False Teacher of the Day #61: Isaiah Saldivar - by Publisher

Found here. Our comments in bold.

-----------------------

1362 words, zero from the bible. Zero from documented sources. Zero quotes of Saldivar's supposed false teaching. There are many undocumented claims and inferences and implied causes and effects. But no actual discussion of the issues, and no explanation of the truth contrary to Saldivar's teaching.

This is nothing more than a long, unattributed, unverifiable screed, full of loose accusations and summary conclusions. There are no facts stated at all.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching. Really bad.

We should note that we are not here to defend Saldivar. We are only interested in evaluating the unnamed "publisher's" unfocused rant.

---------------------------------

There is a new generation of celebrity preachers rising through YouTube algorithms instead of seminaries, podcasts instead of pulpits, and viral clips instead of faithful local church ministry. ("Publisher" thinks these are problems.)

Every few years another one appears. (Who replaced Steve Lawson? David Platt? Josh Buice?)

He speaks with certainty. He tells dramatic stories. He promises access to a level of spiritual power that ordinary Christians have somehow missed. (Is there not a level of power that Christians may have missed?

1Co. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.)

Millions watch. Millions share. (John MacArthur?)

Discernment gets mocked as dead religion, (Undocumented and likely a false assertion.)

and anyone who raises biblical concerns is dismissed as being afraid of the Holy Spirit. (Biblical concerns? Let's see some, sir.)

Isaiah Saldivar has become one of the most recognizable faces of that movement.

If you’ve never heard of him, though he’s actually been around for a while now, Saldivar presents himself as an evangelist and revivalist whose ministry revolves around healing, deliverance, miracles, spiritual warfare, and what he calls a supernatural lifestyle. His online audience numbers in the millions.

His videos regularly teach people how to identify demons, cast them out, recognize spiritual attacks, hear from God, and walk in miraculous power. He has even built a worldwide directory connecting people with self-described “deliverance ministers” who claim to cast demons out of those seeking help.

That ought to make every Christian stop and ask a simple question. Is this actually the Christianity taught by Christ and His apostles? (Something the author will not tell us.)

The answer to that question is… No. (This is  "publisher's" best refutation.)

When we examine the New Testament, (Um, where in the NT?)

we find the apostles preaching Christ crucified, (1Co. 1:23, FYI) 

risen, (Ac. 2:31, FYI)

reigning, (Col. 1:13, FYI)

and returning. (Lk. 18:8, FYI) 

We see them proclaiming repentance toward God (2Co. 7:10, FYI)

and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ac. 10:43, FYI)

We find them calling believers to grow in holiness (2Co. 7:1, FYI)

through the ordinary means God has given—Scripture, prayer, the local church, faithful shepherds, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. (We also find the apostles healing, raising the dead, and casting out demons.)

What we do not find is an entire ministry ecosystem built around locating demons hiding inside…….Christians. ("Ministry ecosystem." A meaningless phrase used to refute something no one claims.)

That is one of Saldivar’s defining doctrines. 

He teaches that Christians can harbor demons and that many of the struggles believers experience may involve demonic activity requiring deliverance. Whether he chooses to distinguish that from full possession is beside the point. The practical result is the same. (So, "publisher" doesn't believe this. Ok, so tell us the actual Bible teaching on this, please.)

Saldivar instructs Christians to look inward for resident demons rather than upward to Christ, who has already triumphed over the powers of darkness. (This is an astonishing, and undocumented claim. In fact, deliverance requires looking to Christ.)

That is a profoundly dangerous way to think about salvation. (??? We we discussing salvation? When?)

Scripture describes the believer (Where in Scripture?)

as having been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. We have been bought with a price. We have been sealed for the day of redemption. (All true. Where in Scripture?)

The New Testament commands believers to resist the devil, stand firm, mortify sin, and put on the whole armor of God. (All true. Where in Scripture?)

It never teaches Christians to search themselves for indwelling demons waiting to be identified and expelled through specialized deliverance ministries. (So many qualifiers in this sentence, rendering its assertion moot.)

Once you convince people that their lingering sin, fear, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, addiction, or spiritual weakness may actually be demons living inside them, you’ve redirected their attention. (Oh, so "publisher" thinks it's solely a matter of lingering sin and does not have anything to do with demons? So in light of this substantial doctrinal claim, "publisher" will need to explain himself, and then tell us how to contextualize the below Scriptures, all of which suggest the active influence of the devil regarding Christians:

Ep. 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 

Ep. 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand

against the devil’s schemes.

1Pe. 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith...

1Ti. 3:7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

1Ti. 5:14-15 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

2Ti. 2:25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Ja. 3:14-15 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

Ja. 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

"Publisher" seems to think that Christians are impervious to the devil and his minions, but the  Bible [which we actually quote] says otherwise.) 

The battle is no longer fought primarily through repentance, faith, obedience, and the renewing of the mind. Now it becomes an endless hunt for hidden spirits, secret entry points, generational bondage, spoken curses, or supernatural breakthroughs.

That is fertile soil for spiritual confusion. (Irony Alert.)

Saldivar has also promoted the idea that words carry extraordinary spiritual significance in ways that closely resemble classic Word of Faith teaching. (Documentation? Reference?)

He has written about negative confessions attracting demons while speaking God’s promises repels them. (Where has he written these things? Is it a secret?)

Of course, Christians certainly ought to guard their tongues. Scripture is crystal clear on that. But Scripture never teaches that careless speech functions as a magnet for demons or that correctly spoken declarations become spiritual weapons that manipulate unseen realities. (Scripture left closed and dusty on "publisher's" desk.)

That isn’t biblical doctrine. It is mystical superstition wrapped in Christian vocabulary.

Then there is the obsession with signs and wonders.

Saldivar’s ministry constantly points people toward healing, deliverance, miracles, and supernatural manifestations. And the issue isn’t simply that he believes those gifts continue today. It’s that what he calls the gifts of the Spirit bears little resemblance to the gifts described in Scripture. (Where in Scripture? Is it a secret?)

Christians have long disagreed over whether certain miraculous gifts continue today. That debate is not my concern here, though I do hold to the cessationist position.

My concern is something deeper.

When a ministry conditions people to expect spectacular manifestations as the normal proof of God’s presence, the ordinary means God has ordained begin to look boring. (This is not a biblical refutation. In fact, it's merely speculation.)

Faithful exposition of Scripture starts feeling lifeless. (Undocumented opinion.)

Ordinary sanctification feels disappointing. (Undocumented opinion.)

Quiet obedience seems second rate compared to dramatic encounters with demons, visions, healings, and supernatural experiences. (Undocumented opinion.)

That is precisely how unhealthy movements sustain themselves. People stop asking whether something is true. They start asking whether it feels powerful. (Undocumented opinion.)

One of the most troubling aspects of Saldivar’s ministry is that it builds an entire framework around experiences that are extraordinarily difficult to verify. (The same problem Jesus had with the Pharisees...)

Deliverance sessions often depend upon subjective manifestations, emotional responses, physical sensations, or behavior interpreted as demonic activity. (Often? How does "publisher" know this about Saldivar?)

The New Testament records genuine miracles that even Christ’s enemies could not deny had occurred. (Sigh... endless pronouncements about a Bible "publisher" never cracks open.

Mt. 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 

Mt. 28:17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 

Lk. 24:40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe...

Jn. 7:5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him. 

Jn. 9:18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight...

"Publisher" lies to us.)

Modern deliverance culture frequently asks people to accept astonishing claims simply because someone on stage or on camera says they happened.

That should concern every serious Christian.

The gospel does not need theatrical demonstrations to validate its power.

(Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

John 14:11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

John 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

Mt. 12:38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

Jn. 2:18-19 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” :19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

Ac. 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.)

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. (No one disagrees. 1Co. 1:18, FYI.)

One of the clearest examples of Saldivar’s abuse of Scripture is his handling of Jesus’ words about the “hireling” in John 10. (John 10:12-13, FYI. 

Ahh, an actual example, finally.)

Christ’s point is unmistakable. The hireling is a false shepherd who abandons the sheep because he has no genuine love for them. (No, the hireling is not a false shepherd, he's not a shepherd at all.)

Saldivar rips that passage completely out of its context and repurposes it as a cudgel against pastors who reject his deliverance ministry.

According to him, (Source?)

pastors who refuse to perform his style of demon exorcisms are proving themselves to be hirelings who “run from the wolf.” (We are not inclined to accept "publisher's" word for it. We need to hear for ourselves.)

Think about the arrogance required to make that claim.

Faithful pastors who devote themselves to preaching the Word, administering the ordinances, shepherding Christ’s flock, counseling the hurting, calling sinners to repentance, and guarding sound doctrine are dismissed as “cowards” because they refuse to adopt Saldivar’s unbiblical methods. (We are almost certain that Saldivar did not make such a statement.)

In his theology, ordinary pastoral ministry is somehow inadequate. (Now "publisher" piles onto his initial assessment to the point of ridiculousness.)

The shepherd must also become a deliverance minister, or else he stands condemned by a text that never had anything to do with exorcism in the first place. 

Perhaps the deepest concern, however, is what all of this says about Christ Himself. If a believer is truly united to Christ yet remains spiritually occupied by demons requiring repeated deliverance, what exactly has Christ accomplished? (A doctrinal question, but "publisher" has yet to discuss this issue at all, let alone consult the Bible about it.)

If Christians must continually seek specialized ministers to remove indwelling spirits, where does that leave the finished work of the cross? Where does that leave the indwelling Holy Spirit? Where does that leave the victory Christ secured over Satan?

Those questions deserve answers. (So, "publisher," Go ahead. Give your answers. You won't? Oh.)

I have no reason to question Isaiah Saldivar’s sincerity—he may very well sincerely believe the nonsense that he teaches. ("Publisher"has yet to biblically refute what he calls nonsense.)

But sincere people can sincerely teach devastating error.

Good intentions have never guaranteed sound doctrine. (Who says that it does?)

You know the old adage, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Throughout church history, some of the most influential false teachers genuinely believed they were serving God. (Is Saldivar a false teacher? "Publisher" hasn't even discussed this yet.)

That is why the standard is never charisma. (Who says that it is?) 

It is never popularity. (Who says that it is?)

It is never testimonies. 

(Jn. 3:11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

Jn. 3:32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no-one accepts his testimony. 

Jn. 5:32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.)

It is never YouTube subscribers. (Who says that it is?)

It is never dramatic stories. (Who says that it is?)

The standard is the Word of God. (The word of God is the standard for what?)

Every teacher must bow before it. Every experience must submit to it. Every claimed revelation must be tested by it.

When I measure Isaiah Saldivar’s ministry against that standard, I find a system that distracts the Christian life away from the sufficiency of Christ (Undefined terminology.)

and toward an endless pursuit of deliverance, supernatural manifestations, and extraordinary spiritual experiences. (Has "publisher" ever talked with any of those in Saldivar's church to see if this is true?)

That is not the pattern Christ handed to His church. (What might that pattern be, and how does it differ from Saldivar?)

It is a different spiritual framework altogether, and one that every Christian should reject.

The church does not need another celebrity deliverance minister.

It needs pastors who will open their Bibles, preach Christ without gimmicks, shepherd God’s people faithfully, call people to repentance, and remind weary saints that the God who dwells within them is greater than any demon who is in the world. (Does "publisher" have any evidence that Saldivar doesn't do these things?)