Important Announcement:
Rev Andrew Raman
Former Vicar of Chapel of Christ the Redeemer (Anglican), Singapore
wrote the following:
“Thank you for bringing us the message
of Rapture and the Great Tribulation.
In the past, I didn’t take a firm position
on whether it is Pre-trib or Post-trib rapture,
though I had some nagging thoughts
that it couldn’t be a Pre-trib rapture (while I wished it was!)
But after attending the seminar,
I am thoroughly convinced and convicted
that Christians will go through Tribulation
and the Rapture happens after the Great Tribulation.
Hence, I must be prepared for the Tribulation
and teach my church members to be prepared too.
The error in the Pre-trib rapture doctrine
which you have boldly pointed out
is so clear and stark for all to see.
Thank you for your courage to teach the truth of the Post-trib
and the falsity of the Pre-trib
even at the expense of hurting your own ministry.
I am encouraged by your faith and trust in God
to teach God’s truth when others disagree with
and even criticise you.
While your teaching is solid and heavy,
it was clear, insightful,
and solidly anchored in the Scriptures.
Your teaching is a robust study of God’s Word
regarding the Tribulation
and the best I have heard so far.
As you peppered the teaching with humour and songs,
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
I will surely encourage people
to attend your future seminars,
and when the opportunity arises,
I will surely consider inviting you to my church
to conduct it.
Most seminars of this nature (with 7 to 8 hours of teaching)
will charge much more.
You have been sacrificial and generous
in sharing and giving of your time and energy to us.
I am truly blessed.”
Seminar: Rapture Before Or After Tribulation
Dates: 4 & 11 July, 9 am to 6 pm (choose one Saturday)
Cost: $35 (1 lunch, 2 tea-breaks & rental of venue)
Venue: Near Tai Seng MRT Station
For Registration, Please fill up the form:
https://forms.gle/JtaJpJedsvj87zibA
Part 1: A Joseph Prince’s man-made slogan of 120 percent blessings – By Sharon Kingsley
Part 2: Joseph Prince’s painless childbirth is senseless garbage that has brought pointless pain to many ladies – By George Ong
Part 3: Joseph Prince’s scam of non-confession of sins in 1 John 1:9 is exposed by 40 famous Bible teachers and leaders; he misrepresented Andrew Murray’s doctrine about confessing sins – By George Ong
Part 1: A Joseph Prince’s man-made slogan of 120 percent blessings – By Sharon Kingsley
Please click here to view the video:
Part 2: Joseph Prince’s painless childbirth is senseless garbage that has brought pointless pain to many ladies – By George Ong
In a sermon on 17 May 2026, last Sunday,
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“So, but the curse is, God said to the woman,
“in pain, you will bring children.”
Which thank God, Jesus also covered that at the cross.
You don’t have to bring forth children
with that labour pain.
Can I have a good amen?
And believe God for that.
We have so many women who have broken through,
Amen, to the place of blessing. Hallelujah.
To the place of no pain. Just labour. It’s labour Lor.
Amen. Without pain.
There’s no painful labour to it. Hallelujah. Okay.”
In another sermon, Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13).
Even when you give birth, ladies,
there will not be pain,
when you are redeemed from the curse of the law.
Say, giving birth is not the curse.
It’s a blessing.
God blessed them be fruitful and multiply.
But the curse came when Adam sinned
and that became childbirth pains.
So don’t accept that.
Amen. Praise God.”
First, Joseph Prince has falsely invoked,
Galatians 3:13 NIV
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole,”
as the text that proves women shouldn’t experience pain
in childbirth.
But it has nothing to do with that.
What Paul is saying is that no one can be saved by the law
as no one can fully obey it.
That is why Christ Jesus
who is the only one who obeyed the law fully,
would have to die on the cross
to save us from the curse of the law
that would damn us to eternal destruction.
Next, can I ask, has Joseph Prince given birth before?
No.
No wonder Joseph Prince is mouthing such senseless garbage
from his mouth.
Can I also ask Joseph Prince,
what about every woman
who has given birth in New Creation Church?
No pain?
Preposterous!
Joseph Prince has lied when he said in his last sermon
on 17 May 2026:
“And believe God for that.
We have so many women who have broken through,
Amen, to the place of blessing. Hallelujah.
To the place of no pain. Just labour. It’s labour Lor.”
If there are so many women who has given birth without pain,
why are there no testimonies to prove this fact.
Perhaps, Gabriel Tan, who is the one reading the testimonies
almost every Sunday has been sleeping,
and missed so many of them.
Several testimonies every now and then are not enough,
but we need hundreds or even thousands of testimonies
to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt
that giving birth can be painless.
Joseph Prince, by asking every Christian lady
not to accept that there is pain in childbirth,
is effectively telling the majority of women in the world
that there is something wrong with them
when they experienced pain during childbirth.
God Himself has said there will be pain in childbirth
in an Old Testament passage in Genesis:
Genesis 3:16 NIV
16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
This was confirmed by the Lord Jesus Himself
in a New Testament passage in John:
John 16:21 NIV
21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
There could be a minority of women
who may not experience pain or very minimal pain
in childbearing,
but for the majority of women,
there is and there will be pain.
This is something that we cannot change
as God and Jesus had already said it would occur.
Yet, Joseph Prince, by asking women
not to accept pain in childbirth
is rebelling against God’s purpose.
Joseph Prince’s senseless teaching
that every Christian woman shouldn’t accept pain in childbirth
(1st) is not only imposing unnecessary guilt on every woman
who has experienced pain at childbearing,
(2nd) gone out of context when he tried to invoke Galatians 3:13,
as his text for teaching against pain in childbirth,
(3rd) but most importantly,
he is rebelling against the plans and purposes of God.
Special Testimony by Kristen Jane Lin,
Ex New Creation Church member:
“Hi Rev George Ong,
Indeed, Joseph Prince has gone too far
in so many of his heresies.
By the way, you remember the last time
you saw me and my husband,
we had one 9-month-old baby girl.
Today, we have two children.
We just welcomed our son last month (March 2024).
Thanks be to God.
God is the witness that I am an ardent believer
of Jesus Christ
even during the years that I was in New Creation Church.
But if you remember my testimony,
I came out from New Creation Church in Dec 2022,
yet our first baby was born in July 2022.
I came to the hospital to deliver her
with all the wrong beliefs
that were taught by Joseph Prince about childbirth.
I ended up having a trauma,
as it was extremely painful and difficult.
I had 15 hours of extremely painful labour
and the postpartum pain lasted about two months.
The entire experience
should not have necessarily been that bad,
had I listened to the doctor
or stopped listening to Joseph Prince earlier,
but it was too bad
because I was very adamant about painless childbirth.
I refused to get epidural, and I refused even to push.
I only gave up and finally listened to my doctor
only after I experienced the pain
that only mothers with severe natural birth pain
can understand.
It was really a life-or-death kind of pain,
as if all of your bones were crushed
and all kinds of steel and poisonous thorns
pierced your body.
In fact, these words are not enough
to describe my first childbirth experience.
But by the grace of God,
I still had time to deliver my first child safely and naturally
without any emergency caesarean.
I came to deliver my second child with all the faith
that it would be a much easier and better one
only because it’s a subsequent one,
but this time, I didn’t come
with those heresies of Joseph Prince anymore.
Praise be to God, who in the first place
granted us this honour of being parents
to a daughter and then a son.
It was indeed a much easier childbirth.
I had only about an hour of painful active labour
and only 7 minutes of pushing before my son was born.
On the second day, I had no more pain,
and I didn’t even take painkillers on that day,
compared to two months of pain for the first childbirth
while believing in Joseph Prince’s rubbish.”
You can read Kristen Jane Lin’s Testimony
about how she came out of New Creation Church
by clicking on the link below:
George Ong’s Comments:
Can you now see that for such testimonies,
Joseph Prince would take pains
to hide them from the public.
I’m sure there are many more Kristen Jane Lins
who went through unnecessary
and terrible childbirth pains,
only because they listened
to Joseph Prince’s senseless garbage
of painless childbirth.
Also, I’m sure there are many more,
who could have lived longer and better,
had they not listened to Joseph Prince’s
corrupted healing teachings
in the abuse of the Holy Communion.
Another Special Testimony by Joyce Liew,
Ex New Creation Church member:
“Yes, back in the days
when we were still at The Rock, Suntec City,
Joseph Prince taught us about believing
for a supernatural childbirth
because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
Joseph Prince also invited Jackie Mize (wife of Terry Mize)
to share with us that
she has experienced painless childbirth.
Jackie Mize published her book
named ‘Supernatural Childbirth’
and many bought the book
after being convinced by both Joseph Prince
and Jackie Mize
that they could experience supernatural childbirth.
Well, what a fool I was
because not only did I not experience
a supernatural childbirth (painless childbirth),
but instead, it was a very bad childbirth experience.
It was a painful and sorrowful experience for me
as I didn’t expect it and even prepare for it!
I was very disappointed and angry with God
because I perceived God had failed me
and didn’t favour me as He has promised.
I even brought my MP3 to hospital
so that I can keep hearing Joseph Prince’s sermon
to keep me in faith.
I kept denying the pain
and kept speaking
‘I have been redeemed from the curse of the law’
until I was so tired and worn out,
yet, still in much pain!
Now, to think back,
it was such a traumatised experience.
Nevertheless, I am grateful
that God kept me and baby safe
despite my ignorance.
Today, I pray and hope many newcomers
to New Creation Church
would seriously think about their eternal salvation;
whether to put their trust in a man
that teaches the Bible out of context
and fill in the rest with his own doctrines
that eventually leads many to confusion and destruction!
Please read and study The Word
so that you will not fall into such prey!
To me, if this bad childbirth experience
has caused so much pain and regrets,
then, how much more for the many
who listen and trust Joseph Prince’s teachings like:
‘No Repentance, No Sanctification, No Warnings,
No Punishment kind of teachings’
– would end up in a far worse state than painful childbirth
– which has eternal consequences.
Lamentations 2:14 MSG
[14] Your prophets (spokesman, speaker, prophet) courted you with sweet talk. They didn’t face you with your sin so that you could repent. Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions.
No wonder Joseph Prince kept denying
that he is a prophet.
Thinking by denying as a prophet,
he can be exempted from God’s judgement!
He knows many will not go and check the meaning of
‘Prophet’ in Hebrew.
Let me tell you, Joseph Prince, I’ve checked.
And The Word of God
has indeed exposed you as a wicked prophet!
Whether in the Old or the New Testament,
our God is the same God of yesterday, today
and forevermore!
What an audacity to separate
‘God The Father, The Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit’
by twisting The Word and feeding it
to your congregations!
Joseph Prince, don’t you FEAR God?
There’s still time for you to repent and change.
I hope that you and your pastors
will have mercy on God’s people
by stopping to entice them into the ‘Broad way’
which leads to destruction! (Matt 7:13)”
You can read Joyce Liew’s Testimony
about how she came out of New Creation Church
by clicking on the link below:
George Ong’s Comments:
Think with me:
Kristen Jane Lin and Joyce Liew
are not the only two women
who have been tricked
by Joseph Prince’s painless childbirth doctrine.
There must be plenty of other women
with similar storyline.
How could Joseph Prince be so heartless
to have caused so much pain to women
because of his senseless, painless childbirth teaching?
Bottomline is Joseph Prince doesn’t even care
about the pain that he had caused to many women,
but what he cares most
is that his false grace doctrine
gets trumpeted to the world
and protected from criticism.
Friends, a true Pastor who teaches true grace
will never behave in that ungracious manner.
Part 3: Joseph Prince’s scam of non-confession of sins in 1 John 1:9 is exposed by 40 famous Bible teachers and leaders; he misrepresented Andrew Murray’s doctrine about confessing sins – By George Ong
In a sermon on 17 May 2026, last Sunday,
Joseph Prince said:
Please click here to view the video:
“Of course, you must test everything,
and see whatever Pastor Prince shares.
Look at the context, especially.
I love to share things in context.
Not just a verse taken out, okay? So remember that…
I want to show you the verse first, okay? 1 John 1.7 says,
“But if we walk in the light, let’s all read together, shall we? But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Many years ago, when I read this,
and the Lord showed to me that it is a constant cleansing
because the Greek there is in the present tense.
Cleanses is the word continuously cleansed. Alright?
We have constantly fellowship also.
Alright? It’s in the present tense in the Greek.
Why do we have constant fellowship with God?
Never out of fellowship.
Why?
Because we are constantly, continuously being cleansed.
It feels lonely.
It feels lonely sometimes.
You know, when there’s no other voice
that sort of like confirms that.
That the blood keeps on cleansing you.
And then one day, I asked God for more confirmation
and all that.
And then one of the authors that I like to read,
his name is Andrew Murray.
How many know Andrew Murray?
Have you heard of Andrew Murray?
He has a lot of spiritual, deeper life teachings
and all that kind of thing.
Well, Andrew Murray is a famous author
as well as a great teacher.
When he was in South Africa, he had an amazing ministry.
Amen? And by the way,
Andrew Murray believes in divine healing.
And he ministers it.
He himself has been a beneficiary of divine healing.
And he says this.
Now I’m going to give you
his own words. He says,
“The cleansing mentioned in 1 John 1:7,
“the blood of Jesus Christ,
His Son cleanseth us from all sin”,)
is in the present.
It is not a matter of
‘I have been cleansed’
or ‘I must be cleansed again,’
but rather an abiding under the present tense,
the constant. Amen?
under the constant uninterrupted flow
of that fountain.”
Oh, I want to read that again.
“under the constant uninterrupted flow
of the fountain.
Constant uninterrupted flow of the fountain.”
But pastor, what if I sin?
Exactly what is there for?
Your sin is gone!
When your sin meets the blood, who wins?
Come on!
Constant uninterrupted flow.
You can rejoice. Amen.
Even the bad thought you had of me just now;
it’s gone.
Amen?
Ah, you know, I have to go through all that
and get right with God again.
I’m tired of this.
It’s based on an erroneous belief.
And when people, you know,
don’t accept the gospel of grace,
which is the only gospel there is, and the grace teaching,
where else can they find hope?
Ask yourself, am I teaching this from the Word? Amen?
And not this one, but the verses I gave you just now.
This is just a confirmation from a great man of God,
a great teacher, a great pastor, plus a hymn writer.
Amen? It says here.
Anything else? Any other verse?
Any other quotation I mean? It ends there. Wow.
“Keeps them from the power of sin
in their daily life,” friend.
Daily life. So the blood is constantly cleansing you.”
Joseph Prince has told a half-truth again.
There could be commentators, including Andrew Murray,
who hold to the doctrine that the Blood of Christ
cleanses us continuously from our sins in 1 John 1:7.
But none of them, including Andrew Murray, teaches that
just because the blood of Christ cleanses us continuously
from our sins (1 Jn 1:7),
that doesn’t mean we don’t have to confess them (1 Jn 1:9)
as Joseph Prince sacrilegiously teaches
that these sins are automatically gone
without confession when he said:
“But pastor, what if I sin?
Exactly what is there for?
Your sin is gone!
… Constant uninterrupted flow.
You can rejoice. Amen?
Even the bad thought you had of me just now;
it’s gone.”
The correct doctrine should be that
even though our sins are continuously cleansed in 1 John 1:7,
that should give us the boldness
and the reason to confess them in 1 John 1:9;
and not as Joseph Prince teaches,
to give us the excuse or the ‘new found freedom’
not to confess them.
Also, one must bear in mind
that even though our sins are continually cleansed,
they are conditional upon confession.
In ‘Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, The letters of John’
John Stott wrote:
“This forgiveness and cleansing,
issuing from the faithfulness and justice of God,
are conditional upon confession.
There are many warnings in Scripture
about the danger of concealing our sins,
and many promises of blessing if we confess them.
Moreover, what is required is not a general confession of sin
but a particular confession of our sins,
as we deliberately call them to mind, confess
and forsake them (cf. Ps. 32:1–5; Prov. 28:13).”
Joseph Prince said:
“But pastor, what if I sin?
Exactly what is there for?
Your sin is gone!
Joseph Prince is effectively teaching
a very evil and wicked doctrine:
that be it the sin of adultery (David),
sin of murder (Moses, David),
the sin of being a paedophile, sin of rape, sin of cheating,
any and every heinous sin, all is gone in a second
– no need to confess.
No wonder there are so many goats,
who likes to sin,
or who thinks there are no consequences to sinning,
have bought into Joseph Prince
too-good-to-be-true-teaching.
Let’s come back to Andrew Murray.
Joseph Prince wanted to give the impression
that just because Andrew Murray agrees with him
on the continuous cleansing of our sins in 1 John 1:7,
in the same vein, Andrew Murray, also agrees with him
that sins are not to be confessed in 1 John 1:9.
Joseph Prince may be able to bluff many people,
including Pastors, but he cannot fool me.
I will give you solid proof that Andrew Murray teaches against
Joseph Prince with regard to confession of sins.
In ‘The School of Obedience’
Andrew Murray wrote:
“Let any confession of sin
be very definite
– a plucking out and cutting off of everything
that has been grieving to God.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Andrew Murray certainly believed
in the confession of sins,
and he strongly implied
that sins that are not confessed to God
grieved God.
Imagine the thousands and millions
of Joseph Prince’s followers
are committing the act of grieving God,
as they are taught by Joseph Prince
that confessing sins are out of the question.
In ‘The School of Obedience’
Andrew Murray wrote:
“If you would hope to lead a different life,
to become a man or a woman of a Christlike obedience
unto death,
do begin by beseeching God
for the Holy Spirit of conviction,
to show you all your disobedience
and to lead you in humble confession
to the cleansing God has provided.
Rest not till you have received it.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Here, Andrew Murray did not say
that just because cleansing is provided,
confession is no longer required.
On the contrary, when he said,
“and to lead you in humble confession
to the cleansing God has provided,”
he is treating confession and cleansing as Siamese twins
as they go together.
In ‘The School of Obedience’
Andrew Murray wrote:
In Jeremiah (the prophet who more than any other
speaks of the disobedience of God’s people),
God says,
‘‘Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God’’’ (3:12-13).
Just as there can be no pardon at conversion
without confession,
neither can there be deliverance
from the overcoming power of sin and disobedience
after conversion without a new and deeper conviction
and confession.
Our disobedience must not be confessed
in a vague generality;
the specific things in which we actually disobey
must be uncovered, confessed, abandoned,
and given over to Christ to be cleansed away.
Only then can there be hope of entering
into the way of true obedience.
Let us search our life in the light of our Lord’s teaching.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Andrew Murray by saying that
“Just as there can be no pardon at conversion
without confession,
neither can there be deliverance
from the overcoming power of sin and disobedience
after conversion
without a new and deeper conviction
and confession,”
indicates that he believes
in the power of the confession of sins
to overcome sins for believers.
In ‘The Life of Obedience”,
Andrew Murray wrote:
“Christ appeals to the law.
He came not to destroy the law
but to ensure its fulfillment.
To the young ruler He said,
‘‘You know the commandments.’’
Let the law be our first test.
Take, for example, the sin of lying:
I once had a note from a young lady saying
that she wished to obey fully
and that she felt compelled to confess an untruth
she had told me.
It was not a matter of great importance,
and yet she rightly judged
that the confession would help her to be cleansed.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Andrew Murray, by saying that,
“It was not a matter of great importance,
and yet she rightly judged
that the confession would help her to be cleansed,”
has again established the strong connection
between confession of sins (1 Jn 1:9)
and being cleansed from your sins (1 Jn 1:7).
One cannot do without the other.
In ‘The Lord’s Table,’
Andrew Murray wrote:
“Christian, prepare yourself for the Holy Supper
by thinking of your sins.
Be not afraid to make mention of them by name
before Jesus.
Point out to Him that which you desire
He should change in you.
Sin which is not confessed is also not combated.
When a saved soul goes to Jesus to speak with Him
about sin, and to make it known to Him,
it breaks sin’s power and makes Him more precious.
… The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.”
“If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive all our sins.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Andrew Murray by saying that,
“Sin which is not confessed is also not combated.
When a saved soul goes to Jesus to speak with Him
about sin, and to make it known to Him,
it breaks sin’s power and makes Him more precious,”
only proves that he believes in the confession of sins
to break sin’s power.
All that we have discussed
only proves that confessing of sins
is the firm belief of Andrew Murray.
Here, Joseph Prince’s ploy of posturing
that just because Andrew Murray
believes in the continuous cleansing of our sins in 1 John 1:7,
means that he too also teaches against
the confession of sins in 1 John 1:9
is resoundingly exposed.
Joseph Prince has lots of explanations to do
with his congregation
as the one (Andrew Murray),
whom he thinks is supporting his doctrines,
had ended up, actually, and massively contradicting him.
Hey Joe, I have checked and checked the Internet,
and I could not find the source you took the quote
about Andrew Murray from.
This raises serious doubts about whether that quote
is genuinely written by Andrew Murray.
Hey Joe, assuming that the quote is genuine,
why you didn’t dare to reveal the source
where you took the quote from re Andrew Murray?
The reason is simple;
you are afraid that your congregation
would check the source out and then discover other doctrines
that Andrew Murray teaches against you
regarding your other doctrines in the same book.
You must have remembered, come on, don’t pretend,
that I caught you doing the same thing with Martyn Lloyd-Jones
– when you quoted him without the source
to support one of your doctrines.
I then named the source of the book,
and the many teachings that Lloyd-Jones taught against you
in the same book.
Joseph Prince said:
“It feels lonely.
It feels lonely sometimes.
You know, when there’s no other voice
that sort of confirms that.
That the blood keeps on cleansing you.
And then one day, I asked God for more confirmation
and all that.
And then one of the authors that I like to read,
his name is Andrew Murray.”
George Ong’s Comments:
Hey Joe,
I have always said you are a Lone Ranger grace preacher,
preaching doctrines that no respected Bible teacher hold to.
The teaching that there is no need to confess our sins
is just one example.
You wanted to deceive people
that Andrew Murray is with you on this doctrine.
The truth is, he teaches against you
– that just because God continuously cleanses us from our sins
doesn’t mean we don’t have to confess them.
Hey Joe, you said some very nice things
about Andrew Murray:
“And then one of the authors that I like to read,
his name is Andrew Murray.
… Well, Andrew Murray is a famous author
as well as a great teacher.
… This is just a confirmation
from a great man of God,
a great teacher, a great pastor…”
Given the fact that I have revealed so many teachings
that Andrew Murray taught against you,
I wonder do you still hold the same opinion about him?
Let me surface more teachings from 40 men of God
– all contradicted Joseph Prince
– that there is no need to confess our sins in 1 John 1:9
as it was written to unbelievers.
In a sermon, RC Sproul said:
Please click here to view the video:
“It certainly requires confession.
God willing, I’m going to talk about that tomorrow too,
about what repentance means.
That repentance does not mean simply,
I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again tomorrow, God willing,
a resolve to change and behave differently
in the future from what I do today.
I don’t believe that I need to confess
every one of my sins of my childhood,
or at any time to everybody in the world,
or to all of the people in my family.
Ultimately, my sin is against God.
And what repentance does require, always requires
is confession of our sin before God,
and confession, not only confession,
but confession
accompanied by contrition, real remorse.
But yes, we have to confess,
and with that confession, comes a real godly sorrow,
not just a fear of punishment, what we call ‘attrition’,
but a broken and a contrite heart God doesn’t despise,
but He desires it as the reality of our repentance.”
In a sermon, John Piper said:
Please click here to view the video:
“The Bible teaches that there are traits that God’s people have
that show they are in fact God’s people,
and do truly belong to Christ,
truly born again, truly have union with Jesus.
These traits are how we can know
that our sins were fully paid for
and our forgiveness fully secured
by the death of Jesus.
And one of those traits
is how we deal with ongoing sinning in our lives.
And this is the complicating issue.
Christians sin. 1 John 1:8,
that’s what John is dealing with.
1 John 1:8 says,
‘If we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves.’
So, the question becomes,
‘Well, if you are a true child of God;
if your sins are truly and fully paid for,
covered, cancelled,
what would you feel,
what would your thoughts and actions be
toward your ongoing sinning?
What trait would mark you?’
And here are two biblical answers.
Colossians 3:3:
‘You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’
That’s it.
That’s a description of wonderful completed salvation.
We’re all already home.
Next verse:
‘Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires.’
So, one trait of those whose sins are fully paid for
is that we make war on our sinning.
That’s the mark of those whose sins are fully cancelled.
We make war on our sinning.
We put them to death.
But you can’t do that if you don’t admit,
that is, confess that you have any.
So, the second trait, 1 John 1:9,
is confession.
If we confess our sins,
which you have to do in order to make war on them;
if you don’t think you have any;
if you are not confessing,
‘Yes, I have sinned, I’m sorry.’
If you don’t confess that,
you won’t make war.
If we confess our sins,
He’s faithful and just to forgive our sins.
So, confessing our sin
is the agreement with God that we have sinned,
and it must be fought and killed.
If we don’t confess this truth, we’re living,
John says, in an illusion.
We’re lying.
We’re deceived and calling God a deceiver,
and we’re not saved.
If we’re living in the illusion that we have no sin,
and that it doesn’t need to be killed,
we’re living in an illusion,
not in salvation.
So, confession of sin is not the basis of our forgiveness.
It is one of the traits that show we are truly in Christ
where all our sins are covered by His blood.”
George Ong’s Comments:
In the last part of what John Piper said,
he clearly stated that if we don’t confess our sins,
we’re lying and we’re calling God a deceiver,
and the worst part is that we aren’t saved.
Piper further added that the confession of sin
is one of the traits that proves we are truly in Christ.
This means that Joseph Prince
who teaches against the confession of sin
is lying, making God a deceiver
and isn’t saved to begin with.
In ‘Works of Martin Luther, Vol 5,’
Martin Luther wrote:
“After people have been thus taught and exhorted
to confess their sin and amend their ways,
they should then be exhorted
with the utmost diligence to prayer,
and shown how such prayer pleases God…”
In ‘The John Calvin Collection, 12 Classic Works,’
John Calvin wrote:
“It is not always necessary, however,
openly to inform others,
and make them the witnesses of our repentance;
but to confess privately to God
is a part of true repentance
which cannot be omitted.”
In ‘The Works of John Wesley, Volume 6,
First Series of Sermons (40-53), Second Series Begun (54-86),
“If we say that we have no sin,
that we have not sinned,
we deceive ourselves and make God a liar:
But ‘if we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just,’ not only ‘to forgive our sins,’
but also ‘to cleanse us from all unrighteousness:’
that we may ‘go and sin no more.”
In ‘Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the whole Bible,’
Matthew Henry wrote:
“Only acknowledge thy sins;
if we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive them.”
In ‘The Sermons of Charles Spurgeon in Four Volumes,’
Charles Spurgeon said:
“If he confesses his sin and forsakes it,
then shall he find mercy.
God hath so declared it,
and he will not be unfaithful to his word.”
In ‘The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2,’
Jonathan Edwards wrote:
“Let us therefore often reflect on our sins,
confess them before God,
condemn and abhor ourselves,
be truly humbled,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
In ‘A Narrative of some of the Lord’s Dealings
with George Muller written by Himself. Second Part,’
George Muller wrote:
“I confessed also my sin of irritability
on account of the cold,
and sought to have my conscience
cleansed through the blood of Jesus.
He had mercy upon me,
my peace was restored…”
In ‘Design for Discipleship,’
J Dwight Pentecost wrote:
“The second aspect of cleansing in John 13:10
lies in the words,
“he needeth not save to wash his feet.”
This second washing is the cleansing referred to in I John 1:9,
the cleansing of the believer
from the defilement of his sins
so that he might be restored to fellowship.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9)
In ‘Christ in Conflict: Lessons from Jesus and His Controversies,’
John Stott wrote:
“Jesus went on:
“You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true” (John 4:16-18).
Before she could offer the worship
Jesus was about to tell her about,
her sin must be faced up to,
confessed and forgiven.
This is why most forms of public worship
are introduced by an act of penitence and confession.
This is a clear acknowledgment
that we must engage in confession
before we are ready to worship.
Before we stand for praise,
we must kneel in humble penitence.”
In ‘Walking the Path of Prayer,’
Jack Hayford wrote:
“We need to pray, “Forgive me, Father,”
and we need to pray it often.
The Lord’s Prayer, however,
is not meant to level a focus on guilt
but rather on grace.
Jesus taught us to pray for forgiveness
on a regular basis,
not to remind us of our sinfulness,
but to keep us from becoming sloppy
in our ideas about the grace of God.”
In ‘The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1-3 John,’
John MacArthur wrote:
“The fact that forgiveness is complete
and irrevocable, however,
has led some to wrongly conclude
that those who have received salvation
need never again confess their sins before God
and request forgiveness.
The proponents of this view contend that,
in order for Christians to accept genuinely
their full pardon
and fully enjoy their liberty in Christ,
they must ignore sin and focus solely on God’s grace.
But historically, such teaching has consistently led
to the error of antinomianism
– a practical disregard for the law of God
and a callous lack of concern for violating it.”
In ‘The Gospel Call & True Conversion,’
Paul Washer wrote:
“It is important to note
that such sensitivity to sin and confession of it
is a mark of a true believer,
but the lack of such is evidence
that a person may still be in an unconverted state.
… One of the greatest evidences of true conversion
is not sinless perfection,
as some have erroneously supposed.
Instead, it is sensitivity to sin,
transparency before God regarding sin,
and open confession of sin.”
In ‘An exposition of Ephesians 6:10-13, The Christian Warfare,’
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:
“But listen to the voice of God!
He is speaking to you at that moment,
and this is what He is saying:
‘If we confess our sins’
– and this is for Christian people!
– ‘If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9).
In ‘Protection from Deception,’
Derek Prince wrote:
“In 1 John 1:9, we read,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
God does not want to hold your sins against you,
which is why He provided a way
for you to receive complete cleansing and forgiveness.
There is one condition, however:
we must confess our sins.
If we do not confess them,
they still count against us.
Our sole escape is through confession,
acknowledging the ways
we have wronged God.”
In ‘Be Real, 1 John,’
Warren Wiersbe wrote:
“Once a believer discovers
why he is out of fellowship with God,
he should confess that sin (or those sins) to the Lord
and claim His full forgiveness (1 John 1:9-2:2).
A believer can never have joyful fellowship with the Lord
if sin stands between them.
… Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle
to answered prayer (Ps. 66:18).”
In ‘The Collected Works of D. L. Moody,’
DL Moody wrote:
“Again, we read in Proverbs:
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer shall be abomination.”
… Think of that! It may shock some of us
to think that our prayers are an abomination to God,
yet if any are living in known sin,
this is what God’s Word says about them.
If we are not willing to turn from sin and obey God’ law,
we have no right to expect
that He will answer our prayers.
Unconfessed sin
is unforgiven sin,
and unforgiven sin
is the darkest, foulest thing on this sin-cursed earth.”
In ‘The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Epistles & Prophecy,’
John F Walvoord & Roy B Zuck, General Editors:
“1 John 1:9. In view of verse 8,
Christians ought to be ready at all times
to acknowledge any failure
which God’s light may expose to them.
Thus, John wrote,
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
In modern times some have occasionally denied
that a Christian needs to confess his sins
and ask forgiveness.
It is claimed that a believer already has forgiveness
in Christ (Eph. 1:7).
But this point of view
confuses the perfect position
which a Christian has in God’s Son
(by which he is even “seated … with Him in the heavenly realms” [Eph. 2:6])
with his needs as a failing individual on earth.
What is considered in 1 John 1:9
may be described as “familial” forgiveness.
It is perfectly understandable
how a son may need to ask his father
to forgive him for his faults
while at the same time
his position within the family is not in jeopardy.
A Christian who never asks his heavenly Father
for forgiveness for his sins
can hardly have much sensitivity
to the ways in which he grieves his Father.
Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Himself
taught His followers
to seek forgiveness of their sins
in a prayer that was obviously intended for daily use
(cf. the expression “give us today our daily bread” preceding “forgive us our debts,” Matt. 6:11-12).
The teaching that a Christian should not ask God
for daily forgiveness is an aberration.
Moreover, confession of sin
is never connected by John
with the acquisition of eternal life,
which is always conditioned on faith.
First John 1:9 is not spoken to the unsaved,
and the effort to turn it into a soteriological affirmation
is misguided.”
In ‘The Doctrine of Sanctification,’
Charles Hodge wrote:
“Not only do the holy men of God
throughout the Scriptures
in coming into his presence,
come with the confession of sin and imperfection,
praying for mercy,
not only for what they were but also for what they are,
but our Lord has taught all his disciples
whenever they address their Father in heaven to say,
“Forgive as our trespasses.”
… There are no forms of worship,
no formulas for private devotion,
in any age or part of the Church,
which do not contain confession of sin
and prayer for forgiveness.”
In ‘For the Love of God,’
DA Carson wrote:
“The New Testament writer
closest to saying the same thing
is John in his first letter (1 John 1:8-9).
Writing to believers, John says,
“If we claim to be without sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
There it is again:
the self-deception bound up
with denying our sinfulness.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
There it is again: the only remedy to human guilt.
This God forgives us,
… For the God of justice is also the God of grace.
If this be not so, there is no hope for any of us.”
In ‘An Exposition of Hebrews, Faithful Classic, by A. W. Pink,’
Arthur Pink wrote:
“When a professing Christian
ceases to maintain a daily repentance
and confession to God of all known sins,
his conscience is already asleep
and no longer responsive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
… his heart will be so hardened
that he will commit new sins deliberately,
against light and knowledge,
and that with a high hand,
and thus, be guilty of presumptuous sins,
of openly defying God.
In ‘True Revivals Are Born After Midnight, by AW Tozer,’
AW Tozer wrote:
“The cross of Christ creates a moral situation
where every attribute of God
is on the side of the returning sinner.
Even justice is on our side, for it is written,
‘If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’”
In ‘One Year Book of Devotions for Men,’
Stuart Briscoe wrote:
“The same Lord who has promised
that actions have consequences
has also guaranteed that confession
leads to forgiveness
and that forgiveness is the pathway to restoration.
Nehemiah knew this well.
So his prayer, which was deeply confessional,
was also quietly confident.
… And like Nehemiah,
we, too, should be ready to confess our sins,
confident that God will hear and forgive.”
In “The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible,’
Gordon D Fee, the Editor (and another co-editor), published:
“The New Testament concept of repentance
includes both the confession of sins
and the forsaking of them (1 John 1:9)
… Claiming sinlessness is self-deception,
but confession of sins
brings God’s forgiveness
and his reckoning of the repentant sinner
as righteous (cf. Rom. 3:21-5:21).”
In ‘The Complete Works of Francis A. Shaeffer,
A Christian Worldview
Francis Shaeffer wrote:
“1 John 1:9
After self-judgment, acknowledging his sin to be sin,
the believer must confess his sin to God…
We must bring the specific sin
under the finished work of Christ.
Then our fellowship with God is restored.
… God blesses His people,
and one thing can spoil the blessing
– sin, either individual or corporate.
… Sin among the people of God
either diminishes the blessing
or brings the blessing to a halt
until it is confessed, judged and removed.”
In ‘Lectures on Revivals of Religion,’
Charles Finney wrote:
“General confessions of sin will never do.
Your sins were committed one by one;
and as far as you can come at them,
they ought to be reviewed
and repented of one by one.
… Confess to God those sins
that have been committed against God,
and to man those sins
that have been committed against man.”
In ‘The Problem with Evangelical Theology,’
Ben Witherington III wrote:
“In the broad sense,
every believer “has sin” and “has sinned”
but they also have choice
in regard to conscious willful acts of sinning.
But this same text says that
if one confesses one’s sin,
God will cleanse one from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9)
In ‘7 Basic steps to a Successful Fasting & Prayer,’
Bill Bright wrote:
“The very foundation of fasting and prayer is repentance.
Unconfessed sin will hinder your prayers.
Here are several things you can do to prepare your heart:
Ask God to help you make a comprehensive list of your sins.
Confess every sin that the Holy Spirit calls
to your remembrance
and accept God’s forgiveness (l John 1:9).
… We cannot expect God to answer our prayers
if there is any unconfessed sin in our life
or if we are harboring an unforgiving spirit (Psalm 66:18; Mark 11:25).”
In ‘Tough-Minded Christianity,’
John Warwick Montgomery wrote:
“…the Christian discipline of confession
for sin and guilt
is an integral strand in pastoral care.
It is integrated
with the grace of forgiveness.”
In ‘The Spiritual Man’,
Watchman Nee wrote:
“How we need to confess our sins before God
and ask for His forgiveness.”
In ‘Revive Us Again, Biblical Insights
for Encountering Spiritual Renewal, by Walter C, Kaiser Jr,’
Walter Kaiser wrote:
“Revival would come to America,
yes, to any nation of the world,
if we obeyed the injunction of Scripture
and confessed our sin.
How foolishly Israel acted and how stupid she appeared
when she did not quickly own up to her sin
and seek the Lord’s offer of forgiveness.
Are we not equally foolish
if we also refuse to repent?”
In ‘Separation and Service,’
James Hudson Taylor wrote:
“… let us not excuse it,
but at once humble ourselves before GOD,
and confess it, seeking forgiveness and cleansing
on the ground of the accepted sacrifice of CHRIST.
GOD’S Word is,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
… There is only one safe course,
to confess the sin that has grieved Him,
… When sin is put away
the SPIRIT again lifts up His countenance upon us,
and peace fills the heart.
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“We will take seriously the Bible’s promise,
“If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9).
… We must maintain a contrite spirit.
The Bible says:
“A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
Remember it was to Christians that John wrote:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).”
… When we break God’s law,
utter a hasty, bitter word, or even think an evil thought,
immediately, we should confess this sin to God.
And in accordance with His Word,
He will forgive and cleanse our hearts
and transform us into His likeness.”
In ‘Foundations of the Christian Faith,’
James Montgomery Boice wrote:
“A second problem may be sin
in the lives of the Christians involved.
I mean not merely that we are all sinners.
I mean specific, unconfessed sin
that first of all destroys the Christian’s fellowship
with God
and then necessarily also destroys fellowship
with other believers.
… Sin erects a barrier between ourselves and God.
If that has happened,
the solution is confession of the sin, cleansing,
and restoration of fellowship,
first with God and then also with others.
… While God does not hear the prayer of non-Christians,
it is also true that
he does not hear the prayers offered by many Christians
when they cling to some sin.
David said,
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps 66:18).
… If so, you must confess your sin openly and frankly,
knowing that God
“is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).
In ‘The Jesus Way,’
Eugene H Peterson wrote:
“The way, the only way, is to get in on God’s forgiveness.
And we do that by confession.
No excuses, no rationalizations, no denial,
no New Year’s resolutions,
only “I will confess. …”
Psalm 32 is straightforward:
I acknowledged my sin to thee,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. (Ps. 32:5 RSV)”
In ‘JI Packer Library,
JI Packer wrote:
“If we sin, we confess our fault
and ask our Father’s forgiveness
on the basis of the family relationship,
as Jesus taught us to do
– “Father … forgive us our sins” (Lk 11:2, 4).
The sins of God’s children
do not destroy their justification
or nullify their adoption,
but they mar the children’s fellowship with their Father.”
In ‘Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives,’
Charles R. Swindoll wrote:
“Once we have been brought into the family of God
by grace,
we must continue to live in grace.
At the same time, however,
we have no excuse for playing with sin…
“Fortunately, 1 John 1:9
tells us that God has a remedy
for both incidental spiritual failure
and long-term rebellion.”
In ‘The RA Torrey Collection, Volume 1,’
RA Torrey wrote:
“Let him inquire humbly on his face before God
where he has sinned against God
and lost the joy of his salvation!
Let him put away and confess his sin
and come back to God
and have the joy of God’s salvation renewed to him.
An evil spirit of unrest and discontent
was sent to David, too, when he sinned;
but when after some resistance
David confessed his sin to the Lord,
the Lord blotted it out
and brought him into a place of glad joy in the Lord,
where he could instruct and teach others
in the way they should go (Psalm 32:4–8; 51:9–13).”
There are 4 more points I wish to make.
First, all 40 eminent Bible teachers hold to the view
that 1 John 1:9 was written to believers
and that the doctrine of confession of sins for believers
is entirely biblical.
Remember, these 40 are no fly-by-night Bible teachers,
writers and leaders.
They have been proven in their ministries.
If these 40 men of God are right,
then Joseph Prince is wrong.
If Joseph Prince is right,
then all 40 of these men,
including Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Wesley,
are wrong!
Only a fool would dare to say that all 40 are wrong
and Joseph Prince is right.
That is why I said Joseph Prince is a lone ranger
in most of his grace doctrines, not just on 1 John 1:9.
Think with me, how can a lone ranger,
whose doctrines are so different
from many Christian leaders,
be able to deceive millions of people
to embrace his grace doctrine?
It is no secret
– it is the devil who has empowered Joseph Prince
to do the job for him.
That is why many are so deceived by Joseph Prince
that they have treated him as a cult leader
– that nothing he does could be wrong.
And no matter what you say
or which Bible verse you may quote,
they are so blinded by the demonic powers of Joseph Prince
that they will always say Joseph Prince is right.
Second, what many of you may not remember
is that I have mentioned
I have heard Joseph Prince say in his sermons
about how he respected men of God,
like Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, George Muller,
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Billy Graham,
and these were his heroes of faith.
But after I have exposed his ploy
by putting up each of the doctrines of these 5 men of God,
and how their doctrines massively contradicted his,
Joseph Prince has kept rather silent
about these men from thence.
And the latest is Andrew Murray.
Soon, Joseph Prince would discover
he cannot find any church father
without them speaking against his teachings.
Soon, Joseph Prince would find himself
to be a lone ranger.
In fact, he is already one.
If you are not convinced
that Joseph Prince is a Lone Ranger Heretic,
just call up the Singapore Pastors,
and ask them whether any of them
would vouch for Joseph Prince’s grace teachings, publicly.
I can guarantee that none (or very few)
of the Singapore Pastors would dare.
Third, Joseph Prince said:
“Of course, you must test everything,
and see whatever Pastor Prince shares.
Look at the context especially.
I love to share things in context.”
After I have surfaced 40 Bible teachers,
who taught against Joseph Prince’s non-confession of sins
in 1 John 1:9,
anyone, who continues to believe
that Joseph Prince teaches in context
must be a fool.
And sadly, there are plenty of fools
in New Creation Church and around the world!
Fourth, Joseph Prince said:
“Andrew Murray believes in divine healing.
And he ministers it.
He himself has been a beneficiary of divine healing.”
Joseph Prince isn’t telling the whole truth.
Let Martyn Lloyd-Jones reveal the whole truth
about Andrew Murray’s latest stand on healing.
In ‘An exposition of Ephesians 1,
God’s Ultimate Purpose’,
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:
“There is nothing in contemporary Christianity
which is so dangerous and so unscriptural
as the teaching that,
with regard to each and every blessing
in the Christian life,
all that we have to do is ‘to take it by faith’,
and not worry about feelings.
This is taught with regard to conversion, sanctification,
assurance and physical healing.
Dreadful tragedies have happened
in every one of these realms
as the result of such teaching.
Let me give certain examples.
The late gifted Andrew Murray of South Africa
at one time was a great believer
in what is called faith healing;
and he taught it in the manner which we are criticizing.
If a Christian were taken ill,
he should read the Scriptures
and believe their teaching to be that it is God’s will
for a Christian to be always healthy.
He should then go to God and tell Him
that he believed the Scriptures
and this particular teaching,
and then ask Him for healing.
But the vital point was that he should get up
from his knees
believing that he had already been healed.
The fact that he did not feel better
made no difference;
he must take his healing by faith
and proceed to live his life as if he were perfectly well.
But there came a time when Andrew Murray
ceased to believe after this fashion,
and his biography explains how this happened.
He had a favourite nephew who was suffering
from a certain chest complaint, probably tuberculosis.
Andrew Murray was due to go
on a series of preaching meetings
in a certain part of South Africa
and the nephew was anxious to go with him;
but in his ill condition he was not fit to go.
The two men believed the same teaching about healing
by faith and they both went on their knees together
and asked God for healing.
They rose to their feet both believing
that the young man was healed.
They packed their bags and went off together.
But they had only been away for a short time
when the young man died.”
This article was also sent to Bishop Philip Lim, President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) and Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.
This article was also sent to the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches of Singapore (APCCS), for the attention of the Chairman, Rev Yang Tuck Yoong & Co Chairman, Rev Dominic Yeo (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God of Singapore) and Council Members.