At least one WoF critic says that we teach that we should have faith in our faith, rather than faith in God. I have to say that I don’t see any way that a guy who knows what he’s talking about can honestly come to this conclusion. Either he hasn’t done adequate research or he’s lying. I haven’t decided which is the case yet, but whether he’s ignorant or dishonest he’s not very credible.
We teach that the object of our faith should always be the Word of God. (Rom. 10:,14-17) The Word of God is the revealed will of God. Kenneth Hagin stated innumerable times that biblical faith is based on what God said. In his Bible Faith Study Guide he talked about Thomas’ refusal to believe what he couldn’t see and Abraham believing the Word of God that he would have a son, rather than considering the age of his body.
“Now I want to go a step further and show you the difference between head faith and
heart faith. Let’s look at John 20:25-29.25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he
[Thomas] said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I
will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them:
then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace
be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my
hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless,
but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
ROMANS 4:17-21
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which
be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many
nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when
he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in
faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to
perform.
Can you see any difference between Abraham’s faith and Thomas’ faith? Decidedly,
yes! Thomas said, “I won’t believe unless I can see the print of the nails and see the
wound in his side” (John 20:25). Jesus said, “. . . because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, and yet have BELIEVED” (v.29).
Then look at Abraham who “… calleth those things which be not as though they were”
(Rom. 4:17). Which faith is Bible faith? Of course, Abraham’s faith is, because our text
in Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things NOT SEEN.”
Abraham is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 as having faith which pleased God (Heb.
11:8-12). Abraham’s faith was based on “… being fully persuaded that, what he [God]
had promised, he was able also to perform” (Rom. 4:21). Abraham believed God and he
believed God’s promise.Bible Faith
So here’s a little formula for the faith that pleases God. You can make this Bible faith
work for you. It is the same faith that Abraham used and it worked for him because it is
faith that is based on what God has said.1. Have God’s Word for what you desire to receive from God.
2. Believe God’s Word.
3. Consider not the contradictory circumstances.
4. Give praise to God for the answer.Follow these four steps and you’ll always get the desired result because these are four
certain or sure steps to deliverance, healing, answered prayers, or whatever it is that
you are seeking from God. Then notice Thomas’ faith. Thomas’ faith was not based
upon what God said: Thomas’ faith was based upon what his own physical senses told
him. For example, Thomas said he would not believe unless he could see.So many people say, “When I see it or when I feel it then I’ll know I have my petition.”
But that’s not Bible faith. That’s natural human faith and any sinner already has that kind
of faith. You see, real faith in God is based upon the Word of God. Real faith in the
Word says, “If God says it’s true, it is.” Believing God is believing His Word!I like something Smith Wigglesworth said. He said, “I can’t understand God by feelings.
I can’t understand the Lord Jesus Christ by feelings. I can understand God the Father
and Jesus Christ only by what the Word says about them. God is everything the Word
says He is.” Wigglesworth went on to say, “We need to get acquainted with the Lord
Jesus Christ through the Word.”
Too many people try to get acquainted with God through feelings, and when they feel
good, they think God has heard them. But if they don’t feel good, they think He is not
hearing them. Their faith is based on their feelings, but my faith is based upon God’s
Word. If God’s Word says He hears me, then I know He hears me because He said so,
and His Word cannot lie. In other words, if my faith is based upon my feelings, then I am
just using a natural human faith. I’m trying to get spiritual results with natural human
faith, and I cannot do that. I have to use scriptural faith, Bible faith, and believe God’s
Word. And if my faith is based upon the Word of God, then I believe the Word
regardless of evidences which would satisfy my physical senses.Too many people are trying to get Abraham’s blessing with Thomas’ faith, and that just
won’t work. We who are believers have the Abraham kind of faith because Galatians
3:29 says, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to
the promise.” And Galatians 3:7 says, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
the same are the children of Abraham.” We have the Abraham kind of faith. We’re not
trying to get it; we have it.”
So we can plainly see here that Brother Hagin taught that we are to place our faith in God through His Word. I could give you other examples where he said essentially the same thing, but I think I’ve made my point.
So why does this critic say that we teach that you’re supposed to put your faith in your faith rather than in God? He takes if from one of Brother Hagin’s mini-books called “Having Faith in Your Faith“. (The book has since been renamed “Your Faith in God Will Work“, apparently in an effort to prevent people from misrepresenting it.) Allow me to quote a passage from this book.
“Why don’t people have faith in their own faith? I know from experience that a lot of people have faith in my faith and the faith of others. But they do not have confidence in their own faith. For some reason or other, they do not believe in themselves. They do not believe in what Christ has wrought for them. They do not believe who and what they are in Christ Jesus. They have a feeling they are not good enough. They feel their faith is not strong enough. They’re acquainted with all of their own failings and weaknesses, and they readily accept every condemnation they hear preached to them from the pulpit.”
What he was talking about here was the tendency that Christians have to look to somebody else to use their faith rather than developing their own faith. He was encouraging them to have confidence that their faith will work for them as well as his would. God has given to every man the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), but it’s up to us to develop it just like we have to develop our muscles and learn to walk physically. Brother Hagin was just exhorting people to believe that their faith will work, because it comes from the same God. He stated it that way – “Have faith in your faith.” The context was having faith in your faith as opposed to relying on somebody else’s faith, not “having faith in your faith as opposed to having faith in God”. The critic took this statement out of context and completely misrepresented what Kenneth Hagin was talking about.
This was a little 32 page booklet taken from a transcript of one of Brother Hagin’s messages about a particular topic. It wasn’t a dissertation on Word of Faith theology or even a study guide as I quoted from earlier. No objective person could draw the conclusion that this guy did. This was yet another lame attempt to link Word of Faith theology to the New Age Movement or the metaphysical cults.