By David Ryser
Many years ago in a place far away,
I attended a Bible
College affiliated with a
major Pentecostal denomination. One day
in class we considered a story from the early days of Pentecostalism. The story and its lessons have helped me
since then to navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of the religion
business.
In the early days of the
Pentecostal Movement, things were not as organized as they are today. People all over the world had been impacted
by this move of God, and they went everywhere preaching the message that God
was alive and manifesting Himself in miraculous ways. These itinerant preachers would often be
invited to speak in churches without being scrutinized because no formal credentialing
process yet existed within Pentecostalism for vetting these preachers. Churches that had been touched by what God was
doing would welcome those ministers because they wanted to flow with the Spirit
and not miss what God was doing.
One day, two men claiming to be
Pentecostal preachers showed up at a church and were invited to preach at the
evening service. That night they
declared the Word of God with power. The
people were deeply touched by their preaching.
Some responded to the call for salvation. There were healings and other manifestations
of God’s power. God was in the house,
and the service bore all the evidences of a typical Pentecostal meeting.
During the service, two men wearing
suits entered the church and stood near the back door of the sanctuary. This was not uncommon in those early
days. People would come to the church
out of curiosity or to mock the “holy rollers” usually preferring to stay in
the back of the church or even stand outside and look through the open windows
to watch the goings-on. Many times even
the mockers would be touched by the presence and power of God, and they would
give their lives to Jesus and/or be otherwise touched by the power of God. So no one paid particular attention to the
two well-dressed men standing at the back of the church--until the end of the
service.
After the service had ended, the
two men came to the front of the church, produced badges, and placed the
“preachers” under arrest. The men in
suits were Federal Marshals. The
“preachers” were horse thieves. Though
they’d obviously been exposed to church at some time in their lives, neither of
the men who had so powerfully ministered the Word of God that night was a
Christian.
How could this be? How could men who were not Christians (and
were criminals besides) minister in the power of God? Were those who had come forward for salvation
really saved? Were those who had been
healed really healed? By whose power? Had God truly been present in the meeting and
done all of these wonderful things? Was
the whole thing a fake?
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus speaks of
people coming before Him at the Judgment desiring to enter into His eternal
Kingdom based upon the mighty works they had performed in His name. He does not contradict their claim to having
done these works, nor does He dispute that these mighty works--clearly the
works of God--had been done in His name.
He refuses them entry into His Kingdom because “I never knew you.” He then sends them out of His presence and
calls them “workers of iniquity.” The
word “iniquity” is better translated “lawlessness” and tells us these people
had done the works of God, by the power of God in the name of Jesus, illegally/illegitimately.
What? Why would God allow people to do His works by
His power and in His name, illegally?
Why would He use people He doesn’t even know to minister His power? There are at least three reasons He would do
this. Let’s consider them.
First, God honors His Word (Psalms
138:2; Jeremiah 1:12; Ezekiel 12:25, among others). When the Bible is preached, the words that
are proclaimed are God’s words. God
honors His words and His promises regardless of who proclaims them. If He does not act in response to the
preaching of His Word, then His Word will be dishonored. God does not dishonor His Word. If a merchant distributes coupons for a
discount on a product, he is bound to honor that coupon even if it is redeemed
by a criminal. The issue is not who
redeemed the coupon; the issue is whether the coupon is valid.
The Word of God is valid; it is
true no matter who preaches it, and God has bound Himself to honor it lest it
be dishonored/worthless.
Second, and related to the first,
God honors His name (For example, John 12:28: Exodus 32:11, 12; Numbers
14:11-21). When He says something, or
makes a promise, He is honor bound to perform it. If God does not keep His word and His
promises, what does that say about Him?
What does it say about His character?
How could anyone trust Him? We do
not trust people who do not keep their word or their promises. Why would we trust a God who does not keep
His word or promises? We certainly would
not worship such a God; He would be dishonored in our eyes. God performs mighty works that are done in
His name because His honor and reputation are on the line when His name is
invoked. Again, this has nothing to do
with the person who is invoking His name.
Third, God honors the faith of
those who believe in Him (Examples abound in both the Old and New Testaments). When the Word of God goes forth and His name
is invoked, people put their trust in Him.
They believe what His Word says and respond in faith to receive what is
spoken or ministered. God moves in
response to their faith and performs what He has promised. Once again, the issue is not the person
preaching or ministering God’s power.
Imagine if God could not move unless the preacher was as pure as the
driven snow. Would God ever move?
Would it be better if the person
ministering the power of God was a true, sincere man or woman of God? Of course it would. Many people have been hurt and confused
because a mighty move of God was ministered by someone who turned out to be
deeply flawed--or worse, a fraud. This
is not a new thing. This problem, in one
form or another, has been going on in the Church at least since the time of
Paul. It would be worth our time to read
Philippians 1:12-18 and consider the apostle’s godly response to this problem. This sort of thing has happened before, and
it will happen again. If it has happened
to you, there is no biblical reason to question the genuineness of what you
have experienced of God and received from God because of another person’s
failings. How could you have known? We do not see into the hearts of others, and
God almost never reveals the hearts of others to us.
Whatever you experienced and
received, it was God. Receive it and
enjoy it with gratitude toward the loving Father who gave it to you. God will judge the rest.
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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