"Jesus is our hope" is a very simplistic answer. Yes Jesus is our hope but he Entrusted delivery of that hope to men. He gave us gifts to edify one another
The charismatic movement continually dishonors God in its false forms of worship. It dishonors the Father and Son, but most specifically, the Holy Spirit. Many things are attributed to the Holy Spirit that actually dishonor him. In many places in the charismatic movement they are attributing to the Holy Spirit works that have actually been generated by Satan. Again and again MacArthur stressed the great danger for those who worship God flippantly. It is a tragic and agonizing irony that those who claim to be most devoted to the Holy Spirit are following patterns that blaspheme his name.
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He paused to state that he is not discrediting everyone in the movement. He knows there are charismatics who desire to worship God in a true way. Yet the movement itself has brought nothing that enriches true worship. It has made no contribution to biblical clarity, biblical interpretation or sound doctrine. The church had all of these things long before the charismatic movement happened.
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People have been saved in charismatic churches, but nothing coming from that movement has been the reason they were saved. Nothing within the movement has strengthened the gospel or preserved truth and sound doctrine. It has only produced distortion, confusion and error.
MacArthur then contrasted Reformed theology with the charismatic movement and said that Reformed theology is not a haven for false teachers. It is not where false teachers reside or where greedy deceivers and liars end up. You won’t go to an association of Reformed churches and find false miracles, visions, prophecies, anointings and other supposed miraculous manifestations of the Spirit. Once experience, emotion and intuition become the definition of what is true, all hell breaks loose.
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MacArthur showed what Scripture says about the work of the Holy Spirit and compared that to some of the more bizarre manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the charismatic movement.
He went to Hebrews 10 and the warning there about trampling the Son of God. Over the past couple of decades there have been organizations dedicated to defending the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have also defended the Father against the attacks of Open Theism. But this passage also promises punishment for those who insult the Spirit of grace. We know there will be a hotter hell for those who spurn Christ, but the same punishment is there for those who insult the Holy Spirit. This means we should be terrified to insult the Holy Spirit and vigorous in defending him.
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MacArthur concluded by saying we can see in Christ a picture of the perfect work of the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit has committed to do in us what he did in Christ. The Spirit was the constant companion of Jesus; Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, matured by the Spirit, anointed by the Spirit at his baptism, sustained by the Spirit in his temptation, empowered by the Spirit for ministry, filled with the Spirit so he walked in perfect obedience while displaying the Spirit’s fruit, perfected by obedience wrought in the Spirit’s power, raised by the power of the Spirit, and even in his post-resurrection ministry was in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is to us as he was to Christ. If you want to know how he works in us, look at Jesus. Ultimately, the work of the Holy Spirit is to take corrupted image bearers and to restore in them the likeness of Jesus Christ.
He ended with this challenge: “I will start believing that the truth prevails in the charismatic movement when I see the leaders looking more like Jesus Christ and I see that they really are partakers of the divine nature.”
MacArthur then contrasted Reformed theology with the charismatic movement and said that Reformed theology is not a haven for false teachers. It is not where false teachers reside or where greedy deceivers and liars end up.
uh... Didn't Bob Jones University dump MacArthur because of his heresy concerning the Blood?
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