Psalm 91 and the Word of Faith

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Pastor Elly Achok Olare has become a very precious friend of mine in recent months. He and I share a very similar background in that we both were at one time pastors in the word of faith movement. I was recently asked a question about Psalm 91 and its proper interpretation and poised the same question to Pastor Elly who serves in Mumias, Kenya, Africa, asking for his thoughts on the matter. Here is his reply:

Hello there, I was just asked this: One of the most important verses that the word of faith movement refers to is Psalm 91 which they feel gives them authority over the devil. For example, the verses on trampling over the scorpion, the adder and the lion. They will refer to this verse as God giving them authority over Satan, and if they see that Satan is causing ill health, death, etc., then they see it as they have power over Satan rightfully given by God in this verse. How would you answer that? just wondering what sort of answer you would give for this question?

Dear friend and fellow combatant in the faith once and for all time delivered to the saints’

Pastor John, you have put before me a question whose difficulty is only matched by it’s huge importance to our faith and churchmanship. I shall not pretend to have answers to that question which would even start to satisfy a curious mind. However, as you have placed a demand on me so I shall happily contribute my two cents on the matter. As I read the question, I recalled Luther’s appreciation for the aptitude and succinctness of his opponent Erasmus in “identifying the real issue, the matter upon which the debate turns”. In a real sense the question that was posed to you and which you now share with us is such a one in the whole matter of the Word of Faith/prosperity Gospel heresy.

Allow me dear friend to observe two quick points before I attempt my response.

First; I believe that for those already schooled in the foundational doctrines of Grace, having known Christ aright, and been taught of God, the explanation which shall proceed is the “bread of children”. It will be nothing more than a tying of loose ends, and a confirmation of those things which the Holy Spirit has already testified to in the heart. To borrow the words of scripture “a savor of life unto life”. However seeing how diametrically opposed this soul destroying system of the Word of faith or prosperity Gospel; so called, is to the Gospel of God’s Grace in the face of Jesus Christ, it will take a little more than explanation to wrestle such an enslaved mind to submission to the true doctrine of Christ.

The second point I would beg your indulgence upon is to wonder at the strange,albeit wonderful providence of God, in that when I happened upon this question of yours, it was during a short break during our Wisdom Training Center diploma class lectures. Would you believe what the subject was? PENTECOSTALISM, CHARISMATICS AND WORD OF FAITH THEOLOGIES, being part of our course module on cults and religions of the world. I thought that was a strange providence. I had my students engage with this question and therefore in a subtle way, their own contributions will also show in this response.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: OUR EXEGETICAL TAKE ON PSALMS 91

As with all heresies the first mistake is always incurred at the point of hermaneutics. The tendency is to ‘copy & paste’ texts of scripture from the written pages straight to application in our own lives, experience and expectations. However as we read and re-read this passage,we could not escape the subtle yet compelling feeling, that we were looking at one of those special texts. The language employed is too grand, too pure and altogether too exalted to attach primarily and directly to any ordinary human being-even if that human being is a believer in Christ.

This Psalm as with many others, is very Christological. Its application has to pass through the ‘sieve of Christ’, and the redemptive motif which burdens the Old Testament.

In my view, a failure to grasp this will derail any attempt at making sense of the Psalm. The word of Faith movement is a utilitarian system and we expect that they shall latch onto such texts to vindicate their un-biblical presuppositions.

It is noteworthy that at the temptation of our Lord in Luke 4:1-4, Satan appeals to some texts in this passage-verses 11 and 12 in particular,and applies directly to our Lord. Note the words of the tempter “if you are the Son of God”, as If to say “give proof of it in fulfilling this psalm. The tempter knew that the Son of God was the subject of that particular Psalm, it anticipated him and so as if to verify that He is The Son of God he tempts Him in this way. In the second place, observe that Our Lord does not rebuke Satan for applying this psalm to Him,He only rebutted thus “It also written…” We must observe in passing that the tempter here in the Lucan account dangles before our Lord exactly what the word of faith dangles to millions today, material gain and self aggrandisement. It was the same trap set for our first parents-lust of the flesh and a pursuit of materialism. The Lord would not be drawn in and in this, He unlike the first Adam, overcame the tempter.

This Son of God is the figure who dwells in the secret place of the most high. He is the one who is presently and for all eternity sitting at the right hand of majesty on high – Acts 7:56. Jesus Christ is one who staked His legitimate claim to that inner sanctum of glory, when he prayed thus “give me the glory which I had with you from the beginning” – John 17:5

It is this Lord whom the Father will “when He calls upon me,and I will answer Him”, the Psalm paints a further picture, “I will be with Him in trouble; I will deliver Him and honor him” – 91:15. Perhaps these are glorious foretastes of the humiliation and subsequent exaltation of our Lord – Philippians 2:6-11. Surely it is He who in the days of His flesh offered prayers and supplications with “strong crying and tears”, to He who was able to save Him” and was heard ” – Hebrews 5:7.

It is only about him might the words appropriately and legitimately apply when the psalm says “He holds fast to my love” – 91:14 and “I will set him on high, because he hath known my name”.

Even on the best of believers, these lofty appellations would scarcely fit. But on who else has the heavenly Father said “this is my well beloved Son,in him I am well pleased” but the Lord Jesus Christ? Who is it that the Father in heaven “hath highly exalted and given him a name that is above every other name”?

In holding this psalm to be first and foremost Christological, we do not stand in isolation. Augustine, Ireneous, Tertulian and other church fathers thought similarly. However the testimony of the fathers,helpful and illustrative as they often are,is not the ultimate standard for Truth.

There is further evidence in the sacred record itself. When our Lord met the disciples on their way to Emau; that they may yet the more be convinced of His authenticity, proves Himself the subject of scripture “beginning with Moses and the prophets ” – He showed them those things which were written of Him.If we are to accept as plainly indicated in the manuscripts that this psalm 91,from which the word of faith would wish to establish their authority, is a Psalm of Moses, then Phillip’s words to the skeptical Nathaniel would lend further evidence of the Christological thrust of this psalm “we have found Him of whom Moses wrote about “-John 1:45.

The word of faith proponents must hear again the words of our Lord when He lamented thus to the Jews of His day “ye search the scriptures, thinking in them ye will find life, yet the same scriptures testify of me” – John 5:39.

This brings us to the second consideration, which is really a deduction, and it might best be framed as a question

IN WHOM DOES THE AUTHORITY OVER SATAN AND EVIL VEST PRIMARILY?

The question has been anticipated partly in the preceding discussion. Yet more could and should be said. Seeing the Christological Implications of this psalm, we must then conclude that the one who will trample on the Lion and the Cobra – 91:13 (both representations of Satan – 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9) is not primarily the believer who presumes upon himself the exclusive prerogative of Christ. Rather, it is the same of whom it was promised to Eve “thy seed shall crush the head of the serpent”-Genesis 3:15,the same whom Paul identifies as Christ Jesus our Savior – Galatians 3:16. The Apostle writes that He exercised this authority to secure the ultimate victory on the cross and rendered Satan and His minions eternally defeated (Colossians 2:15). It is to him that this authority in question vests primarily. The believer in Christ benefits while in him, that is to say united to Christ in living union, so that His victories are his by extension.

The word of faith errs when they claim that this authority is resident on the believer to exercise as he wills. We insist that this is the sovereign prerogative of the Lord Christ. Careful note ought to be taken to see that when the Lord rose from the dead and announced His exaltation to His disciples in Matthew 28:18, the Lord did not say, all power in heaven and on earth has been given to us, but rather “to me” is what the savior says.

Even the sinless angel, the leader of the angelic host of heaven, the great Michael in disputing with Satan over the body of Moses-Jude 1:9 ,says to Satan “The Lord rebuke you”, as if to say “the one with authority even over you Satan Compels you now by His own authority”. Again this altercation reveals the exclusive exercise of sovereign authority and power by our blessed Lord and savior Jesus Christ. This authority and power is not resident in us to turn on and off like a switch bulb, if that were the case, why do we need to pray?

Hence the faith declarations common place in the word of faith theology, I once heard one of them teach that when we discover the ‘kingly authority of the believer’, we need not pray but simply give decrees to our situations. This is in my view the dethronement of the enthroned Christ-to whom we no longer need to rely in prayer, and enthroning mere man – who is now an authority unto himself. But to enthrone man in the place of Christ is; to borrow a popular Swahili proverb, like crowning a chicken with a King’s crown, the head just cannot hold the crown. This incongruous coronation brings us to a third point in this discussion.

THE DOCTRINE THAT NEVER MATCHES EXPERIENCE

On this point the disingenuity of the word faith theology ought to be apparent. Not one of the faith preachers ever attempted to walk on water and defy the laws of nature. There is yet to be produced a single case of a truly dead person brought back to life, never mind the hype that surrounds these ‘super apostles’. We are yet to see a man so full of faith he resisted death. One asks why has this authority not been useful? Our Lord certainly and beyond question demonstrated His authority in many ways. We know that the leading word of faith preachers struggles with various health issues just like the rest of us. Benny Hinn has been known to struggle with a heart condition, the great founder and proprietor of TBN indeed died of a cancer, Creflo Dollar one of the foremost leading lights of this movement has recently in their own clever, non-committal way admitted to having been diagnosed with a cancer. The great healing evangelist, Oral Roberts can hardly stand on his two feet because the forces of death (which we also call ageing) are working on his mortal flesh in his final days on this earth. Where is this authority we ask? Why does it not succeed ? The answer is that we all who participate in this fallen world, are bound to suffer decay and death, the curse that was pronounced upon this earth by reason of that treasonous act by our first parents is running it’s full course on all inhabitants of earth.

One of the most painful moments of my life was that crisis of faith experience when it seemed no matter how hard i believed, confessed positively, and sowed the so called faith seed, my circumstances did not seem to change. It was made worse by the many testimonies which were narrated by preachers, which often made me wonder whether I was a Christian at all. The life of faith they portrayed before us was utopian. However, as I indicated earlier, what they desperately kept from our view is that these same men,suffered various ailments. They had good personal doctors who saw to their health and kept them in good physical condition.

Perhaps this facade should have been apparent when we began to see the faith healers host TV programmes on TBN and other ‘Christian’ channels to discuss health, medicine, fitness, healthy eating and treatment options for various ailments, (not that there is a problem with these, but just to observe that their vaunted faith is not all they rely on).

Back in the day when Pentecostalism was born, in the earliest parts of the century, many considered medicine to be a betrayal of faith. The leading light at the beginning of this faith healing movement Charles Parham, on several occasions taught against going to hospital and taking medicine. As would be expected people died in adherence to this teaching, Parham himself died of an ailment later-lonely and depressed. While we decry the folly of this belief,we must however challenge the present day faith healers to not bestride the fence,you either believe in faith healing completely or you don’t. But like the fore-bearers of the movement generally overtime reckoned with its failures, leading to ‘compromises’,so also the present day movement has come to this sad but predictable fate. However because it is a hugely profitable industry, the faith preachers will not let go of this discredited belief. They will do their best to hold it up as working when in reality it is not working at all.

You will notice it’s often the ‘man of God’ who runs into these extravagant miracles by faith, and the more he recounts them in preaching the more expensive ‘faith seed’ is sown.Then he grows richer and richer on the backs of those who struggle to replicate his ‘experience’. What many don’t stop to observe is that they themselves (recipients of this message ) with their giving,seeds of faith and all sorts of giving, are the ones who in fact create and sustain the experience of the preacher, which is later sold to them as a target to pursue. Sadly the jets Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland and others fly, did not fall from the skies,people’s money bought them.The seemingly good health these big guns enjoy are so managed by top notch doctors paid by monies collected as faith giving.

So while the pew men and women chase the dream, the mega star preachers are in fact living the dream.Many preachers in my day realized you will never make it to that level unless you learned to manipulate the ‘church levers’.

Here in my small town in rural western Kenya,i have attended several meetings at which the faith preachers have invariably called for ‘sacrificial faith seed’ in order to provoke an extraordinary miracle.I have seen men and women sell the valuables, including land to bring money at the ‘feet of the apostles ‘.

Prophetic declarations have gone forth in behalf of these sacrificial givers, God; ostensibly through the ‘man of God’ promising a car, a house or some big thing within a number of days,weeks or so. I have been heart broken every time I meet these people who parted with their hard earned resources, struggling to make ends meet.

To know that there will be another faith preacher who will come and sell the same dream and ask for yet more faith giving and these people will be worse off. I have also observed that the preachers keep coming back each time better off than the first time they came.One of them once told this kind of testimony “last year when I came to you I was driving that old cheap car, today you see my car packed outside, top of the range” and the people will clap and be happy for the man of God, then they will leave the meeting even more persuaded that the message works. They will hardly stop to realize it’s they who created that ‘miracle’ and will create another one for the ‘man of God’.

I say having been a faith preacher for many years, I have understood that the system does not work for the honest.It is a system that must be worked with disingenuity and clever craft, then packaged in the name of God for sale value. I am sure there are many in there who struggle in honest belief that the system is Biblical. But these many will have a mark on them, they will not make it big. Then there is a group in there who may be so persuaded of the reality of this experience that they are unaware of the unbiblical ethical issues as they work the system.

It helps a great deal to bear in mind that in this world we shall suffer many things,including poverty, sickness and yes ultimately death. We like the rest of creation “groan in pains” – Romans 8:21-23, awaiting our final redemption.

For many who suppposedly made a choice to follow Christ because of felt needs, and the promise of a better life now, the word of faith holds out a false hope, an illusion that will ever be tantalisingly within reach, yet never grasped in reality.

DEFLATING NEWS? WHY BECOME A CHRISTIAN AFTER ALL?

Now this may be heavy news for some, and they may ask “what then was achieved by Christ in His suffering and death? and is it not written “by His stripes we are healed? “-Isaiah 53:5/I Peter 2:24. Is there no warrant for wealth and health by reason of II Corinthians 8:9 “for our sakes He became poor that we might become even rich”? These texts and a plethora of others like them have been called to service, to establish the validity of the word of faith, health and wealth Gospel .

Themes of heaven and earth are confounded, and clear lines ever blurred in this movement. In fact a true believer in the word of faith movement may as well abandon the pursuit of heaven as they live their best lives now.Many readers will remember this is the mantra that propelled the so called ‘America’s pastor’ Joel Osteen to stardom and raving success. That clearly satanic invitation to “live your best life now” has become the inducement for the millions who read Osteen’s books and hear his sermons.

At the heart of this debate is the question; how much of Christ’s redemptive benefits might the believer legitimately expect in the here and now? We grant that it is written that by His stripes we are healed, and that John’s wish for the readers of his letter is that they may prosper and be In health,even as their souls prosper. But the honest inquirers will concede that this high bar is not our experience, the best of us has been unable to attain to this. So is it lack of faith? Or is it as Benny Hinn says; limited proclamation of the healing message? According to Hinn, if the healing message would be preached as incessantly as the salvation message, we may see large scale healings like we see large scale ‘salvations’. People are struggling to vindicate a failing system, yet I believe the answer to this conundrum lies elsewhere, it lies in the revealed will of the “God who can” (to borrow a phrase from Rev. Geoff Thomas), and again we do well to frame this next section as a question;

IS IT REALIZED BENEFITS OF REDEMPTION OR IS IT INAUGURATED BENEFITS OF REDEMPTION?

I have substituted in this headline,for purposes of simplicity, technical terms for non-technical ones. Theology has a debate between what is generally referred to as “realized eschatology as opposed to inaugurated eschatology “.In the place of the word “eschatology”, I have used the word “benefits”.

The question properly before us; the resolution of which will go a very long way to vanquish the word of faith movement is this; Do we immediately in the here and now come into enjoyment of all redemptive benefits, or are there parts or some that are deferred until we get to glory? Let us put the question another way; did Christ’s work of redemption immediately roll back all the effects of the fall of man for anyone who becomes a believer? Bringing man Immediately to his pre-fall status, absent the negatives which came with the fall? or do we as participants in this world; in the here and now partake of its cursedness as we hope for a latter day when all things will be made new?

In its general tenor and thrust, the word of faith or health and wealth gospel propagates the former, namely,that we immediately come into these benefits here and now.They will contend that as sin robbed us of original authority granted in Genesis 1:28, so redemption “buys back what was lost”. That image of God in man which was blurred with sin,is by faith in Christ cleaned and thus we retrieve our god-status as Creflo Dollar would say. With this God status we can then create our own world (with the creative power of our words and the sheer daring force of the imagination), in a world suffering the effects of the fall. In simple words, the believer in Christ is an alien in this world who plays by a different set of rules, He lives in heaven’s perfection in the here and now.

The Testimony of our Lord disowns the word of faith claims

When he came preaching our Lord said, ” repent and believe the gospel for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” – Mark 1:14-15.In Mathew 12:28-31,He told them the casting out of demons by the finger of God was evidence that the Kingdom of heaven had broken into this earth.

Yet when He had performed a spectacular miracle by feeding 5,000 men with five loaves and two fish, the people seized Him and deigned to make Him king, but he escaped that trap. He understood that the same tempter who had tempted Him with worldly power and success “and left Him for a while” (Luke 4:13), was back in another guise.He was indeed a king, but His kingdom was not of this world,its ultimate reality had not been realized just yet, but awaited consummation in a time to come.When He made the triumphant entry into Jerusalem,this strange King was riding not on a full grown, glorious stallion, but a lowly young colt.

He was sending a message that this kingdom was going to be defined by meekness and lowliness in the here and now,but gloriously explode in full bloom and influence in the hereafter. Before Pontius Pilate,He made a good confession, indeed He was a king,but His kingdom was not of this world. The character of the new Messianic Kingdom confused and confounded many,like it does the people in the word of faith movement. They sought a mighty physical kingdom which would bring them sensual relief and material prosperity-many of them were disappointed in the Savior. We read of this silent hope of the disciples when our Lord was raised from the dead ” have you now come to bring back the kingdom to Israel?”- Acts 1:6, and so many were which did not see a King in the King, nor a mighty savior in the redeemer. How? they wondered, would this be a savior if he leaves us to languish and groan under the Roman yoke? So also many question today, why have a savior if he cannot take care of my needs? How is it that we are children of royalty yet not live large and sumptuously?

This omnipotent King and Savior is the one who tells us of his earthy life “foxes have holes and birds have nests,but the son of man hath no where to lay his head”. His life was so ordinary that when they came to arrest Him at the Oliver,He had to be identified from the crowd.

John Avanzini the word of Faith teacher has falsely alleged that Christ wore ‘designer suit’, what terrible recklessness on the part of Avanzini!!! He is the one who promised his disciples, those who have come to faith and a living Union with Him “in this world you will have many troubles, but be ye of good cheer…I have overcome the world”. He said to His disciples He would admonish them to “carry their own crosses daily and follow Him.”

By any interpretation and stretch of the imagination, it is very hard to see how carrying the cross would be driving a Mercedes or living in a beach house palatial home. He would warn those who would follow Him to count the cost. Yet in all these the savior held in the face of His people joys and fulfillment in a world to come. The character of this kingdom was that it was a present day reality in a spiritual sense,yet will be manifested in all its manifold splendor and joys in the here after. He thus urged upon His people to look beyond the now and see the eternal bliss.

“Beloved,now are ye children of God, though it does not appear, but when He appears (in that future glory,we shall be like Him” – I John 3:1-3

This Jesus is markedly different from the one forged in the word of faith, they have invented another Jesus, another Gospel and another Spirit” – 2 Corinthians 11:4.

The Apostolic witness rebukes the word of faith movement

May we observe that none of the apostles of our Lord died a peaceful death,yet even they lived this side of the cross with all redemptive accomplishments done by the Lord. The present day word of faith believer would shriek” that is not my portion”,or “I resist that fate in Jesus name” or words like these. But the Apostles understood clearly what their Lord had promised them in this world must be endured, yet they overcame because of the hope held out in the hereafter. They loved not their lives unto death,is the testimony of heaven on the men of faith, hardly can that be said of our fun loving, self aggrandising word of faith super stars. Perhaps we should say of them “they truly loved their lives, even unto unwilling deaths”.

We must accuse the Apostles of Christ of faithlessness, If we are to accept the wealth and health Gospel.That standard of faith was apparently higher than our Lord himself could attain, and definitely too high for the Apostles who trail blazed the Gospel to the whole known world, with stupendous results of signs and miracles (Acts 19:20).

Take Apostle Paul for a case study to begin with.He struggles with what he calls “a thorn in the flesh” – II Corinthians 12:7-10, which he identifies as a messenger of Satan, sent to buffet him.

Whatever one’s view is of this thorn,we can all be sure it was most unpleasant for the Apostle. It had a connection to the prince of darkness himself. But why does the Apostle not take authority over this messenger of Satan? Surely the great Apostle understood his identity and power as a believer! But he prays to the Lord to be given relief, He like the Angel Michael we read about, knows only the Lord can rebuke Satan. Anyways relief does not come; at least not in the way the Apostle would have liked or prayed for. The thorn will remain. This is unheard of in the faith movement, denied prayers? If we pray in faith and maintain a positive confession, says the faith movement, then we cannot be denied. So we must accuse the Apostle here of slack in faith if the faith movement is right. But in the Apostle’s distress,the Lord promises that His grace will be sufficient for him. On knowing God’s will for him to remain in the bodily discomfort, the apostle says “I will now boast in my weaknesses.” This language is unacceptable for the faith movement, but that is very Christian for the Apostles of Christ.

Paul praises the Galatian brethren,because they never looked down upon him, nor questioned his apostolic credentials on account of the bodily ailment that befell him en route to another destination-Galatians 4:12-14. The sickness held him down in the province of Galatia and because it (the illness) he preached the Gospel. God was in the sickness, in the words of our savior, it was not unto death, or for lack of faith or failure to take authority, but that the glory of the Lord should be revealed in the saving of souls in Galatia. The Apostle whom God used tremendously tells of his colleague Trophimus – “Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick. 2 Timothy 4:20. Why did the apostle not simply take authority and rid his companion of the painful disease?

He speaks to Timothy in view of his constant stomach pains to take a little medicinal wine.what an advise coming from the apostle, did he not know it is not God’s will for young Timothy to suffer sickness?

The Apostle Paul certainly had many sick companions and he speaks most tenderly of their undesirable circumstances. Of Epaphroditus he recounts how the comrade was “sick,nigh unto death…but the Lord had mercy on him’- Philippians 2:26-27. Neither Paul nor the sick brother took authority over Satan or this sickness,but ” the Lord had mercy” is what the text declares, on both Epaphroditus (in granting him relief) and Paul (in relief from sorrow for his ailing brother).

Enough of those Biblical illustrations of the scripturalness of suffering on this earth. Paul also looked beyond the horizon and saw the land of Immanuel, where in dwelleth righteousness.The city of God in which there shall be no pain or sorrow. So he said “the present momentary afflictions work for us a far greater weight of glory…while we look not at the things which are seen, but those which are not seen. For those things which are seen are temporal, and those not seen are eternal” – II Corinthians 4:16-18.

To the Romans he enjoined the believer (there he calls us the first fruits of the spirit) with the rest of creation in groaning with pain,until that day when the believer is separated by the “redemption of our bodies”, obviously a reference to the day of the resurrection when we shall be clothed in immortality and incorruptibility – I Corinthians 15:35-58.

So the believers’ view is that we have been redeemed fully, all the benefits of redemption fully paid for by Christ. However the enjoyment of those benefits have in the wisdom of the ineffable one been staggered, some granted now (Ephesians 1:1-14) and others for future glory. The Christian then is one who waits for the future glory.John speaks of this to his readers when he says “beloved now are we children of God,though it does not appear (it doesn’t look like it yet),but when He appears we shall be like Him”-I John 3:1-3.Later n the revelation given to him by the Lord Christ, he says in 21:4-5, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful”.

This is what caused the worthies of our faith listed in the biblical ‘hall of fame’ of Hebrews 11 to say they were” strangers and pilgrims in search of a better city,whose maker is God”.In view of those celestial joys,they despised the momentary afflictions.

The text says they determined not to look back from whence they had been saved. They recalled that Israel in their wilderness pilgrimage, were often tempted with the memories of onions and spices of Egypt.But the men of faith loved not the world, or the things of the world, that the love of the father might remain with them” -1 John 2:15.

The word of Faith paints a rosy, glittering picture of what we can have in this world,all we can be…but we remember the Lord’s solemn warning “Remember Lot’s Wife” – Luke 17:32, when she turned to look at the glitter and allure of Sodom, she became a pillar of salt.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the end,it all boils down to the love of the world and a low appetite for the heavenly hope. The word of faith theology is a man centered system where the ultimate goal of Biblical revelation is the good of man and not the glory of God. It appeals to the crudest and oldest human failings-greed and covetousness. This most basic of fallen human disposition finds ready fuel in the ‘spirit of the age’, materialism and hedonism coached in Christian lingo.American dream dressed in Gospel language. So its success because of this will continue to grow as we also watch the growth of capitalistic greed and egalitarianism.

May the Lord protect His chosen people from this deadly scourge.For the glory of His name and the sanctity of the authentic Gospel of God’s saving Grace in Jesus Christ our savior. Amen

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