I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. - Romans 16:17-18 (ESV)
For a man who swears that he doesn't have time for his critics, Dr. Michael Brown sure seems pretty obsessed with them. It seems every day he has another ridiculous post or tweet. I'd leave it alone if it were not so dangerous. Late last week he tweeted a list of ways his critics "do so much damage." As usual it is filled with inconsistencies and grievance. Let us reason once more together beloved.
"These are some of the ways that anti-charismatic hyper-critics do so much damage. (I could easily multiple this list)." - Dr. Michael Brown
Let me start by saying there are people out there who believe in cessationism as a response to the abuses seem today regarding the gifts. I am not one of them. I believe in the gifts, just not as they are being abused today. The bible dismisses cessationism out of hand. The issue for me is not charismatics but rather, Charismaniacs, which Dr. Brown represents. A charismatic believes God can use someone to impart healing for example. A Charismaniac believes God always must heal us. A charismatic believes that someone can be prophetic by exhortation through the final revealed will of God found in scripture. A Charismaniac believes in clairvoyance and the modern-day prophets can be "wrong." There is a marked difference. There is a difference between believing in the power of the Holy Spirit and believing there are sneaky squid spirits. What Brown tries to do here is what he always does. He tries to belittle anyone who disagrees with him. Instead of trying to make a biblical point, they must be "hyper-critics." It is clumsy and transparent, however. Onto the list!
"1. They deny the glorious work of the spirit worldwide, often mocking what is sacred in the Lord's sight." - Dr. Michael Brown
I have said this before but if Dr. Brown were on Mount Carmel, he would rebuke Elijah for making fun of the false prophets of Baal's god as being in the bathroom. This is one of the foundational misapprehensions that Brown operates under. False teachers and prophets are ravenous wolves devouring the sheep of the Lord. To Dr. Brown, everyone is a brother if they can spell the name of Jesus correctly. There is nothing sacred about wolves. Dr. Brown once believed IHOP was sacred. He once raved that Ravi Zacharias was sacred. Turns out he was dead wrong. Lastly on this, pointing out error, is not "mocking."
"2. They fail to recognize the massive amount of God-glorifying, Jesus-exalting work done by Pentecostals and Charismatics worldwide." - Dr. Michael Brown
