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Makestraightpaths.com examines the teachings of the religious
group variously known as “the Family,” “The Family International,” the “Children
of God,” or the “Family of Love,” and evaluates these teachings from a Christian
perspective. This page is one in a series on Family beliefs regarding salvation
and preaching the Gospel.
"Witnessing" is the
Family's generic, catch-all expression for evangelism, preaching the Gospel,
distributing Gospel literature, or simply telling people about Jesus. Family members
"go witnessing" in order to "win souls," which
occurs when someone is persuaded to "receive Jesus," or become a Christian. The Family has always been highly motivated
to go witnessing. The founder of the Family, Dad/Berg repeatedly stressed
the importance of every Family member to engage in evangelism, and
published countless letters urging his followers to do so,
explaining in detail where to go and what to say. He insisted on
collecting detailed
statistics, and so Family members record the number of people they
witness
to, the number of 'souls saved,' and so on. After Dad/Berg died, the
Family's governing constitution, the "Charter," was instituted, which
includes a minimum number of hours per week in which Family members are
required to go witnessing.
Family members often
look down on 'Church Christians' who witness less than they do, or whose
witnessing gets less results, or whose methods appear rigid, traditional or
ineffective.
As a matter of fact, it is probably true that many church Christians do not witness as
much as most Family members, and many do not know how or where to conduct effective
evangelism. Most Family members are quite proud of their emphasis on
witnessing, and believe that this is in itself an important justification for Family membership, despite
the controversial doctrines. That is, they believe that even though some
Family teachings are controversial, the Family exists to preach the Gospel,
which means that those controversial doctrines must be legitimate.
However, there are
several major problems with witnessing in the Family, which are not
resolved either by comparisons with Christian churches, or by the number
of hours spent witnessing, the number of people witnessed to, or the
number of 'souls saved.' There are several reasons why statistics and
comparisons do not justify doctrines.
First, the Bible never pits
Christian denominations against each other to see which church is the
most productive. The Family's common practice of comparing themselves
with churches blatantly rejects Paul's admonitions against disunity.
1 Cor 1:10-13
10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's
people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that
each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and
"I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul
was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name
of Paul?
NASU
Second, the Bible
never measures a church by its statistics. Churches are not
evaluated by their numbers, whether membership numbers or evangelistic
statistics. Evangelistic fervour or success have nothing to do whether
the truth is preached.
Third, it will be shown
on this web page that some of the methods the Family has used in
evangelism are so blatantly sinful as to negate any possible genuine
conversion.
Fourth, most Family
members preach a
non-threatening easy-believism in which salvation consists of little more than
the repetition of a brief prayer to 'ask Jesus into your heart.' People
'converted' this way are under no obligation to forsake sin, or to
surrender their lives to Christ the Lord. This kind of 'witnessing' does not
preach true salvation, and is at best statistically irrelevant, and at worst
it propagates the evil of a Christless religion. For more, see
Salvation.
Family "witnessing"
is not justified through idle comparisons with churches, or by hiding
behind statistics. Rather, it should be evaluated by comparing its practices with biblical instructions and examples. If "witnessing" is
not done biblically, then not only will it not assist unbelievers
to come to faith in Christ, but it can actually cause
serious spiritual harm. In other words, simply
going "witnessing" is not enough. Witnessing or evangelism
must have the
right content, the right motivation and the right method,
or it is wrong.
Jesus rebuked the
Pharisees who were zealous and effective witnessers, but whose content,
motivation and methods were wrong.
Matt 23:13,15
13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you
shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in
yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you
travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he
becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
NASU
It will be shown that there are such major problems with Family evangelism that it is likely
that Family members have caused a great deal of harm to
many of the people they have witnessed to.
The command to
witness
Jesus commanded His
followers to preach the Gospel, and sent the Holy Spirit to enable them
to accomplish this task. All Christians are commanded to evangelise.
Matt 28:19-20
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age."
NASU
Mark 16:15-16
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
all creation. 16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be
saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
NASU
Acts 1:8 but you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
even to the remotest part of the earth." NASU
Every Christian is under
divine obligation to testify to the saving power of Jesus Christ. In
fact, someone who never testifies about Jesus Christ may not even
be saved at all, not because witnessing saves the people who do it, but because no one
who has genuinely submitted to Christ the Lord is ashamed of Him.
Rom 10:9 that if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; NASU
Luke 9:26 "For
whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be
ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the
Father and of the holy angels. NASU
The main instruction in
Matthew 28:19-20 is to "make disciples."
“Go…baptize…teach”
are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.”
(NET fn to Matt 28:19)
Matt 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and
make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
NET
In other words, Jesus'
followers are commanded to "make disciples," to aim to get more people
to follow Him. In order to do this, they need to go, baptize,
and teach. Here already, it can be shown that the Family's
witnessing is less than it should be:
-
The command is to
"make disciples," and in order to accomplish this, Christians need
to "go." In effect, the Family reverses this command. Family members
are to "go," and if they "make disciples," that is an added bonus.
In other words the number of hours spent witnessing is itself the
main goal.
-
Jesus said that the
goal of evangelism was to "make disciples," that is, to teach people
how to obey and follow Him. The goal of evangelism in the Family is
to collect 'saved souls,' who are people who have been convinced to
repeat a prayer to receive Jesus. Praying to ask Jesus into one's
heart is vastly different from becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
-
The command is to
"baptize," but long ago, the Family dropped baptism as a necessary
element of witnessing, replacing it with a brief prayer for the new
convert to receive the Holy Spirit. In recent years, there has been
less and less emphasis, even on the Holy Spirit. Family members should take note
that Peter, immediately after having been filled with the Holy
Spirit, said that new converts were to be baptised.
Acts 2:38 Peter said
to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. NASU
At this time, Peter was
so controlled by the Holy Spirit that he had been speaking various
foreign languages that he had never learned. The Holy Spirit was
controlling Peter's mouth, and this is what the Holy Spirit said through
Peter: "Repent and be baptised." The Family preaches neither repentance
nor baptism.
-
Jesus said to
teach people "to observe all that I commanded you." Witnessers
are to
teach people to obey the things that Christ said in the Gospels.
There are several commands that Christ gave in the Gospels that
Family members actually actively teach people to disobey,
namely the commands to refrain from lust and adultery.
Matt 5:27-32
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT
ADULTERY'; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman
with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. 29 "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and
throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts
of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30
"If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from
you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,
than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 "It was said, 'WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A
CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE'; 32 but I say to you that everyone who
divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her
commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits
adultery.
NASU
The content
True witnessing means preaching the good news that Jesus Christ died for sinners and rose
again that they may be reconciled with God. True
witnessing means inviting people to repent from their sins, get baptised,
and learn the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Family witnessing
includes several different things:
-
Talking with people about Jesus. Inviting them to ask
Him into their hearts.
-
Explaining who the
Family is. Defending the Family against accusations. Teaching the Family's
doctrines. Encouraging people to
join the Family.
-
Fundraising.
Obviously, neither talking about the Family nor
fundraising can really be called preaching the Gospel. Time spent explaining and defending
one's church do not exalt Jesus Christ, but rather give support to a
human organisation.
"Jesus come into my
heart"
Family members believe that if a person prays to ask
Jesus into his heart, he is instantly and eternally saved. It does not
matter whether he understands much about the Bible, whether his life
changes in any way or whether he begins an active relationship with God.
The Family teaches that a sincere prayer to receive Jesus saves this
person.
Unfortunately, there are serious biblical problems with
this understanding of salvation, and an extensive analysis is published
on Make Straight Paths here. The
following points summarise the problems with the Family's version of
salvation:
-
Nowhere does the Bible
say that unbelievers should pray to receive
Jesus into their hearts. Family members firmly believe that Revelations 3:20
implies the necessity of such a prayer, but unfortunately no one in
the Family has ever really studied the passage in which this verse
is found. In fact, this passage is addressed to a sinning church,
not an unconverted unbeliever. Revelations 3:20 uses the analogy of
an invitation to a meal in a dwelling to encourage a sinning church
to submit to Jesus Christ the Lord. It does not use the analogy of a
loved one in one's heart to encourage unbelievers to accept Jesus as
a new friend and thus become accepted into heaven.
-
Biblical salvation
necessarily includes repentance from sin, not as a precondition for
salvation, but as a natural and essential reaction to it. As a
general rule, Family witnessers never preach repentance.
-
Jesus, His
disciples and the members of the Early Church all emphasised baptism as public and
personal obedience, and as a testimony to conversion. The Family
trivialises baptism, neglects it entirely, or spiritualises it with
a brief prayer to receive the Holy Spirit.
-
True salvation means
the new Christian has forsaken sin. There are various teachings and
actions that most if not all Family members participate in that the
Bible declares are sin. These teachings include Family beliefs about
sex and spirit helpers. In other words, Family salvation does not
include a requirement to forsake
sin.
-
True salvation means
establishing a personal relationship with God the Father. Family
members have almost no relationship with God the Father.
-
True salvation means
submission to Jesus Christ the sovereign Lord of all creation.
Instead, the Family promotes an intimate, often sexual relationship
with a "lover" named Jesus.
-
True salvation means
radical change in life, motivation and actions. By contrast, the Family preaches
an easy-believism, in which one may pray a one-minute prayer to
receive Jesus, and be "saved" from that point onwards, whether or
not one's life actually ever changed at all.
-
True salvation means
recognition and rejection of sin in light of the holiness of God. Family salvation revolves around
God's all-accepting love, ignoring His absolute righteousness.
-
Therefore, praying "Jesus come
into my heart" on its own does not constitute salvation. A
person may pray for Jesus to come into his heart, and remain
unsaved, unforgiven and unChristian.
Unfortunately, many people to
whom Family members witness remain unsaved, whether or not they
prayed to receive Jesus into their hearts. Sadly, many Family members may also
be unsaved.
Repentance
People who "went
witnessing" in the New Testament, including Jesus Himself, preached a
Gospel of repentance from sin. The Bible clearly shows that repentance from sin is the appropriate,
indispensable reaction to being accepted into the kingdom of God through
Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross. It is not a precondition to
salvation, but a necessary reaction to it.
Matt 3:1-2
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness
of Judea, saying, 2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
NASU
Mark 1:4 John the
Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins. NASU
Matt 4:17 From that
time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand." NASU
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel."
NASU
Luke 5:32 "I have not
come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." NASU
Matt 11:20 Then He
began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were
done, because they did not repent. NASU
Luke 13:3 "I tell
you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
NASU
Luke 15:10 "In the
same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who repents." NASU
Mark 6:12 They went
out and preached that men should repent. NASU
Luke 24:47 and that
repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. NASU
Acts 2:38 Peter said
to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. NASU
Acts 3:19 "Therefore
repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
NASU
Acts 11:18 When they
heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then,
God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to
life." NASU
Acts 17:30 "Therefore
having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to
men that all people everywhere should repent, NASU
Acts 20:21 solemnly
testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. NASU
Repentance may be
concisely defined as:
A fundamental and
thorough change in the hearts of men from sin and toward God.
Although faith alone is the condition for salvation (Eph 2:8-10;
Acts 16:31), repentance is bound up with faith and inseparable from
it, since without some measure of faith no one can truly repent, and
repentance never attains to its deepest character till the sinner
realizes through saving faith how great is the grace of God against
whom he has sinned. On the other hand, there can be no saving faith
without true repentance. Repentance contains as essential elements
(1) a genuine sorrow toward God on account of sin (2 Cor 7:9-10;
Matt 5:3-4; Ps 51:1); (2) an inward repugnance to sin necessarily
followed by the actual forsaking of it (Matt 3:8; Acts 26:20; Heb
6:1); and (3) humble self-surrender to the will and service of God
(see Acts 9:6, as well as Scriptures above referred to).
(The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, Repentance)
The Family, in general,
does not preach a Gospel of repentance.
Statistics
The Bible places
no emphasis on numbers as a measure of a church's sincerity or enthusiasm, or as a
vindication of the message. By contrast, Family members are often told
that witnessing statistics give an indication of their
‘spiritual temperature’. If they can boast of large
numbers of people witnessed to and large numbers of souls saved, then
they must be doing well. On the other hand, if they are not witnessing
much or not winning many souls then something must be wrong spiritually.
While it may be true that a person who rarely testifies
to the truth of Jesus Christ may not be a strong Christian, statistics
actually have no
relevance to the accuracy of the biblical message in witnessing. In
fact,
the number of hours spent witnessing or the number of
‘souls won’ can actually be a distraction from the vital questions that
exist over what and how the Family preaches. In other words, Family
statistics may give some indication as to the number of hours Family
members spend in contact with non-members, but reveal nothing about the
number of people who genuinely convert to Christianity. This is true for
two reasons: first, genuine salvation occurs between a saved sinner and
God. It is impossible for onlookers to tell whether or not this actually
occurs. Second, as noted above, many people who pray to ask Jesus into
their hearts in the Family way may not actually be saved.
C.H. Spurgeon once commented upon the gathering of
soul-winning statistics:
I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of
unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay aside such
numberings of the people, such idle pretence of certifying in half a
minute that which will need the testing of a lifetime.
(The Best of C.H.Spurgeon)
By their fruits
The founder of the Family, Dad/Berg, often quoted Matthew
7:20 to support his belief that the impressive witnessing
statistics of the Family vindicated the message (Family teachings) and the giver of the
message (himself).
Matt 7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will
know them. NKJV
Actually, this verse says nothing about a
church being justified by the number of converts it brings in. Instead,
it is the concluding statement of a short paragraph in which Jesus warns
His hearers to beware of teachers who lead them astray.
Matt 7:15-20
15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them
by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs
from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit,
but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad
fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20
"So then, you will know them by their fruits.
NASU
This paragraph is itself part of a longer section
in the Sermon on the Mount that contains four severe warnings about the
dangers and deceptions that face people who wish to enter the Kingdom of
God. The passage is examined in detail on this website
here, but following is a relevant
excerpt:
Jesus continues warning His audience
in verses 15-20, this time of a specific group of people who would try
to entice them to the broad gate that leads to destruction. These “false
prophets” are those whose personal lives do not testify to godliness,
regardless of the words they say. The “fruits” of the prophets are not,
as thought in the Family, the number of conversions effected by the
followers of the prophets. Nowhere does the Bible teach that the number
of converts is the measure of the truth of the message. In fact, a
moment previously, Jesus had explicitly warned that ‘many’ would go to
destruction. Therefore, He cannot have been saying that a true prophet
would be known by many converts. “Fruit” does not represent converts.
Rather, “fruit” represents the results of one’s life as demonstrated in
one’s own personal behaviour. In Galatians, Paul said that the “fruit”
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, and so on. The “fruit”
of false prophets is their sinful lives.
This passage is a warning that each
person should realise that his or her own salvation is a personal issue
between him or herself and God. It is extremely dangerous to accept the
teachings of a “prophet” whose personal life negates the words he or she
says.
(From The Two
Builders)
Witnessing statistics are
not 'fruit' that justifies the message, the method, or the
messenger.
The work of the Holy
Spirit
For most Family members,
witnessing means trying to find ways to talk about Jesus with people, and
inviting them to repeat a brief 'salvation prayer.' The primary goal of
witnessing is
getting people to pray this prayer, and so almost any means of achieving
that goal is seen as legitimate.
Many Family members,
however, appear to be unaware of the primary truth about conversion: It
is the Holy Spirit, not a human witnesser, who brings an unbeliever to God. In
fact, the Bible says that an unbeliever cannot come to God unless
God Himself "draws" him.
John 6:44 "No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise
him up on the last day. NASU
John 6:65 And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you,
that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the
Father." NASU
Of these verses, the NET
Bible says in a footnote:
Paul said that although
different people may witness to a person, spiritual growth can only come
from God.
1 Cor 3:7 So then
neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but
God who causes the growth. NASU
In fact, nobody will even
look for God unless God is already pulling him.
Rom 3:11 There is
none who understands, there is none who seeks for God NASU
Jesus described Himself
as the Good Shepherd who goes out of His way to find the sheep which God
the Father has given Him. The sheep are not looking for the shepherd!
John 10:4,11,29
4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice.
11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for
the sheep.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no
one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
NASU
God Himself takes primary
responsibility for evangelism, God draws people to Himself. Therefore, witnessing
is not making unbelievers come to God, but rather participating in the work that God is already doing in
their lives. Witnessing is allowing God to use you in the work that He already has in progress. Family members who put so much energy into
persuading people to pray the salvation prayer are somewhat misguided:
-
The salvation prayer
does not of itself save anyone. Salvation occurs when a sinner is
accepted by God because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It cannot be reduced to a formulaic prayer.
-
Family versions of
the salvation prayer often omit the heart of salvation, namely
Christ's atonement for sin, and the responsibility placed on the
sinner to repent, forsake his sin, and allow himself to be
regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
-
Conversion is the
work of the Holy Spirit. Family members often act as though it was
their own responsibility. However not only is it impossible to do God's
work for Him, it is also unwise to try, for we do not always know
His plan (Isa 55:8,9).
-
If God is not at this
time 'drawing' a person to Himself, then he will not 'get saved,'
whether or not he repeats the prayer. Salvation is entirely effected
by God; it is not a side effect of the salvation prayer. To put it
another way, the salvation prayer is not a magical incantation that
saves a person when it is uttered.
-
Pressuring people to
convert is wrong. It can only result in nominal Christians: people
who are Christian in name only, people who think that Christianity
consists of a certain lifestyle, but whose heart is unregenerated,
or people (like many Family members) who enthusiastically claim to
be following Jesus but whose lives betray an ignorance, both
of the Scriptures and of God Himself.
Witnessing as fundraising
It is a biblical principle that combining fundraising
with witnessing irrevocably pollutes the message. Yet the Family has
long made a practice of actively seeking 'donations' and selling various
products as part of regular witnessing. Family leadership has
repeatedly stressed the importance of raising enough money while witnessing,
although occasional messages have been published encouraging members not
to compromise the message for financial benefit.
Jesus warned that one
could not be ruled by both money and God. A person can have only one
master, so if his desire for money was ruling him, or if he allowed his
anxieties about money to guide his life, then he could not be living for
the Kingdom of God.
Matt
6:19-21,24-25,30-33
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 "But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
...
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth. 25 "For this reason I say to
you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or
what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
...
30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive
today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more
clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying,
'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear
for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things;
for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you.
NASU
Jesus did not send His
disciples fundraising. They brought no money with them, and they did not
beg or fundraise while they were out.
Matt 10:8-10
8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out
demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 "Do not acquire gold, or
silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a bag for your
journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker
is worthy of his support.
NASU
Matthew Henry commented
on this passage:
[They are directed here] in doing good
freely; Freely ye heave received, freely give. Those that had power to
heal all diseases, had an opportunity to enrich themselves; who would
not purchase such easy certain cures at any rate? Therefore they are
cautioned not to make a gain of the power they had to work miracles:
they must cure gratis, further to exemplify the nature and complexion of
the gospel kingdom, which is made up, not only of grace, but of free
grace. Gratia gratis data <Rom. 3:24>, freely by his grace, Buy
medicines without money, and without price, <Isa. 55:1>. And the reason
is, because freely you have received. Their power to heal the sick cost
them nothing, and, therefore, they must not make any secular advantage
to themselves of it. Simon Magus would not have offered money for the
gifts of the Holy Ghost, if he had not hoped to get money by them; <Acts
8:18>. Note, The consideration of Christ’s freeness in doing good to us,
should make us free in doing good to others.
(Matthew Henry’s Commentary)
Paul frequently warned
the Early Church against attempting to profit from the Gospel.
2 Cor 2:17 Unlike so
many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary,
in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from
God. NIV
The desire for money
corrupts the message that is preached.
Titus 1:11 They must
be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching
things they ought not to teach — and that for the sake of dishonest
gain. NIV
Greed brings deceit.
2 Peter 2:3 and in
their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment
from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. NASU
Paul never allowed a
desire to money to affect the way he preached.
1 Thess 2:5 For we
never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext
for greed — God is witness — NASU
In fact, he worked hard
to make sure that the people he was witnessing to would not feel
obligated to support him financially.
1 Thess 2:9 For you
recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day
so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the
gospel of God. NASU
Paul exhorted Timothy to
"flee" from the temptation to use the Gospel as a means for making
money.
1 Tim 6:5-11
5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of
the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But
godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by
contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we
cannot take anything out of it either. 8 If we have food and
covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to
get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and
harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For
the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by
longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs.
11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
NASU
Paul did not see anything
wrong with people supporting him financially while he was preaching to
them, but so aware was he of the corrupting effect of money on the
message that he refused to take advantage of anyone's financial
generosity.
1 Cor 9:11-15
11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap
material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do
we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we
endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the
gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who perform
sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend
regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also
the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living
from the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing
these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be
better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one.
NASU
The Old Testament story
of the healing of Naaman illustrates, among other things, that it is
absolutely wrong to combine the work of God with fundraising. Naaman
freely offered a gift in gratitude for his healing, but Elisha refused to
accept it, and his greedy servant was severely punished for yielding to
the desire for money.
2 Kings 5:15-16,20-27
15 When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came
and stood before him, he said, "Behold now, I know that there is no
God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from
your servant now." 16 But he said, "As the Lord lives, before whom I
stand, I will take nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he
refused.
...
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought,
"Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not
receiving from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will
run after him and take something from him." 21 So Gehazi pursued
Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the
chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?" 22 He said, "All is
well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, just now two young men
of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of
Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of
clothes.'" 23 Naaman said, "Be pleased to take two talents." And he
urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two
changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they
carried them before him. 24 When he came to the hill, he took them
from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men
away, and they departed. 25 But he went in and stood before his
master. And Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" And
he said, "Your servant went nowhere."
26 Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go with you, when the man
turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money
and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and
oxen and male and female servants? 27 "Therefore, the leprosy of
Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he
went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
NASU
When Peter was preaching
the Gospel, he refused to accept money.
Acts 8:18-22
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the
laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying,
"Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay
my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 But Peter said to him,
"May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could
obtain the gift of God with money! 21 "You have no part or portion
in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22
"Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord
that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
NASU
Family members sincerely believe that their financial
methods are superior to church Christians who continue working
at secular employment. The Family has a long-standing practice of
fund-raising at the same time as witnessing, by asking for donations
from the people to whom they are witnessing, and by selling a large
variety of products: posters, tapes, CDs, videos, DVDs, magazines,
subscriptions to 'Activated,' soliciting pledges, and so on. In the
past, Family women also used sex both to 'witness' and to raise money. However, all of these methods are biblically wrong due to the
inherent and inevitable corruption of the message that occurs when the
witnesser requests or accepts money. Paul and Jesus' apostles used a
variety of methods for support, including working at their trades, and
accepting the hospitality of the people to whom they were ministering.
They did not, however, sell the Gospel, nor did they ever request
financial help while they were preaching.
FFing
"FFing" is the
discontinued Family practice of using sex as a means of attracting
potential converts, maintaining an on-going personal connection with
these converts, and raising money from them. "FFing" originally stood for
"Flirty-Fishing," referring to the process in which women flirted sexually with men, and
often had
sex with them in order to "fish" them into the Kingdom of God.
The responsibility for
this notorious era in Family history lies wholly with the founder,
Dad/Berg, who wrote volume after volume explaining in explicit detail
how to go about it, how to make money, how to have sex, how to treat
sexually communicated diseases, as well as numerous letters explaining
why he thought the Bible justified this practice.
Numerous Family women
also took jobs in escort agencies, providing sex for money. This
practice (known by the euphemism "ESing"), was also condoned by
Dad/Berg, although he acknowledged that it was harder to justify it
biblically and later banned it entirely.
FFing was eventually
discontinued and then officially banned as a form of witnessing in the Family, largely due to
the fear of an AIDS epidemic attacking the Family. To this day, Family
leadership is unrepentant. FFing is seen as an unusual, controversial
form of witnessing, and those who participated are exalted as the most
sacrificial disciples of Jesus. The official Family belief is that FFing
may be justified biblically, and so there was nothing wrong with it at
the time, although it would be wrong to do it now.
It is the position of
Make Straight Paths that all FFing (and ESing) is and was sin. It was
sin for
Dad/Berg who initiated and taught this practice, for all other
leadership who encouraged it, and for the women (and men) who participated in it.
The simple biblical
reason why FFing is sin is that the Bible repeatedly and unambiguously
condemns all sex outside of marriage. There is no leeway given
for extra-marital sex occurring in order to "preach the Gospel," or to
raise money for missionaries, or for any other reason. It does not
matter whether the motives are scriptural; the actions are wrong. It
also makes no difference whether the extra-marital sex occurred with the
permission of the woman's husband, in obedience to spiritual leadership,
or in a sincere, genuinely heart-felt belief that that it was not sin.
All extra-marital sex is sin.
The biblical reasons for
saying that all extra-marital sex (including FFing) are detailed in the
following pages on Make Straight Paths:
Galatians 5. The Law is fulfilled in
love, but 'love' is defined biblically as abstaining from extra-marital
sex, which is a 'work of the flesh.'
Christian Freedom. The book of
Galatians shows that if Christians indulge in sexual liberties, it
actually proves that they do not have the Holy Spirit.
Jesus and adultery.
Jesus
talked about extra-marital sex, but he never condoned it, nor said that the commandment against adultery was no longer in
effect.
1 Thessalonians 4.
Paul
repeatedly stressed that sexual purity is God's will. Rejecting this teaching is not a matter of
disagreeing with Paul's personal opinion on the topic but it is
rejecting God himself. People who live in sexual promiscuity are acting as though they don't know God, and if they continue to do so in
defiance of Paul's teaching, they are proving that they do not
know God and have no interest in obeying him.
Bought with a price.
Paul said that knowing that Jesus Christ 'bought' believers at the
cost of His own blood. This means that they should obey Him, specifically
by remaining sexually pure.
Definitions.
This page consist of excerpts from various
Dictionaries and Bible Encyclopaedias on the topics of Adultery and
Fornication. They show that the Family's definitions of these terms
are completely unjustified.
Law of love 1.
Jesus instituted the 'Law of Love' but it cannot
be applied to sex outside of marriage.
Law of love 2. The New Testament Epistles also mention the 'Law of
Love,' but they too make it clear that it specifically prohibits
sexually promiscuity.
The early church. The Family often claims
that God intended the book of Acts to be the blueprint for the church,
but the Early Church specifically condemned extra-marital sexual
activity.
Lust. Sexual
lust is condemned in the New Testament, by Jesus himself, and by the
apostles after the Holy Spirit came.
Marriage. This
page briefly summarise the main passages in the New Testament that
mention marriage, in contrast to the Family's teachings, which
generally minimise marriage, legitimise divorce and remarriage and
condone and encourage extra-marital sex.
Romans 6. The Family
argues that because Christians are saved by grace without works, therefore,
obedience to the Mosaic Law is not necessary, and in fact they may break the Mosaic Law without fear of
committing sin. Therefore,
according to the Family, extra-marital sex is no sin. However, there
are serious flaws in this teaching that come to light when one studies
the sixth chapter of Romans.
Stumbling others.
The Family usually does not address the scriptural admonition to
refrain from causing harm to other people through overzealous
application of what one believes to be the will of God.
Married to each other.
One biblical doctrine that Berg/Dad said applied to
sexual matters was that of the unity of believers implied by their
representation as the bride of Christ. However this doctrine does
not and cannot permit sexual interaction between believers.
Judging on the Basis of Love.
‘Love’ is highly prominent in Family teaching.
Family teaching uses the biblical
emphasis on love to justify actions that God declares are not acceptable
in his sight, it confuses human concepts of interpersonal love with love
for and from God, and elevates 'love' to such importance that it is
allowed to take precedence over other biblical attributes. This web
page summarises several of the Family's teachings on love, and compares
them to what the Bible says.
The biblical evidence is
overwhelming. None of the scriptures Dad/Berg used to justify
FFing are valid. All are misapplied, misunderstood or simply
taken out of context in order to justify a sinful practice. FFing is and
was sin. Therefore, every one of the 'souls saved' while FFing
must be disregarded. Every person who 'prayed to receive Jesus'
while being FF'ed must be regarded as being unsaved. The reason is
simple: Salvation is by definition the process by which sinners are
saved and cleansed from their sin. This cannot happen while people are
willingly continuing in sin. People who 'converted' through FFing, but
who have never repented of their sexual sins cannot be seen as
true believers.
To illustrate, murder is
sin. Suppose a
murderer supposedly converted to Christ while he was in the act of
killing someone, and suppose he never repented from his evil deeds,
but actually continued murdering people. No one could believe that this
person was genuinely saved, that he truly loved Jesus Christ.
Extra-marital sex is also clearly defined as a sin in the Bible,
a sin that true believers must repent from, be cleansed from and forsake,
as an indispensible aspect of their salvation. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that a
person who was supposedly 'saved' while engaging in extra-marital sex,
and who continues to unrepentantly practice this sin cannot truly
be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, all
supposed 'salvations' that occurred during FFing must be disregarded;
the statistics that supposedly vindicate the practice are completely
invalid. FFing cannot be justified by the number of 'souls saved,' for
sin cannot save. Only Christ can save, and when He does, He saves
the sinner out of his sin.
Family women
FFing was and is sin. Any
Family woman (or man) who participated in this practice should confess
and repent from their sin, and allow the Holy Spirit to regenerate them.
This is true regardless of their sincerely-held beliefs that they were
obeying God, regardless of the pressure they were under to participate,
regardless of their desire to please God through misguided obedience to
leadership.
However, it is also true
that the Bible very
strongly condemns people who, in a position of leadership, teach others
to sin. In other words, although Family women sinned by FFing, the
leaders who taught them to sin and who pressured them into it are guilty
of a greater sin.
James 3:1 Let not
many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we
will incur a stricter judgment. NASU
During the FFing era,
Family women were under tremendous pressure to participate in this
practice. Anyone who refused would have been labelled 'disobedient,'
'half-hearted,' 'unyielded' or 'insincere.' Family husbands were
pressured into allowing their wives to have sex with potential converts,
and the emotional anguish caused was written off as one of the normal
'trials' that come when one gives all to God. Great harm was caused by
this practice: marriages were destroyed, children were conceived and
grew up never knowing their fathers, women suffered physically, emotionally,
mentally and spiritually. Women were unable
to express their reservations about the practice for fear of condemnation. It is likely
that thousands of Family women suffer to this day from the emotional,
psychological and spiritual side-effects of this sin.
The founder of the
Family, Dad/Berg is ultimately responsible for inflicting this great
evil upon people who merely wanted to please God. He is guilty of
tremendous sin, and the Bible promises "stricter judgement" (James 3:1)
for those who teach others to sin. Dad/Berg lost his last opportunity to
repent of his sin when he died in 1994.
The current Family leader
Maria/Zerby is also guilty of sin.
Make Straight Paths calls
on Maria/Zerby to do the following:
-
Acknowledge that
extra-marital sex is sin.
-
Acknowledge that
'FFing' is and was sin.
-
Confess her personal
sin of adultery.
-
Acknowledge
Dad/Berg's sin of instigating this practice.
-
Confess her own great
sin of encouraging and teaching others to sin.
-
Proclaim publically
that the practice of FFing was a sin before God, and that all who
participated in it directly or indirectly should repent before God.
-
Actively seek
personal forgiveness from every Family member who was taught
to go FFing.
-
Begin making
reparations.
All Family leadership
should follow suit. Any person in any way involved in FFing committed
sin and should repent, publically confess and turn from their sin.
Finally, Make Straight
Paths acknowledges that there are important differences between FFing
and prostitution.
-
The only motivation
for prostitution is money. The primary motivation for FFing was
usually witnessing.
-
FFers usually
participated because they sincerely believed they were doing so in
obedience to God. This cannot be said about prostitutes.
There are also, of
course, some similarities between FFing and prostitution.
-
FFing was also
supposed to bring in money.
-
ESing was done
primarily for money.
-
Many prostitutes feel
trapped in their profession, unable to find an alternative means of
support. Numerous
prostitutes are literally slaves of the sex industry. Likewise, many
Family women felt unable to refuse to participate. They were
pressured into FFing, without an honourable alternative.
To sum up, FFing was a
tremendous sin that caused untold harm. All who participated, especially
the leaders, should immediately confess their sin and repent.
Conclusion
Over the years, Family
members have been enthusiastic witnessers, zealously preaching the
Gospel. Unfortunately enthusiasm does not compensate for an unbiblical
message and zeal does not excuse sin.
The message of salvation
as preached by the Family is often inadequate, neglecting as it does the
necessity for sinners to allow God to cleanse them from their sin
through the gifts of repentance and regeneration. Instead, the Family
preaches a shallow easy-believism, in which Jesus is seen as a friend or
lover.
Family witnessing
statistics may indicate how many people were coerced into repeating a
prayer to ask Jesus into their hearts, but show nothing about how many
people truly became new creations in Christ Jesus, forsaking their sin
and allowing the Holy Spirit to regenerate them. This is because Family
members act as though they themselves are able to save people, simply
by pressuring them into repeating the 'salvation prayer.' Most Family
members do not
realise that it is God alone who can save, and God alone who can bring a
sinner to repentance. Witnessing is participating in the work of God,
not doing His work for Him.
Family witnessing has
been irrevocably corrupted by its association with unrepented sexual
sin, and by its ongoing link with fundraising. All statistics of 'souls
saved' through FFing or fundraising may be disregarded as entirely
invalid. People who
became believers through such means should search their hearts and allow
God to give them the gifts of faith, repentance and regeneration.
FFing was a tremendous
evil that was inflicted upon Family members. It is highly appropriate
for current Family leadership to publically confess their sin, repent
from their sinful actions and attitudes, reject Dad/Berg's sinful
teachings, beg for forgiveness from the people who were harmed, and
begin a public process of making reparations.
Family members sincerely
believe that witnessing and its spiritual results justifies their
membership in the Family. Family witnessing, however is woefully
inadequate. The 'salvation' that is preached differs from biblical
salvation, and the methods that are used often prevent genuine salvation
from occurring. Unrepented sin is so closely linked to the Family that
all Family members are affected, whether or not they were
associated with the Family during the FFing era.
All Family members have a
choice:
-
They can disregard
the concerns outlined on this page and choose to continue preaching
a 'friendship' salvation without genuine repentance, tainted with
fundraising and unrepented sexual sin.
-
They can instigate
total reform in the Family. All aspects of Family life and teachings
are to be discarded and replaced with biblical truths. All Family
members need to repent, forsake their sin and reject the Family's
unbiblical doctrines. Public confessions, repentance and reparations
are necessary.
-
Or they may allow the
Holy Spirit to lead them into a church where they may recover from
the Family, surrounded and supported by true believers.
Much Family witnessing is
lacking in content, done for the wrong reasons or linked to unrepented
sin. The Family was originally built on witnessing, but the Family has
corrupted witnessing to the point that the raison d'être is no longer
valid.
Family witnessing brings few, if any, people to the point
of genuine salvation. Therefore, the Family has lost its reason for
existence.
See also
Salvation
The Holy Spirit
Sin: a Definition
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