The Purposely Driven Angle On The Purpose Driven Life

I recently participated in Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” six week study. Being who I am, I was bored watching a man teach from the DVD. My couch became a pew and the TV the pulpit.

I had really been anticipating more interactive discussion and sharing amongst the body. Not to sound snobbish, but I was surprised at the “milky” diet of the content. After 13+ years of being a follower & believer of Christ Jesus, I am seeking a “meatier” diet and looking for the deeper things. This seemed very basic and at times monotonous.

Although I feel that the process of discovering our gifts and purposes is a basic thing that young believers need to do, I do also think that the way Warren goes about relaying the steps in this process are misleading and sometimes out right wrong. Warren often paraphrases scripture, and often cites half-verses, and takes verses out of their intended context.

And though I don’t necessarily believe that Warren is doing this intentionally in every situation, I do think it is important to make other’s aware that his use of “proof-texting” in his teachings is misleading, especially to those who are new to the faith and less able to discern.

Last night while covering lesson 4, part 1, Warren proceeded to tell us of the 3 tools God uses to conform us to the image of His Son, or make us more like Jesus. Tool #1, Warren states, is the Bible.

Really? I think he was referring to 'all scripture', but regardless, he more than implied that without one accessing a bible, God cannot conform you. God doesn't need you to read a book to conform you. See, his confusion lies with God doing the work verses you doing the work. For you to do something yourself, you need instructions, an outline, directions. For God to do the work, He only need to want to do it. He already knows what needs to be done, when and how. Truthfully, the less we think we know, the less we can get in His way and mess things up with our own works.

What Warren goes on to say, however, is not benign. Warren says that one HAS to read their bible to hear from God. “Open the bible, God speaks. Close the bible and you close the mouth of God.”

Really? All God has for us is in those pages? God doesn’t speak to us, His ecclesia (called out ones) anymore? How sad. To think that all I will ever know of Him, my Father, my God, the Creator of the universe, is fully contained within the written pages of mans work.

Maybe that is because Rick Warren, and many churches, have traded in the Living God for the bible. They continually refer to it as “The Word”, when inside its pages it makes clear that Jesus is the Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God….. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” John 1:1-10

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John1:14

Warren’s bible paraphrases prove his positions. On page 68 of The Purpose Driven Church we see how Warren uses a verse from The Living Bible to biblically prove his conviction that intelligent Christians should be open to “new ideas”.

“The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them” (Proverbs 18:15).

For the undiscerning Christian reading his book, this verse would be taken at face value and accepted as biblical proof for whatever deceptions one might be planning.

A deceiver could easily convey that innovation of the church is necessary, and that traditional thinking in the church is outdated and in need of replacing with these “new ideas.”

But what does this verse really say? In the New King James Version it reads:

“The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Prov 18:15)

According to the literal understanding of this verse in the context of Scripture, any “knowledge” that a prudent man seeks is based on the objective truth of God’s Word and does not imply any use of “new ideas.”

Don’t you think that to state that the verse is advocating being “open to new ideas” is wildly off the mark, dangerous, deceptive and misleading; if not outright heretical? The terms “knowledge” and “new ideas” are not synonymous, and it is irresponsible of Warren to suggest otherwise by using this paraphrase.

Could these new ideas include that we should be open to “new ideas” like New Age mysticism? How careless a translation!

Again, in the heading of Chapter 7 from The Purpose Driven Life, Warren uses the following verse:

"The Lord has made everything for his own purposes." (Proverbs 16:4, NLT)

You simply cannot argue that to the undiscerning reader, to the babe in Christ, who is looking for God’s purpose in their life, you can't argue that this verse is misleading and incomplete and should not be allowed to stand on its own merit.

However, this is not the complete verse, even though it is falsely cited as such. In the KJV, Proverbs 16:4 fully reads, “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil”. The full force of this verse lies in the truth that God has made ALL THINGS for his own purpose, even making the wicked for the purpose of punishment!

So why does Warren present it with a sentence-ending period as if he cited it entirely when he did not? Why didn’t he accurately note the reference as Proverbs 16:4a? Maybe the second half of the verse didn’t fit in and therefore he felt the necessity to deliberately leave it out?

Warren does it again on page 76 with Psalm 14:2, where he chooses the weakest rendering he can from The Living Bible:

“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God.”

By singling out this verse, without putting it in its proper context, Warren is guilty of presenting a half-truth. Yes, God may be looking on all men to see who understands, but what Warren doesn't tell us is that God doesn't find one single person who fits that description! Look at the context of both verses as seen in the more literal rendering of the NKJV:

Psalm 14:2: The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 14:3: They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.

As you can see, the third verse of Psalm 14 is pivotal to understanding God’s truth about the complete sinfulness and rebellion of natural man, but Warren fails to cite it.

Instead he chooses to present a weak translation of a single verse to imply that God is actively seeking out “purpose driven” God-pleasers. What Warren doesn’t tell us, however, is that God finds NONE who do good, NOT EVEN ONE. This is such an important truth about man’s utter sinfulness that Paul reiterated it in Romans 3:10-12 to emphasize the point.

So why did Warren leave that part out? Is it because it would negate his “purpose driven” argument?