TOTT Articles

Joel Osteen and The Prosperity Gospel

Gary Gilley — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:31:00 +0000

(June/July 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 4)

The New Age book and video by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, which gained popularity recently due to Oprah Winfrey’s strong promotion, teaches that we can “create [our] own happiness through the law of attraction.” Whether it is cash, health, prosperity or happiness, all can be ours if we will just learn to use “the secret.” Byrne tells us, “Disease cannot live in a body that is in a healthy emotional state.” But be warned: “If you have a disease and you are focusing on it and talking to people about it, you are going to create more disease cells.”[1]

Such rhetoric should sound familiar to anyone even faintly aware of the Word of Faith Movement, often termed “the prosperity gospel.” This group has been infiltrating evangelicalism for decades and is now the fastest growing segment of Christianity in the world. Some have estimated that up to 90 percent of those claiming to be Christians in Africa are of the prosperity gospel variety.

Well-known personalities within the movement include Kenneth Hagin (deceased),

The Challenge of Pragmatism - Part 2

Gary Gilley — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:58:00 +0000

(May 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 3)

A Blast from the Past

Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, and others from the Emergent camp write and speak winsomely about what they are offering, but history, not to mention Scripture, suggests great caution must be exercised at this point. Church historian Iain Murray reminds us that 19th century “liberal theology very rarely presented itself as being in opposition to Scripture. On the contrary, its exponents claimed the authority of the New Testament for the view that Christianity is life, not doctrine.”[1] Some using this line of reasoning, like the eventual Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple, could say, “An atheist who lives by love is saved by his faith in the God whose existence (under that Name) he denies.”[2] It was living by love that mattered, not what one believed about God. Nineteenth century liberal theologian Schleiermacher went so far as to bar doctrinal preaching from the pulpit for “experience, not teaching, is to be the object of the preacher.”[3]

As theologically the 21^st century seems to be

The Challenge of Pragmatism - Part 1

Gary Gilley — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:33:00 +0000

(April 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 3)

If there is a common religion to be found within the Western world it surely is pragmatism – the religion of “what works?” Pragmatism has no cathedrals; it follows no liturgy, hires no pastors and cannot be found in any listing of denominations, yet it is woven into the very fabric of the Western church. Whether we are talking about mainline, Pentecostal, Fundamentalist, Emergent or Orthodox, it does not take much observation to realize that pragmatism is interlaced throughout each tradition. To attempt to remove pragmatism is to pull a thread which could very well unravel the whole structure of Christianity and church life as we know it today, yet to pull on that thread we must. The problem is that far too many of us are willing to use any approach available to accomplish our goals, even if those approaches and/or goals do not mesh with the revealed will of God. Our creed is, “If it works it must be of God” for, after all, the outward blessing of God is the

The New Atheism

Gary Gilley — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:32:00 +0000

(February 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 2)

There is much buzz lately about the so-called “New Atheism.” This seems to be an odd term given the fact that there are not very many ways that a person can spin atheism – old atheism denied the existence of God and new atheism does the same, so what is the difference? There is a sense in which even old atheism is new; after all, until the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century real atheists were hard to find. It is true that practical atheism can be traced throughout history. Psalm 14:1 speaks of such a man, termed a fool, who says in his heart, “There is no God.” Most see this fool not as a philosophical atheist who mentally denies the existence of God, but as one who lives as if God does not exist, even though intellectually he knows better. Of course the practical atheist is far more common than those who adopt atheism as a worldview. Most people, especially in the Western world, give God a nod (92 percent of Americans say

Pastoring With Both Eyes Opened - Part 2

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:25:00 +0000

(January 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 1)

In our last Think on These Things paper the issue of the two major enemies facing pastors was being discussed. There the enemy of internal conflicts within the body of Christ was the subject. In this paper we will turn our attention to the external enemy of false teaching.

False Teaching

Perhaps the most ignored promise found in the New Testament is 2 Peter 2:1-3:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Peter clearly warns that false teachers will be found within the church of Christ, and these posers will secretly introduce heresies that will bring destruction to the lives of God’s people. In light of

Pastoring With Both Eyes Opened - Part 1

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:25:00 +0000

(December 2008 - Volume 14, Issue 13)

What attracts men to the pastorate? It is rarely prestige, power or money (especially the latter). In most cases it is love, love for Christ, love for people and love for the Word of God. The typical Bible college or seminary student can hardly wait to leave the academic world and enter the ministry where hungry and thirsty souls are awaiting his exegesis of the Word and his compassionate shepherding of their lives. With great enthusiasm and pure (as far as he can discern) motives he enters his first pastorate with visions of changing hearts, building a powerful and God-honoring church, and having an impact on the world for the cause of Christ. He steps into the arena of the church to be used by the Holy Spirit to help form the people of God into Christlikeness – and so he should. But few realize at the time that they will soon be waging great battles with the world, the flesh and the devil – battles more intense than anything they have experienced in

This Little Church Had None

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:24:00 +0000

(November 2008 - Volume 14, Issue 12)

Ever since my college days I have enjoyed the study of philosophy. It is fascinating to delve into the reasoning of thinkers like Plato, Descartes or Kant and study how they piece life together. However, I have always deliberated on these philosophies from a biblical vantage point. That is, I have found their ideas interesting yet largely flawed in light of the teachings of Scripture. But I have often thought, as I examined the writings of such philosophers, about the reaction of unbelievers to the same concepts. For one thing is very noticeable about philosophies – they are constantly changing. As each new philosopher comes along he rejects the previous philosopher. Each generation considers the last generation, with its set of ideas, systems of thought and social structures, as passé, seemingly not recognizing that the next generation will cast the same censorious comments on it.

This constant flux concerning truth would have to be most frustrating to those without Christ as they observe historically the changing views of thinking people. Even within our lifetimes

Don't You Believe It

Richard Fisher — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:24:00 +0000

(October 2008 - Volume 14, Issue 11)

I often receive inquiries concerning supposed conversions, especially among Muslim people, as a result of visions, dreams and other direct revelations. Stories are abundant of such events and are quickly passed along by well-meaning Christians. But can these stories be verified? Are they true or just rumors? Where is the documentation? Pastor Richard Fisher has written an excellent article on this subject for the March 2008 issue of Personal Freedom Outreach Journal. With PFO’s and Pastor Fisher’s permission we are reprinting that article in this month’s issue of Think on These Things. – Gary E. Gilley

Things keep getting stranger. The “Father of Lies” seems to be operating in high gear and discernment appears to be at an all- time low. It is as if we are in the days of Judges again, when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). We at PFO have always believed that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Perhaps it is most apprfopriate that PFO’s headquarters is in Missouri, the “Show Me” state.

Christians in America are

Use and Misuse of Scripture

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:21:00 +0000

(September 2003 - Volume 9, Issue 9)

The truly blessed individual is described in Psalm 1: His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night. Godly people delight in the Word of God. They love it; they cherish it; they can’t get enough of it. That is why they meditate on it day and night. It is their joy to contemplate God’s truth. Such lovers of truth take seriously Paul’s injunction to be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). Those who desire God’s approval must handle accurately, or literally, “cut straight,” the word of truth. They diligently study the Bible in order to interpret it correctly and then apply it properly. Anything less results in workers who are ashamed – not because they do not mean well, or do not love the Lord, but because they have mishandled the Scriptures and thus, at least to some degree live false lives, leading possibly

The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 2

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:20:00 +0000

(September 1995 - Volume 1, Issue 11)

In our last paper, we attempted to demonstrate that through the influence of neo-Gnosticism, in the form of the Charismatic Movement, even many in the conservative/fundamental ranks are subtly adjusting their view of the Scriptures. These individuals would defend to the death their belief in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word, but have softened, as we will see, in the area of sufficiency. When we speak of the sufficiency of the Bible, we mean that it alone is adequate to train us in godliness. Only the Word reveals God's truth for living. On the negative side, this naturally implies that nothing needs to be added to the Scriptures for us to know truth. Therefore, when anything, whether it is man's wisdom, personal experience, pragmatism, tradition, or direct revelation is touted as a means of knowing God's truth, then Biblical sufficiency has been denied. By this definition we find the conservative Christian landscape literally swamped with those who claim to believe in the authority of Scripture, yet in practice deny it by their extrabiblical

The Sufficiency of Scripture - Part 1

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:18:00 +0000

(August 1995 - Volume 1, Issue 10)

Inerrancy is the belief that the Scriptures contain no errors in the original. Infallibility guarantees the accuracy of the recorded messages found in the Word.

The Scriptures today are under attack. Of course, this is nothing new; we can trace such attacks to the Garden of Eden. What is new in evangelical circles is the package. Let's back up for a look at recent church history. In the 1920's and 30's differences between conservative and liberal churches came to a head in America. Out of that controversy came new denominations, fellowships, schools, missions, etc., that separated from those who no longer believed in Biblical Christianity. These organizations were founded by believers who desired to hold fast and "Contend earnestly for the faith" (Jude 3). One of the big problems at that time (as it is today), is developing a consenses concerning the essentials of the faith? That is, what doctrinal truths are beyond compromise? What must all Christians who claim to be orthodox believe, and conversely what can be left to individual convictions? In

The Bible Translation Debate - Part 2

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:14:00 +0000

(January 1997 - Volume 2, Issue 15)

We now move from the subject of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts to the English translations available today. It must be understood that there is no such thing as a true literal translation. Instead, there is a spectrum, a graduation. Translation is not a pure mechanical process, and is never completely divorced from interpretation. The desired end product is a rendering that means what the original means, but is written in a way that we can understand. The translators of Scripture take three approaches:

Literal translations:

These are attempts to render the original languages as literal as possible, even at the expense of readability sometimes. The best examples are the KJV, The NKJV and the NASB.

Paraphrases:

Paraphrases represent the opposite approach, sacrificing accuracy for readability. Works such as the Living Bible, Phillips, and The Message, are all highly readable but represent more the interpretation of the author than a translation of the text. These may have value as a comparison but are of little use as a legitimate translation.

Free translation:

Works such as the NIV

The Bible Translation Debate - Part 1

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:12:00 +0000

(December 1996 - Volume 2, Issue 14)

There are many Christians who are confused over the plethora of Bible translations that are available today, especially to the English reader. A visit to any well-stocked Christian bookstore would result in discovery of translations such as: the King James Version, the New King James Version, the Revised Version, the Revised Standard Version, the Jerusalem Bible, the American Standard Bible, the New American Standard Bible, the Geneva Bible, the New International Version. In addition one would run across several paraphrases such as the Living Bible, the Phillips translation, and recently released, the Message. If all of this is not overwhelming enough, we find that these translations come packaged in wide variety of "reference Bibles." Reference (or study Bibles) are not translations as such, but rather Bibles that incorporate certain footnotes and study aids along with whatever translations chosen. Some of the more popular include, the Life Application Bible, the International Inductive Study Bible, Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, The Scofield and the Ryrie Study Bible. In recent days a new study Bible has appeared for

The Bible Code

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:10:00 +0000

(January 1998 - Volume 4, Issue 1)

The ad reads, "The Signature of God: Astonishing Biblical Discoveries has swept the minds of Christians and skeptics alike. His explosive teaching documents mysterious Hebrew codes in the Old Testament that reveal Hitler, Rabin, Jesus, and much more. You’ll be startled by archaeological evidence confirming Christ’s death, the fall of Jericho, and the tower of Babel. Ideal for building your faith, and a dynamic evangelism tool!" This book and video, which is directly targeted for the Christian community, is based in part on the work of Michael Drosnin as popularized in The Bible Code. The Bible Code, which was written by an unbeliever and is purely secular in scope, claims that someone (he speculates that it was extraterrestrials) placed a secret code in the Old Testament over three thousand years ago. This code apparently predicts all of the major events in history. In addition (and this is where things really get exciting) the code reveals events that are yet future to us. By cracking the code we may be able to know with

The Authority and Sufficiency of Scripture

Gary Gilley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:09:00 +0000

(August 2005 - Volume 11, Issue 8)

Perhaps the most important issue facing the church today is the matter of authority. Who or what has the right, the authority, to determine what we believe and how we are to live? The answer to that question, not so very long ago, was quite uncomplicated—at least to evangelical Christians. The Word of God was the final authority over all areas of faith and practice. One of the battle cries of the Reformation was sola Scriptura—Scripture alone. This simply meant that the ultimate basis of authority and truth was Scripture. Scripture had the final say over all we believed and how we lived those beliefs. More than that, the Bible was seen as sufficient. That is, what the Word had to say was adequate to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). No one claimed that Scripture exhausted every subject—or even addressed some (e.g., mathematics). But where it did not give direct teaching it gave principles by which we could examine and evaluate all things “pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter