The following was written by Miles J. Stanford in the early 1970's in an effort to explain a weakness regarding the doctrine of sanctification [instant spirituality], the source being Dr. L. S. Chafer and Dallas Theological Seminary. Many years have passed and modifications in teaching emphasis have been made. Consequently, the points in this series of critiques may or may not still hold true. We will make an attempt to update their status when subsequent information is available.
Links
Chafer, Ryrie, Pentecost, Thieme, Hodges, Bright,
Hession, Grubb,
Torrey, Gordon,
Simpson, Tozer,
Moody, Murray
COLONEL R.B. THIEME, JR.
Miles J. Stanford
INTRODUCTION -- Col. Thieme graduated Summa Cum Laude from Dallas Theological Seminary, and pastors Berachah Church in Houston, Texas. His ministry is of an intellectual, mechanistic nature.
CHRISTIAN LIFE TEACHING -- The bias of Col. Thieme's teaching concerning the Christian life is similar to that of Dr. Chafer, with one fundamental and indicative difference. While the ministry of Dr. Chafer included the identification principles, albeit overshadowed by his spirituality emphasis, the truths of identification and the work of the Cross are not found in the Thieme teaching.
TEACHING EMPHASIS -- Col. Thieme's theme of confession of sins [rebound] (1 John 1:9) and instant spirituality via the filling with the Spirit amounts to Dr. Chafer's overemphasis gone to seed. Here we find a graphic illustration of what this emphasis can do. It not only renders the identification truths non-essential., but in this case they are non-existent.
SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS -- Col. Thieme has no need for the identification truths because he errs in centering all in the filling with the Spirit and the resultant "spirituality": immediate and complete manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in the believer's life. The Cross has no place in dealing with sin and self, because he teaches that the believer is not able to sin while controlled (filled) by the Spirit (Spirituality by Grace, p. 62).
His condition for being filled with the Spirit is confession. His ministry to the believer is hung upon 1 John 1:9--hence the source of the confessed sins is not dealt with. The result is a sterile manipulation of selected doctrine, a sort of methodical automation with self left untouched and free to flourish.
CONCLUSION -- Col. Thieme's modus operandi is the teaching of doctrine, which in itself is correct and commendable except for the fact that he would seem to have no knowledge of the "not I, but Christ" truths. And without the realization of the work of the Cross to halt the works of the flesh, there can be no release from the power of sin. Confession of sins already committed never touches the power of sin, it only cleanses from its prurient produce. The source needs crucifixion!
People today seek the blessing and power of Pentecost apart from personal crucifixion with Christ, and the result is a counterfeit experience.. Calvary is always before Pentecost, historically and experientially. The only way into the riches of the fullness of the Spirit is through our acceptance of our crucifixion with Him. --L.L. Legters
Further Thoughts on Col. Thieme's Ministry
Similar to Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ, an attempt was made to incorporate the truths of Romans 6 and Galatians 2:20, via addendum, into Col. Thieme's literature over the past thirty years. Similar to Bright, some attempt to claim that the focus of Bob Thieme's teachings changed. The following current quotes are but a representative sample. You decide. DRS
DOCTRINE:
"Learn and apply Bible doctrine and advance to spiritual maturity."1
"You advance spiritually by consistently learning, thinking, and applying Bible doctrine." 1
"As you learn doctrine, doctrine in your soul becomes the catalyst which permits God to convert potentials into realities." 8
"Through doctrine, we learn to harness and utilize divine resources, and by doing so, we exploit the fantastic riches of God's grace." 8
"...metabolized doctrine in their souls," 9
CHRISTIAN LIFE TEACHING:
"The only requirement for eternal release from the slave market of sin is faith alone in Christ alone." 2
"Only the invisible ministry of God the Holy Spirit can defeat the sin nature and execute the Christian way of life." 5
"Rebound...is the very foundation of your spiritual life." 7
"The sin nature is no longer your ruler. When you ignore rebound and the intake of Bible doctrine and instead follow the thinking of good and evil, you are the culprit. You have placed a beggar on the throne of your life!" 8
"God the Holy Spirit fills every Church Age believer's body to provide the power needed to combat the inherited, resident, and continually active sin nature." 8
"Based on knowing (omniscience) how each believer would use his free will, God decreed in eternity past that certain things would occur in that believer's life." 8
"The believer's soul is the battleground in the angelic conflict, and the believer's own volition determines which side wins in his life." 8
TEACHING EMPHASIS:
"God's grace solution for the believer's sin is rebound--privately confessing or naming your sins to God the Father." 3
"Rebound and keep moving is the key that unlocks the Christian way of life. After salvation the sin nature remains a relentless adversary, tempting the believer to sin and live in carnality. When the believer sins, fellowship with God is broken, the filling of the Holy Spirit is temporarily lost, and spiritual progress ceases. Rebound is the most simple yet most incredible concept in the spiritual life. Rebound defeats sin." 4
"Rebound is our access to intimacy with the Lord, the gateway to divine power in our lives, our license to serve the Lord. Rebound opens the door to the wonderful freedom the grace of God offers to every believer in Jesus Christ." 4
"Our lives will never be free from personal sins as long as we live (God provides instantaneous recovery through rebound [1 John 1:8-10]); but we can be completely free from good and evil... ...protected from the tyranny of Satan and the sin nature... ...only through the advance to maturity through the intake of Bible doctrine." 8
SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS:
"Rebound...is the method for attaining spirituality." 6
"Through rebound, every Church Age believer has the privilege and opportunity of being controlled by God the Holy Spirit. He empowers you to reject the sin nature's control of your life, metabolize the message from the Bible, and grow in the unique spiritual life." 6
"Rebound is the only means to regain the filling of the Holy Spirit, restore your fellowship with God, and resume your spiritual life." 7
"Indwelling is His residence in the body; filling is the Spirit's control of the soul. We never loose the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9), but when we sin, we loose the filling of the Spirit. Hence, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16)--a command to rebound whenever we sin--but we are never ordered to be indwelt; the indwelling of the Spirit is our permanent possession." 8
"The Spirit regains control of the soul when the believer rebounds by naming his sins privately to God (Ps. 32:5; 1 John 1:9)." 8
"Before we can be filled with the Spirit, we must know how to be filled with the Spirit! Obviously, we must learn the doctrine of rebound." 8
SIN VS. SINS:
"The Bible teaches that your sins were not forgiven at the cross." 7
"All personal sins of human history were imputed by God the Father and judged, not forgiven. When are your sins forgiven? At the moment of faith alone in Christ alone, all of your presalvation sins are forgiven." 7
"What about the sins you commit after salvation? Every time you name your sins privately to God the Father, those postsalvation sins are forgiven When you use the rebound technique, He is faithful and just to forgive those sins and purify you from all unknown sins." 7
- After Salvation, What?
- Slave Market of Sin
- Isolation of Sin
- Rebound and Keep Moving!
- Old Sin Nature vs. Holy Spirit
- The Ten Problem-Solving Devices
- Forgiveness of Sins
- Integrity in Action
- Aggressive and Responding Love
A Correspondent's Testimony
I recently read your discussion regarding Bob Thieme. I found it very "confirming".
I grew up in a Bible Church in [location], Texas and in later years ended up going to Bob Thieme's church. I started attending in 1991 and left that church and ministry in 1997. Subsequently, I began to understand the fallacies of that ministry starting in May 2000.At first, I found the Thieme materials to be very educational and helpful, but then fell into the 'traps' of that ministry. These include:
Putting too great a focus on my freedom to choose versus God's desire and power to lead (God's sovereignty).
Oversimplifying my relationship with God and boiling things down to logical notions conveniently held within the limited box of my intellect. (God is so much bigger than that box--infinite indeed).
Elevating intellect over emotion and losing sight of the fact that God communicates with the whole person through Godly thoughts, Godly feelings and Godly directives of the will. The emotional intelligence of a soul is just as important as the rational intelligence of a soul. (Sometimes God asks that we do things that do not make sense to us; the Old Testament is an excellent example of these directives).
Losing sight of God's love (via "overemphasis of knowledge") and proper loving relationship with all people. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to address this very problem.
Losing sight of the need to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse the heart not only through confession of sin in response to the Holy Spirit's conviction, but also through properly confessing wrongs to other persons, seeking forgiveness, and making restitution as applicable to the circumstances.
These are but a few of the pitfalls.In the final analysis, I found myself using God's 'principles' (as articulated by Thieme) to advance my own agenda.Finally, God got my attention and made me realize through death of self, (being crucified with Christ), that God desired for me to yield totally to His will and allow Him to use the life He gave me to advance His agenda--His ultimate glory.Oh my!!! What a difference that has made.Sadly, I have "friends" that are still under the Thieme ministry, though Bob has taken ill and is not teaching anymore.I pray that the eyes of their hearts be opened so that they can escape the fleshy limitations that can arise in ministries founded on false ideas. I honestly think it is a well-meaning ministry but sadly misses the mark and bears little or no [genuine] fruit.In Him,[signed]
And the book: Bob Thieme's Teaching on Christian Living, Joe L. Wall, 1978
Also see: The Filling of the Holy Spirit ~ Is It the Biblical Basis for Christian Maturity?