The Twenty-Third Epistle
Trust Your Anointing
To Reveal the Truth
Of Signs and Wonders.
DATELINE: Sunday, April 8, 2001.
By Rev. James R. Bingham
Special to corndancer.com
Posted from Memphis, Tennessee
II Corinthians 11:12-15
11:12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Dear Readers,
I am humbled by your response to these Epistles through your telephone calls, E-mail, and while talking to some of you in person. You flatter me. Yes, you do. Even so, as humble as I may be, don't stop.
As it stands, Memphis will serve as host to a National Basketball Association franchise. It seems that all the players, on and off the court, are in place: the money, the fans, the team, the excitement, and, possibly, a brand new arena. This monumental achievement is economic and entertainment history for Memphis. I applaud the efforts of Mayor W.W. Herenton, my man! Federal Express, Southern Heritage Classic's Fred Jones, and others are truly deserving of....
Wait! Let's pause to answer a question. All of the players in this grand game of basketball, professional sports, and community development did the right things. So here is the question: Done to glorify whom?
Men and Programs Are Known
By the Value of Their Good Works.
Throughout our nation and, indeed, the world, great things are happening. Hungry children are being fed by worldwide organizations. Housing for the elderly is going up everywhere. Programs encourage and push youth to excel and reach their highest potential. Oprah Winfrey has this angel thing she does — and I like it. Every week her foundation gives thousands of dollars to deserving individuals and organizations. These are good works.
Our scripture says you will know a tree by the fruit it bears. The tree must be true to its nature. Science has made it possible for different fruit to come from a different kind of tree. They call them hybrids. Nevertheless, a good man is known by his good works.
What you see is what you get, conventional wisdom claims. If a man or an organization is doing great things to help the community, then truly the man or the organization must be good. In other words, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.
Wrong! If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it still might not be a duck.
Employ the Categorical Imperative
To Discern the Morality of a Thing.
In his reflection on Immanuel Kant's book, Critique On Pure Reason, Charles T. Clark writes:
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When building a system of ethics in the 1780s, German philosopher Immanuel Kant coined the phrase "categorical imperative" to describe a method of testing whether an action is moral or immoral. People should always act, Kant argued, as though every action were to become a universal moral law. Thus if an act cannot be unconditionally applied ("categorical") as a binding rule of behavior ("imperative"), the act is not moral.
Applied to lying, for example, the categorical imperative test shows that a person should never lie, because if lying were a universal law, all human relations based on trust and the keeping of promises would become impossible. Similarly, if stealing were to become a general rule of behavior, then people couldn't maintain moral relations based on the possession of private property. In Kant's view, however, it was not enough simply to do the right thing — to tell the truth, for instance. An action was moral only if one's motives for acting also passed the categorical-imperative test; one had to do the right thing for the right reason. Telling the truth for devious reasons — because doing so would lead to personal gain at the expense of others, for example — would be immoral. At the root of Kant's categorical imperative is the idea that morality is one's duty. In Kant's ethical system, a good action was only moral when the motive originated from a person's sense of duty. |
To Kant, people cannot do the right thing for the wrong reason. Kant champions a commitment to morality as the reason for action. To act otherwise prefaces the weakening and dismantling of moral relations. It may appear that one is doing what he purports to do; however he is creating and perpetuating his very own end.
How Do We Sort Out the Meaning
Of Great Wonders and Miracles?
Proverbs 16:25 says it this way, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death." In other words, it might walk like a duck, it might even quack like a duck — even so, it still might not be a duck.
I present this view because of the times in which we live.
Men of great wonders and miracles have burst on the scene.
Some of us are confused about what to believe and who to follow.
The easy way out is to accept the surface view and go on about our business. By doing so, we open a way for the deceitful men of the world. We allow the false prophet to go unchallenged. No doubt there are deceitful men in the world, yes, even false prophets. Their works on the surface are deserving of adoration. Their feats of healing appear as blessings to the maimed and physically challenged.
However, when the circumcision occurs, when the extended covering is cut away, when their motive is exposed, what do we find at the root? Greed, self-aggrandizement, and deceit. At this point, the works of men are become a stumbling block to morality and a hindrance to the perfecting of the saints. The miracle makers and evangelical superstars unwittingly ensure that the saints will not be ready to take their place with Christ when the day comes.
The Liar Works Hard
To Hide the True Nature of Certain Men.
Paul speaks to the believers in an epistle to the Corinthians. He says in II Corinthians 11:13-15,
11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Knowing that Satan can set himself up as a chief in God's sanctuary is frightening.
Yet, it can become even more frightening. The sanctuary is not necessarily the physical temple in which we worship. Your body is God's temple. Satan can set himself up in your heart. He can deceive you into thinking that immorality is morality. Unless, unless, you have made your election sure. Listen. Be sure, be very sure, or your sins will find you out.
Scientifically, we have a procedure called the Litmus test. What is our spiritual Litmus test? How do we know if a man — prophet, apostle, evangelist, pastor, or teacher — is a false witness? How do we determine if the duck is really a duck? Try placing the duck in the water. If it's truly a duck, it won't drown.
Do They Magnify or Deny?
Do They Glorify God or Self?
Water in this metaphor is composed of a series of questions. Are the efforts of religious superstars directed toward the glory of God? Do they magnify our Lord and Savior? Do they deny Jesus as the only begotten son of God? Are they liars?
John, the beloved apostle of Jesus, wrote in I John 2:22: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the son.
Just because someone says she believes in Jesus Christ doesn't mean she does believe. She might quack like a duck, loudly proclaiming her faith. In order to be sure, however, you must try the spirit by the spirit.
You have an anointing from Christ, the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When believers come together in the name of Jesus Christ, they are able to agree in the spirit. John 4:1 declares, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Trust Your Anointing
As You Trust God.
Trust your anointing, as you trust God. If your spirit does not agree with the purported signs and wonders manifested through a particular man, then the miracle worker "is not a duck!"
We act as if we are afraid to recognize the spirit of the antichrist.
Look at our country. We are founded on Christian principles, yet we shy away from declaring, as a nation, that Jesus is the only way. Why? Because Satan said that every man should be able to have his or her own religion, and we should not do anything to hinder another man from worshipping the way he or she wants to worship.
What is meant in II John verse 10, where it instructs that we should not bid God speed to those found to be of the spirit of the antichrist?
I tell you, there is a great reward for those of us who can join in this battle with surety of heart and purpose. I tell you, in this day and time, every Christian ought to stand up and testify, and say, "For God I live and for God I die!"
Jesus died that I might be set free. When the Lord sets a man free, he is free indeed, free indeed!
Free from slavery? That's another realm, another time.
Free from jail? That's an issue of the physical world.
By free, I mean free from the bondage of sin and degradation, from the downward spiral of self-destruction.
Our Lord's death gave us life that we might live outside the trappings of false teachings.
Rest in your heart, my sisters and brothers. Let your spirit agree with all that is right. As my home pastor, Reverend Gifton Jones is fond of saying, "It's just right to do right."
Give God Some Praise!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rev. Bingham
can be reached by E-mail at
jamesrbingham@juno.com.
His phone number in Memphis is
901.785.5691.