Joseph Prince: Shepherd or Wolf?
Volume 8: Scripture’s Tough Stance Against False Teachers
Volume 8
Scripture’s Tough Stance Against False Teachers
Volume Summary
Scriptures take a severe view of false prophets.
Whether it is Paul, Peter, John, Jude, the Lord Jesus and even God Himself – they all treated false teachings very seriously and were utterly tough on false prophets.
Jesus warns us to “Beware of the false prophets” (Matt 7:15) because He knew the severe and real danger they posed.
Jesus would reject them (which included the Pharisees) from entering His Kingdom (Matt 7:23) because of their lawlessness.
And those who embrace their lawless doctrine will follow them to the eternal grave (Matt 7:23).
If such a hard-hitting tone is set, do we, as New Covenant people have a choice with regards to handling Joseph Prince – the lawless and hypocritical Pharisee and false prophet?
Christ certainly expects and demands churches to perform their sacred duty of guarding the faith against false teachers.
Copyright © February 2020 by George Ong
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Contents
Chapter 1: *Paul’s Tough Stance Against False Teachers
Chapter 2: *Jesus’ Warning To Beware Of False Prophets
Chapter 3: Jude’s Battle Cry – Contending For The Faith
Chapter 4: Peter & John’s Uncompromising Stance Against False Teachers
Chapter 5: God’s Severe Punishment On False Prophets
Chapter 6: *Joseph Prince – The Lawless Pharisee & False Prophet
Chapter 7: *Joseph Prince – The Hypocritical Pharisee & False Prophet
Chapter 1
*Paul’s Tough Stance Against False Teachers
Preface
You Must Not Miss This As The Contents Are Absolutely Crucial.
Take It From Me – Every Point Is Worth Your Read.
“A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.” (John Calvin)
From this chapter onwards and the next several chapters, I am going to be focussing on how the Lord Jesus, and the scripture writers such as Paul, Peter, John, Jude, and how God Himself in the Old Testament view false teachers and their heresies.
In this chapter, I want to focus on the Apostle Paul.
Introduction
You may be surprised to know that false teachings and false prophets are one of the most emphasised aspects of the Bible.
In the Old Testament, false prophets who had deceived the Old Covenant people were constantly mentioned.
Whenever God sent the true prophets to call His people to repentance, false prophets would arise to lead them astray.
Almost all the New Testament books, except for 3 to 4 books, have got something either explicitly or implicitly to say (at least once) about false teachers/false teachings.
So, you need to know this is an important area of concern in the word of God.
As we would learn, they all treated false teachings very seriously, and they were all utterly tough on false prophets.
A. Stay Away From False Teachers & Have Nothing To Do With Them: 2 Timothy 3:1-9.
2 Tim 3:1-9 NIV
1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”
According to Paul, what are the characteristics of the church in the last days?
One of them is that the church will not only be filled with false teachers, but they will also be filled with false believers.
This is what makes living in the last days so frightening.
There will be many in the church who look like Christian and do the Christian things, but they aren’t true believers.
Paul says that they had an “outward appearance of religion” but “repudiated its power,” (2 Tim 3:5 NET) or “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim 3:5 NIV).
They may be found in a gigantic auditorium in a megachurch, enjoying the exhilarating rhythm and loud music, doing the Christian thing of raising their hands in ‘worshipping’ God, but many are false believers.
They had the outer trappings of a Christian
– they regularly go to church every Sunday, they faithfully give their tithes, they enthusiastically go on mission trips
– but the fact that they live ungodly lives only show they had never experienced Christ’s saving power in their lives or they were true believers but had backslidden to their unsaved state.
On the day of judgement, these are the same people the Lord Jesus will say,
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt 7:22-23 NASB).
The characteristics of these false believers are listed in 2 Timothy 3:2-5.
So, how should we respond to these people in the church?
What Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:5 would surprise and even shock many of us.
Paul said, “Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim 3:5 NIV), or “Avoid such people and keep far away from them” (2 Tim 3:5 AMP).
Some super-spiritual people would confront Paul:
“What?
Paul, how could you give such rude and unfriendly advice to the church to avoid these people?
No, we shouldn’t do that.
We must love them.
We must fellowship with them.”
Paul may say to them:
“Do you want to obey God or follow your own super-spiritual leanings that are of the flesh?”
It is important to note that Paul didn’t call for a separation from unbelievers but only from those who claim to be believers but are not, or those who have reverted to their unsaved state and are living in unrepentant sin even after being cautioned by the church (1 Cor 5:9-13).
1 Cor 5:9-13 NCV
9 “I wrote you in my earlier letter not to associate with those who sin sexually.
10 But I did not mean you should not associate with those of this world who sin sexually, or with the greedy, or robbers, or those who worship idols. To get away from them you would have to leave this world.
11 I am writing to tell you that you must not associate with those who call themselves believers in Christ but who sin sexually, or are greedy, or worship idols, or abuse others with words, or get drunk, or cheat people. Do not even eat with people like that.
12-13 It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church. The Scripture says, “You must get rid of the evil person among you.”
Hence, we can know for sure as in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, these people in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 that Paul was talking about are not unbelievers in the world but false believers in the church.
In the context of 2 Timothy 3:1-9, particularly V6-9, we can understand why Paul had to issue such a harsh command in V5 about keeping away from false believers.
This is because they are influenced by the deadly and destructive false teachings, and many of them are false teachers themselves (2 Tim 3:6-9).
2 Tim 3:5-9 NIV
5 “Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”
2 Tim 3:8 NLV
8 “Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. So do these teachers fight against the truth today. Their minds think only of sinful things. They have turned against the Christian teaching.”
2 Tim 3:8 NLT
8 “These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.”
2 Tim 3:8 CEV
8 “These people oppose the truth in the same way that Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. Their minds are corrupt and their faith is counterfeit.”
These false believers and false teachers have infiltrated the church: “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women” (2 Tim 3:6).
To recap, Paul began by saying, “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days (2 Tim 3:1).”
Why terrible?
It will be terrible because the church will be filled with not just false believers but false teachers too.
We had better be paying heed to the command of Paul when he said, “Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim 3:5 NIV), or “Avoid such people and keep far away from them” (2 Tim 3:5 AMP).
If you don’t stay away from false teachers such as Joseph Prince and choose to listen to his videos/audios or his teachings on the internet regularly, you may soon get influenced by his teachings, and be corrupted by his heresies.
If that happens, you will be damned as these false teachers are.
The no-nonsense approach to keeping away from false teachers commanded by the Apostle Paul is poles apart from the ‘offend-no-one’ and ‘let’s-fellowship-with-them’ approach of the contemporary church (2 Tim 3:5).
B. It Is The Responsibility Of The Leadership To Refute False Teachings & Rebuke False Teachers: Titus 1:9-14.
Tit 1:9-14 NIV
9 “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.
11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”
13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith
14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.”
In Titus 1:5-9, Paul lists the qualifications that an elder (or a pastor) must possess before he is appointed.
In Titus 1:9, Paul teaches that as part of the qualifications of an elder (or a pastor), he must first know sound doctrine.
Second, he must be able to refute and be willing to rebuke those who oppose sound doctrine (Tit 1:9,13).
The shepherds or elders or pastors have a double duty: to feed the sheep by teaching sound doctrine and to protect them from wolves by refuting false teachings and rebuking heretics.
However, this twin role of teaching sound doctrine and rebuking false teachers is so unpopular today and even resented in the modern church.
The preachers of today are pressured to preach positive sermons and never to be negative in their preaching.
This is what is popularised by Joseph Prince.
“The ‘always-positive-and-no-negative’ Pseudo-grace theology preached by Joseph Prince is psychologically uplifting but spiritually destructive.” (George Ong)
Joseph Prince tells his congregation always to be positive and never to be negative.
But such a view goes head-on against the scriptures given the fact that Paul told Titus to refute and rebuke.
Paul teaches that the leadership should not just rebuke, but they are to rebuke sharply (Tit 1:13).
But Joseph Prince teaches we shouldn’t as that would be negative.
How can Joseph Prince claim that the grace theology he is teaching is from Paul?
The Lord Jesus and His apostles refuted false teachings themselves and told us to do the same.
Can a preacher be positive and not negative in his refutation of false doctrines and rebuking of people such as false teachers?
It is precisely because elders and pastors
only cared to preach what is positive and avoided the negative of refuting false teachings and rebuking false teachers
that have partly resulted in the proliferation of the Pseudo-grace doctrine of Joseph Prince.
This has caused many believers to be infected with the deadly doctrinal virus of Joseph Prince.
Note that these two twin ingredients (teaching sound doctrine and refuting and rebuking false teachings/teachers), besides others (Tit 1:6-9), are requirements for someone to be an elder or a pastor.
But these two requirements, especially the second ingredient of refuting false teachings and rebuking false teachers, are largely ignored.
Many shepherds have stayed away from the unpopular task of refuting and rebuking.
If a shepherd who knows sound doctrine but does not want to take on the uncomfortable task of refuting and rebuking those who oppose or contradict sound doctrine, rightfully, he shouldn’t be appointed.
The trouble is, some who are appointed to eldership or pastorship do not know enough of sound doctrine, and hence they can’t refute those who oppose it.
Others know sound doctrine, but they won’t refute and rebuke those who oppose it in order not to spoil their nice, diplomatic and loving image.
Yet, others super-spiritualise that when it comes to refuting and rebuking
– by the reasoning that in order not to be personal, they shouldn’t mention the names of false teachers,
but it is enough to mention the false teachings.
But is that what Paul teaches? – That we just oppose the false teachings and not the false teachers?
No.
Paul said we are to “refute those who oppose it” (Tit 1:9 NIV), or “rebuke those who contradict it” (Tit 1:9 ESV).
Paul also said, “Therefore rebuke them sharply” (Tit 1:13 NIV).
‘Those’ and ‘them’ must refer to the false teachers themselves, not just their teachings.
It is not about being personal; it is about obeying the word of God.
It is not about your personal preference of taking on a more diplomatic approach, but it is about protecting and guarding the sheep against being devoured by the wolves.
And to do that, you not only need to know sound doctrine, but you must also be prepared to refute and rebuke false teachers.
The trouble is, many elders and pastors may know sound doctrine, but how many are refuting false teachings and rebuking false teachers?
I believe the responsibility of refuting and rebuking false teachers is not just limited to any false teacher that may arise in the local church.
This is because the influence of false teachers, such as Joseph Prince, has gone beyond the physical boundaries of the local church.
He can and has already influenced many of your church members without them even attending his church – through the internet.
Every pastor in Singapore knows that almost every church is affected by Joseph Prince’s teachings.
I have met many pastors from every denomination in Singapore whose sheep have crossed into the fold of Joseph Prince.
Why then are they so silent?
There is no need to suffer in silence.
It is time for you to speak up not just privately but publicly.
Many are unwilling to refute and rebuke false teachers as they do not want to be seen as being divisive, censorious and unloving.
And because of this wrong attitude, they fall right into the deception of the devil.
No wonder, false teachers like Joseph Prince is running wild, infiltrating and causing havoc to the Church of Jesus Christ.
I have already proven in the other chapters that Joseph Prince is not only preaching false but outrageous doctrines.
Yet, how many pastors and elders are rebuking him and refuting his teachings in the pulpits of their church?
To refute Joseph Prince, not only do you need to know the truth, you need to know the specifics of what he is teaching.
If shepherds themselves are ill-equipped in handling God’s word and are ignorant about the heretical doctrine of the wolves (Joseph Prince’s Pseudo-grace doctrine), how can they ever protect their sheep from being harmed?
Sad to say, today, there are elders and pastors of churches who neither know their doctrine well enough nor are they refuting false teachers.
And even if they know their doctrines, many do not have the guts to rebuke them.
If you have the greater gift in teaching sound doctrine and refuting false teachers, what is stopping you from coming forward?
Fear of repercussions?
Fear of being seen as divisive, lack of love and causing disunity?
These are non-issues to start with as Joseph Prince who is a wolf is not even a part of the body of Christ.
A wolf is to be treated as a wolf, and not as a shepherd or a sheep who is part of the body of Christ.
What is worse is, many spiritual leaders who fear coming forward to contend against the wolves are doing it under the guise of humility and love.
The real reason for their reticence of contending against the wolves is the fear of being seen as intolerant, divisive and unloving.
A W Tozer, (for the younger ones, you need to know that Tozer is a well-respected preacher in days gone by) wrote,
“I do not believe in the weak tolerance that we hear preached so often now, the idea that Jesus must tolerate everyone and that the Christian must tolerate every kind of doctrine.
When we become so tolerant that we lead people into mental fog and spiritual darkness we are not acting like Christians, we are acting like cowards!”
John Calvin wrote:
“A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.”
“The opposite of inaction to the evil and intrusion of heresy is not indifference but cowardice.” (George Ong)
There is a close connection between V9 and V10 in Titus 1:9-14 because of the word ‘for’ in V10.
Tit 1:9-14 NIV
9 “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.
11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”
13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith
14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.”
The reason that elders or pastors need to be sound in doctrine and be able and willing to refute false teachings in V9 is because of the prevalence of false teachings in V10-14.
Don’t you agree that false teachings have become so prevalent, especially in Singapore?
Are you blind to the fact that a wolf – Joseph Prince – helms the biggest ‘church’ in Singapore?
So, how can anyone deny that false teachings have become a serious threat?
The church has been sleeping for too long, allowing the cancer of Joseph Prince’s heresy to eat her up little by little!
Refuting false teachers is the basic and minimum responsibility of elders and pastors.
Elders and pastors must have the ability and the willingness to expound, defend and contend for the faith.
If we can’t even do the minimum of what God expects us to do, we might as well close shop, resign from our eldership or pastorship, and do something else.
The irony in the modern church is this – pastors and elders who obey the scriptures to refute false doctrines and rebuke false teachers are sharply criticised for being unloving, divisive and intolerant.
Conversely, pastors and elders who disobey the scriptures by keeping silent and dare not raise a whimper against false teachers to avoid trouble and to protect their respectable image are praised for being loving, tolerant and for promoting unity.
Some shepherds may say,
“I am more comfortable with preaching sound doctrine.
But I am not the type to refute the views of others and rebuke them.”
Friends, it is not about your personal preference but about obeying God’s word.
Paul specifically says that he expects you as a shepherd not only to teach sound doctrine but to refute false teachings and rebuke false teachers (Tit 1:9,13).
Other shepherds may say,
“The best way of confronting false teachings is just to teach sound doctrine.
If you help people know the truth, they would automatically detect the false.
So, just concentrate on the word and don’t worry about what those false teachings that these false teachers are teaching.”
Yes, while it is true that knowing the word of God is a must and it would certainly help your flock to detect the false, but did the Bible say that that is all that you, as a shepherd, are supposed to do?
No.
Again, knowing sound doctrine is the first step; refuting and rebuking false teachings and false teachers is the next step that Paul expects you to do.
As you are aware, Joseph Prince’s teachings are so deceptive and crafty that experienced teachers of the word are needed to sift out the heresies that are embedded in the truth that many sheep may not immediately discern.
So, exposing and rebuking false teachers is a responsibility of the leadership of the church that no elder or pastor can run away from.
Rightly so, as they are shepherds who are to protect the sheep from the wolves who come in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15; Acts 20:28).
Protection of the sheep is done through sound biblical exposition, and a thorough refutation of false teachings and the rebuking of false teachers.
Sadly, shepherds are too involved with the administrative duties of the church that they have neglected the role to protect the sheep from the wolves.
Next, the leadership of the church is to silence false teachers (Tit 1:11) perhaps, by barring them from being given any platform to air and spread their heresies and also through an aggressive refutation of their false doctrines.
Tit 1:11 NIV
11 “They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”
Why must they be silenced? – Because they are destroying families by their heresies (Tit 1:11).
Tit 1:11 ICB
11 “These people must be stopped from talking. They are destroying whole families by teaching things that they should not teach. They teach them only to cheat people and make money.”
Tit 1:11 ISV
11 “They must be silenced, because they are the kind of people who ruin whole families by teaching what they should not teach in order to make money in a shameful way.”
The crucial issue is about the destruction and ruining of your people in the church.
Your flock will be spiritually destroyed and ruined if they are led astray by false teachings, and they will be eternally ruined and destroyed if they don’t repent.
The tough approach of the Apostle Paul to silence the heretics would be seen as being too unloving and too harsh by the modern church (Tit 1:11).
But one must remember that ‘Speaking the truth in love’ (Eph 4:15) is only applicable to the Body of Christ and never to heretics who are out to destroy the church; instead, we are instructed to sharply rebuke and silence them (Tit 1:9,11,13).
What advice did Paul give to the church leadership to deal with false teachers?
Did Paul say,
“Let’s have a civilised discussion with the false teachers about their teachings.
And if we cannot finally agree, we must be magnanimous enough to agree to disagree?”
No.
Paul said,
“I want you to refute and rebuke them by the authority of God’s word and your knowledge of sound doctrine.”
If Paul were to listen to the advice of the modern church:
“Paul, why be so uptight? – why don’t you ease off a little? – why don’t you embrace them in love as it may turn them around? – it would have been utterly disastrous” (Tit 1:10-14)!
When sharp and open rebuke of the heretics is being replaced by friendly conversation and accommodation, the situation of false teachings in the church will only worsen (Tit 1:13).
Why?
It is for the reason that while you can talk in a friendly way to another fellow shepherd, you don’t talk to a wolf who has come to destroy your sheep.
Paul’s strategy of defeating false teachings by minimising the damage is very simple.
Elders and pastors of churches must know sound doctrine.
Even if they aren’t that knowledgeable, they must seek to grow in this area as Jesus, Paul, Peter and Jude have already warned us that false teachers will be especially present in the last days.
Jesus has already prophesied that in the last days, false prophets will arise and deceive many (Matt 24:2-5,11).
The problem of false teachers will not go away, but it will only get worse.
So, with sound doctrine, the elders and pastors are to expose the heresies by refuting false doctrines and rebuking false teachers. If false teachings are not dealt with promptly, they will spread like gangrene and destroy the faith of your flock (2 Tim 2:17-18).
C. If No Concerted Effort Is Made To Stop Joseph Prince’s Heresy, It Will Spread Like Gangrene & It Already Has: 2 Timothy 2:17-18.
2 Tim 2:17-18 NIV
17 “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.”
Because the Church in Singapore has neglected to check the advance of Joseph Prince’s heresies, the gangrene of his false teachings has spread like wildfire – his ‘church’ has become the biggest in Singapore.
And from Singapore as the base, he is influencing the world with his Pseudo-grace doctrine.
If every elder and pastor were to do what Paul has instructed to refute false teachings and rebuke false teachers (Tit 1:9,13), the heresy of Joseph Prince would have been contained.
I am not that idealistic to say false teachings can be obliterated, but at least we can minimise the damage caused to the body of Christ.
Joseph Prince has said many times that the remarkable growth of his church is proof that he is preaching sound doctrine.
The truth is, the phenomenal growth of New Creation Church is not a vindication of true doctrine as Joseph Prince has often claimed.
As the word of God says in 2 Timothy 2:17, “Their teaching will spread like gangrene” – Joseph Prince’s explosive church growth is an indication of a heresy that is spreading fast and furiously like destructive gangrene.
The gangrene of the Joseph Prince’s heresy must be dealt with, not by token efforts but radical measures before the whole body of Christ is infected, swallowed up and destroyed.
Radical measures at dealing with the gangrene of heresy include identifying the names of ring leaders openly as they are chiefly responsible for the deadly disease and for destroying the faith of many.
Fast and decisive action must be taken before the gangrenous growth of the Pseudo-grace heresy destroys yet another sheep.
Only the spiritually perceptive will be able to accept and even push for such radical measures, while the undiscerning and the naive will criticise them as an overreaction to a passing problem that will go away with time.
Intolerance towards the evil and intrusion of false teachings that can destroy the flock is a great virtue that is sadly seldom demonstrated in the church.
And Paul was so intolerant of false teachings and false teachers that he publicly named Hymenaeus and Philetus as false teachers and delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan (1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 2:17).
Pastors of Singapore churches, let me ask you, how many of your members have gone over to New Creation Church?
Many of them, I’m sure.
When your sheep have gone over to the greener pasture of Joseph Prince, don’t just blame them for being sermon tasters or possessing a consumer mentality, even though that may be true.
But you need to seriously ask yourself whether you too could have prevented their departure.
Have you acted responsibly as the elder and pastor of the church?
Have you been teaching sound doctrine (Tit 1:9)?
Have you been refuting the false teachings of Joseph Prince and rebuking him (Tit 1:9,13)?
If you have not done enough to warn your flock from being led astray by the chief wolf, Joseph Prince, then the blood of your sheep will be on your hands (Ezek 33:1-9).
And if you still refused to do anything, more will continue to be led astray and be destroyed and ruined in their faith.
The problem of Joseph Prince and his heresies will not go away; it will only get worse.
If I, without any flock to pastor, am extremely concerned, you, who have your own flock to protect, ought to be even more concerned.
If you are still not moved to act, let me shake you up with this quote:
“Every sheep of your church that is lost to Joseph Prince’s flock is probably headed for eternal damnation.” (George Ong)
For the pastors in Malaysia and other nations, don’t ever think that your flock is safe.
Don’t be too confident that your flock is kept away from the doctrinal influence of Joseph Prince.
While modern technology has been used to spread the gospel, it has also been used by the devil to spread heresies.
As you know, Joseph Prince’s teachings have penetrated into the homes of believers through the internet.
At the touch of the button, his false teachings would instantly be readily available for viewing and listening.
There is, therefore, the need for you to process with your members from time to time who may have been influenced by his teachings through the internet.
Don’t be presumptuous that your sheep you see every Sunday is in safe hands, lest you be shocked one day when they start to talk like Joseph Prince, the chief wolf.
Don’t be too sure that your church is unscathed by the heresies of Joseph Prince, the chief wolf when his teachings have already deeply infiltrated through the internet into the home of your sheep.
Do you realise the seriousness and the reach of Joseph Prince’s Pseudo-grace teaching?
Many churches in Singapore and the world have not realised the seriousness of the penetration of Joseph Prince’s heresy.
Many believers have not woken up to the reach that his damaging heresies have gone.
The cancer and gangrene of Joseph Prince’s false doctrines have not only infected Singapore but is being spread throughout the world through the internet and international broadcasts.
As I have highlighted before, he and his church are so rich that his heresy is being broadcasted to more than 150 nations.
In China, South Africa and many other places, his heresy has permeated deep in the church.
To date, Joseph Prince’s broadcast of his weekly Sunday messages is available on television networks and stations in the United States, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Their servers also ensure that Joseph Prince’s messages reach the homes of millions all around the world.
Do you know that hundreds of thousands around the world are drawn to his teachings on YouTube?
Just peruse YouTube and see the many hundreds of thousands of views on his messages.
I have done some general research on YouTube and have come to the sober conclusion that as compared to the many solid and international teachers of the word, Joseph Prince has outshined them all – in terms of the number of views per video.
The tragedy is more people would prefer to listen to the false teachings of Joseph Prince than the solid teachers of the word.
Pseudo-grace is not the persecuted minority for their errant doctrines but is rapidly becoming the erroneous majority that will swallow up the rest of the true church.
Why is the church still so sloppy about dealing with the proliferation of heresy when the biggest weekly gathering of the ‘sheep’ that is even bigger than all the individual denominations in Singapore, except the Methodist, is in the camp of the wolf – Joseph Prince?
Joseph Prince is using his base in Singapore to spread his Pseudo-grace heresy around the world.
With the international broadcast of the Pseudo-grace message that is aggressively reaching many nations, the world would soon be engulfed and gripped by it.
The Singapore Church has made a fundamental error in treating Joseph Prince, the heretic wolf, like a fellow shepherd.
She has made a big strategic mistake in dealing with Joseph Prince – treating the unrepentant crafty wolf who has long been in the heresy trade like an innocent sheep who has just started school.
As a Singaporean believer and preacher, I feel ‘responsible’ because Joseph Prince is from our own backyard of Singapore.
Believers and pastors in Singapore must do what they can to stem the aggressive spread of the Pseudo-grace doctrine.
The failure to do anything is to be ‘irresponsible’.
Not that we can stop it completely, but we must do all that is within our means to curb the flow of such destructive teachings.
Contending against the false teachings of Joseph Prince is not an academic or theoretical exercise, because the reality is, it has already happened right in our own backyard of Singapore.
D. Joseph Prince The False Prophet, Who Preaches Publicly Must Be Confronted Publicly & That’s Why His Name Has To Be Mentioned: 1 Timothy 1:18-20 & Timothy 2:17-18.
1 Tim 1:18-20 NIV
18 “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.
20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
2 Tim 2:17-18 NIV
17 “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.”
Paul dealt with the false teachers publicly by name: Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus (2 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 2:17).
The reason false teachers are dealt with publicly is that their teaching is public.
Those who heard Joseph Prince knows what he believes and teaches.
Some have naively asked me whether I have contacted Joseph Prince and have spoken to him.
Why do I need to speak to him?
I am contending against his distorted teachings, and his teachings are public, and everybody knows them.
They are all over his books and videos/audios.
They are all over the internet.
Any teacher who teaches publicly must be prepared to be publicly confronted and defend his teachings.
What is worse is those who asked me whether I have contacted Joseph Prince are also well aware of what he is teaching are false doctrines.
Asking a false teacher whether I can have his permission to criticise him publicly is as nonsensical as asking for permission from the wolf whether I can tell others that he is harming my sheep.
Believers have wrongly thought that if an author writes a book, or a preacher preaches a sermon, no one should make judgements about the contents of these teachings without first asking the author’s or preacher’s permission.
Did the Apostle Paul ask Hymenaeus’ and Alexander’s permission to rebuke them for teaching false doctrine?
Did the Apostle Paul ask Apostle Peter’s permission to rebuke him publicly (Gal 2:11-14)?
Publicly proclaimed teachings, which are distorted and false must be publicly refuted.
Because Joseph Prince has infiltrated his influence on your sheep through the internet by bypassing your church walls, you have every right to rise up and contend against him publicly.
The sad truth is, very few elders or pastors are willing to do this.
What is worse is there are those who hide their unwillingness to correct false teachers publicly under the guise of humility and preserving unity.
This has allowed the wolf, Joseph Prince, a free hand to devour the flock.
If we as elders and pastors refuse to judge false teachings and contend against them, we have indeed neglected our God-given responsibilities.
False teaching indeed damages the lives of people – which is why Hymenaeus and Alexander have shipwrecked their faith (1 Tim 1:19-20).
And many more who let their guard down and are influenced by false teachings are also going to have their faith shipwrecked.
False teachers such as Hymenaeus and Philetus, have destroyed the faith of some (2 Tim 2:17-18).
When one’s faith is shipwrecked and destroyed, he or she will be eternally damned, unless they repent.
Friends, let me remind you that heresies are cruel as they are destructive.
Hence, false teachings cannot be tolerated and must be dealt with ruthlessly.
Paul was so intolerant with heretics that he publicly named Hymenaeus and Philetus as false teachers and delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan (1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 2:17).
People have criticised me for publicly mentioning the name of a false teacher – Joseph Prince.
But Paul went a step further – not only did he name them, he handed them over to Satan (1 Tim 1:20).
Will Paul’s tough actions cause a public outcry in today’s church?
You bet!
Even the godly Apostle Paul may have to defend his tough actions vigorously for his apostolic actions in today’s ‘tolerant’, ‘loving’ and ‘don’t rock the boat’ church!
It is impossible for me not to mention names if one is serious about unveiling the false doctrine of false teachers.
If my task is to expose just one error of a particular false teacher, and if the error is not major, it would be foolish of me to mention his name.
But if I have to expose a humongous chunk of not only minor errors but also major doctrinal errors of Joseph Prince, I have no choice but to quote his name.
I have to quote what he wrote and what he said.
If I don’t, people will accuse me of not being fair to that particular false teacher because I have misrepresented his teachings or I have placed his teachings out of context.
But by quoting what he himself wrote and said, would remove many of such doubts.
And if I have to quote what he wrote and said, how can I avoid mentioning his name?
When I first started to highlight Joseph Prince’s name in my writings, there are leaders/believers who think I am unscriptural until I told them Paul did that too.
They were taken aback – this means they thought they knew the scriptures when they don’t really know them enough.
Jesus did that too.
Jesus praised the church of Ephesus for dealing with false teachings/teachers, and He reprimanded the church of Pergamum and Thyatira for tolerating false teachers and their heresies.
Did Jesus say,
“It would not be good and impolite for me to mention names, but just to mention the false doctrines they are teaching will do”?
No.
Jesus mentioned Nicolaitans and Nicolaitans is a name (Rev 2:6,15).
Jesus mentioned Jezebel and Jezebel is a name (Rev 2:20).
So, since I have to quote what Joseph Prince wrote in his books and what he said in the videos and audios, there is no way I can avoid mentioning his name.
We have often heard preachers in the teaching a particular heresy make the following comments to an audience,
“I don’t want to mention the name of this particular pastor or preacher who teaches this particular false doctrine…”
Trouble is – by their detailed description of that particular heresy, everybody knows they are talking about that specific pastor, even though the name is not mentioned.
Why the pretence?
Why the hypocrisy?
Is it really out of goodwill or being gentlemanly that one refrains from mentioning names or really the fear of confronting any possible backlash, or the dread of coping with a fierce reprisal or a defamation suit?
Is it out of magnanimity or pure cowardice that names are not mentioned?
Some shepherds are hesitant to courageously speak out against false teachers because of their cowardly fear of getting wounded by return fire.
But in the face of the evil of heresy that is staring at us, to remain cowardly silent is to be a passive accomplice to the ‘moral crime’.
Many shepherds are cowardly hiding in the safety of their closet, but few are courageously fighting the invaders of the Pseudo-grace army out in the open.
A heretic robber who robs the sheep of sound doctrine is allowed to go scot-free because many bystanders of the faith are too afraid to interfere.
– until a brave vigilante tries to stop the robber
– but is being ‘attacked’ by the cowardly bystanders for having a misplaced zeal
– this is the actual state of the church which has gone awfully wrong.
It is impossible for me not to mention Joseph Prince by name as I have to be specific and concrete in my comments about his false teachings.
I have to surface who wrote what in what books and who said what in the videos and audios.
If I have to address a specific statement made by a particular individual in the books and videos, there’s no way not to name names.
Unless you are merely satisfied with covering a particular issue very generally and only skimming the surface, then it is possible for you not to mention names.
But the lack of specifics and the absence of a detailed and thorough treatment of the subject will lack the cut and thrust of a concrete discussion and will be of limited use and benefit to interested parties.
More so, it is as clear as daylight that Joseph Prince is unmistakably teaching the false grace doctrine.
Hence, his name must be held high up for the world to see!
“If the Apostle Paul mentioned names when he dealt with false doctrines, what’s so surprising and shocking when I do the same?” (2 Tim 2:17-18) (George Ong)
E. The Truth Of The Gospel Is Even More Important Than The Reputation Of An Apostle: Galatians 2:11-14.
Gal 2:11-14 NIV
11 “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Paul called out the Apostle Peter (Cephas) by name when he was hypocritical (Gal 2:11-14).
Stature and titles aren’t as important in the face of preserving the purity and integrity of the gospel.
False teaching was such a serious issue to Paul that even the leading Apostle Peter, who nearly fell for it, had to be harshly and publicly rebuked by name (Gal 2:11-14).
Some super-spiritual people may say to Paul:
“Paul, what you did was wrong.
You didn’t even ‘give face’ to an Apostle (Peter), who is more senior in service and age than you.
Seniority counts.
How can you publicly reprimand one who is older than you?
How is Apostle Peter going to face his flock?”
As far as Paul is concerned, preserving the truth of the gospel is far more crucial than keeping the peace between brethren.
Even though Peter was Paul’s senior in the ministry, Paul didn’t let him off as the crucial issue of false teaching had to be confronted even at the risk of embarrassing an apostle and tarnishing his name and reputation – that till today we are still talking about him on earth as Peter is listening to us in heaven.
I’m sorry, Apostle Peter! – But for the sake of preserving the integrity of the gospel, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind.
For Paul, the name and reputation of even an apostle are of less importance than the truth and the purity of the gospel that must be uncompromisingly guarded at all costs.
Paul himself had to rebuke Peter by name when he began acting like a hypocrite – as, by Peter’s hypocritical action, the gospel stands the danger of being compromised (Gal 2:11-14).
If Paul had the guts to rebuke another Apostle, Peter, how much more should we be uncompromising and courageous to do the same with false teachers such as Joseph Prince, who are deceiving and leading people to hell?
Some shepherds are committing the ‘Peter error’ of not only condoning the Joseph Prince heresy but are also conforming to his error out of spiritual cowardice and the fear of men.
The spiritual cowardice of many pastors and elders to confront the false, which is a ‘god-sent’ accomplice of the heretic wolves, has contributed to the spread of heresy more than anything else.
By remaining silent to the spread of heresy because of the fear of men and the fear to confront false teachers, you have become an accomplice of the heretics.
How can we ever fear God if the fear of man, which is the major stronghold of the church in many a pastor’s life, has not been overcome?
F. Shepherds, Are You Guarding The Flock Against The Wolves As Passionately As The Apostle Paul Did: Acts 20:28-31?
Acts 20:28-31 NIV
28 “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
In the larger context of Acts 20:17-38, Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, and he came ashore at Miletus, the seaport for the city of Ephesus.
He called for the elders of the local church at Ephesus to meet him at Miletus.
The reason was that Paul wanted to give them his last instructions, knowing that he might not see them again on this earth as he was well aware that he could be martyred in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-25).
Acts 20:22-25 NIV
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.”
It is indeed a poignant meeting.
I read and studied this passage with tears in my heart, and they almost stream down my eyes.
What do you think was Paul’s chief concern that he would have to tell the elders of Ephesus as this might be his last meeting with them?
What occupies the mind of Paul before he says his last goodbye to them?
Among his last words to them was his great concern about the savage wolves who will come and will not spare the flock; and that they as elders must do their part in guarding the sheep against being harmed.
Doesn’t that tell us that false teachers and false teachings and the damage that they can do to the body of Christ are of great concern to Paul?
To Paul, guarding the flock against savage wolves is a key duty of pastors and elders.
According to Paul, what would qualify as wolves, and how do wolves draw away the flock? – By distorting the truth (Acts 20:30).
As I looked again at the text in my own study, I began to think about this irony.
The irony is that it is not the truth that attracts the flock, but it is the distortion of truth that captures them and draws them away.
That indeed tells a lot about the depravity of man.
Those who are finally led astray are not looking for truth but a distorted form of truth that would make them feel good and satisfy the flesh.
That’s what Joseph Prince is precisely doing.
By distorting the true teachings of the Bible, he has drawn away the multitudes from the many churches to his camp.
Joseph Prince distorts the truth by mixing it with error.
He distorts the truth by twisting the verses out of contexts and by taking something true and stretching to an unbiblical extreme.
We can’t avoid the truth war.
We have to fight distorted truth with the truth of God’s word.
To effectively protect your flock from the wolf, you would need to know the distorted truth that Joseph Prince teaches.
Then you combat it with the truth of God’s word.
Many modern believers of today do not like the word, ‘doctrine’ as to them, it is a cold word; they would rather like words such as love, grace, blessings, etc.
But to Paul, doctrine is an important word that can even decide your eternal destiny.
That’s why he told Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim 4:16).
Doctrine – what you believe in can have eternal consequences as it could save yourself and your hearers.
Conversely, if false doctrines and teachings have found their way into the church, the salvation of the flock is put in jeopardy.
As elders and pastors of the church, the job of protecting the flock from false teachings, and nourishing the flock with sound doctrine, must be given top priority.
Any neglect is to the detriment of your flock.
And in the last days, the battle against false teachers will intensify as Jesus and Paul have already prophesied that false teachers will arise in the last days.
So, the task of preventing false teachings from seeping into the church must be taken seriously by the elders and pastors of churches.
As far as Paul is concerned, teaching true doctrine, exposing and correcting false doctrine, and protecting the flock from the wolves is the responsibility of the shepherd (Acts 20:28-31).
Acts 20:31 NIV
31 “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
According to Acts 20:31, how long did Paul keep warning the shepherds about the savage wolves that will not spare the sheep?
For 3 years, and Paul did it night and day (Acts 20:31)!
How intense was Paul’s warning to them?
Paul did it with tears (Acts 20:31)!
“When the Apostle Paul was preoccupied with the threat of false teachings so intensely on a daily affair and with tears, the church ought to repent over her nonchalance and indifference.” (Acts 20:31) (George Ong)
The great irony is that this issue about the dangers of false teachers and false teachings, which were of primary concern to Paul and had gripped his heart night and day and with tears is the least priority that would bother the modern believer.
Some super-spiritual people would say to Paul:
“Paul, you are too fixated about these false teachers who will be harming the sheep.
What? Such a mere issue about false teachings and false teachers would preoccupy your mind for 3 years?
And you thought about it night and day?
Your approach is too radical!
What can you do with the wolves?
Leave it to God.
If they are wolves, God will destroy them.
Please don’t use your own strength to fight against them.
You must trust God to do it.
Please, would you channel your energies to saving souls?
Please use that time to love people.
Use the time to bring about greater unity in the church.
You are too judgemental to call them wolves as if they are beyond hope.
Reach out to these false teachers, even though they are wolves, and fellowship with them and love them, and I am sure they will be loved into the church.”
Paul may say:
“Do you think I have not loved the church?
I have poured my soul and energies for the sake of the gospel and Christ.
If you really do love the sheep, you will share the same concern about the dangers of false teachers, as I do.
If you are negligent in your role as the elders of the church to guard the sheep from these savage wolves, not only would they be destroyed in their faith but that what Christ came to die for them (only referring to those who would be drawn away from their faith by these savage wolves) with His blood, would have been in vain (Acts 20:28-31).
If you neglect your role to protect and guard the sheep against being destroyed by the wolves, all your claim that you love the sheep would just be empty talk.”
In another chapter, I wrote the following:
“Are you beginning to see why I am contending against Joseph Prince day and night?
Do you now know why I have written lengthy chapters about Joseph Prince’s false teachings endlessly – and more to come?
Have you realised that I have spent countless hours, blood, sweat and tears, doing the only thing I am doing, with no financial remuneration and at my personal expense to accomplish that?
…What is this all about?
It is about alerting the larger body of Christ to the deceptive teachings of Joseph Prince and equipping her how to deal with them.”
I believe what I wrote in the above may be prophetic, and I will leave it to you to judge whether it is so.
Acts 20:31 NIV
31 “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
It suddenly dawned upon me that what Paul feel in Acts 20:31 is what I feel about contending against Joseph Prince, the wolf, day and night – as Paul said in Acts 20:31, “…for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
Paul was preoccupied with the issue of the harm that false teachers can cause the sheep day and night.
Similarly, I have been preoccupied with exposing the heresies of Joseph Prince and alerting and equipping the church to deal with them day and night.
Some people are wondering whether I am too fixated and overly intense as I keep bringing up Joseph Prince as a false teacher and his heresies in my articles endlessly.
Well, if that is so, these people need to take the same issue to the Apostle Paul.
This is because Paul also must have been too fixated and too intense as he had warned the elders of the church about the wolves who would harm the sheep and that the elders must be alert to guard them for how long and how intensely? – For 3 years, night and day, and with tears!
Why was Paul, and why am I so fixated, intense, and concerned about heresy?
Because heresy is a cruel and heartless thing that can lead people to the lake of fire.
“If one hasn’t come to grips with the cruelty and heartlessness of heresy that can lead a believer to hell, it is unlikely to feature much in one’s priorities.” (George Ong)
G. Never Give An Inch To False Teachers: Galatians 2:4-5.
Gal 2:4-5 NIV
4 “This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”
Gal 2:4-5 NLT
4 “Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.
5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.”
The way of tolerance of the modern church towards false teachers and their teachings is totally out of sync with the combative Paul, who will never surrender a single inch of territory to the destructive heretics (Gal 2:5).
The tendency is for believers to give in to false teachers by compromising.
They fall into the trap of false teachers – for the sake of unity, love, tolerance, we should accept and embrace one another.
But thank God that we have the warriors of truth to thank in Paul and his cohorts for waging a fierce battle against the heretics in their day – for if truth was being compromised then, the faith that is being passed down to us would only be a corrupted form of it (Gal 2:5).
That was why Paul said, “But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you” (Gal 2:5 NLT).
As elders and pastors of churches, are we concerned for the next generation of believers that they, too, will receive the same Faith that is being passed down to us from the apostles?
We have to note that if our generation of believers is infected with a virus of heresy, the next generation is guaranteed to get it full-blown.
If the gospel and the Christian Faith in our generation are being corrupted by the Pseudo-grace doctrine of Joseph Prince, in the next generation, Christianity will metamorphosise into ‘Gracetianity’.
Once a generation of believers has embraced a heretical truth, it will take a few generations to recover from the curse.
So, let the fire of holy intolerance for the evil of heresy be aflame in the church once again as it was in the days of the Apostles so that the Apostolic Faith be preserved till Jesus returns!
H. False Teachers Are The Real Divisive People & Not Those Who Contend Against Them: Titus 3:10-11 & Romans 16:17-18.
Titus 3:10-11 NIV
9 “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.
11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.”
Paul commands us to reject a heretic and have nothing to do with him after two warnings (Tit 3:9-11).
Paul is effectively commanding the church to excommunicate a heretic if he has shown no remorse over his sin of heresy.
Paul also urged in Romans 16:17 in no uncertain terms for believers to separate themselves from such false teachers by keeping away from them.
Rom 16:17-18 NIV
17 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”
So, Paul had twice, in Titus 3:10 and Romans 16:17, instructed believers to keep away and have nothing to do with heretics.
Why then are many pastors and believers in Singapore not doing the same with Joseph Prince, the heretic?
To fellowship and work with Joseph Prince, the heretic, is to disobey the plain teachings of the scriptures.
How do contemporary churches fare with regards to such a command from Paul?
The church is too nice and too diplomatic to be willing to perform such harsh actions.
Under the usual excuse of love and unity, many would stay clear of having to undertake such unpopular measures.
No wonder Joseph Prince’s pseudo-grace doctrine has continued to spread.
Paul, in Titus 3:10, calls such false teachers as divisive people, bringing division among the flock: “Warn a divisive person once.”
Paul, in Romans 16:17, warns of the same divisiveness that heretics can cause: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions.”
The injustice of it all is that though the term, ‘divisive people’ or ‘causing division’ was used on heretics by the apostolic church, the same term has been misused and tagged on those who oppose heretics by the ‘unity-at-all-cost’ contemporary church (Tit 3:9-11, Rom 16:17-18).
When false teachers are those who are considered to be divisive by scripture, the same term has been unjustly heaped by the ‘opposing-others-is-equal-to-being-divisive’ contemporary church on those who are selflessly contending against these heretics (Tit 3:9-11; Rom 16:17-18).
On which side of the extreme is the contemporary church in?
My reading of the contemporary church is that she is definitely not lacking in her love for her enemies, even false teachers.
But she is too lenient with heretics, too close with them, too accommodative to them, and too lax in guarding the flock against being contaminated by poisonous heresies.
The church should have zero tolerance for unrepentant heretics such as Joseph Prince, whose teaching has destroyed the faith of the flock and brought eternal ruin to those who have been deceived.
“Given the church’s laxity at dealing with false doctrines, today’s strange heresies may become tomorrow’s sanctioned doctrines.” (George Ong)
Paul further says, “…By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Rom 16:18).
How apt and true is Romans 16:18 a description of Joseph Prince, who, through his smooth talk and eloquence, has deceived the multitudes into embracing his Pseudo-grace doctrine?
I. Scratching Where It Itches By Feeding The Flesh Is A Sure-Win Formula Of False Prophets: 2 Timothy 4:1-8.
2 Tim 4:1-8 NIV
1 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Has it ever occurred to you that before Paul’s passing away in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, his last words were about people who will be led astray by false teachings in 2 Timothy 4:3-5?
I’m sure you would remember in Acts 20:28-31, we have talked about the fact that Paul’s last words to the elders of Ephesus was his concern for the flock that would be led astray by wolves.
And here again in 2 Timothy 4:1-8, before his passing away, Paul was still speaking about the same issue.
This shows that the issue of false teachings and false teachers constantly preoccupies the mind of Paul.
The sad thing is when Paul was so concerned about the issue of heresies and their harm to the body of Christ, the modern church couldn’t even care two hoots about it.
The influence of false teachings that will be prevalent is of great concern to Apostle Paul, or else, he wouldn’t have spoken it as one of his last words to Timothy before his impending martyrdom (2 Tim 4:3-4, 6-8).
He is mentally preparing Timothy to handle this difficult issue of rebuking false teachers (2 Tim 4:2).
And as Timothy goes about this unpopular task of rebuking false teachers (2 Tim 4:2), he may have to endure the hardship (2 Tim 4:5) of being opposed by false teachers and those who have been influenced by them.
Paul was warning Timothy that while false teachers will arise and preach falsehoods and will continue to deceive the masses, Timothy must continue to preach the truth of God’s word (2 Tim 4:2).
Not only must he encourage with great patience and careful instruction, but he must also have the courage to rebuke false teachers and correct their false teachings (2 Tim 4:2).
Paul said to Timothy, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4).
As Paul had correctly predicted what would happen in his day, the same thing is also happening today, where multitudes flock to listen with their itching ears to false grace teachers such as Joseph Prince, who will tell them what they want to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4).
I read from the internet about one pastor who overheard a couple talking,
“We love to attend this church because the preacher teaches the way we like to hear it.”
One can be downright honest and also be downright wrong.
Many love to hear with their itching ears what they want to hear – about God’s unconditional love and unconditional grace that Joseph Prince teaches.
However, truth is contaminated with error.
While it is true that God loves us and He saves us by His grace, it is erroneous to say that His love and grace are unconditional.
The people love to hear with their itching ears what they want to hear
when they pander after Joseph Prince’s messages that assure them that every of their future sin has been forgiven by Jesus at the cross without the need for confession and repentance.
Here again, truth is mixed with error.
It is true that the provision for the forgiveness of all our future sins has been accomplished at the cross.
But it is erroneous to teach that every single future sin has already been forgiven without confession and repentance.
The people love to hear with their itching ears what they want to hear
when Joseph Prince tells them that repentance is only a change of mind.
It is erroneous to say repentance involves only a change of mind.
For repentance to be authentic, the change of mind must be backed up by our concrete actions of repentance as it ought to affect our lives.
The people love to hear with their itching ears what they want to hear
when Joseph Prince tells them – that once we have said the sinner’s prayer within a minute, our eternity is secured as we are forever saved.
Is that what Jesus meant for us to believe when He said, “He who has believed…shall be saved” (Mk 16:16)?
Are we eternally secure in our salvation if we believe for just “a moment in time”?
If so, then we must also logically conclude that if we disbelieve for a moment in time, then our damnation is eternally sealed, because Jesus went on to say, “He who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mk 16:16 NASB).
Mk 16:16 NASB
16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
“Since few would take a one-minute person’s pledge that he has turned over a new leaf until they can see it demonstrated in his life, why are we taking the mere one-minute sinner’s prayer as the all-encompassing proof that one has already demonstrated true faith in Christ?” (George Ong)
2 Tim 4:3-4 NIV
3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
As I studied the text some time ago, I realised that in the context of 2 Timothy 4:3-4, it is not the false prophets who led the people astray per se, instead, it is the people who have allowed themselves to be led astray.
In a short text of a mere 2 verses, the word ‘they’ was repeated twice, and the word ‘their’ was repeated 3 times.
The shocking thing is, it is the people who take the initiative to be led astray.
It is the people who will not put up with sound doctrine (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people who will gather around them false teachers with messages that will suit their own desires (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people who will tell these false teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3).
It is the people who will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to heresies (2 Tim 4:4).
The booming business of the Pseudo-grace doctrine is not just because of the eloquence and charisma of Joseph Prince, but it is also because there are an ungodly demand and a ready market for it (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Enticing wolves such as Joseph Prince, who plays the tune of false doctrines that appeal to the flesh have a great following, chiefly because there are consorting sheep who are willing to dance along with it.
Sheep with itching ears who are accomplices and willing buyers of false teachings are as culpable as the wolves who peddle them (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Sheep with itching ears are as damnable as deceptive wolves – they are not being deceived; they choose to be deceived (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Sheep, who dangerously and openly flirt with the seductive doctrines of the wolves, would have no one to blame but themselves for their tragic destiny.
The kind of false teachings that people are drawn to only reveal their true heart desires.
If people are looking for an easy and comfortable Christianity, they will be drawn to such a teaching because it caters to such fleshly desires of theirs.
If our heart is tainted by riches and greed, prosperity preachers will be intently listened to and warmly embraced.
If we are living in sin, preachers such as Joseph Prince who sells the doctrine that all our future sins have been forgiven and no repentance is henceforth required will be applauded and idolised.
Many people accept the false Pseudo-grace doctrine not because it is true but because it appeals to their fleshly desires of a ‘no-need-to-do-anything’ Faith.
They know they are being deceived and are willing to be, even though they know it to be false.
They prefer to be deceived and live a life of delusion rather than to know the truth and face up to it.
They bet their souls away, hoping for the impossible to happen – that just as black can somehow turn to white, the false grace doctrine that Joseph Prince preaches can somehow turn out to be true.
Because such fleshly desires are too alluring and overpowering, the people will choose to be deceived by false teachings even though they know they are lies.
They would rather cling on to some form of security that panders to their flesh, even though they are totally aware that such security is built on falsehood.
That is why it is so difficult to convert these people from falsity to truth even though passage after passage of undeniable biblical truths are placed before their eyes because it is not so much the mind that is tainted but the heart that has already been deeply corrupted.
When cornered by the truths of scriptures, they will choose not to face up to it as if these biblical truths are non-existent, and even respond irrationally and defensively not with their minds but with their corrupted hearts.
No one needs to be deceived, and everyone can choose not to be deceived, and those who are deceived have chosen to be deceived.
The root reason for all these has been pointed out by Jesus – that even though people are fully aware of the light of truth, they have chosen to live in darkness because they love darkness more than light (Jn 3:19).
If they refuse to have heart repentance and turn from falsity to truth, eternal consequences that are irreversible will be their portion.
Because the temptation to worship these false gods of the flesh (Joseph Prince’s grace teachings really feed the flesh and make people feel really good)
is too strong even though they know there is a true God they ought to be worshipping.
“Deceit is most enticing when it is dressed up with a touch of eloquence and served to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (George Ong)
“One who is prone to be seduced by the flesh is the most susceptible to deception.” (George Ong)
It is my view that the key reason people are drawn to Joseph Prince’s teachings is that they have satisfied and will continue to satisfy the hunger of these people for their flesh to be fed.
Many people are captivated by Joseph Prince’s teachings,
not because they are true,
or just because he is eloquent,
but mainly because they appeal to their fleshly desires
of a ‘no-need-to-do-anything’ faith, ‘no-price-to-be-paid-for-discipleship’ faith, ‘no-risk-at-all-of-losing-my-salvation’ faith, etc.
The key reason why the crowds are being drawn to Joseph Prince’s teachings
is that his teachings are constantly being targeted at feeding the flesh,
and when your insatiable flesh is being repeatedly gratified, such teachings become almost irresistible.
The fact that Joseph Prince has succeeded in packaging and presenting his grace teachings that are clearly of the flesh to sound like they are of the Spirit is the genius of it all.
When the people are enchanted by these false gods of the flesh, they are gradually numbed to the truth, and it would not be long before truth is somewhat thrown out the window.
Because such fleshly desires are too alluring and overpowering, people will no longer
“put up with sound doctrine” (2 Tim 4:3),
“they will turn their ears away from the truth” (2 Tim 4:4),
and they will “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim 4:3).
“Scratching where it itches by addressing fleshly wants instead of real needs and preaching feel-good sermons instead of heart-convicting messages is a key strategy of false prophets that is sure to work with the people of the flesh.” (2 Tim 4:3-4) (George Ong)
J. Joseph Prince Is Preaching Another Jesus & Yet People Have Chosen To Believe Him: 2 Corinthians 11:1-4.
2 Cor 11:1-4 TLB
1 “I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Do bear with me and let me say what is on my heart.
2 I am anxious for you with the deep concern of God himself—anxious that your love should be for Christ alone, just as a pure maiden saves her love for one man only, for the one who will be her husband.
3 But I am frightened, fearing that in some way you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to our Lord, just as Eve was deceived by Satan in the Garden of Eden.
4 You seem so gullible: you believe whatever anyone tells you even if he is preaching about another Jesus than the one we preach, or a different spirit than the Holy Spirit you received, or shows you a different way to be saved. You swallow it all.”
2 Cor 11:1-4 NLT
1 “I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.
3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”
Paul’s point was those who preach another Jesus is categorically preaching another gospel – a false gospel.
The following are my evidence that Joseph Prince is indeed preaching a different Jesus of the Bible, and hence, he is preaching a false gospel because he is a false prophet:
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he is totally silent and never preaches on the most important command of the Lord Jesus – the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20)?
How can Joseph Prince claim to be preaching the Jesus of the Bible when the most important heartbeat of Christ for the Church in the Great Commission is not even given a single mention in his teachings?
Any preacher who never mentions and preaches on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 ought to set the alarm bells ringing!
What cannot be stomached is that he has replaced the Great Commission of Jesus with his own Grace Revolution message.
Joseph Prince is effectively saying to Jesus:
“Hey, Jesus, your idea of winning the world through the Great Commission is not good enough.
I have a better idea – through my Grace Revolution.”
I have been a Christian for 53 years, and I haven’t found any true teacher of the word who dares to do what Joseph Prince did.
The Great Commission is one command of Christ that every single church in every nation of every generation has and will continue to emphasise on.
No true church will dare to disobey such an important command of the Lord Jesus.
Joseph Prince, by his failure to carry out the Great Commission and for replacing it with his Grace Revolution, is outright rebellion and blatant disobedience to the most important command that the Lord Jesus has given the Church.
No one who rejects the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus can be a true prophet.
This fact alone is enough for anyone to indict and nail Joseph Prince as a false prophet!
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches against discipleship and the cost of it, which are the most prominent and important topics that Jesus teaches?
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches that God will always be pleased with you, he will never get angry or judge you?
But Jesus was displeased and even angry with a number of the seven churches in Revelation, and He even warns He would judge them severely (Rev 2:2-3).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches that it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance?
But Jesus did the opposite by warning the churches of severe judgements that will come upon them if they don’t repent (Rev 2-3).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he teaches that our salvation has to do with right believing and nothing to do with obeying?
But Jesus teaches that whoever does not obey what he hears will be destroyed (Matt 7:24-27) and the author of Hebrews says, Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:9).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he teaches that there are no more laws for us to obey because they have been abrogated.
But Jesus says that He has not come to abolish the law (Matt 5:17)?
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he teaches that receiving forgiveness from God has nothing to do with your forgiving of others?
But Jesus teaches that if you do not forgive others, you are not forgiven (Matt 18:21-35).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches that works have nothing to do with salvation?
But Jesus judges and decides the eternal destiny of the 10 virgins, the servants and the sheep and the goats based on their works (works as evidence of true faith) (Matt 24:45-25:46).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he teaches, “Just confess Jesus is Saviour and Lord and you’re forever saved”?
But Jesus teaches, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21 NIV).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Just say a simple prayer, and you will be totally saved”?
But Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Lk 9:23 NASB).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when Joseph Prince says, “Your salvation has nothing to do with striving, just say a prayer, and you’re in – it’s that easy”?
But Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Lk 13:24 NASB).
How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible, when he literally removes chunks of what Jesus teaches in the gospels as no more binding on New Covenant believers when the scripture teaches that whoever does not continue in the teachings of Jesus does not have God (2 Jn 9-10)?
You need to note that there are many more areas I have not highlighted.
If all these hard facts, based on what Joseph Prince teaches and what the word of God reveals, aren’t able to convince you that Joseph Prince is preaching a different Jesus of the Bible, and hence he is a false prophet, nothing else would.
K. The False Prophet Is A Master Masquerader In The Tradition Of The Devil: 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
In 2 Corinthians 11:13 to 12:11, Paul was trying to unveil to the Corinthians that false teachers who have influenced them are those who have disguised themselves as apostles of Christ and as angels of light.
2 Cor 11:13-15 ESV
13 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
In my study just from the plain reading of the text without any reference to any commentary, I came to the following conclusion:
First, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, warns the Corinthians about the presence of false apostles and false teachers in their midst.
Then, from 2 Corinthians 11:16 right up to 12:1-10, Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians how much he has suffered for the sake of the gospel and Christ.
Last, in 2 Corinthians 12:11, Paul, in a sarcastic way, strongly hints to them that the marks of true apostleship (besides miracles, 2 Cor 12:12) are his sufferings for Christ – as Christ has also suffered for us.
Paul is implying that these false apostles have not even suffered, and as much as him – so how could they claim to be the true apostles who have brought the teachings of Christ to them.
The scripture is clear that suffering is not only the true mark of an apostle but also a Christian (Phil 1:29, Jn 16:33, Acts 14:22, Rev 1:9).
But, when Joseph Prince preaches against suffering for New Covenant believers publicly, how can he be a true teacher of God’s word?
In the famous phrase, “My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Cor 12:9), Paul is talking about the grace that is sufficient for him to go through sufferings (2 Cor 12:10).
To Paul, the grace of God is to enable him to go through suffering.
To Joseph Prince, grace has nothing to do with suffering but everything to do with being blessed by God for salvation and with health and wealth.
Just imagine the disparity of teachings on the topic of suffering between the Apostle Paul and Joseph Prince.
For Joseph Prince to keep claiming that all he is preaching about grace is the Pauline version of it is one big lie!
So, in the light of what Paul had written about his sufferings as proof that he is the true apostle (2 Cor 11:13-12:11) and the fact that New Covenant Christians are called to suffer, Joseph Prince, who preaches against suffering must be a false prophet.
Note again that false apostles are those who disguised themselves and act as if they are the apostles of Jesus.
They are like Satan himself, who pretends to be an angel of light.
False teaching is so dangerous because it is deceitful.
Let me illustrate the danger of deception.
No product seller would advertise his product as follows:
“This product is produced with shoddy workmanship.
It is not built to last within a week.
Though it is sold at an inexpensive price, it is an inferior product.”
Nobody would buy such a product.
Even if the product seller knew it to be true, he won’t admit it.
This is true also of false teaching.
If false teaching came clearly labelled as error, who would buy it?
So, Satan’s trick is to disguise false teaching and make it appear as truth.
The devil is the first false teacher who uses deception to deceive Eve with half-truth.
2 Cor 11:13-15 NIV
13 “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
The masquerading of error under the guise of truth is an old strategy that is timelessly effective (2 Cor 11:13-15).
The foremost reason for the sinister effectiveness of masquerade is that the root and origin of it come from the old devil himself (2 Cor 11:13-15).
The most insidious harm to the church – is not just a wolf coming in sheepskin – but a wolf masquerading himself as the influential shepherd as what Joseph Prince has succeeded (2 Cor 11:13-15).
The most notable achievement of Joseph Prince is in the clever masquerading of his self-centred philosophy with a Christ-centred theology.
The ancestor and instigator of the false teachers is the devil himself.
This is why Jesus and Paul had taken a no holds barred approach in dealing with them.
They even cursed them and pronounced the destiny of hell on them (2 Cor 11:13-15; Gal 6:1-10; Matt 23).
L. Paul Pronounces A Double Curse & The Destiny of Hell On False Teachers: Galatians 1:6-10.
Paul pronounces a double curse on false teachers who preach the false gospel (Gal 1:8-9).
If the scriptures dealt with false teachers so severely, do we, as the church, have any right to deal with them leniently (Gal 1:6-9)?
Gal 1:6-10 NIV
6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!
9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
God-pleasers are those who dare to preach and practise the tough truth and the tough way of dealing with false teachers as Paul did; man-pleasers are those who flinched from it (Gal 1:10).
Gal 1:6-10 NET
6 “I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are accepting another gospel.
7 Actually, there is no “other gospel,” but I say this because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!
9 We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!
10 Does this sound as if I am trying to win human approval? No indeed! What I want is God’s approval! Am I trying to be popular with people? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Paul was a perfect example of one who preached the gospel passionately, yet at the same time, he fought the heretics so consummately that he was prepared to curse them (Gal 1:8-9).
According to the NET, GNT and GW translations of the Bible, Joseph Prince’s false teachings, which is a different gospel from that of Paul, would lead one to hell.
Gal 1:8-9 NET
8 “But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell!
9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!”
Gal 1:8-9 GNT
8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!
9 We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!”
Gal 1:8-9 GW
8 “Whoever tells you good news that is different from the Good News we gave you should be condemned to hell, even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven.
9 I’m now telling you again what we’ve told you in the past: If anyone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you received, that person should be condemned to hell.”
What do you do to a false teacher who is leading the flock to hell or some evil guy who is leading others (without them knowing) along a mountain trail to the precipice of destruction?
Maintain a dignified silence by not ruffling feathers – while people are on their way to hell and others are falling off the precipice of destruction?
Stay respectfully diplomatic and dignified by first listening to their arguments why Joseph Prince is leading people to hell and why that evil guy is leading people over the precipice?
Don’t rock the boat to maintain the spirit of Christian harmony, unity and love, and to keep the aura of peace?
Call for a conference with those who are following the evil man to the precipice of destruction to thoroughly discuss the issue – about the pros and cons of following this man?
No way!
Over my dead body!
You must be mad!
You had better shout out loud:
“Hey, don’t follow that evil guy, freeze in your tracks – he is leading you over the precipice to your destruction!”
“Hey, Joseph Prince, stop your evil about preaching your false grace doctrine that is leading people to hell.”
Yet, you have people who may unthinkingly say,
“George, you shouldn’t be so harsh with Joseph Prince who is leading people to hell.
George, you should talk to him nicely and politely by saying, ‘Hey Joe, if you don’t mind me saying – please don’t be offended by what I am about to say – could you please try and tone down your teaching – could we have a civilised discussion on the issue…”
I ain’t gonna listen to such rubbish and foolish counsel.
Not only will I shout out loud, but I will also scream at the top of my voice at Joseph Prince and others so that the whole world can hear the sober warning before it’s too late, “Stop listening to Joseph Prince’s false teachings – if you don’t, hell is the place you may end up in.”
My harsh treatment of Joseph Prince is no harsher than what Paul did to the false teachers by pronouncing the destiny of hell on them and Jesus, who cursed them with a seven-woe curse (Matt 23).
So if you have a problem with my treatment of Joseph Prince, you have to take it up with Jesus and Paul and tell them why they were wrong in their harsh treatment of false teachers.
To Paul, the truth of the gospel must be preserved and protected at all costs that he was prepared to declare that those who dare to corrupt it are hell-bound (Gal 2:4-5 NIV, Gal 1:8-9 NET, GNT & GW).
Let me repeat: Paul was a perfect example of one who preached the gospel passionately, yet at the same time, he fought the heretics so consummately that he was even prepared to curse them (Gal 1:8-9 NIV).
Many pastors and believers have often said that Paul is a godly man and a true disciple of Christ, and they want to pattern their lives and ministries after him.
Really?
But my question is why are there so few pastors and believers who emphasise on the need of guarding the sheep against the savaging wolves which have constantly preoccupied the mind of Paul (Acts 20:28-31; 2 Tim 4:1-8)?
Why are there so few pastors and believers refuting false doctrines the no-nonsense way that Paul did?
Why are there so few pastors and believers who dare to confront and rebuke false teachers the severe way that Paul did?
Obviously, many pick and choose those areas they are comfortable with to follow Paul
– like preaching the gospel passionately as Paul had
while they ignore the other areas they are uncomfortable with
– such as refuting heresies and rebuking false teachers as Paul did.
Because there are so few who have the guts to take Joseph Prince on, no wonder the Pseudo-grace doctrine has continued to spread, not only in the nation of Singapore but also around the world.
Concluding Remarks
I am confident that you will carry away two crucial lessons from this chapter.
First, how serious and uncompromising Paul was regarding the issue of false teachings and false teachers.
Second, how tough and severe he was in dealing with the heretics.
Why was Paul so tough and severe on false teachers?
Because people who are led astray by false teachers will be ruined for all their eternity.
That’s why I, like Paul and Jesus, am taking this issue utterly seriously.
That’s why I am giving this portion of my life fighting this battle against Joseph Prince, not for myself, but the souls of others.
Will you join me in this battle against Joseph Prince, the chief wolf, who has turned many away from the true faith and ruined them of their eternal inheritance?
But even if no one comes along, no sweat, I am prepared to go it all alone.
Yet, I will never be alone, as one and God is a majority!