“Bethel” Pastor Vs. Charles Spurgeon!

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Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where the Bible and critical thinking meet to give you real

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Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video. So in a recent video

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I watched, shout out to Reformation Charlotte for posting it, there's a pastor affiliated with Bethel Church who quotes

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Charles Spurgeon. This pastor's name is Matt Moult, and he's the pastor of New Vintage Church in the state of Washington.

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Charles Spurgeon was an English Baptist preacher who had strong doctrine and powerful sermons.

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Bethel Church and the pastors who are affiliated with them are known for having unbiblical doctrine and bizarre sermons.

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So why on earth is this man quoting Spurgeon? I haven't the foggiest idea. But let me show you the clip wherein he quotes him courtesy of Reformation Charlotte.

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Watch this. Charles Spurgeon said every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.

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I don't want us to be churches and Christians that are more concerned about our prophetic words being right, or that are more concerned about our prophetic words being right, or that are more concerned about our prophetic words being right, or, you know, having our seat or any other thing that doesn't matter because...

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Let's talk about this using three biblical points, shall we? Point number one. So he quotes Charles Spurgeon saying every

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Christian is either a missionary or an imposter. And using this quote, he attempts to excuse false prophecy.

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In fact, immediately after the quote, he says, so we shouldn't be worried about our prophetic words not being right?

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Notice how his conclusion has absolutely nothing to do with what the quote says. Spurgeon is simply making the case that Christians need to have hearts for evangelism and a desire to spread the gospel.

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There's nothing in there about prophetic words or predicting the future or reading people's minds, nothing about those things at all.

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So what's happened here is Matt Moult is making a specific point. And I want you to be aware of what that point is.

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He's saying anyone out there who's concerned about doctrine being right or about prophetic words being accurate, really, you're just being hypercritical.

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I mean, even Charles Spurgeon wasn't as critical as you are, and that's a man who you all really venerate and respect as a preacher.

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When you call us out for our false prophecy and these Bethel -type movements, what you're really doing is you're hindering the gospel.

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You're showing the whole world that you don't really care about spreading the gospel or being a missionary. Rather, all you care about is your precious theology and being correct all the time.

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That's all you really care about. This is the point being made. And really, beneath all of the smiling and showmanship, you can see it's a scathing critique against all of those people who would contradict false doctrine.

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These people are not missionaries, they're imposters. So my first point here is twofold.

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A, this quote has absolutely nothing to do with what Matt Moult is talking about, or at least what he thinks he's talking about.

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It's been ripped out of context and applied inaccurately, and this should be no surprise that they do this with Spurgeon's writings, because,

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I mean, that's what they do with God's writings too. If they can do it with God's word, surely they can do it with anyone's word.

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And B, Matt is making a specific point that those who care too much, in his view, about accurate teaching and prophecy are simply hypercritical people who don't have compassionate and evangelistic hearts.

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And this brings me to point number two. Now that we know what Matt's saying, let's go ahead and see if Spurgeon would actually agree with him on the topic at hand.

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And we can figure this out by looking at Spurgeon's other quotes. Only this time, we're actually going to quote it in context.

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In Matthew 7, 15, Jesus warns us about those who prophesy falsely when he says, quote, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, end quote.

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In Spurgeon's notes on Matthew 7, he says the following, quote, We have need of our judgments, and we must try the spirits of those who profess to be sent by God.

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There are men of great gifts who are false prophets. These affect the look, language, and spirit of God's people, while really they long to devour souls, even as wolves thirst for the blood of sheep, end quote.

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So it seems that Spurgeon did not believe, as this Bethel -affiliated pastor does, that having a false prophetic word was just no big deal.

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Spurgeon did not believe that it was more important to be a missionary in general than it was to be a missionary with true teaching.

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And again, Spurgeon most certainly did not believe that having a message matters more than how truthful or biblical that message is.

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Spurgeon thought, as Jesus did, that those who prophesy falsely ought to be avoided because they're leading people astray.

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If Spurgeon were alive today, there is ample evidence in his writing to support that he would be absolutely disgusted by the teaching coming out of Bethel, and from pastors like Matt Moult.

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He would have rebuked them, and would have been appalled at the idea of them trying to justify their falsehood by using his own statements.

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Not only does this pastor quote Spurgeon out of context, but he quotes him out of context in order to justify teaching that Spurgeon himself would have disapproved of wholeheartedly.

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That's the problem. And this brings me to point number three. Now that we know what Matt Moult said, and what

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Spurgeon said, let's take a look at what the Bible says about all of this. That's what really matters in the end of it.

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First John 4, 1 says this, quote, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world, end quote.

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So there you go. Matt Moult says, don't worry about whether or not your prophetic words are right. The Bible, on the other hand, tells us test every prophetic word and see if it's false, because falsely speaking in the name of God is a serious sin that may lead people astray.

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Deuteronomy 18, 20 echoes this saying, quote, But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, that same prophet shall die, end quote.

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So here's my point. The Bible contradicts the horrible theology of Bethel Church and churches like them at nearly every turn.

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They are consistently prophesying falsely in the name of the Lord and dishonoring him in doing so. This pastor,

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Matt Moult, is doing something that Bethel has been trying to do for years. He's trying to convince his congregation that their doctrinal position, while it may be unconventional, is still valid.

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Don't worry about whether or not your prophetic word is true. Charles Spurgeon says we're okay. Here, let me offer you a quote from him that proves my point.

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See, there's no need to worry. If Spurgeon agrees with us, then surely our teaching can't be that bad. But when you look at the

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Bible, folks, and even if you look at the writings of Spurgeon himself, you will see that yes, their teaching is that bad.

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And it's leading many people astray. So Matt, if you're watching this, please know that I'm not trying to be hurtful towards you.

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I'm simply trying to keep Christians away from false doctrine. You can always repent of this falsehood and confess it to Christ, who is full of mercy and full of grace, even when you say false things like this.

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So let's pray for Matt Moult and for anyone who agrees with Bethel Church's falsehood that they would repent of this and turn to the truth of God's Word.

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And until next time, fight for truth, never surrender, and keep your eyes open. Thank you and God bless.