Central Africa Baptist College & Seminary

Training the Next Generation of African Leaders

Run Sheep, Run!

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Police Arrest Pastor Newspaper

 

Just up the road from the campus of Central Africa Baptist College is Ipusukilo Compound.  The headlines across Zambia yesterday was about the arrest of the pastor of Holy Fire Ministry in Ipusukilo for allegedly having sex with numerous underage girls as a means of exorcising their demons.

We personally hope that if the allegations prove true that this man will be locked away in prison for a very long time for his crimes!

The sad reality is that this latest news story is an all too common reality in our country, and across Africa for that matter.

Clearly these so-called pastors or bishops or whatever title they are claiming are false prophets!  By their fruits you know them (Mt. 7:16)! As a College & Seminary that exists to prepare the next generation of servant-leaders in Africa for great commission living, we are not only concerned about exposing wolves pretending to be shepherds, but we are also concerned about the sheep that are being led to slaughter!

The overwhelming majority of questions being asked on our live call-in radio programs on our college station (Faith Radio 106.9FM) concern false teaching and false teachers.

Our burden is to issue this warning: Run Sheep, Run!

Run to the Word!  Scripture is our sole authority for doctrine (what we believe) and practice (how we live)!  A loving God has not left us without a “Word”!  He has communicated all that is necessary for us to know today… it is found in the Word of God!  If anyone, a pastor, a self-proclaimed prophet or even an angel from heaven says anything that is not in the written word of God – Run Sheep, Run!

The NLT translates Galatians 1:8-9 in this way:

8. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

Run to biblically qualified Shepherds!  God has clearly laid down His absolute standard for those who He calls to lead the flock!  Read these qualifications and evaluate the “man of God” you are following!  If he does not match up to what God has set as the standard – Run Sheep, Run!!

1 Timothy 3:1-7: 1. This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Something similar was happening in Jeremiah’s day.  See if these words from Jeremiah 5:30-31 do not apply to our day as well:

30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?

Run Away From The Wolves.  One indication that we are living in the last days is an overwhelming increase in the number of false teachers, and the pervasiveness of their false doctrine!  This is an urgent plea – Run Sheep, Run!!!

Matthew 7:15-16  15. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16. You will know them by their fruits.

 

Mark 13:22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

 

1 Peter 1:20-2:3   20. knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21. for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

 

FALSE TEACHERS ARE BREEDING SPIRITUAL HAVOC

Zambian pastor Conrad Mbewe has issued a timely warning and an observation that cannot be ignored.  In his article entitled: Charismatic Teaching Is Breeding Spiritual Havoc he writes:

“The Zambian government is concerned about the many cases of pastors defiling girls, impregnating female church members, swindling church funds, causing the death of congregants by advising them against medical treatment, etc. At their level, they are seeking to address this matter because it is conspicuously getting out of hand. We wait to see what wisdom God will give to “the powers that be”!

Two issues concern me here. Firstly, why is it that almost all of these heretics are being nursed in Charismatic circles until they are weaned and ushered upon the world’s stage as full-blown heretics?

For instance, there is the view that God still speaks to us independent of the Bible. Drink this milk for a number of years and you will soon be attributing to God the inner voices coming from your fallen self. Then there is the view of “the man of God” who is a cut above everyone else in the church. Again suck this for a few years and, before you know it, you want to be a bishop, an apostle, and God-knows what other ecclesiastical titles are being forged in this factory of madness. You also close yourself off from peer accountability structures. You are a chief!

What about the emphasis on miracles, signs, and wonders? Again, does it not make sense that once this becomes a regular diet, all that people will want is health and wealth at the fingers of ecclesiastical witch doctors? Even the blood of Jesus is no longer about appeasing the wrath of a sin-hating God but instead it is about sprinkling on cars (for safe travel), hospital beds (for healing), and wallets (for more money). This is such an obvious continuum that I am amazed that we are not seeing this. Charismatic teaching is breeding these spiritual mavericks!”

Headline in the Zambia Daily Mail 28 July 2014
Headline in the Zambia Daily Mail 28 July 2014

We are calling the sheep to forsake false teachers and to forsake any local church that harbors and feeds these enemies of Christ!  Run Sheep, Run!

You may say why should I run?  Because false teachers are dangerous!  They are dangerous to your daughters!  They are dangerous to your personal financial stability!  They are dangerous to your marriage! They are dangerous to your spiritual health!  They will lead you to destruction every time!

Our prayer is that the innocent sheep will run back with confidence to the Word of God!  Learn it, love it, live it!  Reject the false and embrace the truth!

The Bible & The Modern Charismatic Movement (3)

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This article was written by Caleb Nakina, 4th year student at CABC…

The Tendency to Undermine Preaching

Charismatics tend to undermine preaching in favor of substituting props. Miraculous performances seem to be the most central pillar of Charismatic doctrine. I would contend that it is impossible to rightly define Charismaticism without any reference to their unhealthy degree of interest in the supernatural [Read more…]

Take the Tongues Test

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Though Paul told the Corinthians that the gift of tongues would cease at some point in the future, he also acknowledged that they were an active spiritual gift in the Corinthian church.  He therefore set forth guidelines and limitations to govern the use of tongues in the church. (I Corinthians 14:26-40)

As you read his list of guidelines and limitations, ask yourself if the modern tongues being used in the church in Africa conform to these biblical rules.

  1. Tongues were to be used for edification of the church. (26)
  2. No more than three people in the assembly were to speak in tongues during a service, and then each in turn (27).
  3. There were to be no tongues spoken unless they were interpreted (28) (Note: A simple test for the gift of interpretation would be to record the tongue, have three with the gift of interpretation each listen and give the interpretation, then compare to see if they say the same thing.)
  4. Any confusion or disorder in the assembly was an indication of something that did not originate from God (33).
  5. In the church women were to keep silent and were not to speak in tongues or prophesy (34).
  6. To recognize these regulations as the commandments of the Lord was imperative (37).
  7. Though not forbidding tongues in the Apostolic assembly, the predominant command was “desire earnestly to prophesy” (39).
  8. Everything in the church is to be conducted “decently and in order” (40). Decently means properly, gracefully. Order means in turn, one at a time.

These eight guidelines for the exercise of the gift of tongues in the local church were given by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church. Paul knew that if these guidelines were followed, tongues would eventually cease.

In fact tongues did cease. If the biblical gift of tongues were still operative today the guidelines for the exercise of the gift would still be in effect.

The honest fact is that most contemporary Charismatics violate every one of these Apostolic guidelines. Even if tongues were for today, we must make the observation based on God’s Word that what we see around us is NOT the biblical gift of tongues mentioned in the New Testament, and therefore NOT of the Holy Spirit.

The Purpose of the Gift of Tongues

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God’s purpose for the gift of tongues was three-fold.

Sign of authority.

Being one of the miraculous sign gifts, it confirmed the authority of the Apostles. The Apostles were used to give new revelation to the newly formed church. Since the New Testament had not yet been written, signs and wonders accompanied their teaching to authenticate them and their message (Acts 2:42-43).

Sign of blessing.

The sign gift of tongues showed to the Jews that other groups were included in the “church”. Both the Samaritans (Acts 8:5,15,16) and the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48) spoke with tongues when they received the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues in that day was such a rare event that when Peter was called upon to defend his ministry to the gentiles in Acts 11:1-18; he said, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them as on us at the beginning.” Peter had to refer them back to Pentecost to explain the manner in which they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in other languages.

Sign of judgment.

This was the primary purpose of the sign gift of tongues. It was given to warn the nation of Israel of coming judgment (I Co. 14:21-22 with Is. 28:11-12). In Isaiah 28:11- 12 the foreign language of the Assyrians was to serve as a judgmental sign to the Israelites, a proof that God was chastening (see Deut. 28:49, Jer. 5:15). To be addressed in another language was a symbol of judgment in the Hebrew mind. It meant that they hadn’t listened when God spoke to them in Hebrew, so now He was going to speak to them in languages they did not understand. In Acts 2:36 Peter announced that Israel was under judgment for their rejection of the Messiah and the sign gifts of the Spirit were authenticating factors, confirming that he was right. In AD 70, Rome destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jewish people.

When the purpose of the gift was fulfilled the gift gradually ceased.  The gift of tongues as practiced in the New Testament is no longer normative.