Apostasy

Inner Healing and Deliverance Witchcraft Exposed

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]

“He (the LORD) healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3

WHENEVER you see the words “inner healing”, “inner child”, “deliverance and inner healing”, “healing of our memory”, or “emotional healing” being used, you know you’re dealing with psychobabble witchcraft, witches, warlocks, heresy, and a false ministry. Here’s the only thing you need to know about heart healing…..

1. ONLY God can heal a person’s heart (Psalms 147:3)

2. Jesus told us that the Father sent Him to “heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18)

Case closed. Game over for the devil!

Given this truth, we know that no man or method can heal our hearts and anyone claiming such is a fraud. And, we know that we need to go directly to God Himself for the healing of our hearts.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Luke 4:18

“Mental illness” has taken center stage as the primary excuse for SIN and for justifying evil. Psychology is a lie. There is no solution in it. Only Jesus can cure the curse of sin! He died to do just that! Reject Him and you are Satan’s property!

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18

Any person who is not genuinely born again, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, IS the property of Satan and under his evil control.

“He that is not with me is against me…” Matthew 12:30

So let me get this straight …. We know that for nearly 2,000 years there was no such thing as an “inner healing and deliverance ministry” or book/seminar on how to “heal the inner child” and so that means we are to believe that no one else before now could receive divine healing of their hearts, wounds? that would mean that God didn’t care for mankind, for His own people for nearly 2,000 years and that He left them without healing, wholeness. Delusional! Repent now and stop following false teachers.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (carnal appetites’); and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

Just as the Holy Spirit through Peter warned us, today there are many “false teachers” and “false prophets” who have made millions from this heretical racket, deceiving their prey into believing that they needed to buy their books and seminars to be made free, made whole.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3

In these cultic camps, when “inner healing and deliverance” are spoken about, Christ is never elevated as the only Source of our healing – whether inward healing or otherwise. This alone reveals that those peddling this poisonous pabulum are false prophets who are making merchandise of the people, robbing them of a relationship with Christ and or their money. They are not preaching Christ and upholding Him as the sole “HEAD” of His body, His church – and this is exactly what Christ’s apostle Paul specifically warns us about:

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Colossians 2:18-19

It’s only by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven, redeemed, and made whole – spirit, soul, and body! AND, all we need to do is obey Jesus when He beckons us to “Come unto me…”

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We are to go directly to Jesus, not man and his maligned methods and fabricated formulas.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5

Our LORD Jesus warned us of this last hour:

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:11

A sister in Christ name M’Kayla writes:

“Having been trained as a SOZO minister I know the dangers it presents first hand (Christianized inner healing with no basis in scripture.)

I know there are many of you out there with questions and concerns. …Christ is sufficient for all our needs. Every one of them.”

Psychoheresy & Inner Healing Pt 1

by Martin and Deidre Bobgan | Inner Healing

Psychoheresy is the use of psychology where God has already spoken in His Word. It is using the very wisdom of men about which God has warned His people. Inner healing is a process through which someone goes in order to transform the effects of the past on the present. Inner healing involves finding painful memories of early life traumas thought to be buried in the unconscious. The inner healer guides people into reliving and recreating past events by imagining the presence of Jesus or some other significant faith figure. It is a reliving of the person’s past in his imagination. By replacing the memory of a past event with a new one, painful memories are claimed to be healed and one is supposedly set free from the grip of the past. Some of the elements of psychoheresy are used in inner healing. Therefore, inner healing is psychoheresy.

Individuals Involved

Agnes Sanford mothered the inner healing movement and directly or indirectly mentored many others. Best known followers of Sanford are Ruth Carter Stapleton, John and Paula Sandford (no relation to Agnes), Dennis and Rita Bennett, Francis MacNutt, Morton Kelsey, Richard Foster, David Seamonds, and John Wimber. Though some of the promoters are deceased, their books, which have sold millions of copies, are still a powerful influence in this movement. Moreover, these individuals have spawned thousands of other inner healers, perpetuating these teachings to millions of others. The past and present book sales testify to the popularity of this movement.

Errors of the Movement

There is a real, genuine, biblical healing and transformation of the inner person. But while one may call the Lord’s inner work “inner healing,” let us quickly add that among all the seminars, books, tapes, or workshops of which we are aware, we do not know one that is truly biblical and has not dipped into the broken cisterns of the wisdom of men about which the Bible warns believers. We would not recommend any of them because they represent a spiritually unholy combination of biblical, psychological, and even occult ideas.

Inner healing teachings often sound biblical at the beginning. Many of them even elevate excellent biblical principles, but all those with which we are acquainted eventually worship at the altars of psychology and the occult. While we cannot cover the whole spectrum of inner healing misteachings and heresies, we will discuss some of the serious errors that are common in psychoheresy.

The serious errors involve five psychological ideas, one of which is right out of the occult. John and Paula Sandford describe and summarize what Agnes Sanford was trying to do. They say:

She saw that ancient [past], unforgiven, forgotten sins [memory] buried in the heart [unconscious] could be manifested in unwanted, unseemly behaviors, which could be changed [emotion and imagery] if such sins were forgiven and the heart were cleansed.¹

Two of the very important components often used in psychotherapy and in inner healing are those of the unconscious and the past. These two elements are found throughout the teachings of the inner healers. We will first discuss their use of these two psychological concepts and then deal with their dangerous and unbiblical use of memory, emotions, and imagery. These potentially perilous five psychological ideas are used by those involved in psychoheresy, which includes inner healers. Christians need to be wary of these five activities from psychoheresy wherever they are used. While this article focuses on the psychoheresy of inner healing, Christians will encounter these psychological elements elsewhere as well.

The Unconscious

Before Freud popularized the unconscious, we lived in an era of consciousness. The history of man until the nineteenth century was directed at conscious thought and action.² Now we are in an era of the unconscious.

When inner healers use the word unconscious (and its equivalents), they use it in the Freudian sense, which is a specific mental state. The common meaning of the word unconscious is quite different from the Freudian unconscious. The unconscious, as a general term before Freud popularized it and even now, refers to the thoughts, memories, feelings, etc. of which we are not presently conscious. However, the Freudian unconscious is one in which these thoughts, memories, feelings, etc. determine one’s behavior. With this kind of unconscious, you do not do what you do or think what you think because of a conscious choice; you are driven by your unconscious.

Freud used the iceberg as his model of the unconscious. According to Freud, the entire iceberg represents the mind, and only the tip is fully accessible to the person. It includes all information and memories that are not accessible through recall, as well as present thoughts and mental activity. The huge mass beneath the waterline does not simply represent all that is presently outside conscious awareness; it supposedly contains all that drives, motivates, and determines behavior outside conscious volition. Psychologists Hilgard, Atkinson, and Atkinson point this out in their standard work on psychology.

Freud compared the human mind to an iceberg: the small part that shows above the surface of the water represents conscious experience, while the much larger mass below water level represents the unconscious—a storehouse of impulses, passions, and inaccessible memories that affect our thoughts and behavior.³

Agnes Sanford wrote:

But this much I do know: that this unseen part of me, whether submerged beneath the depths of my conscious self or rising above it, whether descending into hell or ascending into heaven, this also is myself. And if I am to be a whole person, this area of emanation or interpenetration must also be healed. I call this part of me the soul, or the “psyche.” I might instead say “the unconscious” or “the subconscious,” or “the deep mind” or the “spirit.”⁴

The inner healers use Freudian theory absent his name. All inner healers with which we are familiar use either the Freudian “unconscious” or some equivalent, absent the use of Freudian terms for the mind such as id, ego, and super ego. Inner healers’ favorite terms they use for the Freudian unconscious are subconscious, heart, inner heart, and the inner child, or some variation of it, from psychiatrist W. Hugh Missildine and his book The Inner Child of the Past.

Biblical Basis for the Unconscious?

There is no biblical basis for the use of the unconscious. Freud stated that the unconscious is a place where all kinds of powerful drives and mysterious motivations cause people to do what they do. The implications of such a powerful seat of urges driving people to do all kinds of things flies in the face of God holding people responsible for their actions. If people look for unconscious reasons for their behavior, they can excuse all sorts of behavior. But, the idea of the unconscious as a hidden region of the mind with powerful needs and motivational energy is not supported by the Bible or science.

We are tremendously complex beings, but psychological explanations about the inner workings of the soul are merely speculation. The only accurate source of information about the heart, soul, mind, will, and emotions is the Bible. Not only is the Bible accurate; the Lord Himself knows and understands exactly what lies hidden beneath the surface of every person. He knows and He brings cleansing to those inner parts that we may never understand. David prayed:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalms 139:23-24).

Teaching a Freudian concept of the unconscious is contrary to Scripture. Rather than relying on the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit to search their hearts, inner healing victims will learn to rummage around in some kind of Freudian unconscious and remain focused on the self.

If you check all the usual Bible helps having to do with words and their meanings, you will not find one that equates the heart or any other word in the Bible with the Freudian unconscious. This is one of the many theological errors in the teachings of those who attempt to integrate psychology into Christianity. The Bible focuses on the conscious mind, not on the unconscious. We see this throughout the Bible. The Bible is not deterministic in a Freudian unconscious sense. Conscious behavior and volition are hallmarks of Scripture. For example, obeying the Great Commandment is a conscious choice. God’s Spirit dwells in our hearts by faith and transforms the inner man, but these are not equivalent to a so-called unconscious. God works in us through conscious cooperation and volition on our part. When we assign motivation and action to the unconscious mind we throw out responsibility.

Scientific Basis for the Unconscious?

There is no scientific support for the Freudian idea of the unconscious. E. M. Thornton, in her book, The Freudian Fallacy, says:

This book makes the heretical claim that [Freud’s] central postulate, the “unconscious mind,” does not exist, that his theories were baseless and aberrational, and, greatest impiety of all, that Freud himself, when he formulated them, was under the influence of a toxic drug [cocaine] with specific effects on the brain.⁵

University of California professor Richard Ofshe, with freelance journalist Ethan Watters, has written a book titled Therapy’s Delusions. The subtitle revealing the book’s content is The Myth of the Unconscious and the Exploitation of Today’s Walking Worried. In discussing “The fallacy of the Freudian Unconscious,” they say:

While it is clear that we all engage in out-of-awareness mental processes, the idea of the dynamic unconscious proposes a powerful shadow mind that, unknown to its host, willfully influences the most minor thought and behavior. There is no scientific evidence of this sort of purposeful unconscious, nor is there evidence that psychotherapists have special methods for laying bare our out-of-awareness mental processes. Nevertheless, the therapist’s claim to be able to expose and reshape the unconscious mind continues to be the seductive promise of many talk therapies.⁶

The Past

Just as there is a huge difference between the usual use of the term unconscious and that of the Freudian or deterministic unconscious, so too with the use of the past in inner healing. For inner healers, the past is not merely your early life experiences, but rather your early life experiences causing, determining, or driving your behavior. Freud postulated that a newborn will go through several “psychosexual stages of development.” He named them the oral (0-18 months), anal (18-36 months), phallic (3-5 years), and genital (through puberty). Freud believed that the first five years of life and how a person maneuvered through these stages determined the person’s life. Outdoing Freud, the Sandfords go further back into the prenatal period, as we shall show shortly.

Biblical Basis for the Use of the Past?

There is no biblical basis for the use of the past (past determinants of behavior). The Bible includes the past works of God in history, because we are to remember the works of God both individually and corporately. But, regarding the Christian walk, the cross took care of the past. The walk of the believer is to be according to the new life and is therefore present and future oriented. In Philippians 3 Paul gives his religious and personal background, on which he had depended for righteousness before God. But when confronted by Jesus he saw his own wretched sinfulness, not only that he had persecuted the church, but that he was sinful to the core. He knew he could not make himself righteous by going back into his past. Therefore he declared: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Phil. 3:13-14). This does not mean an inability to recall the past; it means that the past now has a different significance. Biblically speaking, attempting to fix the past is purely a fleshly activity, which when indulged in wars against the spirit.

A person need not be trapped in negative patterns of behavior established in the early years of life, for the Bible offers a new way of life. Put off the old man; put on the new. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again,” and He said elsewhere that new wine could not be put into old wineskins. Jesus offers new life and new beginnings. One who is born again has the spiritual capacity to overcome old ways and develop new ones through the action of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, and the sanctification of the believer. One wonders why so many have given up the hope of Christianity for the hopelessness of past determinism.

Scientific Basis for the Use of the Past?

There is no predictive validity to the relationship between early life circumstances and present life. If you want to test it out, examine 100, 200, 500 kids in preschool or at whatever point in early life. Give all the tests you want and then predict what the children will be like as adults. Even Freud knew better than this. He could be postdictive (look back to connect one’s early life with one’s present adult life), but never predictive (look ahead from a child’s present life to tell how his future life as an adult will be). Given an adult with a problem, a Freudian will then interview the person and tell him how his childhood determined his present life. It is obvious that there is no science involved in this, only guess work.

Orville Brim, Jr., of the Foundation for Child Development in New York, studied this question. “Most of Brim’s career has been devoted to charting the course of child development and its relation to adult personality; recently he has become convinced that ‘far from being programmed permanently by the age of 5, people are virtually reprogrammable throughout life.’” Brim says: “Hundred and hundreds of studies now document the fact of personality change in adulthood.”⁷

Jerome Kagen of Harvard and co-researcher Howard Moss say they “could find little relation between psychological qualities during the first three years of life—fearfulness, irritability, or activity—and any aspect of behavior in adulthood.”⁸

Victor and Mildred Goertzel investigated this fallacy of early life determinants. In their book Cradles of Eminence, they report on the early environments of over four hundred eminent men and women of the twentieth century who had experienced a wide variety of trials and tribulations during their childhood.⁹ It is surprising and even shocking to discover the environmental handicaps that have been overcome by individuals who should have been psychically determined failures according to Freudian formulas. Instead of being harmed by unfortunate early circumstances, they became outstanding in many different fields of endeavor and contributed much to mankind. What might have been environmental curses seemed to act, rather, as catalysts to spawn genius and creativity. This study is not an argument for poor upbringing; it is an argument against psychic determinism.

Early Life and En Utero Healing: One more dimension to the inner healing practices is that of believing that very early life and even en utero healings can take place. The inner healer encourages the person to imagine early life situations and even en utero situations. And then to imagine Jesus being in that situation ministering to them.

John and Paul Sandford say:

By revelation of the Holy Spirit, we have been led to pray for thousands of traumas en utero, treating those as factual. Dramatic results in mental, emotional, and physical healings, and transpersonal behavior testify to the reality of such en utero traumas.¹⁰

This all flies in opposition to the well-known, scientific fact that memory is related to the development of the hypocampus of the brain, which is fundamental to memory formation, and therefore such memories do not exist in the brain.

The Sandfords also say:

We have found under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and found that science confirms that a baby within the womb already knows, experiences, tastes and feels everything which is going on around him. He knows whether he is wanted. He knows what is going on in the family. He knows whether there are bickerings and fightings. He hears everything that is going on in the family and inside the womb already reacts in his spirit and can make sinful choices within his spirit before he ever gets out of the womb, having already set himself in rebellious, hurtful ways before he is born.¹¹

The Sandfords claim that if a child is conceived out of wedlock the child knows it in the womb. If the mother thought about abortion, the child knows it. If the mother hoped for a boy and is carrying a girl, the child knows it. And how do they know all these things? According to the Sandfords, the Holy Spirit told them and their experiences confirmed it. In their attempt to biblically prove their outrageous statements, the Sandfords quote Luke 1:41, “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.”

Using Bible verses out of context to support what they teach is typical of how the Sandfords twist Scripture to justify their inner healing tactics. Note that “the babe [John the Baptist] leaped in her [Elisabeth’s] womb” and that “Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.” This was a sovereign act of God that involved two persons, the “babe” (John the Baptist) and Elisabeth in response to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Such a specific act of God cannot be used to prove anything generally about any other unborn child’s ability to know and experience what the Sandford’s claim. It is as unbiblical as saying that all pregnant mothers are “filled with the Holy Ghost” in the manner and for the purpose that Elisabeth was.

Luke 1:41 magnificently confirms the presence of the Messiah in Mary’s womb, and Elisabeth’s words in Luke 1:42-44, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, confirm that glorious truth. Luke 1:41 also foretells John the Baptist’s unique role to as the forerunner of Jesus. The words “the babe leaped in her womb” in verse 41 have been preceded with a great deal of information about the conception of both babies. In reference to the babe, John the Baptist, Luke 1:15 says: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” This is a unique prenatal event not found elsewhere in Scripture. Also, nothing is said in Luke 1 or in all of the Bible to which the Sandfords can refer that would support their fallacious claims that babes in the womb would have the knowledge and understanding that they assume.

To reduce this supernatural heralding of the Messiah to an ordinary occurrence due to some natural ability within all unborn children is to undermine Scripture and make it say what it does not mean. Indeed, to our knowledge, no one in the history of the church has given such an egregious application of verse 41. Inner healers major in eisegesis, which is interpreting Scripture with one’s own ideas, rather than explaining what the Bible is actually saying.

Summary

Therefore, we are not determined by our unconscious and we are not determined by our past. However, those two ingredients are essential to the inner healer and are fundamental to many psychoheresies. These ideas form the theoretical base for what inner healers and many counselors do. These erroneous notions from the cauldron of psychoheresy are both taught and believed by many Christians as they attempt to address problems of living. These two mental concepts (the unconscious and the past) are detrimental to the clear teachings of Scripture. They displace God’s Word as the final authority in areas of life and godliness. Christian, beware! Be wary and avoid such heretical teachings and practices, especially when used with the Bible as in Theophostic Prayer Ministry and other inner healing ministries.

In Parts Two and Three (next issues), we discuss three more ingredients of many psychoheresies that are also used in the inner healing movement. These are the use of memory, the emotions, and imagery. While the unconscious and the past are the essential ingredients of many psychoheresies; memory, emotions, and imagery are the added collaborative dangers of inner healing.

(PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, January-February 2007, Vol. 15, No. 1)

Endnotes
1 John and Paula Sandford.

2 Henri F. Ellenberger. The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers,

3 Ernest R. Hilgard, Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson. Introduction to Psychology, 7^th Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., 1979, p. 389.

4 Agnes Sanford. The Healing Gifts of the Spirit. New York: Trumpet Books, 1966, p. 10.

5 E. M. Thornton. The Freudian Fallacy. Garden City, NY: The Dial Press/Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1984, p. ix.

6 Ethan Watters and Richard Ofshe. Therapy’s Delusions. New York: Scribner, 1999, pp. 38,39.

7 Carol Tavris, “Freedom to Change,” Prime Time, October 1980, p. 31.

8 Ibid., p. 32.

9 Victor and Mildred Goertzel. Cradles of Eminence. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1962.

10 John and Paula Sandford. Restoring the Christian Family. Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, p. 15.

11 John and Paula Sandford, “Healing the Prenatal Spirit,” sound recording

Richard Foster Exposed

Lance Wallnau Exposed

Deliverance Deceivers

Biblical Deliverance Prescription-Wholeness in Christ [podcast]

Upholding Jesus, the Only Head of His Body [podcast]

Apostasy

Spiritual Formation—A Dangerous Substitute for the Life of Christ [podcast]

Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again. That’s essential. . . . But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. . . . We have to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is also done to us by those around us, by ourselves, and by activities which we voluntarily undertake . . .There has to be method.¹—Dallas Willard

Aside from the fact that Spiritual Formation incorporates mystical practices into its infrastructure (remove the contemplative aspect and you don’t have “Spiritual Formation” anymore), Spiritual Formation is a works-based substitute for biblical Christianity. Let us explain.

When one becomes born again (“that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9-10), having given his or her life and heart over to Christ as Savior, Jesus Christ says He will come in and live in that surrendered heart:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Colossians 1:27)

If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11; emphasis added)

When God, through Jesus Christ, is living in us, He begins to do a transforming work in our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:18). Not only does He change us, He also communes with us. In other words, we have fellowship with Him, and He promises never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

This life of God in the believer’s heart is not something we need to conjure up through meditative practices. But if a person does not have this relationship with the Lord, he may seek out ways to feel close to God. This is where Spiritual Formation comes into play. Rather than a surrendered life to Christ (through repentance and faith), the seeking person begins practicing the spiritual disciplines (e.g., prayer, fasting, good works, etc.) with the promise that if he practices these disciplines, he will become more Christ-like.

But merely doing these acts fails to make one feel close to God—something is still missing. And thus, he begins practicing the discipline of silence (or solitude), and now in these altered states of silence, he finally feels connected to God. He now feels complete. What he does not understand is that he has substituted the indwelling of Christ in his heart for a works-based methodology that endangers his spiritual life. Dangerous because these mystical experiences he now engages in appear to be good because they make him feel close to God, but in reality he is being drawn into demonic realms no different than what happens to someone who is practicing transcendental meditation or eastern meditation. Even mystics themselves acknowledge that the contemplative realm is no different than the realm reached by occultists. To understand this more fully, please read Ray Yungen’s book A Time of Departing.

Bottom line, it is not possible to be truly Christ-like without having Christ inside of us because it is His righteousness that is able to change our hearts—we cannot do it without Him. It is His righteousness we need:

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. (Romans 3:22)

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. (Philippians 3:9)

It is interesting to note that virtually every contemplative teacher has a common theme—they feel dry and empty and want to go “deeper” with God or “become more intimate” with God. But if we have Christ living in us, how can we go any deeper than that? How can we become more intimate than that? And if going deeper and becoming intimate were so important, why is it that none of the disciples or Jesus Himself ever told us to do this? As Larry DeBruyn states:

Why are Christians seeking a divine presence that Jesus promised would abundantly flow in them? . . . Why do they need another voice, another visitation, or another vision? Why are some people unthankfully desirous of “something more” than what God has already given to us? Why is it that some Christians, in the depth of their souls, are not seemingly at rest?²

Is There a “Good” Spiritual Formation?

One of the most common arguments we hear defending Spiritual Formation is that there is a “good” Spiritual Formation done without contemplative prayer. To that we say, we have never yet seen a Spiritual Formation program in a school or a church that doesn’t in some way point people to the contemplative mystics. It might be indirectly, but in every case, if you follow the trail, it will lead you right into the arms of Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and other contemplative teachers.

Think about this common scenario: A Christian college decides to begin a Spiritual Formation course. The instructor has heard some negative things about Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, and Brennan Manning, and he figures he will teach the class “good Spiritual Formation” and leave those teachers completely out. But he’s going to need a textbook. He turns to a respected institution, Dallas Theological Seminary, and finds a book written by Paul Pettit, Professor in Pastoral and Education Ministries. The book is titled Foundations of Spiritual Formation. The instructor who has found this book to use in his own class may never mention Richard Foster or Dallas Willard, but the textbook he is using does. Within the pages of Pettit’s book is Richard Foster, Philip Yancey, N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard, Thomas Aquinas, Lectio Divina, Ayn Rand, Parker Palmer, Eugene Peterson, J.P. Moreland, Klaus Issler, Bruce Demarerst, Jim Burns, Kenneth Boa and Brother Lawrence’s “practicing God’s presence.” You may not have heard of all these names, but they are all associated with the mystical contemplative prayer movement and the emerging church.

Another example of this is Donald Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Whitney is former Associate Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While his book does not promote contemplative mysticism, he says that Richard Foster has “done much good”³ in the area of Christian spirituality (which we believe is blatantly untrue).

Our point is that even if there is a sincere attempt to teach Spiritual Formation and stay away from the mystical side, we contend that it cannot be successfully accomplished because it will always lead back to the ones who have brought it to the church in the first place.

Spiritual formation is sweeping throughout Christianity today. It’s no wonder when the majority of Christian leaders have either endorsed the movement or given it a silent pass. For instance, in Chuck Swindoll’s book So You Want to Be Like Christ: 8 Essential Disciplines to Get You There, Swindoll favorably quotes Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. Swindoll calls Celebration of Discipline a “meaningful work”⁴ and Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines “excellent work.”⁵ In chapter three, ”Silence and Solitude,” Swindoll talks about “digging for secrets . . . that will deepen our intimacy with God.”⁶ Quoting the contemplative poster-verse Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” Swindoll says the verse is a call to the “discipline of silence.”⁷ As other contemplative proponents have done, he has taken this verse very much out of context.

Roger Oakland sums it up:

The Spiritual Formation movement . . . teaches people that this is how they can become more intimate with God and truly hear His voice. Even Christian leaders with longstanding reputations of teaching God’s word seem to be succumbing. . . .

We are reconciled to God only through his “death” (the atonement for sin), and we are presented “holy and unblameable and unreproveable” when we belong to Him through rebirth. It has nothing to do with works, rituals, or mystical experiences. It is Christ’s life in the converted believer that transforms him.⁸

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10

What Christians need is not a method or program or ritual or practice that will supposedly connect them to God. What we need is to be “in Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:30) and Christ in us. And He has promised His Spirit “will guide [us] into all truth” (John 16:13).

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” 1 Corinthians 1:30

In Colossians 1:9, the apostle Paul tells the saints that he was praying for them that they “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” He was praying that they would have discernment (“spiritual understanding”). He said that God, the Father, has made us “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (vs 12) and had “delivered us from the power of darkness [i.e., power of deception]” (vs. 13). But what was the key to having this wisdom and spiritual understanding and being delivered from the power of darkness? Paul tells us in that same chapter. He calls it “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (vs. 26). What is that mystery? Verse 27 says: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (emphasis added).

For those wanting to get involved with the Spiritual Formation movement (i.e., contemplative, spiritual direction), consider the “direction” you will actually be going.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. (Colossians 1:21-23)

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2: 8-10)

This article is an extract from the Lighthouse Trails booklet, Is Your Church Doing Spiritual Formation? (Important Reasons Why They Shouldn’t). To order this booklet, click here.

Endnotes:
1. Dallas Willard, “Spiritual Formation: What it is, and How it is Done” (https://dwillard.org/resources/articles/spiritual-formation-what-it-is-and-how-it-is-done).

2. Larry DeBruyn, “God’s Present of His Presence” (https://www.guardinghisflock.org/gods-present-of-his-presence/ ).

3. Donald Whitney, “Doctrine and Devotion: A Reunion Devoutly to be Desired” (http://web.archive.org/web/20080828052145/http://biblicalspirituality.org/devotion.html).

4. Chuck Swindoll, So You Want to Be Like Christ: 8 Essential Disciplines to Get You There (Nashville, TN:W Publishing Group, a div. of Thomas Nelson, 2005), p. 15.

5. Ibid., p. 13.

6. Ibid., p. 55.

7. Ibid.

8. Roger Oakland, Faith Undone (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007), pp. 91-92.

This has been an extract from our booklet Is Your Church Doing Spiritual Formation? (Important Reasons Why It Shouldn’t). To order this booklet, click here.

Spiritual Formation Exposed |

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The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines

The Dangers of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Disciplines A Critique of Dallas Willard and The Spirit of the Disciplines by Bob DeWaayPractices called “spiritual disciplines” that are deemed necessary for “spiritual formation” have entered evangelicalism. Recent encounters with this teaching narrated to me by friends caused me to investigate these practices. The first experience involved my friend and co-worker Ryan Habbena who went back to seminary to finish his masters degree. Here is his experience in his own words: I recently took a seminary course on the book of Luke. It was a summer intensive and was one of only […]

SHOCKING List of Spiritual Formation Ministries

More Catholic Witchcraft Infiltrating the Apostate Seminaries, Ministries, and Churches “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 WHAT is spiritual formation / contemplative prayer or centering prayer? Spiritual formation/contemplative prayer/spirituality is just another self-centered, Christ-denying, self-righteous, works-based, occultic, pagan lie from hell! Seminaries teach it and now many churches today are practicing new age witchcraft called contemplative prayer, or centering Prayer which is part of spiritual formation. […]

Articles

Chosen for Holiness [podcast]

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4

Holiness comes by the Savior in self denial (death and burial – the cross), not by self will or effort. Surrender is the cross – “NOT my will but thine be done” (Lk. 22:42) and “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). We surrender to Christ by saying “Not my will but thine be done” dear Lord, by Your grace and the deliberate act of my own will I submit to the cross, the crucified life – where You alone reign supreme in this vessel (Luke 22:42; Galatians 2:20, etc.). I love You LORD Jesus! You must increase but I must decrease! (John 3:30)

Holiness, not happiness, is the divine command, the chief purpose and end of Christ’s salvation.

Of holiness, one disciple writes:

“Holiness speaks more to nature than it does conduct. Good conduct is the spontaneous byproduct of the new nature of the new creation man thru the cross and death to the old nature. We are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-18). To preach holiness as conduct without the new nature thru the cross understanding is legalism. Holiness is actually derived from ‘wholeness’ meaning the thorough transformation of the whole tripartite man (1 Thess 5:23). So many of these ‘holiness’ preachers are preaching nothing but conduct under law. Law arouses sinful passions and causes sin to increase and was given in order to provoke transgressions (Rom 7:5; 5:20; Gal 3:21). They are enemies of the cross!”

Holiness comes by way of the cross, not by way of the flesh. Just as sin was conquered by the cross of Christ, so sin in the life of the saint is conquered by the daily cross – the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.). It’s time to stop trying harder and to simply die deeper.

NOTICE: When a believer or group of believers backslides, they no longer separate from the transgressors who are unrepentant:

Fornication Defiles

“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have (Gr. possessed and wouldn’t repent) his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:1-2

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The Glorious Church Jesus is Returning for [video]

WHAT church/people is Jesus returning for? “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 “a glorious church” “not having spot (no sin)“ No “wrinkle” “or any such thing” “but that it should be holy and without blemish” WHAT’s the use of talking about end times […]

Can a True Believer Overcome All Sin? [podcast]

Yes. In the church world, there’s an abundance of talk about sin and it comes with the notion, the inflection, the false assumption that somehow, born again believers are relegated to sinning, as if there’s no other choice. Is that true? Is this the biblical perspective? What I want us to do is make sure we are looking at the whole of Scripture and be blessed to gain a godly confidence that our Savior provided a perfect salvation that includes more than just the initial washing away of our sins. This “great grace” that He provided in His “so […]

The Truth about Holiness [podcast]

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11 As we just read, divine “holiness” is “glorious.” Holiness is not what most of us think it is. Holiness in the divine economy is something of great “beauty” and utterly refreshing (Psalms 96:9). It seems that holiness is not merely a divine attribute but rather the divine nature of the Almighty. Are we ready to allow our LORD, who alone is “Holy, holy, holy,” to define what holiness truly is and how He brings it […]

Apostasy

SATAN’S SEMINARIANS [podcast]

Seminaries are the Invention of Satan

WHEN Jesus declared “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16), …. was Jesus speaking here of men who “earned” and paid big money for a degree, a piece of paper from a “higher learning” institution of mere men? No. Read John 15:1-16 and you will see that Jesus alone can choose, call, prepare, and ordain a man to be fruitful in His work. The LORD’s work is to choose, to call, prepare, ordain, purge, and to send for the divine purpose of “fruit …. more fruit… and much fruit” to be born in the lives of those men He is using.

Biblical Case against Seminary: Save Your Money and time – Go to the Savior, Not Seminary!

It should be noted that in God’s Word, where the specific qualifications for elders are given, not one of those descriptions includes having a degree from a higher learning institution. See 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

Seminaries originated with the catholic church—which is where the protestants got it. Sad but true. The curse of seminaries continues today. Beware saints. Seminaries are wolf factories. Think about it, the business model, it’s the denominations who have the seminaries. This is to train their prey to uniformly spread heresies and to build church businesses to collect money whereby those denominations are paid fees and a percentage of every dollar collected. Dallas Theological Seminaries forces enrollees from the beginning to sign a contract that avows them to not teach the biblical doctrine of enduring to the end. The eternal security heresy they peddle ensures much busine$$ success.

“Seminaries originated in the 16th century, primarily as a Roman Catholic response to the Reformation to better train priests, with the first established by St. Charles Borromeo in 1563. The term derives from the Latin seminarium (“seed plot” or “plant nursery”), symbolizing the cultivation of spiritual growth and faith.”

Any man who submits his life to a seminary has openly declared that he wants mere sinful men to train him to do God’s work instead of submitting his life to the LORD Himself—as did all the patriarchs, prophets and apostles—not one of them who was seminary trained (as we know such today). Yes the apostle Paul was formally trained BEFORE he was saved and then denounced all of it—all of his formal training after being saved and in preparation to serve the LORD. Read Philippians 3.

Let me get this straight…. You saved me LORD BUT I’m going to trust sinful men to train me at the seminary (Jeremiah 17:5).

God doesn’t send anyone to seminary. He never once sent any of the patriarchs, prophets, or apostles to seminary. “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

Many are led to believe the following lie: “I need to go to seminary if I want to be a preacher, pastor, or in the ministry.” Yes if you want to be just another false prophet, go to seminary. They are wolf factories.

The moment the LORD saves us, we are in His school of the Holy Spirit and Word.

Satan’s centralization of learning, indoctrination: when the source is poisoned, all that flows from that cursed source is poisoned—from the seminaries to the local churches.

YOU HAVE GOD’S WORD, A BIBLE, READ IT FOR YOURSELF.

The question of whether or not we should trust professional clergymen, seminarians and their supposed superior knowledge and understanding.

In Matthew 11:25 , God says that He reveals His truth, truths to even the babes in Christ.

Notice how that “from a child” Timothy knew the “holy scriptures” and the wisdom they give us. Timothy studied and knew and could understand God’s Word as a little “child.” No degreed seminarian needed.

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17

“Seminaries and Bible colleges absolutely do make men boastful and proud over a fake degree. Jesus calls His people to be servants and nothing more. I also think of Paul when he separated the true disciples from the synagogue because the Jews were in contradiction of the gospel. So he separated them and taught them in the Apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42). He trained them in the whole of the scriptures. And this resulted in the widespread dispersing of the gospel (Acts 19:9-10).” Karen Cochran

Upon saving you, Jesus put His Holy Spirit in you and inducted you into His school of the Holy Ghost and Word (Psalms 119:105). No one needs “Bible college” or “seminary” to read and obey God’s Word (King James Bible). Jesus told no man to “go to Bible college/seminary.” Seminarian and Bible college graduates pridefully boast of their degrees and positions, lording it over others….as if they are superior. Isn’t this where the clergy/laity rankings were furthered? Does this not go diametrically against the teaching of our LORD? Yes it does. See Matthew 20:24-28 and 23:8-12.

Think about it: Seminary trains men to lord it over others, while the preparation for ministry the LORD enacts teaches His elders to go forth as He did —to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:24-28 and 23:8-12). The whole premise of seminaries is based on a lie—the lie of usurping authority that God never ordained you to have. This further underscores that the author of seminaries is Satan himself. See Isaiah 14:12-15.

“Excellent teaching. Thank you. I think of 2 Timothy 2:21 which tells us how we are made vessels fit for the Master’s use. In that passage nor any other, we don’t see the word seminary. Vessels of honor are purged in the fire of affliction. And sanctified internally by the blood of Christ to bring forth fruit for His glory. This is how we are prepared by the Spirit of God to be used by the Master! No seminary school can do that. It is entirely the work of the Spirit through our ‘obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter: 1:2).” Karen Cochran

Seminaries, seminarians are Satan’s way of controlling the people via their clergy. No group is more famous for this than the Roman religion.

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19

Of the seminarian devils who litter the landscape of the American pulpits, Karen Cochran writes:

“And these apostate churches will only hire these wolves in sheep’s clothing Jesus warned us to beware of (Matthew 7:15). Therefore they don’t get men like the Apostles who gave their whole lives to preaching, warning, and teaching Jesus Christ! See Colossians 1:28. Then they died for the sake of Christ. The seminarian wolves of our day only preach about self, the self-life! They could care less about giving all for the sake of Christ!”

Only the cross, the crucified life, can keep us from sin (Romans 6:7; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:12). No amount of knowledge, even the truth, can keep us from sin. The truth of the cross Jesus commanded must be applied, obeyed—or you will not walk nor be with Him (Luke 9:23-24; John 8:31-32). The crucified life is something one will rarely if ever hear in seminaries or out of the mouth of seminarians.

Saints, we must follow Jesus. That’s why we have a Bible that He provided (Luke 4:4). We must cease with our idolatrous fascination with certain schools and men who seem to have a deep understanding of things. The idolatry of mere men will not keep us from living in sin.

Are you personally crucified with Christ?

If not, you ARE living in sin.

“He that is dead (crucified with Christ) is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7

Read Romans 6 each morning and obey God. | The Cross Life

One can have the whole Bible memorized and understand it all, and still die and go to hell. You must walk with Christ—live a crucified life of prayer—or you will perish irrevocably in the flames of eternal damnation. Judas walked with Jesus, he saw the miracles and heard His teachings first hand and died and busted hell wide open. The Truth about Judas

Professionalism is poison. There were no professional pastors in the early church. The seminary system is the factory that creates such business men, frauds (2 Peter 2:1-3).

The modern church world is driven by Satan’s seminarians: WHAT has it produced?

Are you a living, breathing epistle, a disciple of Jesus, or just another modern pharisee, a seminarian-deceived fraud who hides in a building while collecting a salary and misleading people to hell?

NO such thing as an “official” seminarian credentialed pastor or preacher in the early church! Beware. Satan’s seminary system exposed.

Notice how the unchanging LORD worked in Paul after He saved him:

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia (the desert), and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” Galatians 1:15-18

Jesus is the Savior and Sanctifier—the only One who can prepare and ordain a man to ministry (John 15:16). Only three years later did Paul consult with men—AFTER God had spoken directly to him. The apostles were saved and taught of God, not mere sinful men.

“Despite God’s word commanding men not to boast in their wisdom, and despite being told that ‘not many wise according to the flesh’ are called, today’s evangelical landscape is replete with scribes and pharisees whose default question is, ‘By what authority do you do these things?’ They put their stock in how many credit hours they have obtained at such and such a seminary. Seminary credentials never qualified a man for God’s service, nor does a lack of “formal training” nullify what God approves. Indeed, God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). When God calls anyone to a particular task, it matters not if others approve.” Servus Christi

YOU going trust a sinful seminarian or the only Savior? Hell awaits.

Many today, upon sensing a calling, go to men to be prepared, to seminary. Consequently, they are deceived and then go forth to deceive others (2 Timothy 3:7).

The early church – Acts: On fire, full of the Holy Spirit had no trained seminarians.
Today’s apostate, lukewarm church world: Run into the ground by vatican corrupted, hireling seminarians.

The fruit of the modern churches are Clear proof that Satan is at the root of the seminarians who’ve driven them into apostasy!

“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” Jeremiah 48:10

Joel Nelson writes:

“It’s time to get rid of the corrupted clutter of the money-changing seminarian clergy wolves and get back to true, undiluted, uncorrupted, pure worship and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). Ask yourself: WHAT has the seminary-driven church building based system ever produced to glorify Christ? Do those who attend look like the on-fire-for-Jesus, Holy Ghost filled believers you read about in the books of Acts? Hardly.”

Protestant evangelical seminarians are a fraternal order of vatican-trained soul thieves. They control what is and what is not said to the people. They purposely withhold the truth.

Most modern pastors are in darkness and that’s witnessed by the simple fact that they use and promote Satan’s false “bibles.”

Seminarian “pastors” do not follow Christ but rather they follow what men and devils taught them in seminary.

God is Calling all Seminarian and Bible College Students, Graduates to Repent

Attention seminarian or Bible College student, graduate: Not only does seminary not prepare you to be used of God, it gives you many things to unlearn and costs you much more than just a lot of wasted money. The ONE who saved you (if you are in fact saved) is the only ONE who can sanctify and prepare you to serve HIM. Seminary is at its root, apostasy, a departing from God to mere sinful men. If you claim to be born again and yet run to men to prepare you, there should be great concern (Galatians 1:16-17). PLAIN PROOF: Today’s apostate modern so-called “churches” become as they are – ichabod – by way of the jesuit-trained seminarian hirelings who drove them headlong into that apostasy. Seminiarian Apostasy Busted and Exposed!

Seminarian led churches are designed to create counterfeits. This was Satan’s objective and it’s worked! Run for your life!

Going to seminary is a deliberate work of the flesh—to trust mere sinful men instead of the One you claim saved you. Going to seminary means you are saying “LORD, you saved me but I need mere man to prepare me to serve You because LORD You are not able to do such!” Repentance needed!

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:5-10

“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah 2:22

Seminarians are taught half-truths, man’s philosophies, pagan/occultic practices (example: contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, etc.), marketing, the curse of calvinism, etc.). They are taught to conduct a church busine$$ and in order to do such you must entertain and intentionally dodge the hard truths Jesus and His apostles taught. | Richard Foster Exposed

“DON’T you dare share the truth about the cross! If you do, God’s people will wreak havoc on my kingdom! I’ve put my preachers in place for decades now so that this explosive message could be hidden! Now don’t you dare spoil my plan!” ~SATAN

SIMPLE QUESTION: Did Jesus ever once call anyone to a “higher learning institution”? No. So, to go the way of the flesh is to depart from God’s way and thereby give oneself over to the deception of Satan himself. Jeremiah 17:4-7 … anyone with an ounce of discernment can see that the visible modern church is apostate and it can only be due to the seminarian icebergs in those pulpits that there is lukewarmness at best in the pew. Such was never the divine intention for the truth church Jesus died to save and sanctify.

JESUS never once taught His disciples how to PREACH yet He did teach them to PRAY. Today, seminaries teach their students to PREACH but not to PRAY. Should we wonder why modern building-based churches are apostate?

Paul denounced his higher learning in order to know and serve Christ truly …. and his education makes today’s lame seminary training look like a kindergarten picnic…. Philippians 3.

“Jesus sent Paul into the seminary in the desert.” Stan Podlacha

ANY local church that requires a seminary degree to be a pastor there, is apostate. Ichabod! LOOK for yourself at the fruit of modern building-based “Christianity” commandeered by seminarians…. apostate, heretical, lukewarm, hell bound! … the fruit of seminaries! You can’t pay money to be prepared by God—you must “pay” by truly repenting, laying down your life, and following Christ in a daily cross walk! you have a Bible! Study it! Memorize Scripture! Obey God!

Genuinely born again truth-seeking disciples will repent today and denounce the sham of “higher learning”—trading it in for a real walk with Christ, full of His Word and Holy Ghost. That’s His only way of using men (John 15).

Professional clergy is a diabolical scheme. seminarians were Satan’s plan from the beginning to replace, to destroy God-ordained organic Bible study by Christians (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16, etc.). The LORD is calling us to repent and return to Acts 2:42 and Colossians 3:16 New Testament living!

SEMINARY is a shortcut and a time waster. Jesus sends men to the cross and to Pentecost—otherwise they are not prepared or sent by Christ, the only Ordainer (John 15:16). They are self-sent.

ANY local church assembly or organization that requires a certificate or degree is carnal, worldly minded and absolutely apostate. The Word says to “know them which labour among you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12), and when you know a man, you know if he is capable to teach God’s pure Word!

NEVER allow some corruptED seminary dupe override the WORD itself and common sense God gave you!

Satan’s Seminaries are a Sham! YOU show me a church “pastored” by one of Satan’s seminarians and I will show you a cold, dead, apostate sham!

History reveals that seminaries and seminarians are a curse. Those churches which require a seminary degree from their pastors are Ichabod, backslidden, lukewarm, and kindling for the fires of hell. Example: It is a historical fact that the methodist church, which was previously on fire via John Wesley only backslid when it began requiring a seminary degree for their pastors. The seminary agenda is not God’s. The enemy has hi-jacked those institutions long ago. Among other errant things, seminarians learn:

“Den of thieves” Marketing—making merchandise of the people (Matthew 21:15-17; 2 Peter 2:1-3)
False doctrines such as “eternal security” and Calvinism (Jude 3-4, etc.).
Traditions of mere sinful men (Matthew 7:13; Colossians 2:8)
Entertainment: How to be “relevant”—Seminarian pastors have traded in the cross to be cool and by doing so are sending themselves and those they mislead to eternal damnation.
Ecumenism which is the amalgamating of true Christians with the antichrist cult of Rome/Catholic church.

Seminaries today manufacture and train cross-less counterfeits to “make merchandise of” that which calls itself the house of God. They are taught and sent out to make their franchise churches into a a “den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:12-17; 2 Peter 2:1-3)

Your education, gifting, seminary degree, title, and church building mean nothing in Christ’s kingdom until laid down and in true repentance you admit your own utter poverty and great, desperate need for the presence mercy, grace, and anointing of God. Repent and denounce it all as Paul did. Read Philippians 3 and obey the LORD by following the apostle Paul’s example. To prepare men, the un-changing Savior sent men to the cross and to Pentecost (baptism with the Holy Spirit). To obtain a seminary degree, a man must sell Christ out for the trinkets of this fleeting world and in doing so, such a counterfeit fraud has sold his eternal soul to the devil and will be used of Satan to mislead and damn the souls of many. Men only get degrees to get a church job and make money. Authentic disciples of Christ allow the Savior who found and saved them to sanctify, teach, and equip them by His Word and Holy Spirit (Acts 4:13, etc.). There is no such thing or example in the New Testament Scriptures of a man of God going to a higher learning institution to learn to serve God. Jesus never sent anyone to a seminary – but rather to the cross and Pentecost (baptism with the Holy Ghost). Seminary is clearly seen in Jeremiah 17:5-7. Grace and Truth Bible School Online

Salvador Cruz writes: “I don’t call anyone my pastor except Jesus Christ….. He’s my one and only Pastor, humans are my brothers and sisters.”

What Salvador Cruz states is Bible: That is exactly what Jesus taught beloved!

“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Matthew 23:8-12

One disciples writes:

“I have found over the past number of years, as I have ‘answered a call’ from a church to be a pastor or teacher or whatever, I have mostly found that they are looking for the ‘whatever.’ Most of the churches that require a man-given degree are not looking for shepherds to feed the flock of God, but administrators to run the church after their likeness and their own carnal image. Their image by the way is usually the thing they care about most—numbers, programs, and ‘Do we look good?’ etc. No cross. Apostate. Ichabod. I have stayed at none of these churches because, other than running through the list in Timothy or Titus, most churches require no spiritual qualifications such as: Are you born again by the Spirit of God? Have you been baptized in obedience to God’s Word.? Have you made full proof of your ministry? Are you an ambassador for Christ? Do you see the need to equip the saints for ministry? If a church is not satisfied with the words of Jesus, Paul, John the Baptist, Amos, David, Isaiah and Nehemiah, they won’t want the likes of me.”

Read closely the words of Jesus recorded in John 15:16. HE ALONE can ordain you and so we do despite to the Son of God when we seek sinful man’s sham of an “ordination.”

A follower of Jesus writes:

“If God has called you to The Ministry, then God will provide the open door for that ministry. Ministry as it was first given to the Levites in the Old Testament was First a ministry UNTO THE LORD. Our modern age has forgotten that. Not all ministry toward man is pulpit in a church style. All believers have been called to ministry but most are not willing to obey that calling, instead desiring more, they seek the positional style of ministry.”

In the stated qualifications for an elder in the body of Christ, there is no mention of obtaining a degree from the world that claims to be of Christ via a “Christian” seminary (1 Timothy 3). I didn’t even hint that knowing the Word of God isn’t important YET WHO EVER SAID YOU NEED SEMINARY FOR SUCH? Only a lazy fraud feels the need to pay a seminary tens of thousands of dollars to be indoctrinated by devils. BIBLICAL CASE AGAINST SEMINARY: SAVE YOUR MONEY AND TIME—GO TO THE SAVIOR, NOT SEMINARY! Jesus learned the Word without the human and demonic pollution of seminary (John 7:14-16).

SO, you claim JESUS saved you but then denied the Son of God the place of sanctifying you? So, you signed up to pay big money to get mere sinful men in a seminary to teach, prepare, and equip you? Time to repent and return to Christ before it’s too late.

Seminarian sissies use sissy Bibles. The last thing they use is the real Bible —The King James Bible. Counterfeits use catholic corrupted and controlled counterfeit “bibles.”

Scott Boyd writes:

“It was the history surrounding the evil antichrist Catholic Church and how the majority of all the other churches follow many of their antichrist teachings (those of paganism and sun worship customs) instead of following what is clearly taught in the Bible, that sent me down the road of searching for truth. While doing so I completed hundreds of different Bible studies from every denomination I could find and with that said, I found that nearly all of them taught only bits and pieces of watered down Scripture and doctrine, and instead, there were many of the antichrist examples of the Catholic Church in their teachings. Very few actually taught the truth about Scripture. Unless someone does deep research, they will never know the truth because the teachers of false doctrine and deception mix the lies with truth, so it sounds pretty good at first, but they leave out the main substance of the Truth of God’s Word. I have seen this over and over through many studies. It Definitely takes a thorough study of the Bible in order to be able to detect all the false doctrine and deception that is involved in nearly all of the churches.”

Nancy Cote writes:

“Spoken like a true Shepherd being taught to love God’s Word and fear God and NOT man! God, my prayer is that you would bring TRUE repentance and salvation to these cemetery motivational speakers. God is shaking and exposing what is not of His Spirit. WOF, NAR, Seeker Sensitive/Emergent, Southern Baptist etc. I pray that we can get just one true repented heart out of each bunch to call out sin in the camp for what it is.”

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“Some seminaries who indoctrinate with their presupotionalist theology are really bad, but some folks just go to learn about everything that has been taught. Education rather then indoctrination. You don’t need seminary to be anointed but if your gonna teach dogmatic about what Scripture means you should learn a bit about how to get context and such.”

REPLY:

Hi Kevin. God bless you. Inevitably there is definitely going to be indoctrination. There’s actually no reason to waste so much time and money on going to seminary when all the books (NT/OT surveys, etc) can be bought anywhere Christian books are sold. Commentaries are readily available. Simply diligently studying the King James Bible daily is all one needs along with studying with brothers and sister in small groups. This is the stated, divined-revealed design for Christ’s New Testament church and so everything else is counterfeit (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16).

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“It is important to have a degree in theology from a university or Bible college which is recognized that shows you are a man of study… so many fall away and don’t finish their studies including pastors and their wives… It’s the same as saying we hire apprentices only on a construction site until the building crashes.”

REPLY:

No, that is not according to the New Testament but rather mere human reasoning. Among believers we are to “know them which labour among you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12). We have no hint much less instruction to go to a higher learning institute of men. In fact God hates centralizing learning which is what we saw at the tower of Babel in Genesis, right? God scattered. Satan loves centralization because then he can control what is taught such as we see in the demonic public school system. Also, you assume a man can’t study Scripture individually and with the body of Christ in his immediate location. THAT’S exactly what New Testament believers are instructed to do and that the earliest believers did (Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:17).

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“Seminaries exist because of what Jesus Christ and his disciples did! They are for the training of leadership for the church!”

RESPONSE:

Seminaries today are not teaching the original Gospel and are in fact bringing in occult teachings such as contemplative prayer which is part of spiritual formation…. which is transcendental meditation … lighthousetrailsresearch.com … We have a Bible and the Holy Ghost….. no need for the training of mere sinful men to do God’s Word.

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