Strange Fire

Leviticus 10:1-3

I am writing this blog for a few reasons. The first reason is that I am deeply concerned with the practice, theology, and growing influence of the charismatic movement within the church. Second, I am writing this because as a pastor I feel the responsibility to expose these issues and call men and women back to biblical faithfulness. The third reason is that this movement has targeted my community and I, for one, feel I must address it for, if nothing else, my congregation. I will address these points individually and I will warn that this will be a little longer of a post than normal, but the seriousness of this topic deserves the extra attention. 

Charismatic Chaos 

When I think about the charismatic movement and the enormous number of people caught up in it, I can’t help but wonder why. Well, it is not a very difficult question to answer. One of the greatest problems within the evangelical church today is the lack of biblical discernment. This lack of discernment is due to the very low view and understanding of the Bible. Pastor John MacArthur has said of the issue of discernment, “If you can’t discern the truth with the Word of God in your hand, with the Bible in your hand, if you can’t discern the truth, you can die of 1,000 heresies. It’s like having spiritual AIDS. People who have a deficient immune system can die of 1,000 illnesses. The church can die of 1,000 heresies if it can’t exercise discernment.” Dr. MacArthur is correct, and we are seeing this very thing happen all across our culture. This lack of discernment is due to a deficiency of biblical literacy. The sad and hard truth is that many professing Christians have very little knowledge when it comes to the things of God. Groups like Barna and Lifeway Research have documented for years now this heartbreaking lack of biblical knowledge among people who say they are Christians. Studies show over half of professing Christians admit to never or hardly ever reading their Bibles. Sixty percent cannot name five of the Ten Commandments, and fewer than half cannot name the four Gospels. Is it any wonder then when a smooth-talking salesman comes by and presents something appealing and exciting that many fall for it completely? Thus, is one of the main reasons for the rise in the charismatic movement and the involvement in so much of the insanity that comes with it. 

When trying to come to some honest theological understanding of this movement, the conclusion can only be that it is extra-biblical. In fact, I might go so far as to say, it is completely unbiblical. The deception comes because of the way in which it is packaged. The appeal is to the emotions and an experience. The name “Jesus” gets attached, and the music chosen stirs the emotions and creates an experience. If you want to find out what the draw to these kinds of events and churches is, I might suggest to those within to turn the lights on and the music off and see where that leaves you. Put a man behind the pulpit and preach long, “Thus says the Lord” messages and see who remains of those who attend. I would suggest taking the remnant that is left and start a new church based on the Word of God and not all the trappings of religion and emotions.

Theological Dangers

Now, before I get the “old fogie” label slapped on me (most likely it’s too late), let me share with you the real theological dangers and why this sort of thing must be exposed and avoided. The issue with the charismatic movement (as it is with any deviant “Christian” movement) is the issue of Scripture. It always comes down to the Bible and how one understands it. The heart of the problem with a movement like this is the rejection of the Bible’s sufficiency. All of the strange and bizarre behavior is the rotten fruit of the rejection of the Scriptures. 

The charismatic movement is full of so-called, self-proclaimed “prophets.” This should be the first red flag for anyone who might be tempted to listen to these people. If anyone who proclaims themselves to be a prophet comes at you saying, “I have a word from the Lord for you today,” and that word does not come from the pages of Scripture, then you know you are dealing with a false prophet. Let me explain firstly by asking, what is a prophet? Meaning, how does the Bible define a prophet? Well, the Bible refers to a prophet as a “spokesman” for God, a man of God, a messenger of the Lord, a seer, a man of the Spirit, and a watchman for the people (1 Samuel 1:27, Isaiah 42:19; 30:10, Hosea 9:7, Ezekiel 3:17). Anyone claiming the tile “prophet” is also claiming to be speaking for God and is representing God to the people, so that means that this person had better not be wrong, or contradict anything God has said. Why? Because God is never wrong and never speaks things that are not true. The charismatic movement is full of false and wrong prophets who have set things up to say that even if a prophecy does not come true, you cannot say the person who made the false prophecy is not a true prophet. Well, I can say it and I will say it as loudly as I can. These people are fakes and frauds and a reproach upon the name of Christ. Nathan Busenitz lays out three tests we should apply to anyone claiming to be a prophet. He says, “The first would be the test of doctrinal orthodoxy. God’s true prophets proclaim doctrines that are right and true. New Revelation is always consistent with previous revealed truth. Second, integrity. God’s true prophets are characterized by personal holiness. Those who claim to speak for God must also live out that truth in their lives. And then thirdly, predictive accuracy…predictive accuracy. God’s true prophets foretell future events or reveal hidden things with 100 percent accuracy.” To not do this makes God out to be a liar. The Bible describes false prophets as adulterous (Jeremiah 23:14), treacherous (Zephaniah 3:4), drunkards (Isaiah 28:7), wicked (Jeremiah 23:11), liars (Jeremiah 14:14; 23:14), and associated with divination and witchcraft (Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 22:28; Acts 13:6). Ezekiel 13 says, “Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing…. Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said the Lord declares? But it is not I who have spoken. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have spoken falsely and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel that you may know that I am the Lord God.” Therefore, a prophet who claims to speak for God and then what he says turns out to be a lie, turns out to be false, God Himself says that He is against those prophets. Deuteronomy 18:20 – “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 

There is no need for prophets today because the Word of God has been delivered to us. What we have in the 66 books of our Bibles is the complete revelation from God to us, and it is enough. Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us clearly, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” God has spoken, through true prophets, through the true Apostles, and ultimately through Jesus. We have all of that in the pages of our Bibles and there will be no new special revelation until Jesus returns. Paul confirms this in 2 Timothy. He does not tell Timothy to look for new prophets and Apostles but to hold fast to what has already been delivered (2 Tim. 3:14–17). God gave His church prophets and Apostles so that we would have His inerrant, infallible Word. Now that we have His Word, we do not need living prophets or Apostles. 

I have belabored this point (and could go on) because this is the core of the issue for me. All the fake healings and parlor tricks intended to mislead people, all the strange behavior and mockery of the Holy Spirit, all the emotionalism and manipulation, and all the fake prophets is nothing more than a demonic attack upon the Word of God and its sufficiency. 

Pastoral Responsibility 

Having been a pastor for many years now, I have been in numerous uncomfortable situations. For all the opinions as to what a pastor is supposed to be or do, one of the main responsibilities he has is to protect the people that God has placed in his care. If that sounds a little old fashion, that’s because it is. It is as old as Scripture itself. For the pastor who takes this responsibility seriously, it can create some very uncomfortable situations, conversations, and sermons. Often times, the pastor who does seek to love his people well by protecting them can be seen as negative or unloving due to the responsibilities of his calling. What I mean by that is that sometimes wolves in the church must be called out and named if the sheep are going to be protected and put on alert. Matthew 7:15 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Here, Jesus is telling us that there will be those who show up in the church that might look the part, maybe even sound the part at times but in reality, are a danger to the church. The pastor is responsible to identify and call out such people. Now, it is true the pastor must not look at everyone who might disagree with him on certain issues as a false teacher or a wolf—but for those that are—he must have the spine and conviction to call it out.

This responsibility of the under-shepherd becomes all the more important when the wolves come too close to the flock he is attending. It is one thing to see false teachers and false teaching on the TV or on the internet—both of which are dangerous. However, when it invades the place you live and minister, the burden of ministry and the responsibility of protecting God’s people becomes a reality that cannot be ignored. Titus 1:9 – “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” So, for those who might wonder why some pastors do the things they do and take on issues that can seem controversial even at the risk of being called “negative”, “judgmental”, and “intolerant,” or seen as “unloving” and “mean-spirited”, please know that love for God and God’s people are the driving motivation. Sure, there are some who just like the fight, but I am not talking about them. They have their own issues with the Lord. Rather, I am referring to the vast majority of faithful men who are called by God, understand their responsibility, and accept the consequences because they have a clear understanding of what is at stake. May the Lord continue to raise up such men. To God be the glory.