Month: January 2017 | Page 2 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

When the miracle doesn’t come

How many souls are living tortured existences due to the fact that they have some physical or mental malady and they have been told – If you truly believe, or forgive, or have enough faith God will heal you? Many televangelists, radio preachers, and name it and claim it types teach that if you are a Christian – God will heal you.

My United Pentecostal Church taught that if you were ill, God would heal you or there is sin in your life. They took the scriptures “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, I Peter 2:24) out of context and applied it as a blanket fixer for all physical maladies. Is there a Biblical basis for this? Isaiah 53:5 and I Peter 2:24 both texts, when read in context, make it clear that the true meaning is healing of our souls (salvation) not bodies.

I will be the first to say that I believe in an all-powerful God who can do anything but He does not heal everyone and all sickness is not a result of sin. (John 9:1-3) Yes, there is healing in the Bible. Jesus performed miraculous healing signs as He was establishing Himself as Messiah (John 7:31) as He was ushering in the New Covenant. He gave the Apostles gifts of healing to use as they were bringing the Gospel first to Israel and then to the Gentiles to validate their message but there was never wholesale healing of everyone who believes. Some examples from the New Testament of illness that was not healed miraculously are Paul (II Corinthians 12:7-9), Trophimus (II Timothy 4:20), and Timothy (I Timothy 5:23).

What about those who go home from these faith healing services without being healed? There was a time in my life when I desperately needed a miracle. I went through prayer line after prayer line. People stopped me in the grocery store and asked if they could pray. They would tell me if you take her here and let them pray, she will be healed. I did, she wasn’t. One day, I waited in line for hours to get into one of the colosseum style healing services by a well-known “faith healer.” Thoughts ran through my mind – if they see us surely we’ll get in – this would be the one of those miracles that would draw in the masses and their dollars. Unfortunately, as we slowly wound our way around the building, we were stopped. The auditorium was full and we would not get our miracle that day.

I remember one particular Wednesday evening after the service at my United Pentecostal church, several of the women took my baby up to the front of the church; I could only watch from a distance because I truly believe I was having a nervous breakdown. I did not feel loved by these women; little by little I was somewhat ostracized, no one was cooing with my baby or wanted to hold her. I felt that they were only trying to get a better look.

As a mother, I would do anything to protect this child. This fierce protection would drive my life for years to come. This protection would prove to be my undoing and salvation from a group of people who were more in love with their rules than a hurting mom trying to protect her child. As time went by with no miracle, the initial care and concern fading, I became more and more isolated, not only from them but also in my cocoon of pain but it would only be a matter of time before I would sprout wings and fly free.

God works through our pain and the greater miracle that I needed would come soon:

“So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you.” Ephesians 2:5 NIRV

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Just a thought, but some have argued that God set Adam and Eve up to sin by putting that tree in the garden. Some have even argued that God is responsible for sin as result. But the devil sinned before the tree. Would Adam and Eve have sinned even without a tree, then? Satan did. That tree may have been grace in action- to sin by taking of that fruit, for God to have offered that possibility, perhaps offered a way to redemption… something Satan didn’t have. Personally I think just making us with a body and soul did that. But God didn’t make sin, didn’t make Adam and Eve sin, by putting that tree in the garden. There was already sin, evidenced in Lucifer’s fall.

Of course, still too there is the fact that from the beginning, God gave us freedom and choice. I just hadn’t considered that Satan had already fallen before. Just another facet of interest…

Informational post on speaking in tongues #11

This is just a little ‘did you know’ informational post on the subject of speaking in tongues, shared as some food for thought. Those reading may also be interested in looking at another article which also partially addresses the subject.

With the emphasis and push for speaking in tongues in Pentecostal churches, my personal experience is that rarely was it pointed out, if ever, something which Paul told those who spoke in tongues to do. Do you know what it is?

At the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul admonishes those at Corinth to “covet earnestly the best gifts” and then picks this thought up again two chapters later. In verse 1 of chapter 14, Paul states, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.”

Surprised? When was the last time you heard a Pentecostal preacher teach that you should desire to prophesy? It is interesting how little this is taught and emphasized. The emphasis is usually placed on speaking in tongues. Yet the apostle Paul taught otherwise. Why was this?

When we look at this chapter, Paul very clearly explains why he would rather have them prophesy than speak in tongues. Paul wanted everyone to be edified when believers gathered together. Speaking in tongues never accomplishes this unless they are interpreted or unless someone present knows the language being spoken. With no interpretation, the speaker was in a way being selfish, only edifying himself. (Remember Paul shared that the believers in Corinth were carnal.) Yet if they prophesied, all in attendance would gain something. Paul was so convinced of the difference between these gifts that he proclaimed that “greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues.” So why is it that in Pentecostal type churches the same is not taught? Why instead are many speaking in tongues during services with no interpretation and it is often encouraged by leadership?

Surely this is something to ponder and question. Below are some of the points Paul made in 1 Corinthians 14:

Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
He that prophesies speaks unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
I would …rather that ye prophesied.
Greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks with tongues.
As you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
He that prophesies edifies the church.
Prophesying serves for them which believe.
For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy.

Calvary, Salvation and Us

I was taught that Jesus did his part on Calvary. Now it’s up to us. Up to us to do right, since baptism covers sin up to that point but we’ll still face judgment for any wrongs since baptism. Up to us to come to God, to ensure time with him, to be dedicated enough, to stay saved… that on the cross Jesus said ‘it is finished’ and so he had done all he could to save us. The rest was up to us. And yet we were told we couldn’t be good enough, couldn’t do it on our own.

I don’t know exactly what Jesus meant when he said it was finished, but I don’t believe he meant he was finished. Not with reaching out to us, drawing us, saving us. Not with helping us, walking with us, living through us.

We can’t live for him on our own. He knew that better than anyone. If everything past the cross is left to us, we won’t get very far. We were taught that salvation is a daily, hourly thing, but Christ was left out of the equation past Calvary. ‘It’s no longer I that live, but Christ living in me’ doesn’t sound like it’s ‘up to us’ or that all Jesus would do to save me was finished 2000 years ago. Perhaps the plan for salvation was finished, but not Jesus’ part in our salvation. That part is continual.

Leaving An Unhealthy Church #13: A Warped View of God

I swear on my soul, that if these men are speaking for God, I would rather spend eternity in hell than serve him. How are you supposed to love the God they represent? Unconditional Love? yet contradicted… Grace? yet contradicted…

Because all of that junk had completely clouded my view of Jesus, and I didn’t even know who he was anymore. Was he the harsh judge that was just waiting for me to show I wasn’t “holy” enough so he could smite me? Was he the one that demanded absolute perfection? The one for whom nothing was ever enough?

These are the feelings of two people who left their separate churches. Some find it hard to break from the erroneous view of God that they encountered in an unhealthy church. This can be especially difficult for those raised in one. Every time they see someone from their former group write about the group’s beliefs or they read Bible passages that were distorted in their church, they wrestle with trying to break away from the harsh taskmaster they came to know. But this isn’t the same Jesus portrayed in the Bible, but rather a false view that arises from erroneous teachings and how these are taught and applied.

Erroneous teachings can indeed cloud your view of God. They can give one a very different and distorted view. The tragic aspect of this, and one I have seen all too often, are people who can see the error of at least some of the teachings and yet have not yet been able to break from this distorted view.

This is what happens in a performance based church and while things vary from one unhealthy church to another, the teachings lead to performance based religion. While many will not say, for instance, that following outward standards is a matter of salvation, they will believe one is lost or at the least backslid if they don’t adhere. Many will say ‘it is better to be safe than sorry.’ These actually make them matters of salvation, whether or not it is specifically stated as such.

This is an excerpt of an email I received from a visitor to the spiritualabuse.org website. They are from the United Pentecostal Church and wrote:

WE strive to live Christ. Do we error? YES! But we try. There are some Pastor’s who goes over board, but for the majority, it is just about trying to make heaven our home. Yes, some things seem extreme, but in comparison to eternity, it is the least we can do. Our dress and appearance is simple a safety protocol we take to assure our success in making heaven our home. I hope you give this some thought.

Take note of what was actually said. It’s about trying to make it to heaven. It’s about safety measures. It is not at all about trusting in the finished work at Calvary. I don’t know how many posts I’ve read through the years where someone has written something like, “I’d rather be safe than sorry” concerning a teaching. And remember hearing church testimonies that said something like, “Pray for me that I will make it in?” They have no lasting assurance of salvation. In their mind, though they probably do not recognize it, salvation is based upon their performance and not on the completed work of Jesus on the cross.

There is a vast difference in being obedient to God and in obeying rules so one will be saved. The latter removes us from living in God’s grace and places the emphasis on us and our actions in order to make us acceptable. The good news from Jesus is that He paid the FULL penalty for all of our sins. He took away our unrighteousness and clothed us in His righteousness. We either accept this by faith or we will somehow try to earn our salvation.

And that’s what the performance based teachings lead people to. Many start out OK, but as time goes on, that initial joy of coming to Christ is replaced by an undercurrent of fear and worry…. that we will mess up and be rejected…. that God is almost anxiously waiting for us to err so He can zap us into oblivion.

What a horrid, horrible and unfair characterization of a loving Savior!

Do you struggle in this area? You may realize that the standards teachings or some other teaching is not a matter of salvation and many are not even biblical. You may know that through the teachings you developed a warped view of God. You need not remain in the position where the warped view continues to taint your perception. Your former church is still having influence over you and you are believing lies that will hinder you in your relationship with God. May your mind be set free to see Him as He is.

You do not have to live with a warped view of God. A good place to go for help is in the Gospels. That’s where we have the most information about Jesus. Just read them to read and not to study. I strongly suggest you use a different Bible than the one you have used in your former church, as yours might be filled with notes from sermons. Using another version other than the one you used should be helpful as well.