Articles

The Imaginary Kingdom of the the Religious Man

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by Mark Herridge Sr., Pastor

The Fabled Kingdom

2 Timothy 4:1-4

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

3 For 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;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Luke 11:17-20

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

1 Timothy 1:4

Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

1 Timothy 4:7

But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

Titus 1:14

Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

2 Peter 1:16

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

In Reality there are only Two Kingdoms

There are many different Kingdoms in this world but we know that in reality there are only two different kingdoms. There is the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the Devil. These two Kingdoms are in opposition to one another and will never be in agreement.

The enemy would love for people to believe that there are more than two Kingdoms and he works relentlessly at attempting to convince mankind that there are many different ways to Heaven. No matter how you read the Bible there is still only two Kingdoms – not three!

Look at this scripture where Jesus mentions both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan:

Matthew 12:25-28

25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Again I want to reiterate: there are only two Kingdoms! Further reading of the scripture underscores this dichotomy of Kingdoms:

Matthew 7:13-14

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Notice that there are only two gates, two roads, and two final destinations. There is no third legitimate option. Third options are a fantasy! Third options are a fable! Third options are a myth!

I want to ask this simple question before we move on to the next section: What will happen if someone believes something false as being true? The answer is obvious: they will suffer the consequences of their misguided belief.

The Imaginary Kingdom of the Religious Man

Most people today believe, or they live, as if there is another Kingdom. They believe there is a third (3rd) Kingdom. They will tell you they believe there is a Kingdom of the Devil and then there is the Kingdom of God, which is for people that want to go to Heaven. Unfortunately it does not stop there, for they have created their own religious rules and feel that they will go to Heaven living by these misguided missives. This third Kingdom is a Kingdom of Fables! It is make-believe! It is not the true Kingdom of God! It is a fantasy of man’s own imagination!

What most people today believe about the Kingdom of God is really an imaginary Kingdom of Fables and dreams that has no basis in the Bible.

When I was a child I loved to read about knights in shining armor doing battle with fire-breathing dragons – of leprechauns hiding underneath toadstools – of elves creeping through the forests – of nasty trolls hiding underneath bridges to charge tolls on those that wished to cross over. But these were all fables! They were make believe and without one ounce of truth! It would have been peculiar for me to grow up and continue believing these myths.

This is what people believe about this Fabled Religious Kingdom:

1. This Kingdom has no set laws and absolutes. No clearly defined right and wrong.

2. In their Kingdom people can do whatever they want and still go to Heaven.

3. In this Kingdom they can live rebellious and disobedient to God’s will and in the end God will still take them to Heaven as his dear children.

4. Their ruler (God) is so loving he will not punish anyone for wrong behavior.

5. In this Kingdom there are very few things that are considered a sin. About the only thing considered sin is some churches is murder.

6. In this Kingdom no one judges any other person.

7. In this false Kingdom preachers are deified as little gods.

8. In this Kingdom people can dress however they please.

9. In this Kingdom there is no such thing as worldliness.

Beloved this is a fable! Their kingdom is no different than one made up of elves, gnomes, trolls, and houses made entirely of candy! It is all make-believe! It is not based on the reality of God’s Word!

God’s Word makes it clear what the Kingdom of God is really like and it is nothing like the Imaginary Kingdom I just described to you. God’s infallible Word sets the parameters of what is and is not acceptable.

The Bible tells us clearly that in the Last Days there would be those that would believe in an Imaginary Kingdom. The Apostle Paul said that men’s ears “shall be turned unto fables”. As a “True Church” we have to battle this “Imaginary Church” all the time. We are constantly telling people “There is no such thing!” It is just as ridiculous as telling a thirty year old man that there is no monster hiding under his bed!

The Last-Day Fable Movement

Paul told Timothy that in the last days there would be a strong “Fable Movement”. Paul told Timothy, “For the time will come…” Beloved the time is now here!

He went on to give us these three defining characteristics of this movement:

1. They will not endure sound doctrine- This fantasy loving religious bunch will not adhere to sound doctrine. They cannot even “endure” listening to a true preacher preach the unadulterated Word of God. The Apostle Paul further said that they would turn their ears away from the truth. Have you ever tried to talk to one of those misguided souls? It is an exercise in futility! They will not listen to you!

II Timothy 4:3

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

2. They will love teachers and teaching- Even though they will not listen to us they will listen to others, as a matter of fact the Apostle Paul said that they would “heap to themselves, teachers, having itching ears”. They are going to travel from meeting to meeting to hear the latest fad and fable. Today we are seeing just this: there has been explosion of conferences, retreats, seminars, and books/CD’s on every conceivable topic that is “spiritual”. The shelves of the “Christian Bookstores” are jam-packed with the latest and greatest from “In-Crowd” of preachers and teachers, who make millions of dollars of a gullible public.

3. They will turn to fables- The word fable here is the Greek word “Mythos”. This simply means that they will completely embrace the lie. They will embrace a false teaching, belief, and lifestyle. Today, people find it easier to believe a lie than to believe the truth and the more outlandish the lie the more “churchy” people seem to like it. Benny Hinn claims in his teachings that there are nine persons in the Godhead and that Adam was a Superman and could fly to the moon. Folks, if you think that is outlandish, I want you to know that there are thousands of other examples just as foolish and some even more so. People are so caught up in wanting to hear something new that they will accept any teaching as relevant. This is the generation that the Apostle Paul was writing about.

II Timothy 4:4

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The Pillars of this Imaginary Kingdom

The ancient Hindu mythology taught that the whole world rested on the backs of four elephants that in turn stood upon the shell of an enormous turtle. Does this sound pretty silly? Sure it does! It takes more faith to believe that than it does to believe that our God created the Heavens and the earth in six days. This fantasy kingdom of worldly churches is built upon a foundation just as ridiculous as the ancient Hindu’s view of creation.

This is no sillier than the “Imaginary Religious Kingdom” of many modern day church-goers. So, what exactly does their imaginary kingdom rest upon? Well, you guessed it: on four imaginary elephants!

The First Elephant: Tolerance. Today, intolerance is considered one of the greatest sins of all. Why, we are expected to be tolerant of every lifestyle, belief, and individual. We are told over and over, that no matter how outlandish or degrading their lifestyle, we must be tolerant of them for we are not their “judge”. The mantra of this imaginary belief system is “Judge not lest you be judged”, which is found is Matthew 7:1, but is so grossly misinterpreted and misrepresented that very few people today even know what this scripture means any more. Here is the scripture in the context of the other scriptures around it:

Matthew 7:1-5

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

As you read the other scriptures you begin to realize that Jesus was not talking about righteous judgment at all, but rather He was talking about “Hypocritical Judgment”, which of course is wrong. Certainly, we do not need adulterers judging adulterers, or murders judging murders. Righteous men must judge righteous judgment.

The Bible clearly encourages us to righteously judge. Here are scriptures that prove this point completely:

1 Corinthians 6:2-5

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

Does God hate judgment? Here is another scripture that reveal God’s attitude about judgment:

Psalms 37:28

28 For the LORD loveth judgment…

Isaiah 59:14-15

14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

These scriptures in the New Testament make it clear that we must judge righteously.

John 7:24

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

1 Corinthians 2:15

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

You see the unpardonable sin of this imaginary, make-believe, third Kingdom is intolerance. You hear this mantra chanted over and over from the religious circles to the political circles: “We have to be tolerant of other people’s beliefs and differences. You can’t judge anyone. You must respect their lifestyle”.

We are told to tolerate the homosexual, the lesbian, the transvestite, the trans-gender. We are told that we must tolerate the abortionist. We are told that we must tolerate adultery in men and women because it is just a genetic flaw in the cerebral cortex. We are told that we have to tolerate the youth “fooling around” (fornication) because “kids will be kids”. Body piercing? According to these misguided abusers we must tolerate it. There is only one thing these fable-believers will not tolerate and that is intolerance! They will not tolerate anyone standing up and saying that there is only one way and it is the Bible way! How dare we to think that our “narrow way” is superior to someone else’s way!

Their kingdom is not the true Kingdom of God. These worldly religious church-goers claim they are a part of the Kingdom of God but what they are really a part of is an imaginary kingdom that does not exist. It is a fantasy, a myth, it is not real! It is no more real than four elephants standing on the back of a cosmic turtle holding up the world.

The Second Elephant: Adjustable Truth. The second foundation of the imaginary kingdom is adjustable truth, or situational truth. False believers of today believe that truth is something that can be adjusted to each individual and each changing situation. They believe that multiple ideas and divergent beliefs can all be true at the same time. With this false idea they believe that two diametrically opposing viewpoints can both be right, or in other words, nothing or nobody is wrong, everybody is right.

Can two opposite things both be true? Can black be white or white be black? Can a lie be truth and the truth be a lie? No, of course not. Something has to be wrong and something has to be right.

First we must understand that Jesus did not come to bring us the truth. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the truth. The truth is not a thing, the truth is a person and that person is Jesus.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus is the truth! What mankind needs today is so much more than just learning facts and figures. They must intimately and personally know Jesus as the Lord of their life. There is no way you can memorize your way into salvation – salvation comes as a direct result to my submission to His Lordship through repentance.

Truth is not an adjustable commodity. Truth is not an opinion. We do not preach Christ because He is our opinion. We preach Christ the Word of God. Why? Because He is the only hope for this world! If you want to know what is God’s will for your life then read God’s Word. The Word of God clearly expounds the mind of God on all matters of faith and conduct. To love the Word of God is the love Christ. To reject the Word of God is to reject Christ. To despise Truth is to despise Jesus!

This fantasy kingdom of deceived religious people is built upon a faulty foundation that does not exist. Their false idea is that all religions, all creeds, and all people are going to Heaven that each person has to make his own path to Heaven. No! Jesus is the only Way! There is no other way to the Father but through Him.

The Third Elephant: Lawlessness. These people are often referred to as anti-nomians, or “Against the Law”. Many of the modern churches of today believe that they can live any way they choose to because the Bible does not teach any rules to live by. This is absolutely incorrect!

Can you imagine the chaos in this world if there were no laws to govern by? Just think about the roadways that you drive a car on: what if there were no speed limits? What if there were no stop signs at the intersections? What if there were no laws telling cars which side of the roadway to drive upon? What if there were no laws governing licensing, vehicle inspections, and safety? It would be complete chaos on the roadway! It would be unsafe to travel on the road. My friend, if we do not have laws then this world in its natural setting could not function.

The same is true of the Church. Without laws, rules, and directives to live by then chaos will ensue. This is exactly what is happening today in churches all over the world. Most believe that God is so loving that he would not tell them what they can and cannot do. They believe that God would not dare tell them anything that would make them the least bit uncomfortable and the moment anyone tells them that God expects obedience out of them they cry, “Legalism”. Well, I would rather be “legal” than “illegal”!

This imaginary kingdom that people think is God’s kingdom has no laws. You can dress (or undress) any way you want to. You do whatever you like. You can drink, curse, view pornography, listen to worldly music, hate you neighbors, and anything else you want to and at the end of your life the great imaginary ruler of this Kingdom will take you to Heaven and heap more pleasures upon you. Nonsense! You might as well believe in tiny fairies flying around your house at night will you sleep than believe that any kingdom of God exists as the one I just described.

There is law in the true Kingdom of God! There are absolutes, meaning, there are things that are absolutely right and absolutely wrong. God did not give us suggestions. God has given us commands!

Jesus said this about the Law of God.

Matthew 5:17

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

This scripture, along with others, makes it very clear that Jesus did not come to eradicate the law as so many claim today. The modern day anti-nomians claim that grace removes the law but Jesus never made no such claim. Rather, the grace of God enables us to live an obedient and victorious life over sin.

This leads us to the next conclusions of the anti-nomians that inhabit this kingdom of trolls, elves, and fairy godmothers: no one can overcome sin, everyone is a sinner, and you have to sin every day. One once-saved-always-saved (OSAS) preacher was asked on national television if he was committing adultery at the time the Rapture took place would he go to Heaven. His reply was without hesitation and he unequivocally replied, “Yes”. When asked by the interviewer to explain he replied, “Well if my sins are this high”, and he held his hand up to his chest, “the grace of God is this high”, and he held his hand over his head, “so no matter what I do the grace of God covers my sin”. This is a lie! And the saddest part of this is there are millions upon millions of people that believe this.

I want to make it clear that no such Kingdom of God exists! God will not excuse unrepented sin. A moral failing as I just described will damn a man’s soul to Hell for eternity.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:8

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

On the subject of sin the Bible clearly teaches us:

Romans 6:1-2

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

1 John 3:6-9

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

John 8:34

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

This mythological kingdom that some men call church or religion today does not exist as far as God is concerned. They may claim they are a part of the Kingdom of God but their Kingdom in no way resembles the Kingdom of God described in the Word of God. Jesus did not save us so we could continue in sin but he saved us to free us from sin. It is possible for you and I to “walk in the Spirit” so as to not “fulfill the lusts of the flesh”. There is a complete victory over sin for the Christian! Perfection is not a pipe-dream but a reality and all Christians are striving for perfection in Christ.

The Fourth Elephant: Humanism. This fourth elephant is highly visible in the deceived churches of this hour.

The Kingdom of God in the Bible is built around Christ. Jesus is the central figure of the true Kingdom. Everything is about Him and for Him. Our service is not to ourselves but to Him.

Today, in the modern fantasy kingdom of the religious man, everything is about people. One preacher I know made this statement in a service where I had visited to hear him preach, “The Church is all about people. People are the most important thing in the Church.” This may sound good to you up front but this is a total error. The Church is not all about people! The Church is all about Christ! To be sure, there are people in the Church and they are important to God, but our focus should never be on people, our focus should always be on Christ. When you make the Church all about people then the Church becomes humanistic. This is exactly what has happened today.

Today everything in Churches is about making the people comfortable. If the pews are not soft enough they will add another layer of padding. If the temperature is not pleasant enough they will adjust it to your satisfaction. Is it too loud? They will turn it down! They will put a gift shop in the Church so you can shop before service or during bathroom breaks. They will put a Starbucks coffee shop so you can enjoy a latte on the way in.

This imaginary kingdom panders to every want and whim of its deluded subjects. We refer to this as the “Seeker-Sensitive” approach and it is the way of doing “church business” in the 21st Century. Their goal is to make the Church a completely benign and pleasing place to visit. Research firms are hired to poll the community to find out what the neighborhood wants from a Church. Psychologists are put on Church payrolls to advise the leaders on how to appeal to a larger audience. Interior decorators are brought in to make sure all of the colors and decorations in the building create a blissful environment to lull the senses. The Church staff is routinely sent to training classes to be taught how to engage the populace in their kingdom. No stone is left unturned in the attempt to make the human comfortable. Are they kidding themselves? Nothing in that Kingdom is about Christ! It is all about the flesh! Can you imagine how John the Baptist or the Apostle Paul would have fit in those churches?

The pampered, perfumed, petted, and powdered leaders in these seeker-sensitive churches do not preach the Word of God but they preach a trimmed down Gospel that has been sanitized from all references to sin, repentance, and holiness. The message of their false gospel is not what you can do for God but what God can do for you. The prosperity message of today is completely humanistic. By their estimation man was not put on earth to serve God but put here so God could load them down with blessings. The tables have turned! God is no longer the focus of the Church – now people are the focus!

Look at the titles of the books by the ever-popular Joel & Victoria Osteen and you can clearly see what their kingdom is all about:

1. Your Best Life Now

2. Becoming a Better You

3. It’s Your Time

4. Love Your Life (Victoria Osteen)

There is one word that all these books have in common: You/Your. Who are they kidding when they say it is all about Jesus? No it is all about “You”. Christ is not the center of this nefarious gospel, “You” are! This is humanism pure a simple. The human has become the center of this kingdom.

Conclusion

My friend, hear me loud and clear: most of what men call “Church” and the “Kingdom of God” today is not the Kingdom of God. The followers of this illusory kingdom do not resemble the Christians of the Bible that left all to follow the Lord and many of them were martyred for it. The leaders of this third kingdom are not following the New Testament pattern of the Godly, holy, and serving ministry that was willing to face death and dismemberment to preach the Gospel. The one law of this fantasy kingdom is “If it feels good do it”. This false kingdom does not exist.

When I grew up a realized there are no giant beanstalks you can climb into heaven upon, I realized that Goldilocks did not eat all of the porridge, and that the big, bad wolf did not talk to Little Red Riding Hood (Wolves talking? I may have to take another look at that!). All of those were myths, fantasies, and imaginary. The false kingdom of “religious ideas” of our modern day is just as ridiculous as the bedtime stories of our childhood. If you want the truth then you need to turn to Christ the Word of God.

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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

Mission Mexico Part 32

“So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” Acts 19:20

See picture below.

I recently, “accidently” drove up this very narrow street only to realize that there was no turn around at the end. As God would have it, this man helped me back out of that street and received the spoken Word and a JESUS tract. Romans 8:28 right?

“Ephesians 3:20 was the very verse I prayed for you and the ministry this morning! And v16 as well. May the Spirit of God manifest His full grace and peace upon you today! And give you fruit, more fruit and much fruit! Amen.” Karen Cochran

(see picture below)

It dawns on me afresh today as it has since arriving here in Mexico, that these precious people so deeply hunger for Christ. Today, upon ministering to Victor and Juan and having Victor incessantly asking me about Christianity, Jesus, and being saved…. this was a fresh reminder of the great hunger and openness of the Mexican people. They want Jesus. Plain and simple. “HOW shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)

These two men were excited to know that you would be lifting them in prayer.

Victor and I are now connected by phone. So he will now be fed the Word of our God and be introduced to Spanish speaking disciples of our LORD Jesus.

Being limited in Spanish, I preached the Gospel, the Bible truth I am able to in Spanish and that including exhorting them both, today to repent and receive Jesus and did this while pointing to the prayer (oracion) on the back of the JESUS tract.

Would you like to kindly pause to lift these 2 dear men in prayer to our LORD?

Mission Mexico

JUST got a call from sister Teri in FL and had the opportunity to speak with brothers Scott and Jorge who were both recently saved by Jesus. Was also blessed to speak with a brother named Raymond who is a flourishing disciple of Jesus!

Thank you for your prayers and support which include our bless-ed opportunity of helping this group of disciples in FL.

Jesus is coming!

Recently…… Many received God’s Word today.

Brother Mark has recently joined in helping with our LORD’s Gospel in Mission Mexico and was amazed when he saw three grown men walking together who were ministered to and walk away, each of them with the JESUS tract open, as they walked read the message. They are that hungry.

The Mexico people deserve to hear our LORD’s glorious Gospel!

“I bet brother Mark is amazed at the response of the Mexican people when you guys go out and minister to them. To have so many hearts open and poor in spirit would be a shock at first. Total opposite of America—who say ‘I am rich, increased with goods have need of nothing!’ Revelation 3:17.

Praise God for the blessed ones who heard the engrafted word of our Lord, which is able to save their souls.” Karen

REPLY:

Yes He is amazing. They WANT it. They DESIRE it. They are like the woman who desires a man and so he marries her and they have a super blessed marriage for life. Instead of the wicked Jezebel woman who just wants to self-servingly shop for the man she can use to accomplish her selfish agenda.

“I was reading Mathew 21:23 this morning and it went through my mind that is what God said to America! ‘The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.’ And that nation is Mexico!“ Karen

“Truly amazing what God is doing in the hearts of the Mexican people. And now He is raising up disciples to bring into the harvest. He is LORD of the harvest. Have you heard of Chick Publications? I just read that they have sent 200,000 tracts to a Mexico missionary and more being ready to be sent. Southern Mexico. So God is sure flooding Mexico with His Word!” Karen Cochran

While walking over to get a haircut, I happened to spot a JESUS tract someone had placed on this vehicle. No it was not me. I didn’t put that tract there. Someone else did.

Then, 5 minutes later, after arriving at barber and sitting down in the chair, straight ahead in my line of sight, there’s a JESUS tract purposely set on display by the barber.

No matter how high prices get in Mexico, your cost of living will always be MUCH less than the USA. A raise awaits you, soon as you cross the border. Is God prompting you to “Go”? (Mark 16:15)

God is good all the time as you well know and thank you.

Your prayers to the Father in the name of our LORD Jesus are the heavenly fuel He uses to bless and empower and supply His people to do His work.

“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:19

todd

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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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 […]

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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 […]