Beware of Micheal and Debi Pearl
By Bro. David Cloud
September 5, 2005 - David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143. Send e-mail: fbns@wayoflife.org
Over the past few years a number of people have asked me about Greater Joy Ministries operated by Michael and Debi Pearl, and as I have traveled on preaching trips I have found that many families in good fundamental Baptist churches are using their materials.
The following is a report on my investigation into this ministry. I have read two of Michael’s books as well as issues of No Great Joy magazine, and I have looked carefully through the material available at their web site.
There is much to praise in Greater Joy Ministries. The Pearl’s book To Train up a Child contains many very helpful things (though it often goes beyond clear biblical precepts and enters into a legalistic “Pearlosophy,” which is presented as dogmatically as the parts that are supported directly by Scripture, such as some of his teaching about education and other things that almost require an Amish-like lifestyle). The Pearls rightly avoid “Christian” psychology. They promote godly husband-wife relationships. They teach parents how to reach the child’s heart rather than being content with enforcing mere externals. They focus on how crucial it is for the parents to live what they preach, to avoid hypocrisy. They teach a biblical approach to corporal punishment without apology. They teach parents how to jealously and carefully protect their children from evil influences. They give some excellent and timely warnings about the danger of the average church youth group that throws young people together in a secular fashion and thus allows strong but worldly personalities to corrupt heretofore innocent youth (which is exactly what happened to me as I grew up in a Southern Baptist congregation). They are clear about parental responsibility, that the “buck stops here” with Christian parents in regard to child training.
I am sure that the Pearls are genuine salt-of-the-earth people who try to practice what they preach, but I want to mention two serious errors that those who use their materials should be aware of.
THE ERROR OF EXALTING THE FAMILY BEYOND A SCRIPTURAL BOUND AND RELEGATING THE CHURCH TO A LESSER REALM OF IMPORTANCE
No Greater Joy has some excellent practical teaching on the family, but I do not believe that it is presented within a scriptural balance and framework in regard to the church. In the topics listed at the No Greater Joy web site, “The Church” is glaringly absent. When Michael Pearl speaks about the church it is almost always in a negative context.
While the family is the foundational unit in the church and society and is very, very important, I believe it is possible to turn the family into an idol, when it is emphasized beyond biblical bounds and when it becomes an end unto itself. The New Testament actually says little about the family. It only describes God’s will about relationships within the family in the following passages -- Ephesians 5:21 - Ephesians 6:4;
Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Peter 3:1-7.The New Testament speaks far more about the following things than about the family: the church (Acts, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus); doctrine, prophecy, and Christian living in general (Romans; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Ephesians; Colossians;
1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians; Hebrews; James; 1 John; 3 John; Revelation); the danger of false teaching and apostasy (2 Corinthians 11; Galatians; Colossians 2;
1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 3-4; 2 Peter 2; Jude).We should not exalt things beyond what we find in Scripture, no matter how good and important that thing is. If we are called to preach the Word, we are called to preach all of it and to emphasize what God emphasizes. The Lord Jesus instructed us to teach the believers “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Paul said, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Paul’s example here is the pattern for every preacher
(2 Timothy 2:2).I don’t believe the Pearls themselves have made an idol of the home, but I believe that many associated with the home schooling movement have, and the Pearls should do more to resist this error. Debi Pearl wisely says: “Do not get caught up in pouring your life into a good cause--even the rearing of a large family. Pour your life into knowing and serving the Savior and desiring that every life you touch be touched with the knowledge of forgiveness in the shed blood of Jesus. We are called to be soldiers in the army of the living God. Raising up young new recruits is exciting” (To Train up a Child, fifteenth printing, 2004, p. 119).
The problem is that this is only a brief postscript in their book on child training, and it is not something that seems to be properly emphasized. In the dozens of articles I have read by the Pearls, this is the only time I have seen that type of emphasis. The Pearls have 150,000 on their mailing list and their book To Train up a Child has sold more than 400,000 copies. They therefore have a vast influence among home schoolers.
Christ’s Great Commission is not to go forth and build godly families, as important as that is, but to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and to plant churches that are discipleship centers and pillars and grounds of the truth, where believers are trained in the service of God and the work of world evangelism (Matthew 28:18-20;
Mark 16:17; Acts 1:8). This is what we see lived out in the book of Acts and it is a program that is to be perpetuated until Christ returns. Parents who are committed to the New Testament will have this Great Commission before them at all times as they raise their children. To raise wholesome, talented, law-abiding, hard-working citizens is not enough, because it falls short of Christ’s Great Commission.I believe home schooling is by far the best way to educate children, and that is the way that our own children were educated, but within some home schooling circles today there is widespread neglect toward and misunderstanding of the New Testament church. For example, on my last preaching trip to Australia I met some godly families in one of the churches. The children play various musical instruments; they have a wide variety of interests and talents; they have serious goals in life; they are getting a wonderful education; they are separated from the wicked things of the world. There is nothing wrong with any of this, of course. It is a great blessing to see close and godly families in this wicked age. The problem is with the emphasis and balance. These families do not place the church and the Great Commission in a Scriptural priority. They attend services only once on Sunday, forsaking the other services for “family time,” in direct contradiction to Acts 2:42 and Hebrews 10:25. They brazenly neglected the special services that the church was hosting and thus gained no benefit from the visiting preacher/missionary. Their lives could have been changed and challenged by that preaching, but other things were more important to them. These parents are teaching their children many good things, but they are wrong in teaching them to slight the church.
My friends, the Bible plainly states that it is the church that is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Why doesn’t it say that the home is the pillar and ground of the truth? And this is not some vague “universal” church but a scripturally organized assembly that has pastors and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-14). The believer’s service to the Lord is to be in and through such a church, in submission to God-ordained pastors and elders (1 Thessalonnians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:7, 13).
Any family that is not in proper relationship with and submission to God-ordained church authority is not in the will of God (unless, of course, the family is in a situation in which no such church exists in their area). I say this on the authority of the Scriptures. I would ask such a family, “Who has the rule over you?” If they reply, “God does,” I would rejoin that God Himself says that church elders are to have the rule over us (Hebrews 13:17), not as lords over us but as under-shepherds who must, in turn, give account to the Great Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-4).
I understand all too well that pastoral authority has been abused at times and that this is an hour of great compromise in churches, but this is no excuse to reject it. Husbands and fathers have abused their authority at least as much as pastors have abused theirs, but that does not mean that we are free to reject either one. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). It is His plan and program, and it is not to be despised.
There is nothing wrong with a “house church” as such, if that church is scripturally organized, but a loose knit gathering in a home is not necessarily a church, and a father of a family is not a pastor unless he is qualified (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) and has been properly ordained as such in an assembly (Acts 14:23). Paul wrote to Titus and informed him that he was to “set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city” (Titus 1:5). The thing that was wanting, or lacking, was for the new converts to be organized into proper New Testament assemblies, and this required the ordination of qualified (Titus 1:6-16), God-called elders. This is the pattern that we see in the first missionary journey. After Paul and Barnabas had preached in many places, they returned to each place and organized the new groups of believers into churches and ordained elders in each one (Acts 14:23).
A home Bible study, a home prayer meeting, a loose knit group of home schoolers, and such, is not in itself a proper New Testament church and has no scriptural authority to replace such a church.
If Michael Pearl agrees with us on the importance of the New Testament church, he should be very careful to preach about this, as it is an essential part of “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). He should also speak out plainly against the practice of many today who neglect and discount the value of the house of God (1 Timothy 3:16). We would expect to see such a warning prominently given at his web site, since his ministry is attractive to such people.
Such teaching and warning is lacking, though. In fact, in his article “Sanctuary” (March 2005) he refers sympathetically to “several families” who have “traded church attendance for a DVD player,” and he does not explain that this is unscriptural.
Pearl complains that “church today is not a sanctuary from the world nor is it a ‘holy’ place.” While I agree with him that too many churches are worldly from top to bottom, meaning that even the leaders and workers are worldly, it is equally true that a scriptural New Testament church will never be completely holy and separated from worldly influences. If a church is reaching the world for Christ as it should, there will always be unsaved and newly saved people in attendance who are not very holy, to say the least. In fact, if we were to be honest with our own hearts, we would admit that there is plenty of unholiness in the best of and most mature of saints, as even the apostle Paul lamented in regard to his own life. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:18). And the apostle John added his Amen to this when he said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:9).
The New Testament church can never be a complete sanctuary from the world or a perfectly holy place for the simple fact that it is made up of sinners who are in the business of reaching sinners. Paul referred to the unsaved who attended the meetings of the church at Corinth, and said nothing to discourage the church from having the unsaved in attendance but rather encouraged them to live in such a way that they would reach the unsaved for Christ (1 Corinthians 14:23-25).
A church that is busy reaching the unsaved will not only have the unsaved in attendance at services and events but will have new believers in attendance, as well, and these will be far from “entirely sanctified” and separated from the world. I remember when I was first saved and joined a fundamental Baptist church in central Florida. I was saved; I knew the Lord; I had truly repented and changed directions in life; but I was still a mess! I still had hair down to my shoulders; I still smoked; I still listened to rock & roll; I still attended worldly movies. Yet the church members were so patient and kind to me, opening their homes to me, spending time with me, discipling me; and it was this that helped me to grow and to begin shedding the things of the flesh and the world and putting on Christ. The man that led me to Jesus Christ had the same attitude. He was not ashamed to spend four or so days traveling with me, living with me, enduring my foul language and disgusting habits and vain arguments against the truth.
The apostolic churches that are described in the New Testament scriptures were far from sinlessly perfect in any sense. Consider the seven churches of Asia Minor addressed in Revelation 2-3. Most of these apostolic churches had serious problems. The church at Ephesus had left its first love. The church at Pergamos allowed false teachers in their midst, including the false doctrine of Balaam that was associated with idolatry and fornication. The church at Thyatira allowed a false prophetess to teach in their midst, even leading the churches into idolatry and fornication. The church at Sardis had a name that it lived but was dead. The church at Laodicea was so lukewarm that Christ warned them that He would spew them out of His mouth.
Consider the apostolic church at Corinth. This church was established by the apostle Paul himself, but it was a mess! The members were carnal and divided
(1 Corinthians 1-3); they did not discipline even the most glaring sins in their midst
(1 Corinthians 5); they took one another to court (1 Corinthians 6); they fellowshipped with idols (1 Corinthians 10); they grossly misused the spiritual gifts
(1 Corinthians 14); they allowed false teachers in their midst, even those who preached false christs and gospels (2 Corinthians 11:3-4) and denied the resurrection
(1 Corinthians 15:12).The church at Philippi was an excellent church, but two women in the congregation were so at odds with one another that they had to be corrected by Paul
(Philippians 4:2).The apostle Peter played the hypocrite and Paul had to rebuke him publicly
(Galatians 2:11-14).Even Paul and Barnabas had such a “sharp contention” that they could no longer work together (Acts 15:36-40).
None of this is an excuse to think that it does not matter what type of church we attend or how we live, but it is a fact of the Christian life and of church life that we must understand and learn to deal with.
This is not something that Michael Pearl preaches properly. In his article “Sanctuary” (March 2005) he does advise someone, “Don’t leave the church, anymore than a missionary would leave the field because there are sinners there,” but having read two of his books and dozens of his articles, I am convinced that the message to exchange the church for a DVD player and to look lightly upon one’s responsibility to the church is louder than the message to stay in the church and be a faithful, fruitful member thereof.
For more on this subject see “Seven Keys to Fruitful Church Membership”
THE ERROR OF SINLESS PERFECTIONISM
The most grievous error that I found in No Greater Joy ministries is the heresy of sinless perfectionism or “entire” sanctification. We see this in the article “Living Parallel Lives in the Same Space” from the Jan.-Feb. 2005 issue of No Greater Joy.
The doctrine of perfectionism is first of all clear from what Michael Pearl plainly states. He has entitled his teaching “Sin No More” (p. 21).
He says the doctrine of sanctification does not consist of “principles for you to apply” (p. 11), meaning there is nothing to do to achieve sinless sanctification but to understand and accept one’s position in Christ.
He speaks of “the gospel of sanctification” (p. 11) and refers to the gospel of justification through grace as “half of the gospel” (p. 20). Yet the Bible nowhere refers to such a “gospel.” There is only one true gospel and that is gospel of the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:5-9). That one true gospel is defined by Paul as follows: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is the gospel that Paul preached, nothing more and nothing less. Notice that this gospel does not consist of sanctification, though it results in sanctification. Holiness and godly Christian living is an important doctrine of the New Testament, but it is not the gospel and it is very dangerous to use such terminology.
This reminds us of the Pentecostal “full gospel” or “four square gospel” terminology, which is just as unscriptural. To add anything to the gospel of the grace of Christ, whether it is tongues or healing or holy living or Spirit baptism, is to corrupt the gospel of grace alone by Christ alone through faith alone. Holy Christian living is not the gospel; it follows the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 1:27).
Pearl’s heresy of sinless perfectionism is perhaps why he is comfortable preaching in Assemblies of God congregations. He is scheduled to conduct a seminar at the First Assembly of God in Searcy, Arkansas, September 10, 2005.
Michael Pearl actually claims that he is living in sinless sanctification:
“WE SHOULD AND CAN SIN NO MORE! ... I have been preaching AND LIVING this gospel of sanctification for many years. It is not a theory. It is practical, Scriptural reality” (“Living Parallel Lives in the Same Space” No Greater Joy, Jan.-Feb. 2005, p. 21).
He says we should and can sin no more and in the same context claims that he has been “living this gospel of sanctification for many years.” The natural meaning of such words is that Michael Pearl has been living in complete, sinless victory for years. If this were true, it would mean that he has continually performed every biblical commandment and duty with a perfect heart.
The advertisement for Pearl’s Bible Study Series entitled “Sin No More” is as follows:
“We receive many letters seeking advice. The source of most problems is personal sin, but you already know that. The big question is: ‘So how do I stop sinning?’ ... I assure you, God not only saves his children from the penalty of sin but he saves them from its power as well. YOU CAN STOP SINNING. If you want to know the Bible doctrine of Sanctification by Faith, you will hear THE COMPLETE GOSPEL in this series of messages by Michael Pearl."
My friends, any believer who would make a claim to be walking in entire sinless sanctification is either deceived or is a deceiver or he has significantly lowered the definition of sin.
Michael also says that his preaching has caused others to live in complete sanctification:
“I preach it in the prisons, and it works on men who have lived lives of total addiction and enslavement. They come unto me all the time, bubbling over with joy, and TELL ME THAT THEY ARE NOW FREE FROM ALL SIN. ... walking in complete victory over sin and self” (“Living Parallel Lives in the Same Space” No Greater Joy, Jan.-Feb. 2005, p. 21).
I can say on the authority of the Bible, that this is a deception (1 John 1:8-10).
Pearl’s doctrine of perfectionism is also clear from what he fails to mention. In the aforementioned issue of his magazine he is counseling a mother who wrote to him and described her struggle with sin. In his reply he did not mention any of the following important biblical truths:
There is nothing in Pearl’s reply about the indwelling sin nature or the struggle with the flesh that Paul describes so plainly (Romans 7:18; Galatians 5:16-17).
There is nothing in Pearl’s reply about confessing sin and walking in the light
( John 1:6-10). (In fact, in his booklet “1 John 1:9--The Protestant Confessional,” he wrongly believes that this verse is about salvation, that one confesses sin for salvation but that to confess sins after salvation is wrong. The truth is that the context of the first chapter of 1 John plainly refers to “fellowship” and to how we “walk” or live
(see 1 John 1:3, 6, 7), rather than to salvation.There is nothing in Pearl’s reply about spiritual growth and progress, that sanctification is not a matter of a one-time experience but of gradual change
(2 Peter 3:18).There is nothing in Pearl’s reply about the fact that the Christian life is described as an active warfare against sin and not merely believing in a position. There was nothing in his reply about yielding (Romans 6:16), walking in (Galatians 5:16), putting off and putting on (Ephesians 4:22-24), putting away (Ephesians 4:31), mortifying
(Colossians 3:5), fleeing (2 Timothy 2:22), laying aside (Hebrews 12:1; 1 Peter 2:1)False teaching is often characterized by the neglect of part of the truth, and this is the case here.
My maternal grandmother was a very godly woman, a prayer warrior, a saint who prayed and fasted and saw serious answers to prayer (such as the dramatic conversion of her wayward “hippie” grandson David Cloud in 1973 at age 23). After I had been saved about a year and was struggling with many things in my new Christian life I visited my grandmother and asked her about sin in the believer’s life. I said, “Grandma, do you still have any problems with sin in your life?” She was probably the godliest person I knew at that time (that was before I met my wonderful wife!), the person I most looked up to spiritually. She was about 78 years old then, and I was hoping she would reply (as Michael Pearl teaches), “Well, Dave, I used to have some struggles with sin but that is long over, praise God! I am walking in sinlessness!” Instead, she replied: “Dave, I still have struggles with sin every day. I do still sin, though it grieves me and I look forward to that day when I will sin no more.”
That elderly saint expressed more solid biblical truth to me that day than you will find in all of Michael Pearl’s muddled teaching on sanctification.
By the way, I have written to Michael Pearl twice, but he has refused to reply to my questions and concerns. In both e-mails I asked him to clarify his teaching on sinless perfectionism. I did not ask for a long drawn out reply. I asked, “Do the following statements from your magazine truly reflect your doctrine? Do you live sinlessly?” A simple “yes” or “no” would have sufficed. Pearl’s secretary replied to me that Michael Pearl is too busy to answer and suggested that I listen to two of his series of sermons. Thus, while he allegedly doesn’t have time to communicate with his readers, they are expected to have time to listen to many hours of sermons in order to get an answer to a simple question!
My friends, the error with Michael Pearl’s ministry is subtle but I believe it is very dangerous.
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