Frequently Asked Questions

1.         In your book, True to His Ways, you emphasize the truth of God. But Jesus commanded us to love.  It is legalistic to emphasize truth so much.

 

Clearly, we are to love. This was Jesus’ greatest command: to love God and our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39).  But truth is vital in God’s wondrous dispensation of grace.  Love and truth are united in the Godhead and revealed in the incarnation of the Word: Jesus Himself. But love and truth serve different functions in the faith of men (if I may put it like that, recognizing the inadequacy of my expression). Love is an attitude of heart, subjectively experienced.  Truth is God’s objective Word, the imperishable seed by which we are brought to faith. 

 

If we do not have truth, we are walking in unbelief —or if we have truth but depart from it, we are walking in apostasy for which we will be more seriously judged.

 

From the epistle to the Hebrews we learn that the Jews who died in the desert did not enter into God’s rest because of unbelief (3:19). The word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith (4:2). Faith is placed in the Word of God, in particular the truth of the gospel.  Unbelief does not know the truth and cannot believe the words of God nor place faith in His Word. No amount of love can make up for, replace, or compensate for, unbelief. Further, we do not place faith in love: this is to turn the roots of the tree upward.

 

In True to His Ways I discuss Satanic teachings that confuse love and truth, especially the teaching that love is the law.  This is a devious twist. Satanist Aleister Crowley taught “love is the law” (more in the book).  But love is not the law.  It is commanded under the law and it fulfills the law, but it is not the law.   

 

But this I acknowledge: truth without love is barren and unfruitful, as sounding brass or a clanging symbol (1 Corinthians 13:1) Some Churches that emphasize doctrine have all the right words but lack love. However, cold truth is not the main problem in the majority of Churches today.

 

Legalism, by the way, means either relying upon good deeds or religious works for salvation, or placing undue emphasis on form over substance. It has nothing to do with keeping and cherishing God’s Word.

 

2.         Do you believe miracles have ceased?

 

No. I believe God still works miracles. Rarely though, not in plethora like Satan.

 

Signs and wonders follow salvation, which itself is a miracle. God is obviously well able to guide His people by miraculous means such as dreams, words of knowledge, even audible voice perhaps and who are we to say He won’t? I believe we see this around the time of conversion for some people. I do not believe the Scriptures sustain the view that all miraculous communications between God and His people have necessarily ceased, although those who have never experienced the same may think so. Also, God still heals, and He delivers. And the well of divine joy springing up in the heart of a believer is a most blessed miracle.

 

But Satan also performs miracles, signs and wonders. A wicked generation runs after them—empty wonders of gold dust and miracle manna, or supernatural powers to tell the future, etc. Satan is only too happy to give visions, his own words of knowledge, impressions, etc., to make you think you have heard from God. And the heart of man deceives. So, be more than cautious.

 

I distinguish between miracles and miracle-workers. See the next answer.

 

3.         What about the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12? Are you a cessationist?

 

I receive more questions about this than anything else, people saying it is not clear from my book where I stand. Some think the gifts have ceased and if I do not agree, they cannot recommend the book. Or vice versa.

 

I’m glad my position was not clear because at the time of writing I had no answer. It would have been wrong to give an impression one way or the other. And since I was still able to give the message clearly, the answer would be no reason to reject the book.

 

That said, I think I am coming to a mixed conclusion. On one hand, it seems there are no real miracle-workers any more, like the Apostles who went out proclaiming the gospel and substantiating it with strings of amazing miracles and healings. I don’t know any people now who claim to work miracles except occultists: Tibetan faith healers, gurus in ashrams, Charismatics in the “Healing Rooms,” spiritists, or secular spoon benders. I know many Charismatics who think they should be raising dead people, but I don’t know anyone they have raised up. Upon reflection, and after reading Arthur Pink’s article Faith to Work Miracles  (tough going, but worth it), it seems to me that the miracle-worker gifts have ceased.

 

However it seems to me that people are still gifted with prophecy (spontaneous expression of biblical truth), teaching (studied expression of biblical truth), faith to do certain things, discerning the spirits (meaning, being gifted with the ability to identify false teaching or, perhaps, to know what is in another person’s heart, should the Holy Spirit reveal same) and certain other charismata mentioned in the Scriptures.

William Tyndale, when responding to Thomas More's allegations that his teachings, and the teachings of the Lollards, could not be substantiated with the sort of miracles that the Roman Catholic Church claimed, agreed that those More called heretics "shew no miracles." He added, "neither ought they, inasmuch as they bring no new learning, nor aught save the Scripture, which is already received and confirmed with miracles... And when Paul (2 Thess. 2) saith that antichrist's coming shall be by the working of Satan with all power, signs and wonders of falsehood, and all deceivableness for them that perish... the text must also pertain unto a multitude gathered together in Christ's name." (See An Answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue, published by the Parker Society, at pages 103-104). As there is no new revelation to be brought, so no new miracle workers should be expected. Still, a multitude will be deceived by miracles and by miracle workers.

 

4.         What about speaking in tongues?  You did not mention tongues anywhere in the book, except to show that yoga devotees speak in tongues.

 

This issue was confusing for me.  When I was a young believer my Charismatic Church elders were praying for me to receive the ‘gift of tongues’.  I did. My heart flooded with a sensation of goodwill and love.  Words of praise—the gibberish of modern-day ‘tongues’—flowed from my lips. But I had doubts.  Yet after discussion with Professor Gordon Fee at Regent College and reading Jack Hayford, I concluded the gift really was from God. Once given over to this belief, I used it frequently in prayer, spiritual warfare, and praise. My grasp of how my gibberish could be the language of angels was a little murky, but I found my heart would soar when I spoke in tongues. And devils departed (or, so I thought) when I fought them off in tongues. And if I prayed in tongues, it seemed to clarify my thoughts.

 

During the writing of True to His Ways I continued this practice. But after all my research, and realizing God is a logos God of meaningfulness in truth, doubts re-surfaced. So, as an experiment, I stopped speaking in tongues—albeit fearfully, because I was reliant upon it. But I had at least 3 reasons to doubt my “gift”:

 

(1)                          God is a God of reason, order, and meaning, which seemed to preclude His being a God of meaningless gibberish.

(2)                          The gift is eerily duplicated, feature-by-feature including ecstatic aspects, in Hinduism (yoga) and other occult religions.

(3)                           I had already discarded many charismatic beliefs. It was only Berean to re-examine this one.

 

At first it was a little difficult to stop. Gibberish often rose up in my mind. But this reduced after a week or so, and I also noticed a reduction of anxiety. As time went on, I developed considerable inward quiet and peace.  Then one day, as I read the book of Acts, God opened my eyes: I realized the use of tongues was limited to specific occasions when the gospel was being given to non-Jews. It was a sign to others and had nothing to do with solitary prayer or angelic praise.  It meant speaking in human languages ( the word “tongues” was commonly used in Early Modern English to mean “languages”, and that was how it made its way into our Bible). There was no reference to ecstatic gibberish anywhere in Scripture, and the confusing passages in 1 Corinthians did not necessarily support a gift of gibberish (although they are indeed unclear and confusing, especially the reference to angelic languages). Then, a friend sent me a great book: The Truth About Speaking in Tongues by Fernand LeGrand.  It deals with some of the most difficult Scriptures.

 

I must conclude my receipt of the gift of tongues was a phos light experience, as defined in True to His Ways, and many of the fruits of it were deceptions.

 

I wish believers who practice the gift of tongues (gibberish) would stop for a while and humbly ask God to reveal the truth to them. However, I realize that many of my brethren will be unshakeable on this point. I love them anyway.

 

I suspect the real gift of languages is no longer given. But who is to say the Lord would not give such a gift in some circumstances? My faith allows for that.

 

4.         Why another book about charismatic issues?

 

The following cannot be found anywhere else:

 

(1)               Crystal clear definition of (occult) spiritual practices. You no longer need to try to determine “how much is of Satan and how much of God”.

(2)               Clear contrasting with biblical spiritual practices, and the latter explained.

(3)               I reveal how Satan gives intense, heart-felt experiences of holy-seeming love to occult seekers, believers and non-believers, called phos light experiences.

(4)               I explain how occultism is a form of spiritual adultery. Soaking and certain forms of meditation involve mind and flesh in spiritual communion with demons. 

(5)               I show how occultism takes all people down the same road, with similar aspirations and beliefs (e.g. both Charismatics and Hindu yogis try to develop spiritual eyes to see angels).

 

The book is true to Scripture. It is particularly relevant to Toronto Blessing/Lakeland Revival type practices. People often write with gratitude at the extent of the research and clarity of explanation.

 

6.         Why did you quote ecumenical J. I. Packer and a Roman Catholic priest?

 

The following general principles apply to all my writing:

 

-         Just because I quote someone does not mean I endorse everything they say.

-         I did not and do not agree with the ecumenical movement or the teachings of the Church of Rome. Actually, I think that would be clear from the book.

 

Since publishing the book, I see better the serious errors associated with Roman Catholicism and do not understand how a mature believer would join hands with Rome. 

 

I quoted the priest only to illustrate the good intentions of some occultists. On page 68 I added a footnote explaining that I do not endorse the teaching of the priest.

 

7.         How did you arrive at the book price, and what about shipping costs?

 

Book price: Original list $19.63. Actual offered on the Website: $17.99 (with occasional sales).

 

I set the price ($17.99) as low as I could considering:

 

Ø      I cannot go so low that bookstores could not sell at a profit. No retailer has been willing to sell without a profit.

Ø      The recommended list price for a non-fiction, good quality trade paperback of this length was over $20.

 

I didn’t take into account self-publishing costs and associated expenses, which exceed the asking price of the book. So there is no question of profit for me and I obviously earn no wage for the 1,000’s of hours researching, writing, editing, etc. But it has been a joy. And the Lord has provided.

 

In addition to book production costs there were high costs to ship all these heavy books from the printer, and warehousing costs; eventually I was required to ship all books here because warehousing them for Amazon.com was too expensive. There are also Website costs, bookkeeping and accounting, stationery, equipment maintenance, banking, PO Box rental, etc., all of which I pay myself.

 

And Paypal takes a percentage of every on-line sale.

 

Although many wonderful people contributed time and expertise to the production of True to His Ways, no person or organization has ever given or offered financial assistance, and I have never asked.

 

Shipping costs

 

I find Canadian postal rates are quite a bit higher than U.S. rates. I do not qualify for the discounts big organizations get.

 

When I set up the Website I was given the option of setting 3 prices—one for domestic, one for the USA, and one for international shipping. I estimated average postal and packaging expenses. I had to increase them with rate hikes. Paypal also takes a percentage of the shipping charges.

 

My secretary or I wrap or pack the books. I personally take them to the post office, usually on lunch hours or off-hours.

 

 

9.         What is your denomination, and who are your favorite authors?

 

I am non-denominational. I have appreciated the expressions of faith in the Westminster Confession and the 39 Articles. My favorite authors and theologians are William Tyndale (1494 - 1536, burned alive by Roman Catholic Church acting in concert with secular powers for the heresy of translating the Bible into English), Arthur Pink, and John Newton. Mr. Tyndale's work has been made available over the last century or so by the Parker Society out of England, and also through the prodigous work of Professor David Daniell who has written a biography of Mr. Tyndale, has put his New Testament into modern spelling (available through Yale University Press, try Amazon.com) and also assisted in making his works available through other publishers.

 

 

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