Articles

Mega Church Pastors of the Modern Church and Why they Flourish

Paula White Exposed [video]

THAT’s My King! Pastor Lockridge [video]

Powerful Prayers from Children-This Will Shake You [video]

The Fear of the LORD is to Hate Evil: Pride, and Arrogancy #shorts [video]

Anatomy of a Mega-Star, Popular Wolf – How Does this Happen?

Anyone who doesn’t see that most pastors today are preaching a false Gospel, do not know the true Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:2-5; Galatians 1:6-9).

SCAM “PASTORS” have invaded every town in America and are spreading their poison across the globe! Just who are they? ALL who know and are diligently seeking and experiencing Jesus Christ daily are not the least bit impressed with the self-serving “pastor” who has set up his local church business where he entertains the gullible to get their business and keep their business!(Philippians 3:6-14) These enterprising, self-serving hirelings see the successful business model and opportunity being utilized by the modern seeker-friendly, emergent church wolves and have set out to experience their own “success” in the church business industry.

First off, just why are false prophets so popular in this last hour? Is popularity among the sinful masses of mere men a sign of godliness or ungodliness?

Did you realize that Jesus warned us to beware of any leader who is popular among sinful men? – “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26

Think about their messages which are not at all what we see Christ and His apostles saying when we simply read the Bible. Right?

Is life really a country club?

Is it safe to buy into a fairy tale with Christ’s holy name tacked on to the end of it as an afterthought and to somehow lure in the people?

Wouldn’t a second grader know that there is a distinct difference between the message of the Bible and that of smooth talking rainbow promising mere men like Joel Osteen?

Weren’t Christ and His apostles all martyred? Were they not poor in this world? Did they not live for the next world?

Didn’t Jesus say to His people “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)

This is intellectual dishonesty to begin with and much more insidiously, this is a scam – a flowery message intentionally put forth to deceive the people in order to gain their allegiance and money (Romans 16:17-18; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Why is Joel Osteen so popular? Joel Osteen Exposed Why do millions of dollars flow into Joel Osteen’s coffers monthly? Why are the word of faith wolves so popular? Why do Rick Warren’s books sell by the millions? Why are the Emergent Church deceivers so popular?)

Those who love and are willing to defend beguilers like Joel Osteen do so because they love what Osteen tells them. They love lies. God is not important enough for these people to investigate and study His Word as He told them to do (John 5:39; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15, etc.). “They are not valiant for the truth.” (Jeremiah 9:3)

Joel Osteen has risen to mega-celebrity status on the wave of self-loving people who claim to be Christians but have no fruit to prove such a claim.

Are YOU being swept away in this prophesied tidal wave of deception which will end in eternal damnation? Did the Son of God not warn about this exact thing?

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. … And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. … For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24: 3-5, 11, 24

Here is exactly the reason that so many wolves are loved by millions of self-serving counterfeit “Christians” in this late hour:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ²For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,³Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power (authority) thereof: from such turn away.⁶For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ⁷Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:1-7

We cannot possibly understand the whole picture of what we see transpiring before our very eyes in this late hour until we understand both sides of this equation which is primarily driven by God-less, self-loving souls who claim to be Christ’s.

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. ³For 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; ⁴And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:2-4

These celebrity deceivers would not be popular today if there were not so many Savior-rejecting selfish souls who pay and promote them.

Wolves who are celebrated by millions today are popular only because there are many people who do not wish to lay down their lives to truly follow Christ on His terms. Jesus taught:

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24

Mankind has fallen by his sin. He is corrupted and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5, 12) Unredeemed and back slidden men are ruled by “The heart” that “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9) Sin: Man’s Core Problem

Unrepentant men do not love Christ. They do not want and reject the light of His holy truth.

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ²¹But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:19-21

Scam leaders and authors would have us believe that we live in an enlightened age. That is a pure and unadulterated poisonous lie.

You see, the Bible told us that “there is NO NEW THING under the sun.” – “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

“Ditch the Truth and Bring On the Lies Please!”

Cried of the unrepentant counterfeits: Nothing has changed since the prophet Isaiah wrote this:

“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: ⁹That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law (written Word) of the Lord: ¹⁰Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy NOT unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits (tell us sweet little lies please): ¹¹Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path (truth), cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. ¹²Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: ¹³Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. ¹⁴And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. ¹⁵For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.” Isaiah 30:8-15

The people who claimed to be God’s children in Isaiah cried out for their leaders to give them “smooth”messages that cost them nothing. Like millions today, these willingly deceived people wanted to vainly believe they were safe and secure for eternity, but did not want to obey the One they claim is their Savior. Then, the LORD pronounced judgment upon them if they did not return to Him (repent). The same goes for today (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 9-12). The eternal lake of fire awaits the souls of all who have been saved and have refused to “endure to the end” trusting Christ in sincerity and obedient faith (Matthew 10:22; 24:10-13; Revelation 2-3). Any person who has been saved and thinks that they are “eternally secure” no matter what, is utterly delusional and the very dupe of Satan himself. Read Lie of the Ages.

Osteen and many other smooth-talking, silver tongue, flesh-flattering devils are telling you to seek “your best life now.” Jesus is saying “love Me supremely not yourself and die to yourself and I will raise you up and give you riches untold for all eternity.” Who shall you follow?

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. … ²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:15, 21

Any ear-tickling message will do because those messages are counterfeit and do not call one to die to self which is exactly what Jesus commanded.

THE UNGODLY who vainly think they are saved, will listen to, pay, celebrate, and fiercely defend anyone who tells them what THEY want to hear. WHY? Because they love self, not the Savior. Isn’t that what the Holy Spirit warned us would be the apostate state of the masses who have a mere “form of godliness but deny the power (authority) thereof”? (2 Timothy 3:1-7) The reason why people love Joyce Meyer, Creflo “holla fo yo” Dolla, Joel Osteen, and other frauds, is because those people are serving SELF and not Christ who said “MY sheep hear MY voice, and I know them, and they follow ME.”(John 10:27) Notice that Jesus says that His sheep follow HIM and not mere men, especially not the smiling clowns who are merely entertaining them by telling them self-serving niceties. It’s a scam! Jesus’ sheep follow Him via HIS Words, period. Do we begin to get it?

The love of self is at the root of this matter. Men who love self refuse to die to self and instead worship self. They then must sacrifice Christ on the altar of self. Either a man will sacrifice self or will sacrifice Jesus on the altar of self. Is this not exactly what Jesus taught? – “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)

Those who are selling you on the idea that God just wants to make you happy and rich in this temporal, sinful world are leading you AWAY from God and not to Him. Jesus told us that “In the world ye SHALL have tribulation.” (John 16:33) Does that sound like what Osteen and popular leaders are teaching? What are they wanting to hide from you? Are they afraid you may stop patronizing THEIR ministries? Whose interest do they have in mind – yours or their own?

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus’ apostle Paul promised:

“Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ¹³But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12-13

When have you ever heard Osteen or other modern deceivers quote this Bible verse? What might they be afraid of you finding out?

They are lying against LORD and clearly misrepresenting Him. Their message is quite contrary to what He told us in His unchanging Word.

Leaders Who Scam their Gullible, Truth-Denying Audiences

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully.” Jeremiah 48:10

It is utterly heartbreaking to see just how ungrounded so many of these people are who flock to see and support these scam wolves. To start a “revival,” all you need to do is get a slick-sounding guy who sounds like he knows what he’s talking about, play some good music in the background, and WHAM you’ve got a “revival.”

Most people who claim to be Christians don’t even know Acts 17:11 much less use it to discern. Do YOU know what that truth says? Have you memorized and put it into use daily, or, will you be deceived and damned also?

A building and gathering does not make the leader a true pastor. All in leadership must be tested against the Word of God beloved saints. “Be not deceived!” (Ephesians 5:6)

The car doesn’t make the man. The house doesn’t make the woman. The money doesn’t make the person. The building and pulpit don’t make someone a pastor.

If you went to Burger King every day for the rest of your life, would you become a hamburger? No. Neither is a man a pastor due to having a following, a pulpit, a committee, or a building. No divine authority is invested into any mere man other than that that man is regenerated, broken, humbled, and obediently living under the authority of Jesus Christ (John 3:34; 14:23; Acts 5:32; 2 Corinthians 10:6; 2 Timothy 2:20-21; 1 Peter 5:1-8).

What does God’s Word teach concerning the fruit and characteristics of a true servant-leader?

When speaking of “false prophets” Jesus said we would “know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16) Let’s look at the fruits of a true apostle/servant:

“But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity,patience, Persecutions, afflictions …” 2 Timothy 3:10

Paul says here that “thou hast fully known my”:

“doctrine”
“manner of life”
“purpose”
“faith”
“longsuffering”
“charity”
“patience”
“Persecutions”
“afflictions”

There are many things to meditate on here in this list and measure character by. Note the “persecution”and “afflictions” this apostle of Jesus suffered. Most men in leadership are in such compromise that they don’t draw any fire from the enemy of all souls. That alone points to their falsity. In fact, in this same passage, Paul tells us that “ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION.” (2 Timothy 3:12) Preaching the true Gospel – the Gospel Christ and His apostles preached – will bring great persecutions in this life and unspeakable reward in the next life to come.

The Modern CEO-Type “Pastor” is a Fraud

What most don’t realize is that these guys have gone to seminars and school to learn how to build their church business because that’s exactly what it is to them–a business. They see themselves as the CEO and have no idea or heart to truly feed Christ’s sheep and watch for their souls (Hebrews 13:7, 17). For this reason, no true disciple should ever submit themselves to any such wolf. Read Hebrews 13:7, 17 closely.

Most people never discern whether or not that most men in leadership do not know the Word of God. They are biblically illiterate. Recently, a man who has been a pastor for years and has a college degree from a supposed “Bible” college, confessed to me that he does not even know the Word. He shows great and coveted humility! After several conversations concerning biblical truths on various topics, he admitted that he does not know God’s Word and is therefore unfit to be a servant-leader for Christ.

Could your “pastor” quote the Ten Commandments by heart? Does he know the six principle doctrines of Christ? (Hebrews 6:1-3) Is he “instant in season and out of season” to preach the Word? (2 Timothy 4:2) Is he filled with divine wisdom due to seeking and waiting upon the LORD and searching the Scriptures daily? Is he full of the Holy Ghost like the earliest believers where and Stephen? (Acts)

The goal of hirelings is to fill their seats and coffers. So, they farm their communities using marketing techniques such as postcards (without Scriptures on those cards) as they prey upon unsuspecting souls using the typical lite fanfare messages such as family relationships, success, coping, and prosperity to lure in more biblically illiterate prey.

“For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.” 2 Peter 2:18

Those susceptible to these wolves and their tactics are those who are not truly seeking the LORD themselves and therefore not enduring sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6

With little or no use of Scripture references or Scripture, counterfeit men in leadership positions major in the “connecting point” or “life groups” or “recovery” gimmicks to get folks to become loyal to their programs and they social club they call church. They use new terminology for a deceived generation of biblically illiterate souls. It’s the lite generation. They want everything now. They don’t want to suffer or have to wait or seek the LORD in His process and according to His terms. So, these scam “pastors” cater to this. These business owner CEOs don’t desire or bother with being righteous in God’s eyes but rather “relevant” to those they wish to have patronize their “ministry.” From church to church it’s the same old lie with a slightly different colored wrapper. Their uniqueness lies only in the flavor. It’s the same old lies of the enemy in a new wrapping. “Life teams,” “life coach,” “life partner,” “accountability partner” are also buzz terms utilized by these scam leaders who resemble motivational speakers more than true men of God who declare the pure, unadulterated living Word of God.

These men almost never use the words of Holy Scripture, namely from the King James Bible. Why? They don’t know the Word thoroughly and they don’t desire God’s Word because they are not serving Him. His truth actually gets in their way and they won’t have that. Their position is more of a social organizer, entertainer, or marketing guru. They themselves are gullible dupes, captive to their own lusts (Philippians 3:18-19). Their goal is to be somebody special in this fleeting life (John 12:25). These understudies follow wolves like Warren instead of the “wonderful counselor.” (Isaiah 9:6-7) They set aside the very “Prince of Peace,” trading the very Son of God in for pied pipers like Bill Hybels, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Robert Schuler, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Rick Joyner, Bill Johnson, or Patricia King. Why? – Because they are lusting after the temporal “success” of these false prophets they have set up as idols in their hearts (Ezekiel 14:3).

The cross reveals your sin, and God’s love, not how wonderful you are! Repent!

To accomplish this goal of being a “success,” they follow their mentor-deceivers who have reached “success.” They subscribe to their newsletters and bring their pagan, new age theology into the fold via the poisonous books and media of their antichrist gurus. These scam pastors set up their buildings with modern décor that appeals to the senses of people and makes them feel elated and comfortable in their flesh. It’s nothing more than a marketing strategy. Music is also a calling card they attempt to establish by bringing in “relevant” singers who are performers and not born again, God-fearing, broken worshippers. They themselves wear the latest trendy garb, smile, and give the people a Bible verse or two wedged in-between their stories, poems, and other “relevant” data about how to be a “success” in this brief life. These lite trimmings keep the wheels of the circus spinning. Oh, and they dare not use the real Word of God, the King James Bible. No, instead they use a corrupted, artificial fairytale version that deceitfully has the words “Holy Bible” on the cover.

They cast their visions and dreams that are not Scriptural. These false dreams originate out of the base, depraved nature of sinful men who pose as Christ’s representatives but are the very wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus warned us to “Beware of.” (Matthew 7:15)

“Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, andcause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:32

There is no fear of God in their message or personal lives. It’s all about fun and games, band aiding issues (coping), and being a “success” in the eyes of mere men.

Seeker-friendly wolves are not sober or temperate. These essential characteristics must be resident in the lives of those who lead. Nothing less than broken servants are able to be used of the LORD.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” 1 Timothy 3:2

“But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate.” Titus 1:8

The demeanor of the counterfeit leader is more of lightness, lavishness, and worldliness.

Notice that no list of qualifications for elders in all the Bible mentions being a good showman, charismatic personality, a good money-raiser, a good entertainer, or a good or eloquent speaker. Yet, this is what most “search committees” are looking for with no regard for what God’s Word says concerning the characteristics for servant leaders. They are worldly and looking for a man who can look good, make them feel good, and raise a lot of money and bring in more people. This is tragic!

The biblical qualifications for being an elder, a servant of God to oversee His flock are found in 1 Timothy 3. Go read it and notice that no where do we see that a pastor must be cool, be eloquent of speech, a good entertainer, wear fancy clothes, have a piece of real estate he calls “church,” run a choir, etc.

If a man is not truly concerned about you Christ, what He and His apostle said of His church and eternal kingdom, Jesus’ Great Commission commandment, and your eternal soul, then he’s counterfeit beloved. Now, that being said, it is YOUR personal responsibility to die to self, worship God, and obey the Word of God (Luke 21:34-36). There is no excuse. An overseer cannot seek the face of the LORD for anyone except himself. Yet, the person posing as a representative leader of Christ who is doing things other than preaching God’s pure Word, praying without ceasing, and watching for the souls of those they oversee, is not right with God himself. If an overseer is caring for his building fund, his life in this world by not telling the whole truth, his job, his latest marketing scheme, his wife and children, growing his “church” numerically instead of trusting God to do so, etc., he himself is not right with the LORD. If these things are more important to him than Christ, he is being called to repentance and has no business being in a place of leadership. When a man refuses to tell the whole truth or full-counsel of God’s Word, it is evidence that he is not wanting people to be offended because if they get offended they will cease patronizing his church business. Such a man does not fear the LORD and has no personal revelation of Christ and His blessed Gospel.

“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. 11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:10-12

If you are a leader that has not come out boldly against the modern wolves as God commanded you to do, it’s time to repent and get right with God before it’s too late. When you repent, you will be given a spine. There will be much to answer for if we lead even one soul astray.

It’s time to simply preach CHRIST and Him crucified for the sins of the world!

Sign up for free email devotional HERE… The Moments with My Master email devotional is sent out for the edification of the body of Christ.

***SCAM “PASTORS” have invaded every town in America and are spreading their poison across the globe! Just who are they? ALL who know and are diligently seeking and experiencing Jesus Christ daily are not the least bit impressed with the self-serving “pastor” who has set up his local church business where he entertains the gullible to get their business and keep their business! These enterprising, self-serving hirelings see the successful business model and opportunity being utilized by the modern seeker-friendly, emergent church wolves and have set out to experience their own “success” in the church business industry.

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The LORD Desires to Completely CLEAR You!

The LORD Desires to Completely CLEAR You!

The reason God gave His only begotten Son was to clear you of all your sin in His regeneration, to bring you into His eternal family for fellowship with Him.

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

When God clears a man at the moment of salvation or thereafter, so should we! When any man truly repents there will be definite fruit to prove it. When one obeys sound biblical doctrine the result will always be that he will bring forth fruit to demonstrate he truly repented, and is cleared by the LORD and must be cleared by us. After the fornicator in the church of Corinth repented, he was cleared and the LORD, through Paul, instructed the believers in that assembly to forgive, clear, and love him.

“So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.” 2 Corinthians 2:7-8

Remember this from the prodigal son parable our LORD taught us?

“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance … 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:7, 10

When someone returns to the LORD from sin, regardless of their past, with or without Christ, there is great celebration in Heaven and should be also among the saints of Christ on the earth.

A fresh reading of Luke 15 is highly recommended where Jesus gives us 3 parables to teach the restorative love of God!

WATCH THIS: When we repent we openly renounce and are clear…. God is good.

Godly Sorrow brings the blessings of God and a clearing of past sin.

“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what CLEARING OF YOURSELVES, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be CLEAR in this matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:11

Example: Remember how the fornicator in 1 Corinthians 5 was turned over to Satan and then repented and God cleared Him? Read 2 Corinthians 2 for the “CLEARING.” In this verse above, Paul is addressing this very issue and the sorrow, diligent obedience, and consequent “CLEARING” the Corinthian saints experienced. First they allowed the fornicator to function in their midst whereas Paul had to come in and instruct them to turn the transgressor over to Satan (1 Corinthians 5). Then, as a result, the backslider repented.

“He says, what clearing of yourselves. This does not mean that they tried to justify or excuse themselves, but rather that by taking resolute action, they tried to clear themselves of any further guilt or blame in the matter. Their change in attitude led to this change in action. What indignation may refer to their attitude toward the sinner because of the reproach he brought on the name of Christ. But more probably it refers to their attitude toward themselves for ever having allowed such a thing to go on for so long without taking action on it. Paul then adds: In all things you ‘ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.’ Of course, we are not to understand by this that they were never to blame, but simply that they had done everything they could to take the proper action and to act as they should have acted in the first place.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

“Clearing of yourselves – From either sharing in, or approving of, his sin. Indignation – That ye had not immediately corrected the offender. Fear – Of God’s displeasure, or lest I should come with a rod. Vehement desire – To see me again. Zeal – For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner. Yea, revenge – Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye – As a church. Have approved yourselves to be pure – That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter.” John Wesley

“In all things, etc. – In the whole of your conduct in this affair since ye have received my letter, ye have approved yourselves to be clear, ἁγνους; not only to be clear of contumacy and obstinate persistence in your former conduct, but to have done all in the compass of your power to rectify the abuses which had crept in among you. The Corinthians were not clear, i.e. innocent or void of blame in the fact, but they were clear of all blame in their endeavors to remove the evil.” Adam Clarke

The Corinthian saints repented, obeyed God by turning the unrepentant sinner in their midst over to Satan, and were then forgiven and cleared of their sin of allowing the un-repentant fornicator to remain in their company (1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2 and 7).

Today, is the LORD showing you something in your life that you must turn back over to Satan where it came from – to rid your heart, your life of a sin?

Interestingly, this 2 Corinthians 7 chapter begins with this:

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1

When we simply agree with the LORD, His Word, and turn to Him afresh and away from what He calls sin, confessing it to Him for what it is, He will immediately forgive us and promises to grant us a clearing, a clear conscience.

“Now the end (chief purpose) of the commandment (written Word) is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:” 1 Timothy 1:5

The LORD made it clear that He intends for His children to be possessed with a clear conscience which is a gift He alone provided through the perfect sacrifice of His only begotten Son.

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14

“A disciplined conscience is a man’s best friend. It may not be his most amiable, but it is his most faithful monitor.” Austin Phelps

Have you ever had a past sin nag you for many years after you committed and even confessed and were forgiven for it?

WHEN we DO what is right, then and only then do we have the bless-ed confirmation of a clear conscience. AND, doing what’s right begins with re-turning, turning afresh to our LORD and confessing all sin.

“God is greater than our heart”

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:18-21

In fellowshipping with other men who serve our LORD, I’ve often heard them say how that sins they committed in the past still bother them in a hindering way. Yet, we know that God knows all these things and “is greater than our heart” and provided a complete salvation through the blood of His only begotten Son!

“WHEN HE HAD BY HIMSELF purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3

Even though 90% of today’s pastors prove themselves to be false by never mentioning this, we must never ever lose sight of the truth that God is “Holy, holy, holy” and He commands us to “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 4:8).

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

Are we presently allowing sin in our own lives, including keeping company with someone who claims to be Christ’s and yet is living in sin? Are you in need of doing an inventory check on your current friends – namely those who name Jesus as their Savior? Read this unchanging divine truth and note the many specific sins listed here:

“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

When we truly repent and obey the counsel, the Word of God, only then will we be cleared in conscience and before God and His people. True repentance always, without exception, brings forth a changed life – a life set apart to the LORD (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 19:1-10).

The fact that our LORD is correcting us today clearly proves how much He loves us. When the LORD points out our sin, it’s because He loves us, He wants us to repent, to return to Him, agree with Him, and depart from that sin. This is all so He can clear us!

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19

Refreshing Always Follows Fresh Repentance

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Read 1 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 2 and 7.

Yes, we’ve all been hurt by others and we have also hurt others, right? Let’s take accountability for our own evil and watch what God does. Blaming others without taking the blame due to us is a deep, endless ditch.

This morning I prayed “LORD, if I have angered or hurt someone, anyone, please let it be revealed so that amends can be made, in Jesus’ name, amen Father.”

In this passage below, our LORD is addressing being easily angered as well as making amends when we intentionally or unintentionally have harmed another.

“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly…” Matthew 5:22-25

PRAYER: My Father in Heaven, I come to You now on the sole basis of the holy name and blood of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Here and now I ask You LORD to convict, grant repentance, and complete clearing of any and all sin in my life. Please sanctify my life dear LORD. LORD Jesus thank You for dying on that cross, shedding Your precious blood for all my sins. Please bless me with a oneness with You and the Father and a clear conscience. Be glorified in my life dear LORD. I love You LORD Jesus. Amen.

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Resurrection Grace (below)

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” Colossians 3:1-7

Those who teach that unholy people will be in glory are false teachers:

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27

Charles Pray writes: “Father, please help us Lord to turn from our wicked ways and let You come into our hearts so we may have eternal life with You in Your kingdom. Time is running out for the hour is late when soon no one will be able to be saved or able to call upon the name of the Lord. Burden our hearts Lord for all those who still do not know you as Lord and Savior in their lives. Let us become the light we are called to be in this darkened world so others will come to know and receive your Son Jesus as Savior in their life. Amen!”

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Apostasy

Richard Foster Exposed

Wait, WHAT, WHO are Christ’s disciples to celebrate?

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14

A Biblically based commentary on current issues that impact you

Richard Foster—Celebration of Deception

by Bob DeWaay

Christianity Today ran a glowing cover story about Evangelicalism’s recent embrace of medieval Roman Catholic mysticism entitled The Future lies in the Past.¹ The article traced the beginning of the movement as follows: “The movement seems to have exploded in a 24-month period in 1977-1978, which saw the publication of Richard Foster’s bestselling Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth and Robert Webber’s Common Roots: A Call to Evangelical Maturity.”²

The article views Foster as one who continues to guide the movement: “From Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and living practicing monks and nuns, they [those going back to Roman Catholic mysticism] must learn both the strengths and the limits of the historical ascetic disciplines.”³ So Foster was instrumental in starting a movement that is still growing 30-plus years later.

The irony about this particular CIC regarding Foster’s 1978 book is that in 1978 I myself was living in a Christian community committed to practicing much of what he promotes in Celebration of Discipline (even though we had not learned it from him directly). So I am not criticizing a practice about which I know nothing (or one in which I have no experience). I am criticizing a practice I foolishly allowed to deceive me for a significant portion of my early Christian life. When it comes to being deceived by mysticism, I have had abundant involvement. The only way I escaped it was through discovering and adopting the Reformation principle of sola scriptura.

In this article I will show that Foster’s “journey inward” is unbiblical and dangerous. I will show that most of the spiritual disciplines that he calls “means of grace” are no means of grace at all—but a means of putting oneself under spiritual deception.

The Journey Inward

The Bible nowhere describes an inward journey to explore the realm of the spirit. God chose to reveal the truth about spiritual reality through His ordained, Spirit-inspired, biblical writers. What is spiritual and not revealed by God is of the occult and, therefore, forbidden. We have discussed this in many articles and have produced DVD seminars on the topic. But the concept of sola scriptura is totally lost on mystics such as Richard Foster. They, like the enthusiasts that Calvin and Luther warned against, believe they can gain valid and useful knowledge of spiritual things through direct, personal inspiration.

Foster describes the idea of the disciplines that are the topic of his book: “The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm.”⁴ So Foster has conceptually repudiated sola scriptura on page one to replace it with a journey inward to explore the realm of spirits. Something must have been seriously amiss in evangelicalism already in 1978 to render this book a bestseller! It ought to have been repudiated on the spot. In a footnote to that statement Foster writes, “In one form or another all of the devotional masters have affirmed the necessity of the Disciplines” (Foster: 1). The devotional “masters,” by the way, are mostly Roman Catholics who never were committed to the principle of sola scriptura. It is not surprising that they looked for spirituality through experimentation. But as an “inner light” Quaker, Foster never was committed to sola scriptura either.

Forgetting that the Bible forbids divination, Foster explains what he is after:

[W]e must be willing to go down into the recreating silences, into the inner world of contemplation. In their writings, all of the masters of meditation strive to awaken us to the fact that the universe is much larger than we know, that there are vast unexplored inner regions that are just as real as the physical world we know so well. . . . They call us to the adventure, to be pioneers in this frontier of the Spirit. (Foster: 13)

Realizing that his readers would likely take this as an endorsement of Eastern religions, he makes a disclaimer that it is not Transcendental Meditation (TM) or something of that ilk: “Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to empty the mind in order to fill it” (Foster: 15). But what Foster wishes us to fill our minds with are personal revelations from the spirit realm that we naively are to think are the voice of God. This sort of meditation is not meditating on what God has said, but uses a technique to explore the spirit world. In other words, it is divination.

What we learn about the spirit realm either is revealed by God (once for all in Scripture) or gleaned by man-made techniques. That distinction is the difference between Christianity and paganism. Only Bible believers know what God has said about Himself and what He wishes to reveal about the unseen spirit world. Foster’s material continues to be popular because we live in an age where being spiritual pioneers on a journey into the unseen realm of the spirits is the essence of popular piety. It is the spirituality of secular talk shows.

To fully understand the degree of Foster’s deception, he even calls these techniques to the inner journey “means of grace”: “They [the Disciplines] are God’s means of grace” (Foster: 6). As with all who teach spiritual disciplines, there are no boundaries to these false “means.” For example, consider this recommended practice: “After you have gained some proficiency in centering down, add a five- to ten-minute meditation on some aspect of the creation. Choose something in the created order: tree, plant, bird, leaf, cloud, and each day ponder it carefully and prayerfully” (Foster 25). This after he had just taught breathing exercises (a means of “centering down”). Then he makes a startling claim: “We should not bypass this means of God’s grace” (Foster: 25). And there we have it: meditating of a leaf can be a means of grace!

Foster’s journey inward is to discover a spirit world that is available for any who search for it: “How then do we come to believe in a world of the spirit? Is it by blind faith? Not at all. The inner reality of the spiritual world is available to all who are willing to search for it” (Foster: 18). He claims that this spiritual search is analogous to scientific experimentation. Never mind that every pagan culture that has existed has believed in the “spiritual world.”

Spirituality of the Imagination

The Bible does not have anything good so say about the imagination. For example: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord'” (Jeremiah 23:16). A search of the KJV for “imagination” yields 14 verses, and in each case it is a bad thing. According to the Bible, the imagination is where people go when they do not want to listen to God.

However, for Foster the imagination is central: “The inner world of meditation is most easily entered through the door of the imagination. We fail today to appreciate its tremendous power. The imagination is stronger than conceptual thought and stronger than the will” (Foster: 22). Some of the authorities he cites on this point are C. G. Jung, Ignatius of Loyola, and Morton Kelsey. Jung is famous for his concept of the collective unconscious, and Kelsey was an Episcopal priest committed to Jungian principles. Kelsey wrote many books promoting mysticism. The advice Foster gleans from these teachers is that we must learn to think in images and take our dreams to be a possible doorway into the spirit world. Foster claims that dreams are something we already have and can help us develop the use of the imagination. He says, “Keeping a journal of our dreams is a way of taking them seriously” (Foster: 23).

There is, Foster warns, a danger to this process: “At the same time [that we ask for dreams to be God speaking to us], it is wise to pray a prayer of protection, since to open ourselves to spiritual influence can be dangerous as well as profitable” (Foster: 23). I would say that is asking God to protect us as we use various techniques to go where He does not want us to go (into the world of the spirits to gain information). The danger he warns of is far greater than Foster imagines. Those who take the journey inward will be deceived—every time! We are not equipped to gain spiritual information from that realm. That is why God speaks to us through His ordained mediators (the inspired Biblical writers); otherwise we would be fishing in the dark in a medium we are not suited for.

Foster teaches his readers to use their imaginations to experience Biblical stories with the five physical senses. Here is what he claims will happen:

As you enter the story, not as a passive observer but as an active participant, remember that since Jesus lives in the Eternal Now and is not bound by time, this event in the past is a living present-tense experience for Him. Hence, you can actually encounter the living Christ in the event, be addressed by His voice and be touched by His healing power. It can be more than an exercise of the imagination; it can be a genuine confrontation. Jesus Christ will actually come to you. (Foster: 26)

Showing that Foster’s ideas are still influential in our day, Greg Boyd cites some of Foster’s words here to support what he calls “cataphatic prayer” which uses the imagination and images as a means to contact God and gain spiritual information.⁵ Those who endorse this practice assume they are not being deceived by spirits, but I cannot see on what grounds.

Foster prescribes a practice using one’s imagination that mimics astral projection to the degree that he actually includes a footnote disclaimer stating that it is not astral projection (Foster 28). It begins by telling his readers to imagine themselves going out into nature into a beautiful place (Boyd describes how he practices this, as well as its results⁶). After enjoying the sights and smells (in your imagination) these are the next steps:

In your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily. Imagine your spiritual self, alive and vibrant, rising up through the clouds and into the stratosphere. . . Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in His presence. Listen quietly, anticipating the unanticipated. Note carefully any instruction given. With time and experience you will be able to distinguish readily between mere human thought that may bubble up to the conscious mind and the True Spirit which inwardly moves upon the heart. (Foster: 27, 28)

I must ask how one knows whether “True Spirit” is not a deceiving one? Mysticism’s fatal flaw is that it naively assumes that Christians having subjective religious experiences must therefore be having Christian experiences that are truly from God—even if the experiences were provoked through unbiblical practices similar to those used by pagans.

Mental Alchemy

Foster’s approach to prayer is laced with mysticism as well. He claims that prayer needs to be learned from people who have the right experiences and are “masters” who know what they are doing. Foster does not teach ordinary prayer, whereby we bring our needs and requests to the Lord and know that He hears us (because He promised that He does). Here is why he thinks such prayer fails:

Often people will pray and pray with all the faith in the world, but nothing happens. Naturally, they were not contacting the channel. We begin praying for others by first centering down and listening to the quiet thunder of the Lord of hosts. Attuning ourselves to divine breathings is spiritual work, but without it our praying is vain repetition (Mt. 6:7). Listening to the Lord is the first thing, the second thing, and the third thing necessary for successful intercession. (Foster: 34)

Of course this means we have to become mystics if we want to pray.

He teaches that we first must hear personal revelations from God, using meditation techniques such as he teaches, before we pray. He says: “The beginning point, then, in learning to pray for others is to listen for guidance . . . This inner “yes” is the divine authorization for you to pray for the person or situation” (Foster: 35). No! Foster is wrong! The only authorization we need to pray is the Biblical command to pray—not personal revelations.

For Foster, meditation (mystical style) is necessary but not sufficient. He also brings the imagination into the process: “As with meditation, the imagination is a powerful tool in the work of prayer” (Foster: 36). He credits Agnes Sanford⁷ for helping him see the value of using the imagination in praying. Foster writes, “Imagination opens the door to faith. If we can ‘see’ in our mind’s eye a shattered marriage whole or a sick person well, it is only a short step to believing it will be so” (Foster: 36). Sanford got her ideas from Theosophy, New Thought, Jung, and Emmet Fox. These ideas, echoed by Foster, come from the unbiblical “mind over matter” thinking of that era. That kind of thinking uses creative visualization to change reality or channel spiritual power. Foster suggests, “Imagine the light of Christ flowing through your hands and healing every emotional trauma and hurt feeling your child experienced that day” (Foster: 39).

In his 1985 book, The Seduction of Christianity, Dave Hunt labeled creative visualization such as what Foster promotes, “mental alchemy.”⁸ Hunt warned the church that Foster promoted such mental alchemy in Celebration of Discipline, and as we have shown, he, in fact, does. So how is it that 24 years after Hunt’s warning Foster is more popular than ever with Evangelicals? The answer is end times deception. Now, a huge movement that claims to be a reformation promoting Foster, Willard and their versions of mysticism does exist (i.e., The Emergent Church). Things have gotten so very much worse.

Spiritual Directors

Once mysticism and the supposed need to gain personal revelations from God are embraced, there arises a need for new “masters” who are better at navigating the spirit world. Pagan societies have always had such persons. They are called “shamans.” Eastern religion calls them “gurus.” Deceived Christians call them “spiritual directors.” Foster explains, “In the Middle Ages not even the greatest saints attempted the depths of the inward journey without the help of a spiritual director” (Foster: 159). The problem, according to Foster, is that the churches (in 1978) lacked “living masters”:

No doubt part of the surge of interest in Eastern meditation is because the churches have abrogated the field. How depressing for a university student, seeking to know the Christian teaching on meditation, to discover that there are so few living masters of contemplative prayer and that nearly all of the serious writings on the subject are seven or more centuries old. No wonder he or she turns to Zen, Yoga, or TM. (Foster: 14)

Foster’s dream has come true. Today people can even practice Yoga in a Christian church. We have Christian TM; it is called contemplative prayer. Yes, Eastern religion has come right into the church, and Foster has helped usher it in.

But what about “living masters” or spiritual directors? In 1972 Morton Kelsey lamented their lack: “Indeed I would suggest that everyone who is serious about relating to the spiritual realm find himself a spiritual director, if there were more men trained and experienced in this way.”⁹ That “problem” has been solved in a huge way. Evangelical theology schools are now offering masters degrees in “spiritual formation” in order to equip people to be “spiritual directors.” Here is what Biola University says about its program: “This degree is designed to equip men and women for the ministry of spiritual direction, discipleship, formation and soul care in the local church and for further academic training in spiritual formation.”¹⁰ Spiritual Directors International will help you find a spiritual director regardless of your religion.¹¹ Richard Foster’s own Renovare, which purports to “encourage renewal in the Christian church,” has a list of spiritual direction programs.¹²

Foster explains the purpose of the spiritual director: “He is the means of God to open the path to the inward teaching of the Holy Spirit” (Foster: 160). Apparently, in a full-blown rejection of sola scriptura where the Holy Spirit’s teaching is mediated to the church through the Biblical writers only, we need mediators for personal revelations beyond scripture.

Foster explains how spiritual directors lead: “He leads only by the force of his own personal holiness” (Foster: 160). In Roman Catholicism the Pope is called “his holiness” and in Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama is called “his holiness” but now evangelicals are developing a class of people who evidently deserve the title. How exactly are we to judge when someone has gained “personal holiness” sufficient to be a spiritual director and mediate spirituality to others? Foster says, “Though the director has obviously advanced further into the inner depths, the two [master and disciple] are together learning and growing in the realm of the Spirit” (Foster: 160). Foster cites Roman Catholic mystic Thomas Merton about how this works: “The spiritual director was something of a ‘spiritual father who begot the perfect life in the soul of his disciple by his instructions first of all, but also by his prayer, his sanctity and his example. He was . . . a kind of ‘sacrament’ of the Lord’s presence in the ecclesiastical community” (Foster: 161).

End Times Delusion

When it comes to end times deception, Foster is on the cutting edge of embracing it. Consider what he wrote: “In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe waiting for the emerging of a Spirit-led, Spirit-intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people. . . . Individuals can be found here and there whose hearts burn with divine fire” (Foster: 150). Such inclinations have led to massive deception. They smack of the Latter Rain deception, now embodied in such false teachers as Rick Joyner and Mike Bickle. They are elitist. They are in line with the beliefs of the Emergent Church as well. He also says: “Our century has yet to see the breaking forth of the apostolic church of the Spirit” (Foster: 150). Now we have the New Apostolic Reformation claiming to be just that. Foster’s ideas now embody the massive apostasy and end times deception that characterize our age.

Foster’s teachings have taken the church as far away from the Reformation principle of sola scriptura as the Roman Catholic Church ever was. The only thing left is for them to bring us all the way back to Rome. Christianity Today praises Foster for pointing us in that direction.

In early 2008 I wrote a CIC article about how abandoning the principle of sola scriptura would lead evangelicals back to Rome.¹³ It was partly a response to the CT article praising mysticism. The response I received was rather unexpected. I was contacted by former evangelicals who had rejected sola scriptura and had gone back to Rome! They wanted to debate me about sola scriptura. Sadly, my point was proven. As a response to their misguided challenge our church hosted a seminar on sola scriptura, called Faith at Risk 4.¹⁴ In the seminar Gary Gilley and I defended the scriptures as the sole authority for the church.

The aforementioned CT article discusses a new monasticism, former evangelical leaders converting to Roman Catholicism, and mystical practices like lectio divina—and they call all of it a good and hopeful thing. Chris Armstrong, the author of the article, concluded, “That they [evangelicals] are receiving good guidance on this road from wise teachers [Foster and Willard] is reason to believe that Christ is guiding the process. And that they are meeting and learning from fellow Christians in the other two great confessions, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox, is reason to rejoice in the power of love.”¹⁵

Who is left to defend the principles of the Reformation? One would think Reformed theologians are, but they aren’t doing their job. In the last CIC article we mentioned Reformed theologian Donald Whitney who wrote: “Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline has been the most popular book on the subject of the Spiritual Disciplines in the last half of the twentieth century. The great contribution of this work is the reminder that the Spiritual Disciplines, which many see as restrictive and binding, are actually means to spiritual freedom.”¹⁶ That from a teacher in a Reformed seminary?

If a book that teaches Christian TM, Christian astral projection and mental alchemy by means of the imagination is a “great contribution,” then something is seriously wrong here. The delusion is so widespread that I see no other explanation for it than the end time deception predicted by Paul: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” (1Timothy 4:1). Another passage warns: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2Timothy 4:3, 4).

That time now is here. We are accountable to God for what we believe and practice. Those who wish to persevere in the faith in this age of delusion must base their beliefs and practices only on the truths found in Scripture. Foster’s journey into the world of the spirits will deceive all who enter it.

Issue 112 – May / June 2009

End Notes

1. Chris Armstrong, “The Future lies in the Past” in Christianity Today, February 2008.
2. Ibid. 24.
3. Ibid. 29.
4. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: Harper & Row, 1978) 1. All subsequent citations from this book will be bracketed within the text in this fashion: (Foster: 1).
5. Greg Boyd, Seeing is Believing, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004). Boyd cites Foster to prove that the Lord will actually come to us through our use of “imaginative meditation.” I deal with this issue more fully in CIC issue 83 July/August, 2003: HTTP://CICMINISTRY.ORG/COMMENTARY/ISSUE83.HTM
6. Ibid. 111-125.
7. I write about Sanford’s inner healing theories in CIC Issue 96: HTTP://CICMINISTRY.ORG/COMMENTARY/ISSUE96.HTM
8. Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon, The Seduction of Christianity (Eugene: Harvest House, 1985) 138.
9. Morton Kelsey, Encounter With God, (Bethany Fellowship: Minneapolis, 1972) 179.
10. http://www.biola.edu/spiritualformation/programs/ SEE PDF
11. HTTP://WWW.SDIWORLD.ORG
12. HTTP://WWW.RENOVARE.ORG/JOURNEY_TRAINING_DIRECTION.HTM
13. CIC Issue 105; March/April 2008: HTTP://CICMINISTRY.ORG/COMMENTARY/ISSUE105.HTM
14. Watch this seminar HERE
15. Armstrong, Future
16. DONALD S. WHITNEY, SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (COLORADO SPRINGS: NAVPRESS, 1991) 23.

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