How The Journey Of Biblical Truth Began
I was attending a Pentecostal Church for a few years and my Pastor (at that time) and I shared the curiosity and drive to deepen our knowledge about theology. One day, he had me watch the Strange Fire conference. My Pentecostal world quickly expanded to something much bigger. For someone like myself who did not know much about other churches and someone who just accepted everything from the pulpit, now realized that not everything is as it seems. There are literal fabrications of the ‘Holy Spirit’ experience. This led me on a rabbit trail. I realized that, the question we should ask is: are the things we accept in church Biblical or not?
It’s Just Not That Simple
I just need to add some important information regarding my journey. This journey led me to make a very big decision. I decided to leave the entire Pentecostal denomination. But leaving a church is just not that simple. I cannot say that the Pentecostal church isn’t biblical, because they do preach the Gospel. There are many doctrines, however, that I could not agree with. I left the Pentecostal church for a Baptist church where they are much more strict when it comes to the Bible. But I also cannot say that I agree a 100% with all of their doctrines. Leaving a church or even an entire denomination shouldn’t be an easy decision. It should be approached prayerfully. You should also consider the fact that some differences are primary and some differences are secondary. Primary differences mean that there are fundamental things that the church teaches about Christ that isn’t Biblical. Secondary differences are those doctrines that do not necessarily change anything about the Gospel. For example, your church could serve wine for communion, but you think it’s better to serve grape juice.
My journey, however, was a very personal choice. It just didn’t feel like I could attend church without having some huge concerns where the Bible was being taken out of context to mean something that it doesn’t mean.
The Point Of No Return
After watching the Strange Fire conference, I began to do my own research. The information was more than I could handle, but in the end, I realized that the Bible is the final authority. It is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and anything that comes from the mouth of God should be respected and followed.
Before I knew anything about theology, some things that were taught in the Pentecostal church didn’t make sense. But I didn’t know why. The pastors that generally have these conferences like the Strange Fire Conference, preached on things that helped me realize why I was so uncomfortable with some of the doctrines. These are people like John MacArthur, Steven Lawson, Justin Peters and Paul Washer.
Finally, the point of no return came. There was a mention of a new revelation in our church that was not at all biblical. Together with a number of doctrines that aren’t biblical, the harmony inside of me was disrupted.
At that point I’ve already been watching sermons by Paul Washer and many other. Some of these pastors were baptist and I decided to at least visit a Baptist church near my house. From the first day, it was like everyone spoke the same theological language. Sure, there are different levels of knowledge, but everyone shared the same drive: making sure they follow Biblical doctrines and not some man-made instruction.
Stomach Turners And The Truth
This is no exaggeration! There are things I’ve seen that really upset me. I think all of us need to develop a deep respect for the words that come from the mouth of God. Anything outside of Scripture should be put under a blanket of discernment. And questions should be asked about it. If it doesn’t agree with Scripture, then don’t believe it.
Here are some of the major things I’ve seen, not just in Pentecostal movements, but in other denominations as well.
- If there’s no dancing in church, no speaking in tongues and no movement in church; then the church is dead and they don’t have the Holy Spirit. WRONG! God is a God of order. Modern megachurches and even some smaller churches have this really busy service going on. They’ve gone as far as totally rejecting the traditional services of other churches and even label them as dead. Here’s the main point. If the Bible specifies how a church service should be, shouldn’t we respect that? I can understand that some might say that we are in modern times and we can’t do everything exactly like the Bible says. I agree to some degree. Yet, there are timeless principles that we should follow. In this case, an anti-circus service where people are mainly lead by their emotions instead of the Holy Spirit. I remember the pressure I felt in my previous denomination to dance and move, otherwise, I wasn’t spiritual enough…
- Worship music became self-centered instead of God-centered. I remember the first time my eyes were opened towards this. I sang the songs, but constantly felt this desire to stop worshiping like I’m the hero of the story and turn the song around to give God the glory and honor He deserves. It might seem unimportant to some, but we have to analyze the worship music we sing and listen to.
- When there’s a report of new revelation that does not add up to what the Bible teaches… This turns my stomach indeed. Like never before I’m watching new information like a hawk. God won’t ever change His Words or principles. As soon as someone starts sharing ‘new’ information, my antennas go up immediately. The Bible is already written and already completed. If we ever add to it, we will be guilty of the sin mentioned in Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.
- There is a major emphasis put on spiritual gifts today. This is a tricky one. If we don’t have a Biblical perspective of spiritual gifts, we might emphasize it too much and allow it to become a dictator of who is more spiritual, while ignoring it can cause people to forget about it all together. There is a sense in which we put people into categories in the previous denomination. We all agreed that people were equal in God’s eyes, yet we did not apply it. As soon as a person shows a sign of their spiritual gift, we immediately considered it to be an identifier. Remember that the Holy Spirit gives each of us a gift or gifts to serve. He doesn’t give it for the purpose of placing ourselves on a pedestal.
- The Celebrity mindset and the Messiah-complex. These are not well-known names in Christianity, so I’ll make sure to explain them in detail. Trust me when I say that I did not know these terms, but I did see them in action. I just didn’t know what to call these practices. It closely relates to the mindset in church that some are more spiritual than others. I would like to, however, focus your attention on church office. The Pastor, elders and other leaders in church, are not immune to this kind of temptation. In megachurches, especially in the US, we see Pastors who are being worshiped. They own mansions and private jets and they receive the overwhelming adoration of the congregation. I am concerned that this may have already washed over to South Africa. Here’s the point: the celebrity mindset is exactly what is says. It is the mindset where church office leaders are being seen in a much different light and they are somehow glorified. If a pastors don’t make the effort to assure others of their humanity and the fact that they are also just normal people dependent on the Savior, I would become really concerned about that church. Plus, the Pastor and other leaders need to put that humility into practice as well. Because, if they don’t, the result leads to a Messiah-complex. In simple terms, a leader with this type of complex acts like a savior to the congregation. These types of Pastors and leaders often burn out, because there is no other person ‘spiritual’ enough or closer to God to do what they do. These leaders are often called out to every single situation that needs prayer. THEY need to be there to pray, because apparently, God doesn’t necessarily answers prayer like He does for the Pastor. THEY are the ones with all the knowledge of the Bible, so the congregation can call THEM 24/7 about every single decision they need to make. I feel sorry for these types of pastors or leaders, because I’ve seen the result of it. That leader has no time for himself and they often burn out from all the work. The Messiah-complex is partially the congregation’s fault, but also the leader’s fault. It happens when the congregation doesn’t realize or fully trust that Christ is the Head of the church and even the Head of the Pastor and leaders. It happens when the congregation doesn’t take their responsibility seriously when it comes to Bible Study and their own accountability before Christ. As soon as a church leader carries the weight of the members plus his own, with the wrong intention, a Messiah-complex is developed.
- Fortune cookie Scriptures. Oh, how foolish I have been! There is a diagnosis and there is a cure. The diagnosis is: we don’t study Scripture the right way. We open our Bible and ask: what does this say about me. No, we should open our Bibles and ask what this says about Christ. Because He is the central message of the Bible. The Gospel is about the person and work of Jesus Christ. The cure is: study the Scripture and realize that every text has a context. The text does not stand on its own. We have this foolish nature of quoting and misquoting Scripture for the sake of encouraging people in the moment. My current Pastor gave us such a wonderful phrase from the pulpit. He said we don’t have the right to say ‘this is my interpretation’ if we haven’t studied the Scripture.
Personal note
Even though the stomach turning doctrines have left me speechless, I remain hopeful. The Holy Spirit convicts at the right time. And if we read and study edifying content that helps us see these errors, we cannot act like we’ve never been warned. I think it’s important to know that, through all of these errors, God is faithful and just. God is love. He does not leave us to figure things out for ourselves. He offers Godly wisdom to those who seek it.
The denomination change I’ve gone through was really tough. I had to give up some things. But I believe the Holy Spirit brought me to a place where I could realize that the change is over and I have a strong foundation to build my life on. It’s time to stand. It’s time to study His Word and it’s time to apply Biblical truth in all areas of my life! I have full confidence that you can do this as well.