[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by bearbear

The interpretation of David's interaction with Saul encapsulated in the teaching of Deputy Authority is faulty and has been misused to protect leaders from all evaluation and accountability. That's not what David did. What David did was "not kill Saul". If you read the interactions between David and Saul, David has no hesitation in exposing Saul's unrighteousness, although he did it in a way couched in grace and mercy. This is consistent with principles set forth in the New Testament where we are told to confront leaders when they sin.

There are some good replies in this thread, this one may be the best. The salient point being "This is consistent with principles set forth in the New Testament". Witness Lee was very fond of using Old Testament "principles", such as the Deputy Authority teaching, and bring them forth into the Church age without regard for the history of the Church. This is what happens when men throw off all the wisdom and experience garnered by wise scholars, teachers and Christian leaders over the past 2,000 years. The results are usually false teachings, and even worse, the abuse of God's people. Unfortunately, the history of the Local Church is replete with such false teachings and abuse of God's people, and as some have pointed out, the abuse continues to this very day, principally by the leadership of the Living Stream Ministry, the "blended brothers".

One of the most insidious aspects of this Deputy Authority teaching is the notion that spiritual authority can somehow be bequeathed from one Christian leader to another. This is a foreign concept to the New Testament. In fact, the teachings of Christ and the early apostles illustrate quite the opposite. One could give a lot of examples from the Gospels and in the epistles of Paul, Peter and John, but I'll let what I have posted here just stand alone for now.