WWUTT 395 Q&A The Shack Will Be Done in Tongues?

Did the author of the shack say that Jesus sinned? What did Jesus mean when he taught us to pray, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven? And are elders and deacons supposed to speak in tongues?

The answers to these questions and more when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is an online ministry dedicated to teaching the Word of God in context, promoting sound doctrine while exposing the faulty.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky.

And greetings, everyone. It is Friday. And on the Friday edition of the broadcast, we take questions from the listeners. The best way to get a question to us is by email, whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

William Paul Young, The Shack, and Universalism

And let's get right to it. This first question actually has to do with a blog that I posted on Monday, reviewing William Paul Young's new book, Lies We Believe About God. Young is the author of The Shack, and less than a week after the movie hit theaters, he comes out with this book revealing his theology, in which he outright admits to being a universalist.

He believes every single person who is ever conceived is going to go to heaven, that there is not a place called hell where we are separated from God, and sin is not even a thing that separates us from God.

And it's on that particular point that Madeline from West Virginia wrote in and said, Pastor Gabe, thank you for your review of William Paul Young's new book, Lies We Believe About God. It was clear and presented the gospel, a great resource.

I read on another page that there's a part in the book where Young says Jesus sinned. Their review wasn't as thorough as yours was, but I didn't see it in your review. Is that true? Not really. I actually added an edit in the blog that kind of explained this.

Young postulates that Jesus made mistakes, like he misspelled a word or he hammered a nail in the wrong place. But his definition of sin is actually too soft for him to say that Jesus sinned. He says that you're capable of living the human experience perfectly like Jesus did.

Sin is just when we think less of ourselves than we really are, and we believe incorrect things about ourselves, and we believe those things in such a way that we begin to do them. And that's what sin is, according to Young.

And what he's presenting is still heresy because it's works, righteousness, and it also goes against what we just read in 1 John 1 10 on Wednesday. If we say that we do not sin, then his word is not in us.

That in itself is heresy to say that we are not guilty of sin. But Young doesn't commit the added error of accusing Jesus of sinning against God. It's really funny the way that he words it. And I could definitely see why a person could read that and say, well, Young is saying that Jesus made mistakes, and that's what sin is, is mistakes.

And so he's accusing Jesus of sin. It's not quite that. It's still really messed up. But I mean, it's like every page of that book, there is something wrong with what he says about God or the Bible. Concerning the section where he outright admits to being a universalist, he says the following, God does not wait for my choice and then save me.

God has acted decisively and universally for all humankind. Now our daily choice is to either grow and participate in that reality or continue to live in the blindness of our own independence. Are you suggesting that everyone is saved, that you believe in universal salvation?

That is exactly what I am saying, Young says. He goes on, every person who has ever been conceived was included in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. When Jesus was lifted up, God dragged all human beings to himself.

Then he references John 12, 32, which says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself, which is the favorite verse of all universalists. But it's totally out of context.

I remember Rob Bell using the same verse, but previously in John 3, 36, we read, whoever believes in the son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Now, Young has not always been this clear on his position concerning universalism. Now, it's in the shack. You can't come away from the shack without seeing universalism. He says things in there like all people are children of God, which is universalism.

But when directly asked about being a universalist, he was always kind of bouncy with his answer. This is an interview that he did with a pastor named Jim Henderson.

One of the things that people have come to associate with you within churches is the term universalists. This comes as a result of them reading the shack, I suppose. Or hearing about it. Hearing about it.

And what does that term mean, and why are they afraid of it?

Well, partly because it has a whole bunch of meanings. And the thing with terms is that you have to define it. So when anybody asks me, are you a universalist? My first question is, what do you think one is?

Because I might be. Because by universalist, do you mean that God loves the entire cosmos? Is that universalism? Yeah, then I would be one. Did Jesus' atonement embrace the entire cosmos? Or just a small sector of it?

Well, if universalism means that he embraced the entire cosmos, that would be me. If universalism is, hey, you know what? There's no such thing as absolute truth. But there's just universal truth, and so you can go down any path you want, and you're going to end up, no, I'm not a universalist.

Do I believe that ultimately every human being will be fully and completely reconciled back to God? There's a definition of universalism. And I would say no. I would say I don't know. And I would say, I hope so.

I think Colossians says, pray that this is true. And you know what? I wouldn't put it past God to have in the wisdom of God's plan and purpose that he figured out how to create, have beings that have the right to say no, and how to win without any coercion.

And am I opposed to that? Would I be opposed to every single part of this cosmos being fully reconciled in love back to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? I used to be. Because I used to think I was better than somebody.

And I used to think I knew people that I didn't want to make it.

Now, notice his first two definitions of universalism were that God loves the entire cosmos and everybody has their own truth. I have never heard anybody define universalism that way. Universalism is the idea that every single person is going to go to heaven, regardless of whether or not they follow Jesus Christ in this life.

And when Young finally gets to that definition, he says he doesn't believe that. But then he says, he immediately says, I don't know. But Colossians says that we should pray for that. No, it doesn't. That was a very generic reference.

But Colossians doesn't say that. This interview was a little over two years ago. Over eight years ago, Todd Freel, with Wretched, exposed William Paul Young as a universalist. Before Young ever published this book, Lies We Believe About God, in which he outright says that he is a universalist.

Here is Todd Freel.

Penal Substitution and Imputed Righteousness

Now, let's get to the shack. William P. Young. It has been spoken by many people that he is a universalist. People who know him. Well, he appeared on a radio program and he, well, I got to tell you, while being a little bit slippery, if you listen just kind of carefully, you will also hear that he is a universalist.

You wouldn't agree that the cross was a place of punishment for our sin?

No, I am not a penal substitution reformation. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

No, whoa. I'm not a penal substitution reformation kind of guy. Well, then, sir, you're not a Christian kind of guy. End of story. We really don't need to hear any more. Penal substitution. Jesus punished the passive obedience of Jesus.

Remember, active. He kept the laws. He did everything he was supposed to so that we could be commended to God. The passive obedience of Jesus taking a thumping for us. The penal substitution. The vicarious substitution.

We can't pay for our own. Jesus paid for us. It is imputed, credited to us. And don't forget, it's not something that happens inside of us. We don't get infused with his righteousness. It's imputed. The dictate comes down from heaven that we are declared as righteous.

If you're not that kind of guy, Mr. Young, you're not a Christian.

You know, one of the things I appreciate about playing Todd Friel clips is that I never have to equalize the audio. He's already he's already loud enough. He already meets the volume level there. You can find the full clip of that video.

It's about five and a half minutes long on YouTube searching for episode of wretched author of the shack is universalist. And Friel was exposing Young as a universalist eight years before Young came out with this book in which he outright confesses to being a universalist.

The Lord's Prayer and God's Will on Earth as in Heaven

All right, let's go to the next question here. This is from Edward in Seminole, Texas. Pastor Gabe, over the last couple of years, my wife and I have started studying reform teachings and sound doctrine.

Amen, brother. My question is, what does Jesus mean when he says in the Lord's prayer on earth as it is in heaven? To me, it plainly reads that his will is done on earth and his will is also done in heaven.

I feel like charismatics hold on to this phrase and claim that heaven comes to earth as outlined in Bill Johnson's book seems to be the catalyst that explains any and all miracles here on earth. Well, in answering this question, why don't we consider the Lord's prayer together in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, chapter six, beginning in verse seven, Jesus said, when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do also read is as the pagans do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Do not be like them for your father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this, our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others, their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others, their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses. So very plainly, as you were stating, Edward, when Jesus says your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it is just simply asking for to be able to see the Lord's will.

And in heaven, God's will is experienced perfectly. We don't yet experience that his will in that way here on this earth. Now we have his revealed will in the Bible, but we don't experience his will in on earth as it is experienced in heaven.

Well, what is it? What is it like experiencing God's will in heaven? We get glimpses of it in places like Psalm 103 verse 20, where it says, bless the Lord. Oh, you, his angels. You mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord. Oh, my soul, the will of the Lord perfectly experienced witnessed there in heaven.

In Daniel chapter four, his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

And none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? So God is executing his will in heaven. He is doing so on earth. We are asking God, may we experience your will done on earth just as it's done in heaven.

May we have hearts that rejoice in you just as the host of heaven does gathered around your throne and singing your praises. That is simply what Jesus is teaching us to ask for. Whenever we pray to God, a heart that worships God that is submissive to his will above our own.

Thank you for your question, Edward. This last question comes from Tyler in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Hey, Pastor Gabe, I just recently started listening to your podcast and they are awesome. I appreciate that, Tyler.

I happen to listen to two that not only intrigued me, but applied to a current situation that I'm facing at the moment involving both leadership qualifications and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I have searched high and low through commentary, blogs, videos, books, other friends and pastors and have yet to get a clear answer to my questions.

We recently had our annual business meeting and as I read the qualifications that our church has for deacons, I became concerned. I knew that I was in a Pentecostal denomination that believes in speaking in tongues as an initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

While I don't fully adhere to this doctrinal position, my position on tongues is aligned with it being a known language and not gibberish that all are baptized in one spirit as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians and not all receive the same gifts, but the spirit gives as he wills.

It's never been a source of contention as the pastor doesn't really preach it from the pulpit and is very good about keeping order in the services. Under the qualifications for deacons, however, is a requirement for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues according to Acts 2, 4 and Acts 6, 3.

Is Stephen being filled with the spirit and wisdom the equivalent of the disciples being baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues? Is Acts 6, 3 a prescriptive qualification for leadership in the church or a descriptive qualification of Stephen?

Is it right for churches to add qualifications to leadership positions that aren't in the prescriptive qualifications given to us in letters like Timothy and Titus? Thank you for your time and your ministry.

First of all, Tyler, I would strongly encourage you to really educate yourself on this topic and when you know that you are properly equipped, able to give an answer for the hope that lies within you, doing this with gentleness and respect as it says in 1 Peter 3 .15, suggest to your church leaders that they repent of this arrogant doctrine and if they will not and it becomes a source of contention, you should consider finding another church.

An important maxim when reading the book of Acts is this, narrative is not normative. Just because we see it in the narrative does not mean it is a regular occurrence. For example, have you ever had a situation where a member of the congregation lied about how much money they gave to the church and then dropped dead on the spot and then so did their spouse?

Well, that's what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. No one would believe that's an experience that happens in every church or that it's common anywhere. Yet, we want to believe that we can speak in tongues at any time, some even going as far as imposing that a person must speak in tongues in order to evidence that they have the Holy Spirit living within them.

A follow-up question to this scenario should be something to this effect. Where in the Bible are we commanded to speak in tongues in order to verify the presence of the Holy Spirit? The key word in that question is where are we commanded to speak in tongues to verify the presence of the Holy Spirit?

The answer is nowhere. There's not a command anywhere that says a person must speak in tongues to evidence the gift of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, 30, do all speak in tongues using a rhetorical device to state that not every Christian speaks in tongues.

So why would we impose upon a person to have to do something the Bible doesn't say a person should or even can do? Now, I agree with you that the stipulations a person must meet to be eligible for deacon are given in 1 Timothy 3, 8 through 13.

Qualifications for eldership given in verses 1 through 7, and then you also have Titus chapter 1. We don't know if Stephen being filled with the Spirit according to Acts 6, 3 means that he spoke in tongues because the text doesn't tell us that.

We don't know that Apollos spoke in tongues because the text doesn't tell us that either, and he was a preacher. We don't have any indication that John the Baptist spoke in tongues, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, according to Luke 1, 15.

There are only three occasions in the entire narrative of the New Testament where we read a depiction of anyone speaking in tongues. It's in Acts 2, chapter 10 and 19, and it's only for the purpose of prophesying in known languages.

Tongues in the Bible are real languages. Not babbling gobbledygook. A missionary who addresses a group of people in a language that they did not previously know is speaking in tongues. A person in a prayer circle in a Pentecostal church muttering nonsense is not speaking in tongues.

The expression filled with the Holy Spirit appears more times without the mention of tongues than it includes the mention of tongues. Yet churches who require such a display impose speaking in tongues on all these other texts that mention filled with the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 4, 31, the apostles prayed for boldness and were filled with the Holy Spirit, and the place where they were praying shook. Doesn't say they spoke in tongues. It says that the place started shaking.

So why don't such Pentecostal churches require that if a person receives the Holy Spirit that the ground begins to shake? Right? So what is the evidence that a person has received the gift of the Holy Spirit?

In Acts 2, 38, Peter said, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord calls to himself.

So repentance is one of the evidences that a person has the Holy Spirit. And note that the narrative in Acts 2 does not say one word about the 3 ,000 souls who were baptized speaking in tongues. Only the apostles, because they had a message to preach and the tongues that they spoke in were actual known languages.

No one else at Pentecost is said to have spoken in tongues. In Galatians 5, 22 through 24, we are told the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. There's the evidence of the Holy Spirit right there. What you are looking for in a person is the fruit of the spirit, the evidence of transformation from being dead in their sins to alive in Christ Jesus.

And in the qualifications for both an elder and a deacon, it says that they have to be above reproach. So this is a person who has a reputation for displaying the fruit of the spirit. And nowhere in those qualifications does it say that an elder or a deacon has to speak in tongues.

The same power that brought Jesus back from the grave is the same power that lives in every Christian, according to Romans 8, 11, tongues unnecessary. The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians not to go beyond what is written.

First Corinthians 4, 6. They were puffed up with pride because that's exactly what they were doing, going beyond what had been spoken to them by the apostles. Your church, Tyler, is likewise arrogant to suggest that a person must have this miraculous gift in order to show evidence of the Holy Spirit.

So the people who have faked speaking in tongues are now lording over others who haven't spoken in tongues that they have the Holy Spirit and others do not. Let us not impose ourselves upon the text, but be filled with the Holy Spirit according to the word of Christ.

So I would encourage you again, be equipped with knowledge on this particular subject and confront those leaders in your church to flee from this false doctrine. And if they will not, if they will continue to impose this on others as a divisive issue, you have to have this or else you're not this, then that is not a church that you want to be associated with for they are dividing the body of Christ.

Titus 310, as for a person who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self condemned. But before getting to that point, Tyler, you should give them an opportunity to understand the truth and repent of it before leaving that church for a congregation that is more sound in their doctrine.

Prayer for Repentance and Concluding Remarks

Let me pray for you as we bring these things to a close here today. I thank you, Lord, for your word that has been given to us and for a heart that has been transformed by the Holy Spirit to understand what has been spoken to us in the word of God.

I pray that we would continue to conform ourselves to this daily, not according to our will, but your will be done in our lives. I want to pray for Tyler as he is facing some tough things concerning his church and confronting some false teaching that they have embraced.

I pray that his church would be full of people with hearts that are submissive to the authority of the word of God and would be willing to listen to the word of truth that he will bring to them, convicting them regarding things that they have adopted in their doctrines and in their practices.

I pray that this is a church that would be like the Corinthians, that would repent of these things that were dividing them and instead be grieved over the conviction that was brought to them by the Apostle Paul.

They repented of those things and then much of that church started walking in uprightness according to the righteousness of Christ. Let that be our desire to be more like Christ and less like what we want to be, not walking in the passions of our flesh, but in the light of Christ our Lord.

It's in his name that we pray, amen.

Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. For all of our podcasts, episodes, videos, books, and more, visit our website at www .utt .com and let your friends know about our ministry.

Join us again next week as we grow together in God's word when we understand the text.