The Charismatic movement is an inter-denominational Christian movement that emphasizes the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some in this movement whose over-emphasis upon these gifts have created unbiblical practices. Many bizarre things are attributed to the Holy Spirit that actually dishonor Him and are demonic in nature. There are highly inconsistent and troublesome aspects of the charismatic movement in both theology and practice.

Not every Christian is operating out of the same spirit. There are imposters in the church with Jezebel spirit deploying Charismatic witchery to build their business and taking millions to hell. The charismatic movement is the main culprit in the war against the church in recent times.

Both Christians and non-Christians alike are confused by the theology and the experiences of the charismatic movement. They spread their deception and heresy like wildfire, promoting almost any idea they choose freely misrepresenting God’s truth, on television, on the radio, or in their books. Only a few dare to challenge their destructive theology.

Not everyone in the charismatic movement is a heretic, there are people who understand and believe the essential doctrines of historical Christianity, genuinely know Christ and love Him. True believers in Christ are told not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out (1 John 4:1), and then hold fast to that which is good (1 Thes. 5:21). All believers are duty-bound not only to defend the truth but also to contend for it (Jude 1:3). Do not be afraid to put charismatic claims to the test.

The Mystical Experience

People crave mystical experience, and the Charismatic seduces them by providing it. This is not a new practice. Seduction toward evil and away from God has been prevalent throughout the history of the church since the fall. The Bible records many instances where spiritual leaders exploited people to build their kingdoms. The Lord called out the abuse of prophets and priests, saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious” (Jer. 8:11).

The charismatic movement operates with a variety of mystical phenomena in its bag of deception. People go to heaven, go to hell and come back; People are slain in the spirit and do all kinds of bizarre things; People receive private messages directly from Jesus. And, all kinds of healing and miracles are claimed – from mobile data plans and empty gas tanks topped up, to puppies and people being raised from the dead. They claim and believe they have reached a higher level of comprehension which is nothing but Gnosticism.

The charismatic movement believes in an open canon, and there is no limit to theology. Everyone comes up with new revelations from heaven. They resist theology, they resist doctrinal truths in the scripture. For them, the truth is based on the external experience, bogus claims of miracles, signs, and wonders. They build their teaching based on private experience and not on the Scripture. Their truth comes from the experience, and they try to get the Bible to fit their experience. Authentic experience happens in response to the biblical truth and not the other way. Anything that cannot be verified with the revealed truth of the Word of God is not authentic, and not of God. Too many of their experiences are detached from the truth and lead to false conclusions.

They use scripture as proof-text and twist it to fit some novel opinion. The Charismatic friend whom I had an encounter with a few months ago, told me that we do not need to study the Bible, and theologians are just wasting their time studying and defending scripture rather than evangelizing. There is no other movement or doctrine that exists today that is more hostile to the Reformation doctrine of biblical sufficiency than the charismatic movement. According to Charismatics, you just read the Bible and the Holy Spirit will tell you what it means.

The physical location of spirit’s reaction

Dr. Bill Hamon, founder of a Charismatic prophetic ministry advises people to forget the reasoning, forget theology, disregard the common sense and be mindless when attempting to discern the truth.

The spirit reaction originates deep within our being. Many Christians describe the physical location of its corresponding sensation as a feeling in the upper stomach or lower chest area. A negative spirit-witness, with a message of either “No”, “Be careful”, or “Something’s not right”, usually manifests itself with a nervous, jumpy, or uneasy feeling, a deep, almost unintelligible sensation that something is not right.
– Dr. Bill Hamon, Prophets and Personal Prophecy, Page 173

Charismatic mysticism and subjectivism cause huge confusion in the church. Each one comes up with their own interpretation and they do not divide the word of truth rightly. The science of proper interpretation of the Word is neglected, and they mindlessly sit and wait for the “nervous and jumpy feeling” in their upper abdomen area. What kind of bizarre notion is that? If I may add to it, if you want to hear from the Holy Spirit, do not eat any gassy food, don’t ever take Tums or Pepto-Bismol or Gaviscon, that will mess up the Holy Spirit’s communication process. And, if you’re pregnant, or having anxiety it may be very hard for you to distinguish and discern this “jumpy or uneasy” sensation!

The Assault on the sufficiency of Scripture

Beloved, these people are dreamers who reject biblical authority and indulge in their sinful appetites. Five hundred years ago reformers fought against the errors of proper biblical interpretation. Now the major battle is not with the Roman Catholics, but with the seductive Charismatic theology. The core doctrines of that movement are fundamentally incompatible with the principle of sola Scriptura. They don’t believe that the Bible contains everything we need for spiritual maturity and growth in grace and the pursuit of God’s glory. According to them there is no “Full Gospel” without the Pentecostal gifts and miraculous signs and wonders. That is a direct assault on the sufficiency of Scripture.

The final authority

Miracles, signs, and wonders do not bring anyone to the true faith. They only add counterfeit Christians to the church. It is the Word of God that has the power to save souls. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture is authoritative, it is reliable, and it is sufficient. Take heed this advice, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings” (2 Timothy 2:15-17).

The individual’s experience of God cannot be regarded as the final authority. Each may have the right of private judgement, conviction and conscience, but that does not mean that each is equally right! There cannot be some combination of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience as the final authority. Final authority lies in Scripture alone, for in Scripture alone we have the Word of God.

Resources:

Fundamentalism and the Word of God, By J.I. Packer
Prophets and Personal Prophecy, By Bill Hamon
Charismatic Chaos, By John MacArthur