The apostle Paul was dismayed by the departure of the Galatian church from the bedrock principles of faith in Christ. The Galatians had received salvation through faith in Christ alone. But they have been led astray by judaisers, false brethren who crept in unawares to try to put the yoke of the Law back on people made free by Christ.
Gal.3:1: O foolish Galatians, WHO HATH BEWITCHED YOU, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Walking in the flesh begets bad doctrines. Paul was concerned about New Covenant believers serving God in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. They tried to keep the Law of Moses, which pertained to the Old Covenant, not the New. Those led by the Spirit are not under the Law (Rom.6:14; Gal.5:18). The Law is powerless to produce holiness in a believer (Heb.7:19; Rom.3:20).
Prosperity Pimps put the PROFITABLE parts of the Law back on believers, mainly tithing on money, which is nowhere commanded in Scripture. In other articles I prove that tithing is not a law for today. Verse 3 emphasizes the need for continuing with God on the same basis we began with Him: grace (unmerited favor) through faith (Eph.2:8). Suppose a rich man falls in love with a destitute woman. He loves her and promises to take care of her, so they marry. Afterward, he threatens to divorce her unless she gets a job to pay her own bills. The rich man has changed the basis of their relationship from grace to law. Law says: YOU do this to get God to do that. Grace says: Jesus ALREADY met God’s requirements, so rest in HIS works, not yours (John 19:30; Heb.4:10). Jesus doesn’t do “Dutch treat”!
Judaisers (legalists) did their worst to bring the Galatian believers out from under the grace of God, back into the forbidden territory of Law. Grim legalism sees sin in every enjoyment, even activities which don’t violate the Word of God. A new convert’s radiance will fade once legalists take him under their wing.
The devil has given legalism an image makeover. He’s actually made it FUN! A spoonful of circus syrup makes his manure slide down the throats of Christians desperate for some new thrill to make church worth going to.
Now you can serve Jesus and still be a gambler! Sow a seed to meet your need. The bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the blessing. Any decent Christian would agree that blowing your wages in Las Vegas is being a lousy steward of God’s money. But shady religious sharks dare to treat our blessed Creator like a slot machine. In pops a hundred, out pops ten grand (the hundred-fold return). “Seed faith” is sleazy legalism, not grace. It’s called the LAW of sowing and reaping by “faith” teachers who insist God is BOUND to multiply the lettuce seed you planted in the rich preacher’s patch, and make it grow in your bank account.
Prosperity pimps teach that if you don’t give generously to THEM, God isn’t willing (or able) to bless you financially. But Proverbs 22:16 says: He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. How come I’ve NEVER heard any preacher mention that verse? God blesses those who share with the poor, but not those who support “ministries” which devour the “sacrifices” of poor donors. Preachers who exploit the ignorance of needy Christians, and those who pamper rich preachers with “generous gifts” are promised a big harvest of heartache.
We began by grace, and we must continue by grace. If God freely gave His Son up for us all, how much more will He FREELY GIVE (not sell) us ALL THINGS (Rom.8:32)? Preachers say you show “faith” by giving THEM your money, but when do THEY ever have to “live by faith” and trust God for their own provision? They peddle their own brand of faith, but grace (unmerited favor with God) is missing from seed faith theology. When we “give sacrificially” to preachers money our own family needs, we are trying to EARN favors from God’s hand. It doesn’t take any more faith to give to a persuasive preacher than it takes for a gambler to bet on the friskiest filly at the racetrack. It just takes greed and gullibility. You don’t read of Peter, Paul or John going around selling prayer rags, incense oil, miracle mud, etc. to support their ministries. Just what are preachers peddling:
God’s Anointing or Satan’s Snake Oil?
Who hath bewitched you? Paul asked the Galatians. “Bewitched” must also apply to those who fall for falling angel feathers, plastic gold glitter, slaying in the “spirit”, barking and break-dancing “under the anointing”, taking head trips to heaven, etc. Speaking of head trips, I read of one popular “revival” evangelist who guides seekers on a snooze cruise to heaven “in the spirit” (which one)? Even Yoga teachers will guide their class through a “cool down” period where you close your eyes, relax and visualize a serene walk through a fragrant flower garden, etc. Visualization is New Age doctrine widely used in modern revival (or was that carnival) meetings, to induce mild hypnosis and lower people’s inhibitions (and their grip on their wallet). Just watch that skinny wallet fatten by faith, brother! But cast your wampum on the waters NOW or you’ll miss the stirring of the waters!
Preachers legitimize New Age visualization by calling it “seeing by faith”, as Abraham saw God’s promises from afar off and embraced them. But Abraham looked for the New Jerusalem, not a new Jaguar!
REPETITIOUS CHORUSES stimulate the pleasure center of the brain, counterfeiting the joy of the Spirit. People dead-tired from work are asked to “remain standing and continue singing the same songs over and over again, every eye closed, to “bring the power of God down”. Did the disciples follow this formula to attract the Holy Spirit in Acts Chapter 2?
Jesus’ only comment about “closed eyes” is a negative one referring to spiritual blindness, not to prayerfulness:
Matt:13:15: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Jesus didn’t go for “vain repetitions”:
Matt.6:7: But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.* * *Jesus said “vain repetitions” are a heathen practice which don’t impress God.***Vain repetitions are of the flesh, not the Spirit.
POSITIVE CONFESSION is repetition of rhetoric which makes you feel like a “winner” who can’t lose even if you swap the free Grace of God for the preacher’s fairy dust faith. The Christian is taught to bewitch himself via endless listening to audio tapes, chanting, etc. The mind is opened wide for further satanic delusion. In the NT, Jesus is confessed as Lord. Sins are confessed. Saints of the Faith Hall of Fame confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers on the earth (Heb.11:13). But not one “confession” about hitting the Lotto jackpot.
PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCES are just that: fleshly shows, not Spirit-led worship offered up by the whole assembly in spontaneous adoration of God. Did Peter or Paul ever enhance the mood of their services through “anointed music”? Some Christians switch to churches that offer a more exciting music program. How far have we strayed from the simplicity of the First Century Church, where instead of “having a program”, they sang psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to make melody IN THEIR HEARTS to the Lord (Eph.5:18)? Nothing is in the NT about special “offertory” music, or for that matter, playing “just one more verse” of an “invitational hymn”. Peter and Paul saved plenty of souls without any altar call.
FALSE REVIVAL PREACHERS TURN CHURCH INTO A ZOO of barking, mewing and howling heretics “under the power” (of which spirit)? contrary to I Cor.14:40. Just as a heroin addict needs more and more to reach the same high, religious hedonists demand that their preachers preach another “new revelation” to give them a new thrill (2 Tim.4:3).
BLOWING AT THE CROWD SO THEY’LL GET “IT” is crass ignorance. By “IT” they’re alluding to “the anointing”, and by association, the blessed Holy Spirit, Who is turned into a convenient commodity exploited by profiteering prophe-liars out for an easy buck. 2 Cor.1:21 speaks of God having anointed Paul and his fellow-laborers in the past. But the noun form of “anointing” occurs in only ONE verse in the NT: I John 2:27: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Spirit-filled believers ALREADY possess the fullness of God’s Spirit (Eph.3:19). We don’t need to run to some wired-up preacher to get recharged. If you need a refreshing in your spirit go directly to Jesus and obtain a fresh touch from the Master’s Hand without price (Isa.55:1). The Ten Foolish Virgins of Matt.25:1-11 ran out of oil (which symbolizes the unction of God’s Spirit). They had to hurry and find “them that sell” before the Bridegroom came for them. Today’s deceived believers don’t go first to God’s Word to “test all things” (I Thes.5:21). They run straight to satan’s snake oil salesmen who say that “God told me to tell you” to give so much, or “I feel the spirit (which one) all over me, and I’m anointed (by who?) to pray for you NOW if you’ll mail me that cash by tomorrow morning!” How terrible will be God’s judgment upon those liars in the world to come, who fake the anointing for personal gain, and attribute their stupid stunts to the Holy Spirit! Ananias and Sapphira were killed by God for committing just ONE act of lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11).
Simon Magus put his soul in peril when he tried to buy the power of God from Peter, who wasn’t interested in doing business (Acts 8:9-24). What was Simon Magus like?
Acts 8:9: But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Circus clowns posing as great wonder workers still stage “the Grossest Show on Earth”. They bewitch simple souls into a counterfeit kingdom of god. Whenever a preacher manipulates the moods and emotions (and the generosity) of God’s people through slick showmanship, they’re practicing sorcery like Simon did.
Author Resource:-
Patricia Backora has been filled with the Holy Spirit since 1970. She believes in the nine Gifts of the Spirit, and the imminent return of Christ. Patricia’s articles address problems and spiritual needs in the Christian church. She believes that the rightly divided Word of God (2 Tim.2:15) must be the final authority.
http://banpreachergreed.tripod.comhttp://kingdomage.tripod.com
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.christian-article-bank.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites