John Burton is back. Wrecking people's faith for his politics...

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"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed," - Luke 4:18 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/culture/82287-the-mask-of-the-beast-the-ongoing-debate-of-whether-christians-should-wear-them

It seems that John Burton has some thin skin when it comes to correct criticism of his false theology. Burton is an unapologetic Charismaniac and NAR dominionist who clearly believes in the experiential over the scriptural. Recently he did an article the muddied faith with utter stupidity. God believes we should operate in wisdom. Faith is not an exercise of ignoring wisdom. Apparently he received a great deal of blowback, including from me, and the above link is Burton doubling down while trying to pretend he did not say what we all know he did. Let us reason once more because his teaching is dangerous and can cost lives.

"Should Christians wear masks? Or would that be an indicator of a lack of faith? My most recent article titled "How the Pandemic Has Exposed an Unbelieving Church" has created quite a stir among the pro and anti-maskers. Interestingly, the article really wasn't about masks at all. It was about faith. In fact, I made it quite clear that we should use both wisdom and faith in these treacherous times. It never ceases to amaze me how triggered people zero in on the narrative they want to attack, all while blowing past qualifiers and clarifiers that would address their concerns if they only took time to read them. I can't tell you how often people become unglued just by the title of one of my articles. They arrive at conclusions that are unfounded because they didn't read past the first sentence. Spoiler alert: I wear a mask if the situation demands it. I'm not a card-carrying anti-masker. I'm definitely not a pro-masker either." - John Burton

My first editor, nearly two decades ago, had to constantly reign me in when it came to the titles I gave my articles. I thought they were creative, eye grabbing, and clever. He had to teach me that they needed to be to the point and honest about what was in the article. So with no apologies John, when you title an article "How the Pandemic has Exposed an Unbelieving Church"; you deserve the criticism you get. The larger point is that your title was not disingenuous to the content at all. You wrote specifically about that subject and you were wrong. The title to this latest article however is simply attention seeking or what is known as click bait. The mask of the beast? Seriously? You can try to qualify your false teaching all you like but no one is buying it. You can talk about how reasonable your mask position is but in the end you question people's faith John.

"I'm watching the carnage pile up all over social media as a result of verbal assaults, judgments on morality and ethics, crazy conspiracy theories (and some possible true ones) and accusations that pro-maskers are killing America and anti-maskers are killing Grandma. It's ridiculous to point nasty, crooked fingers at the uncovered calling them selfish, unloving and reckless. Not only is that statement generally untrue and the motive fairly disingenuous, but the logic behind it simply doesn't work. It's equally ridiculous to presume those who wear masks are fearful by default and surrendering to the Antichrist. No, these aren't masks of the beast and no, America isn't going to become communist because we wear them. I would encourage you to read an article I wrote on the spiritual reality surrounding the 2020 crisis. Yes, I do believe witchcraft is behind it, but wearing a mask doesn't mean we are surrendering to that spirit. This bizarre conversation between pro and anti-maskers that has overtaken our culture must be refocused onto what is most important." - John Burton

Your teaching will shipwreck people's faith. That is why you are questioned on it. That is why you are corrected on it. Your insistence on being right only further proves you do not care to listen or learn. Can't you see the double speak John? You claim to know that the usage of masks to protect oneself from a deadly pandemic is witchcraft but out of the other side of your mouth claim that one can wear masks without surrendering to that spirit? Please stop. You are embarrassing yourself.

"I don't think anybody can deny that the entire world has been shaken by the virus. The purpose of my recent articles on the subject is to awaken the shaken to the supreme opportunity to shine our lights into a desperate and dark situation. Be honest. Christians are worrying, nervous, fearful and scrambling to do whatever they can to be safe from this invisible threat. This isn't true of all believers, of course. It's true of a whole lot of them though. I don't know how often I hear blood-bought believers urgently warning people to wear masks, to socially distance and to lock down while rarely hearing them proclaim the power of the blood that bought them. I'm dumbfounded. The lack of a faith-driven spiritual response is a problem. If our joy, peace and confidence in Jesus has been impacted, we must respond in repentance. In the midst of a threat, abundant life is still ours. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Peace that passes all understanding. We are more than conquerors, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. We trample on serpents and scorpions. We have authority over all the power of the enemy. That will preach." - John Burton

You are dumbfounded? Let me explain. You keep mixing the ability of God to heal, with using wisdom to prevent catching the virus. No one is stressing to wear a mask to heal oneself from the virus. They are stressing such to prevent catching it to begin with. Are you suggesting that Christians should discard wisdom and walk around like idiots proclaiming the power of God will protect me? As I stated in my last devotional about this, you need to read the temptation of Christ. The devil tempts Jesus to cast Himself off the top of the pinnacle of the temple because God will protect Him. He even mangles a scripture reference for Him! Jesus does not jump because it is not wise to put God to the test. Here is the hard truth that escapes John Burton. He is so invested in his dominionist politics that he has lined up against masks for political reasons and he is trying to find scriptural support. I would argue that wearing masks not only honors God but is the epitome of faith. It is faith in God demanding that His followers act with wisdom towards those on the outside of salvation looking in. Faith begins with obedience John. Obedience. Cobbling together positive sounding scripture fragments does not change that. As for authority over the enemy, you don't quite get it. Let me quote Got Questions, which summarizes this point well:

"We have no authority over Satan in ourselves. God has all authority, and He fights on our behalf. Our response to Satan's attacks should include submitting our lives to God, living in a holy manner, praying for God's protection, and resisting sin. When we place ourselves under God's protection, Satan has no authority over us. He will flee. In addition, we can respond to the devil's temptations as Jesus did." - Got Questions

If we live our lives submitted to our Master then we will wear masks to avoid catching a plague because it is wise and we should not put our God to the test. Not running around declaring we are the head and not the tail.

"The sad reality is that a lot of Christians simply don't believe that Jesus heals or protects today. Some believe that He can, but they doubt that He will. Miracles are rare. Wonders of old can be taught in Sunday school but they really don't occur today. They boldly defend the power of the enemy by confessing that nobody is safe, Christian or non-Christian. What many Christians call faith is little more than hope. Hope is posturing ourselves by sitting back and waiting for God to do something we'd like Him to do. Faith is altogether different. It's active. There's an attitude driving it. It's demanding. It's expectant. It's militant. Vibrant faith results in people speaking to mountains, shouting from rooftops, casting out demons, decreeing the Word of God and refusing to allow common sense, human wisdom or anything else to stop them." - John Burton

Let's dismantle the faulty foundation that underlies a lot of Burton's errors. He believes in divine mandatory healing. This false teaching says God MUST heal us. This is one of the reasons I assume that Burton advocates thumbing your nose at wisdom and common sense. Clearly he would have jumped from the top of the temple. Now, CAN God heal? Absolutely. Do you know why? Because He is God. He can do whatever He wants. When you teach that He must heal however, you rob Him of His sovereignty. The other error here is conflating protection with mandatory healing. Can God protect us? Absolutely because He is God. Yet Christians die of cancer every single day. They die in car accidents even though traveling mercies were prayed for. Can God still perform miracles? Absolutely! Every time a sinner repents it is a supernatural miracle! John Burton however believes in false signs and lying wonders. His definition of miracles aligns with Bill Johnson. As for this nonsense about the defending of the power of the enemy let me shake John's world. This virus remains within the will of God. That is right John. God may not have created it but He sure allowed it through His permissive will. It is nothing short of sheer idiocy to assume that everything about the virus must be from the devil and thus if we simply try to not get sick we are defending the enemy. Perhaps God is doing a sifting John. Perhaps He is trying to see which of His ministers do not actually care about His sheep. Faith demands you wear a mask. Faith expects you to socially distance. It is not human wisdom but scriptural.

"Faith crushes fear. Faith destroys worry. Faith demands results. Faith pleases God. Instead, too many default to hope (or hopelessness) and live pretty much the same way as the unredeemed do. Truths of Scripture are somehow dismissed as unreliable: "'These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover'" (Mark 16:17-18). The "sick may recover" would be a better translation according to the belief system of many Christians. In fact, they tend to get quite mad at those who stand in faith on the Word of God, especially regarding healing. Accusations of "holier than thou" and "spiritual pride" are hurled at those who simply state they believe Jesus paid the price for sickness." - John Burton

Yeah no. You see the problem is that you continue to define faith as being reckless and uncaring in the face of a global pandemic. That is not faith John. It is arrogant stupidity. I am so glad you quoted the Charismatic's favorite scriptures from Mark. Did you know that this section of scripture was not in the original manuscript? That most scholars agree Mark probably never wrote it? Now we keep it in the canon but realize that we should never develop doctrine solely from this part of scripture. That said, you cite this as the basis for divine healing. You are taking it literally, for all sickness. What about the portion that says to take up serpents and drink poison? Under your literalist interpretation, you must believe we should be handling snakes in service, right? No? Where is your faith John? What are you worried about? Doesn't faith destroy worry? Why are you afraid? Doesn't faith crush fear? Going out into the middle of a global plague without taking precautions? Just as ridiculous as handling snakes because of this questionable section from mark's Gospel. Very unwise.

"There are many reasons people are not healed. This article isn't the place to dive into a deep discussion on the topic. Suffice to say the reasons include one or more of the following: unbelief, fear, sin, lukewarmness, receiving communion in an unworthy manner, not understanding our authority, curses, lies we've adopted, ignorance of the Word, misunderstanding timing, lack of fervency and trusting in doctors more than God, among others. Another reason is what I call the treasure map. Healing is a hidden treasure that often must be sought after. The Holy Spirit will lead us as we discover truths, repent of wrong thinking and work to grow in faith. The treasure map is the unknown. It's the journey. There may be no sin, no doubt and no clear reason why sickness remains. So, we seek, pray and stand as God progressively brings revelation to our situation. Those who are sick should not live in condemnation, but they should be earnestly seeking the treasure of healing with joy and great expectation. If someone is not healed, it doesn't necessarily mean they are less spiritual. It simply means they are somewhere in the middle of their journey on their personal treasure map. That being said, please hear me. Faith demands that we stare sickness in the eye and fight. We can't allow the "chances" of healing or our own failed experiences with sickness to cause us to doubt, to stand down or to divert to other more natural remedies. No! We decree truth! We stand as warriors! We declare that Jesus took all of our sickness on the cross. We proclaim that healing is ours! It's this type of boldness the world needs to see." - John Burton

Wow. That is some exhaustive list for reasons why we are not healed. Do you know what they all have in common? They are your fault. You did not believe. You feared. You sinned. You are lukewarm. You received communion in an unworthy manner. You failed to understand our authority. This is where faith is shipwrecked. This is why Burton's teaching is so abhorrent, unbiblical and dangerous. Nowhere in this list is God allowed to be God and say no. Do not get me wrong, this list are all things that would indicate we are not fully submitted to God and His word. Then Burton enters into the truly Gnostic. Healing is a treasure map? God has hidden healing from us? Really? There is enough truth woven in here to confuse undiscerning or baby Christians. The Holy Spirit does lead us into all truth but that does not make healing a hidden treasure we have to discover. This teaching is like an insurance policy to protect Burton from all of the false teachings he engages in regarding healing. Perhaps Burton realizes that many will cross all the "T" in his little list of works and still not be healed, because you know, God is sovereign. Well in that case don't your worry because you are just roaming around your personal treasure map. Keep searching and expecting! Faith does not demand this list of prideful comments. We have no power to decree anything. That power is God's alone. It is word faith doctrine that is the source for this error. Proclaiming healing is ours is not bold, it is stupid and arrogant. The cross dealt with our spiritual sickness. It did not guarantee physical healing on demand. The world needs to see a Christian who prays for healing and believes God can heal but at the same time containing peace that if He chooses not to heal, let His will be done.

"If you don't remember anything else in this article, please remember the following. This is what is burning in my spirit. This is the real purpose of my writing. Declare the goodness and power of God! Stop declaring the deadly power of a virus! The church should be commandeering the media, social and otherwise, with faith-filled messages to those who are haunted by fears of sickness and death. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). We are anointed to proclaim Good News, liberty and healing! Are you doing that every day on Facebook and Twitter? You must! Especially during this opportunistic season! The world should be witnessing a supernatural explosion as we radiate the power of the Holy Spirit and decree with passion that peace, freedom and healing can be theirs. Christians, stop with the faithless drivel about the power of masks or the threat of COVID-19. Sure, make your point and be safe, but please stop giving the enemy more power than he already has. Speak life! If the people of the world want scientific data on whether masks are beneficial or not, they can do their own research. What they need from you and me, however, is powerfully anointed, deeply profound and supernaturally charged revelation! Preach, preacher! The call to all is to rise up in fearless faith, with smiles on our faces and fire in our eyes as we proclaim to a worried and dying world that Jesus has conquered death, hell and the grave! There is a love that eliminates all fear. This is the message. This is the cry of my heart. We should be preaching Jesus. Where are the social warriors who will share verses that ignite faith? Where are the believers who truly embrace the healing power of Jesus? Where are those who refuse to be shaken by the enemy? Where are the firebrands who will push back the darkness and laugh at the threats? This is your mandate, Christian. This is your call. It's time you stop repeating all of the news stories and reports that spread fear. It's time to burn hot with the truth of the Word and show the world just what it is to be a sign and a wonder in the earth!" - John Burton

Your mandate beloved is not to laugh at that which threatens your life. That is abusrd. It is not to put on a claok of false bravado and spit in the eye of wisdom. His quoting of Luke, who was quoting Isaiah, shows His poor understanding of scripture. This is Jesus in the synagogue declaring that this prophecy was now fulfilled in Him. Not in us! In Him! Even still, the word healing, which does not appear in every tranalstion, is in regards to healing the brokenhearted, not the COVID infected! God is His word according the the Gospel of John. It is the Gospel that is the Good News. The Gospel provides liberty to those ensnared by the devil and sin. It is the Gospel that heals the broken heart. It is the Gospel that makes the spiritually blind see again! It is the Gospel that frees those oppressed by Satan and the sins of this world. The NAR dominionist cheapens it by making everything about this world. Can God heal you? Absolutely. Must He? Not on your life. This virus is real and it really kills people. It does not show a lack of faith for me to say that, only wisdom. A pastor has a responsibility to the well being of his sheep both spiritually and physically. John Burton remains reckless and arrogant when it comes to both.

Reverend Anthony Wade - August 21, 2020

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.