Beware of Hyperspiritual, Lone Ranger Christians by J. LEE GRADY for Charisma News
I’m unapologetically a charismatic Christian, and I believe all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to us today. It’s tragic that so many churches in this country limit or even deny the validity of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Yet in my years of ministry in the charismatic movement, I’ve learned that if the devil can’t convince a church to reject the Holy Spirit’s work, he will push people to the opposite extreme so that they misuse or abuse the gifts of the Spirit and drift into deception. Our critics call us “charismaniacs” when this happens—and too often we deserve the label.
In my recent travels I’ve noticed an upsurge in hyper-spiritual “super prophets” who make wild claims and attract fans based on their fascinating revelations. These people claim to be on a higher plane than everyone else, but the fruit of their ministry is never good in the end. They may say they have secret biblical knowledge; they may claim to be in communication with angels; they may simply exude an attitude of spiritual superiority—and people are gullible enough to fall for it.
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Nothing is more dangerous to genuine revival than a hyper-spiritual charismaniac who flaunts his gifts while displaying a lack of character. These elitists are slick; they can get sincere Christians to say “Ooooh” and “Aahhh” when they minister. But in the end, they bring division in the church.
In the book of Jude, these renegade imposters are compared to comets because they aren’t accountable to anyone in the church. False prophets, Jude said, are “wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept forever” (see v. 13).
Here are seven indicators of a hyper-spiritual person. Heed the warning signals!
1. Their feet rarely touch the earth. Super spiritual people live in the ozone layer. They are not in touch with normal life. They may spend lots of time in prayer (or claim to), and they may even fast or impose severe discipline on themselves, but their relationships are dysfunctional. Remember: Jesus did not live His life like a guru, floating around while dispensing spooky wisdom. He lived in the real world and interacted in a practical way with people. So should we.
