American Gospel TV recently coordinated a debate between Jim Osman and Justin Peters with Sam Storms and Dr. Michael Brown. AGTV later released the controversial 4 hr debate to the public allowing them assess the discussion because “AGTV exists to guard and proclaim the biblical gospel of Christ crucified, and to provide Christians and their local churches with resources to refute the errors of the “American gospel.”
The topic?
Discerning False Teachers & False Prophets and the Work of the Holy Spirit
The problem?
You cannot have an honest discussion with ‘spiritual supremacists’.
The ‘spiritual supremacists’ in this discussion are Dr. Michael Brown and Sam Storms. While Sam Storms claims to be a Charismatic, Dr. Brown often claims to be a Pentecostal Charismatic. The difference between Sam Storms and Dr. Brown? Dr. Brown is intentionally dishonest, as he has been for decades, on church politics, theology and scandals he often finds himself embroiled in, while Sam Storms appears to be militant in promoting the New Apostolic Reformation agenda out of ignorance.
SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY IN ACTION.
How can we say this?
The attack against Jim Osman and Justin Peters was simply this – Dr. Brown and Sam Storms will not tolerate godly men like Jim Osman and Justin Peters who do believe in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in the church today but only when it is God’s will or timing to do so. In fact this was the undergirding issue across the entire roundtable discussion that Storms raised towards the end of the four and a half hour discussion: the Dominion Gospel.
“It’s not unbelievers I worry about. It’s believers who are so skeptical of the miraculous, that they don’t believe.” [Sam Storms] [3:40:18]
This is the cult-like theological tactic in the NAR that Brown and Storms impose on Christians who hold to a cessationist worldview.
Here is Dr. Brown pushing that same anti-Christian sentiment against Jim Osman in the radio segment before the roundtable discussion:
“But boy! I have grave concerns for folks who reject the gifts and power of the spirit for today…” [Michael Brown] [9:41]
It was only after Jim Osman had left the discussion that Dr. Brown went above and beyond to belittle the character of Jim. It is very concerning these are the concluding words from Dr. Brown in the roundtable.
Some Christian leaders might see this as a form of ‘hate speech’ where the NAR have deliberately wrapped an ‘ideological propaganda campaign’ around scriptures they use to justify any reason to accuse godly Christians of having a ‘religious’ spirit, Jezebel/Saul spirit or a Pharisaic agenda against Christ and His end-times church.
Sadly it’s worse than that.
Dr. Brown and Sam Storms paint Justin Peters and Jim Osman as being unbelieving and blind as the Pharisees.
“I’ll go on almost any platform. I’m on secular platforms, hostile platforms all the time.
Christian TV shows. All the time. I don’t even know who they are – just coming on to do
an interview about a book I wrote.”
(Michael Brown – 2:18:21)
THE PHARISEE CARD IN ACTION.
Dr. Brown enters this territory in the roundtable discussion by insinuating that ‘religious’ people (like Peters and Osman?) are prepared to ‘damn people to hell’ [34:09]. This is language often connected, in ‘Narismatic’ circles, to ‘he who hasn’t sinned cast the first stone’ phraseology, with Dr. Brown often engaging in this disingenuous tactic on his own program.
Comparing believers who do not believe in these sign gifts for today (1 Corinthians 12) to Pharisees, is a common tactic in the NAR and extreme Charismatic groups. They think Pharisees are believers in God who rejected Jesus because they were too religious. Pharisees then, and Pharisees today, don’t want revival. They don’t want to be a part of the ‘new thing’ God is doing in Jesus’s day or in these ‘last days’. They don’t want to be part of the ‘new wine skin’ church to receive the ‘new wine’ of the Holy Spirit (‘new wine’ meaning new power, revelation or a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit).
When we begin to understand their theological backdrop, the language, arguments and insinuations from Dr. Brown and Sam Storms in the roundtable discussion, it starts to make more sense as to why they don’t see eye to eye with Jim Osman and Justin Peters.
The ‘tectonic plate’ beneath the arguments of Storms and Brown is connected to the NAR Dominion Gospel, NAR Pneumatology (theology of the Holy Spirit), NAR ecclesiology (theology of the church) and the NARmillenial eschatology (theology of the end-times) – these are theologies that both Sam Storms and Dr. Michael Brown echo in their writings and radio programs.
Michael Brown hosting Sid Roth’s ‘It’s Supernatural’.
THE NAR DOMINION GOSPEL AND THE NEW APOSTOLIC PARADIGM.
Their NAR theology comes into play with the false gospel of Brown and Storms: the dominion Gospel. A gospel that is all about advancing the kingdom (or the King’s Dominion) in supernatural power and manifestations that result in healings, signs and wonders. Dr. Brown can protest or deny as much as he wants that he doesn’t preach such a false gospel, however it obvious he’s spent decades advocating this false gospel among those he stands with and defends.
Dr. Brown openly promotes the NAR Dominion Gospel (often called the Power Gospel, Gospel of Power, Healing Gospel, Gospel of Healing, Gospel of the Kingdom, Whole Gospel or Full Gospel), which includes the heretical belief that ‘healing is in the atonement’ due to an erroneous interpretation of Isaiah 53:5:
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities:
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
However, what is implied when the NAR call it the ‘Full Gospel’ or ‘Whole Gospel’ is that the church for the last 2000 years has preached a false gospel because they understand that Jesus died for us to walk in wholeness and fulness in this world (as seen in the teachings of William Branham (emphasis on healing), Oral Roberts (emphasis on wealth) and Kenneth Hagen (emphasis on our authority and words)). In their own literature, they have accused the Christian faith of preaching a “partial gospel”.
Simply doing a quick search on the internet will showcase that Dr. Brown’s false dominion gospel is the same as Joseph Prince, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn and Mike Bickle – but with emphasis in different areas for people to walk in ‘wholeness’ and ‘fulness’ (which is why Dr. Brown and Sam Storms will NOT condemn false teachers who preach this same false gospel):
EXAMPLE 1 – Article titled ‘Whole Gospel’ (Emphasis added)
“I myself have come to believe that a partial gospel is no gospel at all. Biblically, salvation is not just the forgiveness of sin but is closer to the idea of Shalom or peace in the Hebrew language. Shalom includes everything needed for a blessed life: absence of conflict, flourishing relationships, health, prosperity, protection, a sound mind…and more. Jesus promised his followers an “abundant life.”“
Source: Tom Vermillion, Whole Gospel, TomVermillion.org, https://tomvermillion.org/08/07/whole-gospel/, Published August 07, 2015. (Accessed April 01, 2024.) [Archived]
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EXAMPLE 2 – Book excerpt on Full Gospel vs Partial Gospel (Emphasis added):
“It came to be believed that supernatural things (like healing, deliverance, the Baptism in the Spirit) had passed away after the lst century. Thus the church lost it’s power by not preaching the FULL GOSPEL.
Even ‘Bible-Believing’ churches today preach such a reduced gospel that Jesus and his disciples would hardly recognize it as the gospel they preached.
Since the gospel ‘is the POWER of God unto salvation (Romans l:16) we must recover understanding of what it is and how to preach it. This is the aim of this series. The true Gospel is not just forgiveness and rebirth but deliverance from the power of sin, satan, sickness, poverty – it proclaims full restoration.
[…] When a church only preaches a partial gospel it robs its people – for the power is made present through the words preached. If healing is preached as available then healing power will be present. You will get the manifestation of the part of the gospel you preach. If healing is not preached but is a matter of doubt (maybe God will, maybe He won’t) then no healing-power will be made present. That’s why many churches are dead – they don’t preach healing or the fullness of the Spirit and so God’s power is not made present for the people. To preach a false or comprimised gospel has serious consequences. How dare we change the gospel!”
Source: Derek Walker, Chapter 3 – The Gospel Proclamation, Oxford Bible Church, https://www.oxfordbiblechurch.co.uk/index.php/books/the-anointing-message-jubilee/723-chapter-3-the-gospel-proclamation, (Accessed April 03, 2024.) [Archived]
– – – – – – – – – – –
EXAMPLE 3 – Joseph Prince preaching on Partial Gospel vs Full Gospel (Emphasis added)
“So, the gospel Paul preached, amen, we have a sample of it preserved for us so that we can compare with the gospel we preach today. You know, we have a partial gospel, and we think we have the full gospel. You know, we preach forgiveness of sins, but we don’t preach the gift of righteousness, and we don’t tell people to really use that gift of righteousness, amen. Savor it.
[…] Healing is coming to people in all kinds of areas, and I just want you to right now receive it. Just say, “Lord Jesus, I receive healing for my condition. I receive your healing right now in Jesus’s name”. You see, this is where the devil tried to short-circuit you in times past, to make you feel like you don’t deserve it. “Remember what you did”? And this is where you need to be conscious, even in your mental realm, in your emotional realm, that “I am the righteousness of God in Christ,” amen. So, why don’t you say it right now, say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, and I receive my healing full and free from my Lord Jesus. In Jesus’s name”. Hallelujah.”
Source: Joseph Prince – Inside-Out Transformation, Sermons.Love, https://sermons.love/joseph-prince/9021-joseph-prince-inside-out-transformation.html, Accessed April 03, 2024.
This erroneous teaching of healing in the atonement is just one aspect of the false dominion gospel that Dr. Brown advocates among all those he refuses to call out. Thus it is worth recognising Dr. Brown’s own bio to see why his interpretation of Isaiah 53:5 is so problematic (emphasis added):
“Dr. Brown is President of the FIRE School of Ministry located in Charlotte, NC. Dr. Brown is is [sic] a published Old Testament and Semitic scholar, holding a Ph.D in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University. In 1997, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Jewish Apologetics at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission and has been affiliated with Regent University Divinity School as an Adjunct Professor of Old Testament and Jewish Studies.”
Source: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Vol 3 (Book) by Dr. Michael Brown, Code: 1118, sidroth.org, Accessed April 01, 2024. [Archived]
As an ‘Old Testament and Semitic scholar’ who has studied ‘Near Easteren Languages and Literatures’, advertises himself as a ‘Professor of Jewish Apologetics’ and an ‘Adjunct Profressor of Old Testament and Jewish Studies’, it’s embarrassing to watch Dr Michael Brown expose his bogus soteriology with his misreading of Isaiah 53:5.
This very scripture Dr Brown misreads refutes his false gospel as Isaiah 53:5 engages in Hebrew parallelism, “when two or more lines of a Hebrew poem correspond closely with one another in order to make a point.” Read more here.
His conclusion of Isaia 53:5?
“We’re gonna dig into the scriptures today and ask the question, “What does it mean when Isaiah said by his stripes by his wounds we are healed?” [Speaking wafty sounding Hebrew] If I did a more literal translation, it would be at, ‘at the cost of his wounds, there is healing for us’.
Does it have anything to do with physical healing? Is it- is it only spiritual healing? Is it only our Redemption? Our forgiveness of sins? Is it only physical? Is it both? Is it that when Jesus died for our sins, he purchased our Eternal salvation but when he was whipped and bruised he purchased our healing? What does the text actually say?
Source: The Line of Fire (@LFTV) , What Is the Meaning of “By His Stripes We Are Healed”?, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7-NzYc6tiU, Streamed January 20, 2023. (Accessed January 25, 2023.) [2:06]
Not only did he completely miss what Peter was saying in 1 Peter 2:13-25 on the issue of submission to worldly authorities and our true authority in God, he circled back to Isaiah 53:5 to come to this conclusion:
“The whole ministry of Jesus in a sense is- is an aspect of vicarious substitutionary suffering, that he comes into our world and takes our sickness, our pain, our disease or our anguish or- takes it all on his shoulders and then- THEN goes to the Cross to strike at the root cause of all of our suffering namely human sin and dies for our sins so that healing can come for the whole person.
Everything was purchased at the cross. This whole ministry in a sense- vicarious- substitutionary- Everything purchased at the cross “by his stripes we are healed,” is not just spiritual and certainly not just physical, it is all in all and has been purchased there. Some of the results we will only experience through eternity. But it’s all been purchased at the cross and some of it, much of it, can be realized in this world.“
Source: The Line of Fire (@LFTV) , What Is the Meaning of “By His Stripes We Are Healed”?, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7-NzYc6tiU, Streamed January 20, 2023. (Accessed January 25, 2023.) [12:02]
This false gospel was not “realized” at the roundtable by Jim Osman and Justin Peters, which is why Michael Brown and Sam Storms have more of an issue with believers not accepting their false gospel. Is this the reason why they ignored Jim Osman and Justin Peters claiming they do believe God can supernaturally heal people – and instead appear to claim that they reject the power and gifts of the Spirit? Were Jim Osman and Justin Peters unaware of the false dominion gospel Brown and Storms cling to?
And the phrase is often heard in Dr. Brown’s NAR revivalist circles that it’s the job of ‘Narismatics’ to heal the sick, cast out demons and raise the dead. This is exactly the teaching that Dr. Brown and Storms were arguing for, in opposition to the more biblical world-view that Justin and Jim stood on. Did Jim Osman and Justin Peters fail to see Storms and Brown’s healing theology and healing, supernatural or manifest power of God through the Holy Spirit is connected to their false Dominion Gospel?
This was contrasted with Jim Osman and Justin Peters claiming they do believe in healing, signs and wonders (as God wills). Unfortunately, their point was lost on this hill because Brown and Storms connect healing, signs and wonders to their false dominion gospel while Jim Osman and Justin Peters were claiming that ‘it is in God’s will or timing to do as He pleases’.
So was the chance missed to call out the false dominion gospel of Michael Brown and Sam Storms?
NEITHER NARISMATIC OR PENTECOSTAL.
Along with this glaring error are the ‘titles’ of Sam Storms and Dr. Brown. As we stated earlier, Sam Storms claims to be a Charismatic while Dr. Brown represents himself as a Charismatic/Pentecostal.
The truth is that they are neither. They are both apologists/evangelists for the New Apostolic Reformation – which is why they would have been interested in being part of this discussion to share their beliefs.
For us to lay this claim of them being ‘Narismatic’, we need to explain what the term means. The ‘Narismatic’ believes in something called the New Apostolic Paradigm:
What is the New Apostolic Paradigm (aka Apostolic Paradigm, Paradigm Shift)?
Two quotes that we must highlight from the above article (emphasis added).
Quote 1:
“In 1990 [God] began to speak to the churches about the restoration of the gifts and office of apostle. This has brought to life the words of Ephesians 4:11, a chief verse on church government which says, “And (Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” We traditionalists have been used to individuals being recognized in the churches as evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but it has required a paradigm shift for us to admit that apostles and prophets appear in the very same biblical list.”
Source: Edited by C. Peter Wagner & Pablo Deiros, The Rising Revival, (Ventura, California: US, Renew Books: 1998), pg. 16.
Quote 2:
“I am convinced that we are moving toward a new paradigm which would deserve to be called a “New Apostolic Paradigm.” Some have called this phenomenon the New Apostolic Reformation.”
Source: Edited by C. Peter Wagner & Pablo Deiros, The Rising Revival, (Ventura, California: US, Renew Books: 1998), pg. 49.
The book that openly promoted the New Apostolic Paradigm and the New Apostolic Reformation, endorsed by NARpostles… including Dr Michael Brown who claims this is, “A book written from the leaders on the front lines giving firsthand accounts of the battles and victories as well as seasoned theological reflection. Excellent reading for the convinced, the curious, and the sceptical.”
Dr. Brown has made it abundantly clear he believes in this core doctrine of the New Apostolic Reformation and promotes it heavily to this day especiallly on his own program ‘The line of Fire’.
Coming out: Michael Brown proudly NAR – advocating New Apostolic Paradigm.
To be fair in regards to Dr. Brown’s theology on the New Apostolic Paradigm, he claims NOT to be a restorationist but a continuationist on this point. However, Brown dishonestly engages in church revisionism to push his beliefs, giving the impression Apostles and Prophets have existed for the last 2000 years – they just weren’t recognised. (Note: revisionism is not a ethical or an academic tactic to engage in).
But what about Sam Storms?
Does he believe in the New Apostolic Paradigm? The ‘Five-fold ministry’ of offices (or what NAR folk call ‘functions’ or ‘gifts’) of apostles and prophets today?
Sam Storms writes (emphasis added),
“Are there apostles today? I certainly believe that it is the agenda of the Holy Spirit to bring them forth before the coming of the Lord. However, there is considerable debate as to whether those with an “apostolic anointing” today, i.e., in 1998, are in the office of an apostle. I am open to the possibility that they are. But if so, they must meet the criteria set forth above and display the characteristics portrayed in the NT.
Ephesians 4:11-16 strongly suggests that apostles are essential “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ“. This statement pertains not only to the apostolic but also to the ministries of prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (or pastor-teacher), all of which I expect to see functioning fully before the coming of the Lord.”
Source: Sam Storms, 2 Corinthians 12:11-13:14, SamStorms.org, https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/2-corinthians-12:11-13:14, Published November 2, 2006. (Accessed March 20, 2024.) [Archived]
THE ‘NARMILLENIALISM’ OF BROWN AND STORMS.
It is important to stress that Sam Storms believes that it is the “agenda of the Holy Spirit… before the coming of the Lord,” to “bring [apostles] forth.” This is classic NAR restorationism of the end-times. But some of his end-times theological positions overlap Michael Brown’s position.
According to these two ‘NARpologists’, it is indeed the Holy Spirit who will bring apostles and prophets forth in these last days, to move in revival power to usher in an end-times outpouring of the Holy Spirit, witnessing a great harvest of souls with the coming of the Lord.
Spiritual delusion in action. ‘Spiritual supremacists’ in fine form wanting Christians to unite around their false idea of the Gospel, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church and their end-times NARmillenial agenda.
Of course Dr. Brown and Sam Storms have more of an issue with Jim Osman and Justin Peters. Of course they are concerned with these two Christian leaders exposing their false gospel, false Jesus, false Holy Spirit and the false power that they operate in.
WOLVES DEFENDING WOLVES?
For Dr. Brown and Sam Storms to acknowledge there are false teachers being called out by Justin Peters and Jim Osman, would be to acknowledge themselves as false teachers too. Their extra-biblical revelations and teachings have no place in the body of Christ – along with those they avidly defend.
Below is the roundtable discussion on Tube video:
Every book in the New Testament, with the exception of Philemon, contains warnings about false teachings. Wolves in sheep’s clothing pose a real threat to believers, and Scripture teaches us to mark and avoid them (Romans 16:17-18). However, there is substantial disagreement within the church regarding the biblical definitions of a “false teacher” and “false prophet”. This debate is tied to differing views on the nature and continuation of the Holy Spirit’s gifts, particularly the gifts of healing, prophecy, and tongues. In a four-hour roundtable discussion, Justin Peters, Jim Osman, Michael Brown, and Sam Storms sit down to discuss these disagreements in person for the first time. We trust that this conversation will edify the body of Christ and provide clarity on these divisive, yet critical, issues. Note: This roundtable discussion was recorded on April 1, 2023, six months before the news related to Mike Bickle’s sexual abuse became public. Sam Storms’ and Michael Brown’s joint-statement can be read at 53:25.
Source: American Gospel (@AmericanGospel), Roundtable: Brown & Storms vs. Peters & Osman, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd8b2ia66ms, Uploaded March 14, 2024. (Accessed March 15, 2024.)
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“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:16
Categories: Line of Fire, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)