VERITAS
"Wolves Among the Sheep"
By Craig Branch
Sep-Oct 2003

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." (2 Tim. 4:3-4)

A very discouraging and destructive trend has been growing in the body of Christ. The world has formed people into its mold rather than the minds and lives of people being transformed by God’s word (Romans 12:1-2). Too many Christians have adopted pragmatism or substituted feelings and experience in place of the truth of God’s word. Too many regard theology and sound doctrine as boring, irrelevant, and/or divisive. As a result, very few are developing the mind of Christ and are thus less than discerning about truth and error. As the writer of Hebrews admonishes the Christian congregations,

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes [only] of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Heb. 5:12-14)

Christians must be called back to the clear teaching of the Scripture and be committed to what the word of God says and means. Sound teaching, doctrine, accompanied by the Holy Spirit is essential to healthy growth. Jesus said to the Father, “sanctify them in thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17; cf. 8:32). John strongly emphasizes that we are to not support those who abide not in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). Paul repeatedly drives home this point as he teaches that our transformation (sanctification) is directly tied to the renewing of our minds by God’s truth (doctrine) in the word of God (Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:9-20, 16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Peter concurs (2 Peter 1:2-3).

Another important means that God has ordained in our sanctification is the opportunity of being a “watchman on the wall” who protects the flock from false doctrine (Ezek. 33:1-7; Isa. 62:6; 1 Tim. 6:3; Titus 1:9-11). Moreover, God stresses that teachers and leaders (including TV evangelists) must exercise great care and responsibility as they will “receive the greater condemnation [judgment]” (Titus 2:7-8; 1 Tim. 4:6; Jas. 3:1). Christians must therefore take heed concerning the importance of doctrine and “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15; cf. 4:3-4).

For this reason, the next two issues of our Areopagus Journal focus on a complex and controversial movement that espouses errors that cause spiritual harm to the body of Christ and our witness to the world. The movement is known by several names—the Word-Faith Movement, the Health and Wealth Gospel, Prosperity Teaching, Name-it and Claim-it, and Positive Confession.

The more well known heretical teaching of this movement is that not only is healing and material prosperity gained in the atonement, but it is the birthright for every believer to command health and prosperity by exercising faith. This issue is of concern not only because it is contrary to Scripture, but also because of the growing number of incidents involving the deaths of children and adults in churches and families that exercise radical Word-Faith theology. Such incidents also raise significant legal, church-state issues concerning when the state has the jurisdiction to interfere with the doctrinal practices of a church. This concern is similar to that raised by the Jehovah’s Witness refusal of blood transfusions and the Christian Science refusal of medical help due to their denial of the reality of sickness.

The less-known heresies of the Word-Faith movement have to do with these teachers’ views on the nature of man, Christ, and God. In all three of these areas, the Word-Faith teachers depart dangerously from the historic Christian faith. The latter is the focus of this issue of Areopagus Journal while their beliefs on health and wealth will be the focus of the next.

The Word-Faith movement is gaining in popularity due to several factors. One factor is the exposure it receives on the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) led by Word-Faith teachers Paul and Jan Crouch. TBN is on 24 hours a day in America and is carried on 33 international satellites in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Australia, the Far East and the South Pacific. Most of those whose programs appear on TBN are Word-Faith teachers with a few exceptions like D. James Kennedy and Adrian Rogers who buy time on the network. Many Word-Faith teachers are also regularly heard on “Christian” radio stations around the country. Some of the more popular teachers of this heresy are Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, Fredrick K.C. Price, Rod Parsley, Marilyn Hickey, Gloria Copeland, and Benny Hinn.

Another factor in their popularity is the fact that their false doctrine appeals to man’s fallen nature—materialism and good health as the means of successful or fulfilled living. Still another factor is the general state of the Church with regard to its lack of, and often aversion to, doctrinal grounding. Today, many are blindly following the heretical teachings of the leaders of the Word-Faith movement without realizing the pattern of how cults begin and grow. Many cult leaders began within orthodoxy and then they began to introduce novel doctrines (destructive heresies), twisting the Scripture to teach their doctrine (Acts 20:30; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 2:19; 2 Peter 3:16).

Not only have many ministers and ministries specifically called these teachers to account for their heresies, but the general consensus of the contemporary church and the voice of church history cry out against the Word-Faith errors. So when, for example, Paul Crouch of TBN begins his diatribes against his critics by calling them “heretic hunters who pick at the little doctrinal specks in Word-Faith teacher’s eyes, instead of the logs in their own,”1 he must be asked (1) to name the doctrinal “logs” of which their critics must be repentant, and (2) why such statements allow him to ignore his own doctrinal errors.

The most common attempt to escape accountability used by both Christians and non-Christians is to misapply Matthew 7:1 which states, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” Yet instead of teaching that it is wrong to call attention to sin or error, the passage, in context, actually teaches that Christians should judge (note verse 5). In fact, the New Testament emphatically teaches Christians are to judge truth from error, both individually and corporately (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1-2; Eph. 5:11-13; 1 Cor. 14:29). The warning is about not judging unrighteously or hypocritically. The implication is that when anyone judges, God will judge using that same standard. So whoever judges needs to be sure that his motives are right. The responsibility is to first go to the offender(s) with the evidence. If he does not acknowledge the error or sin, take others and eventually take it to the Church (Matt. 18:15-18; cf. 1 Cor. 5:9-13; Gal. 6:1).

There is a major problem with applying this process to the Word-Faith teachers, however. Most of the Word-Faith teachers have no real accountability. Along with many other ministers and ministries, we have repeatedly gone to these teachers with documented evidence of their errors and often have been attacked in return. So when we “tell it to the Church,” we have no choice but to expose the error to the Church at large. God’s instruction in “telling the church” is to publicly name those who are teaching serious error (2 Tim. 2:17, 4:10; 1 Tim. 1:20). Paul even publicly rebuked Peter (Gal. 2:11-14) because the error was serious enough and Peter was influential enough that the welfare of the body needed to be protected. The high visibility and influence of these teachers warrant the need for public exposure.

The other two major attempts to dodge the spotlight of truth is to threaten the admonisher with the warning “do not touch God’s anointed,” and with the red herring, “these people are anti-charismatic.” That is, they typically shift the issue, claiming that those who are opposing them are anti-charismatic cessationists who believe that the miraculous gifts have ceased. This misinformation or red herring is designed to lead Word-Faith followers to automatically dismiss anything Word-Faith critics say.

However, many critics of the Word-Faith movement, including most of ARC’s staff, are not cessationists. So those in the Word-Faith camp who claim that their critics are just anti-charismatic are simply mistaken. In fact, many charismatic-Pentecostals are very critical of the Word-Faith theology. For example, one of the most scholarly critiques of the Word-Faith movement is the book A Different Gospel by D.R. McConnell of Oral Roberts University, himself an unapologetic charismatic.2

Additionally, well-known charismatic pastor and leader Chuck Smith, in his book Charisma vs. Charismania, wrote, “The latest wind of pernicious, unscriptural doctrine to blow through the ranks of some charismatics is the ‘what-you-say-is-what-you-get’ teaching, otherwise known as the prosperity doctrine.”3 He also soundly condemns the teaching of negative and positive confession as well as the teaching that sickness is a result of a lack of faith. Smith agrees with us when he states that these teachings “sound more like Mary Baker Eddy [founder of Christian Science] than the Apostle Paul.”4

The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements documents the heretical teachings of the Word-Faith movement as well as provides some sound correction. It identifies E.W. Kenyon as the founder, and men like Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Charles Capps, Frederick K.C. Price, Robert Tilton, Earl Paulk, and others as his disciples. The dictionary states that the “theological claims [of the Word-Faith movement], while based on faulty presuppositions, have a universal appeal” as it feeds the fallen self-centered nature of man. The dictionary also points out that “the Rhema [Word-Faith] interpretation is their biased selection of biblical passages, often without due regard to their context. This approach not only does violence to the text but forces the New Testament linguistic data into artificial categories that the Bible authors themselves could not affirm.”5

Dr. Charles Farah, Jr., Professor of Theology and Historical Studies at Oral Roberts University, wrote in Pneuma that the Word-Faith movement “uses Gnostic hermeneutical principles and displaces contextual scientific exegesis. It shares many of the goals of present day humanism, particularly in regards to the creaturely comforts. It is, in fact, a burgeoning heresy.”6 H. Terris Newman, Bible professor at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God, in a more recent article in Pneuma, concludes, “In view of the fact of the cultic origins of the health and wealth gospel, its heretical Christology, its devastating effects on human lives and the false portrayal of Christianity it presents to the world, this paper is a call to the wider evangelical community also to engage in an apologetic that will distinguish the gospel of Jesus Christ from those who indeed propagate a different gospel”7

Dr. Gordon Fee, noted theology professor at Gordon-Conwell seminary and a charismatic, has dealt with the exegetical and interpretive errors of the health and wealth teachings in a booklet entitled, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels. Fee points out in passage after passage that those who accept the Word-Faith teaching are doing so because it appeals to their base selfish desires.8 No one can possibly come to the theological conclusions of the Word-Faith teachers based on an accurate exegesis and historical view of the Bible.

And last but certainly not least, the Assemblies of God issued an official statement in 1980 on “The Believer and Positive Confession.”9 It is a sound, balanced view of the issues of faith, healing, miracles, prayer and the life of a believer. The statement demonstrates how the excesses of the Word-Faith theology “are in conflict with the Word of God.” It correctly points out that true biblical faith considers the will and sovereignty of God which can be discerned from a sound hermeneutic (i.e., rules of Biblical interpretation).

In admirable pastoral concern, the AG statement concludes with, “God’s Word does teach great truths such as healing, provision for need, faith, and the authority of believers. But these truths must always be considered in the framework of the total teaching of Scripture. When abuses occur, there is sometimes a temptation to draw back from these great truths of God’s Word. The fact that doctrinal aberrations develop, however is not a reason for rejecting or remaining silent concerning them.”

This issue of Areopagus Journal will address the roots and heresies of the Word-Faith movement. First, Rob Bowman of Apologetics.com describes the origins of the Word-Faith theology in his article “From Boston to Tulsa.” Rob’s article is adapted from his fine book, The Word-Faith Controversy: Understanding the Health and Wealth Gospel.

Bowman is followed by ARC’s Steve Cowan’s article, “Little Wormy Spirit.” which focuses on the false and heretical presentation of Jesus found in the Word-Faith movement. Lastly, ARC’s Clete Hux contributes “The ‘Gods’ of the Word-Faith Movement,” which addresses how the Word-Faith teachers present a distorted view of God and man. In our next issue of Areopagus Journal, we will separate truth from error in the Word-Faith health and wealth doctrines. AJ

Craig Branch is Director of the Apologetics Resource Center, Birmingham, Alabama.

NOTES

1 Paul Crouch as quoted on “Word-Faith: The Cancer Within,” videotape (Adonai Productions, 1991).

2 D.R. McConnell, A Different Gospel: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement, rev. ed. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1995).

3 Chuck Smith, Charisma vs. Charismania (Costa Mesa, CA: Word for Today, 1993), 135.

4 Ibid.

5 The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. Stanley M. Burgess (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), s.v. “Positive Confession Theology.”

6 Charles Farah, Jr., “A Critical Analysis: The ‘Roots and Fruits’ of Faith-Formula Theology,” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (Spring, 1981): 3-21.

7 H. Terris Newman “Cultic Origins of Word-Faith Theology Within the Charismatic Movement,” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (Spring 1990): 32-55.

8 Gordon Fee, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels (Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Publishing, 1985).

9 The statement is entitled “The Believer and Positive Confession” and can be found at www.ag.org/top/beliefs/position_papers/4183_ confession.cfm#top.

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