I have taken a long break from reading Velvet Elvis , but now I am back in it again. As I read "movement" five: "Dust." I was struck by the fact that Rob Bell is a false teacher and as such must be clearly named as one. Jesus promised that there would be wolves (Matt. 7:15), Paul and Peter affirmed it (Acts 20:29; 2 Pet. 2:1)and they were there in the early church and they are here now. Rob Bell is one of them. How can I say that? Well in this movement Rob Bell very cleverly draws a person in by wowing them with Rabbinical backgrounds and then takes these thoughts and makes Jesus say exactly the opposite of what He actually says in scripture which is our only absolutely true source of information! Essentially he lays out the basics of how Jewish education works and how ones graduates to become a student of a Rabbi and then a Rabbi. He talks about how most Jews didn't make the cut. He says that because the Galilean disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John, were fisherman that it shows that they didn't make the cut. According to Bell, the way that a Rabbi would tell you that you had made the cut was to say "Follow Me." So he says that when Jesus said follow me to the disciples what he was saying was that they were good enough to make the cut. Bell says that Jesus believed that they could be like Him. He ends the chapter by saying this: "God has an incredibly high view of people. God believes that people are capable of doing amazing things. I have been told that I need to believe in Jesus. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that Jesus believes in me. I have been told that I need to have faith in God. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that God has faith in me." What Bell has done here is to absolutely pervert the message of scripture. He forces his interpretation of Rabbinical backgrounds into the New Testament scripture and comes up with a fanciful interpretation of what Jesus is trying to do. Why not just let scripture speak for itself by dealing with Jesus' words in their context. Then the message of scripture would not be perverted. Jesus did not believe in the goodness of man, he believed in the goodness of God. He did not put His trust in men, He put His Spirit in them to turn them away from self trust and to trust in God. In the context of Christ's calling of the fishermen in Luke 5, Peter had to realize that He was unworthy to be in the presence of Christ because of his sinfulness(Luke 5:8). Self confidence was not what he needed to become a follower of Christ. He needed Christ confidence. This is why Christ had showed him by controlling the catch of fish that He was God and had power over all the universe. This is what we need today: God confidence and not self confidence. Here are some verses in the Bible that show that what we need is not to believe in ourselves but to believe in God.
John 15:5“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.NASB95
Philippians 3:2-3Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,NASB95
2 Corinthians 12:9-10And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.NASB95
Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.NASB95
Proverbs 28:26He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.NASB95
