Recently I received the following letter:
Dear Mr. Williamson
I enjoy reading your words for the day. I just wanted to ask you a question. Have you read any of William Paul Young’s books? Have you watched his TBS show Revisiting the Shack? I want to always be in Gods will as I go through my life. It is so hard sometimes to know if the teachings of this or that person rings true to the word of God. I’ve been told that many people interpret differently. Sometimes we think a scripture means this and we may or may not get it right. I want so much to understand Gods word and to follow Him closely. Please let me know what you think. I value your opinion Thank you . . .
My response is as follows:
Frankly I think his teachings are heretical. One example is when his movie, (based on the book), portrays God as a woman. God the Father (Papa) was played by a woman and the Holy Spirit was played by an Asian woman. That alone should tell you all you need to know about his teaching. God is not a woman and the Bible is exceedingly clear on that subject.
In one scene, “God” was asked about “that wrath thing” – the wrath of God, which is seen repeatedly in the Scriptures. The response was: “Sin is its own punishment.”
That is simply not true. The Bible makes it clear that God hates sin. If you doubt this, look at Jesus on the cross. That’s what God truly thinks of our sin. The author persuades that God will never judge people for their sins because He is limited by His love. Neither will He enact eternal judgment upon those who reject Him or send anyone to torment in hell. But why would Jesus Christ die a criminal’s death on the cross if not to save us from enduring the wrath of God on sin ourselves?
The movie deals with pain and loss and that is admirable. But it looks at humanistic solutions and ignores the true answer which lies in the cross. On the cross, Jesus experienced incredible pain. He went to hell for us in order that we would be set free from it through Jesus. Unfortunately, Mr. Young seems to leave the door open to the notion that anyone and everyone will see heaven because God is a God of love. While it is true that He is a God of love, He is also a God of wrath towards sin and is a righteous judge, meaning sin must be punished. Jesus took that punishment and it is only through Him that our sins will be atoned; not Allah or Buddha.
I could go on, but enough said. He is watering down Scripture in order to achieve a politically correct objective. I don’t know if he really believes this stuff, or if he is trying to enhance the sales of his books, DVD’s, television opportunities, and movie tickets with sensationalism, but either way he is misguided.
I recommend that you read and study the Bible daily. Put your faith in God’s word. There are good Bible teachers out there, Kay Arthur for one, who have a gift of explaining, but rest assured you can learn more about God in the quiet place of your choosing just reading and listening to God.
I decided to follow that course of action many years ago, because I felt that if I made the effort God would teach me what He wanted to teach me about Himself and life. We should keep in mind that it is through the Holy Bible that God chose to reveal Himself to all of us. The Bible is a divine product and though mysteries galore abound in it, the Bible can be understood by anyone.
Jesus quoted the Scriptures at every turn and used them to teach about Himself and the solutions to our problems. If the risen Lord values, trusts, and feeds on the Bible, so should we. Paul said it best: “The Bible is alive and sharper than any two edged sword capable of penetrating to your innermost spirit and soul.” It is not flawed and has no PC agenda; it reflects God’s laws and who He is in a wonderful way.
In the beginning just focus more on the New Testament and skim over the parts you do not understand. In time, even those most difficult parts will become clear as you reread those passages and God opens them up to you.
You can’t go wrong studying the Bible. You can go very wrong listening to some of those people out there, good intentioned or not, who ignore the Bible and make stuff up that follows the broad road of theology and universalism.
2 Tim. 3:16
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”