A Curious Blog

[ACuriousFellow]

After many years in The Lord's Recovery, I felt as though proper instruction via the scriptures was often mishandled due to the preference of strictly using Lee's interpretations of all things biblical to teach others. Whether it was the children's ministry, the YP (young people) ministry which focused on middle/high schoolers, the college studies, home meetings, Lord's Day meetings, outings, and conferences, it always felt like Lee's view of the scriptures took precedence over all things. From what I witnessed, there was little effort or desire to teach others directly from the scriptures, but rather all studies were prepared with his "Life-Studies" and the "Recovery Bible" footnotes as the foundation for all of their doctrines. Testing the teachings of Lee against the scriptures was heavily discouraged, being manifested in many of their doctrines.

The "two trees" doctrine. The doctrine of "life/death vs. right/wrong." The doctrine of the "dead letter." Lee's "anti-doctrine" doctrine. The "mind vs. spirit" doctrine. Many of these doctrines sound reasonable to a young heart. For instance, should we not seek to be filled with the life of God rather than our own, limited human knowledge? Such is the allure of the doctrine of the two trees. Should we not concern ourselves with salvation and life rather than trying to be right all the time? Strong is the attraction of the "life/death vs. right/wrong" and "dead letter" doctrines. Should we not base our fellowship on our faith in Christ rather than simply obsessing over every little doctrine? Simple yet powerful is the supposed premise of such words within the "anti-doctrine" doctrine. Should we not trust in the Holy Spirit rather than trying to use the machinations of our minds to discover all the "hidden things" of God? Wonderful is the relief of such a teaching from the "mind vs. spirit" doctrine to the heart of a young believer.

But I realized that these were not the true purposes of Lee's doctrines. I learned that these doctrines were put in place to stifle any critical analysis of Lee's words. Those who sought to use their God-given wits to analyze Lee's teachings were eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Those who sought to learn the context and proper application of the scriptures which often went against Lee's teachings were "dead right." caring only for the "dead letter" like a Pharisee while everyone else was "livingly wrong." Those who sought to apply proper teaching, if it did not line up with the "Ministry of the Age," were said to be obsessed with doctrines and therefore had no desire to build up God's churches. Those who used their intellect and reasoning to point out Lee's mistakes and the discrepancies between Local Church practice and scripturally sound teaching could not possibly ever be in their spirit but rather were only in their mind. Never mind the fact that Lee's entire ministry was build on him supposedly analyzing the scriptures and coming to the conclusion that all the Protestant churches were "deformed" and "degraded," having built something "demonic," "devilish," and "satanic."

Because of The Recovery's severe allergies towards proper learning and application of the scriptures, I was incredibly discouraged. As a teacher, I sought with all my heart to teach, and I desired to see such a heart in my fellow servants in the church. We must endeavor to be sound in our teachings and applications of the scriptures, openly admitting our mistakes and being willing to make corrections when the Holy Spirit convicts us of truth and righteousness. The more my heart sought to apply this, the more I saw that many saints in The Lord's Recovery simply did not care for such things. The more I read the scriptures regarding these matters, the more I realized that Witness Lee's ministry is not designed to be malleable and open to adjustment as necessary. Subsequently, the publications of Living Stream Ministry, Shepherding Words, A Faithful Word, the Defense and Confirmation Project (DCP), and the teachings in all of the meetings within The Lord's Recovery are also not prepared to handle such discrepancies and rather seek to immediately end most conversations related to those discrepancies rather than addressing them and dealing with them in a proper manner. John Ingalls, John Myers, Steve Isitt, and Jo Casteel are but a few examples of those who have been publicly shamed for trying to facilitate such things.

As such, after my departure from the Local Churches (a.k.a. "The Lord's Recovery), I searched the scriptures thoroughly with regards to what it means to teach and lead others as well as being taught by and learning from others. The study I will share here is the result of my searching. I have a heart to share it here on this sight for the benefit of all, regardless of whether they still meet within The Lord's Recovery or not. As a teacher, I must also acknowledge that I may have missed the mark in many ways. Although the study is not meant to be exhaustive, it may be that there are other verses or stories that can further expound upon the theme I have chosen. It may be that I am mistaken with regards to the context or proper application of a verse. It may be that some thoughts are underdeveloped while others are too highly emphasized. It may also be some other unforeseen matter. As such, I am willing and prepared to be given a word of instruction encouragement myself. The full study is available online as a downloadable Word document for all who would like to take a look. For now, I will share only the introduction to my study on this thread/blog.

It is my hope and desire to share more such studies with you all as time allows. If the admins deem that this would be better placed elsewhere, I would gladly acquiesce.

Thank you for your fellowship, and God bless.

Terrible Times

1 Timothy 4:1-2
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

2 Timothy 3:1-9
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

There will be days, terrible days, when people would love themselves rather than God and the Church. They will break the two greatest laws by becoming lovers of money, putting their desires for wealth above what is good. They will be proud and abusive, justifying what they do and shunning the victims of their misdeeds. They will be disobedient to their parents, refusing to honor their fathers and mothers as they should. They will be ungrateful, turning away from those who have ministered to them. They will be unholy, holding to what is wicked and rejecting what is good. They will be without love, treating others with contempt. They will be unforgiving, hardening their hearts to fellowship and reconciliation. They will be slanderous, stirring up lies and controversy to hide their sins. They will be without self-control, refusing the power of the Holy Spirit to take control of their lives. They will be brutal, showing little mercy to those who stand in their way. They will not love the good, holding rather to what is wicked. Worst of all, they will have a form of godliness but deny its power, making efforts to appear holy in what they do and cling to the scriptures when it is convenient, but in all their ways they will deny the power of God. They will deny both his righteousness and his love: his holiness and his grace will be only a means to an end for them. Paul gives Timothy this warning, for many false teachers were coming into the church seeking their own gain rather than the glory of God. How, then, can we stand firm as children of God?

All Scripture is God-Breathed

2 Timothy 3:10-17
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings — what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul cautioned Timothy to be wary of false teachers who would subvert the faith of others through their deceit, going so far as to call these men imposters. He calls them imposters because they pretend to live holy lives when they really don’t. The very word “imposters” in verse 13 comes from the Greek word γόης, which in English is transliterated to “goes.” The word is a noun which literally means “wailer” or “howler.” The reason it is often translated to “imposter” or “deceiver” is because in these times, there were those who would pretend to have power from God, such as a man known as Simon the sorcerer. When uttering their spells, they would often wail or howl, and they would use these false miracles to appear to be holy. Through their mutterings and incantations many people would be deceived into thinking they were holy, when in reality such men were wicked. Such men would come into the churches, claiming to be from God and using their utterances and false miracles to deceive many with false doctrines. They would use what was seemingly good and holy for evil purposes. As a countermeasure to such men, Paul urges Timothy to hold fast to the scriptures which he was taught since his infancy. It is the very scriptures that make us wise unto salvation: it is the very scriptures we must use to discern false doctrines and false teachers. As Paul instructs Timothy, it is their job to use these God-breathed scriptures to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness in order that God’s people may be fully equipped for every good work. This exhortation appears in the book of Ephesians as well, where Paul wrote “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of doctrine and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul, an apostle, exhorted Timothy to use the scriptures to instruct the children of God, and the reason why is also given in the letter to the Ephesians: that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Another reason listed in Ephesians is so that we would no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of doctrine and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. We must be trained to identify false doctrine and to discern between good and evil. Does this mean that every doctrine is bad? Not at all, for Paul constantly urges Timothy to hold to the very doctrines that Paul had shown him. In fact, after admonishing Timothy to use the scriptures, he also gives him another warning.

The Duties of Our Ministry

2 Timothy 4:1-8
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Paul has charged Timothy, part of the next generation of teachers, to carry on the work that the apostles began: to build up the body of Christ. He admonishes Timothy to be prepared in and out of season. In other words, Timothy should plan to preach and should preach even when an unexpected opportunity or challenge arises. He should be ready to correct, to rebuke, and to encourage with great patience and careful instruction because there was coming a day, and it surely came, when people would not put up with sound doctrine. We are not to abandon all doctrine, but rather we must hold to the good doctrines, for such teachings are from God and will preserve and guide us. However, many would rather not struggle to uphold what is true and what is right. Many would rather cling to their own way of life rather than God’s. Many even recognize false doctrines but do not think it worth the trouble to bring up their concerns. While it is easy to accept the grace of God to cover our sins, it is not so easy to accept the righteousness and holiness of God and make every effort to live blameless lives and give our testimony as the holy children of a holy God. It is easy to pray for forgiveness, and praise the Lord that it is, but it is not so easy to stand firm and abstain from unrighteousness every day of our lives. This takes time and training. Praise the Lord that he has an abundance of grace, for otherwise we could not get back up and keep running the race as Paul did. Still, we are called to run this race and learn and grow and be better day by day, just as an athlete may stumble and make mistakes yet still press on to improve themselves. How, then, shall we do this? How, then, shall we live such lives? It begins and ends with the word of God. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ Consequently, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14-18).