I am writing this article in the shadow of a tragedy that happened in a Pentecostal family in the southern part of the state of Kerala.
A young man who completed his higher studies in China came back home and killed his father to please Satan to whom he offered his worship. If we can trust the news media, the news we get from that home is frightening.
What disturbs me greatly is this horrendous crime took place in a Pentecostal family, -a home where we least expect something like this to happen. Can we say that this is an alienated incident? The answer is ‘No.’
Many things that should never happen, are happening in many Pentecostal families today. Why? We may have many answers, but what I resolve is that it causes the lack of clear teaching of the Word of God. All our conventions and other spiritual meetings are focused on the needs of the elderly and all we hear is viduthal (deliverance) sakthi (power) and something that immediately satisfies the hearers.
We do not have a meaningful rational discourse of the Word of God. All that we look for today is emotional satisfaction which is lavishly given.
Many preachers have understood this technique and wisely use this situation and to make money. Many other preachers preach for their messages to go viral on social media. And the most popular preacher is the one who criticizes the leadership the most and the worst. He is the hero and becomes a widely sought-after preacher. Alas and sad!
A good preacher ought to divide the Word of God rightly. We need to go back to the good old days when we paid attention to the scripture, just like the church in Berea. What was their peculiarity?
They met daily to search the Scripture to determine whether or not what Paul was saying was true. All of us should imitate these Bereans by faithfully studying God’s Word daily, discussing it, and testing the message that we hear.
For such a time as this, anyone can become a “university” via social media. Believers have to be truly careful and vigilant about many things – we see and hear much.
We need to pay special attention to the Word of God. Only to the Word of God, as Martin Luther said five hundred years ago, ‘Sola Scriptura’ – only the Word of God!
