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April 27 - April 29, 2020
But it wasn’t until 2014 that Anthony began writing extensively against Bethel’s errors, and this only after a valued church member described immense confusion due to Bethel’s media podcasts and music. At this point it became clear to Anthony that false teachers were, in fact, using global media to target the core of local churches.
Aside from the obvious conclusions one can draw concerning Roberts’ credentials as a healer, it may be his lesser-known teachings that inspired much of today’s charismatic chaos. He taught seven rules of faith that bring you what you want. Two of them are: “Go where the power is” and “Lose yourself.”[85] These two rules have proven to be some of the most dangerous advice any teacher can give. Today, millions flock to false teachers and mystical-miracle compounds like Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Organizations like their School of Supernatural Ministry are powered by urging young adults to
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Let the reader understand fully that anything said publicly in regards to my uncle’s life and ministry has already been pleaded privately. For years those closest within the family circle (including my late grandmother who was a believer) begged for the deception to cease. Our differences have not been petty debates over the continuance of certain gifts of the Spirit, but rather over fundamental differences regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the past five years I have had personal conversations with family members who are partnered with Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, Todd White, and the
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A question I [Costi] am often asked now is how the Hinn family justifies such blatantly false teachings. It is simple: we adapted the doctrine of Total Depravity by twisting it to mean that our special anointing was still corrupted at times by our fallen nature. More commonly, however, we would say that God had changed His mind because people were repenting. These excuses created a moving target for our critics and worked well to alleviate concerns in circles where biblical illiteracy was rampant.
Hinn’s love for money and legacy of licentiousness will be immortalized in his statements like this one: Make a pledge, make a gift. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get a miracle. Miracles don’t happen when you lay around and say, ‘Let me feel something.’ Miracles happen when you do something, and then you gonna [sic] get it. Then you gonna [sic] feel it . . . As you give, the miracle will begin. Alright, so get to the phones and get busy.
Bethel’s Global Legacy Leadership Training (GL) will sell anyone the ability to activate encounters with God, become an apostle, make others an apostle, and “breakthrough” (a term left undefined). Packages range from $59–$875, depending if one’s desire is to be empowered or be turned into an apostle.[173]
Johnson’s manipulative methodology is based, ultimately, in heretical theology which we’ll now analyze in the next chapter.
Far too many people have built their entire life on shifting sand. The mystical-miracle movement has built their entire belief system on a bad foundation. Everything we’ve discussed so far, including the heretical heritage and the manipulation of congregations and followers—all rests on a corrupt foundation of unbiblical theology.
Should a man be allowed to pastor God’s flock if he: (1) Teaches a wrong view of Jesus? (2) Impugns the faith of suffering saints? (3) Persistently misinterprets Scripture? (4) Reconstructs the economy of the Trinity? (5) Pronounces unfulfilled prophecy? or (6) Contends Jesus won’t return until all sickness is healed?
Historically, this form of theology, called kenotic theology, has been challenged by the church because it deemphasizes the deity of Christ and unbalances the hypostatic union of Christ being the one hundred percent God-man.[183] Kenotic theology dates back to the German philosophers of the 19th century, most of whom followed Hegel (the philosophical forerunner of communism and fascism)
Wayne Grudem refutes this interpretation: No recognized teacher in the first 1,800 years of church history, including those who were native speakers of Greek, thought that “emptied himself” in Philippians 2:7 meant the Son of God gave up some of his divine attributes. Second, . . . the text does not say that Christ “emptied himself of some powers”. . . . Third, the text does describe what Jesus did by “emptying”: he did not do it by giving up any of his attributes but rather by “taking the form of a servant,” that is, by coming to live as a man. . . . The context interprets the “emptying” as
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Johnson continues to parrot this Christological error in his book The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, writing: Jesus had no ability to heal the sick. He couldn’t cast out devils, and He had no ability to raise the dead. He said of Himself in John 5:19, “the Son can do nothing of Himself.” He had set aside His divinity . . . He put self-imposed restrictions on Himself to show us that we could do it, too. Jesus so emptied Himself that He was incapable of doing what was required of Him by the Father—without the Father’s help.
the followers of Arius were condemned as heretics because their theology of Christ as less than fully God degenerated Christianity into a form of mere paganism.
The Council of Nicaea proved the importance of each word in Holy Scripture and that Jesus was 100% God-man—two distinct and unmixed natures in one person.
Each New Testament writer was clear to describe himself as a bond slave of the sinless Messiah Jesus. Johnson’s teaching follows the age-old quest desiring the deification of man; a heretical quality common to Johnson’s ancestry of word-faith teachers like Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and many more.
Johnson has displayed two characteristics of a false teacher—distorting the person of Jesus and willingly teaching recognized heretical doctrines. Johnson’s confusion surrounding basic Christology alone disqualifies him as a Gospel minister and demands that he repent.
Bill Johnson contends that because Jesus was just like us (error #1) and relied on the Holy Spirit for his power, all Christians can expect to wield the healing power like Jesus.
Does the Bible attribute sickness to a lack of faith or to hellish interference? The answer is clearly no. In fact, the Bible teaches that even though sickness came into the world as a result of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God is still sovereign over his creation (Ex 4:11). In Johnson’s view, the power of God is limited by our faith and thwarted by the devil. He promotes a God who is weak without your cooperation,
We are writing to give hope to everyone suffering under the guilt of Third Wave/NAR theology. You are not a victim. Your faith is not flawed. You have simply been sold a false theology by false teachers.
Jesus had a 100% success rate. A study of the Gospels reveal that Jesus healed when and how he chose, not based on the faith of people. In many cases, he healed despite the lack of faith (Matt 8:5–13; Mark 1:23–26; 9:17–29, Luke 17:11–19, John 5:1–16), making Christ’s miracle ministry different from anything promoted by Johnson.
As we mentioned before, every effective lie is mixed with some truth. The lie in Johnson’s theology is that that Christ’s atoning death was meant to make people healthy and wealthy in this life. What is the truth? Yes, there is a promise of full-healing in the atonement of Christ. Everyone who is saved by Christ will be fully freed from sin and from sickness and from poverty, but that will not be fulfilled until Christ returns.
third corrupt doctrine from Johnson is that Bethel Church will lead the earth in a one billion-person miracle revival, ushering in a kingdom state of perfection, paving the way for Christ’s return.[201] In theological circles this is called Kingdom Now theology and presupposes that it is man’s job to fix earth so that Jesus can return.
Their sonship theology also explains why these groups rarely have schools devoted to training biblically qualified men and women but instead focus on students trained to operate in the miraculous.
Just like Branham and Hall of the Latter Rain order, modern prophets and apostles of the NAR advocate for a spiritual super-race of Christians who hold dominion over the earth and usher in the kingdom of Christ.
there are two fundamental biblical flaws in a Kingdom Now position: (1) the observed corruption of the world implies that somehow God has lost control; and (2) God needs man to help him regain what he has lost.
The idea that God is simply waiting for faithful men or women to speak God’s plan into existence is heretical.
The most obvious and deceptive example of Johnsons’ mishandling of Scripture is the false dichotomy he creates between the Bible and the Holy Spirit—as if the Holy Spirit would ever say something in contradiction to the Bible. Johnson repeatedly pits the Holy Spirit against the Bible by teaching that Scripture itself is insufficient to discern the voice of God.
Gnosticism contradicts and undermines the Gospel truth that every man and woman can have Christ to the fullest regardless of race, color, or creed.
One frightening practice we see in Johnson’s disciples is called “grave sucking”;[218] going beyond Gnosticism to a form of necromancy. This is when people lie on the grave of a deceased individual (often one of the charismatic faith healers mentioned earlier in this book) in the hope of gaining “access to their Spirit power from the dead bones.”
there is no consistent or systematic biblical theology guiding Johnson’s actions. Instead of the Scripture, he relies on human tradition alongside mystic-experience to advance his own brand of Kingdom Now dogma. At times convenient to his personal goals, he leans into pragmatism (if it works, it’s true);[220] or accepts a more postmodern existentialism (if it’s true for me, it’s true).
Bill Johnson’s sub-orthodox theology of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Gospel, Christ’s kingdom, and role of truth in a Christian’s daily life is cloaked in powerful rhetoric and trite maxims but remains recognized heresy. Johnson continues to exhort this generation, “don’t keep God in a box” of Scriptural truth.
If a church or preacher ignores sin or tells people they are inherently good, the Holy Spirit is not involved.
Mankind needs salvation because sin separates him from God’s holiness; it is an impassible gap that only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ could restore. Jesus could not go to the Father unless He was sinless. Truly, Jesus was no mere man nor an anointed human. He was perfect; sinless through his virgin birth. And this Jesus without sin laid down His life, allowed men to condemn Him as a criminal and crucify Him in shame. But in the end, His perfect life and love were vindicated as the Father welcomed home His Son to sit at His right hand.
The Holy Spirit’s revelation of God in the Scripture was, and is, sufficient. No further revelation is needed. The Holy Spirit is not involved in a gospel message that offers extra revelation to special individuals which, in its very existence, subverts the truth once and for all given to mankind. A gospel message that adds guarantees of mystical-miracles, faith-healing and financial prosperity to Scripture is a false gospel.
When the Bible is used to manipulate people, the name of Christ is tarnished. When the gifts of the Spirit are replaced by counterfeit displays of power, the name of Christ is tarnished. When the deity of Christ is twisted to fit a man-centered theology, His name is tarnished. The Holy Spirit is not involved in a gospel message that glorifies the gifts of men nor justifies the fallacies of their theology.
Sadly, many people will face the Lord Jesus one day and point to their resume of blessings, supposed signs, hit-or-miss prophecies, and big crowds as proof that they were preaching His name. He will not recognize them because they divorced themselves from His true Gospel in favor of their own version (Matt 7:21–23).
God’s power is ingrained in the Gospel message and cannot be presented as anything else. If the Gospel is presented as anything other than salvation from sin and the promise of eternal life, it is contaminated. The Gospel isn’t married to temporal blessings, temporal healings, temporal relief from financial strain, or temporal possessions. Salvation is for the rich, the poor, the sick, the healthy, the marginalized, and the imprisoned.
What does Jesus think about those who lie to, abuse, or manipulate His sheep?
the words of famed reformer Martin Luther: [The preacher] should open his mouth vigorously and confidently, to preach the truth that has been entrusted to him. He should not be silent or mumble but should testify without being frightened or bashful. He should speak out candidly without regarding or sparing anyone, let it strike whomever or whatever it will. It is a great hindrance to a preacher if he looks around and worries about what people like or do not like to hear, or what might make him unpopular or bring harm or danger upon him. As he stands high on a mountain in public place and looks
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Q: Should I seek Baptism of the Holy Spirit? A: No, Acts 1:5 references the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Greek usage of the punctiliar passive future means one particular time.
ALL who have been saved by Christ Jesus have been baptized. The Spirit’s baptism is not some post-conversion experience to be craved, but an historical fact in the life of every disciple to be praised.
The moment that a person comes to saving faith in Christ, they are recipients of the Holy Spirit.
Q. What does “By His stripes we are healed” in Isaiah 53:5 mean? A. This is perhaps the most famous verse for Word of Faith preachers to claim as an all-encompassing promise to the sick. They use it in the sense that people should be physically healed right now on earth. An improper interpretation and understanding of this passage is devastating to millions of people who think something is wrong with their faith because they aren’t healed as promised.
On his website Johnson writes: How can God choose not to heal someone when He already purchased their healing? Was His blood enough for all sin, or just certain sins? Were the stripes He bore only for certain illnesses, or certain seasons of time? When He bore stripes in His body He made a payment for our miracle. He already decided to heal. You can’t decide not to buy something after you’ve already bought it.[233] Though no specific passage of Scripture is used to back up Johnson’s definite claim, a misuse of Isaiah 53:5 tends to be the main proof text for this type of statement.
There is a common teaching within the Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition that every believer should seek certain gifts above others. Most notably, the theology that every believer should seek the gift of tongues as the highest expression of their spiritual vitality. This view is largely based on a flawed reading of 1 Corinthians 12:31,
