Method or Madness?

…Jesus I know, and Paul I know: but who are ye?
(Acts 19:15)

This passage is very clear. These exorcists had seen the casting out of demonic spirits by Paul, and how it was done. They presumed upon the method, using the name of Jesus, having faith in the power of His name, but not in Him. Does this sound familiar? It parallels what is being done today with regards to prayer formulas, over emphasis upon seed-faith, and a host of other method driven types of “faith”, all of which can easily lead to a presumptuous belief about God.

Perhaps this is why we see Jesus using all sorts of different “methods”, like spittle, when He healed, and why we see the shadow of Peter or the cloths of Paul used in miracles. The point that the Spirit is trying to make is that it isn’t the cloth or someone with “faith” whose shadow heals; it is God. So-called “points of contact” can be helpful, perhaps, but often this is abused in almost comical ways. The problem of taking the biblical text out of context, or in an overly literal way, or conversely by over spiritualizing it is a matter that can have disastrous consequences.

People think just because God says so that they can just say so, and the devil has to run, but that isn’t the case, as this passage teaches. It wasn’t just that they got the formula wrong by saying, “whom Paul preaches”; it wasn’t the formula that was wrong it was their faith that was wrong. Indeed, this points out a very serious danger with regards to spiritual warfare. The full armor of God mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 6 talks of the wiles of the devil, the war against our spirit, the attack on the mind. It is not addressing the possible physical attack from a demoniac.

You have to learn how to use the shield of faith. It isn’t some mantra you repeat in the morning or before you enter a tough situation and then expect that you are “covered” somehow just because you repeated a few positive affirmations. Just because you repeat some formula about wearing the full armor of God doesn’t make it so. The power of God is not a play toy, and isn’t a magic incantation that we can use regardless of our personal state.

In wanting to develop their spiritual life, people sometimes look for a special knowledge or formula. What they are attempting, whether they realize it or not, is to circumvent the will of the Lord, trying to progress in the things of God without having a real fellowship with God on the terms He wants. It is a compartmentalized faith; we go through the motions with no real heart emotions. We can perform the duty but not have our heart in it, or we can have out heart in it to the extent that we think we need to in order to get the job done, and then forget about it later. We want the power without the sacrifice; we want the benefit without the commitment.

While it is true that we have a certain authority in Jesus, recall the casting out events of Scripture; Jesus, Paul, the disciples, etc., encountered those who were possessed they didn’t go looking for every one of them. Certainly the Apostles didn’t try and break the demonic stronghold over cities. Likewise, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, proving Mark 16:18, but he did not go about handling them all the time as a sign.

Unfortunately we have seen some churches teach this bizarre ritual, a sure sign of the presumption of faith if there has ever been one. Just because something has been done doesn’t mean we are to go and do it, presuming that our “faith” makes it God’s will. Just because we have seen it in the Bible does not mean that it is a mandate for us. Biblical persons are not biblical precedent, and biblical narrative is not biblical normative, necessarily.

Another example of this presumption can be seen with how people turn Matthew 10:8 into a personal or corporate manifesto for a church or denomination. Taking this verse out of its context, teachers tell their followers that they are called to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils”. To those that do believe in the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit through miraculous signs and wonders, this seems like a ready prescription to base their own ministry upon. They are just following what Jesus told them to do, they might say.

Yes, this was indeed what Jesus empowered His disciples to do, and we are His disciples as well. The problem is that this verse does not stand by itself. Jesus also told them not to go to anywhere but to the Jews (vs.5-6). If we were to be faithful to the text that would mean that we could only heal Jews, or that we would never have been saved ourselves if we are Gentiles! No, Matthew 10 is about Jesus enabling the disciples for their mission of that time, not about a mandate for all times. We simply cannot use “verses in a vacuum” to support our own pet doctrines. We must use more than one verse or passage to form our doctrine upon.

Fortunately we do have a mandate to minister (Matthew 28:19-20), and we have promises to depend on (2 Peter 1:4). However, the promises are more about perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1) than they are about “naming it and claiming it”. Jesus may allow us to raise someone from the dead, but we must not presume that it is always God’s will to do so.

We cannot use the Bible like a magic book.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©