Marital Separation and divorce have consequences.

Separation or divorce always brings painful consequences. Not only do you distance yourself from God when you separate or divorce, you also damage your spouse, wound your children, injure other family members, hurt friends, set the stage for future pain for yourself and bring shame upon the name of Christ.

When you do things God’s way, things work out best. On the other hand, when you disobey God, problems eventually come. If you separate or divorce your spouse, the odds are high that you will regret it before you die. You will definitely regret it when you stand before God.

Biblical Principles that Argue Against Separation

There are a number of biblical principles that inform our understanding of why it is not God’s will for Christians to separate.

Separation Violates the Marriage Covenant

On your wedding day, vows were taken to love “for better or for worse.” These are not to be loosely made promises fulfilled only when your expectations are met. These are sacred vows made before a holy God. “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Deuteronomy 30:2).  Separation does not enable husband and wife to consistently fulfill their vows to love, honor and cherish, for better or for worse. Understanding and applying your marriage vows leaves absolutely no room for separation.  You have no excuse before the Lord to say “Well, he/she left”.  If he/she left, and you are the one who is the professing Christian, it is your responsibility before God to do whatever it takes to reconcile with your spouse. 

Separation Hinders Reconciliation

Christians are commanded to pursue reconciliation with others when sinned against, or when they are aware of having sinned against others (Matthew 5:23, 24; 18:15ff; Luke 17:3-4). They are to be characterized by having compassion, kindness and patience in order to bear with others and forgive others against whom they might have complaint (Colossians 3:12, 13). Separation works against the pursuit of these virtues and objectives. Separation is contrary to the general attitude and direction that a Christian should be pursuing.  You must strive to meet these goals even in the difficult circumstances of being married to a spouse who is disobedient to the Word (I Peter 3:1-7). Offering forgiveness, which is commanded of Christians, is a promise to not hold sins against another. Separation without any attempts at reconciliation, is evidence that one spouse is holding something against the other spouse and refuses to forgive. In order for two people to learn to live in harmony with one another, it is best to actually be living together.

Separation Avoids Clear Biblical Responsibilities

In addition to fulfilling the promises you made in your marriage vows themselves, marital separation almost always results in a failure to fulfill another clear marital obligation. “Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time” (1 Corinthians 7:3-5a). The reason for this command is clear. Regular marital relations are a safeguard against sexual sin. When couples separate, they neglect this clear biblical injunction, placing their spouse in a position of potential temptation and compromise.

Separation is Selfishly Motivated

Most separations take place because someone is refusing to deal fully with personal conflicts. Again, we are discussing separation as a response to undesirable circumstances in the marriage. These matters are always complex. Scriptures combine endurance, patience, the fulfilling of duties, and trust in God as the solution to trying circumstances. Peter’s counsel to wives whose husbands are disobedient to the Word is a perfect example (I Peter 3:1-6).

There are times when a separation is beneficial to the marriage.  In cases of abuse, it is always best to live separately from your abusive spouse.  However your separation should be the time when you are working and talking with your spouse to fix whatever problems there may be.

God does not approve of marital separation or divorce.  If you are professing to be a Christian, and willingly tell others that you have given up all of yourself for Christ, and you are not making the steps to reconcile your marriage, you are in direct disobedience to the Lord.  Husbands, you are to lead your unbelieving wives to Christ.  You are to set the example, not through a dictatorship demanding submission from your wife, but through loving her the way Christ loves you.  Wives, you are to love and honor your unbelieving husbands unto the Lord.

There are many professing Christians that are either divorced and or separated from their spouses.  The truth about their profession is in their response and treatment of their spouses during the separation.  The spouse that is willing to say “I’m sorry” and willing to offer forgiveness;  the spouse that makes attempts to talk and reconcile with the other spouse regardless of the hurt;  the spouse that continues to wear their wedding band and tells others that they are still married;  the spouse that is willing to look within and realize that their sins are part of the reason why they are separated;  that is the spouse that is living their walk with the Lord.  The spouse that is not willing to apologize or offer forgiveness; the spouse that refuses to have any communication;  the spouse that blames the other for leaving, removes their wedding band, and lives their lives as though they were never married;  the spouse that refuses to recognize their own sins were part of the reason why they are separated;  that is the spouse that is making a false profession of Christ.  That is the “prodigal spouse”. 

That is the truth about your separation.

If your group has encouraged you to separate from your spouse or children, you are being led astray by a false teacher.  You, your spouse, and your children are being spiritually abused by your leader.  Please recognize this falsehood for what it is and break free from the bind that Satan has on you.  Your eternal salvation is at stake.

It is very important for you to understand that the Philadelphia Church of God is a cult.  Although their members claim to be Christians, they are anything but.  There are many “professing Christians” in the world today that are following the same practices of shunning or disfellowshipping, and having nothing to do with their spouses or children because of it.  As this article will show, this practice is completely unbiblical and not from God.  It is a matter of twisted Scripture.

Gerald Flurry’s Sermon: Exposing Satan

A sermon, “Exposing Satan,” was played to all members of Philadelphia Church of God. It was given by Gerald Flurry on December 3, 2005. At the beginning, Flurry explains PCG’s “no contact” ruling, which shows “how we deal with Laodiceans.” The sermon incorporates fear of Satan, fear of Laodiceans, fear of leaving “God’s true church,” “lies” from PCG’s enemies (WCG), the “man of sin” (who resides in the Laodicean church), and basically twisting of Scripture to say what Flurry wants it to say.

Includes: A Letter to Flurry (from one impacted by the “no contact ruling”)

The “no contact ruling” is in the December 10, 2005 Pastor General Report.

Note: “Laodiceans” refers to those who are no longer members of PCG (especially those who have been disfellowshipped), or who were/are members of WCG, or any of the splinter groups. In other words, it applies to anyone who is no longer submissive to the “government” in PCG. In some congregations it even applies to the children who have left PCG.

 “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.” ~ John 5:42

 Following are clips from the sermon. Gerald Flurry’s words are indented. All bolding is ours. Caps designate when Flurry was talking very loud, which was more towards the end.

We have many relatives and ex-friends in most all cases that are Laodocian and we do have to be very careful how we deal with them because it can be quite dangerous in taking some of God’s people out of the church, or destroying their faith, or their love; their character.

(Following is GF reading from an article he wrote and which he says is going to be put in the PGR [Pastor General Report] and that “the ministers will have it to hold from if they want to.”)

I want to clarify the Philadelphia Church of God’s policy on contact with disfellowshipped family members. This issue has not been clear among all our ministers and members and we need to become unified on it. Around 1985, Joseph Tkach spoke of a couple in the church who had some family disfellowshipped. And he told them that they were to severe their relationship with those people and not to fellowship with them. He told Mr. Armstrong about this situation publicly, and Mr. Armstrong agreed with him publicly. Notice I Cor. 5: 9-11. [reads those verses]

GF says the word “fornicator” here can refer to “spiritual sins.” This passage of Scripture was written to the members in the Corinthian Church after they had permitted an immoral man to come into their fellowship. The city of Corinth was given over to immorality. Nothing is mentioned in these verses about this applying to “spiritual sins.” This is GF’s interpretation.

God says when [these kinds of people] have to be put out of the church, the rest of us should not keep company with them, or eat with them. We are not to fellowship or socialize with them, certainly there might be an emergency in the family where you might be needing to work out the details of a will, or something similar. It is all right to deal with them on that level, but we must keep in mind what God has said.

II Thes. 3:6 reads, ‘…withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly.’ Certainly all the Laodicean groups are walking disorderly. They’re not after the traditions given us by God’s government through Mr. Armstrong. We have to look upon people that are in the Laodicean churches as being disfellowshipped. Rev. 11:1-2 they will be cast out. They have been put out of the Church of God. We must not keep company or keep company with them by going to restaurants and things like that.

In the past some members have been told that these relationships are okay as long as religion is not discussed. That is not what God says. Scripture makes it clear that there should be a complete cut off. [II Thes. 3] Verses 14 and 15…

If there is to be a complete cut off, then why does verse 15 say to “admonish him as a brother”? Admonish means to “warn,” not “denounce” him.

I know it is painful to cut off contact with family, but we have to look at the positive side of this. God says that when we don’t fellowship with them, if Dad and Mom, or a close relative shuns them, that has a great sting. God wants to drive them back by making them realize they really are on the outside.

Is it really “God” who is saying these things, or Gerald Flurry? Does he want to drive these people back to PCG because they are on the outside of PCG?

There are, however, a couple of exceptions to this principle. In the case of a mate in a Laodicean church, or one who has left the PCG, that relationship should be preserved as long as the mate is pleased to dwell. (I Cor. 7:10-14) But if that mate becomes hostile, or stirs up contention, it should be cut off. Wherever there is hostility you must cut off every tie. And sometimes, of course, that hostility can be very subtle, as we know.

There is also the case of unbaptized children, or those not validly baptized, who have left the church. Mr. Armstrong, for example, had a relationship with his daughter and he believed she never was converted. (And the fruits were there, I think, to prove that.)

What about Herbert Armstrong’s “fruits”? Or don’t they count?

As long as they were unconverted, we can have a relationship there, but we do have to be awfully careful. We may have to make a judgment about someone’s conversion in a few cases, but we don’t want to use that as a cop-out either. If your children have been baptized and left, that relationship should be severed. We must obey God’s command. [Reads Romans 16:17]

In an article titled, ‘If One is Disfellowshipped, Which Family Comes First?’ Mr. Armstrong commented on this verse [Rom. 16:17]. [Quotes from HWA]: ‘It does not say all except members of your flesh and blood family. It speaks of any who has been a church member, and it says avoid them. It’s a command, and if we try to be more kind, more righteous than God and disobey that command, we convict ourselves of disobedience of God’s command.’ Good News, April 1980 by Mr. Armstrong. He concluded by discussing Matthew 10 which says we must love our father and mother less than God.

If one wishes to read this entire article by Herbert Armstrong, they may do so by going online to The Good News archives, which can be downloaded in PDF. A similar article by HWA, “Can We Fellowship With the Disfellowshipped?” is in the May 4, 1980 Worldwide News.

I don’t think there would be a difference between a marked person and one who is disfellowshipped. There may be instances where the church could get into legal trouble if parents are preventing children from seeing their Laodicean grandparents, or similar situations. There have been instances where grandparents were able to have a strong relationship with grandchildren without interference from Laodicean parents. There was no hostility there and minimal contact. In individual cases like this a judgment must be made by the ministry about the propriety of the situation.

In case of members who work for a Laodicean, we would counsel them to try to seek other employment. Though, to preserve their livelihood, they would not have to cut that off immediately.

The principle to remember is this: there should not be any contact with converted church members who have left–and that includes family members other than a mate.

Now when we deal with people like that I think we all understand–I hope we do–that we always should treat people outside the church, Laodiceans or anybody else that we have some contact with, with…be as inoffensive as we possibly can, as kind, and as loving, and as considerate, as we possibly can, regardless of what attitude even they may have, unless, of course, we…there might be an exception if they were sort of attacking us.

But, anyhow, also, I wrote an article: ‘God Commands That We Avoid Certain Ones in Love.’ That’s in the Philadelphia News, May/June 1998. [Tells how they can write and get a copy of that if they don't have it.]

But Peter has been revealed to us recently, and Peter talked about in this end time that we shouldn’t be hanging around people who speak evil of the truth. Peter made that very clear. Don’t be around people who do that. Don’t be around people who talk and say evil things about your Father, your Husband. And there is a great danger in this, brethren, because Satan is subtle and he knows how to use people like that to destroy you. He knows your weaknesses and he knows how to use those people. And we’ve had some people in the Church of God–the Philadelphia Church of God– that have been taken out, because they violated what God said.

Read about Milieu (environmental) Control and how it is used in the Armstrong groups.

Avoiding these people–Laodiceans that have left–just avoiding them, in a sense, also shows that we get a message across to them that they are influenced by the Devil and we don’t want to have anything to do with them.

He goes on to tell them that there are all kinds of “individual differences and problems,” and most of them will have to be dealt with by counseling with the regional director, and if he (the regional director) has problems, he will bring that to Flurry.

“…true religion does not break in sunder the bonds of family relationship.  …it does not separate men from their families, and make them aliens to their flesh and blood.”  
~Excerpted from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, December 21, 1856

For the final part of this sermon we will quote some dogmatic and/or incredible statements made by Gerald Flurry. (bolding ours)

He first goes back to a sermon he gave at the Feast of Tabernacles in 2001 about II Thessalonians and talks about PCG’s court case victory regarding Mystery of the Ages (their “biggest church trial”) and the “amazing lies” he says that WCG told, and how Satan will be exposed by PCG.

One of ESN’s contacts told us the following: “The words ‘exposing Satan’ is code for the new book [Raising the Ruins]] that Stephen Flurry is writing, which is intended to expose the WCG, and mainly the Tkaches, for their collusion and trickery. Flurry claims they are possessed by demons and that he (Flurry) is actually revealing Satan by revealing their lies. According to GF, the documents of WCG from PCG’s court case over MOA are full of information that they (PCG) will use to expose them.”

Update: Read: PCG Did NOT Win a Victory in the WCG vs. PCG Court Case (2-23-07 letter to ESN by Attorney at Law) and Selling the “Truth” (Stephen Flurry’s book, Raising the Ruins) by Jim Kazimir, former PCG member/deacon.

Quotes by Gerald Flurry from rest of sermon
(includes how PCG had to “change the name of the college”)

“We are here to expose the Devil. …That’s just our calling; what we’re here to do.”

“Nobody does it [expose Satan]. The Laodiceans don’t even know the Devil today. And only we do it and we’ve been doing it for sixteen years.”

“Where is that man that would DARE defy God? And LIE every time he opens his mouth, practically. … A man possessed by the Devil.”

“God knows what love is and we don’t–too much of the time.” (talking about how members shouldn’t think they should show love to these Laodiceans)

“I’ve never heard so many lies and read so many lies. I’m telling you, brethren, they lie all the time. They just LIE and LIE and LIE, and every time you pick up a document on that court case, they are LYING.”

“Do you want to be friends with the Laodiceans? If you do, how well do we know the Devil?”

“Where did they [WCG] get the truth that they didn’t love? Well, they had to get it from the end-time Elijah who restored all things [i.e., HWA] through all of these books and booklets that he wrote.”

“God says, ‘I’m gonna make all of my people–every one of them–I’m gonna make them PROVE that they love me and that they LOVE the TRUTH. I’m gonna put them through this court case.’ “

“We’re gonna expose Satan the best we can, because it is a SIGN to God’s church that it’s almost over and Christ is almost here.”

“I was kind amazed at how much they really believed the Devil. … They had faith in the Devil. They believed him; they lied like he did. Just like sons of the Devil. But, of course, that’s what they are.”

“In their twisted minds they have actually MADE SATAN GOD! In their twisted, EVIL MINDS. That’s what we were up against.”

“Satan has deceived all the Laodiceans and they don’t have a clue, it seems, what he has done. I mean this is THE LIE and THE LIAR! This is the DEVIL INCARNATE!! And all of the Laodiceans believe him, I think. Certainly almost all of them. They believe him, and it’s Satan right before them.”

“Do you think if somebody out there…you have a Laodicean relative, God would not send the DEVIL to see if you’re going to obey? He’s DONE IT ALREADY! We’re the Church! He sent the Devil TO US!! Would he do it to you? OF COURSE, HE WILL! If He has doubts about what kind of son you are, of course He will. He’ll send delusions. Do you want to play games with that?” [Note from ESN: As this point in the sermon, Flurry starts shouting even more.]

The following video clips are from a show about the Strong City Cult or the End Times Cult.  The women, children, and even the men from this group were abused by their leader who claimed that he recieved all of his messages from God.

Please do not be decieved.  Do not think that you are immune to the tactics of a cult or a cult leader.  If you suspect that you may be involved in a cult, please seek help.  The first step you need to take is to get away from the people involved in the cult.  Do not feel ashamed or embarrassed about being “roped” in by a cult – you are not the first and you will not be the last.

As you will read in the article, Bob DeWaay was on a quest to become the best possible Christian, and he ended up falling prey to false teachings.  Sadly, he wasted 10 years  of his life following this very harmful practice of Pietism.

There are many “professing” Christians today who are following this same practice.  They are following a false god.  If you find yourself saying things like “My leaders do or teach very similar things as this article”, please realize you are not following Christ.  You are living a life based on man-made religion.  You are living in sin.

How Pietism Deceives Christians, and The Errors of Elitist Teachings in the Church

by Bob DeWaay, CIC Article reprinted in full, Issue 101

There are no extraordinary Christians; but being an ordinary Christian is an extraordinary thing. How I wish I would have understood that when I was a new Christian. But I didn’t. Soon after my conversion I began a quest to become the best possible Christian. In so doing I fell prey to teachings that promised me a Christian life superior to that of ordinary Christians. What I did not know was that I had embraced pietism. I didn’t become an extraordinary Christian and I did walk straight into error.

My journey into the “deeper life” oftentimes involved embracing contradictory teachings. For example, two of my favorite teachers in the early 1970’s were Watchman Nee and Kenneth Hagin. One taught a deeper Christian life through suffering¹) and the other taught a higher order Christianity that could cause one to be free from bodily ailments and poverty.² The hook was that both claimed to have the secret to becoming an extraordinary Christian. I found out that they didn’t.

My dissatisfaction with the Christianity taught in Bible College ³ led me to join a Christian commune some months after graduation. That group’s founder taught that all ordinary churches and Bible Colleges were caught up in “religious Babylon.” He taught that the kingdom of God was to be found by quitting one’s job, selling one’s possessions, giving the money to the commune, and moving in together to be devoted to the “kingdom” twenty four hours a day. So in my search to become an extraordinary Christian I did what he said and joined.

By the time I had fully explored many versions of pietism seeking to escape the tainted Christianity found in ordinary churches, I had squandered the first ten years of my Christian life. I was converted in 1971 and by 1981 I had given up on becoming a superior Christian. I bought a house for my family and began a car repair business to pay the bills while I tried to figure out what to do with my calling to preach now that most everything I had been taught, practiced, and taught others had failed.

By God’s grace I went back to the Bible and determined to merely teach verse by verse from that point on. It took another five or six years to rid myself of the various errors I had embraced and then I taught Romans in 1986. Through that study I came to appreciate the doctrines of grace. That understanding opened my thinking and was the turning point for my ministry. I also came to realize that the wrong-thinking that attracted me to pietism was that I held to a theology based on human ability rather than grace alone. Once I grasped that, I never looked back.

If the “secret” to a higher order Christianity is based on something we discover and implement (the secret to the deeper life), then it makes sense that some Christians could achieve a higher status than others. But if salvation AND sanctification are God’s work through His grace, then we are all in the same boat, and there’s no higher order.

Understanding the Basics of Pietism
Pietism is difficult to define because it can be taught and practiced in an unlimited number of ways. Some versions appear to be innocuous while others are so radical that most people would see that something is wrong. I now know that no version of pietism is actually innocuous. If a teaching is called pietism but teaches no more than what God has always used to sanctify Christians, then it is not really pietism. Real pietism always harms those who embrace it.

The essence of pietism is this: It is a practice designed to lead to an experience that purports to give one an elite or special status compared to ordinary Christians. The Bible addresses this error in the book of Colossians.⁴ The false teachers in Colossae claimed to have the secret to a superior Christian experience that would cause people to rise above the bad “fate” they feared. Paul went on to explain that they already had everything they needed through Christ and His work on the cross. Another way of stating this is: If after having fully trusted Christ’s finished work on the cross, you are told that you are still lacking something, you are being taught pietism.

Church history is littered with misguided pietistic movements. Many of them are linked with mysticism. I will give examples later in this article. Pietism can be practiced many ways including enforced solitude, asceticism of various forms, man made religious practices, legalism, submission to human authorities who claim special status, and many other practices and teachings. The fact that pietism has many forms can be seen by the litany Paul gives in Colossians:

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Colossians 2:16-23)

Paul calls this approach “self-made religion” which is exactly what all forms of pietism are. They all suggest that having been converted by the Lord through the cross and practicing His ordained means of grace by faith are inadequate. They have discovered a better way that leads to a higher order experience. Paul says they have “the appearance of wisdom.”

His list includes ascetic practices. These appear to most poorly taught Christians to be what the Lord wants. They reason, “Of course God is happier with a person who sells all and moves into a convent where he takes an oath of poverty than He is with someone who goes to work forty hours a week and uses some of the money to buy things.” Is He? When I was a pietist, if someone told me he prayed two hours a day, then I had to pray three hours to make sure I wasn’t missing out on something. I reasoned, “Of course God is happier with a Christian who prays three hours than one who prays two.” Is He? When I was a pietist I would work on cranking up my desire for holiness because I reasoned that holiness is found through something in the person rather than through God’s grace. Based on sermons I’d heard I reasoned, “Christians are not experiencing a higher degree of holiness because they do not desire it enough.” Is that true? No, none of these pietistic statements are true.Such teachings lead to elitism and comparing ourselves to others. The Bible tells us not to do that. Paul stated that these practices “are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

God is committed to the holiness of everyone He has redeemed. He makes them holy through His ordained means of grace. Paul warned both the Galatians and the Colossians against adding anything to the work of Christ: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6); “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). This means that salvation is by grace through faith and sanctification is by grace through faith. There is no secret principle to be discovered that creates higher order Christians. Here is how it is explained in Hebrews: “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . . . For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10, 14). Pietism is an attack on the scriptural truth that Christ has already done it all and that this is true for all Christians. I believe in progressive sanctification, but God is sanctifying all Christians by the same means.

Pietism in Church History

Since pietism existed in Colossae in Paul’s day it has always been in the church. But we want to analyze some expressions of it to see why it arises and how it works. Church historian Justo Gonzalez chronicles the beginnings of the monastic movement which was apparently a reaction to a perception that popularity and success had tainted Christianity after it was endorsed by Constantine. ⁵ The question they dealt with was how to overcome Satan (pietism often offers special protection from Satan) who was tempting people with success now that martyrdom was no longer available. Gonzalez writes, “Many found an answer in the monastic life: to flee from human society, to leave everything behind, to dominate the body and its passions, which gave way to temptation. Thus, at the very time when churches in large cities were flooded by thousands demanding baptism, there was a veritable exodus of other thousands who sought beatitude in solitude.”⁶ This version produced the Desert Fathers as they have come to be known.

Some documents from the early church fathers describe the lives of “anchorite” monks who fled society to live in the desert. One was Anthony who gave away all his riches before entering his new life: “He then [after leaving his teacher] went to live in an abandoned cemetery, where he subsisted on bread, which some kind souls brought him every few days. According to Athanasius, at this time Anthony began having visions of demons that accosted him almost continuously.”⁷Ironically, fleeing the city to escape Satan’s temptations did nothing to actually deliver him from Satan.

The monastic movement led to the idea that one could become a higher order Christian and be more pleasing to God. The movement also introduced mystical practices that today are being brought back into the church under the guise that they came from a time when Christianity was pristine and not tainted by modernity.⁸ What is really happening is a repeat of history. When Christians perceived that the success of churches in times of prosperity caused certain ills, they fled to solitude where they became mystics. This process is happening today again. But these pietistic movements did not lead to a more pristine Christianity in the past, nor do they do so today. They lead to elitism as Gonzalez points out: “On the other hand, this sort of life was not free of temptations. As years went by, many monks came to the conclusion that, since their life was holier that that of most bishops and other leaders of the church, it was they, and not those leaders, who should decide what was proper Christian teaching.”⁹ Some today have determined that ordinary Christians¹⁰ are so tainted by modernity that these elite ones refuse to be called “Christian” but rather prefer the term “Christ followers” because the elite deem themselves to be following Christ in a pristine way that is not true of the rest of us.

The monastic movement became more organized and still exists today. The Roman Catholic Church acclaimed their deeds done beyond what is required of ordinary Christians and developed a teaching called “works of supererogation,” a teaching rejected by the Reformers.

An example of the ‘works done beyond’ are the monastic vows taken by certain monastic orders: They are considered works of supererogation in Rome. Those who take the vows are deemed more pious than ordinary Christians.

Luther wrote a lengthy essay demonstrating that scripture rejects the validity of monastic vows.¹¹ His essay is also an interesting look into the issues that were debated at the time of the Reformation. One key issue for Luther was that the monastics went beyond the gospel and made commandments out of matters that God has not commanded and in so doing sought to achieve a superior standing before God. One such example was celibacy. Luther argued that vowing something that God had not commanded is sinful: “The very foundation of the monastic vows is godlessness, blasphemy, sacrilege, which has befallen them because they spurn Christ, their leader and light, and presume to follow other things they think better.”¹² They thought they could improve on the teachings of Christ and live a superior spirituality by swearing oaths to live pious lives beyond anything Christ required of His people. Luther condemned this as sinful. Luther wrote, “If you obey the gospel, you ought to regard celibacy as a matter of free choice: if you do not hold it as a matter of free choice, you are not obeying the gospel. . . . A vow of chastity, therefore, is diametrically opposed to the gospel.”¹³ So in Luther’s day, he taught that Christians were in error and sin if they bound themselves by oath to a practice not required by Christ. Though they may think themselves more pious than ordinary Christians because of their special vows, Luther called them gross sinners.

In spite of Luther’s thundering condemnation of those who practiced the pietism of Rome (not called pietism at that time), in less than 200 years it was a Lutheran, Phillip Jacob Spener, who is credited as the creator of the movement that gained the name “pietism.”¹⁴ However, Spener himself apparently was not a pietist in the sense of claiming a higher order Christianity. The list of Spener’s proposals for the church includes more intensive Bible study, the practice of the priesthood of believers, practicing deeds of unselfish love, and dealing with unbelievers and heretics with dialogue and loving persuasion rather than compulsion.¹⁵ Spener’s concern was corruption: “He was reacting against the polemical orthodoxy that was sterile amid the immorality and terrible social conditions following the Thirty Years’ War.”¹⁶Though it could be argued that the term pietism should be reserved only for movements that seek to reform a corrupt situation in the church, the fact is that it became attached to the mysticism of Jacob Boehme and his many spiritual descendants. Not only that, many movements to fix a perceived problems in the church have taken a mystical, elitist, trajectory which is what characterizes pietists.

So with due respect to people who consider themselves “pietist” along the lines of Spener, I believe that my definition describes the key ideas that have been promoted in church history. The problems Spener wanted to cure were caused by the existence of the state church which was not a Biblical idea. They did not need more piety; they needed to define the church in Biblical terms. Unregenerate people forced into a state church because of a war are by nature impious. The state church will always be corrupt because Christ’s church is not attached to a particular civil government.

Mysticism and Perfectionism
Boehme’s mysticism included an eclectic mix gleaned from cabbalism, alchemy, neoplatonism, and other really bad sources. Even Theosophists claim Boehme as one of their own.¹⁷ People of his ilk have arisen with some very strange versions of pietism. One was Jane Leade whose mystical, elitist writings are preserved on websites of her present day followers. This sample of Leade from An Enochian Walked with God shows how elitist pietism can be:

But now methinks, I hear some say at the Reading of This, Oh! You have mentioned a high and lofty State, which is as a new thing that hath not been declared; as that in this present Life there should be found any to ascend to the New-Jerusalem, to feast and worship GOD There; This, you will say belongs to the Enochian Life; but That Age of the World is not yet come, so as to know a Translated State. We grant it, that it is not common, only peculiar to some, that in Enoch’s Spirit are raised to walk with GOD, and so are taken up in the Spirit wholly. But we may hope This day of the Spirit is coming on, whereby it shall be known more universally; in the which Angelical Spirits shall ascend, and That Divine Principle shall open, that now hath been so long shut up: Then you will know a New-state of Living, that you never knew before; for it will turn the Love of all mortal Things out of the Hearts-door: This will in very deed be known.¹⁸

Leade’s pietism re-emerged in the twentieth century in the Latter Rain movement that also claimed that certain elite Christians would emerge. They claimed that the “manifest sons of God” that Paul mentions in Romans 8 are not all the saints at the resurrection (which is what Paul taught) but certain elite Christians who achieved that status now. The Latter Rain movement has now become the latter day apostles and prophets movement that is also pietistic to the core. They claim special status that ordinary Christians know nothing about. It is followers of that movement who typically post Leade’s writings on websites.

Not all versions of pietism are as radical and heretical as that of Boehme and his spiritual descendants. For example, Boehme’s ideas influenced William Law: “[A]lthough they [Boehme’s writings] strongly influenced The Spirit of Love(1752, 1754) and other later writings of William Law, causing a rift between Law and John Wesley, who described Boehme’s writings as ‘most sublime nonsense.’”¹⁹ But Wesley’s Methodism and perfectionism were themselves pietistic. Wesley is an example of a much less extreme pietism. But the idea that some humanly discovered and implemented method can lead to the achievement of a better Christian life than through the ordinary means of grace is nevertheless pietism.

Some of our Evangelical denominations have been pietist from their very inception. Charles Finney’s teaching in the mid 19^th century caused the problem. Finney’s teachings, as I have argued before, were heretical. He too taught Christian perfection. Wesley at least held to prevenient grace so as to avoid Pelagianism.²⁰ Finney was fully Pelagian in his approach to both salvation and sanctification.²¹ And his innovations permanently changed much of American Evangelicalism. After Finney other perfectionist movements arose. The Holiness movement, for example, came not long after Finney. Both the Holiness movement and the subsequent Pentecostal movement held to second blessing doctrines that by nature are pietist because they create an elite category of Christians who have had a special experience that ordinary Christians lack. The Keswick Holiness (also known as the “Higher life” movement) movement is an example of pietism and elitism as well. The Holiness movement in general is a pietistic movement that claims a special experience that creates higher order, (often supposedly perfected) Christians. They are in error. Ironically, the deeper life or higher order Christians do have something distinct about them—they have embraced error.

Today the largest new pietist movement is the Emergent Church. As I pointed out earlier, pietism often arises in response to the perception (sometimes warranted) that the church has become too worldly and it seems true once again today. Some now assume that since ordinary Christianity is compromised, they must discover an extraordinary way to become better Christians. One Emergent leader has even entitled one of his works, “A New Kind of Christian.”²² But this movement really isn’t all that new. It draws on teachings and practices found in other pietist movements in church history. In fact, a recent Emergent book includes essays by those experimenting with communal living, something I tried in my pietist days!²³

Furthermore, the Purpose Driven movement is also a pietistic movement. Rick Warren claims there are world class Christians that are in a better category than ordinary Christians. He had his followers take a long oath at a baseball field to pledge themselves to serving his new reformation. I already mentioned the apostles and prophets movement that is pietistic. So ironically, three huge movements in American evangelicalism (Purpose Driven, Emergent, and C. Peter Wagner’s latter day apostles) are all based on pietism. The three movements seem radically diverse, but each one claims to be a new reformation and each offers a higher status than that of ordinary Christians.

Is Orthodoxy Dead?
Church history tells us that the charge pietistic reformers level against the church is that the church practices “dead orthodoxy.” Some years ago I hosted a pastor’s meeting at which pastors could discuss theological ideas. Position papers were presented and then critiqued by the group. Some of the pastors came from the Charismatic movement (also pietistic). A common theme from the Charismatic pastors was their distain for doctrine. Because theirs was a reform movement, they were fighting “dead orthodoxy.”

I spoke after one of our meetings with a pastor who told me that when he was a Lutheran, reciting creeds and doctrines caused him to be spiritually dead. I responded, “So believing that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate, who lived a sinless life, who died for sins and was raised on the third day and bodily ascended into heaven killed you spiritually?” He said, “I didn’t really believe those things.” He had assumed that the cause of his unbelief was not sin, but a church that recited creeds. I believe that it is much better to preach those doctrines from the pulpit and call for people to repent and turn to Christ than to make recitation part of a liturgy. But nevertheless the creeds were not the problem, unbelief was.

Christian orthodoxy simply means holding to the true beliefs revealed in Scripture. These beliefs are often systematized as topical teachings such as the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine of justification, and so on. Genuine faith in the truth of the gospel is saving faith. No one having saving faith is “dead.” In Ephesians 2:1-8 Paul teaches that we were dead, but that God made us alive, and that He did so by grace through faith. It is also true that where genuine saving faith exists, it produces evidence in the lives of those who have it as Paul asserts in Ephesians 2:10. So when James says that faith without works is dead, he refers to something other than the type of faith that Paul says is a work of grace. It is the type of faith demons have (see James 2:17-19). In the gospel of John, John uses the term “believe” in two ways.²⁴ There are those, for example, who “believed” in John 8:30 but when confronted with their need to be set free began to debate Jesus and later accused him of sin (see John 8:31-47). Jesus told them they were definitely not from God. But in many other places in John those who believe are true believers who have eternal life.

My conclusion is that “dead orthodoxy” is orthodoxy that people might fight for because of parochial reasons (“this is ourtradition and no one is going to change it”) but in which they put only mental assent faith. I gave mental assent to creeds when I was 12 years old because it was my duty to join the church at that age; but I was a dead sinner. But it most assuredly was not the truth contained in the creeds that killed me; it was my unbelief. Those “believers” in John 8 proved themselves to be unbelievers by refusing to become Jesus’ disciples, learn the truth, and be set free.

Pietism misdiagnoses the problem and creates a false solution. It sees a compromised church that is apparently caught in dead orthodoxy. The real problem is not dead orthodoxy but spiritually dead sinners who give mental assent to orthodox truth but show no signs of regeneration. If indeed such a church existed (if truth really is there God has His remnant there as well), that church would be characterized by worldliness and sin. This is the case because dead sinners do not bear spiritual fruit. There was a church in Revelation that Jesus called “dead.” Pietism that holds to the true gospel but goes beyond it imagining that the dead sinners who are church members are Christians. When some of them become regenerate through the efforts of the pietists, they assume they have now entered a higher class of Christianity. They posit two types of Christian: “carnal” Christians and “spiritual” Christians. But in reality there are only Christians and dead sinners.

Furthermore, pietism sees the lack of good fruit in the “dead orthodox” churches to be a sign that teaching doctrine is of no value and that what really matters is practice and not doctrine. So they gravitate to works righteousness. This is precisely the mode of the Emergen Church. It has been the approach of pietists throughout history. But works that do not result from a prior work of grace (which is the result of God’s work through the gospel to convert dead sinners) are in fact “dead works” no matter how pious they look. Mother Theresa did good works but denied the exclusive claims of the gospel. That “piety” is of no eternal value if those who were the recipients of the good works never hear or believe the gospel and thus end up in hell.

God’s revealed truth is never dead, but sometimes it falls on dead ears. In John 6 multitudes who were interested in following Jesus for bread left Him when He spoke the truth to them. The few who did not have dead ears were asked if they would leave too. Peter answered for the group: “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:68, 69). Genuine faith like that is not the domain of higher order pietists who learned the secrets of the deeper life, it is characteristic of every one of Christ’s true flock who ever exists. Pietists think that adding some man made process to what Christ has provided for all Christians throughout the centuries can cure a problem that never existed: being “dead” because of believing the truth. Instead of a cure, they create an illness as they lead people away from the finished work of Christ.

Pietistic Misuse of 1Corinthians

The favorite proof text for pietists of all sorts has been this passage: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1Corinthians 3:1 KJV). I cite the KJV because that is where the term “carnal” as in “carnal Christian” came from. In my early pietist days, as I said, I was influenced by Watchman Nee. He made a strong point about a passage just before this verse: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man” (1Corinthians 2:14, 15). The word “natural” from the Greek is literally “soulish.” Nee used that as proof for his anatomical sanctification scheme. In that scheme, the spiritual man is one whose soul is inclined to the spirit (i.e. their spirit as joined to the Spirit) rather than to the external world through the body. My other early teacher, Kenneth Hagin, had a similar teaching but it was based on the idea of following one’s spirit rather than what he called “sense perception” (lying symptoms that you were sick when God said you were healed for example). The result of these teachings is a two tiered schema for the church: the carnal Christian and the spiritual Christian. In pietism there is always a process that leads to an experience that brings one into the more favorable category.

But was Paul teaching that some Christians are actually not spiritual but carnal or “soulish”? I used to think so until I read Gordon Fee’s excellent commentary on 1Corinthians. The “carnal Christian” teaching fails to take into consideration the larger context of Paul’s letter. The “natural man” who does receive the things of God on the ground that he thinks them “foolish” is not a carnal Christian, but a person who has rejected the gospel. This can be seen by Paul’s prior use of “foolish” in chapter 1: “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1Corinthians 1:23-25). The lost who are not “the called” are the ones who consider the message of the cross “foolish.”

Furthermore, 1Corinthians 2:14 teaches complete inability, not merely a lack that is only due to not having the right teaching. In the pietist scheme of things, the carnal Christians could remedy their problem if they would only adopt the teachings and practices promoted by the pietists. But the Greek of 1Corinthians 2:14 literally says that the natural man is “ou dunatai gno_nai” not able (i.e. without power) to know. He cannot know because he is unregenerate, he does not have the Holy Spirit. Believers have the Holy Spirit, unbelievers do not. The natural man is an unbeliever, not a carnal Christian. Paul makes this clear in Romans:

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Romans 8:5-9)

In Romans it is made explicitly clear that those who are “fleshly” and “without power” (the same word as used in 1Corinthians 2:14 – dunamis) to serve God, obey God, or please God are not Christian. They are not carnal Christians, they are lost in sin.²⁵

Gordon Fee points out that this section in 1Corinthians has been subjected to misuse for a very long time:

This paragraph has endured a most unfortunate history of application in the church. Paul’s own point has been almost totally lost in favor of an interpretation nearly 180 degrees the opposite of his intent. Almost every form of spiritual elitism, “deeper life” movement, and “second blessing” doctrine has appealed to this text. To receive the Spirit according to their special expression paves the way for people to know “deeper truths” about God. One special brand of this elitism surfaces among some who have pushed the possibilities of “faith” to the extreme, and regularly make a “special revelation” from the Spirit their final court of appeal. Other “lesser” brothers and sisters are simply living below their full privileges in Christ. Indeed, some advocates of this form of spirituality bid fair to repeat the Corinthian error in its totality.²⁶

The great irony is that those who find a hyper-spirituality doctrine in 1Corinthians are falling into the very error Paul wrote to correct, as Fee so eloquently pointed out. If you have been subjected to pietistic teachings of one form or another, I urge you to buy Gordon Fee’s commentary that I cite here and read it. It was very instrumental in helping me find my way back to the truth.

But you may be thinking, “Paul did call the Corinthians ‘carnal’ did he not? So how can you say there are no ‘carnal Christians’?” That is a very good question. The answer is found in Paul’s use of irony. Some of the most misinterpreted passages in the Bible are misunderstood when an ironic statement is taken to be literal. Another example is the passage in Revelation 3 where Christ is standing at the door knocking. This is an example of irony—Christ on the outside of His own church seeking to come in for table fellowship when the table fellowship of the church is supposed to be all about Christ! But not seeing the irony, people take this as an evangelistic passage and teach that the sinner has to open the door or Jesus will be stuck outside.

Similarly, when Paul says to the Corinthians that they are “carnal” (1Corinthians 3:1) he is issuing an ironic rebuke! They were the ones listening to the “super apostles” who suggested Paul was not spiritual like they were. The Corinthians prided themselves in their supposedly superior spirituality. Paul said that true spirituality was always centered on the cross, not the wisdom of men. The Spirit’s work in our lives is because of the cross. But the Corinthians were thinking and acting like unbelievers, i.e. the “carnal.” Again, Fee helps us:

First, picking up the theme of being “spiritual” from what has just preceded, Paul makes a frontal attack and pronounces the Corinthians as not spiritual at all. Indeed, they are just the opposite: they are “fleshly”—still thinking like mere human beings, those who do not have the Spirit. With this charge Paul exposed himself to centuries of misunderstanding. But his concern is singular: not to suggest classes of Christians or grades if spirituality, but to get them to stop thinking like the people of this present age.²⁷

So Paul’s use of irony to rebuke the Corinthians is interpreted as literal in order to set up an elitist version of Christianity which is the very thing the Corinthians did that Paul was rebuking.

Pietistic teachings based on bad exegesis of 1Corinthians have abounded for centuries. Those I have mentioned in this article are merely a sampling. Another I heard was that the bride of Christ will consist of the elite Christians and that lesser Christians will merely be “handmaidens” who get to watch but are not part of the marriage supper of the Lamb. I am sure that my readers have heard versions of this that I have not. But if you understand one thing, the two categories are the regenerate and unregenerate—the first category are those who are spiritual, the second are those who are carnal—you will have understood Paul’s teaching in Romans and 1Corinthians. Being regenerate is an extraordinary thing which is miraculous work of grace that God gave to unworthy sinners.

Conclusion

Pietism cannot help but take people’s minds off of the gospel. When I was a pietist I thought salvation was an interesting first step a person took, but mostly lost interest in the topic unless I ran across someone who needed to pray the sinners prayer, which I imagined was the first step. The gospel of Christ was only of marginal interest to me as I sought the “deeper things.” The more I tried to be a very special type of Christian, the further my mind wandered from the cross. I was guilty of the very thing for which Paul rebuked the Corinthians.

I lament the wasted years sometimes; but my wife reminds me to think about God’s providence. She says, “If we had not gone through all that back then you would not be able to help people the way you do now.” This is true. My prayer is that my “wasted” 10 years will help some of my readers avoid falling into the same type of trap. If you have salvation, the forgiveness of sins, you have the greatest imaginable spiritual riches. It truly is an extraordinary thing to be a Christian.

LISTEN TO THE RADIO PROGRAM ON THIS TOPIC

Issue 101 – July / August 2007

A young boy is considering asking his girlfriend for her hand in marriage.  He asks his father if he can talk to him about it because he’s filled with questions.  The young boy has been raised in a family that talks about the Bible all the time, and he wants to make sure he is doing the right thing. 

So he says to his father, “Dad, let me see if I’ve got this right.  You are born again right? And the Bible says I am to love my wife as Christ loves the church.  So if I’ve got this right, it’s okay if I yell at my wife;  if she has an opinion different than mine, she’s not to express it;  if she does something wrong, I don’t have to forgive her until I’m good and ready;  if she’s getting on my nerves, I can refuse to speak to her, and if she continues to talk to me when I don’t want her to, I can threaten to call the police and charge her with harassment; I can falsely accuse her of things that she didn’t do;  I can take her to court and ask for her to be evicted from my house;  I can call her names and tell her she is filled with Satan if she doesn’t do what I ask her to do;  I can tell our children to ignore their mother and have nothing to do with her;  I can try to control her by filing for custody of our children so that she has no say so;  I can come to you and tell you all of her private information so that you can throw it in her face when you feel like it;  I can demand that she stay home and wait for me while I go out and do what I want for days on end;  if she leaves me, I can treat her like a piece of crap;  I can lock her out of our home;  I can refuse to give her any of her own belongings;  I am not responsible for providing for her or our children;  I can push her around, and let you threaten her with physical violence in front of our children;  I won’t file for a divorce because the Bible says God hates divorce, but I will never speak to her or our children again.  I can do all of these things and more and still be righteous and holy in the eyes of the Lord, right?”

The father sits there stunned and then replies, “No son, you can’t do those things and still claim to follow the Lord.  That is not how Christ loves the church.”

The son says “Well dad, then I’m really confused because that is exactly what you did to mom, and you are born again.”

Proverbs 16:5

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

I couldn’t care less – Ray Comfort – August 2010 (bolding mine)

As I looked at the sad picture of a well-known atheist who was dying of cancer, I couldn’t help but admire his humility. He didn’t mind his photo being taken when he didn’t look his best. But as I thought about it, it wasn’t this man’s image to ever look his best. He always did seem to have the physical appearance of “I couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks of me.”

It reminded me of a friend who would spend a long time in front of the mirror each day, making sure he looked a mess. His humble “I don’t care what people think about me” image, was rooted in an inflated ego.

I suspected that the same was the case with this high-profile atheist. He warned that if rumor got out that he had converted to Christianity on his deathbed, no one should believe it. His words revealed that he was a very proud man.

There is a very bad side to pride. The proud man would rather destroy his marriage through divorce, than humble himself and seek reconciliation. That is the sort of proud person that God resists. The Bible even says that everyone who is proud of heart is an “abomination” to him (see Proverbs 16:5).

This poor dying atheist had such an inflated ego that he considered himself to be a valuable trophy for theists. In truth, he was just another guilty sinner among billions. If he would rather keep his pride and go to Hell than humble himself to go to Heaven, that’s his terrible choice. Such is the way of the proud.

What kind of legacy are you building?  What kind of impact are you making in your life decisions?  Sadly, there are many professing Christians who do not even consider the impact of their own decisions.  They are so concerned with their own pride and selfishness that they cannot see the legacy they are leaving for future generations.

George Whitten wrote a wonderful devotional in 2008 that specifically shows the impact of lasting legacies of two families.  While you read through it, ask yourself what kind of legacy are you leaving?  If you find that there is even a HINT of possibility that your legacy may be similar to that of the first family, it may be that the Lord has led you to this post to shine the light on your sins, and He is calling you to repentance.  He may be giving you an opportunity to get it right this time.

God has given you an opportunity.  Are you going to leave a legacy that reflects the Lord or one that reflects self?

Build a Lasting Legacy!

August 19th, 2008 by George Whitten

Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

In his book, A Spiritual Clinic, J. Oswald Sanders wrote about the lasting family legacies of two families from New York.

“Two families from the state of New York were studied very carefully.  One was the Max Jukes family and the other was the Jonathan Edwards family.  The thing that they discovered in this study is remarkable: like begets like.

Max Jukes was an unbelieving man and he married a woman of like character who lacked principle.  And among the known descendants, over 1,200 were studied.  Three hundred and ten became professional vagrants; 440 physically wrecked their lives by debauched lifestyle; 130 were sent to the pen for an average of thirteen years each, 7 of them for murder.  There were over 100 who became alcoholics; 60 became habitual thieves; 190 public prostitutes.  Of the 20 who learned a trade, 10 of them learned the trade in a state prison.  It cost the state about $1,500,000 and they made no contribution whatever to society.

In about the same era the family of Jonathan Edwards came on the scene. He was a man of God, who married a woman of like character. The study yielded the following concerning Jonathan Edward’s descendants:  Three hundred became clergymen, missionaries, and theological professors; over 100 became college professors; over 100 became attorneys; 30 of them judges; 60 of them became physicians; over 60 became authors of good classics; 14 became presidents of universities.  There were numerous giants in American industry that emerged from this family.  Three became United States congressmen and one became the vice president of the United States.”

Never forget the impact your life decisions will make…in yourself, your marriage, and on your children.  In ways you will never know in this life, you are building a legacy that will last for generations!