Charismatic is defined as a member of a religious group or movement that stresses the seeking of direct divine inspiration and charisms.

If you are wondering what a charism is then allow me to clarify it in this way. It is a demonstration of the divine gifts which Paul assigned to faithful believers in 1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Note please in the definition the words “that stresses the seeking”. Couple that with just part of line 31, “covet earnestly the best gifts:” Great error occurs in that seeking due to the coveting of gifts. Suddenly you will find a class of believers who feel the best gifts are the ones they have. The danger is in creating clicks which will cause a schism within a church.

I left a charismatic church because God called me out, and this may well have been why. Along with the dislike for clicks, I carried out of that time many of their teachings which still influence me today.

My latest error was insinuating that a laying on of hands must accompany a baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God does not say that specifically but the laying on of hands is accompanied by other acts upon which a more sure foundation of faith should stand out.

We can only rely on what the Word of God says about any spiritual matter and rely on the whole truth and nothing else. The charismatic teaching was wrong on the matter and I am sorry I let that creep into my devotional.

Let us see what Jesus had to say about this matter.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

My wife comes from a different school of instruction in the Word of God. The glaring errors, while obvious to me, are not so obvious to her. We have been over one specific issue of error several times during the course of our marriage. My correction of those errors has not affectively removed the haunting stain which plagues her soul.

Recently the God of my salvation offered up a subtle if not puzzling “Hmmm” over something I had written. Yes it came from a trusted friend and the grace administered in the questioning said it needed further investigation. In the process I discovered the same flaw in myself that existed in my wife. I allowed flawed teaching to influence me unjustly. I also needed correction.

Do we sit and listen to those who sound knowledgeable without balancing their words against the Word of God itself? Blatant errors must not go unchallenged and there is a proper way to address those issues. A perfect understanding by an imperfect creature is impossible without the help of the author. God inspiration sets the Word on paper. God defined is the test of truth. We are human and as such prone to failed memory, misunderstanding, and outside influences by people we might admire.

Our admiration of a speaker does not make his or her words true.

Now I must undo the error in my own devotional. Correction has been sent but here is the thing and you need to ask yourself this. Is the correction offered the truth? Only God’s Word can tell you.

I begin the correction tomorrow.