Reformed Legalism

I came upon this article recently, and to borrow a phrase from "The World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World"..."Guys! I just gagged!"


What Is Family Reformation



For those of you who may read this man's writing, or that of his wife, and be influenced by it, I BEG you, please don't shut down your critical thought process - as you would need to do to accept this way of belief and life. It really is a lot more simple to live a life pleasing to the Lord than what he presents here, and this kind of thinking, despite being packaged in ooey-gooey Christian goodness, points you toward blatant idolatry.


You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.


It should be noted that some fairly prominent Kinists attend this pastor's church. Whether or not he accepts them and their beliefs shouldn't be so much an issue (even though I suspect he turns a blind eye, perhaps even sympathizes), but moreso, why they chose his church would be very telling.


I want to look at just a few of the issues presented in the article, a "few" because to address them all would take several posts...


The first, and most fundamental institution created by God, was that of the family–society’s basic unit (Genesis 1:27-28).


Goliath was created before David. Does that make Goliath more fundamental and important? What came first : the chicken or the egg? Me thinks that some patrios place too much value on ancillary, and often purely coincidental, matters that mean a whole lot of nothing. Christ had this to say about family...


As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you.” Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”


Big difference in the two approaches.


When the family decays the church is wounded and eventually, society crumbles.


While I'm all for strong, loving, healthy, Christ-centered families (note that I didn't say "dad-centered"), I don't know that there's a "biblical model" for this idea that he presents. Fundamentalists seem to make the scriptures into a religious Candyland where everything happened in perfect harmony, according to God's ordained order. The fact is, the record of some of the most dysfunctional families who ever breathed the oxygen of our atmosphere can be found in the BIBLE, in accounts given of GOD's people, not the "world's". King David's family, for instance, put the "fun" in dysfunction. I guess he should've been more of a patriarch?


God has ordained the wife to be her husband’s helper (Genesis 2:18)


I think this is one of those verses that has been mistranslated, misused, and misunderstood for centuries. "Ezer", the Hebrew word translated as "help meet" in Genesis, can't really be narrowed down quite so easily. The word can mean protection, rescue, and several other connotations, none of which mean "subordinate", since in all other instances "ezer" refers to God. This mistranslation, or misunderstanding, is right in the patriarch's wheelhouse.


So because man was created first, he's to be the leader over woman because she was taken from him? Hmmm. Well, I'm pretty sure our nation was formed before George Washington was named President, and he was taken from our nation, just as Eve was taken from Adam, hence wo-man, so does that mean that our country should lead our President (rather than our President leading our country) or should we just forsake "God's ordained order" and apply the common sense God gave us?


Together they are to take dominion and bring life to a lost and dying world for the glory of God!


Did God really instruct this? Or did He actually instruct them to have dominion over the animal, fish, and plant lifeforms (as caretakers, not conquering heroes)?...in the Garden of Eden, which we are no longer in.


Children are to be brought up with the expectation that they will be Christians (Genesis 18:19; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4).


None of these scriptures instruct such an expectation. Whether a child becomes a Christian or not is between the child and Christ - not the child, Christ, and the child's parent. Teach them about Christ? You bet. Point to Christ in all things? Absolutely and without fail. Indoctrinate them and make them mind-numbed Christian robots (who may or may not have a truly personal relationship with Christ)? That's for cults, but then again, the P/QF movement is very much a cult.


Our Sovereign God controls the womb (Genesis 29:31; Genesis 30:22) and we should accept God’s blessing of children wholeheartedly and with gratefulness.


Well, if God is truly sovereign in the sense he suggests, why does he own a car? Why doesn't he just trust the Lord to will him wherever He wants him to be?...cause, God would be sovereign over transportation too, right? Does he use an alarm clock? But isn't God sovereign over when he sleeps and when he wakes up? Isn't an alarm clock a lack of faith?


Do you think my example is absurd? Just watch the Duggars and get back to me on that.


While the Word of God does not designate a particular method for the education of children, parents are responsible, before God, to insure their children have a thorough Christian worldview (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6-9; Romans 13:3-5; Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15). We believe the best way to accomplish this goal is by educating and discipling our children at home. 


It isn't his duty to "disciple" his children any more than it's the responsibility of a church to "disciple" it's members. Only Christ can "disciple". Just teach them about Christ. There's a fine line between "discipling" someone and telling them what they believe.


Our covenant children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior (Psalm 127:4); and when properly sharpened and aimed, they are to be shot into the world to fight against ungodliness.


This scripture suggests no such thing, at all, as the purpose of children. And, "covenant" children? Where did that come from?


Age-segregated philosophies in both organized schools and in some churches have no basis in Scripture and have actually worked to harm the church (Mark 3:25) and weaken its effectiveness (Luke 11:17; 1 Corinthians 15:33).


Mark 3:25? What the heck? Luke 11:17? 1st Corinthians 15:33? God help us if this guy isn't the champion of proof-texting scriptures that have NOTHING to do with what he's saying. Not even close. Please don't be fooled by this stuff, people. The man is dishonestly using scripture to promote a personal religious/sociopolitical agenda - which he just happens to make a dollar or two from.


There are no positive examples of daughters leaving the protective oversight of their fathers (Genesis 34, Numbers 30:3-5). We believe it is a biblical model for a daughter to remain under the protection of her father until she is married. This way, his responsibility to protect and guide his daughter into marriage can be properly carried out.


Genesis 34? Dinah? I'm curious why he didn't include the biblical account of what can happen while under a father's authority...Tamar anyone? I think Dinah fared a lot better, but hey, that's just me. And, Numbers 30 doesn't deal in either positives or negatives. In fact, a young woman in her youth was a young woman under the age of 12. Ouch. That scripture doesn't really work all that well for patrios. Undermines their authority.


If you're gonna base the positive or negative value of something on whether it's "modeled" in scripture, where does playing golf fit in? I can't find one positive example of golf in the scripture. I guess "godly" people shouldn't play golf then. 


Remember, just because something's recorded in the scripture, like prostitution, adultery, murdery, thievery, et cetera, doesn't mean it's "modeled" there. The whole idea of things being "modeled" in the scripture, particularly in the OT, is a massive stretch.


The successful Christian family is one that sees faithfulness passed down from generation to generation; ever expanding the Kingdom of God, and thus fulfilling the mandate to bring His Word to all nations and all tongues (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 78:1-8; Isaiah 59:21; Malachi 4:6; Luke 1:17).


Scriptures that have nothing to do with what he's saying. Proof-texts, misappropriations, and cultic, dominionist madness.


I pray this gives you a little glimpse into the heart of family reformation.


He needs to pray harder. I looked, and I saw no heart. I saw a man speaking in place of God, prostituting the scriptures, leading God's people astray from a simple gospel, getting caught up in something I discussed here and also was discussed here. 


Don't fall for this stuff people. I'd stand on the roof and scream it if it would make any difference.


Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?


Remove the rigid, legalistic authority structure and see if you can still find their Jesus. I dare ya.