The
Word of Faith Movement and the Cultic Renewal of Indulgences
By
J. Danny Hone
Perhaps there is no greater perversion within the modern Charismatic movement
than the perversions surrounding money and its doctrine of seed faith and the
hundred fold return. In this article I do not want to discuss the flaws of
the prosperity gospel but rather a greater evil. An evil similar to the
one that existed within the church 500 years ago. An evil that prompted
Martin Luther to nail his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle church in
Wittenberg Germany on October 31st, 1517. An evil that led to a
reformation, from which grew the Protestant church.
At the time there were serious abuses within the church. The large
administrative structure of the church required a great deal of money to finance
it. To obtain this money, the church used many devices that hurt its
spiritual nature. During this same time of great need within the church
some clergy lived like secular princes, building lavish palaces and indulging in
corrupt financial practices. In order to do just that Pope Leo X sent out
indulgence peddlers who had been granted by papal power to grant remission of
sins according to the amount of money given. Among these peddlers was a
man named Johann Tetzel. He began selling "indulgences" in Germany in
1517. Tetzel declared that anyone who bought an indulgence could choose a
soul to be freed from purgatory, or shorten his own term in purgatory. He
told buyers: "When the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory
springs."
While Luther had other concerns about papal abuse it was the selling of
indulgences that prompted him to hold a public debate on the matter. In
those days on holidays, such as All Saints Day, it was customary to hold public
debates. The subject of the debates were announced by nailing them to the
church door. So on October 31st, 1517 Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the
church door little knowing that the can of worms he opened would split the
church down the middle and usher in the reformation and with it Protestantism.
The indulgences of old promised that God would pardon people's sins in exchange
for a gift to the church. The indulgences sold today promise a return by
God of up to one hundred fold with every gift. At the heart of the matter
of the selling of indulgences is the question as to whether God's favor can be
bought or sold. Luther held to the belief that God's benefits were not for
sale.
"Every true Christian, be he still alive or already dead, partaketh in all
benefits of Christ and of the Church given him by God, even without letters of
indulgence." (1)
God's love, favor and blessings to us is based solely on God's attributes of
kindness and grace towards us and not on the works we perform. God's
blessings cannot be bought or sold. Those who pretend to do so are
involved in a great heresy. They, like Pope Leo X, do so to maintain their
"luxurious life of worldliness, and pay for the remodeling of the great
Cathedral." Today our churches build magnificent buildings which stand not
for the glory of God but for the praise of men. Many ministers live
luxurious lives at the expense of the people. The seed faith teaching is
nothing more than heresy against God preached solely as a means to appeal to the
greed within others so that ministries can build greater buildings and so its
founders can live in greater wealth.
In perhaps his boldest Theses, Luther asked:
"Again, why does not the Pope build St. Peter's Minster with his own money since
his riches are now more ample than those of Crassus, rather than with the money
of poor Christians?" (2)
Consider these words from the Apostle Paul:
2 Corinthians 12:14-15 (KJV) Behold, the third time I am ready to come to
you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the
children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
{15} And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more
abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. (3)
1 Thessalonians 2:9 (KJV) For ye remember, brethren, our labour and
travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto
any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. (4)
Luther asked the question: "If you, being the man of God, claim to have
the heart of God, then why are you taking from the resources of the people for
your own unjust gain, instead of, as the Apostle Paul, working night and day so
as not to be a burden to the people?"
Luther's question rings loud today. Perhaps the marking of a true man of
God is a person's beholding to this same attitude as Paul. True ministers
of the church are the parents of the church. They do not bleed from the
meager resources of the children to fulfill their own lustful desires.
True ministers are not in it for themselves. They are moved to win the
lost at any cost. Selfishness and greed have become the cornerstone of the
modern Charismatic and Word of Faith (WOF) movement. This must cease if we
are to be about our Father's business.
In time Luther's actions brought him before the diet in Worms, Germany where he
was ordered to recant what he had said and written. Luther responded:
"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason
(for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well
known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the
Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God.
I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to
go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise." (5)
Shortly after this famous speech the emperor signed the Edict of Worms, which
declared Luther an outlaw and pardoned from punishment anyone who would kill
him.
Luther took a stand on a biblical principle he held to be true. God's
favor cannot be bought or sold. Like Tetzel of old many modern preachers,
mostly within the Charismatic movement and the WOF movement, in their greed and
lust to build bigger buildings and bigger ministries have been selling God's
favor using catchy phrases and twisted scriptures.
Most of the perversions fall under the terms of "seed faith" or "hundred fold
return" teachings. The seed faith doctrine was made popular by Oral
Roberts. Oral uses the phrase: "Have a need? Plant a seed!"
According to Oral: "God himself has established the law of sowing and
reaping, of giving and receiving. Under the New Covenant you can make
every act of giving a seed planted which brings you into the SEED-FAITH
lifestyle of sowing and reaping which I have been led to call 'A Blessing-Pact
Covenant with God.'" (6)
What is SEED-FAITH and why is it a renewed selling of indulgences? Oral
teaches: "The seed of giving is the seed of faith! And the seed has
to be planted BEFORE we can speak to our mountain of need to be removed!" (7)
The doctrine of seed faith is giving to a need and expecting from God a return
on that gift. Many even teach that you should name your seed before you
plant it. They encourage you to put an amount of money into their offering
and claim something in return, like your uncle's salvation or a miracle debt
reduction. If you need a healing, plant a seed. If you need more
money, plant a seed. How strangely similar to the selling of indulgences.
In many WOF services the "man of God" claims a special word from God that goes
something like this: "Before coming to this meeting tonight I was praying
in the Holy Ghost in my room and the Spirit of the Lord came on me strongly and
revealed to me that there are many people here tonight that are in debt to the
point that creditors are calling you up. Some of you have been paying late
charges that should be going to advance the kingdom of God. God has told
me today that if you obey him this night and plant a seed in faith of $100.00
God is going to get involved and your debt situation will be miraculously turned
around! God will rebuke the devourer, and the cankerworm that has eaten
holes in your pockets is being destroyed tonight as you give! In Jesus
name!"
With promises like that how can one afford not to give! The WOF movement
may not be guilty of claiming salvation in exchange for money but it sure does
promise everything else in exchange for your giving.
As I was beginning to question the teachings of the WOF movement God brought a
book across my path titled "From Ashes to Gold" by Patti Roberts. Knowing
that Patti was the first wife of Richard Roberts and that they had a very public
ministry before their very public divorce I thought I would read it. She
gives the following reflections on the seed money teachings they preached:
"The seed-faith theology that Oral had developed bothered me a great deal
because I saw that, when taken to its natural extremes, it reduced God to a
sugar daddy. If you wanted His blessings and His love, you paid Him off.
Over and over again we heard Oral say, 'Give out of your need.' I began to
question the motivation that kind of giving implied. Were we giving to God
out of our love and gratitude to Him or were we bartering with Him?" (8)
Patti goes on to write:
"The distinction may appear to be too subtle and I know Oral thought I was
splitting hairs, but it seemed supremely important to me. If we give to
God because we think that by giving we have somehow placed Him in our debt and
He is now required to come through for us and meet our needs, we have, I
believe, perverted the heart of the gospel. Our only motive for giving
should be love. When we encourage people to give in order to have their
needs met or so that they will receive "a hundred fold return" I believe we are
appealing to their sense of greed or desperation, neither of which seemed
admirable to me. It was a wonderful fund-raising tool, but I believe it
gave people a very unbalanced view of a very important biblical principle.
At the time I was taking a humanities course from the university and my
professor was discussing Martin Luther and the Reformation. When we
started looking at the abuses in the Catholic Church that Luther had wanted to
reform, I began to see parallels in our situation. Luther was incensed by
the church's practice of selling indulgences - offering forgiveness of sin and a
shorter period of time in purgatory in return for gifts to the church. I
had a very difficult time distinguishing between the selling of indulgences and
the concept of Seed Faith inflated to the degree to which we had inflated it.
Of course, Oral was more subtle. He never promised salvation in exchange
for gifts to his ministry, but there were still many people who believed that
God was going to look at them in a kindlier way and perhaps that son would get
off drugs or they would get their drunken husband into heaven if they gave money
to Oral Roberts." (9)
How close is Seed-Faith to the selling of indulgences? Oral writes:
"You know, I sometimes think we have put more faith in a coke machine than we do
in God. When you put your coin in the machine you have a contract or
covenant with the coke company and the maker of the dispensing machine.
Therefore, the moment you put your coin in, you reach down expecting the can to
come into your hand. Well, you have a contract or covenant with One
greater than a coke machine. When you put in your SEED-FAITH you are to
reach out your faith not to men, but to Jesus, expecting to receive more surely
from Him than you do from the coke machine." (10)
Consider also this appeal for money: "If you're broke, if you're at your
wit's end, if you're out of a job, out of work, let me tell ya. Not only
are we gonna bless the world and preach Christ to millions and multitudes around
the world, but you can be saved, yourself, by planting seed in this fertile soil
called TBN." (11)
Any appeal for money that promises you something from God in return is not true
biblical giving and is a perversion of the Gospel. It is a heresy liken
unto the selling of indulgences and as Luther drew the line, we too, must draw
the line. Salvation, God, and His benefits are not for sale.
Perhaps the greatest dangers of the seed faith theology is not in its
similarities to Tetzel's selling of indulgences but its similarities to the
metaphysical cults, specifically the Unity School of Christianity. At
least one of Oral Roberts' devotionals from his "Guide to Seed-Faith Living"
came from the Unity School of Christianity. (12)
The Unity School of Christianity was founded by Charles Fillmore in 1889 in
Kansas City, Missouri. So the teachings of seed money were not invented by
WOF founders but adopted from the cults.
I picked up a book at a rummage sale titled "Seed Money In Action" by Jon P.
Speller. It was included in a box full of Charismatic books from the 70's.
At the time I was still involved in a WOF church and had on occasion planted
seed money. I briefly thumbed through the book and put it on the shelf
next to my John Avanzini and other seed faith books. When I began to
question the seed money theology I went to my seed faith books to examine them
closer. I picked up this book and began to read those first pages we
always skip where the credits are listed. I was shocked to discover in the
preface the following credits:
"The Rev. Dr. Henry M. Ellis, who unlocked the secrets of the Scriptures in his
'BIBLE SCIENCE: THE TRUTH AND THE WAY'"
"Dr. Henry A. Carns, President of The College of Divine Metaphysics, who had
added dimensions to the Study of Life and the Word"
"Mrs. Claire Waters, Teacher at the Unity Center of Practical Christianity in
New York, a perfect teacher of Truth"
"The Rev. Dr. David N. Moore, a Minister and Practitioner who daily demonstrates
his inspiringly high Consciousness" (13)
I had been indoctrinated and influenced by the kingdom of the cults! How
could popular Metaphysical cultic teachings have penetrated the WOF movement?
The answer I soon discovered is that it didn't. The WOF was deeply rooted
and birthed in the cults because of the Kenyon connection. (For deeper
insight into E.W. Kenyon and his cultic origins I recommend "A Different Gospel"
by D.R. McConnell.) Kenyon's teachings have been referred to as "nothing
more than as Pentecostal Christian Science" by people who knew him intimately
and at one time considered him a mentor.
The practice of seed money is simple. If you plant a kernel of corn you
reap two ears full of kernels. So it is said to be with money. If
you sow money into good ground (ministries ordained of God) you will receive a
return on your giving. So the more you give the more you get. This
brings us to the hundred fold teachings made popular by Copeland's ministry:
"You give $1 for the Gospel's sake and $100 belongs to you. Give $10 and
receive $1000. Give $1000 and receive $100,000. I know that you can
multiply, but I want you to see it in black and white and see how tremendous the
hundred fold return is. Give one house and receive one hundred houses or
one house worth one hundred times as much. Give one airplane and receive
one hundred times the value of the airplane. Give one car and the return
would furnish you a lifetime of cars. In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good
deal." (14)
One can only wonder why Gloria omits the biggest part of the hundred fold return
("brothers, sisters, mothers and children"). To carry out her
interpretation of the hundred fold return we can receive a hundred brothers,
sisters, mothers and children for each one we give away.
One need only to stop and think about the implications of the hundred fold
theology to realize the true falsehoods of such claims. If the law of
hundred fold return were true all these ministries would have to do is give away
a few thousand dollars and all their financial needs should be met.
Instead of them receiving our money they would be knocking down doors to give so
that God would bless them one hundred fold. Think of it! Every
believer would live in mansions, all poverty would be wiped out and the church
would never have lack again.
The danger of the hundredfold return theology is that it appeals to the greed
within all of us and paints the wrong picture of God. Instead of God being
a loving and giving God towards us He is reduced to a being who must be bribed
or otherwise motivated to act kindly on our behalf.
In the book, "The Agony of Deceit", Joel Nederhood writes that "whenever a
religious leader or a church comes up with a scheme that confuses salvation with
some kind of monetary payment, you have the worst kind of dishonesty. That
is like trying to sell something that is not yours to sell. It is like
trying to sell something again that has already been sold and paid for. It
is a scam. It's trickery. It's self-serving thievery." (15)
Paul warns us concerning the quest for wealth in the church when he writes: 1
Timothy 3:9-11 (KJV) Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
{10} And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of
a deacon, being found blameless. {11} Even so must their
wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (16)
Consider these words from Christ:
Matthew 6:24-33 (KJV) No man
can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or
else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon. {25} Therefore I say unto
you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment? {26} Behold
the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
{27} Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
{28} And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
{29} And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. {30}
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to
morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith? {31} Therefore take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? {32} (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.
{33} But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you. (17)
Did you notice any difference between Christ's preaching and that commonly heard
in WOF circles today? Christ is very clear that if we seek first God's
kingdom God will take care of us. Notice his comments on sowing and
reaping. One could only wonder if Christ was looking 2,000 years into the
future and speaking against the theology of sowing and reaping today. Hey,
the birds don't sow or reap and yet God takes care of them. Are you not
worth more to God than a bird? I think so. God's faithfulness does
not rest on our works but rather on His grace. His provisions toward us
have more to do with His faithfulness than with our works. Otherwise, God
is just a power force, and we are the vessels of power. It would not be
God's faithfulness that benefits us but rather our works. Contrary to the
teachings of the WOF movement our lack of faith does not nullify God's
faithfulness! (See Romans 3:3) This is the fundamental truth for
which Luther took a stand. God's mercy, God's provision and God's
faithfulness toward us cannot be bought or sold. When Simeon tried to buy
a gift from God, Peter responded: Acts
8:20-21 (KJV) But Peter said
unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of
God may be purchased with money.
{21} Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right
in the sight of God. (18)
As shocking as it may seem, there are just some things money can't buy.
God is one of them. He is not for sale. Sadly, today it appears that
many ministers have more of the character of Simeon than they do of Peter.
When we give to get in return the heart of giving is changed. That which
the Bible teaches should be done in selflessness is done in selfishness.
Thus the heart of our giving is changed and with it the purpose. When we
give to others solely out of a need to better ourselves we have missed the
purpose God established in our giving. Giving to the poor or to the church
is not about planting a seed and reaping a hundred fold in this life, it is
about helping our brother in need. It is about love. True biblical
love. An unselfish love that gives and expects nothing in return.
When the church budget becomes so big that you have to drain the resources of
the people to keep the building afloat you have missed the heart of God.
Better that you sell the building and meet in a tent than that you bleed your
congregation of their resources. Contrary to popular opinion, he who dies
with the biggest church does not win. When the church building and its
maintenance become a bigger priority than the well-being of the people you have
missed the heart of God. When you preach more to gain an offering than you
do to win a soul you have missed the heart of God. When the extent of your
ministry centers around the extent of your gain you have missed the heart of
God. When you rejoice more in a large offering than you do in a changed
person you have missed the heart of God. True Christianity is not about
what others can do for you but about what you can do for others.
In his Theses Luther brings out some excellent points regarding the importance
of charity. Consider these Theses of Luther:
"Christians should be taught, he who gives to the poor, or lends to a needy man,
does better than buying indulgences." (19)
"Christians should be taught, he who sees his neighbor in distress, and,
nevertheless, buys indulgences, is not partaking in the Pope's pardons, but in
the anger of God." (20)
"Christians should be taught, unless they are rich enough, it is their duty to
keep what is necessary for the use of their households, and by no means throw it
away on indulgences." (21)
"Wrong is done to the word of God if one in the same sermon spends as much or
more time on indulgences as on the word of the Gospel." (22)
"Therefore, the treasures of the Gospel are nets, with which, in times of yore,
one fished for the men of Mammon. But the treasures of indulgence are
nets, with which now-a-days one fishes for the Mammon of men." (23)
It is unquestionable that a type of selling of indulgences has penetrated the
church once again. During a recent TBN telethon a prophecy went out that
if viewers would sow a seed of $2,000 into TBN God would get them out of debt,
most within 90 days. At one point they were bold enough to say that this
telethon wasn't even for TBN's needs. It was for God's people, so that as
they give they could be set free of their debts. The most shocking
statement made came on Sunday morning (4-5-98) at 9:05 EST. The guest
minister pointed at his television audience and said: "Some of you have
been reaping from this ministry without a single thought of sowing back into it.
When you sow into this ministry you are sowing into the Spirit of Galatians that
says that when you sow into the Spirit you will reap eternal life."
My friends, this is heresy. It is the selling of indulgences. It is
an insult to all that Jesus came to do. It is a different gospel.
Many, in the name of Christ, are seeking once again after the Mammon of men
instead of the men of Mammon. Greed and selfishness exist from the least
to the greatest. The grace of giving has been recreated into an art of
investing. In the pursuit for money the gospel of salvation has been
exchanged for a gospel of finances. As a result the moral structure of our
church and community is slowly decaying away as the church focuses more on
wealth than it does on righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and
gentleness. The cries to win the lost have faded as the pleas for
offerings are sounded from the roof tops.
It was Christ who sternly warned us to . . . Luke 12:15 (KJV)
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (24)
Paul also warned that among us there must not even be a hint of greed. Ephesians
5:2-3 (KJV) And walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
{3} But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be
once named among you, as becometh saints; (25) Peter warned us too when he
wrote: 2 Peter 2:1-3 (KJV)
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall
be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
{2} And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the
way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
{3} And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their
damnation slumbereth not. (26)
Truly God's people need to be a giving people. But let us return to giving
from a pure heart and not from a motivation of greed. The heresy that has
been accepted in the church needs to be repented of and not tolerated.
Just as Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door nearly 500 years ago we too must
take a stand for righteousness. The selling of indulgences cannot be
tolerated in the name of Christianity, for neither God, salvation, nor His
benefits are for sale. "Every true Christian, be he still alive or already
dead, partaketh in all the benefits of Christ and of the Church given him by
God, even without letters of indulgence." (27)
Footnotes
(1)
Martin Luther's Theses #37
(2)
Martin Luther's Theses #86
(3) 2
Corinthians 12:14-15 (KJV)
(4) 1
Thessalonians 2:9 (KJV)
(5)
The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 12, Pg. 460
(6)
Holy Bible, Oral Roberts Edition, "My Personal Commentary", Pg. 9
(7)
Oral Roberts, "Daily Guide to Miracles", Pg. 63
(8)
Patti Roberts, "From Ashes to Gold", Pg. 63
(9)
Ibid, Pg. 120-121
(10)
Holy Bible, Oral Roberts Edition, "My Personal Commentary", Pg. 16
(11)
Paul Crouch, "Praise the Lord" program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network
(TBN),
21
July 1992
(12)
See "Christianity in Crisis", Hank Hanegraaff, Pg. 198
(13)
Jon P. Speller, "Seed Money in Action - Working the Law of Tenfold Return",
Preface Pg. 2
(14)
Gloria Copeland, "God's Will is Prosperity", Pg. 54
(15)
Joel Nederhood, "The Agony of Deceit", Pg. 233-234
(16)
1 Timothy 3:9-11 (KJV)
(17)
Matthew 6:24-33 (KJV)
(18)
Acts 8:20-21 (KJV)
(19)
Martin Luther's Theses #43
(20)
Ibid #45
(21)
Ibid #46
(22)
Ibid #54
(23)
Ibid #65 & 66
(24)
Luke 12:15 (KJV)
(25)
Ephesians 5:2-3 (KJV)
(26)
2 Peter 2:1-3 (KJV)
(27)
Martin Luther's Theses #37