What is the “word of faith” movement? Is it biblical?
Miracles in our Mouths?
I remember hearing a pastor of a large megachurch say, “You’ve got a miracle in your mouth. You can speak things into being that are not yet.” When I heard it, it actually reminded me of a Bible verse where it says, “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9), but the “he” wasn’t a man, it was God. It’s similar to when “God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light” (Gen 1:3). Whatever God says will come to pass, will come to pass, because He has effectual power in His Word. I don’t find that kind of power in human beings. They can speak as if something will happen, but then circumstances change and it doesn’t come to pass, God however can bring about whatsoever He wills because He is not limited by time and space like we are, and there is nothing that anyone can to do stop whatever He has decreed or determined to do. Again, this is not so with humans. Only of God can it be said, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6). Only God can speak things into existence, including those things that do not yet exist, so we should “praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created” (Psalm 148:5). But what about those who claim to have power in their word, or those of the “word of faith” movement? Do they have power to bring anything about?
Whose Power is It?
James writes that whoever asks God for wisdom, “let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6), but this verse is sometimes used out of context as to say, “ask for anything without doubting and you’ll receive it.” However James adds, if someone is sick, “Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15), so James says, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16a). It may have been sin that caused the illness and why James connects the person confessing their sins to their healing. This doesn’t mean the person has “great power,” but it is God who works in great power. The prayer is a means by which God can move, but prayer alone without God cannot bring anything about. Years ago I had a man tell me, “God spoke to me and told me that next year you are going to be in a church in the northeast where they need a pastor of a large church,” but 8 years later, here I am…in the same church (which I love!). Here was a self-proclaimed prophet but don’t we already have the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3)? By the Old Testament standards of a prophet, this man was not a prophet of God because he was 0 for 4 in the 4 things he told me would “surely come to pass” (in his own words). Besides, if God wanted to speak to me, why would he go through someone else? If I was trying to speak to someone, I doubt very much I’d have someone else do it for me, and yet many times those who have “a word from God” know more about what the future holds for me than it appears God does! The problem is, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Duet 29:29). I have great doubts about a person who tells me they know God’s hidden will for my life. For one thing, if they know what it is, then it’s not hidden, but if it’s hidden, it’s none of their (or my) business!
The Power to Get Wealth
One of the most used, or should I say, abused Scriptures in the Bible is Deuteronomy 8:18 where it says, “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth,” but they usually stop there and leave out the rest of this verse which says, “that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Taking a text out of context makes it a pretext, and usually a false one, because in this case, they left out to whom it was written to…“your fathers,” meaning Israel’s descendants. This was not written to the church, but to Israel, and I don’t find them quoting the rest of the verses in context, which says if they don’t obey, they will be “Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deut 8:21). Yes, God has a plan for your life, but this isn’t it! Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope,” but this is not written to us but to Israel, so what are those plans for disobedient Judah? Jeremiah says, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them” (Jer 29:17-18). No doubt about it…God’s got a plan for them, but even this is meant to bring them to repentance. Sadly, people use these Scriptures to bilk money from people by teaching them to expect a blessing coming…but only if you give. By planting “seeds of faith,” or “putting in God’s hands” they say, they make God out to be a “quid pro quo” God; do this for me and I’ll do that for you, but God cannot be manipulated. The Apostle John tells us to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1st John 4:1), and John was the one who heard Jesus warn that “many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” (Matt 24:11).
Faith Comes By Hearing
The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God or the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17), which is the same thing (John 1:1-14), but never does the Bible say that faith comes by speaking. You can profess your faith in Christ with your mouth (Rom 10:9-13), but it is God alone Who saves (John 6:44; Acts 4:12; Eph 1; 2:8). What the word of faith movement often does is leave behind a wake of disillusioned people who never receive what they are promised by men. This is why I am troubled by this movement. It leaves a wake of shipwrecked lives when someone has the gall to say, “God’s going to pay off your mortgage,” but if this “word of faith” is so powerful, why would they even need to raise money to stay on the air? I find it interesting (but sad) that they make promises for God, as if in the place of God. They call it “positive confession,” meaning whatever they say with their mouth (or with “faith-filled” words), will come to pass, however this bypasses the need for prayer and overlooks the will of God, which we are told to pray for (Matt 6:10).
Conclusion
There are many biblical churches out there and ministries that can say in all honesty, “we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ” (2nd Cor 2:17), but for others, they cannot say that with a clear conscience. Many do not even open their books for financial accountability and transparency. Many ministries voluntarily submit financial status reports to the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), but for some reason, many of the “word of faith” organizations and mega-churches don’t, and that troubles me, and to be honest, it makes me suspicious.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
