Know Your Rights

May 23rd, 2012

Don’t Back into Slavery

Today I went on Facebook and tossed another harpoon at the wacky “seven blessings” doctrine fabricated by Steve Munsey. I try to do this every day. My old church is pushing this unscriptural craziness right now, since Sunday is Pentecost. I don’t want to see my friends give their rent money to satisfy greed.

I discussed the “seven blessings” with the pastor at my new church, and he agrees, it’s a way to get people to part with their cash.

I can understand getting caught up in a craze; most of us don’t hear the Holy Spirit too well. I’ve actually donated money in “seven blessings” drives before. The first time I heard about it, I assumed my pastor was hearing from God, and I didn’t question or research it. But once someone shows you that doctrine is wrong, what is your rationale for failing to follow up?

I’ve alerted people at my old church. The response was denial, with no scripture or facts to back it up. As far as I know, there was no effort to check it out. There is no excuse for that. I didn’t tell them Jesus was a giraffe; I gave them solid reasons to doubt a bizarre new doctrine. They should have looked into it. Since they did not, they can be held responsible for the damage they’re doing.

Jesus honored the Bereans for searching the scriptures to make sure they weren’t being conned by preachers. It is clear that we are expected to screen the things preachers say. If a preacher doesn’t know that, what hope is there for the flock?

They have time to craft sermons threatening people with a lack of blessing, and they have time to interrogate my friends and tell them I’m dishonest, but they can’t spend fifteen minutes calling a rabbi or using Google.

It’s funny that no one else is standing up and criticizing this fundraising tool. People are so used to hearing that all criticism is “negativity” and “gossip” and “rebellion,” they can’t open their mouths when the Bible tells them to. They think they’re “out of order” when they correct idiocy. And frankly, most Christians have no guts, and many don’t really care. This is especially true in a church that uses worldly activities to lure people. If the church is just the place where you hang out and socialize, you’re not going to think about doctrine very much. Seeker-friendliness turns churches into community centers and nightclubs.

People will tell you what they are. You just have to listen. I remember giving a ride to a bigwig from the church. A friend of mine was with us. Somehow the conversation turned to Robert Tilton, the disgraced prosperity preacher. This guy talked about money incessantly. He was extremely brazen. He ended up losing his TV empire, and his wife left him, and nobody takes him seriously any more. He has become famous on Youtube for altered videos in which flatulence sound effects have been inserted.

In the truck, I made an offhand remark about how he should be in jail, and the church bigwig said, “He’s a good friend of mine.”

In my opinion, he wasn’t just saying, “Robert Tilton is my friend.” He was saying, “There is almost no level of depravity which will cause me to acknowledge a preacher’s faults.” If Robert Tilton is not too low for you, who is?

I’m surprised how many Christians think we have to keep the Jewish feasts and holidays. Yesterday I came across a website that twisted scripture like pretzel dough, trying to convince readers that we had to worship on Saturday and observe the holidays. Some of the scriptures they cited were taken out of context. Some simply didn’t say what the writers said they did.

What is the point of having God’s law inside us, if we still have to memorize and obey 613 commandments? One of the great virtues of the Spirit-guided life is that you have flexibility. You can tailor your actions to the moment, instead of rigidly applying laws which may not work well in specific situations. Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. He permitted the disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath, and to forgo ritual hand-washing. He did these things for reasons. He was showing us that with God’s authority moving inside us, we no longer had to rely solely on the messages he sent through Moses. What’s better? An email, or a conversation?

Most of the time, the Spirit will agree with the written law. But sometimes rigid legalism can produce bad results. Look at the story of Jepthah. Sometimes you need a little leeway.

Paul was against the circumcision of Gentile believers. He was against forcing Gentiles to keep kosher. In Colossians 2:16, he said this: “So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat.” Paul, himself, continued going to the temple and keeping the feasts. But Paul was Jewish. I am not.

I believe God wants me to keep railing against this foolishness. We are spitting on one of his great gifts. We were freed from slavery to the law, and now greedy preachers are trying to put the yoke back on.

The horrible irony here is that Munsey is using Passover, Pentecost, and Yom Kippur (which he thinks is “Feast of Trumpets”) to get our money.

Passover is a picture of the crucifixion. The unblemished lamb represents a sinless savior. When Jesus died, he didn’t just bring us salvation. He bought us the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told us it was better for him to die, because had he lived, the Holy Spirit would not have come. And it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which makes observing the holidays unnecessary. Yet Steve Munsey uses Passover as an excuse to force believers to observe the holidays.

Pentecost is the day when the law was given to Moses, and it is the day when God wrote his law in our hearts by pouring out his Spirit in the Upper Room. The baptism with the Holy Spirit came into its fulness on Pentecost. On that day, our freedom from the law started to mean something. Yet Steve Munsey uses Pentecost to put us back under it.

Yom Kippur is not just the day on which sins are covered; it’s the day on which God seals his judgment. If a Jew has been condemned, it becomes final on Yom Kippur. On the final day of judgment, what will happen to preachers who spoke against the work of the Holy Spirit purely out of greed?

But you know how irony is. It is usually lost on the people who bring it into existence. Think of Barack Obama, using “Forward!” to celebrate a return to the discredited socialist principles of the past.

People I know are being led in circles in the desert. Meanwhile, my own life improves day by day. I keep going into the Garage of Blues to pray at night, and these days, the Holy Spirit comes to me so powerfully, it actually scares me from time to time. My life is getting more orderly and peaceful. I’m finally in a church that will receive the good things God has put in me. Signs keep following me. And on Sunday, two friends told me I suddenly looked five or six years younger. I think that has to come from being in God’s presence. And it all came from praying in tongues. If you pray in tongues for two half-hour sessions per day, I guarantee you will see big changes.

Maybe it seems silly for me to brag about all the good things God is doing for me. I’m not a billionaire. I’m not famous. I’m not admired by millions. I don’t have a purple suit and a huge following on TBN. There are a lot of things in my life that haven’t come to fruition. But life is wonderful, and it keeps improving, and oddly, I have become less attached to it.

I wish everyone I know could get all these things, and more, but instead they’re hearing a lot of nonsense. They are going absolutely nowhere. I hate to see my friends stuck in the afterbirth of creation.

2 Responses to “Know Your Rights”

  1. rick Says:

    Steve,
    I’ve been reading your stuff since the beginning. I am shocked to find out you don’t have a purple suit. Had I known that….
    No wonder they didn’t listen to you at the old church.
    I now have to struggle with, whether I should be listening to a brother who has no fashion sense.

  2. Steve H. Says:

    I don’t even own hair spray.