theo 116: A widespread false Gospel

Question 1

Roots of the word of faith movement

Answer 1

It is a flamboyant faction of Pentecostalism which draws many of its beliefs and practices from metaphysical cults (Christian Science, Science of the Mind, Unity School of Christianity) in the 1800s and early 1900s in the United States rather than the
Bible. Its most well-known leaders and teachers are Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Frederick Price, John Avanzini, Marilyn Hickey, Paul Crouch, Joyce Meyer, and others that regularly appear of the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Question 2

Emphasis of the word of faith movement

Answer 2

Among other things, it emphasizes health
wealth, and properity

teaches
- that the universe operates on metaphysical laws,
- that faith is a force,
- and that we can create our own reality through
visualization and confession, (name it and claim it)
- that believers are “little gods,”
- that God is like a man.

Question 3

What does the word of faith movement teach about sickness and healing

Answer 3

1. Faith theology teaches that all sickness is from
   Satan; it’s never from God.

“Since Satan is the author of sickness, I ought to
walk free from it . . . Divine health is my covenant
right! . . .The devil is behind all sickness.”
Kenneth Hagin

2. Faith theology teaches that if we just have
   enough faith and confess it, we’ll be
   completely free from all disease.

“He promises to heal all - every one, any, any whatsoever, everything all our diseases! That means not even a headache, sinus problem, not even a toothache—nothing!No sickness should come your way.”Benny Hinn

“God intends for every believer to live completely free from sickness and disease. It is up to you to decide
whether or not you will.” - Kenneth Copeland

“Use your faith, and then you won’t need medication” Fred Price

Question 4

5 Reasons God Brings Sickness into the lives of believers

Answer 4

1. • To bring Him glory through our healing
     (John 9:1-3; 11:3-4).
2. • To bring Him glory through our discipline
     (1 Corinthians 11:30-32).
3. • To bring Him glory through our suffering
     (2 Corinthians 4:6-10, 16).

4 - To bring Him glory through increasing
our spiritual power (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

5. • To bring Him glory through evangelism
     and missions (Galatians 4:13-14).

Question 5

Psalm 119:71-72

Answer 5

“it is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I may learn Your statutes. I know,
O Lord, that Your judgments
are righteous, and that in faithfulness
You have afflicted me.”

Question 6

God heals by His sovereign will

Answer 6

Sometimes God heals…

1. instantly and miraculously

Acts 14:8-10

“At Lystra a man was sitting who had not strength in his feet, lame
from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was
listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And he leaped up and began to walk.”

2. Slowly and through conventional means

1 Timothy 5:23

“No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”

3. Chooses not to heal

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, … to keep me from exalting myself!
Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave
me. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” …, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Question 7

Faith theology teaches that physical healing
was provided in Christ’s atonement, therefore
it is just as much a part of your salvation
as forgiveness of sins.

Answer 7

“Healing is in the Atonement. We have healing in redemption. If we are saved, we
should be healed . . .
Our Lord could not be satisfied with a half salvation.”
T. L. Osborn

“The Bible declares that the work was done 2,000 years ago. God is not going to heal
you now—He healed you 2,000 years ago. All you have to do today
is receive your healing by faith.” Benny Hinn

Question 8

The Bible teaches that physical healing is not
provided for in Christ’s atonement.

Answer 8

Isaiah 53:4 - “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.”

1. Context is Healing from sin

Isaiah 53:5-6 - “But He was pierced through for
our transgressions, He was crushed for our
iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

2. The word “rapa” is often used figuratively for healing one’s sins, as in Psalm 41

Psalm 41:4 - “As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

3. 1 Peter 2:24 reveals that the healing in
   the atonement is healing for sins.

1 Peter 2:24 - “and He Himself bore our
sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Question 9

Is Matthew 8:16-17 evidence that the attonement includes physcial healing

Answer 9

Matthew 8:16-17 -
is not referring to healing in the
atonement, but fullfillment of a prophecy in Isiaha.

Matthew 8:16-17

16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. 17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”

Question 10

Word of Faith VS The Bible

Answer 10

1. Faith is a Force [VS] Faith is putting your trust in what you have reason to believe is true
2. All Sickness is from the devil [VS] God sovereignly uses sickness.
3. Healing is through Faith [VS] Healing is through God’s sovereign will
4. Christ’s attonement was for physical healing [VS] Christ’s attonement was for the healing of sin
5. Christ was rich [VS] Christ was not rich
6. Believers should seek riches [VS] Believers should not seek riches
7. Poverty is due to lack of faith [VS] Poverty is not related to faith.
8. Garanteed 100 fold Blessing for Giving [VS] General Blessing for Giving
9. Manipulate people into Giving [VS] Cheerful freewil giving

Question 11

Faith theology teaches that Jesus and His apostles were rich.

Answer 11

“How I Learned Jesus Was Not Poor” - Title of a book by Oral Roberts
“The Millionaire from Nazareth” - Title of a book by Catherine Ponder
“Jesus has a nice house, a big house.” John Avanzini

Question 12

The Bible teaches that Jesus and His disciples were not rich.

Answer 12

Matthew 8:19-20 - “A certain scribe came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, I will
follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘The foxes have holes,
and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay His head.’”

Matthew 19:27 - “Then Peter said to Him, ‘Behold, we have left
everything and followed You.”

1 Corinthians 4:9, 11-12 - “God has exhibited us apostles . . . to this present
hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are
roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with
our own hands”

Question 13

Faith theology teaches that believers should eagerly seek riches.

Answer 13

“Being poor is a sin when God promises prosperity.” - Robert Tilton

“Brother Hagin . . . you ought to preach that everywhere you go. God has
promised to make everyone of us rich.” - Kenneth Hagin quoting A. A. Swift, in Hagin’s book, Redeemed from Poverty, Sickness, and Spiritual Death

Question 14

The Bible teaches that believers should not eagerly seek riches.

Answer 14

Proverbs 23:4-5 - “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease
from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is
gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that
flies toward the heavens.”

Matthew 6:19-20 - “Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

1 Timothy 6:9-10 - “But those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful
desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.”

Question 15

Faith theology teaches that poverty is the result of a lack of faith.

Answer 15

“Paul did not mean to say that the love of money is the root of all evil,
but that the lack of money is the root of all evil. . . . You can’t lose with the stuff
I use, and the stuff I use is mond power.” Reverend Ike

“What do you need? Start creating it. Start speaking about it.
Start speaking it into being. Speak to your billfold. Say, ‘You
big, thick billfold full of money.’ Speak to your checkbook. say,
‘You checkbook, you. You’ve never been so prosperous since
I owned you. You’re just jammed full of money.” -Marilyn Hickey

Question 16

The Bible teaches that poverty is not necessarily related to our faith.

Answer 16

Luke 6:20 - “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say,
‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.’”

Luke 21:2-4 - “And He saw a poor widow putting in tow small copper
coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than
all of them; for . . . she put in all that she had to live on.”

James 2:5 - “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor
of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which
He promised to those who love Him?”

Question 17

Faith theology teaches a promise of guaranteed financial blessings for giving.

Answer 17

“Give one house and receive one hundred houses or one house worth
a hundred times as much. Give one airplane and receive one hundred times
the value of the airplane. Give one car and the return would furnish you
a lifetime of cars. In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal.”—Gloria Copeland

Question 18

The Bible teaches a principle of general blessings for giving.

Answer 18

2 Corinthians 9:6, 8 -

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. . . .
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all
sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

Mark 10:29 -30

“Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left
house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children
or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he
shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present
age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age
to come, eternal life.”

2 CORINTHIANS 9:11

“You will be enriched in everything
for all liberality”

Question 19

Faith theology often uses manipulation and compulsion to get people to give

Answer 19

“[Without] the additional $4,500,000 God will not extend Dad’s life. Partner, we
cannot let this man of God die.”—Richard Roberts speaking about his father, Oral
Roberts in a fund-raising letter

“The gift of prophecy came on me and 33 predictions were given me
concerning you . . . [These predictions will help you avoid] TERRIBLE
NEW DISEASES [and to] take advantage of the hundredfold return . . .
to receive . . . PROSPERITY MIRACLES . . . IF YOU NEGLECT TO PAY
ATTENTION . . . then Satan will take advantage and hit you with bad
things and you will wish 1985 had never come.” Oral Roberts in a
fund-raising letter

Question 20

10. The Bible condemns manipulation and compulsion to get people to give.

Answer 20

2 Corinthians 4:2 - “But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame,
not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation
of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 - “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Question 21

Jim Baker’s Repentance

Answer 21

“There is no way, if you take the whole counsel of God’s Word, that you can equate riches or material things as a sign of God’s blessing . . . I have asked God to forgive me . ..
for preaching earthly prosperity.” -former Faith teacher Jim Bakker

“It’s time the call from the pulpit be changed from ‘Who
wants a life of pleasure and good things, new homes, cars,
material possessions, etc.?’ to “Who will come forward
and accept Jesus Christ and the fellowship of His suffering?’
Jim Bakker

Question 23

God uses sickness so He may be glorified through our healing

Answer 23

John 9:1-3

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

John 11:3-4

3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.

Question 24

God uses sickness so He may be glorified through our discipline

Answer 24

1 Corinthians 11:30-32.

30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world

Question 25

God sometimes bring suffering and affliction into our lives so that He may be glorified through our suffering.

Answer 25

2 Corinthians 4:6 - 16

6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[b] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[c] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[d] being renewed every day.

Question 26

God uses sickness and suffering so He may be glorified through our increasing
our spiritual power

Answer 26

2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Question 27

God uses sickness and suffering so He may be glorified through our evangelism

Answer 27

(Galatians 4:13-14).

13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.