Before getting saved, I pertained to the Charismatic denomination, specifically the Pentecostal Church. During my time in that religion, I wasn't even saved. And I never learned the Bible. All they told me was "speak in tongues." But I didn't even know that Biblically, tongues were a WRITTEN, SPOKEN language like Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, English, etc. So following their teachings, I would just "babble" into the air without even knowing that I was doing something that was unscriptural. I was so deceived.
That's why I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad that my father loved me enough to tell me the truth about the doctrine of that church and I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad I got out of it. For in that denomination I saw a whole lot of false doctrine, and man made teachings, rather than following the scriptures. I further saw most of the members of that organization were led by FEELINGS rather than FACT. In other words, they chose to follow their EMOTIONS, rather than sound Biblical EVIDENCE.
So let me dogmatically state that I'm glad I LEFT the Charismatic fold, and I have no desire whatsoever to go back into it. They not only step on sound doctrine, but they also have chosen to follow man-made teachings over the word of God. And they allow themselves to be SWAYED by what men say and do, rather than by simply following the word of God as it's written.
But as I look around in the Independent Baptist movement, I'm appalled to see so many who claim to be "INDEPENDENT" Baptists who are nothing more than modern day Charismatics. Or at least they are headed that way! It bothers me. Probably because I came out of that mess and I'm seeing them headed towards the very thing I came out of. Yet when I speak up about it, I'm told I'm just a "dissenter" and a "busybody" who's talking about things he doesn't know about. Sadly, the exact opposite is true. I know more about it then they do, as I've come out of that background.
The first thing that bothers me about the Charismatic church was how much they preached so often on "money." It seemed like every sermon was on " financial blessings." And they stressed how you should GIVE to God so that he could in turn give back to you. They even had their own man-made methods of giving with their "Prosperity Gospel" that they set up years ago. It was giving not of what you have, but by FAITH giving what you don't have, trusting God to make up the difference. (Sound familiar?) And you were expected to give above what you could and trust God to bless you so you could give it.
Now, have you noticed this very same thing in the average IFB Church nowdays? It seems like all they preach about is "FAITH PROMISE." Most of them call it "Faith Promise Mission Giving." But did you know that that system or method of giving was invented by PENTECOSTALS and CHARISMATICS in the early 1900's? Yep, that same very system was all I heard from my Pentecostal preacher. That's why when I got into the IFB movement, I couldn't believe they would preach the same thing. But they do.
To read a great article about the modern FAITH PROMISE GIVING method used by modern Independent Fundamental Baptists, please read my article below:
But that's not all. It's interesting to me that the IFB crowd likes to say things like, "All the other denominations in the world are apostate, but we are the only ones who haven't gone into apostasy. We are the only ones who aren't apostate!" Yet, when you look at some of their doctrines, they are WAY far away from where they used to be. Especially when it comes to the doctrine of Salvation.
In the Charismatic Church I remember hearing the false gospel time and again. Over and over they told me that salvation was by a "prayer" or by simply "asking Jesus into my heart." But that wasn't in the Bible. Silly me, I didn't know that, so I did that every night. In fact, I prayed every night before bed: "Now Lord, please come into my heart and save me." But it never worked. He never did. Why? Cause I hadn't heard the Gospel. It wasn't until I was 18 years old that my father took me through the scriptures and for the first time in my life I actually realized what Jesus did for me and I heard and understood the Gospel. And that's when I got saved. It was by "FAITH IN THE BLOOD" of Jesus Christ.
Yet today, I look at the IFB denomination, who once preached very hard on faith in the blood atonement of Jesus, and now most of them are saying the EXACT SAME THING as those Pentecostals I congregated with in times of old. It's common now to hear IFB Pastors, Missionaries, Evangelists, and laymen say to a sinner, "You want to get saved? Well, then just ASK JESUS INTO YOUR HEART!"
But this isn't the Gospel! It has nothing to do with it! It's not even biblical. In fact, it could open one up to demonic possession! So why are they saying this, rather than what the IFB for years used to preach, which is, Trust the blood atonement alone by faith! ?" Someone has changed their message, and it wasn't the pentecostals. They are preaching what they always have, a beggar's gospel of "inviting" Christ into your heart and life, but anyone can do this. But WHERE'S THE BLOOD? And where's the faith in it alone for salvation? It's not there.
For more about this and the modern new-age BLOODLESS gospel so prevelant today, read my book below:
The next thing that bothered me in the Charismatic church was their constant use of man-made religious "PROGRAMS" to appeal to the masses and get them into their Church. It wasn't about "teaching the Bible," rather it was about sports, food, singles mixing, methods, etc. They taught more from what men said about the Bible than they did from the Bible. They used "programs" in which people would play games and have fun, rather than simply go verse by verse from the scriptures. They further would run big bus ministries to get kids in, cohercing them with candy and promises of movies, games, etc. It was about "having fun," and not about what church should be, "hearing from God through PREACHING of the scriptures."
Sadly, the modern IFB church has turned into the same thing. They have big pushes and gimmicks to get people into church, but they never stop to think that THAT is the only reason people come. They aren't there because they love God and want to hear from him. They are only there because they expect something for nothing. They are looking for a hand out.
Finally, Independent Baptists used to be just that, "INDEPENENT!" They prided themselves on being seperated and apart from others. That was their thing. And they enjoyed being different and not tied to any other denomination, organization, crowd, group, etc. Nor did they belong to a "convention" or "fellowship." Each church was it's own sovereign entity, under God.
Buy my how times have changed. Now, Independent Baptists are very much men-pleasers and crowd bunchers. They love to get together and fellowship, and they love to brag upon their numbers and their groups and their fellowships and their camps.
Further, they love to join forces with others, so they can brag about how many they are. And, like the Pharisees of old, as well as the Charismatics, they use their numbers to say things like, "Look at how many we are! God must really be in this, cause look at all the people we have on our side!"
Yet such thinking is a little fouled up. For if we were supposed to live our lives by looking at the "MAJORITY" and then follow them, then we'd all have to be either Catholic or Muslim, as those are the two biggest religious groups in the world. But we know we should join either. So why do they use that argument?
When it comes to the Spanish Bible Issue, I find that many IFBer's are now going with spanish version put out by CHICK TRACTS. This is odd, as I remember sitting around with other Independent Baptists and talking about how liberal and how charismatic chick publications is now. We used to hate the back of their tracts, as they had the "ask Jesus into your heart" gospel. But now, these very same guys are all in favor of Chick, and openly embrace it! But do they know that the majority of those at Chick's publishing are CHARISMATICS???
So, how could the modern Independent Baptist movement be so quick to hook up with a group they all claim to be against which they believe has false doctrine? It's not just these main things in which they are crossing the line and going the way of the Pentecostals and Charismatics. There are a lot of other things too. But isn't this enough for someone to stand up and say, "WAIT A MINUTE!!! You claim to be Bible Believers, so why are you gallavanting around with and preaching doctrines from people who are Charismatics, or to be fair, who have TIES with the Charismatics?" It's enough to make one sick!
For me, I'm almost to the point of leaving the IFB crowd all together. Why? They are heading the wrong way. They are marching toward the very group I came out of, and I can't go that direction with them. For, what I came out of did not give me the Gospel. Does that mean the IFB crowd is not giving the Gospel now either?
To be fair, not all IFBer's are bad. There are still a lot of good men out there who are standing for the truth against apostasy and have not compromised. But they sure are hard to find. And, I sure wish they would stand up and tell their peers the what for, because they don't seem to be saying anything. Why is that?
For me, I think I know the reason. Because to speak up against the IFB crowd is nowadays a punishable offense in the militant IFB ranks. And, it doesn't make you any friends. Rather, it opens you up to constant attack and ridicule from them. And that's what these guys do. They attack and attack and attack! (At least the Charismatic crowd had CHARITY!)
Not only do modern day militant IFBer's dedicate themselves to attacking, oftentimes being in the flesh, but they pride themselves upon their PUTTING DOWN others who don't agree with them. It's like they think that's what God put them here on earth to do, RIDICULE, rather than exhort and encourage. So they spend their time in the flesh cussing out others and gossipping and lying about them, rather than simply trying to understand where they are coming from, what they believe, and why.
This is quite interesting, because I saw this too in the Charismatic movement. I remember one occasion in particular in which people accused me of something I didn't do, and I was chewed up and spit out by others in that denomination. It wasn't until after they finished that I got a chance to speak. And that's when I told them they really should have asked me first if I was guilty of what someone had told them, because I was completely innocent. But they chose to believe GOSSIP rather than the truth.
Sadly, I'm seeing the EXACT SAME THING all too often today in the IFB movement. There is much jealousy and therefore much character assassination. And rather than call someone up and ask them if what's been said about them is true, far too many seem to want to believe a lie; to believe in gossip rather than get to the bottom of the issue and find the facts. I've always wondered why that is. Maybe it makes them feel good about themselves. I don't know. All I do know is that I'm seeing the EXACT SAME THINGS in the IFB movement that I saw in the Charismatic Church, and boy does it scare me. All I can say is, "Even so, Come Lord Jesus!" Because if he doesn't come soon, I don't feel I can go along with direction the IFB crowd is headed. They are constant BOASTERS bragging about themselves, their actions, their motions, their denomination. This is what bothered me about the Pentecostals, and it really bothers me about the IFB crowd too.
Where are those who simply stand on the truth, stand by the book, and no matter the cost will stand for what's right? Why go along with a GROUP when that group is slowly headed the wrong direction? I don't think I'll ever understand that.
All I know is the Bible is an interesting book, and has a really neat theme. It's filled with story after story of mankind growing into a large mass, and then that mass becomes apostate and corrupt. Then God choses one man to go against that group and preach to them. It's was always ONE MAN and GOD, and with God that man could do anything! God used him against the majority, because the majority was WRONG!
Why is it now that the mentality of the IFB movement is the exact opposite? For they think God can't do anything without them, and that only their group is the only one that God uses today. They have a group mentality, and unless you are part of their group, doing what they do, speaking like they speak, and practicing what they practice, you aren't one of them. I believe there's a word for such people: a MOB!
God helps us, and God please give us individual Christians who will raise up and practice DISCERNMENT and actually question if what they are doing is right. If it is, DO IT. If not, FOLLOW THE SCRIPTURES rather than following MAN.
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