Today Ardith again has entitled her devotional, “Zeal.” She wrote another one with a similar title August 4, 2008. They are similar, but today’s is much shorter. I wrote a rebuttal also on the 4 August 2008.
Today I would like to begin with a quote from the writings of Spurgeon, “It is easier to get a sinner out of sin than a self- righteous man out of his self-righteousness.”
Paul made it very clear that his people Israel had a zeal for God saying, “For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to everyone that believeth. Romans 10:1-4
By necessity cult leaders must create a false, added righteousness, to keep their subjects under their control. Although a Christian has been set free from the law and it is sin to be self-righteous, cult/ abusive church leaders continue to make them believe there is something more than the Blood of Jesus Christ , and something “deeper” and more mysterious than His Own Righteousness simply ,albeit profoundly having been imputed to the believing sinner.
In short the cult leader has to keep their followers under law or risk losing them. This is heretical teaching, and a terrible sin. These kinds of leaders will bear a heavy accountability before Almighty God. The false doctrines they invent are designed to feed the needs of the false shepherds. The Word talks about the false shepherds, “feeding themselves.” God Himself said, “but the shepherds fed themselves and fed not My flock.” Ez 34:8 Matthew 13-36 I always wondered what this meant. Now I realize that false shepherds have a lust and covetousness for power over others and feed themselves and their lusts for control at the expense of the flock of God.
Here is a quote from a Message by Will Pounds,”If you say No, I will not have His Righteousness: I will have a righteousness of my own, You are ignorant of God’s Righteousness, and you will perish. If you are trying to have a righteousness of your own by being ZEALOUS for God, your church, or denomination, church membership, emotional experiences, good works etc., then you are in competition with Jesus Christ.”
I believe cult/abusive church leaders are in direct competition with Jesus Christ. They want His Lordship over the people for themselves. They become gods with a little g. They promote a form of idolatry as they demand their followers obey them as their ” spiritual authority.” These leaders crave control at all costs. They create a false righteousness, and add works of law to the scriptures for their followers to live up to. This is sin. It is hypocricy and pretense. The counterfeit root is hard to spot at times because so much truth is intermingled with lies, and additions to the Word of God go un-noticed, as the Charismatic perpetrator is extremely knowledgable and appears to know the Bible very well. They appear to know the deeper things which others cannot attain.
As Ardith Keef has done and moreso in recent years, she does today. She pretends that there is something mysterious about “Christian zeal.” She says, You won’t know what it is until you are “faithful in prayer and completely available - that one is going to know what zeal is. He will experience this because he will see the goal clearly.” But dear friend you will never know what her version is because it is counterfeit to True Christianity, fanasized and contrived, and designed as bait to keep you hooked and clinging to her. It is a classic cult tactic.
She tells the poor eager listener, “Zeal is not energy. Zeal is the “raw” life of the Lord as He is allowed to Love, through His Own.” It may sound good , but there is nothing about God’s zeal being ”raw life” in His Word. It is cleverly contrived and another lure to something that isn’t real , and another golden carrot held out which is only an illusion. It is a twisted doctrine. The truth is that at the end of it all, the ”zeal” cult leaders have is the sinful, unquenchable desire and lust to control others ,at any cost to the poor zealot who follows them. God help them and anybody else who gets in the way!
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