 | The age old saying that proclaims if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it is just as relevant in the church today as in the secular world. The Apostle Paul had to bring the Galatian believers to task for abandoning the grace of God and returning to the Law (Galatians 3:3). Now in the modern body of Christ; there has been a resurgence of formulas and rules that have taken the place of the finished work of grace that Jesus gave everything to secure for us. |
While this movement has not literally fallen back to a strict following of the Levitical law complete with festival observances, circumcision and animal sacrifices, there have been countless sacrifices made, all in the form of innocent, misguided souls. The prosperity movement I believe has inadvertently enslaved thousands of believers into an endless cycle of works and rules not unlike the Old Testament Israelites. We have turned this outpouring of the Spirit from a work of His grace to a gospel of the glory of man.
The revelation of the Spirit that is called the Word of Faith movement brings many good biblical proclamations. It teaches believers to take a firm stand on the Word of God and exercise their authority in this world (Mark 11:23). I believe that people start to get in error when they stop relying on the grace and strength of Jesus and start to “work” their faith. In my experience this goes astray when people gauge their level of faith in proportion to their amount of physical possessions.
This erroneous philosophy can turn a sincere believer who stands in faith on God's Word in order to receive all that Jesus died and rose to obtain for them, into a repetitious verse quoting workaholic bent on getting everything they think they need to make them happy. I know this seems rather harsh, but I have seen this for myself. Any believer can get caught up in this train of thought when we lose our focus, which needs to be the finished work of Christ Jesus working in us, through us, and for us; instead of trying to use Jesus to get the stuff that we presume will show others how “big” our faith is.
Please do not misinterpret what I am trying to get across. I am all for receiving everything that Jesus paid so dearly for. I just know from first-hand experience that what we can get from God is never as important as abiding in God while experiencing Him abiding in us (John 15:4). When we receive blessings from Him this way, we actually get to enjoy them instead of being worn out from working for them.
John Clark
The revelation of the Spirit that is called the Word of Faith movement brings many good biblical proclamations. It teaches believers to take a firm stand on the Word of God and exercise their authority in this world (Mark 11:23). I believe that people start to get in error when they stop relying on the grace and strength of Jesus and start to “work” their faith. In my experience this goes astray when people gauge their level of faith in proportion to their amount of physical possessions.
This erroneous philosophy can turn a sincere believer who stands in faith on God's Word in order to receive all that Jesus died and rose to obtain for them, into a repetitious verse quoting workaholic bent on getting everything they think they need to make them happy. I know this seems rather harsh, but I have seen this for myself. Any believer can get caught up in this train of thought when we lose our focus, which needs to be the finished work of Christ Jesus working in us, through us, and for us; instead of trying to use Jesus to get the stuff that we presume will show others how “big” our faith is.
Please do not misinterpret what I am trying to get across. I am all for receiving everything that Jesus paid so dearly for. I just know from first-hand experience that what we can get from God is never as important as abiding in God while experiencing Him abiding in us (John 15:4). When we receive blessings from Him this way, we actually get to enjoy them instead of being worn out from working for them.
John Clark
