A blog by pastor John Piper and my response to Todd Bentley's separation from his wife

I copied and pasted pastor Piper's blog from his website. Even though I tried to be unbiased in my research with Todd Bentley's Lakeland Revival, I could not come to believe that this was a genuine revival of God.
Throughout Church history, revivals were accompanied by brokenness, conviction, call to prayer, and to sound doctrine through the Bible. Yet, Bentley's revivals did not produce much of this. To give his ministry some credit, I am sure that it bore some fruit since many worshippers of God attended ministry. I randomnly met a few people with the AG Master's Commission who had attended the revival (? Did I spell that right Hilton?) while getting my visa, and I was genuinely encouraged by them. However, parts of truth can help a person mature in their faith too.
Whenever I read articles such as this, I feel more inspired to balance both heat and light as Jonathan Edwards wrote. Yet, it is exactly that in which we find an imbalance in especially in American Christianity. My opinion is that somewhere along the line, postmodernism and relativism have seeped into the Church and has robbed her of her intellectual will and desire. Fideism, as it is called, has made us rely on blind faith and not on seeing faith. As Dr. Geisler points out, faith does not indicate stepping into a dark elevator shaft, but putting ourselves into a functioning elevator with the knowledge that it will hold us.
Wasn't the evangelism in Acts apologetics in nature? Did not the Bereans search the Old Testament to validate the claims of Paul? Paul himself was a biblical scholar, a Pharisee in regard to the law (Phil 3:5).
I hate to say this since I too am a Pentecostal/Charismatic, but too many Pentecostals have sought after signs and wonders and not enough of sound doctrine. Their heat has outweighed their light. Yet Acts is full of examples of a balanced ministry; signs and wonders were balanced by an apologetical ministry grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus and not in the feel-good evangelism of our day.
The gospel is not about what God can do for us and how we can live a victorious life here on earth (Joel Osteen) or being whisked away from the pains of this world and somehow, impossibly, always being so perky and happy because the joy of the Lord is with us (said with tongue in cheek). Yes, we're to be joyful and the Holy Spirit gives us joy. However, this world is not our home and will feel distress and other negative emotions just as our Lord Himself felt. If not, how can we not but inadverdently condemn our brothers and sisters like Issac Watts, the hymnist, who battled life-long depression as a Christian?
No, the gospel is about freedom from sin, salvation from God's horrendous and unspeakable wrath, and the restoration of rightful relationship between a subject and a King. This is the supreme relationship above that of the (ever popular in our day) friend model, which takes out of context friendships of 1st century Jewish culture, and on equal or higher status than the Father-son/daughter model.
What was to be a quick introduction has led to this essay because I feel passionate about the intellectual health of the Church. So in light of what I wrote, I feel compelled to continue and somehow, hopefully and God willing, draw a good conclusion.
Many, even genuine Christ followers, have been and are being led away by false doctrine. Why? Because they do not understand sound doctrine. This is a reason why I commented on the definition of the gospel (though too exhaustive to cover it in a short essay) and the apologetical ministry of Acts. Due to false doctrine, even the foundational doctrine, the death and resurrection of Christ and the redemption of man from God's wrath, have taken a backseat in our churches and evangelism and have been replaced by the feel-good, God will give you a special purpose in your life, me-me-me approach. This is not to nullify God's individual will for our lives nor the hope and joy that comes from being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. No, the problem is that what is not foundational has become foundational and what is foundational has been relegated to the bench due to our lack of study in sound doctrine. This is why the Todd Bentley's, Joel Osteen's, and the Benny Hinn's are hugely popular. We have not emulated the Bereans. This is why many Christians are relativists and syncretistic in belief. Theology is no longer the queen of the sciences.
Todd Bentley may have genuinely followed God but have misled his ministry out of lack of doctrinal study. Pentecostal history has many godly ministers whose ministry was wrecked later in life due to this same problem which is a humble reminder for our own lives. But it could also be that Todd Bentley's ministry was not of God in the first place. We can ask God for clarity in heaven. But until than, we have been given the responsibilities of knowing the scriptures and testing the spirits. I, on one hand, have always felt uneasy with Todd Bentley through my knowledge of the Scripture and research. And whether he was genuine or not, he can no longer lead a ministry due to his impending divorce (Under Canadian law, separation is a preliminary step in divorce proceedings, lasting nine months - The Ledger, Aug 12, 2008) according to 1 Timothy 3.
Let us test revival and everything in life with doctrine.

Test Revival with Doctrine
August 14, 2008 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma, one of the main charismatic magazines, has written a lament and critique of the Lakeland “revival” which is now in a tailspin over the leaders announced separation from his wife. Grady’s summons to pray for the church and our nation is right, and among his commendable questions and observations are these:

* "Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up."
* "True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland."
* "A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.” Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up."

Charismatics will not be the only ones who follow the Antichrist when he rises. So will the mass of those who today in thousands of evangelical churches belittle the truth of biblical doctrine as God’s agent to set us free (John 8:32).

Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.

The common denominator of those who follow the Antichrist will not be “charismatic” it will be, as Paul says, “they refused to love the truth.”

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Our test for every Lakeland that comes along should first be doctrinal and expositional. Is this awakening carried along by a “love for the truth” and a passion to hear the whole counsel of God proclaimed?