A Purposeful Look at "The Purpose Driven Life" By Rick Warren - Part 1

Many, if not all who are reading this post, have heard of the book "The Purpose Driven Life" written by Rick Warren. It can be found in Christian bookstores, in public libraries and even such places as Barnes and Noble, or B.Dalton etc… Due to its wide acceptance and popularity, it seemed fit to me, being led of the Holy Spirit, to take some time and read the book and study it side by side with the word of God. Let me say that Warren’s book falls short of the teachings and principles of the Bible. I Thess 5:21 says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Having proved this book, I would have to say that I have found it lacking in genuine Scriptural truth. "The Purpose Driven Life" (hereafter PDL) is a book that no Bible-believing Christian should resort to. Consider the following:

I. The Popularity of “The Purpose Driven Life”
To see how popular the book is, we need look no further than the outside of this book.
A. The Front of the Book
1. "#1 New York Times Bestseller"
2. "20 Million Sold Worldwide"
B. The Back of the Book
1. Widely Accepted
Here are some of the quotes from the back of the book:
a. 1st Quote
“Movie stars and political leaders aren’t the only ones who’ve turned this book for spiritual guidance. Millions of people – from NBA players to corporate executives to high school students to prison inmates – meet regularly (millions meet regularly) to discuss The Purpose Drive Life… [Listen to this] The world is on the verge of a spiritual awakening, as people seek fulfillment they don’t get from fast track jobs and can’t buy with gold cards.” – TIME
b. 2nd Quote:
“The bestselling book in the world for 2003 and 2004, and the bestselling non-fiction hardback in history.” – Publishers Weekly
* 2 Questions:
i. Have Movies Stars Suddenly Drawn Closer to God?
ii. If Millions of People Have Found the Purpose for Their Life Following the Path that This Book Lays Out, then Why Have We Not Seen a Change in the Spiritual Environment of Our Nation? If 20 Million + people get serious about serving God, things would change for our nation!
Note: It is not my intention to condemn a person for being successful, or writing a successful book. But if all the claims of Warren’s book were true, and his direction was accurate, and all of these people who’ve bought into his theories are truly seeking God’s purpose for their life then this world would be a different place, and it is not.
C. What The Bible Says
1. Gain does not equal godliness.
"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." (I Timothy 6:5)
2. And Popularity does not equal spirituality.
"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)
3. The World Hates the Light of God’s Word
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)
D. Why Is The Book So Popular
1. Consider this Quote:
“Readers delving into this phenomenally successful best seller find advice steeped in the Bible but written in a psychological acuity that speaks to believers and non-believers alike.” – The Arizona Republic
2. In other words, it is worldly, that is why the world can receive it.
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19)

II. The Purpose of the Purpose Driven Life
* To Know God’s Purpose For Your Life
A. Purpose Statement: This book “will enable you to discover the answer to life’s most important question: What on earth am I here for? By the end of the journey you will know God’s purpose for your life.” Pg 9
B. To guide through a “40 day spiritual journey” in which the above purpose statement is said to be achieved. “The next 40 days will transform your life.” Pg 10
Note: Warren makes a bogus, and almost conceited claim about his book: “Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book. God longs for you to discover the life he created you to live…” (PDL Dedication)

THINK!!! Now if this is true, then God also ordained that I would read this book and warn you of its errors!

III. The Problems With the Purpose Driven Life
A. All the Bible Versions
Warren claims to have quoted nearly 1,000 verses. (Appendix 3: Why Use So Many Translations? Pg 325)
1. What Versions?
a. The AMP – The Amplified Bible
b. CEV – Contemporary English Version
c. GWT – God’s Word Translation
d. KJV – King James Version
- Quoted only 16 times.
Note: Using the true word of God would have destroyed his theories.
e. LB – The Living Bible
f. MSG – The Message
g. NAB – The New American Bible
h. NASB – The New American Standard Bible
i. NCV – The New Century Version
j. NIV – New International Version
- Quoted Over 100 times.
k. NJB – New Jerusalem Bible
l. NLT – The New Living Translation
m. NRSV – The New Revised Standard Version
n. Ph – New Testament in Modern English
o. TEV – Today’s English Version
-Quoted At Least 76 times.
2. WhyDoes He Use All These Translations?
Happily, for us, Warren has an appendix which he has called, “Why Use So Many Translations?” Well, that saves us from having to guess.
a. He Claims that No One Version is Adequate
“First, no matter how wonderful a translation is, it has limitations.” Appendix 3: Why Use So Many Translations? Pg 325
Note: The KJV is adequate! God’s Word in English. Warren quotes from the KJV only 16 times, but over a hundred times from the NIV. He claims to use “nearly a thousand quotes from scripture.” (Appendix 3: Who Use So Many Translations? Pg 325)
b. He Says that Familiar Translations Become Rote, Paraphrases Are Necessary
“Second…we often miss the full impact of Bible verses, not because of poor translating, but simply because they have become so familiar. Therefore I have deliberately used paraphrases in order to help you see God’s truth in new, fresh ways.”
* So, he is saying that this Bible has lost its power.
Note: He claims that his paraphrases, or those of others, will enlighten more than the very words of God.
3. The References He Uses Are Obscure
*Many of the verses given in the book from different versions are so changed and twisted to be almost unrecognizable.
a. Example: Romans 8:6: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
From "The Message": “Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.”
b. Example: Matt 16:25: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
From "The Message": “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.”
c. Example: Col 1:16: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:"
From "The Message": “Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.”
Note: This destroys the testimony of the Deity of Christ. It removes the fact that He created all things in heaven and in earth FOR Himself.
d. Example: I Tim 3:15: "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
From "God’s Word Translation": “God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”
Note: Obviously, this verse is meant to lend more credibility to the teaching of the universal church by equating the body, or church, with the family of God.
e. Warren Picks and Chooses
In order to make a point, Warren seems to pick whatever translation best suits his purpose. In other words, he wants to make the Bible (which is a somewhat nebulous term nowadays – which Bible?) say what he wants it to say. That is shady dealing. Many “Christian” authors do this.
H. All the Quotes
Warren quotes many well-known religious leaders in his book. Many of whom are out and out heretics when you compare what they believed to the Bible. But Warren does not warn the reader of their false teachings, but simply quotes them as if they were the models for Christian living.
1. James Dobson
a. Mixes Christian Principles with Psychology (With more emphasis on psychology)
b. Compromises with the World
- Focus on the Family Radio ministry –Little Bible is used
2. Martin Luther
a. Admittedly, He Did Profess to Believe in Salvation by Faith in Christ
b. But, He believed in infant baptism
c. Believed in the Priesthood
d. Implemented a form of the Catholic Mass – Transubstantiation
e. Persecuted True Believers
“The Lutherans bitterly persecuted and tormented the Anabaptists and other non-Lutherans in many places. Tens of thousands of humble Bible believers were put to death by these Protestants for the simple reason that they refused to accept their false state church and their unscriptural infant baptism and other errors.”
(from “Way of Life Encyclopedia:” ‘Lutheran’ by David Clough Page 357)
3. C.S. Lewis (From “Defense” by David Cloud Page 440)
a. Believed in Purgatory
b. Confessed Sins to a Priest
c. Believed That there is Salvation in Pagan Religions
d. Rejected the Doctrine of bodily resurrection of Christ
e. Denied the Substitutionary atonement of Christ
f. He believed in theistic evolution
g. Denied that hell is eternal, and fiery
4. Mother Theresa
a. A Staunch Catholic
b. Was a Universalist
5. And Many More...
6. What Does the Bible Say?
a. A Good Man of God Warns The Sheep To Stay Away From Heretics, He Doesn’t Promote Them!
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." (Acts 20:29)
b. A Good Church Member Avoids Those Who Promote False Teachings
"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." (Romans 16:17)
"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

Conclusion: Having many more things to write, I conclude this edition of a Purposeful Look at PDL by urging every believer to go to the scriptures, and to the house of God - the Local, New Testament Church to find out what the word of God says. You don't need a New York Times Best Seller to tell you what God wants from your life. Listen to the preaching of the Word of God (KJV 1611) from a faithful man of God in a New Testament Baptist Church. Then be like the Bereans, and go home and study the Bible for yourself. Until next time...