Spiritual Authority or Spiritual Pride?

ANOTHER GOSPEL

But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. - Galatians 1:8 ASV


Substituting an offering plate for the cross and obedience to man instead of the atoning work of Christ, this new gospel finds it's only basis in a handful of scriptures taken out of context and a confusing theology filled with contradictions.

This new gospel in essence reverses all that the reformers (John Calvin and Martin Luther) birthed out of the great Protestant Reformation and takes us back into the dark ages of medieval Catholic theology. The basic premise is that only an elite group of leaders can hear the voice of God and get direction in the church; thus leaving the laity as helpless pawns who can only submit and obey human leadership without using any discernment at all.

Here is a direct quote from the leader of this current theology, John Bevere.

"On the other hand, our judgment will be relative to our submission, for authority is of God. To resist delegated authority is to resist God's authority. We should not take it upon ourselves the pressure to discern beforehand whether leaders are right or not. Nor should we judge after the fact. This is not our burden, but God's. He alone knows and can change hearts as He so desires."

- John Bevere, page 147, "Under Cover"

SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY OR SPIRITUAL PRIDE?

The essence of spiritual pride itself is the desire to dominate others. This was the sin of the Pharisee:

Jesus said: "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Matthew 23:4

John Bevere's thesis is that God can change the hearts of leaders who are wrong. The glitch in his theology is the fact that God does not violate a person's will. It is the devil that controls and manipulates, not the Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is a gentle dove and by nature does not force His will on people. The fact is that God resists the proud and arrogant leader:

1 Peter 5:5; "All of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.

Spiritual Pride Deafens Us From Hearing God's Voice

"Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar." - Psalm 138:6

Listen, God is intimate with the humble and he distances himself from the proud! In the gospels the disciples were concerned that Jesus had offended the Pharisees. But listen to what Jesus Christ said to them:

"Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." - Matthew 15:14 NASB

Is there a worse fate than to be "let alone" by the Savior of the world?

I am truly sorry to have to say this; but this is the fate of those who desire to manipulate and dominate others. It is not enough that they are blinded by their pride and forbid the use of both biblical and spiritual discernment. But they wish to guide others!!! Jesus Christ called them blind guides of the blind.

My cry is for the church to get back to the great truths of the Protestant Reformation and to return to both sound Biblical Theology and true spiritual discernment.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. - 1 John 4:1

The Reformers changed the world with these three great principles:

1.) Authority of Scripture.

They established the Word of God as the authority in the church, instead of the Pope. Every true New Testament church will honor the Word of God as their authority. Even our Constitutional Republic was established on this same principle. The United States of America is a nation ruled by law, the Constitution of the United States. Our President takes an oath to uphold that Constitution and in all matters even the President is not the ultimate authority, but the Constitution is!

These false teachers arrogantly belittle democracy and the American form of government. If they don't agree with the American form of government, then they should move to China, North Korea or Iran; those governments have authoritarian rule that they would apparently be more comfortable with.

And the same holds true for every New Testament church, the Word of God is the authority!!!


2.) Justification by Faith Alone.

This new gospel is based on works and human effort. It ignores in entirety the letters of the Apostle Paul and the simple gospel of Christ. In fact, the gospel is no longer preached and the atoning work of Christ is no longer central to their message.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that we are justified by faith in the precious atoning blood of Christ not only gave birth to the Reformation, but also every single effective era of revival or evangelism!


3.) Priesthood of the Believer.

The bible describes the New Testament Believer as a priest and a royal priesthood with direct access to God thru the blood of Christ. We are a kingdom of Priests who can come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

MORE TO COME