Is God Limited By Our Beliefs? Word of Faith Theology

Disclaimer: This was an article I wrote several years ago that is being republished.

Was everything in Word of Faith bad? A question I will never forget.

I was at breakfast several years ago with a sister-in-Christ, and I was sharing my testimony with her. She asked me a question I will never forget that I began to ponder that day. She asked me, “Was everything you experienced in Word of Faith (WOF) bad?” I honestly don’t remember how I specifically answered that day because it caught me off guard. However, I have been prayerfully considering that question since. I finally have an answer. God can save anyone, despite the false belief system they are involved in. That’s what He did for me. I was dead in my sins, and He opened my eyes and ears to the truth of His Word. I was pushing myself further into witchcraft under the guise of “Christianity” without realizing it. God came in and saved me radically. Here are the things I learned from being in Word of Faith for 11 years.

First, God is not an emotion. WOF theology likes to compare the Holy Spirit to a force and something you FEEL. If you do not feel it, the Holy Spirit must be absent. In fact, it is akin to “the force” in Star Wars. However, this is not biblical. The Word of God says that the Holy Spirit seals us when we believe (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:19) until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). For me, this led to a constant yo-yo effect in my emotional and spiritual life. I was constantly trying to FEEL God. If I didn’t FEEL Him, I thought that I must have been doing something wrong. (That’s another part of WOF theology I won’t get into today.) However, once we are believers, we have been crucified with Jesus Christ. We have TRIPLE assurance of our salvation. John 10:29 says that “…no man is able to pluck…” a believer out of the Father’s hand, and that we are a GIFT to Jesus Christ from the Father. We have assurance, then, with the seal of the Holy Spirit, as a gift to Jesus Christ, and being in the Father’s hand, of our salvation. Even when we don’t feel God or the Holy Spirit, He is still with us. Friend, feelings are fleeting, but God is not. Neither is our salvation!

Next, I learned that the Word of God needs to be the marker of truth in my life. When I walked away from WOF, I questioned everything I had ever been told about God. What I found out is most of what I had been taught the past 11 years did not line up with scripture. I learned that there is truth in everything, but not everything is true. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” The Word of God is inerrant and contains everything in it He wants us to know for today. The Word of God is complete and should not be added to, that includes new revelations.

I learned that there is truth in everything, but not everything is true.

I also learned to remain teachable. For 11 years, I was in a belief system I thought was right. I refused to see that it was me in the wrong. While knowledge is important, Paul warns against being puffed up due to knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:1). Due to my own stubbornness and pride, I was stuck in my own misery. God wants us to be obedient as Christians, and part of that means coming under the authority of His teachings through His Word. When we realize we are wrong, we must repent and change our ways.

I learned to stop punishing myself. I was stuck in an endless cycle of punishment and condemnation for the damage I had caused to myself, my husband, and my child. I had to learn forgiveness and understand that God has already forgiven me due to the completed work on the cross by His Son, Christ Jesus. This made me learn the difference between conviction and condemnation. (Romans 8:1) Condemnation and guilt are from the enemy, but conviction by the Holy Spirit brings us to repentance. (John 16:8) Not only did I forgive those who had hurt me in this movement, I was set free from every wrong I had committed.

Furthermore, when we try to talk to others who still believe what we know to be wrong, be gracious and loving. They are blind. I made this mistake without realizing and wish I could change it. That’s why I am telling others now. Think about how we would have reacted had someone come to us before our eyes were opened? Argument does not work. However, if we can maintain relationships, we will be able to insert truth when your opinion is asked. Prayer is our best weapon in this case.

The moral of the story is that God can use anything He chooses to save a soul. He is not limited by our beliefs. There is always something to be gained from every trial we go through. Even though this was an 11-year trial for me, God is still using it.