Beware of “Christian” Snake Oil Salesmen

The apostle Paul was dismayed by the departure of the Galatian church from the
bedrock principles of faith in Christ. The Galatians had received salvation through
faith in Christ alone. But they have been led astray by judaisers, false brethren who
crept in unawares to try to put the yoke of the Law back on people made free by
Christ.

Gal.3:1: O foolish Galatians, WHO HATH BEWITCHED YOU, that ye should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by
the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh?

Walking in the flesh begets bad doctrines. Paul was concerned about New Covenant
believers serving God in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. They tried to keep the Law
of Moses, which pertained to the Old Covenant, not the New. Those led by the Spirit
are not under the Law (Rom.6:14; Gal.5:18). The Law is powerless to produce
holiness in a believer (Heb.7:19; Rom.3:20).

Prosperity Pimps put the PROFITABLE parts of the Law back on believers, mainly
tithing on money, which is nowhere commanded in Scripture. In other articles I
prove that tithing is not a law for today. Verse 3 emphasizes the need for continuing
with God on the same basis we began with Him: grace (unmerited favor) through
faith (Eph.2:8). Suppose a rich man falls in love with a destitute woman. He loves
her and promises to take care of her, so they marry. Afterward, he threatens to
divorce her unless she gets a job to pay her own bills. The rich man has changed
the basis of their relationship from grace to law. Law says: YOU do this to get God
to do that. Grace says: Jesus ALREADY met God’s requirements, so rest in HIS
works, not yours (John 19:30; Heb.4:10). Jesus doesn’t do “Dutch treat”!

Judaisers (legalists) did their worst to bring the Galatian believers out from under the
grace of God, back into the forbidden territory of Law. Grim legalism sees sin in
every enjoyment, even activities which don’t violate the Word of God. A new
convert’s radiance will fade once legalists take him under their wing.

The devil has given legalism an image makeover. He’s actually made it FUN! A
spoonful of circus syrup makes his manure slide down the throats of Christians
desperate for some new thrill to make church worth going to.

Now you can serve Jesus and still be a gambler! Sow a seed to meet your need. The
bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the blessing. Any decent Christian would agree that
blowing your wages in Las Vegas is being a lousy steward of God’s money. But shady
religious sharks dare to treat our blessed Creator like a slot machine. In pops a
hundred, out pops ten grand (the hundred-fold return). “Seed faith” is sleazy
legalism, not grace. It’s called the LAW of sowing and reaping by “faith” teachers
who insist God is BOUND to multiply the lettuce seed you planted in the rich
preacher’s patch, and make it grow in your bank account. Any humble dirt farmer
from Alabama is smart enough to know that if you plant corn in Farmer Jones’ field,
it won’t sprout up in Farmer Smith’s field!

Prosperity pimps teach that if you don’t give generously to THEM, God isn’t willing
(or able) to bless you financially. But Proverbs 22:16 says: He that oppresseth the
poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
How come I’ve NEVER heard any preacher mention that verse? God blesses those
who share with the poor, but not those who support “ministries” which devour the
“sacrifices” of poor donors. Preachers who exploit the ignorance of needy Christians,
and those who pamper rich preachers with “generous gifts” are promised a big
harvest of heartache.

We began by grace, and we must continue by grace. If God freely gave His Son up
for us all, how much more will He FREELY GIVE (not sell) us ALL THINGS
(Rom.8:32)? Preachers say you show “faith” by giving THEM your money, but when
do THEY ever have to “live by faith” and trust God for their own provision? Jesus
said of the lawyers, who expounded on (expanded) the Written Law of God: Woe
unto you, for you lade burdens upon men you aren’t even willing to touch with one of
your fingers (Luke 11:46)! Preachers peddle their own brand of faith, but grace
(unmerited favor with God) is missing from seed faith theology. When we “give
sacrificially” to preachers money our own family needs, we are trying to EARN favors
from God’s hand. It doesn’t take any more faith to give your life savings to a
persuasive preacher than it takes for a gambler to bet on the friskiest filly at the
racetrack. It just takes greed and gullibility. You don’t read of Peter, Paul or John
going around selling prayer rags, incense oil, miracle mud, etc. to support their
ministries. Just what are preachers peddling:

God’s Anointing or Satan’s Snake Oil?

Who hath bewitched you? Paul asked the Galatians. “Bewitched” must also apply to
those who fall for falling angel feathers, plastic gold glitter, slaying in the “spirit”,
barking and break-dancing “under the anointing”, taking head trips to heaven, etc.
Speaking of head trips, I read of one popular “revival” evangelist who guides seekers
on a snooze cruise to heaven “in the spirit” (which one)? Even Yoga teachers will
guide their class through a “cool down” period where you close your eyes, relax and
visualize a serene walk through a fragrant flower garden, etc. Visualization is New
Age doctrine widely used in modern revival (or was that carnival) meetings, to
induce mild hypnosis and lower people’s inhibitions (and their grip on their wallet).
Just watch that skinny wallet fatten by faith, brother! But cast your wampum on the
waters NOW or you’ll miss the stirring of the waters!

Preachers legitimize New Age visualization by calling it “seeing by faith”, as Abraham

saw God’s promises from afar off and embraced them. But Abraham looked for the
New Jerusalem, not a new Jaguar!

REPETITIOUS CHORUSES stimulate the pleasure center of the brain, counterfeiting

the joy of the Spirit. People dead-tired from work are asked to “remain standing and
continue singing the same songs over and over again, every eye closed, to “bring the
power of God down”. Do they think God is so tone-deaf He can’t get the point after
being serenaded with a hundred repetitions of Kum Ba Yah? Did the disciples follow
this formula to attract the Holy Spirit in Acts Chapter 2? I get the feeling a lot of this
vain repeitition of dumbed-down church music is just “filler” to kill time because of
lack of life-changing substance in the service.

Jesus’ only comment about “closed eyes” is a negative one referring to spiritual
blindness, not to prayerfulness:

Matt:13:15: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them.

Jesus didn’t go for “vain repetitions”:

Matt.6:7: But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they
think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.* * *Jesus said “vain
repetitions” are a heathen practice which don’t impress God.***Vain repetitions are
of the flesh, not the Spirit.

POSITIVE CONFESSION is repetition of rhetoric which makes you feel like a “winner”
who can’t lose even if you swap the free Grace of God for the preacher’s fairy dust
faith. The Christian is taught to bewitch himself via endless listening to audio tapes,
chanting, etc. The mind is opened wide for further satanic delusion. In the NT,
Jesus is confessed as Lord. Sins are confessed. Saints of the Faith Hall of Fame
confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers on the earth (Heb.11:13). But not
one “confession” about hitting the Lotto jackpot. This passage paints a picture of
people so sold out to God their hold on earthly things was very loose. They were
ready to give up everything on earth, good and bad, to go home to God in heaven.

PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCES are just that: fleshly shows, not Spirit-led
worship offered up by the whole assembly in spontaneous adoration of God. Did
Peter or Paul ever enhance the mood of their services through “anointed music”?
Some Christians switch to churches that offer a more exciting music program. How
far have we strayed from the simplicity of the First Century Church, where instead of
“having a program”, they sang psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to make melody
IN THEIR HEARTS to the Lord (Eph.5:18)? Nothing is in the NT about special
“offertory” music, or for that matter, playing “just one more verse” of an “invitational
hymn”. Peter and Paul saved plenty of souls without any altar call.

FALSE REVIVAL PREACHERS TURN CHURCH INTO A ZANY ZOO of barking, mewing
and howling head-trippers “under the power” (of which spirit)? contrary to I
Cor.14:40. Just as a heroin addict needs more and more dope to reach the same
high, religious hedonists demand that their preachers preach another “new
revelation” to give them a new buzz (2 Tim.4:3).
BLOWING AT THE CROWD SO THEY’LL GET “IT” is crass ignorance. By “IT” they’re
alluding to “the anointing”, and by association, the blessed Holy Spirit, Who is turned
into a convenient commodity exploited by profiteering prophe-liars out for an easy
buck. 2 Cor.1:21 speaks of God having anointed Paul and his fellow-laborers in the
past. But the noun form of “anointing” occurs in only ONE verse in the NT: I John
2:27: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need
not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Spirit-filled believers ALREADY possess the fullness of God’s Spirit (Eph.3:19). We

don’t need to run to some wired-up preacher to get recharged. If you need a
refreshing in your spirit go directly to Jesus and obtain a fresh touch from the
Master’s Hand without price (Isa.55:1). The Ten Foolish Virgins of Matt.25:1-11 ran
out of oil (which symbolizes the unction of God’s Spirit). They had to hurry and find
“them that sell” before the Bridegroom came for them. Today’s deceived believers
don’t go first to God’s Word to “test all things” (I Thes.5:21). They run straight to
satan’s snake oil salesmen who say that “God told me to tell you” to give so much,
or “I feel the spirit (which one?) all over me, and I’m anointed (by who?) to pray for
you NOW if you’ll mail me that cash by tomorrow morning!” How terrible will be
God’s judgment upon those greedy liars in the world to come, who fake the anointing
for personal gain, and attribute their stupid stunts to the Holy Spirit! Ananias and
Sapphira were killed by God for committing just ONE act of lying to the Holy Spirit
(Acts 5:1-11).

Simon Magus put his soul in peril when he tried to buy the power of God from Peter,
who wasn’t interested in doing business (Acts 8:9-24). What was Simon Magus like?

Acts 8:9: But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same
city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was
some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is
the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them
with sorceries.

Circus clowns posing as great wonder workers still stage “the Grossest Show on
Earth”. They bewitch simple souls into a counterfeit kingdom of god. Whenever a
preacher manipulates the moods and emotions (and the generosity) of God’s people
through slick showmanship, they’re practicing sorcery like Simon did.