Dr. Brown is at it again. Deflecting proper discernment against him by pretending they are "hyper-critical."

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He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. -- Titus 1:9 (ESV)

https://stream.org/bearing-false-witness-against-your-neighbor-is-a-serious-sin/

Dr. Michael Brown is a gatekeeper for the NAR, a dominionist and an enabler of false teaching writ large. Within Charismaniacal circles he is revered for these roles because he provides cover for those who are blatantly false. He uses his bully pulpit to bully anyone who would have the temerity to stand up to him and point out his rank hypocrisy and support of false theology. So every now and again, he takes a break from telling us how Donald Trump is King Cyrus to write a piece meant to undermine discernment ministries who constantly expose him for the fraud he is. The above link is his latest. Let us reason together and debunk his wildly unbiblical arguments.

"There's a very disturbing trend in the Body today. I call it hyper-criticism. To be sure, there's nothing new about it. Jesus dealt with it in His day, and every generation has had to face it. As Jesus said to the hypocritical religious leaders, "You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:24). And, He could have added, "You do it all in the name of the Lord." Or, in the words of Charles Spurgeon, "I have found Christians, who have grown so very critical, that if the whole portion of the meat they are to have, in due season, is not cut up exactly into square pieces, and put upon some choice dish of porcelain, they cannot eat it. Then they ought to go without; and they will have to go without, until they are brought to their appetites." Hyper-criticism uses unequal weights and measures, excusing serious errors in its own circles while condemning minor (or, even imagined) errors in outside circles. And hyper-criticism fails to walk in godly love. It tears down in destructive ways rather than rebuking and correcting and building up in redemptive ways." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Hyper criticism is what he might call it but Christians call it discernment. The chutzpah to then compare himself to Jesus is beyond the pale. His first usage of scripture is poor at best. This is where Jesus points out that the Pharisees were so intent to adhere to the law but missed the purpose for it -- the spirit of it. He makes vague aspersions to some alleged excusing of serious error but offers no examples to discuss. I will go out on a limb to say he offers none because he has no such examples. While talking out both sides of his mouth he then suggests that the offenses offered against him are minor or imagined. So I guess it was just my imagination when he spent a week on the Benny Hinn show and still refers to the infamous huckster as a "good brother in the Lord." I suppose giving cover to the notion of a "sneaky squid spirit" from Jennifer LeClaire is just minor to him. I assure you it is not minor to the Lord. Lastly here, Brown confuses the notion of brotherly correction with rebuking false teachers. If any teacher merely preaches a mistake, or course you correct them. We are not talking about small matters of individual error. One of the times I spoke with Brown on his radio show he vigorously defended Bill Johnson and called him a good brother in the Lord as well. Bill Johnson is one of the most serious heretics on the planet. These are not small matters. There is also no redemption to be had for false teachers. Read Peter and you will see that their destruction is from long ago and is not idle.

"As expressed by Vance Havner, One may be as straight as a gun barrel theologically and as empty as a gun barrel spiritually. " So often it turns out that fundamental and orthodox Christians become so severe in condemning false doctrine, gnashing their teeth at every sniff of heresy, that they end up without love. One may do a right thing in a wrong way. The same Paul who wrote, "though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel " let him be accursed," also wrote the love chapter to the Corinthians. Unless we can get that combination we shall be theological Hawshawks and doctrinal detectives, religious bloodhounds looking for heretics but with hot heads and cold hearts. We do well to heed his warning." -- Dr. Michael Brown

With no apologies to Vance Hayner, but that quote is ridiculous. Spirituality without sound theology is what Brown supports. That is entirely the point! Let us also deal with the false talking point about love. It is not love to allow people to fall under the sway of wolves. I have plenty of love in my life and ministry. I receive emails from people set free from darkness and they fill me with love. Wolves on the other hand deserve no love whatsoever. They only deserve our contempt and the working end of the shepherd's rod. It is amazing that Brown thinks referring to the Paul scriptures on false teachers being accursed helps his cause! The verses on love have absolutely nothing to do with false teaching! That is from the discussion of spiritual gifts! I am sorry but it is ridiculous to say that leading people away from hell results in a cold heart.

"But hyper-criticism does something even worse. It presents a misleading picture of other brothers and sisters in the Lord, even spreading falsehoods about them. This violates some of the most fundamental commandments in Scripture, including the Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). The Weightiness of These Words: Note also the last two items in this list of 7 things the Lord detests: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict among brothers" (Proverbs 6:16--19, my emphasis)." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Yeah, no. the first time I spoke on Brown's radio show I pointed out correctly that Joseph Prince is the posterchild for the false theology of Hyper-Grace, of which Dr. Brown wrote a book! Yet he insisted that Prince just has some holes in his theology and guess what? He is just a good brother in the Lord. No he is not. He is a voracious wolf devouring the sheep and countless numbers fall through the holes in his theology and wind up in hell. So let us correct the record again with Brown's misuse of scripture. It is not false witness to correctly state what someone has preached. As for stirring up dissension, Brown leaves out this verse:

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)

It is false teachers, not those who expose them that cause dissension in the body of Christ. Brown knows this but he is so compromised these days he now leverages scripture instead if citing what God actually meant by it.

"Help us champion truth, freedom, limited government and human dignity. Yes, stirring up dissension and strife among brothers and sisters is on a par with pride, lying, murder, a wicked heart and feet that run to evil. Do you feel the weight of these words? And when you realize how important unity is in God's sight -- I mean a true unity between true believers based on divine truth -- you realize how grievous hyper-criticism is in His eyes. In stark contrast, constructive criticism is life-giving and transformative. Its words are right and its spirit is right. It is Christlike in character as well as in content. Constructive criticism helps, even if it hurts. It may sting in the short term but it will soothe in the long term. It is based on truth, and it leads to life. Constructive criticism is redemptive. It reaches out. It reasons and dialogues. It is prayerful and considerate. And above all, it is redemptive. To speak the truth in love. To shut our ears to destructive criticism. And to welcome constructive criticism for the good of our souls." -- Dr. Michael Brown

Limited government? What the heck does that have to do with anything we have been discussing? Oh that's right, nothing. That is the NAR dominionist in Brown showing itself. I am glad that Brown recognizes that stirring up dissension is on par with pride, lying, murder etc, but he fails to see he is speaking about himself. I do not support Bill Johnson, Benny Hinn, Jennifer LeClaire, and Joseph Prince, all of which are causing dissension in the body through their egregious false teachings. All of which are supported and defended by Dr. Michael Brown. Unity is very important to God but only unity in doctrine:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, - Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV)

Unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Not everyone who can spell Jesus correctly is a Christian. Brown claims unity must be based on divine truth but remember who Brown supports and defends. Now Brown pretends that he would be accepting of constructive criticism but the reality says otherwise. The first time I went on his radio show I wanted to warn him of the perils of sharing his credibility with Benny Hinn. He pretended to not know about the controversies surround Hinn's "ministry" and then proceeded to go on his show for four days. Chris Rosebrough once tried to have a rational conversation with Brown regarding Jennifer LeClaire and the sneaky squid spirit. Brown would have none of it and defended that nonsense to the full. These outreach attempts were based on truth but truth is very subjective to Dr. Brown. So we reached out and he said no. We reasoned and he said no. We dialogued and he said no. So when we thought there was hope for Dr. Brown, we did everything he is crying about and he said no. What he no longer can see is the discernment showed about him that he dismisses as hyper-criticism is not for him. It is for his listeners so that they can know the truth. It is not hyper-criticism that is Dr. Brown's problem however. It is hypocrisy.

"Destructive criticism is anything but redemptive. It has no problem defaming. It freely exaggerates. It is quick to attack, even on a personal level. It believes in guilt by association, however distant that association might be. It is quick to make judgments, relying on the flimsiest of evidence, while refusing to judge itself. How this hurts the heart of God. How this divides and confuses His sheep. How this disrupts the unity that Jesus sought to bring -- a unity that, I repeat, is based on truth. I recently devoted an entire Line of Fire broadcast to the destructive power of hyper-criticism, focusing on the sin of bearing false witness. You can watch it here. But my purpose was not to lash out, as you'll see at once. Rather, it was to call each of us to step higher. To speak the truth in love. To shut our ears to destructive criticism. And to welcome constructive criticism for the good of our souls. Are you with me?" -- Dr. Michael Brown

The truth is not defaming. It does not need to exaggerate. It is interesting to note that Brown specifically complains about people calling him out for his associations. He is wrong however. Who you choose to share the stage with matters. Who you give your credibility to matters. It is not just that Brown enjoys LeClaire waxing prophetic about releasing the armies of abundant angels -- he defends the teaching. It is not just that he enjoys the speech-craft of Joseph Prince but that he defends him as preaching correctly while he leads countless people to hell. Do not fall for this garbage beloved. what hurts the heart of God is false doctrine, not those who correctly point it out. The projection from Brown is very disturbing. Discernment does not cause confusion or dissension in the body of Christ -- false teaching does and their gatekeepers such as Dr. Michael Brown. There is no false witness in pointing out the truth.

So no Dr. Brown we are not with you. In fact, we see right through you. Do you know why? Because we tried to reason with you and you called us unreasonable. We tried to speak the truth in love and were greeted with your utter contempt. The last time I was on your radio show you mugged me for daring to point out that Bill Johnson is a heretic. Dr. Brown, the heretical bonafides of Bill Johnson are easy enough for a third grader to spot. The fact that you defend him reveals how compromised you are. You can shut your ears all you like. We do not expose you for the hopes that you will change. We expose you to warn the body to avoid you like the doctrinal plague you have become.

Reverend Anthony Wade - February 15, 2020

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.