2 Corinthians 4:3–6
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.  6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The so-called “word-faith” movement is destroying people’s lives. Tragically many folks who call themselves Christians are not only believing it but also arguing for this stuff. And there are buildings with “church” written on them that gather people on Sundays and spoon feed them this nonsense that flies in the face of what the Bible teaches. In our city of Los Angeles this word-faith stuff is everywhere. We have “mega-churches” like Fred Price teaching it and many churches/preachers he influences around our city who carelessly advance this stuff. On the television we have religious broadcasting, mainly through TBN, that pumps word-faith heretics like TD Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen and more all over the world. The fact is, there are many people who claim to be Christian and claim to be in church all around us, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In order to equip you to be a gospel light in our city and to those you love, I want to urge you to watch these videos below to learn about the errors of the word-faith movement. Jesus warned that in the end there would be many who will claim they know Him and worked for Him, but in reality were not (Matt 7:22). There will be hundreds of thousands of Matthew 7:22 cries from the dead of our city in the last day. People are being led astray and dying in their sins with a false assurance in a false message. Let’s share the truth with them church!  (Watch these videos, use the outlines below them and pray for God's mercy on those we love and those God will use us to reach with the truth).

A CALL FOR DISCERNMENT PART 1

Seminar Outline

Introductory Session: The Duty of Discernment

• Word of Faith Movement Defined
• Personal Testimony
• The Bereans
• The Need for Discernment
• Answering the Critics

Session 1: Dangerous Doctrines

• Metaphysical Cultic Origins
o Phineas P. Quimby
o Essek W. Kenyon
o William Branham
o Kenneth Hagin Sr.

• Doctrines of the WoF Movement
o Positive Confession
o Substance of Faith
o Little gods Doctrine
o the Fall
o Jesus Christ
 Just a Man?
 Spiritual Death of Jesus (SDJ)
 Sin Becomes Him

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies..”~ 2 Peter 2:1

A CALL FOR DISCERNMENT PART 2

Seminar Outline

Session 2: Mangled Manifestations

• Abuse of Tongues
• Spectacular Claims
• Heavenly Encounters
• Bizarre Behavior
• Slaying in the Spirit
• Divine Revelation Knowledge
• Occultic / Demonic
• False Prophecies

“…that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written…” ~ 1 Corinthians 4:6

A CALL FOR DISCERNMENT PART 3

Seminar Outline

Session 3: The Hurt of Healing

• Things to Consider

• Healing:
o Is It Always God’s Will?
o Healing in the Atonement?
o The Biblical Record

• Requirements for Healing:
o Sense of expectation
o Money
o “Right Heart” and Perseverance

• Why are They Sick?

• Hindrances to Healing:
o Lack of Faith
o Not Saved
• Conclusion
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

A PERSONAL NOTE ABOUT A CALL FOR DISCERNMENT
A Call for Discernment is not intended as a personal attack on anyone, it is simply, as the name implies, a call to the church for discernment. It would be easy to make the assumption that this is an anti-charismatic seminar. Such is not the case. When it comes to the fundamental tenets of orthodox Christianity, charismatics are in agreement with me as a Southern Baptist. I am not charismatic, but neither am I anti-charismatic. The Word of Faith Movement, however, does at times denigrate and even deny some of the fundamental, non-negotiable truths of the Christian Faith (as documented in the seminar, especially in Sessions 1 and 2). It may be said that all Word of Faith adherents are charismatic, but not all charismatics are Word of Faith. I have had a number of charismatic pastors to attend my seminars and, to a man, they have found little, if any, with which they would disagree. When it comes to minor, peripheral issues of the faith, we as believers in the Lord Jesus may have differences of opinion and still call one another brother and sister in Christ. When it comes to the fundamentals, however, we must all unite in stalwart defense.
I have presented A Call for Discernment in twenty five states and eight countries thus far to churches of widely varying sizes. Regardless of the size of the church there are always people who will approach me telling me how either they themselves or one of their loved ones has been adversely affected by this movement. It is making alarming inroads even to our Baptist churches. One mother whose son has Muscular Dystrophy recently told me, ‘Justin, ever since my son was diagnosed with M.D., I have blamed myself for his condition because I have been told that if I just had enough faith or if I loved him enough that he would be healed. Now for the first time I realize that his illness is not my fault.’ It is for ladies like her and millions of others that I take the stand that I do.
Not everything that the Word of Faith teachers teach is wrong. Some of it is right. Therein, however, lies the seduction. It is a craftily packaged counterfeit gospel made to look like the real thing. A Call for Discernment is being used by God to bring clarity and understanding to a complicated and confusing issue.

by: Matt Jones Tags: word-faith, heresy