The Key to Discernment (2)

Continuing our thoughts on how to Biblically discern Truth from error (Eph. 4:14), I want to mention one of the most dramatic examples in our day of how one book has managed to captivate Christianity in spite of the fact that its teaching is simply not Biblical. I know this might upset some readers, but I beg you not to react to but rather discern what you are about to read. Think Biblically.

The gullibility and undiscerning nature of Christianity today is no more apparent than in the virtual cult that has arisen around the hugely popular book The Prayer of Jabez. One author’s indictment of this book is right on the mark when he calls it “the most mesmerizing deception to be launched on American Christianity in the modern era” (Steve Hopkins, The Cult of Jabez [Bethal Press, 2002]). Why? Because the basic, underlying error of the book is, as another author writes, “that the repetition of a prayer, any prayer, even a Biblical prayer, unlocks the power of God in our lives” (Gary E. Gilley, “I Just Wanted More Land” —Jabez [Xulon Press, 2001] ). The whole thrust of the book is that by repeating this obscure Old Testament prayer (a clear violation of the prohibition of “vain repletion” in Matt. 6:8), the Christian can unlock blessing and miracles. But Scripture nowhere says any such a thing. All it boils down to be is old “prosperity teaching” in a new wrapper, and to be blunt, it’s heresy plain and simple. Over and over again (ad infinitum, ad nauseam) the author promises prosperity and miracles with such statements as the following.

(1) “God wants [us] to be ‘selfish’ in [our] prayers. To ask for more and more—and more again—from our Lord . . . [is] exactly the kind of request our Father longs to hear” (p. 19). But when we discern using Scripture alone, we find that Scripture nowhere says any of that. Not one place does God’s Word say that He wants us to be selfish in our prayers—NOT ONE.

(2) “A guaranteed by-product” of saying the Jabez prayer will be that “your life will become marked by miracles” (pp. 24-25). But again, that is not promised either in the so-called “Jabez Prayer” (I Chronicles 4:9-10) or anywhere else in Scripture.

(3) “Seeking God’s blessing is our ultimate act of worship” (p. 49). But once again, not one verse of Scripture says that; it is totally the author’s conjecture.

And on we could go. Like so many contemporary writers, that author came to the Bible with his own preconceived philosophy and tried to support it with Scripture. While the book is filled with warm anecdotes, personal experience, and boundless conjecture, totally absent are solid theology, Scripture exposition, and Divine Truth.

If I may say again, my desire is not to offend anyone, rather to defend the Word of God. And the only way to defend Scripture is by discerning Truth from error. If we honestly examine the situation today, we discover that Truth says, “Go ahead and examine me; I can take it,” while Tolerance says, “Leave me alone; I’ll believe what I want to believe.” The truly mature Christian is one who discerns Truth—plain and simple. He or she will be willing to examine everything according to the Word of God.

Now, is that my opinion? Most certainly not. In out next installment, in fact, we’ll see that discernment is everywhere mandated in Scripture.