, both His transcendence and immanence must be understood with both of the divine attributes being held in tension with each other. The tension, like a rubber band, can be stretched but it must not break. By God’s transcendence it is meant that He is distant, “that God is separate from and independent of nature and humanity.”[6] In other words, He is not present. By God’s immanence it is meant that He is near, that God is present and active “within nature, human nature, and history.”[7] In other words, He is present.
In his dedicatory prayer for the Temple, Solomon exclaimed, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Thee, how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27) In his prayer Solomon pleads with God from earth that He “would hear in heaven” (1 Kings 8:30, 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 45, 49). In heaven, God is transcendent. Yet, upon that prayer’s completion, the cloud of the glory of the Lord’s presence came to fill the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-3; Compare 1 Kings 8:11.). As the occasion of Solomon’s dedicatory prayer indicates, God’s farness and nearness were balanced. Yet some would break the band.
For example, exaggeration of God’s farness ends in deism, the view of God which distances Him so far from history that there arises the perception that He doesn’t care about what happens on earth, that He may not be good and loving. On earth, we’re left to go it alone. Amidst life’s trials, conflicts, pain and vicissitudes, we can expect no help from heaven. God is too far removed to care, let alone help. God is an outsider. He’s not a prayer away! A deistic God reminds me of the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley (1849-1902) which in part reads,
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.[8]
Yet in the opposite direction, exaggeration of the nearness of God ends in pantheism, the view of God which places Him so within the structure of time, matter and space that He becomes subject to those dimensions. While this God is everything, He controls nothing. Because He is part of the very process of nature (i.e., process theology and open theism), He is not sovereign. This thinking envisions God to be finite, like one of us. He’s as much a victim of life’s circumstances as we are. He is so infused into the world that He can no longer control it. As the lyrics of one song ask, “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us….”[9] Pantheism says, “He totally is!” God is an insider—inside everything, inside of us.
In the deistic worldview and for reason of His farness, God won’t help. In the pantheistic worldview and for reason of His nearness, God can’t help. Yet God’s disclosure of Himself in Holy Scripture describes that He is at the same time both near and far, both present and “un-present.” You may argue with the antinomy, but that is how the biblical writers describe God. As the holy creator of the universe, God is distantly transcendent. Yet the distant One has brought Himself near in the redemptive events of human history which climaxed in the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when thinking about God’s immanence, we are really acknowledging there’s a sense in which He is present.
The Biblical Meaning of Presence
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for “face” (pānîm) and in the New Testament the Greek words translated “before” (prosopon or enopion) define the meaning of being in God’s presence[10]; as for example, when Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence (pānîm) of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8), of Jesus Christ who now is “in the presence (prosopon) of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24; See Hebrews 10:19-22.), and of the angel who told Zacharias, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence (enopion) of God” (Luke 1:19). In the Bible, being in God’s presence implies personal interaction with Him. As the English word’s occurrence in the Bible indicates, the condition of being in God’s presence finds greater mention in the Old Testament than in the New, and that, as shall be explained later, for good reason. But to discover what it meant to experience God’s presence, whether as individuals or a group, we begin with the beginning. But in doing so, let it be stated that the study of God’s manifest presence is profound. So we begin with the profoundest sense of it.
God’s Omnipresence
Of course, any consideration of “the presence” of God must begin with understanding His omnipresence—the divine attribute that God is everywhere present and with His whole being at all times.”[11] As the Psalmist asked, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7) In our reality, there’s no where to run and no place to hide from God. So there’s a sense in which there’s no need to seek a presence that’s already here!
Yet the hallmark of rebellious (like Jonah, Jonah 1:3, 10) and wicked (like those described by Isaiah, Isaiah 29:15) people is their desire to flee and hide from God’s presence. They think that in this reality there’s a dark place where somehow God will be incognizant of them. But Scripture reminds us that’s what hell will be like. In addition to other discomforts, hell will be a sphere of existence, another dimension, in which unrepentant and unbelieving persons will “be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence [Greek, prosopon] of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (Emphasis added, 2 Thessalonians 1:9). Of hell, God will self-limit both His omnipresence and omnipotence. He will not be able to help people in hell because He will not be there. This will be the end for all who captained their own souls.
This statement by the Apostle Paul ends the discussion regarding the derisive question scorners of the Christian faith often ask: Do you think God is in hell? According to the apostle, He isn’t. God, by an act of His own will limits Himself from being there, and the restriction is just. The wicked did not want God’s presence in this life (they tried to hide from Him), so why should they want God’s presence in life to come? Thus God gives them over to what they want. Forever He removes His presence from them! So don’t look for God to be in hell. He won’t be there. He’s not in Hades (the jail) now and He won’t be in hell (the prison) then.
God’s Presence—in Particular
But there’s another sense to the word presence in Scripture; that there is a “particular and personal presence” of God. By stating this, I am not suggesting that God’s omnipresence is not personal. It is. For if His presence is not personal, then it’s impersonal which thereby inferences that His presence not only permeates space, but also matter and time. But Scripture does not teach that God omni-permeates everything. God is not in matter because He created it separate from Himself (See Genesis 1:1; Romans 1:19-23.). As Creator, He is Holy.[12]
God’s Presence—in Paradise
The storyline of God making His presence known in the world begins with the description of His creation of it and its inhabitants (Genesis 1:1ff.), and then of how God communed with Adam and Eve. They lived in God’s presence. But what they lived they lost. They disobeyed God and consequently, attempted to hide themselves from His presence of God, from their personal fellowship with Him. They experienced “alienation and conflict” first with God, and then with each other as they “covered” themselves and argued as to who was to blame for the lost bliss (Genesis 3:8-13). The point: sin hinders anyone from experiencing God’s presence (See Isaiah 6:1-6.). When we sin our natural instinct is to hide from God. So how can people who are alienated from God by their sin (that’s all of us) experience His presence, both in this life and life to come? (See 2 Thessalonians 1:9.). The whole Bible is the historical record of and commentary on God manifesting His presence to humanity, both as to the barrier of it and the way to overcome the barrier.
God’s Presence—Patriarchs and Kings
Can we experience God’s presence by means of mystic contemplation, our initiative, our spiritual disciplines, or the self-conditioning of our soul to commune with His? Or do we enter God’s presence via the Cross, God’s initiative, His grace, as the Holy Spirit links us to Him? For true believers, the answer is obvious. As illustrated by Adam and Eve, the “presence” of God becomes a game of “hide and seek.” We hide and God seeks! The whole of Scripture provides commentary to this point; that God initiates the experience of His presence (via the Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit), and either we respond to Him or we do not. After Adam and Eve, the storyline of God’s presence continues. He banished Cain from His presence (he went out from the presence of the Lord, Genesis 4:16). He was present with Enoch (Genesis 3:22, 24), with Noah (Genesis 6:9), with Abraham (Genesis 21:22), with Jacob (Genesis 28:15), with Joseph (Genesis 39:2) with Moses (Exodus 3:12), with Joshua (Joshua 1:5), with Gideon (Judges 6:12), with David (1 Samuel 18:14), with Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:7), and more. In all of these instances, God was present by providence. His presence was manifested, even mediated, but it was not meditated.
God’s Presence—Israel
“With” Israel
Having begun with Abraham and continued with patriarchs, kings and others, God made His presence known to Israel for reason of His choice of that nation (Deuteronomy 7:6). God was with Moses and at the Exodus His presence led Israel out of Egypt and during her wilderness journeys, with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). To make His presence further known, God instructed the nation through Moses to build a Tabernacle for the habitation of His glory, in the Holy of Holies, on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant beneath and between the covering Cherubim (Exodus 25:8-9; Numbers 7:89). During Israel’s wilderness journey, God also provided His people with daily food thereby manifesting His presence (Psalm 78:23-24). God led Israel to the Promised Land, to that particular geographical location on this planet known by the prophets as His land (“My Land,” Jeremiah 2:7).
In that place and to those people, God would further make Himself known. He chose Jerusalem as His city and Zion as His holy mount upon which His Temple was to be built (Deuteronomy 12:5; Zechariah 8:1-3).[13] That Temple, built by Solomon, the Lord filled with His presence (2 Chronicles 5:13b-14).). The Shekinah glory (Shekinah derives from the Hebrew word “dwell’—shakan—and thus refers to God’s dwelling presence.), signifying the divine presence, dwelt there 24/7. Yahweh dwelt amidst Israel in the Holy of Holies into which only Israel’s high priest was allowed to enter once a year to offer a goat’s blood for the sins of the nation before the cloud of His presence (Leviticus 16:1-34). (The cloud kept the dwelling glory on the ark from blinding the high priest.) The access into the Holy of Holies was extremely limited to remind the nation that though Yahweh was with them (immanence), He was separate from them (transcendence).
“From” Israel
But it came about that the people of Israel did not adore the holiness of the Lord and His presence. By their sinful behavior they profaned His name (Ezekiel 20:13-14). As Isaiah records, “For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deed are against the Lord, defying His glorious presence” (Emphasis added, Isaiah 3:8, ESV). So the Lord’s judgment upon the defiant people could take one of two courses. Either He could remove His presence from them, or remove them from His presence. He chose both. For seventy years He sent Judah back to Babylon, to the very idolatrous place from which He had extracted Abraham fifteen centuries before, and He withdrew His glorious presence from the Solomon’s Temple (Ezekiel 1:28; 10:4, 18; 11:23). Of the contrast between Ezekiel’s visions in chapters one and ten, Stuart comments that, “It links indisputably the departure of the glory from the temple… so that no reader can miss the point that as part of His judgment God Himself is actually now abandoning the place where He was once worshipped.”[14]
But having withdrawn His glory from Israel, the day would come when, in the person of His dear Son, He would offer it to the Jews again. But before we come to that offering of the divine presence, first offered in the person of Jesus Christ and then in the Holy Spirit, I am compelled to say something about “meditating-down” the presence God.
God’s Presence—the Silence
After removing His presence from the Temple (Ezekiel 1:28; 10:4, 18; 11:23) and with the death of Malachi (circa 5th Century BC), the Lord no longer personally spoke to Israel. So in that void (they couldn’t stand the silence), Jews like Saul, may have “inquired of the Lord, [but] the Lord did not answer [them] either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6, NASB).[15] In short, they no longer had any sense of the divine presence with them. From the time of Ezekiel and with the death of Malachi, that had been lost. So what would they do? They chose to compensate for the loss by attempting to conjure-up a divine presence, even as they had attempted to do while the Lord’s glory dwelt in the Temple (Isaiah 2:6).
One of the means they employed was mystical meditation, a primitive type of spirituality called Merkabah (circa 100 BCE—1000 CE), the progenitor of the later Jewish mysticism called Kabbalah (literal Hebrew meaning “receiving tradition”) which began to be streamed into Judaism during the 12th -13th centuries. Leaving aside the whole subject of Kabbalah, which has many adherents, both within and without Judaism, we need to note the rise of its predecessor, Merkabah (literally known as “chariot mysticism”).
Sometime during the Intertestamental Period, the four centuries of prophetic silence between Malachi’s death and John the Baptist’s birth, “Chariot Mysticism” (Merkabah) arose, perhaps owing its name to Ezekiel’s experience of the heavenly vision (Ezekiel 1:1-28) combined with the record of Elijah being taken to heaven by chariots (2 Kings 2:11-12). So if Jews wanted to experience the divine presence, they like Ezekiel could meditate themselves into a visionary state and like Elijah get a “chariot ride” to heaven. The point: Merkabah arose at a dark time in the history of the Jews when the nation lived only in the shadows of the glorious presence which had been removed from the national life of that people. Israel hungered after some sense of the divine presence because in judgment God had withdrawn it from them. So with that absence, Judea became a wasteland of spiritual seekers after a word from God. Occult activity—paranormal, psychological and mystical—thrives when the Word of God is ignored or lost and as a consequence, the sense of God’s presence dies. But God who is ever faithful would return the light of His presence to the Jews. Enter Messiah, Christ Jesus the Lord! As Isaiah prophesied, “The people that walked in darkness [would see] a great light” (Isaiah 9:26; Compare Matthew 4:11).
God’s Presence—Among Us
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [Greek, skenoo, i.e., “tabernacled”] among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”
(John 1:14, KJV)
(John 1:14, KJV)
Of this verse, Carson comments:
[T]he Word pitched his tabernacle, or lived in his tent, amongst us… the tabernacle where God met with Israel before the temple was built… God has chosen to dwell amongst his people in yet a more personal way, in the Word-become-flesh.[16]
Need anything more be said about the meaning of Christmas—“Emmanuel,” God with us? (Isaiah 7:14) In the person of the Lord Jesus, the greatest present of Christmas is His presence. As Charles Wesley wrote a Christmas hymn: “Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.”[17]
But the Jews rejected that divine presence too. John tersely records that, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11). But before the rejection of His crucifixion, The-Word-Made-Flesh (Philippians 2:6-9) prayed for and made a promise to His disciples.
God’s Presence—Jesus’ Prayers
At this juncture of the biblical history of God’s presence, we are introduced to the subject of the Lord’s permanent presence in and with Christian believers, to the spiritual union they have with Him and the Father through the Spirit. This relationship is one that believers not only share in Christ but also with each other in His body, the church. Individual believers are one in Jesus and His Father. This condition of being “unionized” with the Lord is one of the profoundest spiritual conditions we could ever contemplate (in a good way) during this life, yet it mainly goes unnoticed by many if not most of the Lord’s people. And furthermore, it’s a union which is appropriated by faith. (Confession: To my shame, my union in Christ by grace through faith was unknown to me during the formative years of my Christian life. I do not remember hearing about it, but if I did, I was, because of my own carnality, insensitive to the teaching of it.) But Jesus both prayed for and predicted our spiritual union with Him through the Holy Spirit. The divine presence of being in union with Yahweh was unknown to believers living under the Old Covenant, but it should be known to us. We can observe it when listening in on Jesus’ prayers:
“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you”
(Emphasis added, John 14:16-17).
“Neither pray I for these alone [His followers then], but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word [His followers now—that’s us]; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us…. And the glory [His participation in our lives] which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me….”
(Emphasis added, John 17:20-23)
(Emphasis added, John 17:20-23)
God’s Presence—Jesus’ Promise
Jesus promised that He would not leave His disciples to be orphans in the world after He departed. He would not abandon them. He promised to send to them another Comforter to be as equally present with them as He had been; the marvelous difference being that while Jesus had been present with the disciples, the Spirit of Christ would be present in them! The time of the Spirit’s indwelling presence however, would not come before Jesus’ glorification—that is, until after His resurrection and ascension into heaven. Then Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter or Paraclete, to be His proxy presence. Through the Holy Spirit who proceeded from Him and the Father (John 15:26, “whom I will send unto you from the Father”),[18] the Lord Jesus Christ would abundantly infuse His presence into the lives of those who by faith belonged to Him, both individually and collectively. As Jesus stated and John interpreted:
“In the last day, that great day of the feast [The Feast of Tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39).
That coming of His presence Jesus did not compare to a well, a creek or a stream, but to “rivers of living water” (plural), the supply of which might be compared to the Mississippi River and all its tributaries. But unlike the Mississippi, His divine presence would not be polluted, but pure—it would be living water.
Questions: Why are Christians seeking a divine presence that Jesus promised would abundantly flow in them? What is it that some Christians are seeking after that the Spirit of Christ does not already supply? Why do they need another voice, another visitation, or another vision? Why are some people unthankfully desirous of “something more” than what in God has already given to us? Why is it that some Christians, in the depth of their souls, are not seemingly at rest? (See Hebrews 4:9-10.)
God’s Presence—Pentecost
To return to God’s abundant supply, Acts records that in fulfillment of John the Baptist’s prediction (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) and Jesus’ promise (Acts 1:5), the Holy Spirit descended upon the Pentecost crowd to dwell with them and in them. Even though a mixed mob of people, Jew and Gentile, had rejected and crucified the Lord of Glory, in His goodness the Lord offered to them His presence again as He came to dwell not just with them, but in them, both individually (as saints) and corporately (as the church). As such, the divine presence with people would no longer be associated, as during the Old Testament Era, with a place (i.e., a land, a city, a mount, and a building), but in a collective group of people, the Church, which would be spread over the whole planet (John 4:21-24; Acts 2:1-4; 11:16; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). And this indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ will never be withdrawn from those who approach God by repenting of their sin(s), placing their faith in Jesus’ atonement for their sin(s) and believing his resurrection from the dead (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10).
The point: Under God’s Old Covenant administration over Israel (originally, it was a theocracy, but by popular demand with Saul, became a monarchy), His personal presence was provisionally with Israel, but with the establishment and commencement of Jesus’ New Covenant (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23), His presence is permanently in believers who constitute His Body, the Church.
This constitutional presence however, does not include the institutional church which supposes that via the administration of sacraments, invocations, baptisms, altar calls, music, smells and bells and other rites and ceremonies, the divine presence can manipulated down from heaven to infuse the church and its congregants. The common elements of the Eucharistic bread and cup do not become a divinized presence of Christ (transubstantiation). In an alchemical way, the materiality of the bread and cup do not morph to become divine, which divinity is then distributed to the Eucharistic participants. Neither in an exceptional way does Christ’s presence hang around the communion elements (consubstantiation). The Lord’s Supper memorializes and remembers Christ’s death for our sins, and that is all, though observance of the rite is serious for the spiritual life of any congregation. Believers, not the Eucharistic bread and cup, are the “hosts” of Christ’s presence. That is how the New Testament states it to be. The Spirit of Christ lives in people. Above all else, Christians are the people of Christ’s presence.
This presence is real and abiding. Christ dwells in believers. This is “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). In Christ, the Holy Spirit, who “is the earnest [down payment] of our inheritance,” has “sealed” [stamped] us “until the redemption of the purchased possession [our persons]” (Ephesians 1:13-14). Our eternal destiny involves His presence until the completion of our redemption. As Jesus told His disciples, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Although Jesus would no longer be physically present with His faithful followers, the Spirit, whom He would send to take His place, would, and by faith we have that presence NOW! The Spirit of Christ is both with us and in us! (Romans 8:9b) Hebrews tells the people of the promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
Question: Of this pledged-permanent presence, I would ask, “How can we meditate or contemplate ourselves into it?” The answer is, “We can’t!” By faith God gives it (Galatians 3:2). For this reason, I never pray for the Lord to be “with” me. He already is!
God’s Presence—the Parousia
But even as personal as His spiritual presence is to us now, Jesus’ physical presence will be manifested in the future. This presence will be revealed not only at the time of His Second Coming, but before that, to believers when they are translated to be with Him.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord”
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
and so shall we ever be with the Lord”
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
The “coming” of the Lord Jesus is to be understood as “His presence” again. In the New Testament three nouns describe Jesus’ return—“coming (parousia)… appearing (epiphaneia)… and revelation (apokalupsis).”[19] The first word, parousia, means “presence… Jesus’ personal presence on earth again.” Jesus’ coming again to this earth, as with His birth, will be in glory (Compare Luke 2:9; Matthew 24:29-30.). We’ll call it His shining, the Shekinah of His Second Coming, the visage of which, except for instances at His birth (Luke 2:9) and transfiguration (Matthew17:2), was veiled from the sight of those who saw Jesus in His humility. Oh, and by the way, when He comes in His Shekinah, believers shall shine with Him! (See Colossians 3:4.)
Two witnesses in white told the disciples at the time of His ascension, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Just as Emmanuel was present at the first Christmas, so shall Emmanuel be present when He comes again, a demonstrable and invasive presence which, in history at the end of this age, no man will be able to deny, control or manipulate. Maranatha! O Lord, come! (1 Corinthians 16:22) The time of His coming physical presence has been set by the Father (Acts 1:7), and we believers shall not experience it (though now we live, move about and have our being in His spiritual presence) until body, soul and spirit we are “caught up” to Him (i.e., translated or raptured, 1 Thessalonians 4:17), or die, temporarily leaving our bodies until we are reunited with a resurrected version of them (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
God’s Presence—at the Believer’s Death
“We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord”
(Emphasis added, 2 Corinthians 5:8).
and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord”
(Emphasis added, 2 Corinthians 5:8).
For believers, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:23). As is noticeable in the text just cited, the equating verbs are italicized (meaning they’re not in the Greek text, but rather supplied) and present tense. Paul’s picture of our life and death (absent the verb is) is that the life of Christ and the lives of believers are so coalesced together so as to be almost synonymous. I say almost, because Christ remains Christ even as we remain human.[20] Nevertheless, the Christian has no identity crisis. We are in Christ, and He is in us. The resurrection life all true believers possess from the point of regeneration (John 3:7) to glorification resides in continuum in this life, through death and into eternity (Romans 8). So in facing our end, we must realize that because life is Christ, death just means more of Him, more of His presence. As John Gamble (1711-1771) poetically stated:
And when I’m to die,
“Receive me,” I’ll cry,
For Jesus hath loved me,
I cannot say why.
But this I do find,
We two are so joined,
He’ll not live in glory and leave me behind.[21]
Applications: Christ’s Presence
By way of review and summary, allow these applications regarding the presence of Christ to be made.
His Promised Presence
We can bank on Jesus’ presence. He guaranteed its continuation to His disciples throughout this evil age until He physically returns to this earth again. After His resurrection He told His disciples, “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). He would extend His presence with His followers until “the end of the age” (NASB). Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus set the sequence of two ages. First, the present evil age began with the fall of man in Eden and will end when Messiah reigns on earth, which is the age to come (See Matthew 12:32.). In other words, Jesus promised His disciples His spiritual presence for the duration the present time period before the “age to come” commences. As his disciple-apostles knew and wrote about, The Parousia, when He physically comes to earth again, will mark the end of this age, and parousia is a Greek word which means “presence” (Matthew 24:3b). At that time people will no more need to seek His physical then than they have to seek His spiritual presence now because Jesus Christ dwells in/with every believer.
The only persons He is not spiritually in/with during his present evil age are unbelievers. As Paul wrote the Romans, “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:9b). According to His promise, His presence is present in/with them already, that is, if they’re believers. So why are some Christians so intent on seeking a divine presence that’s already present?
His Proactive Presence
Jesus’ presence arrives to and arises in our hearts for reason of God’s pro-action for us and in us, by His grace. His presence is by His choice and according to His conditions. Before the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son to reside in us, there is not, as new spiritualists commonly believe, a dormant Christ or Buddha spirit that perennially resides in everybody, merely awaiting an awakening unto divinization. For example, Eckhart Tolle, a bestselling author whose writings Oprah Winfrey highly recommends, teaches that all humanity is indwelt by an immanent Christ-spirit. He has stated: “Jesus speaks of the innermost I am, the essence identity of every man and woman…. Some Christian mystics have called it the Christ within.”[22] The Christian union with Christ is not like that. It’s neither universal nor perennial.
As the High Priest could only enter the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies once a year through the blood of the sacrificed goat (Leviticus 16:1ff.), so the Spirit of Christ comes to be present in individuals who trust that the blood of God’s sacrificed Lamb Jesus will make them fit for divine habitation (1 John 2:2). Only through the blood of Jesus Christ do persons become fit hosts for His presence. The error of the new spirituality is that it assumes that God’s presence can be ginned-up via the exercise of human passion. But Scougal reminds that this union with the Lord “is not a sudden start or passion of the mind, even if it should rise to the height of a rapture and seem to transport a man to extraordinary performances.”[23]
Rather, Jesus’ presence in us depends upon our acceptance of His propitiation for us—that He died for our sins to make us fit vessels to be in (Romans 6:3-11). Christ graces sinners with His presence when by faith they receive the cleansing that can only come through His blood and new birth from above (John 3:3, 7). The divine presence descends to us (John 3:13). Unlike mystic spirituality, we do not ascend to it. Jesus illustrated that the presence of the Spirit may be compared to a wind which blows upon the human soul (John 3:8), and we can no more control the presence of the Spirit than we can control the wind or the weather. As such, union with Christ cannot be activated or initiated by mystic disciplines or rituals, but only cultivated. Union with Christ is reactive and interactive. God initiates, we respond. As to this important distinction, A.J. Gordon (1836-1895) wrote that,
The method of grace is precisely the reverse of the method of legalism. The latter is holiness in order to union with God; the former, union with God in order to holiness.[24]
We do not get at this union via the legalism of our own works or by engaging in rituals called “spiritual disciplines.” This union with Christ comes to all believers for reason of Holy Spirit baptism whereby they are “union-ed” with Christ and with one another (1 Corinthians 12:13). In the aftermath of the Spirit’s baptism, communion with the indwelling Spirit of Christ can be facilitated via our Bible reading (the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit do testify concerning Christ, John 5:39; 15:26), meditation on Scripture, prayer, witnessing, singing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” in our hearts and to each other, being thankful, submitting to one another, corporate worship, observing the Lord’s Table, and so forth (Acts 13:48-52; Ephesians 5:18-21).
His Personal Presence
Employed hundreds of times by the Apostle Paul in his epistles, no phrase bespeaks the infusion of divine life into a human soul more than the little phrase “in Christ.” “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17a). The uniting of our soul to Christ is personal and intimate. The little prepositional phrase communicates both our union and communion in Christ. To again cite Henry Scougal (1650-1678):
True religion is a union of the soul with God, a real participation in the divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul. In the apostle’s words, it is ‘Christ formed in you’.[25]
His Protective Presence
Christ protects us. When musing, in a good way meditating, on that little prepositional phrase “in Christ,” our tendency might be to compare our standing/state to a circle inside of which we are in/with Him. As such, the circle, much as “the city limits” might define those who are citizens a certain municipality, defines those who are in Christ’s presence. But A.T. Pierson (1837-1911) suggested “in Christ” might better picture a sphere than a circle; that the believer’s protection in God is impenetrably around, above and below. Literally, through death and until the resurrection of the body, the believer’s being is cocooned in Christ. Pierson explained:
A circle surrounds us, but only on one plane; but a sphere encompasses, envelopes us, surrounding us in every direction and on every plane…. Moreover, the sphere that surrounds you also separates you from whatever is outside of it. Again, in proportion as such a sphere is strong it also protects whatever is within it from all that is without—from all external foes or perils.[26]
His Permanent Presence
Once we’re sealed into this union, it’s effective for the rest of this life, through death, with the resurrection of the body, by our appearing with Him in the glory of His second coming, and into eternity. We are “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13b-14, NASB). “For [we] have died and [our] life is hidden with Christ in God [and] When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then [we] also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4). We are identified with Christ (“baptized into Christ”) in His death (Romans 6:3b, 5a), His burial (Romans 6:4a), His resurrection (Romans 6:4b, 5b), His ascension (Ephesians 2:6b) and coming glorification before this world (1 John 3:2). As Holloman writes, “The identification of believers with Christ and Christ with believers though the Holy Spirit in a dynamic, permanent spiritual relationship.”[27] These poetic words, written by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889), portray what it means to be in God’s presence for reason of our being “in Christ.”
A Mind at Perfect Peace
So near, so very near to God,
I cannot nearer be;
For in the person of His Son,
I am as near as He.
Conclusion
We began this writing by citing evangelical Christians who are in the mood of trying to experience the divine presence. Seemingly, they want to “feel” their way into it. Yet, the Bible teaches that the experience of God’s presence in our lives depends upon His initiating His work both for us and in us. We can no more experience God’s presence that we can resurrect ourselves from the dead or seat ourselves with Him in heaven (Ephesians 2:1-10). This wonderful union can only be appropriated by objective faith, not by subjective feelings.
Yet pervasive throughout our erotic and pantheistic culture—and even creeping into the evangelical church—there resides the existential notion that, as Oprah Winfrey put it, “God is a feeling-experience, not a believing-experience!”[28] This idea of “God-as-feeling” results from believing that God exists more immanently below than transcendently above. As such, belief in divine immanence eclipses belief in His divine transcendence, or as Francis Schaeffer put it, “nature eats up grace.” That being the case, then the only request that can made of a god like this—we might call him his immanence—is not “Help me!” but “Thrill me!”[29] God is no longer sovereign, but sensational as the spiritual life comes to rely upon human passions rather than divine providence. Is “the faith” (Jude 3) now being thrown into an existential dump by many Christians? I think that, if the culture and church give any indication (Wag the dog!), this is the case.
Think of how often in association with experiencing God’s presence or purpose the attendant buzz words “passion” or “passionate” are uttered. It’s as if the realization of His presence and purpose depends upon passions we arouse in and among ourselves. If so, then maybe Pentecost was just a first “passion conference.” But then Pentecost could neither be worked down from above to below or worked up from below to above. The inauguration of the Church came not for reason of the passions of people, but for reason of the promise and providence of Almighty God through the baptism/filling of the Holy Spirit. Oh, Praise His Holy Name!
A major seminary hosted a conference last fall (2013) dealing with God’s presence. The website that advertised the conference contains this statement by Gary Pratico.
The theology of divine presence is profoundly simple and yet it is simply profound. It is a topic of inquiry at the highest level of scholarship but, more importantly, it is a promise for everyday life and living. The reality of God’s redemptive, sustaining presence in our lives is our source of hope, consolation and joy amidst the victories and trials of life. We don’t have to ‘go it’ alone; he is with us. He is our Emmanuel.[30]
Though biblical in so far as it goes, Pratico’s statement is deficient in one major aspect. Not only is God “with” us, but under terms of the New Covenant, He’s “in” us! He’s present in/with us at all times and through all the experiences of life, death and eternity. That is why the Lord Jesus described His gift to believers as “eternal life” (John 3:15, 16, 36; 6:40; 10:28; 17:2-3). In continuum, the Lord’s presence resides with/in believers from now into eternity, and His presence we cultivate through faith in God’s Word, not through ascetical practices or devotional invocations.
Christ Liveth In Me
By Daniel Whittle (1840-1901)
By Daniel Whittle (1840-1901)
As lives the flower within the seed, As in the cone the tree,
So, praise the God of truth and grace, His Spirit dwelleth in me.
Christ liveth in me, Christ liveth in me;
Oh, what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me.[31]
“Emmanuel”—Christ is in us, the hope of glory!
Footnotes can be found at Herescope
herescope.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-present-of-his-presence.html
Contemplative Prayer Movement and Its Origin
Published in the Christian Chronicle – By S. E. Ray – 06/18/06
There is a prayer practice that is becoming popular within the evangelical church. It is primarily known as Contemplative Prayer. It is also known as centering prayer, listening prayer, breath prayer, and prayer of the heart. The practice is now widely embraced and taught in secular and professed Christian seminaries, colleges, universities, organizations, ministries and seminars throughout the United States. Academic promoters have introduced these practices into the fields of medicine; business and law while countless secular and Christian books, magazines, seminars, and retreats are teaching lay people how to incorporate them into their daily lives. Promoters promise physical, mental and spiritual benefits desiring to bring about positive social change.
The essential function of contemplative prayer is to enter an altered state of consciousness in order to find one’s true self, thus striving to find God. Proponents of contemplative prayer teach that all human beings have a divine center and that all, not just born again believers, should practice contemplative prayer. To achieve the state of emptiness, one uses a “mantra,” a word repeated over and over to focus the mind while striving to go deep within oneself. The effects are a hypnotic-like state: concentration upon one thing, disengagement from other stimuli, a high degree of openness to suggestion, a psychological and physiological condition that externally resembles sleep but in which consciousness is interiorized and the mind subject to suggestion.
In the early Middle Ages during the 4th through 6th centuries, there lived a group of hermits in the wilderness areas of the Middle East. They were known to history as the Desert Fathers. They dwelt in small isolated communities for the purpose of devoting their lives completely to God without distraction. The contemplative movement traces its roots back to these monks. They were the ones who first promoted the mantra as a prayer tool. “The meditation practices and rules for living of these earliest Christian monks bear strong similarity to those of their Hindu and Buddhist enunciate brethren several kingdoms to the East… the meditative techniques they adopted for finding their God suggest either a borrowing from the East or a spontaneous rediscovery.'” From A Time of Departing, p. 42, 2nd ed. (Ray Yungen)
[See photo of Thomas Keating and Thomas Merton below.]
Most New Agers, occultist and Eastern Mystics teach this type of praying, along with certain individuals within Christianity. Two influential writers who have popularized “contemplative prayer” in the evangelical church are Richard Foster and Brennan Manning. Both these men have written popular “Christian” books about contemplative prayer. And, both quote the Catholic mystics such as Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating. Through the late 1960s and early 1970s, Father Keating and two other monks met with Buddhist and Hindu teachers in an effort to understand the mass defection of young Catholics at the time, people drawn in part to the East’s meditation practices. Their research led Keating, then an abbot at a Massachusetts monastery, to begin unearthing a similar meditative method based on the Christian tradition. The East was mixed with Catholicism to yield new appeal to the defecting younger generation of that time.
Contemplative Prayer differs from Christian prayer in that the intent of the technique is to bring the practitioner to the center of his own being. There he is, supposedly, to experience the presence of the God who indwells him. Christian prayer, on the contrary, centers upon God in a relational way, as an independent power apart from oneself but realized intimately through the Holy Spirit. The confusion of this technique with Christian practitioners arises from a misunderstanding of the indwelling of God. The fact that God indwells us does not mean that we can capture his presence by mental techniques. Nor does it mean that we are identical with him in our deepest self as gods. Rather, the Creator God indwells us by grace that does not blend human effort and His divine presence.
Contemplative prayer claims for itself the experience of God, while setting aside external realities and overcoming the “otherness” of God. It takes these characteristics not from Christian tradition but from Hinduism, through the medium of Transcendental Meditation. The practice of TM is Hinduism adapted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Hindu guru, for use in a Western cultural setting. Fr. Pennington, one of the authors of centering prayer and an ardent supporter of TM, says, “Mahesh Yogi, employing the terminology of the ancient Vedic tradition, speaks of this ‘to plunge into deep, deep rest for fifteen or twenty minutes twice a day’ as experiencing the Absolute.” The prayer technique may also incorporate the Buddhist Zen practice of Zazen, or sitting meditation, which involves the detached observation of the thoughts.
Paul writes in scripture, “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” (I Corinthians 14:15 NIV). He does not say that he will pray with the spirit and clear the mind, but with the spirit and the mind. Clearing ones mind as to be vacant, and trusting God to fill it with whatever He desires, not only has no biblical grounding but also is an open invitation to spiritual invasion of unfriendly familiars. Buddhists call this state Nirvana or Satori, the New Age calls it “at-one-ness”, and Christian mystics perceive they have experienced some kind of ecstatic union with God. Former practitioners have reported insomnia, new fears and paranoia’s, unusual emotional outbursts without restraint, swirling emotions with confusion among others. There is a complete vulnerability in the psychological state of one who practices contemplative prayer, a state that may allow unwelcome visitation without resistance. Contemplative prayer, TM and such practices drop the physiological and psychological boundaries that, in our fallen state, are a fail-safe protection for the human mind and spirit.
The meditation of occultists is identical with the prayer of Christian mystics: it is no accident that both traditions use the same method for the highest reaches of their respective pursuits. Occultism is defined as the science of mystical evolution; it is the employment of the hidden mystical faculties of man to discern the hidden reality of nature, and to experience God as the all in all. In New Age meditation, human efforts are relied upon to realize God. The goal is not to seek God as an Other, but to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Where a Christian seeks dialogue and interaction with God and, with his help, the “restoration of all things in Christ,” by a certain “participation in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4 NIV), the Mystic seeks God in the inner self and escape from the distractions of the outer world.
Richard Foster in his book, Prayer: Finding the heart’s True Home, he speaks of the practice of “breath prayer,” in which a Christian-sounding word or phrase is repeated over and over again like a mantra. Foster wrote “Christian meditation is an attempt to empty the mind in order to fill it” (pg. 72). This “breath prayer” idea has gained popularity in charismatic circles that frequently sing of “breathing in Jesus” or variations thereof. Jesus instructed his followers NOT to use vain repetitions as the heathen do (Matthew 6:7). Mantra meditation was practiced by pagan religions (including Hinduism and Buddhism), centuries before Christ was born. Jesus knew about this form of prayer and most scholars agree he was referring to it directly in his teaching.
“Silence, appropriate body posture and above all, emptying the mind through repetition of prayer—have been the practices of mystics in all the great world religions. And they form the basis on which most modern spiritual directors guide those who want to draw closer to God.… Silence is the language God speaks … says Thomas Keating who taught “centering prayer” to more than 31,000 people last year. Keating suggests that those who pray repeat some “sacred word,” like God or Jesus.” Newsweek, January 6, 1992, article called, “Talking to God,” p. 44.
“In advising against being carried away by artificial practices such as Transcendental Meditation I am but repeating the age-old message of the Church…. The way of the Fathers requires firm faith and long patience, whereas our contemporaries want to seize every spiritual gift, including even direct contemplation of the Absolute God, by force and speedily, and will often draw a parallel between prayer in the Name of Jesus and yoga or Transcendental Meditation and the like. I must stress the danger of such errors…. He is deluded who endeavors to divest himself mentally of all that is transitory and relative in order to cross some invisible threshold, to realize his eternal origin, his identity with the Source of all that exists, in order to return and merge with him, the nameless transpersonal Absolute. Such exercises have enabled many to rise to supernatural contemplation of being, to experience a certain mystical trepidation, to know the state of silence of mind, when mind goes beyond the boundaries of time and space. In such like states man may feel the peacefulness of being withdrawn from the continually changing phenomena of the visible world, may even have a certain experience of eternity. But the God of Truth, the Living God, is not in all this.”Archimandrite Sophrony of Mount Athos, former Eastern mystic converted to Christ.
“The mystical “spirituality” that is so popular in evangelical and charismatic circles today is a yearning for an experiential relationship with God that downplays the role of faith and Scripture and that exalts “transcendental” experiences that lift the individual from the earthly mundane into a higher “spiritual” plane. Biblical prayer is talking with God; mystical spirituality prayer is meditation and “centering” and other such things. Biblical Christianity is a patient walk of faith; mystical spirituality is more a flight of fancy. Biblical study is analyzing and meditating upon the literal truth of the Scripture; mystical spirituality focuses on a “deeper meaning”; it is more allegorical and “transcendental” than literal.” Way of Life, David W. Cloud.
What would the martyrs of the faith say to us if they could speak of our current Western practice of intermingling Christianity with Eastern religion and the occult? Those who were put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ after departed from Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Paul words ring true today and is a strong exhortation to those who try to mix the ways of darkness with the light. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; you cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils.” (I Cor. 10:21 NIV, II Tim 3:5). With extreme prejudice, examine everything against scripture and be cautious about receiving the popular “new” teachings being promoted today in the Church by trusted leaders who are entrenched.
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This is an excerpt from Ray Yungen’s “A Time of Departing” chapter 7 “Seducing Spirits.”
Pastor Ron Comer, my good friend who wrote the forward for this book, first became aware of the dangers of contemplative prayer when he was seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the youth pastor of a large, dynamic evangelical church, he longed to draw closer to God and hear His voice. He shared with me the following story of how he heard the voice of the Lord, but it was a much different outcome than what he expected. He spoke of how God’s grace rescued him from seducing spirits. I’ll let him recount his own experience with contemplative prayer.
One day I decided to lock myself in my office and not come out until I knew I had met God. I took from my shelf a book by Richard Foster called Celebration of Discipline. I had briefly read it years before but did not give much attention to its practical application. Now, as I began to read, I was intrigued by the freshness of Foster’s approach. It seemed so freeing to come before God and just empty me of myself. I knew God could not fill me if self was in the way.
I laid the book on the floor and got on my knees. I began to step through Foster’s teachings of how to come before God. I emptied my mind of all thought and began to repeat sacred words that brought praise to God. I found myself repeating the same words over and over. After a period of about two hours, I began to feel a release from all my cares. As contrary as it seems, my body began to feel an energy that was both exciting and relaxing. My mind was at peace and my spirit open to any experience God would share with me. I began to slip into a euphoric, mystical state. Suddenly I was struck by five powerful words that penetrated every sense of my existence. The words were firm but loving. My inner spirit had never heard such clarity. The five words were, “This is not from Me!”
Immediately upon hearing these words I began to grieve at all I was doing, and I repented — feeling polluted and foolish. I quickly realized I had not been enjoying God but had opened my mind and heart to a seducing spirit. God ended this episode by confirming in my spirit I needed to stay alert and discerning for deceptive spirits that were amazingly good at emulating the Spirit of God and masquerading as angels of light.
PP 125-126
There is an alarming promotion of the mystic contemplatives from Christian ministries lately. One would be wise to avoid Henry Blackaby, Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, Thomas Keating, Brennan Manning, Thomas Merton, etc. I would recommend reading “A Time of Departing” by Ray Yungen to protect your spiritual life from deception. On the surface these teachings from these men may sound lovely but they are misleading you.
Source for “A Time of Departing” HERE
50 Questionable Teachings From Experiencing God
By Reese Currie, Compass Distributors
Courses are admitted into evangelical churches, oftentimes without any sort of objective theological review. For Experiencing God, I have reviewed the materials from a Biblical viewpoint and noted any teachings that conflict with Scripture, as well as any teaching techniques that are questionable. I found 50 such teachings or techniques in Experiencing God that fall into one of the following categories:
- Debatable: There are subtle Biblical arguments against a point, but I am not adamant that Blackaby’s point is incorrect; I am simply saying the point is debatable.
- Fallacious: Using an argumentative logical fallacy to support a view.
- Inaccurate: The usage of Scripture is not completely accurate.
- Inarticulate: A carelessly applied word that can be interpreted very badly.
- Inconsistent: A teachers’s life choices are inconsistent with what he teaches.
- Misapplication: A misapplication of Scripture to a situation.
- Misinterpretation: A false impression of the Scripture is given due to poor exegesis.
- Self-contradictory: One teaching conflicts with another.
- Unbiblical: Directly contradicts Bible teaching.
These teachings have to be addressed in the order they appear in the book because Blackaby builds upon false premises throughout Experiencing God. You will find that some of the early teachings that I document seem quite minor, but they build into major doctrinal faults as they grow on the potter’s wheel of Henry Blackaby.
- Class: Unbiblical. Introduction to Unit 1, page 7. Henry Blackaby teaches that we should “operate our budgets on prayer,” budget for more than we have and hope the money will come in. This is counter to Luke 14:28, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” The question is not whether he can get the money. The question is whether he has it now. Jesus’ words apply to counting the cost of discipleship, not church funding; however, it is plain that Jesus thought that the logic of having the resources at hand before building a tower was a given.
- Class: Misapplication. Unit 1, page 11. Jesus’ statement, “I am the Way” from John 14:6 is applied to ministry decisions. A quotation is given in the margin that only refers to the statement, ” I am the way, the truth, and the life:”, and the inaccurate translation quoted substitutes an unwarranted period instead of the colon from this KJV quotation. No indication is given that this is a partial quotation or a sentence fragment. John 14:6 actually reads, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The text has nothing to do with “daily guidance” or ministry decisions, but Blackaby uproots the words from their context to make an application never intended by Christ or the Bible writers.
- Class: Unbiblical/inarticulate. Unit 1, page 17. “With God working through that servant, he or she can do anything God can do. Wow! Unlimited potential!” This is the first dangerous false teaching in Experiencing God. It is not true; for instance, I know of no Christian who can create a baby in the womb. Psalm 139:13 says, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.” This is also the first teaching of Satan to Eve, that she could be just like God.
- Class: Fallacious. Unit 1, page 18. King (the man who writes the exercises in Experiencing God) poses the question, “When we finish a task and feel frustrated that lasting spiritual fruit is not visible, could the reason be that we are attempting very little that only God can do?” This is what is called a complex question. To answer the question, we have to first agree that Blackaby’s principle that “we can do anything God can do” (from point #3) is correct. The question is worded so that you have to accept Blackaby’s principle in order to answer either positive or negative. This is a cultic teaching technique used by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 1, page 18. Blackaby’s statement “you come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you” is inarticulate in the extreme and suggests a works salvation. At the most, the text should say, “You come to know God better by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.” The initial coming to know God is only by repentance and faith. This teaching itself is the first sign of mysticism in Experiencing God.
- Class: Self-contradictory. Unit 1, page 24. “Whenever God gets ready to do something, He always reveals to a person or His people what He is going to do” is self-contradictory with “Many times, as with Abram, God called people just to follow Him… He is more likely to call you to follow one day at a time than He is to spell out all the details before you begin to obey Him.” (Unit 1, page 11.) The teaching also implies that God is not in something if what is happening has not been previously revealed to anyone, which is patently ridiculous.
- Class: Debatable. Unit 2, page 28. “You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him.” This point is debatable Scripturally. For example, Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Surely, thinking about what service you could offer God would be included in that definition.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 2, page 31. “Suppose He wants to do it through you. He comes to you and talks to you. But you are so self-centered, and you respond, ‘I don’t think I am trained. I don’t think I am able to do it. And I …’ Do you see what happens? The focus is on self.”I disagree with Blackaby’s point. Jesus’ teaching on discipleship requires self-evaluation. Quoting again from Luke 14:26-30, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”In Isaiah 6:5-7 we read, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah’s concern was not invalid. In His case one of the seraphims dealt with Isaiah’s problem. In our modern times, it could be a person who feels they aren’t trained should go get some training.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 2, page 37. “They may ask, ‘Can’t I get a word from God from the Bible?’ Yes you can! But only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal to you which truth of Scripture is a word from God in a particular circumstance.” This view of Scripture conflicts with 2Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” All Scripture is always profitable. There is no point at time at which any word of Scripture becomes untrue or unprofitable.
- Class: Inconsistent. Unit 2, page 37. “You also need to be very careful about claiming you have a word from God. Claiming to have a word from God is serious business.” I agree with Blackaby here, yet Blackaby is a member of Promise Keepers which is inconsistent with his stated position. Promise Keepers’ leader, Bill McCartney, constantly claims he has a word from God in his speeches, such as his statement that “God told him” that every church should send Promise Keepers $1000, reported by the Denver Post.
- Class: Unbiblical/self-contradictory. Unit 2, page 38. “He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move. Otherwise He wouldn’t speak to you.” Blackaby makes it sound as if God only speaks to give high-pressure assignments and never speaks to simply address the concern of one of His children. Blackaby elsewhere claims that God speaks to us through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church. Answered prayer, therefore, is God speaking to us. John 14:14 says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Therefore God does speak to us for things that are our concerns, not necessarily His work.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 3, page 48. “You, too, can so order your life under God’s direction that you come to know Him, love Him only, and become like Christ.” It is not at all God’s desire that we love Him only. “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14). “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).
- Class: Self-contradictory. Unit 3, page 53. “They seem to think that God is far off and unconcerned about their day to day living. That is not the God we see in the Scriptures.” This is a true statement. It contradicts his statement “He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move. Otherwise He wouldn’t speak to you.” On the one hand, he says God wouldn’t even speak to us if He didn’t want us to do something, and on the other hand, he says God is concerned about our day to day living.
- Class: Inarticulate. Unit 3, page 55. “He invites you to relate to Him, so He can accomplish His work through you.” Is this really God’s motive? That would be like getting married so that the wife could do the housework or so that the husband could be the breadwinner. God’s reason for relating to us is simply that we personally will not perish; working with Him is a gift He gives some people. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (1Peter 3:9).
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 3, page 55. “His whole plan for the advance of the Kingdom depends His working in real and practical ways through His relationship to His people.” No, it doesn’t. God is pretty powerless if He needs people to accomplish His tasks. For instance, in Revelation we read, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6). God is in no way dependent upon man.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 4, page 57. “You will find that the call to relationship is also a call to be on mission with Him.” False. A good example is the woman caught in adultery. In parting, Jesus says to her, “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). There are people that were in relationship to Jesus but were called to no kind of ministry at all. Jesus asked nothing of them but simply to keep holy lives themselves. In John 5:14, the man that Jesus cured at the well was simply told, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” There is more than one example of this being the case, where Jesus made no call to mission of certain people for reasons known only to Him.
- Class: Misinterpretation. Unit 4, page 65. Blackaby insists, “Jesus watched to see where the Father was at work.” The verses that Blackaby derives this teaching from have absolutely nothing to say about “watching” and had nothing whatsoever to do with “where.” John 5:19 says, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” Not a word about “watching.” “Seeing,” yes. But “watching” makes Jesus someone less than God and smacks of Arian heresy. “Where” has nothing whatsoever to do with what Jesus said and is simply an unbiblical addition to what was actually said. I will not make additional examples everywhere that Blackaby applies this particular misinterpretation of the Bible (there are a great number), but only say that while it may be true of us, it is blasphemous to say of Jesus. In reality, though, Blackaby’s interpretation is not even true of us. I may see God working anywhere in the world, but that does not make it necessarily God’s will that I go there and “join Him.”
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 5, page 73. “Could Moses logically prove to someone else that he had heard from God? No, all Moses could do was testify to his encounter with God.” This is utterly unbiblical, and it is designed to give Blackaby authority for claiming that God “speaks to him” all the time without any evidence.In Exodus 4:1-8, God gives Moses a few means to prove that God had spoken to him. It says, “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.”
- Class: Debatable. Unit 5, page 75. “If you start ‘doing’ before you have a direction from God, more than likely you will be wrong.” The apostles operated full-time on only one direction: “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46b-47). We already have that direction from God. What Blackaby is talking about here is an old Pietist teaching that John Wesley called “quietism.” John Wesley did not live by that principle, taking the divine commission at face value, and won a lot more converts than the Pietists ever did. There is a “general” thing to be doing all the time, in addition to the specific things that God gives more leading on.
- Class: Self-contradictory. Unit 5, page 75. “God is more interested in a love relationship with you than He is in what you can do for Him.” I agree with this point. It contradicts Blackaby’s other point, “You will find that the call to relationship is also a call to be on mission with Him.”
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 6, page 96. “Jesus always was looking for where the Father was at work, and joined Him.” We have already demonstrated that the concepts of “looking” and “where” are not part of the Scripture passage that Blackaby bases this teaching on; the Scriptures simply say that what Jesus does what He sees God doing, in other words, He does the same things God is doing. Doing the same things God is doing have nothing to do with watching to see where God is working and joining Him; it is simply a way of life wherever you are. The trouble is, sometimes an erroneous principle is established in Blackaby’s courses and then accepted as a given forever after.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 6, page 100. “You never know the truth of a situation until you have heard from Jesus.” This would seem to contradict Paul’s teaching from 1Corinthians 5:12-13, “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” That means that, based on the knowledge we have already received from Christ through the Bible, we are already qualified to judge matters within the church; and it is those who are outside the church that God judges. This is another example of Blackaby trying to twist Jesus’ statement “I am the Way”, meaning, the way to God and salvation, to specific situations within a church.
- Class: Inconsistent. Unit 6, page 104. “Way back in my teen years I began to sense a deep burden for communities all across Canada that did not have an evangelical church.” I agree with Blackaby here that it the witness of non-evangelical churches is terrible, they don’t even preach the gospel. But Blackaby in real life is an ecumenist (see points #45 and #46), which is to view all types of churches as being equal; so it should not matter to him whether they were evangelical, liberal or Catholic. If it does matter, he certainly should not be an ecumenist.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 7, page 108. In the introduction, Blackaby reiterates his teaching that budgets should be set far higher than you can manage and God will pull through. He gives his example, that the church budget was normally $74,000, they budgeted for $164,000, and they actually received $172,000. Blackaby closes by saying, “God taught our church a lesson in faith that radically changed us all.” But my question is, does God teach a lesson about faith that causes one to disregard the principle underlying the plainly stated word of Jesus in Luke 14:27-33? That sounds more like a departure from the faith to me.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 7, page 109. “When God invites you to join Him in His work, He has a God-sized assignment for you. You will realize that you cannot do it on your own. If God doesn’t help you, you will fail.” Wasn’t one of Jesus’ teachings, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not” (Matthew 25:42-43). These are all things we can easily do for people, they are God’s work, and He has commanded us to be involved with Him in these things. There are certainly things that cannot be achieved without God’s help, but to claim that everything that can be done without God’s help are not ministries is wrong to the point of being heretical.
- Class: Inconsistent. Unit 7, page 110. “If we looked at all of the circumstances, would we have proceeded? No. But, what you believe about God will determine what you do. When God tells you what He wants to do through you, you will face a crisis of belief. What you do shows what you believe.” This goes directly against Blackaby’s other statement, from Unit 2, page 37, “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.” This statement from Unit 2, page 37 is the entire tenor of the course.
- Class: Inconsistent. Unit 7, page 111. The statement “Encounters with God are God-sized” is directly contradictory with this true statement from Unit 5, page 78, “You cannot understand the Word of God unless the Spirit of God teaches you. When you come to the word of God, the Author Himself is present to instruct you. You never discover truth; truth is revealed. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth to you, He is not leading you to an encounter with God. That is an encounter with God.” God encounters us in some small things like understanding small spiritual truths. It does not always have to be a huge production to be an encounter with God.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 7, page 113. “When God lets you know what He wants to do through you, it will be something only God can do.” To reiterate my earlier point on this, from Matthew 25:42-43 and many other places in Scripture, we learn of things we can easily do for people that God commands us to do. I am sure that getting money together to bail out the church in Jerusalem was not presented by Paul as being something only God could do, for instance. This teaching of Blackaby’s denigrates any good work that God has called us to that isn’t impossible for man.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 7, page 116. “I have come to the point in my life that, if the assignment I sense God is giving me is something that I know I can handle, I know it is probably not from God.” It makes me wonder if we’re reading the same Bible. When God told Joseph to move his family to Egypt to escape Herod, was God giving Joseph a task that Joseph could not do? It is fortunate that Joseph did not have the same theology as Henry Blackaby or Christ would have died as an infant!
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 7, page 116. “When God’s people and the world see something happen that only God can do, they come to know God.” This is signs and wonders theology straight out of the charismatic movement. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Not by signs and wonders, but by preaching, the world comes to know God. And no one at all comes to know God unless they repent. The question is given on page 118, “How will the world come to know God?” and the required answer is, “By seeing God work.” False. Everyone who comes to know God comes by repentance and faith. This false teaching of Blackaby’s is reiterated dozens of times throughout Unit 7.
- Class: Fallacious. Unit 7, page 119. Henry Blackaby openly proclaims his belief that God manipulated the national economy of Canada on behalf of his single church by forcing the Canadian dollar to hit rock bottom for a time so that funding coming from Texas would yield more Canadian dollars than it would have. This fallacy is called causal reductionism. It seems quite unlikely to me that God Himself manipulated the economy, putting who knows how many families in jeopardy as the parents lost their jobs.
- Class: Misapplication. Unit 9, page 146. Blackaby takes a Scripture, 1John 2:3-6, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Then, Blackaby writes, “Each ‘new’ command of Jesus will require a new knowledge and understanding of Him.”But the Scripture cannot possibly be interpreted as discussing “new commands.” We are to walk even as He “walked”, past tense. And as for commandments of Jesus, I know of only two, “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:35-40).John speaks of keeping commandments from the Bible as a sign of obedience and love for God. Blackaby extends this out to some “new” commandments he thinks Jesus is giving, which is indicative of a belief in “progressive revelation.” Not much wonder Blackaby so heartily supports Roman Catholicism.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 9, page 153. “When God purposes to do something through you, the assignment will have God-sized dimensions. This is because God wants to reveal Himself to you and those around you. If you can do the work in your own strength, people will not come to know God. However, if God works through you to do what only He can do, you and those around you will come to know Him.” This is utterly unbiblical. According to the Bible, “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1Corinthians 1:21b). This notion that people will not be saved unless God moves mountains for them comes from Blackaby’s charismatic influence through Promise Keepers.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 9, page 160. “Some people go to much trouble studying Satan’s ways so they can identify when something appears to be a deception of Satan. I don’t do that. I have determined not to focus on Satan. He is defeated … The only way Satan can affect God’s work through me is when I believe Satan and disbelieve God.” This is the most unbiblical possible counsel from Blackaby, and it demonstrates why he is so easily deceived by Promise Keepers and the ecumenical movement. He refuses to be on guard against the devil’s work.1Peter 5:8 warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”Ephesians 6:11 warns, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”1Timothy 4:1 says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
Blackaby refuses to consider the possibility of being deceived by the devil in any of his teachings, which is nothing more than spiritual pride.
(By the way, the simple way of knowing the devil’s work is it is based on perversion, which is the denial of important differences. For instance, sexual perverts deny the differences between genders and generations. The devil used this strategy in the garden of Eden, telling Eve she could be like God, denying the essential difference between God and mankind. Wherever there is a denial of differences, such as in the ecumenical movement, one may be positive that the devil is at work.)
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 9, page 160. The question is asked, rhetorically, “Does God plan your life for eternity and then turn you loose to work out His plan?” Blackaby’s answer is no, but let’s be careful about that, Henry! Paul writes, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 10, page 162. In the introduction, Blackaby writes of a salvation experience involving a number of different members of his local church. Unfortunately, the story is spoiled by the last line, “Who won Doug to the Lord? The body did!” Far from it, Henry. John 6:44 says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Who really won Doug to the Lord? God did. He may have used people, but let’s remember to give God the glory.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 10, page 1. “Church members need to be taught how to walk with God. They need to know how to hear Him speaking. They need to be able to identify things only God can do.” The problem is, nothing in the New Testament supports Blackaby’s assumptions. The human part of the divine commission was not to do something only God could do. It was to preach the message of repentance and remission of sins to all nations (Luke 24:47), to baptize and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). These are things that man can do. God needs to help for the effort to be successful, but man can do everything Christ commanded. (Note that Christ didn’t command anyone to “save people”; that’s God’s part of the work.) What people need is to obey the command already given, not “watch and wait” for new commands that come out of the heads of dreamers.
- Class: Inconsistent. Unit 10, page 164. “Individuals often think that a work for God can be done with whatever means are necessary. They don’t hesitate to violate God’s written will in order to accomplish something they think is His will.” I agree with Blackaby’s statement here, but if he were to apply it in his own life, would he be an ecumenist, while many verses forbid even giving a greeting to a person who preaches a different doctrine? Such verses include Galatians 1:8-10; Romans 16:17-18; 1Timothy 1:3; 4:16; 6:3-5; 2Timothy 4:1-4; Titus 1:9; Hebrews 13:9; and 2John 8-11.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 10, page 168. Blackaby is speaking about “corporately” knowing the will of God when he writes, “When God speaks to a person about the church, the person should share with the body what he or she senses God is saying. As each member shares what he senses God is saying, the whole body goes to God in prayer to discern His will for the body. In His timing God confirms to the body what He is saying. Individual opinions are not that important. The will of God is very important. No single method can be given for discerning God’s will as a body.”This is not the truth. If it were actually practiced in the first church, the Corinthian church would never have expelled the man who was sleeping with his father’s wife. Paul was the one who disagreed; his “one opinion” was quite important because it was based on Scriptural teaching. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 5:1-2, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” The sad fact is, most people in churches reject much of what Scripture teaches. One opinion is much more important than that of the majority, if Scripture backs up that one opinion.
- Class: Fallacious/Unbiblical. Unit 10, page 169. Blackaby is discussing how he would not proceed with plans without a major consensus from the church body. Then he writes, “People often ask, ‘Did you always wait until you got a 100 percent vote?’ No, I knew that we might have one or more that were so out of fellowship with the Lord that they could not hear his voice. Another might be purposefully disobedient…. I did not get angry or disappointed with those who did not agree with the rest of the body. Their disagreement indicated that they might have a fellowship problem with the Lord.”This is utter cultism. The argument is first based on an argumentative fallacy called ad hominem. Rather than consider the validity of a minority view, Blackaby prefers to question their fellowship with God. His approach becomes unbiblical in light of 1Corinthians 5 (see point #39). In that situation, Blackaby would have to label Paul either “out of fellowship with the Lord” or “purposefully disobedient” because he disagreed with the majority opinion to have a fornicator in the church. This one paragraph from Experiencing God should put any cult researcher into a state of alert.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 10, page 170. “If the people walk with God, then I can trust God to guide them… If the people do not walk in right fellowship with God, then I depend on God to guide me in helping them become what He wants them to be.” Both of these statements are false teachings and I will deal with them one at a time. In Galatians 2:11 Paul writes, “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” Did Peter not walk with God? Of course Peter did. That does not prevent someone from making mistakes. When Blackaby’s entire phrasing is taken into account, however, it reveals his view that when people agree with Blackaby, they are walking with God, and when they do not agree with Blackaby, they are not walking with God. This is an incredible degree of arrogance, and it strongly suggests that Blackaby desires a “personality cult” to spring up around him.
- Class: Misapplication. Unit 11, page 184. “You cannot be in relationship with Jesus and not be on mission. Jesus said, ‘As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20:21).” In actual fact, there were many people in Scripture who were saved but were not “on mission.” God does not necessarily call a person into mission. Everyone supports mission, but not everyone is on mission. In Matthew’s account of the deliverance of the Divine Commission, we read in Matthew 28:16, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.” Jesus took His eleven disciples to a mountain away from everyone else to give them the commission to reach the world. Not everyone is called to be a missionary, and it does not mean that Jesus doesn’t love them. People who have bought in to Blackaby’s teachings become very judgmental of what they call “pew-sitters,” people without whose heartfelt financial support, ministry would be utterly impossible.
- Class: Misinterpretation/inaccurate/misapplication. Unit 11, page 188. On the parable of the wheat and the tares, Blackaby writes, “Using this parable, Jesus teaches that some lost and evil people are mixed with true believers in churches.” Blackaby is blatantly contradicting one key part of Jesus’ own explanation of the parable. Jesus does not say that field is the church. Jesus says, “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one” (Matthew 13:38). The “true church” is not populated with any unbelievers. Acts 2:47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Man’s “churches” contain all kinds of unbelievers, but the true assembly of God contains absolutely none.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 11, page 198. “Can God-like Koinonia [fellowship] exist between churches of different denominations as they co-operate to achieve greater Kingdom purposes? Yes! However, humans left to their own ways cannot achieve those kinds of relationships. Only God through His Holy Spirit can create and sustain Koinonia between His people. He wants to be King, Ruler, and Sovereign over all His kingdom. When He is allowed to rule, man-made barriers will fall.”If God is to be allowed to rule, wouldn’t everyone have to be in agreement with the things He teaches? Blackaby co-operates with many different doctrines and versions of the gospel, including the works-salvation of Roman Catholicism, and the baptismal regeneration of the Anglican communion and the Church of Christ, in addition to those churches that preach justification by faith. From a moral standpoint, Blackaby co-operates with denominations that reject the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality and fornication. How can one co-operate with such things if God is ruling over him? If God’s rule is accepted, then those who oppose His teaching must be rejected.I have a lot of verses to support this.Galatians 1:8-10, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”;
Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple”;
1Timothy 1:3, “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine”;
1Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee”;
1Timothy 6:3-5, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself”;
2Timothy 4:1-4, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”;
Titus 1:9, “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers”;
Hebrews 13:9, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein”;
2John 8-11, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
Many denominations allow their traditions to outweigh Scripture. If Jesus really rules our lives, we will avoid working with such denominations.
Jesus spoke these things about the Pharisees, whose tradition outweighed Scripture:
Matthew 16:6, 11-12, “Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees… How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees”;
Matthew 23:2-3, “Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not”;
Matthew 23:13-15, “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
I will dispense with quoting parallel accounts from the other gospels. Quite a bit of Scripture that Henry Blackaby teaches you to ignore, isn’t it?
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 11, page 198. “I am not suggesting that doctrinal differences ought to be compromised, but we can act like brothers and sisters who love each other.” This is a direct refusal to obey God on Henry Blackaby’s part. 2John 8-11, Romans 16:17-18 and 1Timothy 6:3-5 absolutely forbid any kind of fellowship with purveyors of false doctrine. People are not your “brothers and sisters” if they believe in salvation by anything other than faith in Christ or oppose God’s teachings in the Bible.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 12, page 203. “You sin against God when you: 1) Miss the mark of His purposes for you, 2) Rebel against Him, refuse to follow Him, 3) Commit acts of evil, wickedness, or immorality.” Point 1) is not Biblical doctrine. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Sin causes the coming short; but coming short is not in itself a sin. Sin defined Biblically is this: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1John 3:4). Without transgression of the Law, there is no sin.
- Class: Debatable. Unit 12, page 210. “Agencies of a denomination, for instance, have a place in doing God’s will that indvidual churches cannot accomplish alone.” Blackaby is speaking of agencies such as the SBC’s “North American Mission Board.” The problem with this teaching is that there were no such agencies in the Bible, and yet individual churches accomplished the work. With this teaching, Blackaby denigrates the work of independent churches and nondenominational churches. Were Jesus and the apostles negligent in setting up a first century church that had no denominational agencies? I think not.
- Class: Misapplication. Unit 12, page 213. “In Jesus’ commission to His church He said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you’ (Matt. 28:19-20).” This is a relatively minor fault, but it is a common evangelical teaching that is false. This command was definitely not given to the church but exclusively to the eleven remaining apostles, who were even sent to a mountain away from everyone else to receive this command. Matthew 28:16 records, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.” Not everyone is gifted or called to be an evangelist, and it is unbiblical (see 1Corinthians 12) to suggest that they are.
- Class: Unbiblical. Unit 12, page 213. “Learning to follow Christ is a life-long process. You do not learn to follow Him all by yourself.” Blackaby here is recommending fellowship with a local church, but he goes overboard on the necessity of a church. He writes, “No one can become the kind of complete believer he ought to be outside the functioning body of a New Testament church.” But what Scripture actually says is, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Timothy 3:15). I know a person who was too sick to attend a church, ministering through a web site from his home for years. He recently made a new translation of the New Testament from Greek at home. A church is very helpful, and if at all possible we should be “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). But the sort of claims Blackaby is making are unwarranted. A person can be fully functional as a Christian outside of any local assembly, if such a situation presents itself.
- Class: Debatable. Unit 12, page 214. “Apart from the body, a gift or ministry is out of context.” Well, the Great Awakening in England was an example of an “out of context” ministry, then. John Wesley was not permitted to speak in his Anglican church so he simply proceeded to minister on his own and through his Methodist societies, which he did not view as a church. Since it was the greatest revival England ever saw, I guess we needn’t worry too greatly about “out-of-context” ministry.
There you have 50 false teachings from Experiencing God. I eliminated six more points that I thought were too minor to bring up in addition to these. Even at 50 points, though, it constitutes one false teaching in every four pages of Experiencing God.
If there is a lesson to be learned or a recommendation to be made, it is this. Do not trust the Southern Baptist Convention’s materials to be doctrinally pure, even if you are a Southern Baptist. Instead, follow the Scriptural advice given in Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” We are to be discerning both of things we think are good and those things we think are evil.
Courses with this sort of content should not be given to people who do not have a great deal of Scripture knowledge with which to discern what teachings are true and which are false. Other LifeWay courses, like T.W. Hunt’s Mind of Christ for instance, contain solid Bible teaching without all the charismatic psychobabble of Blackabyism. I reviewed T.W. Hunt’s Mind of Christ again, to verify what I have said about him here. The teachings are virtually flawless in his excellent course. (Interestingly, Claude V. King wrote the exercises for Mind of Christ, the same man who did Blackaby’s exercises. Yet the course is devoid of mysticism.) The difference between the two courses is night and day, and I can recommend Mind of Christ without any reservations.
But the best and safest antidote for ignorance about God is to simply read the Bible itself without having to be concerned about any of man’s errors. I would recommend keeping away even from study Bibles, as they tend to have false teachings in the notes, and from dynamic equivalency versions that contain man’s interpretations instead of the literal Word of God. Allow God to teach you His Word Himself. God’s Holy Spirit is more than patient enough to be your teacher if you will turn to Him.
50 Questionable Teachings from Experiencing God is Copyright © 2000 by Compass Distributors. Copyright is to protect content only. Permission is granted to freely distribute
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