The Heretical Gospel
 Uniforms
are used to distinguish soldiers on a battlefield by
making the good guys and the bad guys easier to identify.
So, what makes a dangerous enemy even more dangerous
is when he dons the uniform of your own side. In fact,
this is such an egregious act in warfare that those
found so doing are considered spies and can be legally
executed. Jesus had this tactic in mind in Matthew 7:15.
God has warned us that Satan is expert at making himself
look like one of the good guys (2 Corinthians 11:14).
False teachers do the same. They work under the guise
of very sincere and fired-up believers but soon begin
to integrate certain heretical doctrines and principles
cleverly wrapped in the guise of truth. The ignorant
and immature often fall for the lie presented by these
false teachers, and they do so for two major reasons.
First, unlike the noble Bereans (Acts 17:11) they choose
to not examine the scriptures in order to verify what
is being taught. And secondly they are so infatuated
with the messenger they do not question the message.
Since this is so effective Satan is ratcheting up this
means of deception in these last days and is reaping
a tremendous windfall in the process.
False teachers have been around a long time, but never
before have they had such opportunity to reach so many
so quickly. Technology is a great tool for Christian
ministry, but the enemy uses it, also. The internet,
desktop publishing, TV, radio, etc., are all channels
being used for the propagation and dispensing of a lot
of religious teaching that is absolute heresy. I know
statements like that cause eyebrows to be raised, but
it is accurate and needs to be dealt with without regard
to emotions and personalities.
Television and radio are wonderful tools for teaching
the gospel, especially for people who cannot leave home.
However, when people habitually watch television in
lieu of being in a Bible study class they often do so
without Bible in hand and cannot verify what is being
said. Further, they do not have the benefit of free
and open discussion regarding certain issues that might
be in question. So, if you add professional presentation,
choreographed emotion and personal charisma to the already
entrenched devotion many viewers have toward certain
teachers, those viewers can sometimes be made to swallow
just about anything presented. And often, when someone
dares counter or question what is being taught as biblical
truth, he faces the unmixed wrath of a devotee whose
idol has been scorned.
 Heresy
comes in the form of the “feel-good” gospel
where there is no sin, no repentance, no confession,
no humility, no anything that is “negative”
or humbles the human spirit. One of the greatest proponents
of this form of New Ageism is Robert Schuller of Crystal
Cathedral fame. What he delivers on his “Hour
of Power” broadcast is all about glorifying humanity.
It is the old “positive thinking” stuff
from Norman Vincent Peale’s day only now with
more color and pizzazz. Schuller said in an interview,
“I believe in positive thinking. It is almost
as important as the resurrection (emphasis mine).”
1 People listening to this pseudo-theological
babble might ask where did Jesus or the New Testament
writers mention positive thinking if it is that important.
The answer is they did not, and the reason they did
not is it is spiritually dangerous.
Positive thinking in the correct sense is good; no
one wants to be around a chronic complainer, but Schuller’s
idea is far different. He promotes the “pull myself
up by my own bootstraps so I can be all that I can be”
stuff. In his sermons he never mentions sin and human
depravity. For example, in another interview on March
18, 1985 he said that it is crude, uncouth, and unchristian
to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.
2 Yet, God emphasizes that condition
quite strongly (Romans 6:23). Mature Christians note
the error is obvious, but unbelievers, and even new
Christians, see this as good teaching because it appeals
to their prideful or immature natures.
What is more of his heresy? Schuller calls sin any
thing that robs God of glory by divesting a person of
“their right to divine dignity”. He says
the core problem of evil is a lack of self dignity.
He teaches that being born again is being changed from
a negative to a positive person; that when the Ideal
One (his name for God) “receives me as his peer
and treats me as an equal even though he knows who and
what I am” something profoundly deep happens and
he is born again. 3 Can you believe
that?! Schuller says people are saved when God sees
them as a peers and treats them as equals! News flash
for those who buy into this tommy-rot: no human has
ever been, is not presently and never will be God’s
peer and equal. That is New Ageism to the highest degree
and is in direct opposition to the truth (Isaiah 55:8,9;
etc.) And yet, untold numbers swallow this stuff with
no questions asked.
Schuller believes that preaching the depravity of man
produces uptight, defensive and angry people. Well,
it is interesting to note that he was sued for $2.5
million for shaking up a male flight attendant on a
United flight in June of ‘97 because he did not
get his dessert on time. Seems he became uptight, defensive
and angry. Must have been a lapse of some kind in his
positive thinking, don’t you think?
 In
addition to the positive thinking heresy there is the
deception of the so-called faith healers. Benny Hinn
comes to mind here. He is the televangelist famous for
“slaying people in the spirit” and claiming
to heal them of all kinds of diseases. He likes to dress
to the nines and to spend money lavishly; like having
a $3.5 million house, spending $8000 on first class
airline tickets and $2000/night for hotel rooms. 4
Hinn hobnobs with others of his flavor like Kenneth
Copeland, Rod Parsley and Joyce Meyers.
In addition to commanding God to heal people on stage
he likes to predict the future. Take a look at some
of his prophecies. While on stage with Paul Crouch of
TBN fame Hinn said TBN will be used by God to raise
the dead. That people will push the caskets of their
loved ones up close to a TV when TBN is on in order
to allow the hands of their dead loved ones to touch
the screen and —WHAMO!— they would be raised
out of their caskets. 5 Crouch
agreed, of course. He also prophesied that Castro would
die in the ‘90s, that homosexuals in America would
be destroyed by fire by 1995, that Assad would sign
a peace treaty with Israel, and that Jesus Christ actually
told him personally He would physically appear on stage
with him (Hinn) at the Nairobi Crusade in April of 2000.
None of it happened. What must we conclude about Benny
Hinn?
That Benny Hinn is a fake is obvious to anyone wanting
to know the truth, yet people flock to his crusades.
These people have real trouble in their lives and desperately
need help. But, instead to going to someone who can
point them to Jesus and to the truth of His word they
spend their time and their money on a big show that
has a lot of orchestrated smoke and mirrors and absolutely
nothing of spiritual value. God does indeed heal people
miraculously when such fits His will, but no stage-polished
televangelist with a fortune in gold and diamonds hanging
off his body will command Him to do it. And besides,
God does not charge for healing as Hinn does. In 1992
he charged $100 for healing, but inflation has surely
increased the minimum today. 7
Consider that he lives luxuriously and that he offers
“God’s blessings” at a price. Does
that mean he does what he does for the money it brings
in? Allow him to answer that question himself. “What’s
the big deal, for goodness sake? What am I supposed
to do, drive a Honda?...That’s not in the Bible...I’m
sick and tired about hearing about streets of gold {in
heaven}. I don’t need gold in heaven. I got to
have it now.” 8 Can’t
get any clearer than that.
 One
final heresy must be mentioned — the idea that
people can get to heaven by means other than Jesus Christ.
One aspect of this is what is called “dual covenant
theology”. Subscribers to this idea teach that
Jews can be saved through their own covenant with God;
i.e. by God’s grace and the keeping of the Torah.
Vendyl Jones, the archaeologist who inspired the Indiana
Jones movies series, teaches this heresy. Once a Baptist
preacher, Jones became intrigued about ancient Judaism
and was influenced to leave Christianity and the teachings
of the New Testament. Jones believes when he finds certain
ancient artifacts having to do with ancient Judaism
the world will see God revealed, all Jews will go back
to Israel and there will finally be peace in the Middle
East. Just several weeks ago he allegedly consulted
with Jewish mystics (Kabbalists) and believes he will
find the Ark of the Covenant no later than 14 August,
2005. This date is important because it is the anniversary
of the destruction of the Jewish Temple. 9
Because of the love many Christians have for the Jewish
people they are at times subject to the influence of
this heresy. They fail to see that though the Jews are
indeed God’s special people, they are not exempt
from the immutable laws of God having to do with death
being the result of sin and everyone’s need of
the sole means of salvation: the vicarious atonement
of God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly said
He was the only way to heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
People must choose whether they are going to take a
stand on what Jesus said or what Jones and others like
him are saying. The choice determines one’s eternal
destiny.
There is another spin on this heresy and there is no
special term to describe it. It might be called the
you-can-be-saved-even-if-you-have-never-heard-of-Jesus
plan. Most of us know Norman Vincent Peale taught this
and Robert Schuller presently teaches the same. However,
it might surprise many of us to know that Billy Graham
seems to also believes this. Does America’s most
beloved evangelist subscribe to this heresy? You decide.
On a TV interview with Robert Schuller on May 31, 1997
Graham said God saves people from the Muslim, Buddhist,
Christian and non-believing world, that they are all
in the Body of Christ, that “...they are saved,
and they’re going to be with us in heaven”
and that he has personally seen this situation in the
tribal regions of the world among people who have never
seen a Bible or even heard of Jesus. Graham said they
are saved because “...they’ve believed in
their hearts there was a God, and they’ve tried
to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding
community in which they lived”. 10
I recently spoke with the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association about this interview. One of their people
read their official response to me on the phone, but
would not send CSM a copy. The response did not deny
the interview happened and did not deny the accuracy
of the transcription. On a follow-up I was referred
to their PR representative,, Melanie Ethridge, who confirmed
the interview. However, she said it does not accurately
reflect what Graham really believes. She said, “Dr.
Graham meant people being led by the Holy Spirit to
seek God”, “Dr. Graham believes salvation
is only through Jesus Christ and without Him people
are lost.”
I recommend readers examine the entire interview, get
the context and decide for themselves. 11
What is really important is the bottom line, and the
bottom line is that no matter who teaches this heresy,
it is just that — heresy — and it must be
laid bare along side the truth so that people can avoid
being deceived by this most grievous, yet pious sounding
lie. It is probable that those who have never heard
the name of Jesus will be dealt with in a less severe
manner than those of us who have had the opportunity
to know the truth (Luke 12:47,48), but John 14:6 and
Acts 4:12 still stand.
Muslims and many other pagans believe in their hearts
there is a God (however, they worship a detestable idol
named Allah) and some even try to live above the crowd.
However, if that can get a person to heaven then Jesus
died for nothing, all mission efforts in the entire
world should shut down, the missionaries should be brought
home and that money should be used for some other purpose.
We need to zero in on this — what Jesus said about
His being the only way to the Father still stands and
to water down this infallible truth with political/religious
correctness is an affront to God Almighty. Any one teaching
this is offering a cruel and false hope to desperate
people.
Paul warns us in 2 Timothy 4:3,4 about those who would
teach that which the crowds want to hear, and that the
crowds would believe that which would salve their hardened
consciences. Does this mean Christianity is a narrow
religion? You bet! Understand that man’s sin and
the price God paid for redemption are not broad issues
up for debate among severely limited humans who are
inclined to conduct a popularity vote on such matters.
It is the small gate and the narrow path that Jesus
proclaimed (Matthew 7:13,14).
One hundred years ago few would have believed these
and other heresies would be so rampant today. At the
same time, though, few back then would have thought
the world (especially America) would be so anti-God
and so bent on removing every vestige of His presence
and work from every aspect of human endeavor. Yet that
is exactly what is happening. We are now on the back
side of what many call a spiritual/political paradigm
shift. That is, the thinking, values, motivations, methods,
etc, of our social structure are changing dramatically
in order to get rid of everything having to do with
God. Expect that this raging battle for truth will grow
much more intense. Also, expect this whole thing to
come to an end for Christians in an instant. And I believe
you know what event I am referring to. DLM
End Note:
1) “Another
Possible Gospel of Robert Schuller’s”.
Cited 19 May 05
2) Ibid.
3) Ibid.
4) Benny
Hinn. Cited 23 May 05
5) Ibid.
6) “Could
It Be True?”. Cited 23 May 05
7) “Beware
of Charismatic Leader Benny Hinn”. Cited 25
May 05. From Dave Hunt’s CIB Bulletin for February
1992.
8) Ibid.
9) Vendyl
Jones. Cited 25 May 05. This article is accessed
most easily by going to Google, entering Vendyl Jones
and clicking on the Wikipedia report.
10) Robert E. Kofahl, Ph.D. “Graham Believes Men
Can Be Saved Apart From Christ”. Foundation
magazine May-June 1997. I spoke with Foundation
editor Dennis Costella who stated the article was first
published in Foundation.
11) Information on this interview can be found at http://www.remnantofgod.org/n10001123.htm,
http://www.fundamentalbiblechurch.org
and other sites.
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