My great friend, for me the greatest lead-guitarist I have ever worked with, and a man of God second to none, passed away yesterday. Morne van der Merwe battled for two years with cancer. I recall our last recording session at Paris Zannos’ studio in Fish Hoek in Cape Town and how, as always, he had me crying with laughter at his quick-wit and just by being Morne! Morne played prop for Eastern Province, Western Province, and the Stormers in early 2000. Cindy, Josh, Matt and the Joshua Generation church family our hearts go out to you at this time and you are in our prayers. A gentleman, and an example to every single person who crossed his path! We love you Boet!

We live in an age where man continues to right and re-write his own story. This is nothing new. It has been that way throughout history. There is one story, a true one that cannot be re-written though … the Bible. Well we all agree with that statement, yet the true story has been rewritten and continues to be so even today. I guess the question is why? When you have been given the true Word of God, the absolute truth, why would anyone want to ‘re-write’ it? We see this happening from many pulpits every Sunday, we see it happening within church leaders and members, we see it happening on television, we see it happening in many of the ‘Christian’ books we read, and we see it happening in many denominations and cults that have been created by man. What we’re going to do over the course of a few weeks is delve into these areas. You need a hard-hat and, if your heart is weak, make sure you take your medication! Kidding! But on a serious note, you cannot simply accept what is going around you as a Christian and be afraid to tackle the issues. So we tackle them here!

I want to start off today with a movement known as ‘Word of Faith’. Among the questions we are going to ask is; “Is the Word of Faith movement biblical?" In other words is this movement perhaps just another one of those which has ‘re-written the truth’ and created a cult? To help me here I have called in the services of Hank Hanegraaff. Hank, along with Michael Horton, helped me during my thesis in the period of my Bachelor of Theology degree in delving into Prosperity Theology. If you want to really read a good book get hold of Hank’s which is entitled “Christianity in Crisis: 21^st Century” which was published by Thomas Nelson.

“Word of Faith teaching is decidedly unbiblical. It is not a denomination and does not have a formal organization or hierarchy. Instead, it is a movement that is heavily influenced by a number of high-profile pastors and teachers such as Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch, and Fred Price.

The Word of Faith movement grew out of the Pentecostal movement in the late 20th century. Its founder was E. W. Kenyon, who studied the metaphysical New Thought teachings of Phineas Quimby. Mind science (where "name it and claim it" originated) was combined with Pentecostalism, resulting in a peculiar mix of orthodox Christianity and mysticism. Kenneth Hagin, in turn, studied under E. W. Kenyon and made the Word of Faith movement what it is today. Although individual teachings range from completely heretical to completely ridiculous, what follows is the basic theology most Word of Faith teachers align themselves with.

At the heart of the Word of Faith movement is the belief in the "force of faith." It is believed words can be used to manipulate the faith-force, and thus actually create what they believe Scripture promises (health and wealth). Laws supposedly governing the faith-force are said to operate independently of God's sovereign will and that God Himself is subject to these laws. This is nothing short of idolatry, turning our faith—and by extension ourselves—into god.

From here, its theology just strays further and further from Scripture: it claims that God created human beings in His literal, physical image as little gods. Before the fall, humans had the potential to call things into existence by using the faith-force. After the fall, humans took on Satan's nature and lost the ability to call things into existence. In order to correct this situation, Jesus Christ gave up His divinity and became a man, died spiritually, took Satan's nature upon Himself, went to hell, was born again, and rose from the dead with God's nature. After this, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to replicate the Incarnation in believers so they could become little gods as God had originally intended.

Following the natural progression of these teachings, as little gods we again have the ability to manipulate the faith-force and become prosperous in all areas of life. Illness, sin, and failure are the result of a lack of faith, and are remedied by confession—claiming God's promises for oneself into existence. Simply put, the Word of Faith movement exalts man to god-status and reduces God to man-status. Needless to say, this is a false representation of what Christianity is all about. Obviously, Word of Faith teaching does not take into account what is found in Scripture. Personal revelation, not Scripture, is highly relied upon in order to come up with such absurd beliefs, which is just one more proof of its heretical nature.

Countering Word of Faith teaching is a simple matter of reading the Bible. God alone is the Sovereign Creator of the Universe (Genesis 1:3; 1 Timothy 6:15) and does not need faith—He is the object of faith (Mark 11:22; Hebrews 11:3). God is spirit and does not have a physical body (John 4:24). Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6), but this does not make him a little god or divine. Only God has a divine nature (Galatians 4:8; Isaiah 1:6-11, 43:10, 44:6; Ezekiel 28:2; Psalm 8:6-8). Christ is Eternal, the Only Begotten Son, and the only incarnation of God (John 1:1, 2, 14, 15, 18; 3:16; 1 John 4:1). In Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). By becoming a man, Jesus gave up the glory of heaven but not His divinity (Philippians 2:6-7), though He did choose to withhold His power while walking the earth as man.

The Word of Faith movement is deceiving countless people, causing them to grasp after a way of life and faith that is not biblical. At its core is the same lie Satan has been telling since the Garden: “You shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). Sadly, those who buy into the Word of Faith movement are still listening to him. Our hope is in the Lord, not in our own words, not even in our own faith (Psalm 33:20-22). Our faith comes from God in the first place (Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 12:2) and is not something we create for ourselves. So, be wary of the Word of Faith movement and any church that aligns itself with Word of Faith teachings.”

As requested by a number of you, herewith a few more books that I strongly recommend.

Re-framing Paul: Conversations in Grace and Community - Mark Strom

After you Believe: The Forgotten role of Virtue in the Christian Life - N.T. Wright

Management: A Biblical Approach - Myron Rush

These titles I have been able to source through Loot.co.za- happy reading!

Herewith Richard Rohr's devotional today.

Prayer is largely just being silent: holding it instead of even talking it through; offering it instead of fixing it by words and ideas; loving it as it is instead of understanding it fully.

That may be impractical, but the way of faith is not the way of efficiency.  Much is a matter of listening and waiting, and enjoying the expansiveness that comes from such willingness to hold.  It is like carrying and growing a baby: all women do is wait and trust, and hopefully eat good food, and the baby is born.