Unanswered Objections Leads To False Doctrine And False Doctrine Leads to Unscriptural Practices

But when the kindness

and the love of God our Savior

toward man appeared,

not by works of righteousness

which we have done, but

according to His mercy

He saved us, through the

washing or regeneration and

renewing of the Holy Spirit,

whom He poured out on us

abundantly through

Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 3:4-6

     Church history divulges that many objections as to miracles have misled seekers for a higher Christian walk, leading them into false teaching, or, has aided some to teach and preach that the Gifts of the Spirit, the miracles, could be obtained giving to a person a supernatural ability. Schools have opened and prospered as people seek to obtain this Supernatural Spirit whereby they can apply these Gifts of the Spirit, to their own lives and in the lives of others. Objections are set aside never to grace the teaching of these pastors and leaders who have succumbed to the many assets that available to them as people flock to learn and hear so that they could have a special unction from God. This I have attempted to point out and that much of this false teaching and misuse of Scripture is in error and has similarities to the narrative given to us when Simon the Magician attempted to buy from Peter supernatural gifts, those gifts that was demonstrated by Peter. Peter rebuked him for you cannot buy, or by taught, the Gifts of the Spirit. This fact does not deter those caught up in this euphoric experience, to have and demonstrate some gift, and that there is a lot of money to be made by having people come and learn of those gifts. Simon the Magician would be dancing in his grave for what he could not receive from Peter, people are now paying for those gifts in such Churches that promote the Supernatural, the ability to obtain the Gifts of the Spirit. Fact in point is the School of Supernatural in Redding, California; Bethel Church and the promotion of the Sozo movement; you must pay! Example from their website:

 Note: This schedule is only for seminars held at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. It is not the schedule seminars conducted at other locations.

Seminars can be held at Bethel, or the Sozo team can travel to the church or organization's location. To see where Sozo training is being scheduled see the Sozo Team itinerary.

Cost:

$750 PER CHURCH GROUP/TEAM (up to five per group)
$150 per person after five
$200 per person not connected to a group
$300 per married couple
There is a 20% cancellation fee.
To register online, go to ibethel.org

Simon the Magician would be proud!

     This kind of misuse of the Gifts of the Spirit, those miracles that many seek to have is to be addressed and corrected. The objections given by men who are learned, theologians, Professors, teachers, etc. are necessary to be examined and the truth  known because any false understanding leads to false teaching and false teaching is only misleading people and keep them from the God of the Bible as revealed to us in His Word. Therefore, when such learned men object to miracles as coming by means of God's will, then some teach that God has given over to the material universe that the universe is to be governed by the laws of nature; for God set forth the laws and then allowed those laws to govern His creation. For those men, and women, they believe and teach that God does not interfere with that which He constructed. Some of these objectors admit that God is everywhere present, and everywhere acting, controlling physical laws so as to accomplish His purposes, but they insist that He never operates immediately, but always acts through the established laws of nature. The attempt by these men and women is to merge everything into nature and to admit of no other causes. Some who call themselves Theist admit of the constant operation of God's will in nature, but that God's power is exercised according to law, and in connection with physical causes. Miracles are believed to occur only in so far as they occur according to the law by which they come to pass, or the physical forces acting in their production are unknown. John Locke (1632-1704), widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers, had this unsatisfactory definition: "A miracle, then, I take to be a sensible operation, which, being above the comprehension of the spectator, and, in his opinion, contrary to the established course of nature, is taken by him to be divine." All that John Locke has done is to assign miracles to an opinion; it is not a matter of fact to be determined by testimony, but a matter of opinion as to the cause of that fact. A person may admit of the fact of miracles, and then one person may admit that this "miracle" is due to natural law, known or unknown: if so, then that occurrence is not a miracle. The answer as to correctness cannot be determined by testimony. The decision must be governed by by the general views of nature and of God's relation to the world, which men entertain. All then that has been proven is that miracles occur in the external world and brought about by unknown physical causes. All that has been proven is that there is a presence of superhuman knowledge and the working of superhuman power.
     This blog may seem to be philosophical in its approach but it is not: we must know the objections so that we can find the truth and examine those objections. The desire is to live and practice our lives in accordance with the truth and the truth begins with knowledge: we do not seek the supernatural as true children of God, we seek the truth and we desire to cast off false teaching. Seeking the truth is not wrong, it is what we must do for we are commanded to do so, we do not hide our heads in the sand as an ostrich, we do not go about doing things so that we might feel holy and acceptable to God. God will direct if we ask Him, He will give the desires of our heart and those desires are to know Him, to worship in in spirit and in truth. Jesus said to "ask", to "seek" and to "knock" (Matthew 7:7-11). Ezekiel wrote: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27). There is no question: God wants us to walk in accordance with His Spirit, that Spirit that He puts into His children. Our work is not some outlandish practice, it is to keep His statutes. When those objections, that are being listed, are answered and the truth is enlightened, when we put away false teaching and practices; then and only then can we worship our God in our every day life, not according to our opinions, rather according to His revealed will.

If anyone come to Me 
    and does not hate
his father and mother,
    wife and children, 
brothers and sisters,
   yes, and even his
own life also, he
   cannot be My disciple.
                  Luke 14:26

Go and Tell The Good News

Richard L. Crumb