The New Versions are Vatican Corrupted and Controlled Bibles

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

The Two Paths Of New Testament Manuscripts

ARE YOU READING A CATHOLIC BIBLE AND DON’T KNOW IT? CATHOLIC CHURCH = antichrist.

The catholic church couldn’t prevent the printing of the Holy Bible so they corrupted it and all the new versions are the result.

Kenny Moore writes: “Many have bought into the New Age Bible version lie. All modern versions come from ‘Satan’s Satanic Verses’/ the Septuagint, Sinaiticus, and Vaticanus—all proven to be blasphemous, counterfeit, and corrupt. These Satanic MSS come from the underground catacombs of the dead in Roma, Italia. Catholics are forbidden to read the Authorized King James Bible, but the modern ‘versions’ are OK! Why? THE NEW VERSIONS ARE CATHOLIC > NEW WORLD ORDER > Luciferian Trash Theology.”

—- The two most prominent of the corrupt Alexandrian codices are called the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus:

Codex Siniaticus (Aleph or a) was put in the trash heap by the monks of St Catherine’s Monastery. On nearly every page of the manuscript there are corrections and revisions, done by 10 different people. It is indeed worthless trash.

Codex Vaticanus (B) is kept by the Roman Catholic Church, which the Reformers properly identified as Antichrist.

In the gospels alone it leaves out 237 words, 452 clauses and 748 whole sentences.

The early Christians REJECTED these manuscripts, so they were cast aside for a thousand years, until they were later dug up and called “ancient manuscripts.”

God had the Bible translated into Latin, so that it could spread throughout the Roman Empire.

True Path – God had the Vaudois (who lived in the Alps) translate the Bible into Latin. The Old Latin Bible became known as the Vulgate (common) Bible, and it spread all the way to England before 200 AD.

Corrupt Path – Satan responded by having the Roman Catholic Church commission Jerome to write their own version, the Latin Vulgate. Jerome followed Origen’s teachings, so the same corruptions occurred in this Bible. It was completed in 405 AD.

The Latin Vulgate Bible didn’t catch on during that time, because Christians knew it was a fake.

During the Dark Ages 500-1500 AD, Satan used the Roman Catholic Church to kill millions of Christians for using the true Bible, and they burned the bibles.

The Roman Catholic Church taught from their corrupt Latin Vulgate Bible and forbid people to read the word of God.

They persecuted whole groups of people like the Waldenses, the Huguenots, the Vaudois in the Alps, and many more.

As copies of manuscripts have been collected over the years, they have formed two groups.

True Path – The ‘Majority Text’ makes up 95% of 5,300+ existing manuscripts that are in agreement and form the basis for the Textus Receptus which is also called the ‘Received Text’ or ‘Byzantine Text’.

The Textus Receptus is the text which the King James translators used.

Corrupt Path – The ‘Minority Text’ consists of only 5% of existing manuscripts. The main texts, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, contradict each other over 3,000 times in the gospels alone, and they disagree with the ‘Majority Text’ in 13,000 places.

Amazingly, modern Bible versions like the NIV and ESV are based on these ‘Minority Text’manuscripts.

Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were written from 300-400 A.D., so because they’re ‘ancient’, modern Bible translators mistakenly think that they must be better.

But the Textus Receptus agrees with the earliest versions of the Bible: Peshitta (AD150) Old Latin Vulgate (AD157), the Italic Bible (AD157) etc. These Bibles were produced some 200 years before the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.

God had His Words translated into the English language, so that it could spread around the world.

Because of its purity, the TR was used by all the Protestant Reformers of Europe to make their translations.

John Wycliffe’s Translation (1380-82) was the first manuscript (hand-written) Bible in the English language. 21 years after he died, the RCC dug him up, tried him for heresy, found guilty, they burned his ashes.
Martin Luther translated it into German, giving Germany the Word of God.
In 1534 John Calvin helped it get translated into French.
William Tyndale’s New Testament (1526) was the first printed English Bible.
The Roman Catholic Church hated him and his TR-based Bible so much, that they burned him at the stake.

God used the printing press and the English Bible to save millions of people.

The printing press allowed people to read the Word of God for the first time, and the Protestant Reformers discovered the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.

When the Reformers read the scriptures, they realized that the Roman Catholic Church is Antichrist, the little horn of Daniel, and the beast of Revelation.

Martin Luther declared “We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.” And millions came out of the RCC and were saved by the true gospel of Jesus.

The Ninety-Five Theses was written by Martin Luther in 1517 and is widely regarded as the initial catalyst for the Protestant Reformation.

The age that brought the Geneva Bible and the 1611 King James Bible was a time of incredible world missions, salvation, growth in churches, called the ‘Great Awakening’, where millions of people were saved.

The Roman Catholic Church created a “counter-reformation” plan.

At the Council of Trent in 1559, they put the new Bibles on the “Forbidden Book” list, punishable by death.

And it empowered the Jesuits, the Roman Catholic Church army, to go destroy all that oppose them. Their mission is to bring the Protestant Church back to the Mother church, and to destroy those who oppose.

Millions of ‘heretics’, mostly Christians, were tortured and killed during the Inquisition.

Part of their counter-reformation plan was to rewrite the Greek Bible and then English Bibles.

Satan countered by having unbelieving heretics, Westcott and Hort(WH), create a Greek New Testament in 1811, based on the corrupt Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, which removed many words that validate Jesus’ deity.

They called the Textus Receptus ‘vile’ and refused to believe that God preserved His holy words. So they set out to create their own Greek text, based on their beliefs and philosophy.

Their Greek New Testament has 5,337 deletions as compared to the Textus Receptus Greek.

Satan then had Westcott and Hort help create the 1815 English Revised Version Bible. The NIV, ESV and other modern Bibles are built on this corrupt foundation, which is why they’re missing many words that validate Jesus’ deity.

Then they created the Nestle-Aland (NA) and the United Bible Societies(UBS) Greek New Testaments, which are based on the Westcott-Hort Greek Text.

The Nestle-Aland(NA) Greek N.T. is the basis for nearly every modern Bible translation, including the NIV and ESV.

It has 8,000 differences from the Textus Receptus, which explains why the modern Bible versions are missing so many words and verses. (i.e. The NIV has 64,576 fewer words than the King James.)

Satan has infiltrated most seminaries and Bible schools, so that they teach based on the corrupt Greek text.

Because the corrupt Greek Bibles and modern Bible versions, like the NIV and ESV, are both missing words and verses, most Pastors don’t notice the deception. This has created generations of pastors who in turn teach from the corrupt texts, which misleads the masses of Christians. As you can see, Satan has been very effective.

For you see, instead of Satan attacking the church from the outside, which would be obvious to everyone, he has infiltrated most Seminaries, Bible colleges and church denominations, to get them to use his corrupt Greek texts and Bible versions, as to deceive not only the world, but the church of Jesus Christ.

Not only that, but they teach them to doubt that God has preserved His word, that every manuscript and translation is corrupt, that modern Bibles are based on supposedly ‘older, better manuscripts’

The Jesuits teachings spread from the Vatican to secular Universities. Then students took their teachings to Princeton, Yale and Liberal seminaries. Faith was replaced with doubt through Liberal ‘Higher Criticism’. Then the next generation of professors moved into mainline colleges and seminaries. And then into Conservative Bible Colleges and Seminaries. Then their teachings were spread throughout fundamentalist schools and Bible churches.

Their teachings spread the deception throughout the body of Christ, which is Satan’s goal. Do you now see how we got to where we are?

We should not trust Pastors just because they went to seminary. The Apostle Paul encouraged Christians to “search the scriptures daily, (and prove) whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11

So which path will you follow?

True Path – The ‘Majority Text’ path (King James Bible) that is validated by 95% of 5,300+ existing manuscripts, which were written and kept by believers who trusted in God’s inerrant Word, and believed that Jesus is God?

Corrupt Path – The ‘Minority Text’ path (NIV, ESV and most modern Bible versions) that are based on only 5% of existing manuscripts, which were written by unbelievers who don’t believe that God’s Word is inerrant, or in the deity of Jesus?

Christians who knowingly continue to study these counterfeit Bibles are condoning the errors that they contain.

And Pastors who teach from these corrupt Bibles will be held to an ever higher standard before the Lord.

By doing so they not only place themselves in grave moral danger, but also encourage spiritual deception!

Your pastor, teacher, website Greek, Greek Bible, may use the wrong Greek text, so they are giving wrong answers. Just one example is Acts 8:37. A pastor can look at his Greek Bible and it’s not there, so he concludes that’s why this verse is not in the NIV and other modern Bible versions.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT PASTORS ARE UNKNOWINGLY USING A GREEK BIBLE THAT SATAN HAS CORRUPTED, WHICH HAS COMPLETELY REMOVED MANY OF THE KEY PROOF TEXTS.

DID THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REALLY GIVE US THE BIBLE?

The New Testament was written by apostles who were JEWISH men. None of them were catholics, because there was no Roman Catholic Church at the time. This was over two centuries before Constantine’s co-called “conversion”. The canon of the New Testament was not formed by the decision of any Church council. Listed as canonical “only those books that were generally regarded by the consensus of use as properly a canon”. In other words, it didn’t create the canon. Rather, it confirmed the identity of the canon which already existed. The Word of God IS the authority of God. So the […]

How I Discovered the Corruption of the New Bible Versions: Personal Testimony [podcast]

Reading a fake “bible” is like still watching CNN. Let that sink in. Fake news. The NASB (New American Standard “bible” OR more accurately the NASB = North American SINNER “bible”) … is how I found out there were differences…. check this out … Notice that in 1 Timothy 3:16 the new versions seek to deprive the Almighty LORD Jesus Christ of His divinity! “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” […]

The Translators of the King James Bible Brief Summary

At the Hampton Court Conference, convened by King James I in 1603, John Reynolds, the head of the Puritan Church in England, proposed a new English translation of the Scriptures that would unite the churches and the people of England. Reynold’s goal was one universal authority or standard for all English-speaking Christians. There was division and strife between the churches and the people over the two primary English translations of the time the Bishops’ Bible and the Geneva translation. The Bishops’ Bible, published in 1568 by leaders in the Church of England by the authority of Queen Elizabeth, was the […]

How to Spot a Fake Bible [podcast]

Please don’t balk till you read these 3 verses. This is indefensible to the sane mind! “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” (Proverbs 18:13) In 2016 the Berean Study Bible (BSB) was introduced. Sounds good, right? Not! There are 3 verses we use to acid test “bibles”: Matthew 17:21; Romans 8:1; and Colossians 1:14 As usual, this BSB was taken from the known corrupted manuscripts instead of the Textus Receptus from which the KJB comes from. In the BSB, typically, we find: Matthew 17:21 was removed, Romans 8:1 was chopped in […]

Apostasy

DOES THE BIBLE SAY TO PRAY FOR FALSE TEACHERS? The Answer May Surprise You.

DOES THE BIBLE SAY TO PRAY FOR OR DOES IT MANDATE THAT WE EXPOSE FALSE TEACHERS?

No, it’s not a sin to pray for the deceived. Yet, isn’t it time we obeying the command of God and stopped giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the LORD and cease caring for them more than the many they are deceiving?

A DIVINE COMMAND: “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; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

Wolf worshippers are first and foremost self-worshipping counterfeits who could care less how many souls their celebrity wolf is leading to hell. All they care about is the sensual thrill they feel in worshipping their demon-possessed false prophet who tells them what they like to hear!

NEVER apologize for exposing false teachings and false teachers. You do such in obedience to the LORD and it results in the protection of the Great Shepherd’s sheep for whom He died (Matthew 10; Hebrews 13:20).

Did Jesus or His apostles ever pray for a wolf? No.

To the false leaders of his day, Jesus says this:

“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers (snakes), how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” Matthew 23:33

Do nothing to “bid God speed” to the enemies of the LORD lest you be judged with those enemies of God (2 John 10-11). Bidding God speed means to condone, to support, or in any way to further the cause of the enemies of God, namely human agents who are teaching contrary to the Scripture.

So he’s not calling out the wolves and you still sit under that devil? You want to go to hell with him? (2 John 10-11) Repent and run now! (Matthew 7:15; 24:11; Romans 16:17-18; Jude 3, etc.)

Of the false teachers at Galatia, Paul says he wishes they, the false prophets, were “cut off.” Make not mistake, this is violent language.

“I would they were even cut off which trouble you.” Galatians 5:12

To “cut off” means to castrate, to mutilate, to amputate and so Paul is either saying that his God fearing desire is for false teachers to be castrated or taken out completely. There’s no getting around this appropriately violent language. It’s fitting for this situation because the eternal souls of men, the sheep of Christ’s pasture are at stake.

Many self-deceived people today have more compassion for Satan’s hell bound false leaders than they do for the beloved sheep who are being being misled by those wolves in sheep’s clothing! Repent now.

Beware of misplaced compassion. Compassion without discernment, compassion while ignorant, is dangerous.

The the false prophet Elymas, the apostle says:

“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” Acts 13:10

Can anyone find in this Acts 13 text where Christ’s apostle Paul pray for this Elymas, this named false prophet? I’m sorry, perhaps I missed something here.

There seems to be no end to the novices, perhaps well meaning, who argue out of their own ignorance to defend wolves who are devouring Jesus’ sheep. They come off as if they are highly superior in approaching, dealing with wolves with “love” and accuse those who expose as not doing so. Let’s take a look at who’s walking in true love, and who isn’t.

“Open rebuke is better than secret (hidden, concealed) love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:5-6

Hebrew word for “secret” …..

סָתַר
sâthar
saw-thar’
A primitive root; to hide (by covering), literally or figuratively: – be absent, keep close, conceal, hide (self), (keep) secret, X surely.

As you will see below, it seems accurate to observe that we’ve never seen “love” like the love of prey for the wolf that’s tickled their ears and told them what their unrepentant hearts wish to hear (Isaiah 30:9-10; 2 Timothy 4:2-4).

Most wolf protecting enemies of Christ simply don’t know and don’t want to know what God says about this topic. They are under the control of Satan himself, covering for his agents and will be judged with them (2 John 10-11). God doesn’t like cowards (1 Corinthians 16:13; Revelation 21:8). The “fearful” are the first class listed as going to the lake of fire.

Those who defend Jesus’ enemy’s will be judged, damned with them (2 Pet 2:1-3; 2 Jn 10-11).

TYPICAL DEFENSE OF A WOLF BY HIS PREY:

“But wait, he’s led many thousands to the Lord!”

REPLY:

Jesus saves all by Himself, even using wolves at times. That is a front, intentionally taught to you by the wolf to cover, to keep himself from being detected, like sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). After witnessing the “ministry” of this false teacher for years, I highly doubt most of those people truly were saved. He doesn’t even speak of the chasm their sin has caused so how can they truly be convicted and repent? They can’t in most cases. Luke 13:3…. If God truly did save some of them, it was in spite of White, not because of him.

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“I do applaud your zeal for truth! I personally just think it is wise exercising prudence about knowing the hearts of men or women, only God knows. He will separate the wheat from the chaff.”

REPLY:

Jesus commanded us to “KNOW (Gr. discern) by their fruits” and told us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 15-16, 20; 12:34) ALL men are known by the fruit of what they teach – either sound or false doctrine (Titus 2:1). Why would the Son of God told us to “KNOW” people by the fruit of their lives if He didn’t want us to discern, to “Judge righteous judgment”? (John 7:24)

God knows all men’s hearts yes and yet GOD commanded us to know people also. How? Jesus says to “know (discern) them BY THEIR FRUITS” and thereby we know that anyone teaching “another gospel” is “accursed” and is the very enemy of Christ and to be “earnestly” contended against and marked, scoped out and identified – so as to protect the body of Christ (Matthew 7:16, 20; Romans 16:17-18; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 3-4).

HOW DID JESUS tell us to know/discern others? The FRUIT of their lives (Matt 7:16,20) THE FACT that JESUS told us to “know” (discern) people means He wants us to do so! (Matt 7:16,20) Same chapter as “judge not” v1-5 When Jesus taught us to “judge not” He is speaking in that context of hypocritical judgment and wrongly assigned condemnation. The JUDGE has spoken in a book called THE BIBLE. He’s calling us to pay attention when we read it. His written WORD records for us HIS judgments – the judgments of the Judge. So when a man preaches the Word, he is preaching GOD’s judgments, warnings, and not his own.

MESSAGE TO ME FROM A MAN ATTEMPTING TO CURTAIL THE MARKING OF A KNOWN WOLF:

“Dear Lord Jesus Please show Todd White your Holy Truth. May Todd White find peace and assurance in your wisdom and may he become a light upon a hill guiding others to Christ. Help him to leave behind his old self and ignite in him a desire to unashamedly make known Your Truth and disown and depart from the untruths he has held onto. In Jesus Mighty name we ask, Amen. Matthew chapter 5 verse 44’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

REPLY:

Can you give chapters and verses where Jesus or His holy apostles specifically prayed for a wolf? Ever read Matthew 23?

Interesting that you seem to hate all those precious many souls Todd White is misleading. Interesting. Why don’t all those precious souls matter to you? If you aren’t defending Todd White, why do you seem to care more for him than those many people he’s misleading?

How intense was Jesus’ apostle Paul about protecting Christ’s flock?

“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” Acts 20:27-31

In Matthew 5:38-45 Christ is speaking of not retaliating against OUR enemies. Jesus is speaking of how we are to react to OUR ENEMIES, not HIS enemies in Matt 5:44. HIS enemies in specific are those who are misleading HIS people, the sheep for which HE bled to save on that cross. You are misguided and taking Scripture out of context. What did He mandate that His disciple do?

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 3-4

GOD TOLD YOU TO “MARK THEM” – WOLVES – AND NOT DEFEND THEM! (ROMANS 16:17-18) YOU GOING TO OBEY GOD OR REBEL?

“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; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

Todd White is being marked, scoped out (Gr. skopeo) and named, identified as an enemy of Christ, a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15) so His people can be aware and escape being deceived…. no different than warning your children not to go near the street. Danger.

MESSAGE FROM WOLF JUSTIFIER:

“I believe we can still learn from (false) preachers and pastors biblical teaching, but we must test the spirits. Bring what is taught back to the word. Paul Washer, MacArthur, Spurgeon all preachers. Even today’s motivational speakers. I use what the Holy Spirit blessed me with, discernment, knowledge, wisdom.”

REPLY:

Good morning. Yes and yet, the LORD mandates that we separate ourselves from His enemies who pose as His ministers yet Paul says they are actually the ministers of Satan (2 Cor 11:12-15). Jude 3; Rom 16:17-18 …. we know all men, beginning with ourselves by the fruit…. false doctrine is bad fruit which means the root and tree is cursed. Matt 7:15-21; 12:33

Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Paul Washer, MacArthur, Spurgeon are all calvinist heretics. Everything they say, teach is poisoned with this calvinistic system, a doctrine of devils.

The Holy Spirit blessed you with the Word and so why do you need to even listen to known false teachers? Why would you? (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21, etc.)

How would you feel if your own husband communed with a sworn enemy of yours? How does Jesus feel by what you’ve just said?

SETTING THE BIBLICAL RECORD STRAIGHT

Jesus commanded HIS people to “JUDGE righteous judgment” (John 7:24) And, He commanded us to know/discern others “BY THEIR FRUITS” and that’s exactly what we’re doing under the command of KING JESUS (Matthew 7:16, 20). Dare you interfere with HIS work and become His enemy? You are bidding Godspeed to evil doers, satan’s wolves in sheep’s clothing, and you will be judged with those enemies of Christ if you don’t repent (2 John 10-11).

Jesus and each of His apostles on record in the New Testament canon warned the flock of wolves who would devour! There is no instance where they prayed for an enemy of Christ, a wolf who was misleading the flock of God.

Here is the list of the 8 evil doers the great apostle was divinely inspired to justifiably identify by name in 2 Timothy – in order to protect God’s people:

1) Phygellus 1:15

2) Hermogenes 1:15

3) Hymenaeus 2:17

4) Philetus 2:17

5) Jannes 3:8

6) Jambres 3:8

7) Demas 4:10 (apostate)

8) Alexander the coppersmith 4:14

Read the book of 2 Timothy and underline these deceivers that the apostle was marking.

Naming Names, Marking Wolves | Beware of those who Defend Christ’s Enemy’s instead of Expose them | Exposure Dialogue | Apostasy Dialogues | Warning

How to Pray Effectively for Your Friends and Family! [podcast]

Someone has wisely stated that “We are never more like Jesus than when we are praying for others.” Which of God’s people are on your prayer list? No greater way to serve another than to lift them up to the Father in the name of Jesus! “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:3-5 […]

"Warn them from Me": The 3 Things Paul did to Protect God's People [podcast]

The 3 Things Paul did to Protect God’s People [podcast] Jesus and His holy apostles often rebuked and exposed false leaders and false doctrine (Matthew 23; Acts 13:10; 20:29-31; Galatians 5:11-12; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 2 Peter 2; 2 John 7-11; Revelation 2:6, 15, etc.). Therefore we know that part of following Jesus includes doing the same. In fact, the body of Christ is mandated to do just that (Romans 16:17-18; Philippians 1:17; Jude 3-4). PWT = Preach, WARN, Teach “Whom we PREACH, WARNING every man, and TEACHING every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in […]

SATAN'S SEMINARIANS [podcast]

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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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