The Pastor's Page - 10/6/09
The Bondage of Positive Confession
The Bible says much about the right and wrong kind of words. The Book of Proverbs is filled with sage advice about soft answers and words fitly spoken. And Paul speaks of our words being seasoned with grace. These instructions come because there is a power in language. The question however is what kind of power is it. Is it in the mystical dimension which suggests that a word uttered takes on a life of its own that even God Himself cannot control or countermand?
Discovering that balance is important because of the legalism associated with the view that our words create a reality of their own when spoken. Anyone who has friends, family members or associates in the Word of Faith movement or churches influenced by those teachers has no doubt suffered a rebuke when saying something perceived as negative. The problem is that this creates another hindrance to our obeying Scripture itself. In the name of a deep and mystical spirituality we find ourselves forbidden to do the very things Scripture exhorts us to.
Consider these passages of Scripture as examples;
- "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2.
- "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." James 5:14-16
Now put the insistence that we never say anything negative alongside these passages and ask yourself; "How do I bear my brother or sister's burden if they cannot tell me what it is? How do we pray for the sick if the sick aren't allowed to acknowledge their sickness and request prayer? How do we confess trespasses and pray for one another if we aren't allowed the openness to do this? The passage from James implies that this is a prerequisite for healing. Do you see the contradiction? We are commanded to care for each others burdens and sicknesses, but how do we express care in a vacuum of honest communication about our struggles?
If we followed the extreme position advocated by adherents of positive confession we couldn't even take prayer requests. "Ah yes but," someone argues, "the initial request is fine but subsequent requests would indicate a lack of faith, that's where the confession comes in." Yet here again this is not what Jesus said to do. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus tells the people to ask, seek and knock. In the original Greek these words carry the meaning of asking, seeking, and knocking. In other words an ongoing process. It is the same emphasis presented in Luke chapter 18. There Jesus in urging the people to pray persistently uses the character of a widow seeking justice. She repeatedly went to the same judge with the same request until the need was met. Jesus doesn't reprimand the woman's lack of faith He commends her persistence as an example for us. So the question becomes, " How can it be a lack of faith to obey the Lord?"
Words are important and we should use wisdom in our speech. We can build up or tear down by our words. But the viewpoint that suggests we actually create a destructive reality for ourselves or others just through normal communication is an extreme and unbiblical view. Such is the bondage of an unbalanced teaching.
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