A vlogger I subscribe to “What Shall I Cry? Ministries,” recently paired the above preacher / teacher on the same biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 2: 6–15.
The video was 78 minutes long but I cut the initial 35 minutes.
I briefly noted the most significant points of each preacher below so that you could review them before watching the video.
The point that Moore explained via her entire message is that the Holy Spirit enables believers to have spiritual discernment which unbelievers do not have. She indicated that to have this discernment, one must know scripture; furthermore, one must be practiced at correctly interpreting the feelings she receives from the Holy Spirit regarding the situations she encounters in her daily life. And if she can accurately interpret these feelings, then she will be able to make wiser choices and will less frequently experience being duped, exploited….
In the process of arriving at the above, Moore spent a lot of time talking about worldly events wherein she made errors of discernment; she journeyed far from the text into the mundane affairs of the world.
She seemed to be saying that learning discernment was also a trial and error process wherein one must know how to properly interpret her feelings (experiences); subsequently modifying her behavior in the power of her own strength.
As opposed to submitting to the Holy Spirit, abiding in the word such that one became thoroughly acquainted with the truth of the word. And in having this intimate knowledge of truth, being able to discern error, lies, deceit, false teaching…because these are so different from the truth of scripture.
Dr. MacArthur spent his time in the Bible. The following summary I noted was given in individual points then as a summary statement by him, that his listeners might more fully understand God’s work in scripture.
The Holy Spirit revealed to the apostles truth from the mind of God; He then moved the apostles to set that truth to the printed page via inspiration; thereafter, the Holy Spirit, via illumination, enabled the apostles to understand that truth. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit still illumines His word for believers.
Dr. MacArthur closed by stating that one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit makes a correct appraisal of everything because he has the resident Truth Teacher. Some say that if we’re not flying by the seat of our pants making crazy guesses about what is going on in our heads, then we’re detached from the Holy Spirit. But he believes that those fantasies detach one from the Holy Spirit; that only those who abide in the word of God are in communication with the Holy Spirit all the time.
Dr. MacArthur seems to be saying that the Resident Truth Teacher, the Holy Spirit, teaches truth to those who abide in His word. Those who have been taught truth can thereby discern lies, deceit, false teaching…because these all are not of the truth. That is, if one knows the real thing, then he / she can easily discern the counterfeit.
There was yet another major difference between the two messages: Moore’s message was man-centered; and Dr. MacArthur’s message was God-centered.
He focused on What God the Holy Spirit did to get God’s truth into the hands of believers; and His purposes in doing so. That work even included illuminating their minds to understand scripture.
She focused on what believers need to do to correctly understand the feelings they get from the Holy Spirit so they can correctly discern and make correct choices. Thereby, they can have better marriages, avoid being duped by others….
If you watch the video, then you will experience that his preaching was much more godly than her teaching. Please watch, I am not exaggerating. Furthermore, her message consisted of a single point that he considered minor.
If you would like to see the entire 78 minute video, see What Shall I Cry? Ministries on YouTube.
To see more posts on Beth Moore at this site, see categories, Beth Moore.
The following definition may help you understand the difference between man-centered and God-centered teaching:
Man centered gospel vs Biblical gospel: There are countless man-centered “gospels” on offer today. Such “gospels” say things like, “God wants to make you rich and prosperous in this life,” or “God wants to heal you of every physical and emotional ailment,” or “God wants to provide for whatever needs you feel you have.”…But how do these man-centered gospels differ from the true, biblical, God-centered gospel?
- A man-centered gospel defines our lives in terms of what we “need” or want most. The biblical gospel rightly recognizes that none of us fundamentally live to ourselves, but to God (Rom. 14:7-9).
- A man-centered gospel considers our needs and desires to be our most fundamental problems. The true gospel recognizes that to sin against God and face his wrath is the most fundamental problem imaginable.
- A man-centered gospel is based on our desires, our wants, our needs. The biblical gospel looks to the Bible to define our problems and God’s solution: the sin-bearing death and life-giving resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- The true gospel puts God at the center of the message—and the center of our lives, and the center of the entire universe—because that’s the truth. We live and die in a God-centered universe. (www.9marks.org/answer/what-difference-between-man-centered-gospel-and-true-gospel/)