PREPARING FOR A CHARISMATIC MELTDOWN

Preparing for a
Charismatic Meltdown

By J. Lee
Grady, Editor of Charisma.
Three prominent charismatic ministries have suffered huge setbacks
this month. What does this mean for our movement?
Foreclosure. Eviction. Bailouts. We're hearing those terms a lot
these days, and not just in the newspaper's business section. In the last two
weeks three charismatic churches that once enjoyed huge popularity have fallen
on hard times.

Brother William Lau
writes:
Preparing
for a Charismatic Meltdownwas written by no less an authority on the Charismatic
Movement than J. Lee Grady, Editor of Charisma. The article is shocking in its
import although not surprising. What is happening to the Charismatic Renewal
Movement?
While I
may not be in agreement with Mr. Grady on other issues, I would like to comment
on his article.
When the
Charismatic Movement was born over forty years ago, it was in reaction to a
form of evangelicalism which at that time among other things taught believers
the virtues of self-denial, suffering for Christ, and even poverty. It promoted
austerity both inwardly in the spirit and outwardly as a lifestyle. One result
of this teaching was that some believers did not experience joy and
“abundant life.”
The ground
was thus fertile for the advent of a teaching that promised an intimate
relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit which would result in
unspeakable joy, power through the Spirit for an overcoming life, and
fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God. It taught that through the Holy Spirit
believers would be enabled to become effective witnesses for Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth.”

What was the purpose
of the coming of the Holy Spirit?
The
primary purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit was to empower believers to
witness for Christ and to proclaim the Kingdom of God effectively. It was to
impart power to believers to fulfill the Great Commission before the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ. As clear as this purpose was according to Acts 1:8, it
was in the end neglected for the most part by the Charismatic Movement. How did
this come to pass?
There is a
trait of human beings that is manifest time and time again. Whenever we move to
an extreme position, there will inevitably be a reaction. That reaction will be
in the opposite direction. Unfortunately the backlash can take us all the way
to the very opposite extreme. That is what has happened to the Charismatic
Movement.
As an
example of this, over 500 years ago Martin Luther and the Protestant
Reformation reacted to Roman Catholicism which erred at the time by teaching a
form of justification by works. We are now taught correctly from Ephesians
2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works. However,
Protestantism eventually went to the opposite extreme of teaching that once we
are saved by faith in Christ, we are not required to obey the Lord with any
good works at all---despite the admonition in James 2:14-20. Some have aptly
labeled this the gospel of “cheap grace.” We have gone from
salvation by works all the way to salvation by doing nothing except a public
confession with no outward evidence whatsoever of saving faith---from one
extreme to the other.

What happened to the
Charismatic Renewal Movement
This very
same thing has occurred to a large extent within the mainstream Charismatic
Movement. In reacting to the self-denial and asceticism once taught by
mainstream evangelicalism, charismatic teaching has drifted steadily to the
opposite extreme. The emphasis has become primarily directed toward securing
God’s blessings for our spiritual and material comfort here on earth.
While it is true that God wants to restore His people’s lives on earth
and to provide for their physical needs, there has developed a definite
imbalance in the teaching. Even though it is taught that like Abraham we are
“blessed to be a blessing,” the emphasis is almost always on how to
secure God’s blessing for oneself and far less on being a blessing. The
original promise to Abraham from God is found in Genesis 12.
Genesis
12:2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will
make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who
bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will
be blessed through you.”
And so we
scour God’s word and listen to many good teachings on how to secure the
Lord’s blessings in their various forms for us and our loved ones---how
to become “successful” in this life. After we are sufficiently
blessed and restored, then we can be a blessing to others. What is wrong with
that?

The heart is deceitful
beyond all things
Firstly,
“the heart is deceitful beyond all things and beyond cure”
(Lamentations 17:9). When we start out our walk with the Lord by focusing
exclusively on what He can do for us beyond eternal life and the forgiveness of
sins, our priorities can go astray, however gradually. Our priorities should be
to obey and please Him in everything that we do because we love and fear Him.
But instead we are slowly led to the motivation of obeying and pleasing Him for
the sake of receiving blessings from Him on earth. It is the “seed”
theology of giving in order to get back here on earth. We have become unbalanced
and forgotten the admonitions from Paul and Peter:
Colossians
3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died,
and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also
will appear with him in glory.
1 Peter
1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to
be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

When
will enough be enough?
Secondly,
when will we reach the point of being sufficiently blessed, encouraged and
restored so that we can devote full or more attention to being a blessing to
“all peoples on earth”? Few are the believers who have been taught
to pursue God’s blessings zealously and then who can change direction and
their focus to devoting energy for dispensing blessings for the sake of the
advance of the Kingdom of God on earth. Once one has been given a specific
motivation and focus, it is not easy to change.
For some
believers, enough is never enough. They want “all that God has for
them” on earth. Yes, they have learned to give generously, but for the
primary purpose of getting and enjoying more.

We
are blessed in order to become a vehicle of the gospel
Thirdly,
the original promise to Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be
blessed through you” referred specifically to the coming of his
seed---Jesus Christ---through whom redemption and the forgiveness of sins would
be proclaimed to all nations (Genesis 22:17; Galatians 3:8,16). Abraham would
be a blessing by being the obedient vehicle through whom the gospel of Jesus
Christ would later be given to the world.
Therefore
we are to be a blessing by being the vehicles through whom Jesus Christ will be
proclaimed to all peoples as the only Savior and the only way to the Father. We
are to be a blessing as agents of the Great Commission given by Christ to the
Church.. But how many of us are actively involved in preaching the gospel and
fulfilling the Great Commission? The answer is very few, although we are
thankful that some do indeed give very generously for the work of evangelism
and missions. But most charismatic believers instead invest their time and
energy in learning about what God can do for them.
Unfortunately,
this kind of “learning” (as designed by the teachers) can take a
lifetime, leaving precious little time and energy to accomplish the works
commanded by Jesus Christ to His disciples in order that He might return for
His Second Coming. When will the learning be complete? For the many who have
learned how to just sit and receive, it likely will never be finished.
Ironically, this is good for the success and popularity of the teachers whom they
so avidly follow.

The Old Testament is
but a shadow
Fourthly,
many of the earthly blessings cited by charismatic ministries which teach about
the “successful Christian life” are taken from the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 28 is an especially good example of this. The Old Testament,
however, is but a shadow of what is to be fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Thus the
flavor and tone of the Old Testament contrast noticeably from that of the New
Testament. The Old Testament can be compared to the letter while the New Testament to the spirit. It can only be
by the spirit that
we can properly interpret and understand the purpose behind the letter. Does the New
Testament place more emphasis on material and spiritual blessings in this life,
or on the eternal blessings in the next? Does the New Testament focus on the
benefits of faith in this life, or on having faith in Christ which leads to a
life of holiness and good works pleasing to the Lord? The answer is clear to
those who know the Scriptures.

The primary blessing
is spiritual
Galatians
3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to
the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The
primary blessing that we are to receive as New Testament believers is
spiritual: the promise of the Spirit and spiritual blessings that He brings.
Ephesians
1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the
praise of his glory.
Here the
apostle Paul describes the Holy Spirit as “a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance.” Indeed, that is the greatest blessing---not the real estate
known as the land of Israel as promised to Abraham, or any other earthly
blessing for that matter---but the guarantee of our inheritance in heaven above
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

The purpose of the
coming of the Holy Spirit
The
purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit should be for disciples to know the
Lord intimately so that they will love Him more, live a holy life in the fear
of God, and serve Him obediently. Its purpose should be for disciples to have
power to become effective witnesses of Christ Jesus so as to fulfill the Great
Commission. Then they will hear His words, “Well done, good and faithful
servant! …Come and share your master’s happiness!” This is
what disciples of Jesus Christ should live for and look forward to.
The gifts
of the Holy Spirit upon which charismatic believers place much emphasis are, in
accordance with 1 Corinthians 12, for building up the body of Christ. But what
is the purpose of building up the body? Along with the five-fold ministry, the
gifts help to “prepare
God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ
may be built up” (Ephesians 4.12). Unfortunately, most charismatic
teachings do not equip God’s people for works of service leading to the
fulfillment of the Great Commission, but instead position them to receive more
blessings from God on earth.. Again, we note the imbalance within the
contemporary charismatic Church..
The Holy
Spirit should stir our hearts not just to ask what God can do for us, but what
we can do for God.

A suspect foundation
Finally,
“your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast
works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6) Whenever
there is a weakness in the foundation of a building, the entire structure is in
danger of collapse as more and more weight is put on the suspect foundation
over time. In the same way, the imbalance that has characterized the
Charismatic Movement since its near inception is now threatening the entire
structure and may bring down the entire Movement. When the Movement returns to
the fear of God in spirit and in truth, then it may survive. Or God may decide
to demolish the entire structure and then to rebuild on a scriptural
foundation---we are given the Holy Spirit in order that we might be empowered
to be effective witnesses of Jesus Christ to the world in our lives, in our
words, and in our works of supernatural power.
But what
about our earthly needs?
Jesus
taught us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
As J. Lee
Grady concluded his article:
“All of us should be trembling. God requires holiness in His
house and truth in the mouths of His servants. He is loving and patient with
our mistakes and weaknesses, but eventually, if there is no repentance after
continual correction, His discipline is severe. He will not be mocked.

Romans 11:22 says:
‘Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell,
severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness;
otherwise you also will be cut off’ (NASB).
...I pray the fear of God will grip our hearts until we cleanse our
defiled pulpits. Let’s examine our hearts and our ministries. Let’s
throw out the wood, hay and stubble and build on a sure and tested foundation.
It is the only way to survive the meltdown."