Charismatic
Heretics of Strange
Fire?
By Fidel "Butch" Montoya
In
an awkward three day conference, promoted as “Strange
Fire,” sponsored by John MacArthur,
pastor of Grace Community Church in
Southern California, MacArthur scornfully condemned the Charismatic movement as false theology and strange fire which
constitutes in his mind the “most serious
crime of false worship.”
MacArthur attempted to make his case by referring
to Leviticus 10, where the sons of Aaron offered a sacrifice of strange
fire, and because of their false teachings, “Fire
blazed out from God and consumed them.”
MacArthur
and several other speakers, including Joni
Eareckson Tada, best known as a quadriplegic for over forty-five years, who
ministers to the disabled, but unfortunately by her presence as a main speaker,
bound herself to MacArthur’s vicious and unchristian-like attack on 500 million
Charismatics.
During the "Strange Fire" conference, MacArthur called the Charismatic message,
“lies, who offer up a “dangerous, corrupt, and false worship, dishonoring the Holy
Spirit.”
MacArthur
claims the Charismatic movement “has
brought nothing to sound doctrine, but distortion, confusion, error, carnal
emotionalism” which caters to man’s sinful nature.
Many of God's people know throughout his years of
ministry, MacArthur has condemned the Charismatic
movement, but during his three day conference, he lost his ability to
discern the validity of the Charismatic movement,
and his selfish empowerment by other preachers at the conference, and
from the pulpit, MacArthur failed to exhibit Christ-like and graceful behavior.
MacArthur
made scurrilous, insulting, and defamatory statements from the pulpit, even
claiming that if the Charismatic movement
has been successful, the Kingdom of
Darkness was responsible.
MacArthur’s
behavior reminded me of the advice Paul gave to Timothy regarding the old
Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres who challenged Moses.
“They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth
itself. But nothing will come of these latest imposters. Everyone will see
through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.” 2 Timothy 8-9 The
Message.
I
have attached The Christian Post article and a
link to the video where MacArthur “preaches”
his reprehensible sermon on how Charismatics
have insulted and defied the Holy Spirit with a false and strange fire.
Alex Murashko, writer of the article was much too nice to refer to the outrageous charges made from the pulpit
as “MacArthur’s thrown punches during the
three day conference.” There is no
question that MacArthur crossed the line in his shameful attempt to discredit
the Charismatic movement.
Rev. Samuel
Rodriguez,
the President of the influential National Hispanic
Christian Leadership Conference, was quick to call out MacArthur for his
disgraceful bid to destroy faith in one of the most spiritually powerful
Christian movements in the world.
In
a statement emailed to The Christian
Post, Rodriguez stated;
“Correspondingly,
with great due deference of course, he must be made aware that the optics of
the criticism also imply a cultural naiveté." The epicenter of the world's
Pentecostal and Charismatic demographic stems not from North America but from
the continents south of the equator.
"In essence,
he is condemning the very Christian narrative responsible for shining the light
of Christ to God's children in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and
elsewhere. As a result, this movement is one of the few non-white led and
arguably the most ethnically diverse Christian movements in the globe
today."
Rodriguez
is to be commended for reprimanding MacArthur and his three day Strange Fire
conference. Knowing that Rodriguez is not only a national leader on
comprehensive immigration reform, but as a man recognized for his courage to
defend the Gospel, and who understands Christ’s instructions given to the 120,
to tarry and wait for the Holy Fire that would descend on those in the Aposento
Alto – the Upper Room.
Christ
instructed his disciples “To go out and
train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by
baptism in the three-fold name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. Matthew 28:19. He assured them a Helper, the Holy Spirit
would come to direct their paths. It is because of that promise, we know the Holy Spirit has empowered our message that Jesus Saves!
I
cannot express in words how excruciating and piercing his embellishment of his
false teaching on the Holy Spirit was for me to hear. Yet, I must encourage you
to read the following article and follow the link and watch MacArthur “preach from the pulpit” and engage in
such a hateful attack on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
MacArthur
claims in The Christian Post article, "The
true people of God have always had to battle the false prophets and the liars.
It is a strange irony to me, in the Charismatic movement, that if you criticize
them, if you endeavor to be vigilant and discerning, and if you endeavor to
contend for the truth and hold them to Scripture and expose their error, they
will condemn you as the sinner … How do I know that? I have lived that."
Pastor
John MacArthur, I will not condemn or judge your soul. God reserves that right
for Himself. "Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living or dead." 2 Timothy 4: 1.
The Apostle Paul knew his time was near, so in his letter to Timothy, his words were essentially "dying words". These are the words of our beloved who utter advice and counsel to us before they die; are words of lasting care and love for us. Words that we always hang on to as final advice from a loved one.
Likewise, Paul wrote to Timothy, "You're going to find that will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching. They'll fill up on spiritual junk food, catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. BUT you, keep your eye on what you're doing, accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant. 2 Timothy 4: 3-5. The Message.
I will agree with Rev. Samuel Rodriguez when he said, "In a world full of relativism,
decadence, strife and apathy, John MacArthur should focus on preaching the
Word: Christ crucified, resurrected and coming back again."
Fidel “Butch” Montoya
H.
S. Power & Light Ministries
Latino
Faith Initiative
John MacArthur
Continues Case Against Charismatic Movement at 'Strange Fire'; Backlash
Includes Stern Words by Samuel Rodriguez
BY
ALEX MURASHKO , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
October
18, 2013|5:59 am
Pastor John
MacArthur continued to lay out his case against the Charismatic movement on
Thursday, the second day of the Strange Fire conference hosted at his
California church. However, a backlash of criticism, in full swing since the
beginning of the event, included a stern statement from the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez,
a Pentecostal minister and president of the National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference.
'Strange
Fire' Conference: John MacArthur Calls Out Charismatic Movement as 'Unfaithful'
MacArthur's
punches thrown during the three-day conference included calling out mainline,
Pentecostal-influenced pastors such as T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen, and
congregations that he says focus on "spirit-filled" services rather
than Christ-centered doctrine.
"If
the Charismatic movement was being produced by the Holy Spirit, the glory of
Christ would prevail everywhere," said MacArthur during the morning
session Thursday. "It would be Christ dominated and everyone in the
movement would be bowing the knee to the true Christ in belief of the true
Gospel."
He
continued, "The people would be humble. They would be joyful. They would
be sacrificial. They would be confessional. They would be declaring Jesus as
Lord and themselves His slaves. They would be denying themselves, taking up
their cross and following Him wherever He led."
MacArthur
called the Charismatic movement a "long war on truth."
"The
true people of God have always had to battle the false prophets and the
liars," he said. "What makes them effective is the deceptiveness of
it. It is a strange irony to me, in the Charismatic movement, that if you
criticize them, if you endeavor to be vigilant and discerning, and if you
endeavor to contend for the truth and hold them to Scripture and expose their
error, they will condemn you as the sinner … How do I know that? I have lived
that."
Rodriguez,
who is considered the leading spokesperson for the Hispanic evangelical
community, much of which is a part of or has a background in the
Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, said in a statement sent to The Christian
Post via email that MacArthur misses the mark by a wide margin. Rodriguez has
been an Assemblies of God ordained minister since the age of 23. His bio
includes the statement that in 2010, he was called to start a multi-ethnic,
Christ-centered, spirit-filled, Bible-based church in Sacramento, Calif.
"John
MacArthur suffers from spiritual, cultural and theological myopia," stated
Rodriguez to CP. "With great due deference to a Christian leader many of
us admire, his conclusions regarding the largest and fastest growing of global
Christendom, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, speaks to a man ignorant of
the community's unbridled commitment to biblical orthodoxy.
"Unfortunately,
this blessed Christian leader cannot differentiate between substance and style,
or engaging a biblical metaphor, between Christianity's 'wine' and the varied
'wineskins.' In other words, Mr. MacArthur should be focusing on the fact that
while many in the church continue to abandon our Christian faith, the
Pentecostal/Charismatic community continues to offer the church a legitimate
growth mechanism."
Rodriguez
went on to imply that MacArthur's arguments lack an understanding of the
movement's Christian influence around the world.
"Correspondingly,
with great due deference of course, he must be made aware that the optics of
the criticism also imply a cultural naiveté," Rodriguez states. "The
epicenter of the world's Pentecostal and Charismatic demographic stems not from
North America but from the continents south of the equator.
"In
essence, he is condemning the very Christian narrative responsible for shining
the light of Christ to God's children in Africa, South America, the Caribbean
and elsewhere. As a result, this movement is one of the few non-white led and
arguably the most ethnically diverse Christian movements in the globe
today."
Rodriguez
concludes by stating he encourages "this gracious preacher to preach the
Word."
"In a
world full of relativism, decadence, strife and apathy, John MacArthur should
focus on preaching the Word: Christ crucified, resurrected and coming back
again," he recommended.
MacArthur
has long been an outspoken advocate of weighing the claims and activities of
those in the Charismatic movement against Scripture. The conference is tied to
next month's release of his book, Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the
Holy Spirit With Counterfeit Worship.
On the Web:
http://www.tmstrangefire.org/
The following video link is John
MacArthur scornfully criticizing the Charismatic movement as a false worship to
the Lord, as a Golden Calf which we know was a false worship representation of the
Lord. MacArthur uses as his Biblical basis
Leviticus 10
when the sons of Aaron in their sacrifice to the Lord, offered a strange fire.
The video segment is 1 ½ hour
long, but by listening one will discern his anti-Biblical bias toward the
Charismatic movement.
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