Witnessing
I wonder if we Christians actually understand what the Bible says about witnessing. Recent headlines ranging from Senator Grassley’s investigation into televangelists to the television coverage of the circus in Lakeland Florida suggest not.
In the case of the Grassley story, six televangelists are being investigated. I won’t go into all the details, but some have complied with his requests for financial information and others, Kenneth Copeland being the most vocal, are fighting tooth and nail to resist. I wonder what part of “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men” (2 Peter 2:13) don’t the Copeland’s and their supporters not understand. Are they looking for legal loopholes in God’s word? Another of God’s witnesses, Paul, says “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” Why do these great men say these things? I believe it’s so the Body of Christ, the Church, doesn’t look foolish. When we look foolish to the non-believing world our credibility is destroyed.
The alleged “revival” in Lakeland is another story. All over the internet are videos of Todd Bentley boasting of kicking a little old lady to heal her. There’s other video of that “revival” with people acting drunk, convulsing on the ground and many other types of uncontrolled behavior. When I watch those videos Paul’s letter to the Corinthians comes to mind. He warns about a possibility, “…if…some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” Again the credibility of the Body of Christ and and of Christ, is damaged.
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Cor.5:20 )
It’s a shame that the Copelands and the Bentleys in the body of Christ don’t understand that they are Christ’s ambassadors. They, and all of us, need to understand that our God is a dignified and Holy God. We should represent him in a dignified way, being imitators of Christ.
We need to all understand that as we show the world we love Jesus, by the way we conduct ourselves and as we speak to the world about Jesus, we must follow the Apostle Peter’s advice. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
Copeland is standing up for all of us. There is a bigger picture here and that is what Copeland is defending. Grassley should NOT be given the authority to ask for access to such information. NO ONE congressman should have that kind of power. There is no evidence to date that any of these organizations have done anything wrong. I am not a follower of Copeland’s, but I will support him completely through the length of this situation. It’s good to see other Christian leaders ACROSS denominational lines stepping up in support of him as well.
It appears that you are suggesting there is a picture bigger than the one the Apostles are presenting. I can’t imagine that there is is a bigger picture than the one that they present.
Copeland is not standing up for all us. Certainly not for me. In my view he’s standing up for those who don’t wish to submit to the Lord. As Christians we need to see this is not a legal or political battle. It is a spiritual thing. We have submitted ourselves to a higher authority. That authority through Paul and Peter says, to submit to our government. If we are faithful at this, God will be our Defender. Just as he was for Peter when he was thrown in prison. ( Acts 12 )
You say, “Grassley should NOT be given the authority to ask for access to such information.” Grassley should and has been given that authority, by the Lord.
Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
From “Slice of Laodicea”
*Crosstalk Alert* Wednesday
I recently posted a message from Justin Peters on the Word of Faith movement and its heretical teachings. This is the movement that has produced so many false teachers, including Todd Bentley and his Lakeland “revival”. Justin will be joining me on Wednesday, Crosstalk, the Lord willing, and we will be talking about the basic teachings of this movement and how it is in conflict with biblical Christianity. Justin travels to churches around the country with his “A Call for Discernment” seminars. You can listen to the program live at 2pm Central time at our Crosstalk website.
See: http://www.justinpeters.org
Even if you do not believe these groups’ teachings, the possible precedent that could be set here is not one that needs to happen. The support is growing on Copeland’s side and it appears that the tides are slowly turning. More and more people are questioning Grassley’s motives, as they should. Grassley’s actions are indeed questionable.
For the fully devoted follower of Christ the precedent was set when Paul wrote “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” It doesn’t matter to the Christ follower how many men are on Copeland’s side. What matters, is whether or no there is obedience to the Word of God, on Copeland’s part. I don’t believe there is.
As a follower of Christ, it is also not our place to judge others. God will deal with Copeland as he sees fit, but for now there are other issues that can be affected by the outcome of this situation. I believe that the possible implications for the future are something to be feared.
That’s not what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 5:12 “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside.” Paul expected the Church to wash it’s own laundry.
By the way, you’ll notice I changed the user name on all of your posts, to be the same as that on your original one. I’m able to see that all three of your posts came from the same computer. I’m not sure why you would change the user name on each of your posts, but it doesn’t seem right.