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| Dr. Paul Martin |
Dr.
Paul Martin presented a workshop at the Evangelical
Ministries to New Religions Conference on March 7, 2008
discussing why Christians should understand the dynamics of spiritual
abuse. (Dr. Martin was a former member of the cultic Great Commission, and after leaving, became one of the most respected psychologists in the study of cults but also in the area of Christian counter cult apologetics. He also founded the first accredited inpatient treatment center for people who have exited cults and abusive relationships, the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Albany, OH.) Along with impressive research concerning abusive religious
groups that he presented at his workshop, Why
Evangelicals Should Believe in Thought Reform (“Brainwashing”),"
Dr. Martin also included some interesting information about what the
Bible has to say about false teachers and wolves in sheep's clothing.
Today, in counter
cult apologetics, the Christian Discipline of effectively
articulating reasons for believing in the Christian faith, when it
comes to identifying aberrant groups or cultic Christianity, most of
the leaders teach that behavior and works are off limits. The focus
primarily on identifying doctrine only, and it's not seen as proper
to examine behaviors unless they are tied directly to false or
questionable doctrine. As Paul Martin pointed out, the Bible teaches
the Believer to identify problems with behaviors, not with doctrine.
As the Apostle Paul stated about himself, and as the Book of James attests, the real test of what doctrine a minister follows (their faith) is notable not so much by what he says but is demonstrated by their conduct.
According to Paul Martin's analysis, the 210 verses found in the Bible that refer to false prophets, priests, elders and Pharisees deal with the following:
- 99 verses (47%) concern Behavior
- 66 verses (31%) concern Fruit
- 24 verses (12%) concern Motives
- 21 verses (only
10%) concern
Doctrine
Only
10% of those verses concern doctrine!
According
to the Scriptures, we should be very concerned with both the
behaviors and the fruit of spiritual leadership in the church and in
parachurch organizations. This is not gossip or mean-spirited
critical abuse but what Scripture actually teaches us to observe.
The Necessity
for Two Types of Fruit: Doctrine and Living Out that Doctrine
This information
goes hand in hand with what Dr.
Walter Martin, the author of The
Kingdom of the Cults and one of the first and foremost
counter cult apologists, once preached at Lee
University in the late seventies. He taught that the Believer
must have two types of fruit in their lives to be truly effective.
From Walter
Martin in "Rise of the Cults," a 1979 lecture at Lee
College Chapel:
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| Dr. Walter Martin |
Because salvation does not come from the efforts of purity but by the gift of God. . .
But according to Christ, it is possible to look, act and sound like a believer and not be one. .
4 things that they do (deceiving even the elect):
1. They can say “Lord,” but they don’t mean “Savior.”
2. They can say that they speak for God and are prophesying in His Name.
3. They can even use the Name of Jesus to cast out demons.
4. They can use the Name of Jesus to work miracles.
And their sin is, having used the Name of Christ for their own purposes, they themselves have not believed.
