How the prosperity gospel invaded and infected the African church

In the video below D.A. Carson interviews Conrad Mbewe about the tragic rise of the prosperity gospel in Africa. One of the reasons for the popularity of preachers like Benny Hinn, Keneth Copeland, and other prosperity teachers in Africa is because of the similarity between what they preach and the native pagan spirituality. Take time to read Mbewe's article Nigerian Religious Junk.

Beware of Nigerian Religious Junk! from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Jesus was not polite to false teachers...

Many Christians today are greatly concerned about the rising influences of communism, humanism, secularism, and social injustice. Yet those evils, great as they are, do not together pose the threat to Christianity that false shepherds and pastors do. Throughout the history of redemption, the greatest threat to God’s truth and God’s work has been false prophets and teachers, because they propose to speak in His name. That is why the Lord’s most scathing denunciations were reserved for the false teachers of Israel, who claimed to speak and act for God but were liars.

Yet for some reason, evangelical Christianity is often hesitant to confront false teachers with the seriousness and severity that Jesus and the apostles did, and that the godly prophets before them had done. Today, more than at any time in modern history and perhaps more than at any time in the history of the church, pagan religions and cults are seriously encroaching on societies that for centuries have been nominally Christian. Even within the church, many ideas, teachings, and philosophies that are little more than thinly veiled paganism have become popular and influential.

As in ancient Israel, the further God’s people move away from the foundation of His Word, the more false religion flourishes in the world and even in their own midst. At no time have Christians had greater need to be discerning. They need to recognize and respect true godly shepherds who feed them God’s Word and build them up in the faith, and they also must recognize and denounce those who twist and undermine God’s Word, who corrupt the church and who lead lost people still further away from God’s truth and from salvation.

- John MacArthur (online source)

It is past 6:00 in Australia

Harold Camping claimed that the Bible "guarantees" that Christ would rapture his people this day by 6:00 pm (beginning at the International Date Line). He claimed that the surface of the earth would be littered by the bones and other remains of the dead as all the graves on the planet would be emptied of their remains. Mass chaos would ensue. Well, Australia, Asia, and Europe have already sped past 6:00 pm May 21.

That it did not happen is no surprise to those who read the Bible responsibly. Camping, an engineer, treats the Bible as a mathematical equation to be solved. For two thousand years of church history the time of Christ's return remained locked away in mystery until Camping put the pieces together. It is sad that Camping has so deluded himself. It is sadder still that many others have willingly been misled.

Now we are left to pick up the pieces. Camping will go on (although, considering his age...). He will almost surely not repent. He will more than likely reveal one small detail that he failed to calculate. But what do we say to the mockers who will now see anyone who claims the name of Jesus, reveres the Word of God, and believes in the sure return of Christ as a Camping-like crackpot?

Let us remember that the Scriptures promise that Christ will return for his church. And it is a grievous mockery to deny this. 2 Peter 3:3-4 says:

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

One thing that characterizes the godless is a denial of Christ's return and the coming judgment. It is tragic that Harold Camping and his willing followers have now added fuel to the mocker's fire. They have given the godless one more reason not to believe.

Make no mistake. Harold Camping is a false prophet and his reward will be that of the false prophet. The responsibility of God's people is to confront men like Camping and their lies. It is not enough to be nice. It is not enough to cling to mere Christianity. We must actively confront error. We must be willing to be called harsh if that is what it takes to identify falsehood. Our neighbors deserve our best efforts to make both the truth and errors clear.

Read Kim Riddlebarger's comments HERE.

Helpful lessons from the "Love Wins" debate...

Tony Reinke suggests 16 lessons learned from the broo-ha-ha over Love Wins.

I know. I know. But you really ought to read this one...

Kevin DeYoung has written what is the most helpful post I have read on the controversy surrounding Rob Bell and the promotion of his new book. You ought to read it when you get a chance.

In case you are wondering why I have been posting on this, the answer is easy: Rob Bell has influence. He is an internationally known pastor, preacher, and writer. Not long ago some evangelicals were calling him the next Billy Graham. His books and Nooma videos have been and continue to be enormously popular among Christians. Therefore, his continued drift away from historic Christian orthodoxy on issues like the Bible's reliability, the atonement, the resurrection, the judgement, and the eternal state rightfully concern many pastors.

More on Rob Bell's new book...

Some other thoughtful guys have weighed in on Rob Bell's forthcoming book Love Wins:

Denny Burk

Justin Taylor

Kevin Deyoung

Joshua Harris

Trevin Wax

On Being a Target of Criticism

Carl Trueman has an excellent piece over at Ref21 about being the frequent target of email criticisms.

For me, the season also brought the usual Christmas accusation by email from somebody with time on their hands that I am a false teacher. Now, the world is full of people whom I regard as false teachers; but, given the choice of using two minutes of my finite life to send them an email decrying them for blasphemy and cursing their children to the fifth generation, or simply pouring myself a glass of wine, putting Mark Knopfler on the stereo, and stretching out on the sofa with a good book, I have to say the choice for me is clear. Yet the world is obviously full of more than a few people with no taste for wine, no Knopfler back catalogue, and no comfy sofa; so what better way to spend their time than firing off the odd heated email to somebody who has no clue as to who they are? For me, sufficient to the denomination and institution are the problems contained therein; so these days it takes a lot for me to engage on a personal level with a false teacher outside of my denominational or institutional patch.

Along the way, Dr. T. makes some important points about the gravity of the teaching office and the necessity of being accountable. I suggest you take time to read it.

As the pastor of a church I receive my share of accusations hurled from the comfortable distance that email provides the accuser. It is amazing how much bravery is birthed through social media.

Anyway, just this week I was accused of being both "right-wing" by a liberal (pretty sure he was not trying to complement me) and of being "part of the problem" by a fan of Alex Jones for not warning our congregation of the threats we face from our President or something like that. While pastoring in Kansas I was periodically criticized by political conservatives for not preaching politics or allowing an American flag in our worship center. I also took a few punches for not allowing "patriotic services" on 4th of July Sundays. My decisions were based on that whole two-kingdom thing which I don't have time to address here.

The point is, you can't please everyone. But so long as I am being whacked by some for being too political and others for not being political enough then perhaps I've found my sweet spot. Of course I recognize that's a pretty subjective standard. Maybe I could take down the American flag at Church of the Saviour but begin wearing an American flag tie. But that would require that I start wearing a tie. This is the kind of dilemma I face. Perhaps I will just go home, make a delicious pot of Italian roast, fire up a Partegas #10, and enjoy a quiet evening.

What to do about false teaching in the church?

Martin Downes was recently interviewed on Issues Etc about dealing with heresy in the church. In an egalitarian age when all truth claims are leveled and a pragmatic age when all truth claims are reduced to what "works for you" the need for discernment is especially high. Check it out HERE.

The Immorality of Heresy

An excellent post from Martin Downes:

The New Testament connects truth with godliness, and error with immorality.

Paul speaks in Titus 1:1 about the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness (cf. 1 Timothy 6:3), and in 2 Timothy 2:16 about irreverent babble that leads people into more and more ungodliness (cf. 1 Timothy 6:4-5).

Although we should never be glad about it, the truth is that we are not surprised when a false teacher is further compromised by immoral behaviour. As G. K. Chesterton once said "heresy always affects morality, if it's heretical enough."

Heresy, however, not only leads to sin, it is sin. Believing in heresy is wrong not only mentally but also morally. Choosing to believe it is an act of the mind, heart and will that is against God and his Word. Of course there will always be some who believe error that have never been exposed to the biblical gospel. For others there will have been a choice exercised, rejecting one thing and embracing another. I have addressed some of the principle reasons why people embrace errors here.

Paul's reminder to the Corinthians about the gospel that he had preached to them, which they had believed, and on which they had taken their stand, also included the admonition to hold fast to the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-2). This ongoing act was a vital and necessary part of Christian obedience. It was orthopraxy in action. Not to hold fast would be an act of disobedience. In the movie Master and Commander one of the weather beaten old sailors has the letters H-O-L-D F-A-S-T tattoed across his knuckles. A great motto for a sailor, but an even better one for a Christian.

In the pastoral epistles Paul warns of those who have swerved from love, a pure heart and a good conscience and have wandered away into vain discussion (1 Tim. 1:5-6). Hymenaeus and Alexander have rejected and not held to faith and a good conscience (1 Tim. 1:19).

Deacons must hold the mystery of the faith with a good conscience (1 Tim. 3:9), knowing that the Spirit has forewarned that some will depart from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1-2). Paul's closing admonition is that Timothy must "guard the deposit entrusted to him" and avoid what is falsely called knowledge. By professing this some have swerved from the faith (1 Tim. 6:20-21).
2 Timothy carries similar reminders about those who have "swerved from the truth" and now preach a different interpretation of the resurrection (2 Tim. 2:18). All these examples show an unwillingness on the part of heretics to continue in the faith, an aversion to the truth, and a preference for closely worded alternatives.

If we realise that the deliberate choice of heresy is itself an immoral act perhaps we will be less impressed by the apparent godliness of heretics. Heresy can come with all the trappings of spirituality, self-denial, humility, tolerance, and self-discipline. All these, however, can gloss over the presence of a carnal pride that refuses to submit to the truth, and the arrogance of an autonomous spirit that deliberately dismisses biblical doctrine.

Reflecting on the early Christian centuries Jaroslav Pelikan summarized this position well

Heresy was treated by the early church as the concern not only of doctrinal theology, but also of moral theology, of canon law, and finally of civil law as well.

This was not only because of the stock accusation that false doctrine led to "all those kinds of forbidden deeds of which the Scriptures assure us that 'they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God,' " but because of the claim that the invention and especially the propagation of false doctrine were due to "a vainglory that has preoccupied their mind (Irenaeus)."

The antidote to all this was well expressed by the great Puritan theologian John Owen. Writing about the rise of Socinianism, Owen remarked:

This I am compelled to say, that unless the Lord, in his infinite mercy, lay an awe upon the hearts of men, to keep them in some captivity to the simplicity and mystery of the gospel who now strive every day to exceed one another in novel opinions and philosophical apprehensions of the things of God, I cannot but fear that this soul-destroying abomination will one day break in as a flood upon us.

False Doctrine, Polemics, and Naming Names

In the history of God's people it has been a necessary practice to identify false teaching and, yes, those who are responsible for it. It seems however that all too often the effite American church has a distaste for hurting the feelings of false teachers. But when the shepherds of God's people do not identify those wolves who teach lying doctrines then they do violence to the people of God.

The book "Beyond the Bounds: Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical Christianity" is an oustanding example of polemics done well. You can order the book HERE. Also Desiring God has made it available for free download HERE.

Endorsements:

Here is a weighty tract for the times, in which a dozen Reformed scholars survey the “open theism” of Pinnock, Sanders, Boyd, and colleagues, and find it a confused, confusing, and unedifying hypothesis that ought to be declared off limits. Some pages are heavy sledding, but
the arguing is clear and strong, and the book is essential reading for all who are caught up in this discussion.
—J. I. PACKER
Professor of Theology
Regent College

The downsized deity of open theism is a poor substitute for the real God of historic Christianity—as taught by Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologians through the centuries. This book offers an important analysis and critique of this sub-Christian view of God. Well researched and fairly presented.
—TIMOTHY GEORGE
Dean of Beeson Divinity School
Samford University