Results 1 - 5 of 5
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90799 | ||
Yes, Jesus did warn about false teachers.. however, I do think he was primarily warning about those that would teach that Salvation is other than thru the Risen Jesus Christ by grace through faith. ALL of us have flaws in our doctrine. That is a hard statement to swallow, but it is very true. Hopefully the major flaws are in the "fringe" areas, but nonetheless they are most certainly there.. for we all see with imperfection rather than full clarity. How else can those who are truly and genuinely devoted to the Lord and His word be in disagreement? My big concern is that the baby does not get thrown out with the bathwater.. to coin a familar phrase. Just because a ministry becomes prosperous or highly publicized does not disqualify it from being genuine. Those preaching a different Gospel than Christ crucified, our hope of glory certainly does disqualify us. Those seeking personal gain while knowingly using decietfull schemes and manipulations are another group whom shall suffer shame at the time they stand before the Lord. Those causing division among the body of Christ out of pride and self-serving also are on very shaky ground. The ministy of the likes of Benny Hinn, Hagin, etc.. well, I just don't feel comfortable in saying they are not following hard after the Lord in the particular stream of annointing they have been given. (in fact, there was a time where I was so bold as to publicly ridicule Benny Hinn. Within a short time the Lord dealt with me on it in a very supernatural manner, which I will gladly share with you if you are interested. It was a very humbling experience) Oftentimes people came to see Jesus to be healed or see a miracle, and walked away with their Faith built up. A primary job we as believers are duty-bound to perform is to build up one anothers faith through ministry and testimony. The questions we must ask are: 1. Are people's faith being built up in Jesus the Messiah? 2. Our genuine conversions taking place? (It would be very hard to offer proof to the contrary, since I know personally people who have come to the Lord through the vehicle of these people's ministry) 3. Is the God of the bible being given the Glory? (See Acts 3:12-16 for a most wonderful example of how that should look) 4. Is the word of God being preached? There are of course other questions, these are just some of the first to come to my mind. Getting back to the warning about "Depart from me, for I never knew you".. I really don't see how that can apply to these men of God that are being examined in this topic. EVEN IF.. and that is a big IF.. they are in major error on their doctrine regarding healing and blessings, I would be extremely surprised if they are not born-again, Jesus believing, Christians. I have to believe, thru careful examination of the rest of scripture, that Jesus was refering to the likes of those that have no personal relationship with Christ but are just out to fleece the sheep. (I once saw a movie about a "healing evangelest" that worked with spotters in the audience and secret mikes and what not with Steve Martin in it. That would certainly be a type of just such a person.) |
||||||
2 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | EdB | 90842 | ||
Elijah_Jones I agree once again. The thing to remember is miracles do not really draw us to God. Faith does. We see a perfect example of this in the Exodus with children of Israel coming out of Egypt they saw God wrought 10 miracles of plagues, deliverance by the parting of the Red sea and pillar of fire. Yet within a short time they were worshipping a God of their creation. I have heard people say if I could just see the hand of God I would believe. Yes they would for a short period of time but soon all is forgotten. Jesus healed many but not one stood with Him was the crowd cried crucify Him. Healings do little to validate a ministry, proven by the fact Jesus healed many yet He was still opposed. There is nothing wrong with a ministry that prospers, there is when they stop being good stewards of God's money. When the money is used to provide the a man or two with a lavish lifestyle rather than being used to help others there is a problem. Billy Graham Ministry is a great example of proper stewardship. Dr. Graham himself takes no money from the ministry at all. He is paid a salary set by a board of responsible men from endowments of a few supporters. The money collected at a crusade is either used to pay expenses of that crusade or sent forward to assist with the next. The Graham people involved in a crusade are not paid nor are their expenses from the collected offering but rather again from endowments from supporters. Therefore the size of the crusade does not effect their salary in the least. Truly they are not doing it for the money yet the ministry is successful EdB |
||||||
3 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 90886 | ||
I mostly agree with you on these points. I would say that the bible teaches that signs and wonders can and should accompany ministry. Demonstrations of the power of the Spirit of God can certainly be used to get peoples attention, and also to validate ministry. I feel that the Scripture illustrates both principles. ( I can provide the references if requested, just for the sake of time I'll not do it unless requested). On the matter of stewardship. I believe the same principles apply to all our finances, whether gained thru "secular" means or thru funding provided thru voluntary giving. I'd go so far as to say that there is a lot more concern regarding the commercialization of many Christian materials than voluntary offerings and such.. not that I am in a position to judge that, but rather it strikes me that often times the "big name" ministries that operate on voluntary contributions recieve a lot more criticism than many music artists, authors, etc making quite a bit of money through the actual selling of the material. However, since no one is FORCING anyone to buy them, well then.. I guess it is a bit of a grey area, if it is a concern at all. Anyways... back to my point and what I agree with. Those who are financially blessed have a huge responsibility in stewardship as the Bible states clearly in a number of places. This holds true no matter what the source of that revenue. I also know people who literally give 90 percent of all they recieve to the work of the Kingdom, and are still quite wealthy. That too seems like a spiritual principle. |
||||||
4 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | EdB | 90995 | ||
Elijah_Jones The "Big Name" ministries as you call them often mnaipulate the people into giving into their ministries by telling the people they can expect a 100 fold return on their money. I once watched a man sit at the piano and tell the TV audience the if they sent 1000 dollars God would give them their greatest desire what it ever it was. He did this for over an hour and raised an unbelievable sum of money. That is where I have problems. I would have rather seen him charge 100 dollars for his records than to have done what he did. EdB |
||||||
5 | Knocked out by holy spirit | Matt 16:6 | Elijah_Jones | 91016 | ||
That sounds like it was most likely an abuse of the principle. But if someone abuses a specific principle for personal gain, that does not render the basic principle void. We see in the new testament believers being asked to give to the needs of the body of Christ, but then we also see those asking people to give working hard to support themselves so that they might not give the appearance of "fleecing the sheep". That is also balanced by the "worker is worthy of his wages" principle. As with anything, when selfish motives and desires come into play, the pure and beautiful principles of God can become twisted and harmful. I am saddened that such a practice would be considered to be part of the various principles we have been discussing here. I would emphatically state that it is not, but rather appears to be a blatant abuse. God alone can judge this particular instance you mention, but I would not want to be in his shoes if he was acting on his own selfish reasons. I don't really see a precedant in scripture that giving a specific amount of money (apart from the tithe situation) was ever rewarded with "the desire of ones heart".. so if I were forced to judge this situation, I would judge it as false. |
||||||