JESUS IS CALLING?
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Question: "Is Jesus Calling a good book? Are there
any doctrinal problems with Jesus Calling?"
Answer: Jesus Calling, written by Sarah Young, has become an exceedingly
popular book since its first release in 2004. Readers have been encouraged to
live in God’s presence and listen for His voice. The devotionals are based on
messages the author claims to have received from Jesus and are passed along to
the reader as if God is talking.
GotQuestions.org cautions readers of
Jesus Calling. Young’s writings should not be seen as new revelation from God.
The Bible is complete and contains everything we need “for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
While Young admits that her work is different from God’s Word, some readers
equate her devotions as Jesus’ words to them personally. This conclusion is
understandable, since Young tells the reader that the words are from God
Himself. In the mind of the reader, how can words from God be any less
authoritative than the Bible? If the words are from God, how are they not
inspired?
In earlier editions of the book, Young
describes her inspiration for Jesus Calling. She discovered a little booklet
called God Calling, written by two anonymous “listeners.” Young may not have
known that the authors of God Calling used the occult practice of automatic
writing to receive their messages. Even so, Young said, “These women practiced
waiting quietly in God’s Presence, pencils and paper in hand, recording the
messages they received from [God]. This little paperback became a treasure to
me. It dove-tailed remarkably well with my longing to live in Jesus’ Presence.”
The references to the controversial book God Calling have been removed from
recent editions of Jesus Calling.
Young may be sincere in her desire to
encourage believers, but putting words in Jesus’ mouth is always dangerous.
Claiming to speak for God is the same as taking the mantle of prophetess. God
has already spoken. He designed that we hear Him in His Word, the Bible, which
is the only authoritative book. Young yearned for something more than God’s
inspired Word, and that yearning is the faulty premise for the book Jesus
Calling.
+++
By Tim Challies
Share
Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling is a phenomenon that shows no
signs of slowing down. According to publisher Thomas Nelson, it “continues to
grow in units sold each year since it was released [and] has surpassed 15
million copies sold.” Nelson is involved in an expansive new marketing campaign
that involves a new web site and daily radio devotionals. ECPA
reports
that “Thomas Nelson began its partnership with the Salem Media group to provide
60-second daily messages on Eric Metaxas’ show, which is carried on more than
100 stations nationwide and worldwide on SiriusXM Radio. The Jesus Calling
radio devotional reaches more than 500,000 people each day through these
segments.” With 15 million copies sold, it has marched its way into rare
company.
Yet it is a deeply troubling book. I am going to point
out 10 serious problems with Jesus Calling in the hope that you will consider
and heed these warnings.
1. She speaks for God. Far and
away the most troubling aspect of the book is its very premise—that Sarah Young
hears from Jesus and then dutifully brings his messages to her readers. Jesus
Calling makes the boldest, gutsiest, and, to my mind, most arrogant claim of
any book ever to be considered Christian. The publisher describes the book in
this way: “After many years of writing her own words in her prayer journal,
missionary Sarah Young decided to be more attentive to the Savior’s voice and
begin listening for what He was saying. So with pen in hand, she embarked on a
journey that forever changed her—and many others around the world. In these
powerful pages are the words and Scriptures Jesus lovingly laid on her heart.
Words of reassurance, comfort, and hope. Words that have made her increasingly
aware of His presence and allowed her to enjoy His peace (italics mine).” There
is no way to avoid her claim that she is communicating divine revelation, a
claim that raises a host of questions and concerns, not the least of which is
the doctrine of Scripture alone which assures us that the Bible and the Bible
alone is sufficient to guide us in all matters of faith and practice.
Jesus Calling only exists because Sarah Young had a deep
desire to hear from God outside of the Bible.
2. She proclaims the
insufficiency of the Bible. Jesus Calling only exists because Sarah Young
had a deep desire to hear from God outside of the Bible. In the
introduction she describes the book’s genesis: “I began to wonder if I … could
receive messages during my times of communing with God. I had been writing in prayer
journals for years, but that was one-way communication: I did all the talking.
I knew that God communicated with me through the Bible, but I yearned for more.
Increasingly, I wanted to hear what God had to say to me personally on a given
day.” In those few sentences she sets up unnecessary competition between her
revelation and what we are told of the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, equipped for every good work.” Biblically, there is no category for
what she provides as the heart and soul of her book. Biblically, there is no
need for it and no reason we should expect or heed it.
3. Her deepest experience of God
comes through a practice God does not endorse. Young does not only endorse her
practice of listening, but goes so far as to elevate it as the chief spiritual
discipline. “This practice of listening to God has increased my intimacy with
Him more than any other spiritual discipline, so I want to share some of the
messages I have received. In many parts of the world, Christians seem to be
searching for a deeper experience of Jesus’ Presence and Peace. The messages
that follow address that felt need.” Notice that her solution to
addressing the desire for Jesus’ Presence and Peace is not Scripture or any
other means of grace, but the very messages she provides in her book.
4. She is inspired by
untrustworthy models. In early versions of Jesus Calling, Young tells of her
discovery of the book God Calling and the way she modeled her practice of
listening on it. She describes it as “a devotional book written by two
anonymous ‘listeners.’ These women practiced waiting quietly in God’s Presence,
pencils and paper in hand, recording the messages they received from Him. This
little paperback became a treasure to me. It dove-tailed remarkably well with
my longing to live in Jesus’ Presence.” It is worth noting that recent versions
of Jesus Calling have been scrubbed of this information. God Calling is an
equally troubling book that saw much success beginning in the 1930s and has
seen a revival of interest in the wake of Jesus Calling. It is at times
subbiblical and at other times patently unbiblical. And yet it is a book she
regards as a treasure and a model for her own work.
5. She provides lesser
revelation. Young admits that her revelation is different from the Bible’s
(“The Bible is, of course, the only inerrant Word of God; my writings must be
consistent with that unchanging standard”), but does not explain how her
writings are different. Jesse Johnson
says,
“She does grant that the content of Jesus Calling should be measured against
Scripture—but that is true of Scripture as well. In the end, there is no
substantial difference in how Young expects us to view Jesus’ words to her,
than how we are to view the Bible. I mean, Jesus’ words to Sarah are literally
packaged into a devotional, so that we can do our devotionals from
them every day.” If her words are actually from Jesus, how can they be any
less authoritative or less binding than any word of Scripture?
6. She mimics occult practices.
The way in which Young receives her revelation from Jesus smacks of the occult.
“I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believe
He was saying. I felt awkward the first time I tried this, but I received a
message. It was short, biblical, and appropriate. It addressed topics that were
current in my life: trust, fear, and closeness to God. I responded by writing
in my prayer journal.” This is not a far cry from a practice known as
“automatic writing” which Wikipedia
describes
as “an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words
without consciously writing. The words are claimed to arise from a
subconscious, spiritual or supernatural source.” Her inspiration was God
Calling where it is even clearer that the authors allowed their minds to go
blank at which point they supposedly received messages from God. This practice
is very different from the giving of biblical revelation where God worked
through the thoughts, personalities, and even research of the authors.
7. Her emphasis does not match
the Bible’s. Young’s emphasis in Jesus Calling is markedly different from the
emphases of the Bible. For example, she speaks seldom of sin and repentance and
even less of Christ’s work on the cross. Michael Horton
says, “In terms of content, the message is reducible to one
point: Trust me more in daily dependence and you’ll enjoy my presence.” While
this is not necessarily an unbiblical or inappropriate message, it hardly
matches the thrust of the Bible which always pushes toward or flows from the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Horton adds, “The first mention of Christ even dying
for our sins appears on February 28 (page 61). The next reference (to wearing
Christ’s robe) is August 9 (p. 232). Even the December readings focus on a
general presence of Jesus in our hearts and daily lives, without anchoring it
in Jesus’s person and work in history.”
The Jesus of Sarah Young sounds suspiciously like a
twenty-first century, Western, middle-aged woman.
8. Her tone does not match the
Bible’s. It can’t be denied: The Jesus of Sarah Young sounds suspiciously
like a twenty-first century, Western, middle-aged woman. If this is,
indeed, Jesus speaking, we need to explain why he sounds so markedly different
from the Jesus of the gospels or the Jesus of the book of Revelation. Nowhere
in Scripture do we find Jesus (or his Father) speaking like this: “When your Joy
in Me meets My Joy in you, there are fireworks of heavenly ecstasy.” Or again,
“Wear my Love like a cloak of Light, covering you from head to toe.” And,
“Bring me the sacrifice of your precious time. This creates sacred space around
you—space permeated with My Presence and My Peace.” Why does Jesus suddenly
speak in such different language?
9. She generates confusion. By
fabricating the spiritual discipline of listening and elevating it to the first
place, she generates confusion about the disciplines that God does prescribe
for Christians.
Michael Horton addresses this one well: “According to the
Reformation stream of evangelicalism, God speaks to us in his Word (the arrow
pointing down from God to us) and we speak to him in prayer (the arrow directed
up to God). However, Jesus Calling confuses the direction of these arrows,
blurring the distinction between God’s speech and our response.” What she
models and endorses is both confusing and unhelpful.
10. Her book has been corrected.
Most people don’t know that Jesus Calling has undergone revisions, not only in
the introduction where she removed references to God Calling, but also in the
words she claims to have received from Jesus. This, of course, casts even
further doubt on the trustworthiness of the revelation she receives. After all,
why would words from Jesus need to be revised? Did God lie? Did he change? Did
she mis-hear him? There is no good option here, other than to doubt all she has
ever claimed to receive. This comparison from CARM highlights one significant
correction to the text:
The point is clear: Jesus Calling is a book built upon a
faulty premise and in that way a book that is dangerous and unworthy of our
attention or affirmation. The great tragedy is that it is leading people away
from God’s means of grace that are so sweet and so satisfying, if only we will
accept and embrace them.
