Word of Faith: A Powerful New Revelation, The True Gospel with Errors, Or Not the Gospel At All?

From "The Line of Fire" radio broadcast

By Michael Brown


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QCM7IaUpSI

I would encourage all those that are not sure of whether the Word of Faith teachers are teaching truth or error or a mixture to listen to this discussion. This balanced teaching will prove to be helpful to you.

_________________
Mike

I'll also recommend this link for helpful information on this issue:

Cristianity in Crisis by Hank Hanegraaf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdNN7hst8f8

Some names addressed are Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin and Fred Price.

Among other resources the Lord used this resource by Hank Hanegraaf to deliver me from this false teaching.

In the end, there can be different information from different perspectives or "biases". May the Lord reveal to us what is truth concerning this teaching.

_________________
Oracio

I'd like to share also this one dealing specifically with Benny Hinn. It touches briefly on the issue of physical healing among other issues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ozGZWlO8tw

I bring this up for a few reasons. First, I know Dr. Brown has shown much fondness of Benny Hinn in recent times. Secondly, I know Dr. Brown shares the same view with Hinn and other WOF teachers on the issue of physical healing. They teach that physical health and healing is guaranteed to every believer through faith. They teach that if a believer is sick it is due to either sin or a lack of faith or failure to speak a word of faith. Imo it's the same kind of accusation brought upon Job by his "counselors". I know Dr. Brown tries to make a distinction between believing in guaranteed physical healing and believing in guaranteed financial prosperity. But to me there is not much of a difference because they are both forms of earthly prosperity, one being prosperity in health and the other being prosperity in material possessions.

This is a good article on the topic of healing for further biblical study:
http://www.letusreason.org/Wf9.htm

In the broadcast shared in the OP Dr. Brown points out that he checked out statements of faiths on websites of certain faith teachers and that he found that the statements of faith seemed sound doctrinally in the essentials. But by that line of reasoning we could also go to many websites of apostate churches that teach homosexuality is not a sin and find that their statements of faith also seem sound in the essentials. Let's continue to test all things.

_________________
Oracio

I think we have to be careful about going to certain teachers or certain websites to defend our view or to find criticism of a view we disagree with with. They all have their biases.

For example- Hank Hanegraaf is a very strong partial preterist when it comes to eschatology. He is also an "old earth creationist." A great big chunk of modern evangelicals would probably disagree pretty strongly with him on these issues, including on this forum. I happen to agree with him on both. But I absolutely don't agree with him on certain other issues. John MacArthur is exactly the same. Great teacher who I have listened to a lot but he has totally missed it when it comes to his extreme conservatism on the gifts of the Spirit, and this saddens me.

I have listened to dozens and dozens of Michael Brown's sermons (some are available on SI) and I have never heard him once stress physical healing or prosperity. They are never a focus of his message. Does he believe that God still heals miraculously today? Absolutely, but so do I. He definitely leans toward the charismatic side and has challenged MacArthur to discuss the issue but has been refused. But I would call him a conservative charismatic and he simply cannot be placed into the same category as Hinn, Copeland and the like.

_________________
Todd

TMK, I agree with this comment of yours, quote: "I think we have to be careful about going to certain teachers or certain websites to defend our view or to find criticism of a view we disagree with. They all have their biases."

This also applies to Michael Brown. He is not THE authority on Pentecostal/charismatic doctrine. There is much he says I agree with, but also some that I consider him to be lacking discernment, which is experienced based rather than solid biblical exposition. I have heard Brown debate cessationists and make a lot of good biblical points to show this position to be wrong. However he often does not distinguish misuse of gifts and expose much of the hyper charismatic abuse.

I would tend to agree with Oracio's position on this subject, probably because I came through a similar revelation on this many years ago. I think the point Oracio is making is that Brown has been a supporter of Hinn in being a guest on his program. When challenged about this he would not say anything against Hinn's ministry.

I know this is a very emotive subject with a lot of folk who hold to healing as a right of the believer. So much so that if you try and discuss from scripture that healing is not an automatic benefit for all believers for all sickness that just has to be claimed by faith, they will not hear because they think that is unbelief and they are not open to consider something different to what they have taken as a faith position. That think you are being negative and un-believing. Once we realise that God is far bigger than my weak grasping hold of a belief (as if that somehow will force God to act), we can allow ourselves to re-evaluate what the bible truly teaches and allow God to reveal His truth and more importantly Himself to us in a ever growing reality.

The fact is, the teaching that 'healing is in the atonement' and should be reality in our lives now is very much part of the Word of Faith teaching. If you study the history of the instigators of the WoF movement they were very much involved in the healing movement of the early 20th Century. Healing IS in the atonement and a part of salvation, BUT it is the part that is ultimately linked to when we get a new resurrected body. The salvation that Christ purchased for us on the cross involves Spirit, soul, body and even this earth. Our spirit is saved at point of regeneration by faith. Our soul is being saved as an ongoing process in our walk in faith. Our bodies will be saved at the resurrection and the earth will be saved when it is renewed when Christ sets up His Kingdom. We must not force all of these events into this age. Otherwise we end up with false teaching and great disappointment when we do not see it.

All that said I do believe that healing is a gift that we can ask for and see today because something of the future Kingdom will spill over into this life as a 'sign' and 'confirmation' of the gospel message, but it is at God's will and discretion when and if this happens. We must trust that our lives are in His hands and that He will only allow that which is his will.

_________________
Dave

Amen Heydave. Glad to see I'm not the only one with this concern here.

_________________
Oracio

This reticence about Hinn is disappointing. You know, you live faithfully as a Pentecostal believer. You embrace and accept the orthodox teachings of the faith. Out of the overflow of your heart and the work of Christ in you, you follow sound teaching. Then, people are associated with your understanding of Scripture and they take on a mantle of "Pentecostal" and they blur it with words like "charismatic" (which I think is Greek for "anything goes" -- I'm joking). A new creature gets made and, although no one puts it to a vote most everyone you look to as reasonable and faithful to the orthodoxy of the Christian faith and as Pentecostal sweeps into the tidewaters of this new and different thing. Suddenly or not, the new thing becomes a heterodox thing as concerns the faith. And, the associations that get made become less likely to be abandoned than the orthodoxy of the faith.

Eventually, YOU, who really didn't change, become the guy who wouldn't get along. YOU, who didn't seek out a newer subdivision when everyone else decided the one they were in wasn't stylish enough anymore, become a burden or a troublemaker or hypercritical or just not spiritual enough.

I've been through an identity crisis as a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition Pentecostal. I came out of that long process as a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition Pentecostal. We are currently being dragged through it again within our local body as if we are just not spiritual enough and that we're not truly Pentecostal. I didn't leave Pentecost for good; but when I came back, no one else was around.

I hope Michael Brown hasn't left, too. If he supports Hinn, that's one foot in the grave of error and the other on a banana peel. I don't understand reasonable people attaching themselves in any way with Benny Hinn. I truly believe Hinn to be true evil, especially to the saints of God.

_________________
Tim

Very true Yuehan.

I attended a church a few years back that got heavily influenced by one of the very popular "streams" in the evangelical movement. As this began to permeate I didn't need to visit a "discernment" website or any such thing because my own inner spirit and discernment was throwing up red flags all over the place so we got out of there and quick.

I think the problem is that for whatever reason some Christians suppress their own discernment about some things for various reasons. If we would just heed immediately instead of quenching we would be much better off.

_________________
Todd

Dolfan-- Michael Brown does not support Hinn. I emailed him about this several years ago and he responded to me. I encourage you to do the same.

_________________
Todd