Book Review – Defining Deception

This is a bold book.  It is a personally revealing and transparent book. It is a humble and sensitive book [see the Preface – “The Heart of the Authors”]  It is a book that will make lots of people uncomfortable.  I’m sure many people are angry about this book.   It’s a book that will make many people stop and think about the music they listen to and the teachers they repost on Facebook and Twitter, and what they are actually teaching and promoting about the charismatic work of the Holy Spirit in healings, tongues, spiritual experiences, and prosperity.  [Think “Word of Faith” and “Name it Claim It…” God wants me to have a car, I just have to speak it into existence and receive it with thanksgiving. A la Osteen and Copeland…]

Therefore, this is also a colossally important book at a very important time.

I have been looking forward to reading Defining Deception, since I stumbled upon the news of it’s upcoming release on the Twitter.

As a Pastor, one of the hardest parts of my “job” is to gently, yet clearly, identify false teaching and as a result have hard conversations with people about it.  One of the worst parts of my “job” is the painful untangling of years of false teaching and helping sort through the spiritual corrosion that bad theology leaves behind in it’s wake.  It shipwrecks faith, undermines marriages and relationships, and spreads like the flu on social media.

For this reasons and more, I’m very thankful for this book.

I was also surprised by the focus of this book.  I was thinking with someone like Costi Hinn, nephew of infamously famous false teacher, Benny Hinn, that it would focus primarily on him.  Indeed some time is spent on Uncle Benny – but Costi and Wood also present a balanced, comprehensive, and historical survey of the Pentecostal and New Apostolic Reformation landscape.  To say the conclusions are terrifying would be an understatement.

Nearly 1/3 of the book is devoted to a history of Pentecostalism and it was well worth the history lesson to see the twisted theology of the forefathers of these modern movements.

However, one of the most noteworthy modern movements is Bethel Church, Bill Johnson, and their band Jesus Culture.  Now, I get it. JC is a ridiculously talented group of musicians.  Years ago, when I first heard “Your Love Never Fails,” I didn’t stop playing it for about a month.  I even did it in church at a worship night. [I simply couldn’t wait to capo my Telecaster and chug it up.] The lyrics [at that time] didn’t have any red flags.  But then I discovered the theology of the ministry at large and needless to say, I stopped listening and never lead that song again.  Yet, so many simply don’t know. Yet, I didn’t know the scope and depth of the heresy. This book will help.

The authors spend a chapter identifying legit doctrinal errors in Johnson’s teaching with [jaw-dropping] quotes from his book that fly in the face of orthodox Christianity and are in direct contradiction to the Word of God. There are too many errors to list here, but this isn’t little stuff, this is HUGE stuff.  Not squabbling over eschatology, but like the deity of Christ and the authority of Scripture over and above our experience.  As the authors so clearly put – “A regenerated life surrendered to the Holy Spirit will always point back to Scripture for faith, theology, and practice. Christianity has held this truth for 2,000 years, and no self-professed modern-day apostle or prophet should lead us away from this foundational truth.” [105]

The book closes with a very helpful appendix section with an honest and personal testimony from Costi, amongst scores of others who have had their eyes opened to the purity and power of the true Word of God centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Another appendixes include a helpful FAQ section, clear teaching on what Scripture actually says about speaking tongues, being slain in the spirit and healings.

In this current spiritual milieu with so many voices, I’m very thankful for this helpful, clear, and strong voice crying out for a return to God’s truth in His Word.  Our experiences and feelings cannot drive the bus, our hearts will lead us astray. This book defines that deception and it needs to be read. That is clearly what is happening with false teachers preoccupied with the supernatural and the experience.  May we have the courage to call it what it is in our lives, pulpits, and relationships to the glory of God.