Psalm 97:10-12 NASB
“Hate evil, you who love the Lord,Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.Light is sown like seed for the righteousAnd gladness for the upright in heart.Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,And give thanks to His holy name.”
Last evening my husband and I were watching a documentary,
of sorts, on a particular subject of interest. When the video had finished, I
noticed off to the side that there was a video of John MacArthur – a renowned
preacher in evangelical Christianity here in America. In the video, he was
being asked a set of questions which had been asked of him by a select group of
professing Christians whom he had trashed – condemned, criticized, censored, and
judged strongly in his book, “Strange
Fire” (1). So, we watched that, as well.
I will state up front that I have not read John MacArthur’s
book, so my comments here will be based solely on the Q&A discussion (link
to video provided below), and on the Word of God and what it teaches, and as I
am being led by the Holy Spirit in what to say here.
Evidently, the book is a strong condemnation against the
charismatic movement (Pentecostal movement) as a whole. And, one of the criticisms
against John’s book, given by those whom he was judging, was that he was
painting with a broad brush, and that he was clumping all charismatics together
in his censorship. It appears that he did do that in his book.
But, it isn’t just the charismatics who are being trashed
here. It is all believers in Jesus Christ who believe in the filling of the
Holy Spirit and of the anointing of God on their lives in ministry, and who
believe all the gifts of the Spirit are still alive and active and are being
used of God still today. His comments are directed at all of us. And, I don’t identify
myself with any particular movement. I am just a child of God doing the will of
God.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 NASB
But, are there abuses and false teachings and false
prophecies going on within the charismatic movement? Absolutely! And, that is a
serious issue! And, it is one that needs to be addressed. I agree! But, this is
not unique just to them. There are abuses and false teachings and false
teachers among the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans,
the Episcopalians, and the Christian & Missionary Alliance, too.
One of his criticisms of the charismatic movement was the
amount of immorality that was rampant within the movement. But, that is not
peculiar only to them. With the cheap grace gospel permeating much of today’s
evangelical churches, immorality is running rampant throughout all of
Christianity, at least here in America, even among the strict conservative
churches which preach repentance, obedience, holiness and sanctification.
Nonetheless, scripture says…
“‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,And your young men shall see visions,And your old men shall dream dreams;Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,I will in those days pour forth of My SpiritAnd they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18 NASB
So, as I was listening to this Q&A, and I was taking
notes on what was being said, I heard the term “cessastionism,” so I looked up
its meaning:
Cessastionism: “The concept, amongst most Christians, that the works of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, and miracles) ceased at some point in history” (yourdictionary.com).
I disagree with that theology, but I don’t have time in this
writing to discuss that subject in massive detail. So, I will share a few
scriptures here which I believe speak to the contrary. But, that theology is
one of the big foundations behind why MacArthur feels the way he does about all
who believe in the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and who believe
all the gifts are still valid, and that they are being used of God still today.
In this discussion, he stated that the people in the
charismatic movement live in a paradigm outside of scripture, and that they are
not submitted to the true and accurate interpretation of scripture, although
later on he indicated that there were a few on the fringes of the movement who
were submitted to the truth of scripture. That is a very broad brush, indeed.
And, then he went on to say that communion with the Holy
Spirit occurs through the Word of God, in understanding, applying, and obeying
it, and that communion with the Holy Spirit is not induced by people playing on
our emotions. I agree with that, but still that is a pretty narrow point of
view.
For, MacArthur doesn’t really believe we can hear the Holy
Spirit speak to our hearts except through the study of scripture, but within
the confines of his theological leanings. He leans very heavily on theology and
on the great theologians of the faith for his Christian heritage and for his
understanding of scripture and even for his guidance and inspiration for his
sermons.
He said, “What do I do when I want to prepare a message? I
go read a dead person in my family,” referring to the great theologians of the
faith of years gone by who are now dead. He goes to them for his sermons. He
didn’t say he prayed to God, or that he sought the guidance and direction of
the Holy Spirit in what he should preach, but that he consulted with the dead,
instead, i.e. with the writings of mere mortals long gone.
“Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NASB
Here is the bottom line, I believe, in this whole matter.
Good things of God, which are truly of God, of the Spirit of God, and which are
supported scripturally, in context, in truth, are being twisted, abused,
misused and misrepresented across evangelical Christianity, but not just in the
charismatic movement.
And, where they are being misused, they often give a bad
reputation to what is legitimately of God, and of the Spirit of God. And, thus
people will often reject them as false because of the misuse. But, just because
some people misuse them doesn’t mean they are not valid.
I agree with John MacArthur that there is a massive number
of people today in evangelical Christianity who are basing their faith in Jesus
Christ on their emotions or on their experiences rather than on the truth of
scripture, but not just among the charismatics. I agree that there are many
abuses of the Spirit of God and of the Word of God existing within today’s
church. And, I agree that immorality is running rampant. So, I empathize with
him.
But, I believe he is “throwing out the baby with the
bathwater.” I believe he is discarding, suppressing, and quenching many
legitimate workings of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives by putting God in a
box that is based in the theologies of men, but that is not fully supported
scripturally.
And, it appears, from the things he stated in this Q&A,
and in other sermons I have heard of his, that his faith is based primarily in
the theological teachings of human beings and in their interpretations of
scripture, rather than from the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit
leading him into all truth and in giving him the words to speak to the people.
And, strange fire is that of
men, not of the Spirit of God, and holy fire is that of the Spirit of God, and
not of men.
Although I agree with a lot of what John MacArthur teaches,
for he does teach on repentance, obedience, holiness and sanctification, and he
does teach against the abuses of scripture and against the abuses of faith,
too, it appears to me that he is quenching the moving of the Holy Spirit in
people’s hearts and lives by limiting God to the confines of his theological
viewpoints.
And, I believe he is injuring the faith of many legitimate
followers of Christ who are following the scriptures, and who are walking in
obedience to Christ. And, he may be turning many of them away from hearing the
voice of the Holy Spirit who is leading them in where to go, and in what to say,
and to whom, by convincing them that they are in error.
But, I agree with him that we must test the spirits, even
within our own selves, to make certain we are hearing clearly from God, and to
make certain what we are hearing others say is clearly from God and in line
with scripture. So, we must be those who test all things against scripture.
But, if you are one of the injured, via men in our pulpits
who are putting out the Holy Spirit’s fire, then be encouraged that God is
still on the throne.
Broken
and Contrite
An
Original Work / May 13, 2012
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.
(1)
Strange Fire Q&A: Answering the Critics
(Selected Scriptures)
*Caution: This video may contain ads
For your discernment: False Teachers Exposed: by Justin
Peters
*Caution: This video may contain ads
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