subject of the second birth and conversion before I could deal with the subject of the gifts of the Spirit.’ This pastor said to me, ‘The Jesuits have gone straight into speaking in tongues without being born again, and that is not Scriptural.”¹⁵
Not only the Catholics, but many sincere Christians have been caught up in the charismatic infiltration of the true conservative, Evangelical Church. The charismatics do not have their church or denomination.
Another form of works related salvation is found and manifested by those of the charismatic movement, which is not biblical in its interpretation of Pentecost. Dr. John Rice, in his book entitled The Charismatic Movement picks up on this observation and writes on this issue. John Rice is Bible-believing, conservative, evangelical in his teaching. Soon into reading his book, one gleans his approach. It is a tremendous volume that he has written. He says that Jesus did not speak in foreign languages.¹⁶ The Alpha Course is an off-shoot of the charismatic movement. The Alpha Course users promote the ‘second blessing’ and speaking in tongues. Users promote a Holy Spirit Sunday with a banquet after which someone who has been saved gets the Holy Spirit in them. Alpha Course, along with the charismatic movement, seems to have infiltrated and split the Christian Church (the Charismatic Pentecostal Movement vs True Christian Church) more than anything else known in the history of the Church. In their practice, there is rejoicing over the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. When seeking to get the filling of the spirit, instead of acknowledging the gift of God at the time of salvation, what kind of spirit are they getting as a ‘baptism of spirits’ in them? What kind of spirit is gaining access to them and accepted into their ignorant and deceived soul? One time, an individual led two people to faith in Jesus Christ on a Sunday morning. The associate pastor of the church reprimanded the soul-winner, arranged a meeting with the new converts and did a follow-up on the next Thursday to get the holy spirit in them. The following Sunday morning, the individuals came back with a vengeance to accuse the soul-winner unjustly. Strange, ungodly things happen led by strange spirits, that do not bear witness with true believers, complete in Jesus, that they are children born of the Holy Spirit.
Believers experience spiritual warfare inside the true Church. Thomas B. White writes about spiritual warfare in his book entitled The Believer’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare. He defines Spiritual Warfare as:
“a multilevel conflict between good and evil initiated on the supernatural plane with the prehistoric rebellion of Lucifer and transferred onto the natural plane with the fall of man. Satan, man’s adversary, continues to work to deceive and divert people from salvation in Jesus Christ, and harass and hinder Christians through enticement to sin and exploitation of weaknesses.”¹⁷
The charismatic movement teaches an alternative to teaching completion through the works of Christ, alone, i.e. They teach receiving the work of the Holy Spirit as a second blessing after salvation. That is False teaching.
Neil T. Anderson in Winning Spiritual Warfare: Steps to Freedom in Christ writes, “Freedom in Christ from demonic deception and interference is the inheritance of every believer. (Galatians 5: 1) Christ has set you free through victory over sin and death on the cross.”¹⁸ God, only, can qualify His Word. He says, “Knowing that the proving of faith worketh patience,” (James 1: 3).
In God’s Word, Job’s wife says to Job, “Then said his wife unto him, ’Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die! But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we indeed accept good from God, and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips,” (Job 2: 9-10).
Job reproved his wife at the very thought. God won the victory for Job by keeping his lips shut, and his faith was upheld.
People need to read their Bible to understand the victory they have in Jesus and understand misleading interpretations, such as the existentialist interpretation of faith as ‘leap of faith’ (works), not the biblical Word, the truth of which reads by ‘faith’ in Jesus Christ (a grace gift of God at the time of salvation),
“For by grace have you been saved through faith (not a leap of faith) and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (not man’s works), not of works, that no man should glory. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them,” (Eph 2: 8-10).
Do not give ear to someone else who claims other revelation, (Rev 22: 18-19).
Another example of non-biblical teaching is that you need to believe in God, but you do not need Jesus. “My priest says I am okay in believing in God, I do not need Jesus,” said one lady. That is known as relativism. The common expression found in relativism is ‘Whatever you believe is okay,’ says Jim Petersen in Lifestyle Discipleship. He also observes that pluralism (whatever you are ‘into’ is okay). Thirdly, he shows that privatization (whatever you believe, keep it to yourself), is another view that divides a church, and prevents true church growth.¹⁹
Another group are mystics and eastern spiritualists. It is a movement strong in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and teaches about becoming a ‘christed being through a cosmic christ consciousness,’ which they promote is the essence of the church. They deceive and mislead a seeker into a form of spirituality, but a false spirituality, preventing
him/her from having the opportunity of believing on the real Jesus Christ and finding
salvation, (Acts 16:31). It is no more than an anti-christian social club.
There are other individuals with philosophical viewpoints for developing a form of spirituality, but not true spirituality in such groups as the Church of the Creator, the Sons of Odin, the Sons of Bear, and Garner Andrews, who claims to be a guide for people to find their happy place.²⁰
The true Gospel needs to be preached widely by all faithful Christians for people to hear and receive the truth, for making a good choice. Three recent converts said to the author that it was hard to find a church in this city that preached a clear Gospel of Jesus Christ, that was not softened, or twisted entirely out of shape from the biblical message.
PURPOSE
The author’s intent in his study, Lord willing, is threefold:
1) To uncover the hindrance on the subject’s inner being, and to expose who was accountable inside and outside the church for thwarting his knowledge of salvation, assurance, and eternal security for a place prepared in Heaven by Jesus, never to be lost.
2) To decrease the number on the wrong road thinking they are being taught the right way to Heaven, and increase the actual growth of the Church by converts added to the Kingdom of God.
God says to humankind through Paul’s letter to the Galatians,
“I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from Him that called you in the grace of Christ, unto a different gospel; which is not another gospel; only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from Heaven, should preach unto you any gospel, other than that we preached to you, let him be anathema (he is to be accursed)! As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preaches unto you any gospel other than which ye received, let him be anathema! For am I now seeking the favour of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ,” (Gal 1: 6- 10).
3) We need true yielded Christians, born of God, for leading souls into knowing and believing the true Gospel. How else shall sinners be saved out of the pit unless we show them compassion and tell them the Gospel message for their salvation, (Jude 22-23)? The true Church must let the love of God, through Christ
