Darren Wilson is out attacking sound doctrine again. All in the name of superficial carnal love.

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And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. -- 2Peter 2: 3 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/behind-the-lens/66881-when-jesus-wasn-t-nice

I understand that for many mainstream Christians, Darren Wilson may not be a household name -- and that is a very good thing. Yet over the past few years he has gained traction within the false signs and lying wonders network of churches such as Bethel and IHOP. He has become a regular contributor to Charisma News, where his articles largely exist to sell his latest film project. Darren is a director of some of the most egregiously false Christian movies that have come out in recent memory. His two latest debacles were Holy Ghost and Holy Ghost II -- Electric Boogaloo (I don't know why that joke always makes me chuckle). These movies included such absurdities as the leg growing trick at a Korn concert and "healing evangelists" travelling the globe to stalk strangers with psychic tricks instead of heading to the local emergency room if they were so endowed from God as healers. They constantly talk about religious people as anathema who are trying to "put God in a box." Everything for them is always about love. But it is not godly love beloved. It is this sloppy agape love that ignores sin, refuses to discuss true repentance and eschews the Bible in favor of personal experience. Critics are dismissed out of hand as not being loving enough, being religious, or needing a deeper revelation of the Spirit. It is not the Spirit of God however that they traffic in. If it were, the Holy Spirit would lead them back into all truth which is only found within Scripture. Wilson's latest project that he is selling is called "Questions with God"; where Wilson and some of his accomplices sit around a kitchen table discussing questions that seem to be designed to deflect any of the common critiques they still get for being so wildly unbiblical. Last week the question was what to do with weird manifestations of the Spirit. Wilson always tells this fairy tale about how his parents received gold fillings from the Lord one church service. He is cozy with Bill Johnson who fakes "glory clouds", gem stones, gold dust and angel feathers regularly. Let us reason together as we review his latest article propping up his latest question, what does love actually look like?"

"In episode 7 of my new series, Questions With God, I ask the question, "What does love actually look like?" It's a question I have sought the answer to for the past 10 years, and it's what all my films and television shows have striven to uncover. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us the very definition of love, but defining something and living it out in a world and culture that is constantly trying to twist and distort that definition is something else entirely. For instance, is it more loving to pray for someone or to attend to their needs? Is it more loving to tell someone what they're doing wrong or to allow them to navigate their journey at their own pace? Is it more loving to explain the consequences of sin or to instead focus on the joys of Christ? It should come as no surprise that the world is confused about love if we Christians can't even agree on it!" -- Darren Wilson

Because Wilson is constantly seeking the next big extra-biblical experience, he never starts by looking for answers within the revealed will of God. What does love look like? Jesus teaches us explicitly that if we claim to love Him then we must obey His Word. God is love. That He so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for our sins. This is love but not to Darren Wilson. To him it is this ethereal chasing of the wind that results in some kind of experience that is attributed to the Holy Spirit but clearly is not. Then he presents forced choices about what would be more loving. Praying for someone or attending to their needs. Having seen much of Wilson's work I know he believes the answer is attending to their needs. To Darren Wilson, praying is for the religious people. But lovers love on people. They attend directly to their needs. When you are essentially your own god it is of little wonder when you think you have more to offer than the Lord. Now, should we help people where they are at? Absolutely! James teaches us that it is little good to merely speak to people in distress and not attend to their needs. But beloved, prayer is second place to nothing.

Is it more loving to tell someone what they are doing wrong or to allow them to navigate their journey at their own pace? Once again, when you do not start with Scripture you are left chasing your own foolish and deceitful heart. The Bible says we are our brother's keeper. It says we are supposed to correct in love. The Word is righteous for reproof and correction. That's just religion to the likes of Darren Wilson. Like the people he follows there is zero sense of urgency. Joel Osteen believes that people already know what they do wrong so he does not go there. One year Rick Warren told pastors to not preach the Gospel for Easter so that the unsaved visitors would have reason to want to come back to your church. Every moment that we breathe in, someone is exhaling for the last time. Tomorrow is promised to no one. There is no "navigating the journey at our own pace." Our desired pace will avoid God every chance it gets. There is no love in watching someone constantly deny Christ and think that is just the journey they are on. The final forced choice here is it more loving to explain the consequences of sin or to instead focus on the joys of Christ? The fact that Wilson think this is a choice at all reveals how blackened his heart is. This is the definition of sloppy agape love. It is a love that denies the eternal realities that everyone faces. Let's all hold hands in a circle and sing Kumbaya until Jesus comes but when He does they will stand before Him and He will say: "I never knew you." Wilson continues:

"For most of my life I spouted the platitudes of love as the highest ideal for a Christian, but inwardly I hardly did anything about it. Knowing the right answer and changing your behavior to match it are two very different things, and that hypocrisy is precisely what riled Jesus up the most. It should be noted that Jesus, for all his kindness, grace and mercy that we so love to extol, was surprisingly vehement in his vitriol against certain people. If you were saying one thing but living another way, and especially if you were a "religious" person and should know better, He brought the fire and the fury of heaven down on you. Publicly. To bring spiritual men to such a froth that they literally want to kill you is no easy task, yet Jesus did it in a relatively short time frame. When the darkness in our hearts is exposed, it isn't fun. But how we react to that exposure will reveal everything about who we really are." -- Darren Wilson

As with most false teachers the longer they talk the more they reveal about the underpinnings of their false beliefs. To Wilson, love is the highest ideal for a Christian. His only problem was that he could not get his actions in alignment. The reality is that obedience, not love, is the highest ideal for a Christian. Jesus Himself laments why bother calling Him Lord at all if we refuse to do as He says. Wait a minute preacher! What about Jesus' new commandment to love one another! What about it beloved? Just like every other word spoken by our Lord we ought to be striving to obey it. God is love but as humans we mess it all up with our romanticized, sexualized, sloppy agape. If we hold obedience up as the ideal, love comes with the obedience. Suddenly there is no need for forced choices. We will pray and attend to the needs of people. We will show people what they are doing wrong out of a position of true love and not judgement. We will be our brother's keeper and focus on the joys of Christ.

Secondly, we see how poor an understanding of the Gospels that Darren Wilson has. Yes, hypocrisy infuriated Jesus and yes the most fury was reserved for the teachers of religious law. Wilson wrongly equates that however to all mainstream religious leaders of today. The specific hypocrisy was because they were false teachers. Read the 23^rd chapter of Matthew's Gospel and see the pronouncements of woe, or judgment, over the Pharisees from Jesus. First they shut the kingdom of heaven in the faces of those seeking it! How? That is what false doctrine does! Secondly, they travel the world to make a single proselyte but in doing so make him twice the son of hell that they are. Why? Because their doctrine is wrong! Thirdly, they have traded in the eternal for valuing the temporal. To them the gold was more important than the temple. So it is with false teachers like Wilson today -- constantly selling the baubles of this world while ignoring the eternal principles that can truly free and save people. The fourth woe is in regard to straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel. Specifically here that they ignored the weightier matters of the law in favor of the more legalistic aspects of it. While no one can accuse Darren Wilson of being a legalist, this still applies to him. While straining out the gnats of religiosity Wilson cannot see the love camel he constantly is swallowing. The fifth woe is the woe of being a whitewashed tomb. The outward appearance is well produced. It is well directed. It appears clean and righteous but inwardly it is filled with rotting dead men's bones. That is Darren Wilson and his endeavors. His stagecraft is good and can deceive many. The final woe is related to the Pharisee's insistence that they would not have slaughtered the prophets of old. This is a practice Wilson traffics in the spiritual realm in. Steering people away from the prophets and the Word of God in favor of his experiential love.

Thirdly here we see how blind Wilson is to his own hypocrisy. The reason why the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus was not just because of the interactions between the two. The reality is the Pharisees had a good racket. They were the respected ones. They held the seats of honor and power. They devoured widows' homes for profit. Jesus came along and overturned their applecart. He was a threat to the machine so they killed Him. Likewise today, discernment ministries that try and focus the body on the Word of God instead of sloppy agape theology and experiential Christianity are upsetting the applecarts of the Purpose Driven Industrial Complex. So Wilson goes on the attack to deride and denounce those that would pull back the curtain and let everyone see who the wizard really is. Wilson continues:

"I have no patience or tolerance for "religious" people anymore. I used to be one of the highest order, so I know how they think. Religious people are non-lovers. They are concerned with appearances, rituals, and theological ruminations. Their faith is firmly rooted in their head, but hasn't yet made its way to their heart. They know the right things to say, but strap a camera onto them 24/7 and you'd be appalled at their behavior. They "have a form of godliness, but deny its power" (2 Tim. 3:5). But more than anything, they think of themselves above others. This, I am convinced, is the truest form of religion in the worst sense, because it is the exact opposite of what Christ models for us. I was this person for many, many years. I had just enough knowledge of the Bible to make me dangerous, and I had just enough transformation in my life to make me feel good about myself, but drill down to the root of my heart and it was mostly selfishness and self-focus. I would love you only if it was convenient." -- Darren Wilson

There is a lot to unpack here. First it is quite telling that in the deceitful heart of Darren Wilson theological ruminations are a bad thing. To ruminate means to give deep and considered thought to something, in this case theology. Theology is merely the study of the nature of God and faith. So why is a self-promoted Christian leader coming out against deep and considered thought regarding the nature of God and faith? In the Bible Paul considered the Bereans of more noble character for their insistence on theological rumination. Secondly we notice the dichotomy employed here by Wilson. To him faith is either firmly rooted in your head or your heart when the reality is it should be rooted in your Spirit through the confirmation of Scripture. This heart based faith is exactly the problem within the false theology of Darren Wilson. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that the heart is not only wicked but wickedly deceitful above anything else created. Ruminate on that for a moment. The very thing that Darren Wilson believes your faith should be rooted firmly in is the most deceitful thing known to man! As for strapping a camera on ourselves 24-7 I am confident that we would be appalled at any Christian because our sinful nature is what it is. Interesting and ironic that he would quote the section of 2Timothy that deals with false teachers such as him. In the last days this is what will happen within the church. Let us consider what Gill's Commentary has to say about part of this verse:

"but denying the power thereof; though in words they profess religion and godliness, the fear of God, and the pure worship of him, yet in works they deny all; and though they may have a set of notions in their heads, yet they feel nothing of the power of them on their hearts; and are strangers to experimental religion, and powerful godliness: or though they profess the Scriptures to be the word of God, yet they deny the use, the power, and efficacy of them; -- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Though they profess the Scriptures to be the word of God they deny the use, the power, and the efficacy of them. When you strip away all the pious sounding niceties from Wilson this is what you are left with. Deny the power of Scripture. Rely upon the deceitful heart to process our personal experiences. Darren Wilson's confessions aside here, I do not know many Bible believing Christians who elevate themselves above others. True Scripture understanding promotes humility. Now are there some legalistic branches within the church? Absolutely but do you think they are growing today or dwindling? They are few and far between beloved. What Darren Wilson is actually speaking against are people who insist on biblical accuracy to guide their walk, you know, as Jesus commanded us. What is also at the heart of his deception however is a fundamentally poor understanding of love. I agree that selfishness is not love. That we must not love out of our convenience alone. That does not mean you abandon all reason however. Christian love that is not rooted in the unwavering truth of Scripture is not love at all. It is cruelty. It is cruel because it presents itself as a balm but when applied causes more pain and damage. It is cruel because it gives the appearance of life when there is none. It is like the barren fig tree that Jesus cursed. The leaves meant there should have been fruit but when He peeled the leaves aside there was none. The sloppy agape love that Darren Wilson peddles is nothing more than a barren fig tree with plenty of pious looking leaves to deceive you into thinking that it is real love. It is packaged beautifully and marketed well but when you pull the leaves aside there is nothing there. No fruit. No life. Certainly no real love. Wilson concludes:

"I don't think God wants us to beat ourselves up, and I'm certain He doesn't want us to wallow in shame and condemnation, but I do think He wants us to consistently shine the light of truth into our own hearts and expose the darkness that is there, so that He can purify it and make us new again. We are professional screw-ups--it's what we do best as humans. But thankfully we have a Father who loves us in spite of our best efforts, and who has given us the greatest example of love to guide us into all truth. His Son. The Savior of the world. He put you ahead of Himself. All he's asking is that you do the same for others." -- Darren Wilson

God only sent His Son to die for us. To die a criminal's death for us. To die a violent and painful criminal's death for us. Thorns shoved into His forehead until His own blood poured into His eyes. A spear shoved into His side. A flogging that would have killed most men. Forced to carry the instrument of His own death, to His death. Yet despite these facts, the Darren Wilson's of the world don't think that God wants us to beat ourselves up. How unbelievably arrogant. The truth is we do not beat ourselves up enough and we have an enabling church that holds our hand while we are in rebellion to God. If we refuse to correct our sin and repent then we ought to wallow in shame and condemnation! Beloved, let me make this easy for us to digest. We can trust our own deceitful hearts or we can trust the infallibility of Scripture. It is not about God not asking us to put others before ourselves. That is a works based mentality that Wilson lives under so he can convince himself that he is living a pious life when his teaching is anathema to God. The reality of Christianity is that it is because of what Christ has done that we strive to obey Him through His written Word. If we do that we will find ourselves by default putting others ahead of ourselves. That is how it is supposed to work.

I chose the key verse today because Darren Wilson is the man who through feigned words is making merchandise of the sheep of the Lord. Season One of Questions with God will run you thirty bucks. Holy Ghost Deluxe Edition DVD? A mere thirty five dollars. I do not begrudge people making money unless they are fleecing God's flock with the false doctrines of devils. That we should abandon the surety of Scripture for the wicked deceit of our own hearts. Religion and religious are not dirty words beloved. God ordained those words in His Word. Do not listen to the honeycombed words of the sloppy agape theology that says love and not obedience is the Christian ideal to live by. Love is a result of obedience not the plumb line to be used in lieu of it.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- August 21, 2017

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.