The following 6 minute video came from the YouTube site, The Gospel Of Christ. The vlogger is John Henry. I recommend subscribing to his sight for such videos on false Christian preachers and teachers.
The statement of Furtick’s that was critiqued by Henry is as follows: “The process of discipleship does not change you into something else, but reveals who you’ve been all along.”
Below the video, the source of Furtick’s ideology is identified.
Followers of eastern religion, Hinduism in particular, are taught that they possess a divine spark within; the purpose of the religion is to merge with Brahman, to be one with this universal spirit. In other words, they are really divine; when they have merged, they have realized their true identity.
The field of psychology also believes that people are inherently good and that can be tapped into.
Oprah has been known to say such things; that is, new agers have similar beliefs.
The purpose of Yoga meditation is to encounter one’s own higher self, which must be a reference to that spark of divinity within. However, it turns out that the Bible describes that spirit as an ‘unfamiliar spirit’ and describes it as demonic. See my post on Christian Yoga for a better definition, see Categories, Yoga / Meditation.
These religions are pantheistic, that means that they believe that all things of the universe are made of one substance, including God.
Christianity believes that God created this universe and is totally different from it, greater than it. It also believes that mankind is inherently sinful, a condition which can only be rectified by God when man is given new spiritual life. When God the Holy Spirit regenerates a person’s heart, converts him, he is deemed by God the Father innocent of his sins, as they have been paid for by Christ.
The born-again person is given a new spirit which must be nurtured by abiding in God’s word, prayer, hearing preaching, partaking of the Lord’s supper and fellowship with believers.
After man is converted, or born again, or born from above, he walks a pilgrimage on this earth, and fights against personal sin as he becomes practically holy, sanctified.
At death, a Christian is glorified; that is, he is freed from sin by God that he might dwell with Him.
So, the main point is that Furtick is not teaching Biblical Christianity. He is doing what other false teachers do, making up his own version of Christianity that has no saving power.
If you want to avoid following false teachers, make it a point to read through a study Bible such as the ESV, by Crossway. Therein, most scripture verses are explained by a team of biblical scholars; each book of the Bible is explained with an introduction; and before and after the pages of scripture are important writings about Christianity.
Set aside 6-12 months for that task and you will be eternally grateful. Read prayerfully, asking God to open your eyes, as in Psalm 119:18.
I suspect that many of Furtick’s followers have not read the Bible, or at least not read through it; otherwise, they would not be in that church. The first thing I did after reading through the Bible was to find a biblical church. I could immediately see that the church I was at fell short of that.
My first read through the Bible, at age 53, was the most wonderful experience of my life up to that point and I still count it as such. Before that, I had spent at least 15 years, before, during and after college, in comparative religious studies and eastern religion.
If you listen to the 10 minute video excerpt on my Mission Statement post (see Categories, Mission Statement), you will learn that God raises up false teachers to satisfy the itching ears of those professed Christians who do not have a love of His truth. There is more in that video for meditating upon, please check it out.
One last thing, if you want to know what the biblical gospel is, then see CATEGORIES, Gospel Message; Gospel Message Defined.
A brief description of the gospel is as follows: at the fall recorded in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve died spiritually. Thereafter, all humanity was born in that state of spiritual death. Chapter 3 of John explains how a person is born-again from above, by the Holy Spirit. In reading the New Testament, you will discover that one needs to hear the gospel message to be born from above. John 3:16 says a lot about it in one verse; 1 Corinthians 15 describes it in the initial verses: that Christ was incarnated, lived a righteous life, died on the cross, died and rose again to save those who put their trust in Him. They put their trust in Him to save them from God the Father’s wrath against sin. There is no other way to escape eternal wrath in hell for your own sin. God the Father provided only one way.
A read through the New Testament will clearly state that and other things about living the Christian life. A person could read through the New Testament, via a study Bible, in a month with no difficulty. Thereafter, one ought to read the entire Bible, as the New Testament (new covenant) has a foundation which is described in the Old Testament, in the creation of mankind, the various covenants God made with Abraham, Noah, Moses, and king David. There are many references to these in the gospel accounts of Christ’s ministry on earth and in the epistles and in Revelation.
The following link is to the above sermon excerpt at John Henry’s site, for those who want to subscribe: