Do NOT Be a Red Letter Christian
Beth Moore tweeted this the other day: “My basic take on life thus far: If tons of folks say one thing and Jesus says another, I’d pretty well go with Jesus on it.” Sounds good, doesn’t it? But later, she clarified what she meant by writing: “No, I was not subtweeting the apostle but I would like to say something here. I believe wholeheartedly that ALL Scripture is inspired by God. Authoritative. Truth. But the persons themselves – Paul and Jesus – are not equals. I know this is hard for some to swallow, but Paul is not our Savior. Paul would be horrified, I believe, by the way he has been deified.”
This is a very slippery slope, dear women. I know too many people who have begun elevating the words of Jesus in the Bible over Paul’s words and end up walking away from the faith altogether. I know no one who has deified the apostle Paul, do you? I do know that his words are as valuable as Jesus’ words since the Holy Spirit used Paul to write what he wrote (2 Timothy 3:16).
Do I deify Paul’s words as some probably, like Beth and other female preachers, believe? After all, he’s the one who teaches women to be silent in the churches and it’s shameful for them to speak in the churches. They are to dress modestly, be shamefaced, and have meek and quiet spirits. Women are not to teach men nor be in authority over them in the churches. They are to submit to and obey one’s husband and be keepers at home. Of course, many women gladly stand behind Jesus’ words but not Paul’s since Jesus never said any of these things. The red letters are absent these admonitions to women.
Most female preachers prefer Jesus’ words to Paul’s words. In fact, most of them ignore a lot of what Paul wrote. If they taught Paul’s words, they would see that they are in disobedience, not to Paul, but to God Himself. There are few, if any, female preachers who teach biblical womanhood, as the Word of God commands. They teach everything but this. They can’t teach women to be keepers at home because they’re not keepers at home. This is why I am not a fan of female Bible teachers at all. Most fail to teach what God has commanded they teach.
James White wrote this about Beth’s tweet, “All egalitarians end up diminishing Paul’s authority. It is a necessary step, even if taken in slow, little movements.”
Another man wrote, “Being a ‘red-lettered’ Christian is dangerous. You’re on a path towards liberalism, if you’re not already there yet.”
And another, “Actually, I’m having trouble pinpointing anything that Paul said that Jesus would have disagreed with. Could y’all maybe point me to something?”
Please be careful whom you learn from, women. There are many teachers who are teaching things contrary to Scripture for their own benefit. Measure everything you hear by the perfect Word of God.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16
25 thoughts on “Do NOT Be a Red Letter Christian”
A very important point:
Scripture does not contradict Scripture. There CAN be no conflict between the words of Paul and those of Jesus not if “ALL Scripture is inspired by God. Authoritative. Truth”. To say otherwise would be like a physics textbook stating on one page that electrons have a negative charge, and on another that they have a positive charge.
If there is some apparent contradiction between Jesus’ words and those of Paul, it must be found in your interpretation of the text. It does not exist in the text itself, making Moore’s tweet nonsensical.
One other thing: In a way, I am glad that Moore’s public statements are becoming more wild and less Christian. I suffered through one of her Bible studies in college and thought she was awful; now the falseness of her teaching is becoming more and more apparent.
Of course, God desires repentance and not the death of the sinner, so I pray that Moore eventually comes to the Lord in truth; as long as she does not, however, it is good that her waywardness is becoming more blatant.
Typical. The new testament and all of it definitely needs to be followed. Just because Jesus didn’t directly say it doesn’t make it not as true. Do people not believe in the Trinity? Paul was working with the Spirit in him essentially Jesus talking through him using him. Nonsense most of these unbiblical “teachers” teach.
I went to one of her studies at our local church about ten years ago. So many women raved about her so I thought I would give it a try. I was not impressed at all and failed to see why all the other women loved her teachings so much. From her own imaginations, she would make up so much from one Bible verse that wasn’t even stated or clear in the text. No, thank you.
Here is a good article for those women who are wondering about Beth’s teachings:
https://michellelesley.com/2014/08/14/updated-five-reasons-its-time-to-start-exercising-moore-discernment/
If one wants to challenge the words of Paul as not being authoritative, they must first realize that all of what Paul says is grounded in both the Old Testament instructions given by God and Christian liberty of the New Covenant. The apostle Paul is rarely, if ever, instructing from thin air, but from deeply rooted theology God has already given us.
It is a cheap and disingenuous thought to say, “Paul would be horrified, I believe, by the way he has been deified.” This belief is a false flag of justification, as there is no way the apostle would back away from his instructions for the church and the God who gave these commands for His Bible.
Beth Moore is right, Paul would be horrified by someone subtly attempting to pit his “person” against Jesus to seemingly undermine the words he penned through the work of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps I’m dense, but I don’t even understand what she’s talking about? I’m a woman, so take no offense readers, but only a woman could make such a manipulative comment. I feel icky thinking on it, but truth be told, I would’ve probably glossed right over if it weren’t for Lori’s fine work. Thanks for taking on tough topics and teaching us! Heidi, your comment articulates the contradiction perfectly.
I believe her ministry is successful because it reaches women by connecting to their feelings. I’m slowly learning to not rely on my emotions, but allow the Holy Spirit to give me peace, which only comes from His Word.
I’ve appreciated the discernment of others and their willingness to publish their concerns and warnings as they dig deeper into her ministry. I’m sure they take a big risk in doing so in the “Court of Public Opinion” among some believers.
2Tim3:16-17 (NASB)
16 All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [b]training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Scripture itself says ALL….not SOME. SO…it seems rather straightforward to me that Paul’s teachings (God-inspired) to us should be considered and obeyed every bit as much as Jesus’ teachings.
Amen.
Female Bible teachers always end in heresy. It’s impossible not to, because they’re starting with a foundation of disobedience to God.
I agree. Women are told specifically what they are to teach other women in Titus 2:3-5 and when they stray from teaching what God commands they teach, they seem to go off track and away from the truth.
Nearly 2 years ago now, my husband approached the Pastor of our church about some teaching materials that had found their way into our “Bible” studies and women’S groups. Beth Moore was amongst these false teachers.
During the meeting, the Pastor pointed out that I did not participate in the women’s study groups. He expressed “concern” that I might be “drifting”
My husband said that we had no longer been attending ANY of the church study groups because of the false teaching materials that had been introduced.
A short time later, the Pastor’swife invited me to coffee. I prayed before I sat down with her to be articulate and wise.
She spent several minutes just chit chatting pleasantly. I could tell she was setting the stage to attempt to gain my confidence. Then she pounced! What was my problem with the women’s group? (Which she lead) Why wasn’t I attending? Was there something dark in my past that I needed to share with her? On and on. It felt like a manipulative psychtherapy session! I remained poised and calm. (Thank you Holy Spirit!)
I pointed out that the teachings that had found their way into our church troubled me greatly. She said, “What?! You dont like Beth Moore?!”. To which I replied, “No, sadly, she has lost her way”
(If she ever had it)
Anyway, that was the end of our time at that church.
We need to be aware of not only the false teachings. But the manipulative tactics used to coerce us into participation and acceptance! If you’re like me, I had held the Pastor and his wife in high esteem. Surely as the leaders they were much more mature in their understanding of Scripture than me!
But because I’m an avid Bible reader, I sniffed out the falsehoods almost (Almost) immediately.
Thank you, Lord God, for protecting us with Your WORD!
Thanks for the kind comment. A good rundown of what Beth Moore is trying to accomplish can be found here:
https://pulpitandpen.org/2019/09/25/beth-moore-pits-apostle-paul-against-jesus-in-latest-blunder-adopts-red-letter-heresy/
Women Bible teachers give me the willies. Don’t know Bible they use, but i’ll bet it’s one of those new additions (more willies).
And that, friend, is one of the pitfalls of not being in the word. Directly. Yourself. Daily. When you don’t know the word you’re not able to as easily spot added or un-biblical teachings. So many excellent points brought up in today’s blog and the comments!
Heidi’s comment above was spot on! She said it perfectly. I don’t think all women Bible teachers are “bad”, Elisabeth Elliot’s ministry (her talks and writings) really made me seek Jesus more and dig into what His Word for myself. I will forever be grateful for her ministry just like I will be for yours, Lori. I think (like someone else said above) that women tend to be led by their emotions. These cute and funny “Bible” teachers draw tons of women because they’re relatable even though there’s no real substance to their teachings. Our world lives to be entertained and that’s what most of these women are doing on stage. I thank God for the hard and true things you’ve taught me, Lori. I’ve been convicted many times reading your blogs over the years. I pray one day that I’ll be a Godly older woman that is able to pour into the younger women coming behind me.
It’s strange – Paul was already experiencing man’s praise by the time he wrote “… Who is Apollos, and who is Paul?”
But he didn’t stop writing, as if he was somehow in competition with Jesus. He wrote of carrying the mission in ugly jars of clay!
Keep reading, ladies and gents. And receive the Spirit!
“Actually, I’m having trouble pinpointing anything that Paul said that Jesus would have disagreed with. Could y’all maybe point me to something?”
This. Absolutely this.
I’m fairly sure that every single word Jesus spoke was not recorded in the Bible, so Paul’s teachings expanded on Jesus’ ministry. Nothing Paul said contradicted what Jesus taught.
Also, the Bible does not contradict itself. The entire Bible is given to us from God and God does not contradict Himself. Anything that might look like a contradiction at first can be figured out with prayerful study.
Thank you, Summer! I pray the Lord raises up many women who can teach biblical womanhood to those younger than them. It’s sorely needed in the churches.
Lori,
Thought you would appreciate my take on your article and my thoughts on a certain feminist who likes to twist your words like a pretzel. I have been meaning to write my own take on this subject for a while and after reading this other feminist’s take on your words it was the prompting I needed.
https://biblicalgenderroles.com/2019/09/27/if-you-are-not-following-paul-then-you-are-not-following-jesus/
Very good post, Larry! Thank you. “Christian” feminist must build their entire platform on the fact that Jesus’ words are higher than Paul’s or else they couldn’t continue to be feminists.
What an important reminder! We have to be very careful today. For me, the easiest way for me to know what the Bible says was to start at the beginning. “The Biblical Path of Life” is a systematic approach to understanding how the Bible fits together with a purpose – to reveal Jesus and our need of Him. http://biblicalpath.com/ It is a three year study, comparing Scripture to Scripture, that goes completely through the Bible, in historical order as much as possible, to help in the understanding of it. This study digs into the Bible! Each person, especially Christians, should be encouraged to read their Bible, understand it, and apply it to our lives so we can share Jesus with others.
Beth Moore has always been a very obvious heretic. Now she openly admits it, albeit in a roundabout way. Any “church” that would endorse this woman after she has made this statement needs to be avoided at all costs.
I completely agree it is fundamentally sinful for us as women to preach or to seek to hold moral, secular or spiritual authority over men. So it’s hardly surprising that women who take it upon themselves to sin by doing so are then lead by that same sinful pride to pervert the meaning of the Scriptures.
I also pray that there are more older women able to teach Biblical Femininity to their daughters and younger women.
But I think that for the most part that teaching is best achieved by setting an example.
An example of modesty, femininity, quiet submission to our husbands and to God, commitment to homemaking and motherhood.
Hi!
I was just wondering about Pauls coworker Priscilla? Paul says about her and her husband “my co-workers in Christ”. What are your thoughts on her? 🙂
Also, that Paul reminds Timothy that his faith comes from his mother (his father was not a christian)? That would imply Timothys mother preached and taught him, right?
Thank you for your reply! 🙂
She didn’t preach nor teach in a church gathering as a pastor or preacher since this is forbidden by God. Timothy’s mother was not a pastor nor a preacher in a church either.