[BBC List] beth moore
Mike Abendroth
A Review: Believing God by Beth Moore
From time to time people ask me about Beth Moore. So, I decided to read one of her books, Believing God(published in 2004).
My overall impression: While there are many good things about the book, I would never recommend it. In fact, the weaknesses of the book are so significant that I would go so far as to discourage people from reading it - if they are reading it for the purpose of being edified.
A Summary of the Book
Moore’s goal is to help us to believe God’s promises and to live by faith. Five statements form the backbone of the book.
1. “God is who He says He is.” Moore devotes chapter 4 to this statement. She references many places in Scripture where God calls His people to remember who He is. Moore then challenges the reader to evaluate whether his/her view of God is too limiting. She warns against trying to “tame the Lion of Judah” and attempting to “take away the mystery and wonder that surround God” (49).
2. “God can do what He says He can do.” In chapter 5, Moore challenges the reader to believe God can do miracles if He wants to and in chapter 6, she says, “sometimes God may prioritize performing a miracle in our hearts and minds over a miracle concerning our circumstances” (76).
3. “I am who God says I am.” In chapter 7, she reminds the reader that - if he/she is a believer - he is “blessed, chosen, adopted, favored, redeemed, and forgiven” (88).
4. “I can do all things through Christ.” Moore encourages the reader in chapter 8 to be confident in God based on the promise given to Joshua in Joshua 1:5: “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
5. “God’s Word is alive and active in me.” In chapter 9, Moore speaks of the power of God’s Word and God’s Holy Spirit to do things in us.
In chapters 10-11, Moore encourages the reader to believe the promises of God listed above and to speak them. Honestly, I have a little difficulty summarizing these two chapters - the main point of them is difficult to identify.
In the remaining chapters she urges the reader to (1) believe that God has been working out His plan for your life in the past; (2) believe that God sometimes wants us to focus on the basics of the Christian life rather than on big and impressive feats; (3) believe that God sometimes wants us to pray for big things to be accomplished through us; and (4) believe God so that we are enabled to love God and others.
Let me first mention some of the strengths of the book.
Strengths
1. Moore’s writing is interesting. She’s very creative. Consider these statements:
“Living agape is a daily commitment of the will to vacate the premises of the heart with its own preferential affections, and make its chambers a fleshy canteen for the liquid love of God” (p. 241).
“Faith and love are inseperable housemates that offer hospitality to hope” (p. 242).
I don’t think I can read those statements without smiling. While these examples are some of the more creative sentences in the book, I’m sure every reader would agree that every page is interesting and easy to read. Most Christians have unfinished books sitting around their house, but I’ll bet there aren’t many unfinished books written by Beth Moore.
2. The book is practical. Moore isn’t just trying to merely “educate.” She is trying to challenge and motivate the reader to love God and please Him. I really appreciate this quality in her writing.
3. The book has a lot of good things to say. Moore is evangelical; she loves God; and, she loves the Scriptures. So, we shouldn’t be surprised that she has many good points to make in her writing. Truly, God is worthy of our trust. We should believe Him. We should believe what He says about Himself, what He says about us, etc.
I appreciated her clarification on the blessings that we are “believing God” for. She writes, “Blessing is defined by neither ease nor worldly possessions nor stock-market successes. Blessing is bowing down to receive the expressions of divine favor that in the inner recesses of the human heart and mind make life worth the bother” (p. 5). Moore rejects the prosperity gospel, and for this I am thankful.
I could list many, many more biblically-sound and helpful things Moore has to say in the book, but I’m not sure it would be helpful since, overall, I can’t recommend the book. While there are many good things in the book, it is a mixed bag. In fact, reading the book was laborious since so much effort was required to compare what she says with Scripture. So, I’ll move to a discussion of the weaknesses of the book.
Weaknesses
1. Moore frequently misapplies biblical narratives, particularly Old Testament narratives. Throughout the book, Moore, frequently discusses the nation of Israel and the promises given to them. Then, she makes what she calls “figurative applications” (212 and others) to the reader. However, in the applications, I don’t believe she is doing justice to the text. I’ll give a couple examples.
Example #1: March around your Jericho. To provide the basis for chapter 14, Moore quotes Joshua 6:3-4 which contains God’s instructions to Joshua leading the people of Israel. The text says, “March around the city [of Jericho] once with all the armed men. Do this for six days…On the seventh day, march around the city seven times…” Then, she makes the following application: “God often directs us to keep walking around that Jericho day after day, repeating the same old fundamental steps while nothing seems to happen” (213). When she speaks of “fundamental steps” she has in mind spiritual disciplines such as reading our Bibles and praying.
I don’t think this is a legitimate application to make from the text. God wasn’t telling Joshua to focus on the “fundamentals.” There was nothing “fundamental” about walking around a city for six days. Moore’s application is fanciful.
Example #2: Go to your Gilgal. Chapter 13 is called, “Believing God to Get You to Your Gilgal,” and it’s based on Joshua 4:19-20 and 5:2-12.
After the people of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, they came to a place called Gilgal (4:19), which means “circle or wheel.” Moore says, “I believe Gilgal could also represent the place where the Hebrew nation came full circle” (190) since the nation finally arrived where they should have 40 years earlier. Joshua 5:9, also speaking of Israel’s arrival at Gilgal says, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Moore then says, “I’d like to suggest that Gilgal is an important place for you and me to go with God as well. Think of your personal Gilgal as the place were two highly significant works occur:
1. God brings you full circle and breaks any looming cycle of failure.
2. God rolls away your reproach” (191).
Moore discusses the cycles of defeat and cycles of victory (experienced by the nation of Israel and by individual Christians). The cycle of defeat has several stops: slavery -> deliverance -> testing -> prevailing unbelief -> [back to the beginning] slavery. The cycle of victory also has several stops: slavery -> deliverance -> testing -> prevailing belief -> Promised Land. Moore says we experience these cycles just as the nation of Israel did.
The starting point for each cycle is “slavery.” Moore says, “Slavery is anything that keeps you bound from your God-ordained destiny and the fulfillment of His earthward promises to you” (194). “Ultimately, how the cycle continues is based on one of two things: prevailing unbelief or prevailing belief” (195). Moore says, “God most often looks for what prevails in our lives. If unbelief prevails, we find ourselves repeating the cycle of defeat” (195).
Moore then talks about how God rolls away all our reproach just as He did for Israel. Moore says, “Think of our reproach as the vestiges of what we still insisted on wearing from our old wardrobe, whether telltale actions occurred before or after our salvation” (198). She then goes further to say, “Not only do we insist on wearing some of our old wardrobe, sometimes we also insist on wearing pieces of other people’s wardrobes. In other words, we can be victimized by someone else’s reproach or simply take on something that was never ours” (199). Moore lists many scenarios in which people might feel reproach: being divorced, being crazy (mental illness), going bankrupt, being fired, being “unwanted” (a single person may feel this way), getting pregnant outside of marriage, etc.
Are Moore’s applications legitimate? Should we each “go to Gilgal by faith”? I don’t think so. Here are some problems I see with Moore’s “figurative application.”
First, Israel’s slavery isn’t the same as our slavery. Moore is trying to liken our sinful habits to Israel’s slavery. The only “slavery” experienced by Israel up to this point was their slavery in Egypt, but that slavery wasn’t due to sinful choices as is true with our sinful habits. If Moore is thinking of Israel’s wilderness wandering - which was due to their unbelief - then it shouldn’t be called “slavery.”
Second, I don’t believe the Bible ever says, “God most often looks for what prevails in our lives. If unbelief prevails, we find ourselves repeating the cycle of defeat.”
Third, there’s no basis for saying Israel’s cycle is intended to be a pattern for us to look for in our lives. If we call it a pattern we run into some problems:
- The nation’s cycle wasn’t a pattern for individual Israelites at the time. Many Israelites died in the wilderness. They never saw the Promised Land. If it wasn’t a pattern for individuals in the nation of Israel then why should we think it is a pattern for individuals today?
- Prevailing unbelief among the nation of Israel is not the same as prevailing unbelief for an individual. Does unbelief prevail in your heart? Does unbelief prevail in the nation of Israel? To answer the latter question you will have to number the people, but not so with the first question. Prevailing unbelief of a nation is not equal to prevailing unbelief for an individual.
Fourth, there’s no basis for saying the rolling away of Israel’s reproach is a promise that God will roll away every feeling of reproach that we experience. Egypt had ridiculed Israel, asserting that God had abandoned them - that He wasn’t caring for them. After arriving in Gilgal, Egypt could no longer ridicule the Israelites by saying God had abandoned them. It was obvious that He hadn’t! No one could argue the fact that Israel was no longer in slavery.
This is not a promise that God will remove every feeling of reproach for an individual. God does not promise that a parent with a rebellious child will ever rid himself of the stigma of being a “terrible parent” (200). While God will help parents to change and become more faithful in their parenting, there is no guarantee that they will lose a stigma. As well, there’s no guarantee that a person having declared bankruptcy will ever escape a stigma.
For at least a couple of reasons, Moore’s application of the OT greatly concerns me. First, Moore’s figurative applications can give people false hope. For example, people with stigmas should not ever expect to have their reproach rolled away. They should expect forgiveness from God and strength from God to change.
Second, Moore’s figurative applications teach a faulty method of biblestudy that is all too easy to learn. My exhortation is: Don’t follow Moore’s example when interpreting and applying the OT! Interpret the text literally. Apply the literal meaning of the text. Watch out for “figurative applications.”
What do we learn from Israel’s arrival at Gilgal - without the use of figurative applications? A lot…God is merciful and patient: He did not abandon Israel. God is faithful: He brought is people to Gilgal because He was determined to keep the promise He made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. We could list many other principles. How do we apply these principles?
- Since God is merciful and patient, we should not think we are beyond the reach of God’s mercy if we repent. Therefore, we should repent quickly and seek Him!
- Since God is faithful, we should trust God’s character knowing that He will fulfill every promise to us. For example, He will help us fight against our sin today. He will establish His kingdom on the earth one day. He will take us to heaven one day. He will never leave us.
We don’t have to resort to “figurative applications” to make the text come alive.
I move now to a second weakness of the book.
2. Moore’s understanding of the means whereby God communicates to people undermines the premise of her book.Throughout the book, Moore speaks as though God communicates to Christians in a way that is direct, unclear, and outside the Bible. Moore says in chapter 15…
If you’ve walked with God for many years, you’ve probably noticed that what He requires from us to live in victory can differ greatly from season to season. Consider a few common scenarios:
(pp. 222-223)
If we are going to believe God, we need to be clear on what He is telling us. How do we know what God is telling us? How can we confidently believe God when He seems to say something to us? Must we sense God saying something? What do we do if He seems to command us to do something?
Moore is not speaking of “general revelation” (e.g. Psalm 19) since God does not communicate commands to His people through the heavens. Neither is Moore is describing the gift of prophecy whereby God communicates (or better, has communicated) propositional truth infallibly and authoritatively to a person.
What she pictures is something you won’t find described in Scripture. When God communicates to a person, the person knows it. The message from God comes through with clarity and certainty .
I believe Moore inadvertently undermines the premise of her book, which is ‘believe God,’ with her portrayal of mystical, unclear communication from God to Christians. How can we believe God when we aren’t clear or certain about what He is saying to us?
Before I move to the next point, I’ll just point out one more confusing portrayal of God’s communication. Moore says,
At the risk of sounding mystical, midway through the night I suddenly began to receive what I believe may have been a revelation of sorts: an unusual spiritual insight that I felt I could trust because it came to me totally through God’s Word (p. 208).
This is confusing statement! If her insight is the clear teaching of Scripture, then it is not “mystical” and she should certainly trust it. If the insight is not the clear teaching of Scripture, then to call it “revelation” is certainly mystical, and the insight should not be trusted.
Okay, on to what I think is a third weakness of the book.
3. Moore frequently demonstrates uncareful biblestudy. Here are few examples of uncareful biblestudy.
Example #1. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” After discussing Ephesians 2:10 she concludes, “Too much predestination for you? Here’s the catch: we don’t have to cooperate. We can live our entire lives as Christians and never fulfill the glorious plan God tailored for us in advance” (p.8).
Moore’s conclusion is quite disappointing. Ephesians 2:10 teaches us that God has prepared a life of good works for His children - for believers. Do we have to cooperate? Of course! That’s the main point! We are His workmanship. Christian, if you were self-made, you might not live a life of good works; but, you are not self-made. God created you in Christ. Therefore, you will live a life of good works! Predestination means more than “Gods’ first choice.” The Christian’s life is predetermined by Sovereign God.
Example #2. Moore discusses Ephesians 1:13 which says about the Christian, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Moore draws the reader’s attention to the past action, “having believed” which descibes what the Christian did at the time of his salvation. Then, Moore ties in Ephesians 1:19-20 which says,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.
After explaining that the phrase “those who believe” is a present active participle in the Greek which means, “those who are continually believing,” she says, “In other words, the promise given in verses 19-20 is not applied to those “having believed” in verse 13. Rather, it is applied to those who are presently, actively, and, yes, continually believing God” (p. 21).
Moore understands the blessings of verses 19-20 to be conditioned upon our continual belief in God. However, that is not what the Apostle Paul is saying. He is not challenging the Christian to continue to believe. Rather, he is telling us that those who have believed (v.13) will continually believe. Christian, you will always be a believer. You will continually believe! As a believer, you experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. Paul is not telling the Christian that he might not experience God’s power if he doesn’t continually believe. Rather, he is telling the Christian that he might not “know what is the hope to which he has called you” if “the eyes of your heart [are not] enlightened.” The Apostle Paul says you might not know. He doesn’t say you might not experience. Moore misses the point.
Example #3. John 14:26 says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” This was spoken by Jesus to His disciples who would be His apostles - official representatives of Jesus Christ. The promise was that the Holy Spirit would inspire His apostles to infallibly and authoritatively proclaim the record of Jesus Christ. Moore misapplies this passage when she says, “We are going to enlist the help of the Holy Spirit in remembering and recording acts of God’s faithfulness to us in the span of our lifetimes. John 14:26 intimates a role He fulfills that can greatly assist us” (180).
Example #4. Moore says, “I had been taught that God does not work many miracles today because we live in a different time period on the kingdom calendar” (58). She later says, “Simply put, cessationism teaches that more dramatic miracles have ceased in our day. Sensationalism teaches that the whole point of belief is miracles” (59). “My complaint is the tendency of people, like me, to be drawn toward doctrinal extremes. Frankly, I’ve got a crick in my neck from watching them both, and I beg God for a biblical center” (59).
I have known a lot of cessationists, but I have never heard one say that God does not work many miracles today because we live in a different time period. Cessationists believe the “gift of miracles” and certain other spiritual gifts have ceased. The gift of miracles speaks of God’s working of a miracle through a particular person. A cessationist says that God does not work miracles at the hands of men today since God no longer energizes the ‘gift of miracles” today. God can do miracles. He can heal people. I’ve never met a cessationist who believed otherwise.
Moore is very unhelpful as she tries to help the reader sort through this issue. She misrepresents cessationism, calls it a doctrinal extreme, and then implies it is wrong simply because it is a doctrinal extreme. Why should we assume that the truth is found at the center of what we think are two extremes?
Some say God is sovereign over absolutely everything; other say He is completely powerless. These are two doctrinal extremes. Should we therefore “beg God for a biblical center” and conclude he has some power over some things? God forbid!
Moore goes on to say, “If the body of Christ in our generation is set on being bipolar [a reference to the “doctrinal extremes”], our choice is whether we’d rather be an unbelieving and perverse generation or a wicked and adulterous generation. Hmmmmm. Not good choices” (60).
Is cessationism equal to “an unbelieving and perverse generation”? Yikes!
Example #5. Moore discusses 1 Corinthians 13:8 where the Apostle Paul says, “Love never fails.” She says, “The word fail actually portrays something that drops or falls to the ground, thereby having no effect” (240). “Beloved, when you really love, difficultly and sacrificially, God catches it even if no one else does. It never falls to the ground” (240). “We’ve got to know that every effort to love sacrificially never fails…
- to get the priority attention of God (Mark 12:28-30).
- to ultimately and undoubtedly be rewarded.
- to have a profound effect, whether in the other person, in the circumstance, or in us…(240).”
Moore has misundertood Paul’s statement, “Love never fails.” He makes the statement in contrast to other things that do fail: prophecy (v.8), tongues (v.8), knowledge (v.8), faith (v.13), and hope (v.13). Certainly Paul is not saying that love never fails to get the priority attention of God, but prophecy, knowledge, and faith will (or, may). Certainly Paul is not saying that love never fails to ultimately and undoubtedly be rewarded but faith and hope may.
When Paul says, “love never fails,” he is saying, “love never ends.” There is an expiration date for the gift of prophecy, the gift of tongues, the gift of knowledge, faith, and hope, but there is no expiration date for love. Moore’s interpretation fails to account for the context and central argument of the passage.
Conclusion
While there are many good and helpful things in Believing God by Beth Moore, there are enough confusing, uncareful, and unbiblical teachings to conclude that it should not be considered part of a Christian’s healthy diet.
Thomas Watson, "[Jesus] alone is the Prince of Preachers. He alone is the best of expositors."
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