Analysis of a testimony (is this person really saved?)
Jan 28, 2019 10:56:29 GMT -5
John, Cletus, and 1 more like this
Post by PG4Him on Jan 28, 2019 10:56:29 GMT -5
We’ve been presented with the testimony of one Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj. He is a very influential preacher these days, so it behooves us to check his record. This gives us an opportunity to break down the anatomy of a salvation testimony to see if it passes the sniff test. I will post the video for reference at the bottom of my remarks.
Note: I am not trying to prove or disprove whether the man is saved. Only God knows for sure. But if a testimony is put forth to us, we should examine it to see the testimony sounds legit. When all the Christian rhetoric is stripped away, what is the substance of this person’s story?
This guy is famous for his long list of elaborate heavenly visions. No surprise; he tells us he tried Christianity in the first place because he was looking for a spiritual experience. He says he went to church because he “greatly thirsted and desired to have my spiritual eyes opened.” Access to the spirit world is the thing which has driven him since day one.
While he was in church, he was told “this is the true God, go and follow Him.” He then approached the altar, remained standing, and offered a baffling prayer that he would escape the cycle of reincarnation. Apparently this was enough for his sins to be forgiven. Based on that sequence — follow this God and reject reincarnation — his sins were washed clean. I’m not sure exactly how that works. He didn’t mention the cross, he didn’t call himself a sinner, and he never said the word repent.
All of this happened at a SDA church. Okay, I can accept that. Jesus can use misguided denominations to save people. But notice what happened next. He wanted to get baptized at any cost. He attended doctrinal classes he didn’t agree with, pretended to accept his SDA pastor, and used those people for baptism as a formality. What did the baptism actually mean to him? He doesn’t say. The impression I get from the video is that he saw water baptism as a meanngless physical activity anyone could do for him.
Then he immediately set about breaking into the spirit realm. It seems like that’s all he wanted Jesus for. He didn’t mention a single instance of a sin he had to work through, a lesson in humility, a struggle with his Hindu ways, or a challenge to his character. He wanted access to the spirit realm.
So after being coached on spiritual vision, he apparently gained his precious access to spirit. The first thing he saw was Jesus on the cross. Assuming this vision was legit, he was taken to the cross. Why would God take him there? There’s a case to be made that he never actually repented of his sins and he desperately needed to understand the cross, so God took him to confront the cross. Instead of pondering why God might have shown that particular vision, he wrote it down, moved on, and told God he wasn’t yet satisfied.
How is a vision of the cross somehow just another notch on your belt? How do you mark it in your diary and move on? But that’s what he did, and then he moved on to all sorts of other visions.
Based on the evidence given in this testimony, I’m left with more questions than answers.
Here’s the video for you to listen for yourself.
Note: I am not trying to prove or disprove whether the man is saved. Only God knows for sure. But if a testimony is put forth to us, we should examine it to see the testimony sounds legit. When all the Christian rhetoric is stripped away, what is the substance of this person’s story?
This guy is famous for his long list of elaborate heavenly visions. No surprise; he tells us he tried Christianity in the first place because he was looking for a spiritual experience. He says he went to church because he “greatly thirsted and desired to have my spiritual eyes opened.” Access to the spirit world is the thing which has driven him since day one.
While he was in church, he was told “this is the true God, go and follow Him.” He then approached the altar, remained standing, and offered a baffling prayer that he would escape the cycle of reincarnation. Apparently this was enough for his sins to be forgiven. Based on that sequence — follow this God and reject reincarnation — his sins were washed clean. I’m not sure exactly how that works. He didn’t mention the cross, he didn’t call himself a sinner, and he never said the word repent.
All of this happened at a SDA church. Okay, I can accept that. Jesus can use misguided denominations to save people. But notice what happened next. He wanted to get baptized at any cost. He attended doctrinal classes he didn’t agree with, pretended to accept his SDA pastor, and used those people for baptism as a formality. What did the baptism actually mean to him? He doesn’t say. The impression I get from the video is that he saw water baptism as a meanngless physical activity anyone could do for him.
Then he immediately set about breaking into the spirit realm. It seems like that’s all he wanted Jesus for. He didn’t mention a single instance of a sin he had to work through, a lesson in humility, a struggle with his Hindu ways, or a challenge to his character. He wanted access to the spirit realm.
So after being coached on spiritual vision, he apparently gained his precious access to spirit. The first thing he saw was Jesus on the cross. Assuming this vision was legit, he was taken to the cross. Why would God take him there? There’s a case to be made that he never actually repented of his sins and he desperately needed to understand the cross, so God took him to confront the cross. Instead of pondering why God might have shown that particular vision, he wrote it down, moved on, and told God he wasn’t yet satisfied.
How is a vision of the cross somehow just another notch on your belt? How do you mark it in your diary and move on? But that’s what he did, and then he moved on to all sorts of other visions.
Based on the evidence given in this testimony, I’m left with more questions than answers.
Here’s the video for you to listen for yourself.