UNQUOTABLE QUOTES - Kenneth Copeland

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un-QUOTABLE QUOTES

KENNETH COPELAND

DAILY GUIDE TO MIRACLES from Oral Roberts Ministries
Monday, January 17th, 2005
http://orm.cc

CHOOSE FAITH
Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
www.kcm.org

"Fear is the direct opposite of faith. It is a strong, highly developed confidence in the wrong things. For instance, if you were faced with a poisonous snake, fear would have confidence in that snake's ability to kill you; therefore, you would be afraid of it. But faith is exactly the opposite. It is having strong confidence in the life that comes from Love. Jesus said in John 10:10, I am come that they might have LIFE, and ... have it more abundantly.

We see the power of faith over fear in Luke, chapter 8, where a man named Jairus asked Jesus to come and heal his little girl. But on the way to the house, one of Jairus' servants came and said, 'Your little daughter is dead. Don't bother the Master any longer.' In other words, he was saying, 'There's nothing Jesus can do about death. It's too late.'

Right there Jairus had an opportunity to mix fear with the faith that had put him on the road to see Jesus. But Jesus turned to Jairus immediately and said, Fear not: believe only (v. 50). In the Greek that reads, 'Stop the fear and keep the belief.' He was telling Jairus, 'If you allow fear to contaminate your faith by entertaining both of them, then even if I go home with you, there's nothing I can do for your daughter.' He didn't offer to pray for Jairus so he wouldn't be afraid. It was Jairus' responsibility to choose faith or fear, and once he made his choice, all of heaven would back him in it. Obviously, he chose faith. he rebuked the thoughts of fear, and his faith enabled Jesus to heal his daughter.

Because Jesus lives in you, you can do what Jairus did. Say out loud, 'Fear, you're not a part of my life. I have been delivered from you. Leave me now, in Jesus Name!"

ON DOCTRINE NOTE:
Here is one of the core doctrines in the Word of Faith belief system. The teaching about fear, presented by Kenneth Copeland, provides the foundation, or the convenient back door escape, by which it can be explained why the claims as made by Word of Faith teachers do not happen as stated.

If salvation is in the atonement and healing is in the atonement, as Word of Faith teachers claim, then why are not all Christians healed at the point of salvation? The teaching about fear gives the answer: failure to be healed or failure to be rich becomes the fault of the Christian, because it is claimed that they have allowed fear or doubt, to enter their life. It is claimed that faith is the power that causes God to act on behalf of the believer, but fear negates that faith, because of which, God is prevented from acting on behalf of the believer. In other words, God cannot act by His own choice or at His good pleasure because of the failure of human beings to exhibit faith.

Of course, this explanation ignores the real issue. If healing is part of the atonement, why is it not received as a part of that atonement the same as salvation, but must, instead, be sought separate from the work of salvation by that atonement? How is it that salvation is not received as a result of "Seed Faith" giving of money in order to obtain faith, but healing must be found in that manner, and how is it that salvation is not denied because of fear?

The answer to that dilemma is actually quite simple, because "Seed Faith" giving is a fund raising method employed by ministries, and for it to be effective in that venue, it must be employed continually and so it must be separated from salvation which is a one-time event. Separating healing from salvation allows the convenient application of the "Seed Faith" concept to be applied many times in the lives of individuals, thus insuring a continual flow of money into a ministry and provides the ministry with its operational funding and the leadership with the lifestyle to which they aspire. If healing is part of the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ, then in Word of Faith theology, that atonement is not a free offer of grace, but half comes at a price not paid by Jesus Christ but is paid for by the believer through their "Seed Faith" giving, so, healing must be purchased and far from Jesus Christ being the recipient of the money, it is a ministry and the leadership who are the beneficiaries.

However, the real issue in relation to Luke 8:50, is the fact that it says nothing about the additional teaching that Kenneth Copeland has inserted into the Scripture. Kenneth Copeland's little paraphrase of the verse is deceptive, because it does not represent what the original verse says. What he has done is present a redaction of the verse, a new Kenneth Copeland Version (KCV) in which he inserts his own teaching in place of what is actually said. He brings to the narrative an eisegetical "interpretation" of his own creation, and places words in the mouth of Jesus Christ that He did not say. Jesus Christ said nothing about being unable to do anything for Jairus' daughter if he did not have enough faith.

Kenneth Copeland used the narrative as it was presented in the Gospel of Luke, because certain elements were not mentioned in that reference, which are mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark.

The narrative in Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 is as follows:

"While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, 'My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.' So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, 'Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.' And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land."

The narrative in Mark 5:22-24, 35-:43

"And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.' So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, 'Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?' As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, 'Do not be afraid, only believe.' And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, he said to them, 'Why make this commotion and weep? The child in not dead, but sleeping.' And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, he took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, 'Tabitha, cumi,' which is translated, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise.' Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that noon should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat."

What Kenneth Copeland fails to tell the reader is that Jairus made two requests to Jesus Christ:
(1) for the healing of his daughter,
(2) after Jairus was told that his daughter was dead, he requested that Jesus raise her from the dead, Matthew 9:18.

1. "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live," Mark 5:23.
2. "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live," Matthew 8:18.

It is convenient for Kenneth Copeland to use Luke 8 as his reference, because that second request for a resurrection is not recorded in those verses, so it allows him to insert all of the stuff about Jairus having the opportunity to mix fear with faith, contaminating faith with fear or Jesus Christ being unable to help Jairus if he did not have faith. Jairus exhibited complete faith in Jesus Christ when presenting both requests. Kenneth Copeland twists the Scripture in order to insert and support his theology, and in the process places words in the mouth of Jesus that He did not say and implies meanings in the text that are not stated.

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