by Gladys Russell
I recently became aware of a young man in our congregation who is involved in the vilest of sexual addictions, yet considers himself a believer who has no qualms at all about admitting his sins and the pleasure that he gets from them. He has no concerns about his salvation either as he has received assurance from a new (?) doctrine that has been popularized by the book by Joseph Prince called DESTINED TO REIGN. It was probably no coincidence that a friend sent the book to me to look at. My curiosity and concern was definitely piqued.
As prudent Christians, many evangelicals realize that we are very possibly in the end times that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24. Knowing this, we need to be all the more aware of deception in our church and in doctrine. Remember Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:24 “For false Christ’s and FALSE PROPHETS will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Again in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 and 12 Paul says, “And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie and they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Even during the busy Christmas season, I could not keep away from this book and the theology it promotes. While there are too many ideas to expound on here, the main ideas seem to be 1) Nothing but blessings for the believer, 2) No longer a need to be concerned about God’s judgment as Grace has done away with the law 3) All sin, past and future, was forgiven at the cross for the believer and 4) repentance and confession of sin is never necessary.
BLEST BELIEVERS
In Chapter 1, I learned that God has called us as Christians to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy a life of victory. As soon as we understand his principals , we will see how easy and effortless the Christian walk really is. Prince uses Romans 5:17 …“For by one man‘s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through one Jesus Christ” He then states that the word reign used here comes from the word basiluo (Greek) translated to basilica in English.. Since, he says, basilicas were used as law courts, that means we would have a kingly rule. Well, that’s a stretch to begin with. A basilica is simply a style of building that makes it good for any assembly including meeting places, law courts, funeral homes and often churches. Adam Clarke, translating from the original Greek, along with any major Bible Scholar I am aware of takes this scripture to mean that we will reign over death as a result of Jesus death and resurrection..
Prince fails to mention what Jesus says to expect if we follow him.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” and again in Luke 6:22 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and caste your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake.
Jesus also said in Luke 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” In Matthew 7:14 Jesus said , “Narrow is the gate and DIFFICULT is the way which leads to life and few there be that find it. And in Luke 9:25 Jesus warns about riches saying, “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost.” Peter 3:17 “For it is better , if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”
In Revelations 6:9, John says “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained.”
Living in a country with abundant wealth such as Singapore (where Prince lives) or the United States certainly makes it more plausible for persons whether Christian or simply diligent citizens to have a measure of wealth, But, is that God’s plan for everyone who loves him? Certainly and clearly it is not. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 19:23 that it would be harder for the rich to get into heaven, and in Luke 18;24 he again lamented about how hard it would be for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus calls us to be willing to give up everything, including our life, to follow Him. Paul, himself, who wrote Romans 5:17, was often beaten, shipwrecked, and finally martyred. (Prince foolishly states that Paul’s thorn could not have been illness--he fails to note in Galatians 4 : 13-14 Paul clearly states he was sick with an infirmity of the flesh). Christians are daily persecuted and martyred around the world for the sake of their faith and the very survival of Christianity depended on the martyrs who came before us. Reigning might sound good for itchy ears but it isn’t what we are guaranteed in this present life.
A GOD OF MERCY ONLY - (New Revelation)
On page 32 Prince reveals his belief that God is continually restoring his truths to the church and the revelation of the finished work will continue to get stronger. Any time new revelation is taught, we must be reminded of how often this has been the basis of new cult’s such as Mormonism, Jehovah‘s witness, Christian Scientist etc. This new revelation of Prince’s continues to be the gift of righteousness to reign in life. I.e., more grace and less judgment. The loving and merciful side of God is always emphasized in Prince’s teaching.
While Prince speaks much of the fact that the new covenant does away with the old covenant , he fails to distinguish between the commandments which are still in effect and the ceremonial law that was necessary only until Christ became the sacrifice. Paul was often speaking to new Christians/Jews who kept going back to ceremonial law - after all as Jews that was very natural for them and, no doubt, they still had many friends who were still in ceremonial law. Paul confirms this in Galations 4:10 when he says “You observe days and months and seasons and years.
As for the commandments, read Matthew 19:17-21 when Jesus clearly told the rich young man he should keep the commandments if he wanted to enter into life……“shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Prince states a merciful God would not Judge America or any other country because of what was done at the cross (pg 49). That, he says is because God is not willing that any should perish. Wow that’s a relief -or is it? In 2nd Cor. 5:11 Paul says that knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men………..Heb 10:30 and 31 “The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ and Luke 12:5 … “Fear Him who…has the power to cast into hell:,, Of course Revelation has an entire book on the judgments that will be forthcoming on Nations and people. If we believe that God is all powerful, we must believe that whether or not he caused 911, He could have stopped it so therefore did allow judgment to come.
ALL SINS PAST AND FUTURE WERE FORGIVEN AT THE CROSS.
Prince continually assures the Believer that, although he does not condone sin , all was forgiven when Jesus died for the Believer so we never have to worry about it again. On pg 53 Prince says ‘If you receive a word from someone which brings your sins to remembrance or instills an expectation of punishment for sins in your life, don’t fear it, just throw it out the window..” On page 45, he says that , for the believer, ‘God took all your sins, even the sins that you have not yet committed, and put them all on Jesus. All future sins have been fully judged at the cross.’ On page 138, he states that “Believers are forever righteous. On page 233 he says “you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.” On page 99 he states that he has never encountered anyone who after receiving grace says “now I can go out and sin”. Really??? I know of many people who truly served and loved the Lord at one time and have returned to a life of sin--don ‘t you? Just get any church directory from a few years back and you will see how many did not stay the course.
Prince does not attempt to explain the many examples that were given in the Gospels such as the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins, the seed that fell on good ground but was choked by the things of this world, or the seed that sprung up and then withered or the ninety and nine when the shepherd searched for the one who had left the fold. Even Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer that we should examine ourselves daily when he said “give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
In Colossians 1:22 and 23 Paul admonishes the believers “ to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight IF indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which you have heard…… Also 2nd Peter 2:20 and 21 say ‘For after they have escaped the pollutions of this world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. The latter end is worse for them than the beginning, for it would have been better for them to have never known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn from the bold commandment delivered to them. John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…….”
What Prince believes and teaches is almost beyond Calvinism because most Calvinists, including John Macarthur, will say of a person who practices a sinful life, that they never knew the Lord in the first place I.e. they never studied God’s word to see what would be required of them.
NEVER MIND REPENTENCE
Prince teaches that the word Repent actually only means to turn around.
The new Webster’s inter-collegiate dictionary refers to the root word penitent to describe repent as remorse, sorrow, for sins, contrition etc.
Prince also teaches that since sins are already forgiven, there is no need to repent of them anyway. What we need instead is to be forgiveness-conscious. See page 103 where he says “even when they (Christians) say a wrong thing, do a wrong thing or have a wrong thought…….they see the blood of Jesus continually washing them……..because they are forgiveness-conscious. they experience victory over sin.” Prince uses the example of the sins committed by the Corinthians to say that Paul simply reminded them that their bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit (pg 107) and did not tell them to repent. Well, Paul didn’t exactly ignore the sin either as though it were already forgiven.. See verses 1 Cor 5:5 when Paul told them to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Clearly, the sin required more attention than simply reminding the offender that he needed to be aware that he was already forgiven. How about getting his attention to the seriousness of the sin and repentance from it? Also note 2 Cor 12:21 written to the Believers at Corinth in which Paul states “Lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented. On page 234, Prince states that we are not told to repent (I.e. turnaround) from sins but from dead works which, he says, are not really sins. I.e. if you pray thinking that makes you right with God , that is a dead work. Similarly, If you study the Bible because you think doing so makes you right with God--forget it. You need, he says, to study and pray knowing you are right with God. So, in effect we should not be concerned about our sins but do need to be sure we never pray or search the scripture for answers simply to learn what is right--we just need to accept that we are right because at some time in the past we “turned around“.
While Prince writes his book as the secret to effortless success, wholeness and victorious living, the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:11-16 that we will need to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places ………………
My heart breaks for the young man who thinks he can continue to practice any kind of sin and be considered holy before God, for the Bible says in Eph 4:7 and 8 “ for God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God..”.
Yes, it is wonderful to hear a message of Grace, but until we understand that God is also a God of judgment, can we really know the depths of his Grace? As Paul admonished the believers in Romans, 2:2 “But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things” and again to the believers In Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”
Remember, it is in God’s commandments that we learn the heart of God and what he expects of us. . How many will pay the ultimate price for the belief promoted in Destined to Reign? It is, after all, the same old lie, that Satan told Eve when he convinced her, that deliberate sin could go unpunished.
Related:
Looking for a pastor like Joseph Prince ?
What Is Grace?
Biblical Grace Under Assault
“Destined to Reign” book review by Dr Gordon Wong
Can God's Love Fade?
Biblical Repentance
Are You Following A Nimrod?
I recently became aware of a young man in our congregation who is involved in the vilest of sexual addictions, yet considers himself a believer who has no qualms at all about admitting his sins and the pleasure that he gets from them. He has no concerns about his salvation either as he has received assurance from a new (?) doctrine that has been popularized by the book by Joseph Prince called DESTINED TO REIGN. It was probably no coincidence that a friend sent the book to me to look at. My curiosity and concern was definitely piqued.
As prudent Christians, many evangelicals realize that we are very possibly in the end times that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24. Knowing this, we need to be all the more aware of deception in our church and in doctrine. Remember Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:24 “For false Christ’s and FALSE PROPHETS will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Again in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 and 12 Paul says, “And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie and they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Even during the busy Christmas season, I could not keep away from this book and the theology it promotes. While there are too many ideas to expound on here, the main ideas seem to be 1) Nothing but blessings for the believer, 2) No longer a need to be concerned about God’s judgment as Grace has done away with the law 3) All sin, past and future, was forgiven at the cross for the believer and 4) repentance and confession of sin is never necessary.
BLEST BELIEVERS
In Chapter 1, I learned that God has called us as Christians to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy a life of victory. As soon as we understand his principals , we will see how easy and effortless the Christian walk really is. Prince uses Romans 5:17 …“For by one man‘s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through one Jesus Christ” He then states that the word reign used here comes from the word basiluo (Greek) translated to basilica in English.. Since, he says, basilicas were used as law courts, that means we would have a kingly rule. Well, that’s a stretch to begin with. A basilica is simply a style of building that makes it good for any assembly including meeting places, law courts, funeral homes and often churches. Adam Clarke, translating from the original Greek, along with any major Bible Scholar I am aware of takes this scripture to mean that we will reign over death as a result of Jesus death and resurrection..
Prince fails to mention what Jesus says to expect if we follow him.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” and again in Luke 6:22 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and caste your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake.
Jesus also said in Luke 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” In Matthew 7:14 Jesus said , “Narrow is the gate and DIFFICULT is the way which leads to life and few there be that find it. And in Luke 9:25 Jesus warns about riches saying, “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost.” Peter 3:17 “For it is better , if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”
In Revelations 6:9, John says “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained.”
Living in a country with abundant wealth such as Singapore (where Prince lives) or the United States certainly makes it more plausible for persons whether Christian or simply diligent citizens to have a measure of wealth, But, is that God’s plan for everyone who loves him? Certainly and clearly it is not. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 19:23 that it would be harder for the rich to get into heaven, and in Luke 18;24 he again lamented about how hard it would be for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus calls us to be willing to give up everything, including our life, to follow Him. Paul, himself, who wrote Romans 5:17, was often beaten, shipwrecked, and finally martyred. (Prince foolishly states that Paul’s thorn could not have been illness--he fails to note in Galatians 4 : 13-14 Paul clearly states he was sick with an infirmity of the flesh). Christians are daily persecuted and martyred around the world for the sake of their faith and the very survival of Christianity depended on the martyrs who came before us. Reigning might sound good for itchy ears but it isn’t what we are guaranteed in this present life.
A GOD OF MERCY ONLY - (New Revelation)
On page 32 Prince reveals his belief that God is continually restoring his truths to the church and the revelation of the finished work will continue to get stronger. Any time new revelation is taught, we must be reminded of how often this has been the basis of new cult’s such as Mormonism, Jehovah‘s witness, Christian Scientist etc. This new revelation of Prince’s continues to be the gift of righteousness to reign in life. I.e., more grace and less judgment. The loving and merciful side of God is always emphasized in Prince’s teaching.
While Prince speaks much of the fact that the new covenant does away with the old covenant , he fails to distinguish between the commandments which are still in effect and the ceremonial law that was necessary only until Christ became the sacrifice. Paul was often speaking to new Christians/Jews who kept going back to ceremonial law - after all as Jews that was very natural for them and, no doubt, they still had many friends who were still in ceremonial law. Paul confirms this in Galations 4:10 when he says “You observe days and months and seasons and years.
As for the commandments, read Matthew 19:17-21 when Jesus clearly told the rich young man he should keep the commandments if he wanted to enter into life……“shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Prince states a merciful God would not Judge America or any other country because of what was done at the cross (pg 49). That, he says is because God is not willing that any should perish. Wow that’s a relief -or is it? In 2nd Cor. 5:11 Paul says that knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men………..Heb 10:30 and 31 “The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ and Luke 12:5 … “Fear Him who…has the power to cast into hell:,, Of course Revelation has an entire book on the judgments that will be forthcoming on Nations and people. If we believe that God is all powerful, we must believe that whether or not he caused 911, He could have stopped it so therefore did allow judgment to come.
ALL SINS PAST AND FUTURE WERE FORGIVEN AT THE CROSS.
Prince continually assures the Believer that, although he does not condone sin , all was forgiven when Jesus died for the Believer so we never have to worry about it again. On pg 53 Prince says ‘If you receive a word from someone which brings your sins to remembrance or instills an expectation of punishment for sins in your life, don’t fear it, just throw it out the window..” On page 45, he says that , for the believer, ‘God took all your sins, even the sins that you have not yet committed, and put them all on Jesus. All future sins have been fully judged at the cross.’ On page 138, he states that “Believers are forever righteous. On page 233 he says “you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.” On page 99 he states that he has never encountered anyone who after receiving grace says “now I can go out and sin”. Really??? I know of many people who truly served and loved the Lord at one time and have returned to a life of sin--don ‘t you? Just get any church directory from a few years back and you will see how many did not stay the course.
Prince does not attempt to explain the many examples that were given in the Gospels such as the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins, the seed that fell on good ground but was choked by the things of this world, or the seed that sprung up and then withered or the ninety and nine when the shepherd searched for the one who had left the fold. Even Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer that we should examine ourselves daily when he said “give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
In Colossians 1:22 and 23 Paul admonishes the believers “ to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable in his sight IF indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which you have heard…… Also 2nd Peter 2:20 and 21 say ‘For after they have escaped the pollutions of this world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. The latter end is worse for them than the beginning, for it would have been better for them to have never known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn from the bold commandment delivered to them. John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…….”
What Prince believes and teaches is almost beyond Calvinism because most Calvinists, including John Macarthur, will say of a person who practices a sinful life, that they never knew the Lord in the first place I.e. they never studied God’s word to see what would be required of them.
NEVER MIND REPENTENCE
Prince teaches that the word Repent actually only means to turn around.
The new Webster’s inter-collegiate dictionary refers to the root word penitent to describe repent as remorse, sorrow, for sins, contrition etc.
Prince also teaches that since sins are already forgiven, there is no need to repent of them anyway. What we need instead is to be forgiveness-conscious. See page 103 where he says “even when they (Christians) say a wrong thing, do a wrong thing or have a wrong thought…….they see the blood of Jesus continually washing them……..because they are forgiveness-conscious. they experience victory over sin.” Prince uses the example of the sins committed by the Corinthians to say that Paul simply reminded them that their bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit (pg 107) and did not tell them to repent. Well, Paul didn’t exactly ignore the sin either as though it were already forgiven.. See verses 1 Cor 5:5 when Paul told them to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Clearly, the sin required more attention than simply reminding the offender that he needed to be aware that he was already forgiven. How about getting his attention to the seriousness of the sin and repentance from it? Also note 2 Cor 12:21 written to the Believers at Corinth in which Paul states “Lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented. On page 234, Prince states that we are not told to repent (I.e. turnaround) from sins but from dead works which, he says, are not really sins. I.e. if you pray thinking that makes you right with God , that is a dead work. Similarly, If you study the Bible because you think doing so makes you right with God--forget it. You need, he says, to study and pray knowing you are right with God. So, in effect we should not be concerned about our sins but do need to be sure we never pray or search the scripture for answers simply to learn what is right--we just need to accept that we are right because at some time in the past we “turned around“.
While Prince writes his book as the secret to effortless success, wholeness and victorious living, the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:11-16 that we will need to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places ………………
My heart breaks for the young man who thinks he can continue to practice any kind of sin and be considered holy before God, for the Bible says in Eph 4:7 and 8 “ for God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God..”.
Yes, it is wonderful to hear a message of Grace, but until we understand that God is also a God of judgment, can we really know the depths of his Grace? As Paul admonished the believers in Romans, 2:2 “But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things” and again to the believers In Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”
Remember, it is in God’s commandments that we learn the heart of God and what he expects of us. . How many will pay the ultimate price for the belief promoted in Destined to Reign? It is, after all, the same old lie, that Satan told Eve when he convinced her, that deliberate sin could go unpunished.
Related:
Looking for a pastor like Joseph Prince ?
What Is Grace?
Biblical Grace Under Assault
“Destined to Reign” book review by Dr Gordon Wong
Can God's Love Fade?
Biblical Repentance
Are You Following A Nimrod?
This Health & Wealth ‘gospel’ preacher also teaches the heresy that the Holy Communion will stop a Christian’s body from decaying or aging through his booklet HEALTH and WHOLENESS through the HOLY COMMUNION (New Creation Church, Singapore). If Joseph Prince is right, then the Lord waited more than 1900 years to reveal this important truth to us.
ReplyDeleteBro its sad to see may churches now r following their Prince to perdition.
DeleteA cult in the making!
ReplyDeleteHow "coincidental" or timely. It so happened I read the same book by Prince in bookstore.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Joseph Prince deliberately blinds himself to the scriptures that teach Christians the necessity of repentance and the dire consequences of failing to do so. Look at what the glorified Christ commanded 5 of the 7 churches in the book of Revelation:
Rev.2:5 (Ephesus)- "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; REPENT and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you REPENT."
Rev.2:14-16 (Pergamos)-"But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught...the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immoralty. You also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate. REPENT, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth."
Rev.2:20 (Thyatira)- "I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel to, ...to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immoralty and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to REPENT of her sexual immoralty and She DID NOT REPENT. Indeed I will cast her into a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, UNLESS they REPENT of their deeds."
Rev.3:2 (Sardis) -"I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have receievd and heard; hold fast and REPENT."
Rev.3:15-19 (Laodicea)- particularly verse 19.
The scriptures couldn't be more plain on the need for God's Church to repent.
Secondly, it is common knowledge that REPENTANCE in the Bible is a comprehensive word that includes CONFESSION of sin, RENUNCIATION and RESTITUTION. See for example the following scriptures:
Num. 5:7 - “He shall CONFESS HIS SINS.., make restitution..“
Prov.28:13 - “He who CONFESSES and FORSAKES his transgressions will find compassion (mercy).“
Acts 19:18 - “Many kept coming and CONFESSING and DIVULGING their (occultic) practices.”
This very dangerous and destructive teaching without the need for repentance needs to be unmasked for the deception it is in reality.
Why are believers/churches arguing against one another? Aren't we all brothers and sisters in Christ? Jesus has called us to spread the Good News to non-believers. Isn't it better to use all these efforts to do so??
ReplyDeleteMen are not perfect. We all have sinned and will probably sin in the future. Sin has its consequences. Jesus said no one escapes from it. Even though Jesus forgives all sins, you will have to face the consequences of the sin(s) that you have committed.
Seriously, it's all about Jesus. It's not about you, not about me, not about us, not about them.
..debating is healthy, it helps us find the truth which our eternity rests on. It is not argueing !!
ReplyDeleteSo here is my comment. I was shocked as I began to read this book as it was handed to me by someone who used to lead our Christian group at work.
The teaching here is what led me astray as a new Christian some years ago.
We are only 'not under law' if we are being led by the Holy Spirit Romans 8:1 (NKJV). The Holy Spirit is Love so if we walk according to him we will fullfill the law and so need no law to restrain us. This starts with obeying the Bible as He does not contradict His Word.
If we are not walking according to the Holy Spirit we are still under law and have to obey all 10 commandmnents perfectly to be saved.
Prince in his book makes it sound like you can do what you like as you are not under law !!
How sad that it seems you really are missing the Gospel of Grace. I will not waste time pointing out the errors or self-interpretations of your condemnations of Pastor Prince's teachings but they have changed my life and helped give me a closer relationship with Christ. See, I now fully understand what Jesus did for me out of His love and the perfection of His finished work. I OWE it to Him to daily work on being better. I will not damn myself for railing but move on and try again. So sorry you don't get it. I will pray for you all.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that I also read the book loved it and it to changed my life made me see the bible in a whole new way . Pastor prince is a very anointed preacher and he is just the messenger JESUS is the TRUE PREACHER
DeleteJude 1:4 --
ReplyDeleteI say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
Now, I haven't heard Prince say that we are ALLOWED to live immoral lives, BUT I DO hear his followers state such, even as written about in this Post.
This, therefore, is not just a "debate" amongst Christians as Anonymous wrote earlier, but is rather a WARNING from loving Christians who see error in a teaching and want Believers to be made aware and avoid being deceived!
I had a Believer actually angrily go off on me, telling me I was a legalist, when J Prince's doctrine came up between us. This Believer stated, "Of course homosexuals will get into Heaven if they are Born Again, because they believe in Jesus and Romans 10:9-13 says they are therefore Saved!" We were talking of some we know personally who are active homosexuals, yet believe they are Born Again Believers.
1 John 3:7-8 tells us differently however:
Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever PRACTICES righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a PRACTICE of sinning is of the devil.
"Do Not Be Deceived" Church! This is the Apostle's warning. To think we do not have to crucify our flesh and stand against sin in our lives and attitudes, is a False Teaching.
2 Peter 2:20-21--
And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a HOLY LIFE. (And other Scriptures).
May God open the eyes of sincere church-goers and grant them repentance before it is too late. In Jesus' name.
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If you do not health and provisions from the Lord, give them to me. Lord Jesus, please take note.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Prince never agreed that we should live immoral lives. He is saying how we should look to Jesus finished work on the cross to be revealed in our lives. Isa 45:9 says "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! [Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork [say], 'He has no hands'? Joseph Prince had to endure tribulations (trials/troubles) and still is today with all the comments going around negatively about him. We all face this when we accept Christ. How many people that say they are Christians and are still working in the world system? We are trying to serve two masters. God is working his way of doing things in this world and his ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts...but yet we follow the world's thoughts and their ways. God said in Jeremiah 29:11" For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The process that we go through is understanding how to separate us from the world system into his. And yes his plans are to prosper us and not harm us. The problem is not in what Joseph Prince is saying it is within each of our hearts. We say we trust God to supply all our needs but than we turn and look to the world's system or to try and get it ourselves. When Adam and Eve left the Garden, God said to Adam in Genesis 3:17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Now that Christ has died to redeem us we still continue working to toil the land. Look what the world's work is doing. It is going against everything God redeemed us from. Most people are working over 40 hours a week, (usually both parents), children and marriages are getting neglected, people are burnt out. How do we see this a blessing to prosper us and not harm us? Step out be led by the spirit and be led less by the things of the world. It has been said that Joseph Princes preaches Wealth for all you who believe in Christ. I just ask you if you see it that way, look at your children, look at your wife, look at your family and friends....do you not say " I want the very best for my child...I want the very best for my wife...and when you can't provide you how do you feel. How much more does God want for his children. We tend to look at spoiled children receiving everything from their parents ungratefully and disrespectfully and it gets into our minds as they are undeserved of such a blessing. Our father wants us to see that when we receive that it is according to his riches yes, but also that it is directly from his hand. That is why we go through the things we do when we walk in the spirit..its not God's punishment...it is his mercy for us to be able to recognize that its not a handout but that he did everything for us even though we rejected him. Lets receive from the Lord...lets stop judging the heart of the wealth and health message but in all things lets remember that the face that is staring at us, longing for us to receive the inheritance that we freely game up just like Esau did...that Jesus had to die for, to get it back....that God is waiting for a generation to call him father so that he inturn can call us son.
ReplyDeleteAmen brother I guess we still have modern day pharisees like back then challenged Jesus with his teachings and still do not get it because religion veil still reigns and blinds man's heart and not Grace.
DeleteAmen sir you have spoken well....
DeleteFiends God never said we should speak bad of the false prophets or preach their false hood .. Judge no one, except you your self are perfect. So my advice is hold your peace look unto jesus and pray rather than this. Joseph prince is a son, I am a son and you are a son to God. Pray that God keeps us and the should not snatch any of the sons for his own profane biding
You write 'Fiends' and you do so correctly; the words written above to caution the world against Prince's book and teaching are written by those who know the LORD and fear Him; but your words and those of the other 'anonymous' (why? are you afraid to write your name?) sound immature, ignorant, and worst of all, the words of someone defending a man and his works and not someone who speaks from the heart of Wisdom.
DeleteThank you to Anonymous, for this last comment.
ReplyDeleteReading this has filled me with much peace.
You have been a blessing! :-)
What I continue to read in these anti-Joseph Prince Posts is the theme that he says you can sin and you are forgiven over and over. The challenge is that he DOES NOT EVER SAY THIS. Next a post states,,"well someone who believes in Joseph Prince's teachings says its OK to sin...." Then the moderator will say..."See, See, Prince is teaching heresy.." Let me ask you this. If someone misinterprets a teaching of Grace why do you call the teacher a heretic? Many churches teach law based sermons that mention Jesus' name once then talk about the " You ought to...do this or that" from the law. They are right about adherence to the law. But what if someone goes out and commits the SAME sin as a hearer of grace? Fast forward to next Sunday..who is coming to church most condemned? If you say both then you have now condemned yourself for you too have sinned. There is a difference between wanton disregard for sin and using church (law or grace) to justify. That's what the moderators of anti Prince writings fail to understand.They say that Prince is Nicolatian teaching (read about them). They practiced intentional sin and said they were covered by the blood. Law based preachers think Prince is teaching this...he is not. NEVER does he say sin is to be taken lightly. We are forgiven by Grace but we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to invade our lives so we can live by the Spirit. Only then do we have the strength to adhere to the Law as God wants us to. My question is this....who bears the fruit of the Spirit the most? Congregations under the teaching of the Law or Grace? The answer is this and you can easily find this in the Bible..It is the church who understands Grace AND is lead by the Spirit who bears the fruit of the Spirit. It's the believer who says: "Lord Jesus. I want you and only you" and demonstrates his or her love for his brother. That's it. We make it so complicated and he loves us so much and wants us to understand this. I'll say it again but differently: The saved one is the one who clearly understands the weight of his sin, the price that was paid to redeem him from it and because of this is eligible to receive the Holy Spirit upon confession of sin and the payment of Christ to forgive his sin. He must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and not restrict the movement of the Holy Spirit (some churches say healings, tongues etc are not for today...they are dry and thirsty and don't know why). By the receipt of, through prayer and asking for the Holy Spirit demonstrates love to his brother and is given the strength to turn from his sin..this is salvation.. This is the sum of the Bible message to you today...don't be deceived by other posts...search the Bible yourself and you will see this is the TRUTH>>>
ReplyDeleteJoseph Prince's teaching will be good for :
ReplyDeletea) The new believer
b) The born again Christian
c) The Christian who was yoked by the heavy burden of legalism
d) Christians who remain Baby Christians who do not mature in the Word (Self-centered Christians)
e) Earthly / Carnal Christians (those focused on Earthly Treasures as opposed to Treasures in Heaven)
His teaching is weak in the areas of :
a) Contentment (e.g. 1 Timothy 6:6-7, Philippians 4:11-12)
b) Being a Slave to Christ and to Serve Others (1 Corinthians 7:22, Matthew 23:11)
c) Rejoicing in Sanctified Affliction (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Pet. 1:6-7)
d) Building Treasures in Heaven instead of on Earth (Matthew 6:20)
e) Giving Alms to the Poor ( Luke 12:33, Luke 16:19-31)
NCC, like most mega-churches, emphasize mostly on earthly treasures and focus on self. Little is mentioned on Treasures in Heaven, carrying your cross and being selfless towards others.
You are absolutely right bro! I wish I could embrace this hyper-grace doctrine wholeheartedly but I know this is only HALF the TRUTH of the gospel. They made the NT like Ap Paul's own doctrine. Perhaps, Paul died for them.
DeleteJesus says if you love me do what I say.
How much can we trust a superstar "Ferrari Preacher" who wants to make a name/business for himself out of the gospel of grace. God help us!
i don't believe he is a heretic.however whenever we teach the word of God let there be a balance.like a balance diet,not too much carbohydrates,proteins, or fats/oil etc.let the teaching be balance so that the believer can develop properly,'nourshed' and 'healthy'..there is no doubt that if we continue to live in sin after coming under grace,judgment is inevitable but at the same time let us not be to conscious of sin cos it will create fear and bondage rather let us be christ-conscious so that we can all eventually be with him.bless u all.
ReplyDelete