by Tricia Tillin
Like
the Gnostic heresies all through the ages, Word-of-Faith needs special
knowledge in order to be effective. Leaders see themselves as having a
commission to bring new spiritual revelation to the Body, and they condemn
'sense-knowledge' as inadequate. In this scheme, it is not sin and disobedience
that causes us to fail, but ignorance of the Word. Moreover, this revelation
knowledge is limited to the few who can receive it; the less intelligent are at
a disadvantage. This is elitism.
Although
Word-of-Faith ministers speak of God in a personal way, they treat Him like an
impersonal 'energy source' with 'forces' that can be operated by the use of
laws – laws which even God has to obey in order to create and run His universe.
God, they say, has left the control of the planet in man's hands and is
powerless to intervene without a covenant partner. God's omnipotence and
sovereignty is damaged by these teachings.
Jesus,
according to Word-of-Faith doctrine, discarded His divine powers and walked
earth as a mere man filled with The Spirit. He had to use the Word and the laws
of faith to do miracles. When He died, His blood did not atone, but He had to
take upon Himself the very sin-nature of the Devil, causing His spirit to die,
and suffer three days and nights of hellish torment AS A MAN before the Father
gave the command for Him to be re-created as a re-born man. Thus, they say,
Jesus was just the first of many sons, the Pattern for us all to follow.
A consequence of the 'Jesus-died-spiritually' doctrine
is that all born-again Christians stand in the same place of power and
authority as Jesus – not by virtue of their unity with Him, but in themselves,
as men filled with the Spirit. This would mean that we have already been
resurrected from the dead and it only remains for us to gain 'knowledge' of our
new condition in order to discard the trappings of the fleshly body and begin
living as spiritual gods on earth!
Thus,
the Christian walk is one of education in using the same spiritual laws as
Jesus in order to dominate the circumstances and do miracles. In Word-of-Faith
teaching, believers do not depend on God's own power, nor submit to His will,
but feel they have the right to develop their own powers, and to discover the
laws governing creation and dominion on the earth.
To
understand the special position that Word-of-Faith gives to man, we need to
know their interpretation of the Creation. In their teaching, man HAS NO NATURE
OF HIS OWN but takes his nature from his 'lord'. When God was his Lord, then
man had a divine nature – for he was created as god of the earth, they say –
but after man's fall, he took the sin-nature of the Devil and became like
Satan. (All this, of course, is contrary to scripture). So, Word-of
Faith believers would reason that a born-again man has regained his divine
nature. Thus, he is entitled to use the attributes of his divinity, such as
creative powers and domination of the environment, etc.
Word-of-Faith
teachers stress the loss of dominion over the earth, not sin, as the root
problem. So, salvation becomes a matter of re-discovering one's place of
godhood and learning to rule as kings on earth. The role Jesus had to play in
redemption was that of a substitute Adam, coming to earth to fulfill all that
Adam failed to do, demonstrating the possibilities of dominion, and then taking
Adam's place in Hell to let mankind 'off the hook'. The worship given to Jesus
by Word-of-Faith believers is more from a sense of gratitude than a recognition of His divinity. It also misses the whole
point of redemption: that Jesus HIMSELF is the Life and Salvation of mankind
and that we are only saved in union with Him.
Because
Word-of-Faith believers see themselves as having returned to their god-like
dominion of the earth, they foresee the time coming when – by sheer force of
numbers, probably – all mankind has to bow the knee to God. They teach that all
the wealth of the world will flow to the Church, and that the laws, government
and entire social structure of the world system will have to change. Despite
scriptural warnings of apostasy and increasing wickedness in the end-times,
they foresee a great victory for the Church in the future, as the Spirit sweeps
millions into the 'kingdom' on earth. Whether or not they claim to believe in
the end-times plan of Revelation, the Rapture, the Millennium or any of these
things, they still seem to be able to fit a scheme of global Church unity and
triumph into the plan of the ages.
Word-of
Faith teaches Christians to draw upon powerful 'forces' that reside in the
human spirit - such as the force of faith – to bring certain laws into
operation. They emphasize the word (not the Son of God, but the scriptures)
as the power used to operate all these spiritual laws. So, learning and
confessing the Word continually is the method used to obtain anything we want.
This self-rule leads to pride and greed. But a Christian must deny himself and
submit to the entire will of God, as revealed moment-by-moment by the Holy
Spirit.
Word-of-Faith
ministers teach that the only true reality is spiritual, and the earthly senses
are deceptive. Thus, believers are led to deny that they are ill, poor or in
any way below par. They are taught to overcome adversity by confessing a
suitable 'positive' scripture, instead of seeking God's guidance. Also, the
reality of sin, and the need for forgiveness is
glossed over by teaching that a simple confession of the Lordship of Jesus will
effect a change of lifestyle.
The
emphasis in Word-of-Faith doctrine is all on success, prosperity, advancement,
gain, health and strength. There is little compassion for those who fail to
come up to these exacting standards. Any adversity is said to be a 'lack of
faith' to confess the appropriate Word. [End of article]
False
Teachers to Avoid (list added by Campus
Christians)
Alec, Wendy
Arnott, John/Carol
Ashimolowo, M.
Avanzini, John
Baker, H.A.
Basham, Don
Baxter, Mary
Baxter, Sidlow
Bevere, John
Bishop, Darlene
Bishop, Markus
Bosworth, F.F.
Bowling, Sarah
Branham, William
Brown, Tom
Buckingham, Jamie
Butler, Keith
Camping, Harold
Capps, Charles
Cerullo, Morris
Chironna, Mark
Cho, Paul Yong-gi
Clement, Kim
Copeland, Kenneth/Gloria
Crouch, Paul/Jan
Cymbala, Jim
Dollar, Creflo
Duplantis, Jesse
Eastman, Dick
Finis, Dake
Gillies, George/Harriet
Godwin, Rick
Hagee, John
Hagin, Kenneth
Hammond, Mac
Hayes, Norvel
Hayford, Jack
Hickey, Marilyn
Hinn, Benny
Hogan, David
Howard-Browne, Rodney
Huch, Larry
Jackson, Travis
Jakes, T.D.
Jenkins, Leroy
Joyner, Rick
Kaseman, Jim
Kenyon, E.W.
Kilpatrick, John
Kuhlman, Kathryn
Lamb, Marcus
Larson, Bob
Lea, Larry
Lindsey, Gordon
Long, Eddie
McClendon, Clarence
Meyer, Joyce
Mumford, Bob
Munroe, Myles
Munsey, Steve
Murdock, Mike
Murray, Andrew
Osborn, T.L./Daisy
Osteen, John/Joel/Dodie
Parsley, Rod
Paulk, Earl
Peale, Norman Vincent
Popoff, Peter
Pratney, Winkie
Price, Fredrick K.C.
Prince, Derek
Roberts, Oral
Roberts, Richard
Robertson, Pat
Robinson, James
Savelle, Jerry
Schambach, R.W.
Schuller, Robert
Scotland, John
Scott, Dr. Gene
Seymour, William
Springer, Rebecca
Strader, Karl
Stewart, Don
Sumrall, Lester
Swaggart, Jimmy
Tenney, Tommy
Thomas, Kerney
Thompson, Leroy
Tilton, Robert
Tomczak, Larry
Treat, Casey
Wagner, Peter
White, Paula
Wigglesworth, Smith
Wilkinson, Bruce
Wilkerson, Dave
Wimber, John
Winston, Bill
Witt, Marcos
Woodworth-Etter,
Maria
Zahnd, Brian
Others
Trinity
Broadcasting Net.
Christ for the Nations
Charisma Magazine
Vineyard Movement
Promise Keepers
Last Days Ministries
Mercy Ships
Christian
Equippers Intl.
InterVarsity C. Fellowship
Spirit Led Woman Mag.
Life in the Spirit Bible
Spirit-filled Bible
Dake’s Annotated Bible