Equip: The Promises of God
It was a reading assignment in my 8th grade year and I wasn’t interested in completing it. My lack of interest was not result of being a poor student, as my sufficient report card showed. Rather my disinterest stemmed from a theological objection.
My grandfather Howard had died the year before, after a long hard battle with lung cancer. I watched as this faithful man of God suffered in a way that no one should. Even in his last days in the hospital his faith never wavered, using the visitations of friends and family far and near as an opportunity to share the Gospel.
So here I was in my Christian School English class given a book titled, The Prayer of Jabez. If you are not familiar, the prayer of Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10. It states;
“Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.”
From this prayer, Author and Bible teacher Bruce Wilkerson penned the best-selling book I was assigned to read. As a Church attending, Christian School Educated, 14 year old from a broken home, whose father was a fallen minister, coming off the most difficult loss to grieve in his life, you could forgive me for being a little jaded in my reading of The Prayer of Jabez. Within the first 7 pages I knew the claims of the book were eisegetic and formulaic. I couldn’t believe what I was reading when the claim was made,”"I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers."(p. 7, emphasis added) He goes on, "This petition has radically changed what I expect from God and what I experience every day by his power" (p. 7) In all fairness to the author, The Prayer of Jabez, was not simply another health, wealth, and prosperity book. As you read you are encouraged to pray the prayer in order to gain ministry opportunities and see God do the miraculous. But when read with any honest measure, taking this prayer and making it a ritualistic genie to rub creates a false sense of who God is to us.
The reality is that life is full of highs and lows, victories and struggles, miseries and joys. If you approach God with a formula of unlocking his blessings by praying a magic prayer, you’re going to be left disappointed in Him, as well as, yourself. At a certain point praying the prayer of Jabez or anything like it becomes similar to a Scientist’s approach to faith and life with the Scientific method. Generally speaking, the scientific method is summed up in these 4 steps with its application in parentheses:
Ask a Question. (How can I be blessed by God?)
Do Background Research. (Ignore the majority of Biblical examples of God’s servants who suffered and narrow in on a couple who “prayed correctly”)
Construct a Hypothesis.( If I pray the “Jabez Prayer” I will be healed or successful in my endeavors)
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment. (Pray the Jabez Prayer over and over and wait for results)
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion. (Result A: I succeeded or was healed, so continue praying the prayer. Or Result B: You failed or continue to suffer so maybe add another variable, like never speaking negative things, to the formula and repeat the steps)
After watching my grandfather struggle through chemo, radiation, and the ensuing sickness, I saw a man whose faith in the promises of God was for something much more than healing that never came. If living the right way would have brought healing he had it covered. He was a man of integrity and service. But in spite of these qualities he carried no sense that God owed him anything. Nor was there anything missing in his approach to God. It’s impossible to know his private thoughts, and I’m sure he had his moments of immense anger toward God, but his witness to all the world was that the promises of God that sustained him were futuristic. When I use the word ‘futuristic’ I don’t mean a delayed gratification. No, the futuristic hope in God’s promises were such that he presently was changed by, in spite of circumstances.
The futuristic promises of God are such that sustain us in the here and now. As believers we partake in the already life giving power of the gospel, but the not yet glorification and joy of the presence of our eternal King. Just because there will be no more tears, does not mean we don’t currently mourn, but we do not mourn as others do, we mourn with the knowledge of the promises of God to have the final word. Hebrews 10:34b-39 put it like this:
“and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37For,
“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
In the time since my grandfather’s passing I have seen God do some amazing things. My nephew was miraculously healed of a blood clot from a botched surgery to remove cancer. I have seen friend with broken limbs made whole again. God has continually blessed me with provisions beyond what I could ask. I am not advocating to believe only in the future hope of the resurrection, but to trust the sovereign will of God in all our circumstances.
Hebrews goes on to say it perfectly:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
Equip: The tension of Pentecostal Theology and Sola Scriptura
Within the last century there has been an increase amongst professing Christians of experiencing the “sign gifts” attributed to the Holy Spirit. In conjunction with these experiences many questions have arisen concerning the nature of revelation. For many, the personal edification that takes place by speaking in tongues is a cherished gift. For others, the edification of a group of believers that takes place in the interpretation of the tongue is an unmistakable sign of God’s present care for his body. Yet for some who cite Sola Scriptura, a belief or practice in either of these gifts is a rejection of the sufficiency and relevance of Scripture. It can be difficult for sincere Christians as they feel torn between a practice of specific gifts and fidelity to the Word of God.
What if there is another way? What if our understanding of the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit doesn’t betray our understanding of Sola Scriptura? What if the Spirit working in an individual’s body works similarly in the corporate body of Christ?
First, we must define Sola Scriptura. We look to the historical definition cited in 1646, drawn up by Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the standard of doctrine for many in the Reformed traditions. It states, “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”
If we disregard context of this writing it would be easy to see the application to Pentecostal practice today. This application is made by leading voices in evangelicalism today. After all, is prophecy and the interpretation of tongues a work contributed to the Spirit? And is God not revealing information to his people through these means?
If the focus of Sola Scriptura is simply the last line “nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men”, it is easy to understand why the sign gifts would be rejected in our modern context. But if we take into account the time at which it was developed and the statement as a whole, we will see that it has nothing to do with what Pentecostals consider a working of the Spirit.
If the Solas are the fruit of the Reformation era, and Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses were the seed, then the abuses of Papal authority proved to be fertile ground for their development. While not yet completely opposed to the doctrine of indulgences at the time he developed his theses, Luther was beginning to see the direct contradiction to the gospel that theologies attributed to papal authority presented. As Justin Holcomb notes,
“Luther’s Ninety-five Theses hit a nerve in the depths of the authority structure of the medieval church. Luther was calling the pope and those in power to repent—on no authority but the convictions he’d gained from Scripture—and urged the leaders of the indulgences movement to direct their gaze to Christ, the only one able to pay the penalty due for sin.”
It is my opinion that the Reformation was a response to 3 issues within the Roman Catholic Church at that time. Those issues were: An abuse of power, A necessitating denial of Scriptural authority to maintain that power, and the false gospel they produced.
If we are to apply Sola Scriptura against the use of tongues and interpretation we must ask three questions. They are:
- Do we believe that those practicing tongues and interpretation in a corporate setting are establishing themselves as the supreme authority above scripture and the church?
- Do we believe that those practicing tongues and interpretation in a corporate setting are equating the edification with new revelation that it should be considered on par with cannon? If your answer is yes, do you believe that 1st century believers did the same? If so, where are the manuscripts of their services to be added to canon?
- Do we believe that those practicing tongues and interpretation in a corporate setting are establishing a false doctrine and diminishing Christ?
It is my belief that Pentecostals would answer a resounding “No” to the questions posed. I am sure there are examples of abuses in Pentecostal gatherings that can be pointed to that would allow us to answer yes to these questions. However, within most pentecostal denominations this is not the case. In my opinion as the Spirit instructs, convicts and comforts individuals in their daily circumstances, he also does so for his corporate body. Individually and corporately the Spirit edifies His people. Whatever is interpreted is measured against scripture for its validation. Scripture is always the ultimate authority that all our experience is subjected to.
Pentecostal experience and 16th century Papal authority are not connected. To apply Sola Scriptura against those practicing the gifts in a corporate setting is a category error. We should take joy in the whole counsel of God. We should also take joy in the edification the Spirit brings to his people. Just as two friends do not need to be reconciled; Sola Scriptura and corporate edification by the Spirit do not need reconciliation, but celebration.