Frequently Asked Questions
Is Your Church Charismatic?
Answer:
The short answer is absolutely not! The reason for this is a stronger belief in the words of God than in the alleged experiences of man.
Any one who has read the Bible should know that the apostolic signs (2 Cor 12:12) are signs given to Jewish apostles (Mark 16:12-20) because the Jews require a sign (1 Cor 1:22). These signs are manifest in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:43) as they follow the ministry of the Jewish apostles whose word was to be confirmed with signs following (Mark 16:20).
The history of the signs begins with a nation called out by God (Deut 4:34) who doubt the word of their God sent leader (Ex 4.9). This same nation is given the Sabbath as a sign between God and them, (Ezek 20:12) which no one knew about until God revealed it to Moses at Mt. Sinai, (Neh 9:14). So, when the Lord himself shows up, as the prophet like unto Moses, he knows he is dealing with a nation who without the signs won't believe (John 4:48, Acts 2:22). And the Lord himself bears witness through the Acts of the Apostles (Heb 2:4) to a nation, that despite the manifestation of God's power through his Son and through his apostles (Acts 2:43, 5:12, 6:8, 14:3, 15:12, 19), is too temporarily blinded as revealed by the Apostle Paul (Rom 11:25), the apostle of the Gentiles.
With blindness in part happening unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles, the sign gifts manifested for Israel's sake slowly fade from the scene. Even the Apostle Paul leaves his ministerial friends behind sick, (2 Tim 4:20) as God's dealing with Israel are postponed while he provokes them to jealousy through the body of Christ, (Rom 11:11).
It is no surprise for a Bible believer to see the spirit of anti-christ (1 John 2:18; 4:3) manifested through lying apostles whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders (2 Thess 2:9). If tried, according to the word of God, they are found as liars (Rev 2:2), whilst they are deceiving and being deceived, (2 Tim 3:13). As the dispensation of grace comes to a close while the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, it is not surprising to see an increase in those claiming to have the signs as God prepares to go back to dealing with Israel as a nation. The deceivers will be on deck for these end times, (2Cor 11:13, Matt 24:11, 24).