Article 1: Dr Chris Kang & Rev Eric Chua’s appeal for more to contend against the heresy of Joseph Prince – By Rev George Ong
Article 2: Joseph Prince who uses God’s love to spite his critics has exposed himself to be a false prophet – By Rev George Ong
In Article 1, don’t miss what Dr Chris Kang had written about Rev Yang Tuck Yoong, Pastor Jason Lim & Pastor Kong Hee, and the good news that his family members have stopped attending New Creation Church.
In Article 2, don’t miss the theological view of Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said that if a preacher who preaches on God’s love without an emphasis on His wrath and judgement, (which Joseph Prince is guilty of), that is a sure indication that he is a false prophet.
There is something fishy and shady why Joseph Prince has called Martyn Lloyd-Jones a great man of God and one who could be considered to be a Charles Spurgeon of the modern church, when the theological views of Martyn Lloyd-Jones have, time and time again, contradicted that of Joseph Prince.
Article 2 which was supposed to be released last Thursday, had to be postponed to today as I had to feature a more important article on Pastor Jason Lim, Senior Pastor of Gospel Light Christian Church, last Thursday.
Dr Chris Kang & Rev Eric Chua’s appeal for more to contend against the heresy of Joseph Prince – By Rev George Ong (Dated 23 Oct 2022)
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
Dr Chris Kang, an Ex New Creation Church member wrote:
“Contending for the Gospel
I feel encouraged by the courage and faith of Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong and Pastor Jason Lim for unequivocally speaking out against the hypergrace prosperity pseudo-gospel that has infected and corrupted large swathes of the church in these endarkened times.
Credit must also go to Rev. George Ong for his ongoing contention for the gospel of Jesus Christ against heretical pseudo-grace.
I remain sadly disappointed by ecclesiastical leaders who reportedly persist in not speaking out against the hypergrace prosperity heresy and its sponsors, to the extent of even embracing them in fellowship.
I also feel encouraged by Pastor Kong Hee, whom I regard now as having truly repented and who exudes a very different demeanour and vibe now from that which was before his imprisonment following the CHC scandal. I see a man humbled and chastened by, and deeply in love with the Lord. I see in him a genuine taste and love for spiritual disciplines that can profoundly transform the heart unto godliness.
While we may not agree on every aspect of theology, I respect his cogent thinking and serious reflection on biblical teaching and am willing to be challenged by him theologically. After all, we are all only flawed human beings saved by grace, possessing a faith that seeks more and more understanding.
I am also glad to report that my immediate family members who were previously attending NCC have since left that organization for some time now (I consider it not a true church but more a cult-like NRM – New Religious Movement, which is a term used by scholars in religious studies).
While I admit my fault in first bringing them to NCC, if church leaders had been more forthcoming in speaking out and contending for the gospel, it would have been far less likely for my family members to have been seduced into pseudo-grace idolatry.
But better late than never. To exit the slick and slimy pit that pulls one into spiritual destruction. Imagine how many have been and continue to be hoodwinked and lured into this dangerous false doctrine.
For me, there is no fellowship with the hypergrace prosperity fan club and I do not regard them as my brothers and sisters in Christ, as long as they refuse to repent and recant.
As I’ve written before in my essay, echoing Luther’s famed proclamation: “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”
Lord, have mercy on us all indeed!”
I heartily rejoice that the immediate family members of Dr Chris Kang who previously attended New Creation Church, helmed by Joseph Prince, the heretic, had left the church.
Dr Chris Kang wrote;
“I remain sadly disappointed by ecclesiastical leaders who reportedly persist in not speaking out against the hypergrace prosperity heresy and its sponsors, to the extent of even embracing them in fellowship.”
“While I admit my fault in first bringing them to NCC, if church leaders had been more forthcoming in speaking out and contending for the gospel, it would have been far less likely for my family members to have been seduced into pseudo-grace idolatry.”
May this jolt and shake the Singapore Bishops, Pastors and Elders up to contend against the false gospel of Joseph Prince so as to prevent more people from being led to their destruction.
Dr Chris Kang wrote;
“I am also glad to report that my immediate family members who were previously attending NCC have since left that organization for some time now (I consider it not a true church but more a cult-like NRM – New Religious Movement, which is a term used by scholars in religious studies).”
“For me, there is no fellowship with the hypergrace prosperity fan club and I do not regard them as my brothers and sisters in Christ, as long as they refuse to repent and recant.”
Have you ever thought how on earth can thousands of people, who are currently attending New Creation Church, ever be deceived by Joseph Prince, who is teaching a different God of the Bible, a different Jesus, a different Holy Spirit (that He doesn’t come to convict you of sins but your righteousness when you sin) a different gospel, and is clearly a false teacher.
Well, in a sense, it’s not shocking as the scripture has already prophesied in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:
2 Timothy 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 several years 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 smooth-talking ability of Joseph Prince at deceiving people, but it is also because there is an ungodly demand and a ready market for it (2 Tim 4:3-4).
‘Sheep’ with itching ears who are willing buyers of false teachings are as culpable as ‘wolves’ who peddle them (2 Tim 4:3-4).
Note that it is the people themselves who initiated the whole process of being deceived by false teachers, and have allowed themselves to be deceived.
‘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)
No one needs to be deceived, and everyone can choose not to be deceived, and those who are deceived have chosen to be deceived.
Hence, those who dangerously and openly flirt with the seductive doctrines of the ‘wolves’, such as Joseph Prince, would have no one to blame but themselves for their tragic destiny.
Are these people as described by the Apostle Paul part of the true church?
Of course not!
Are those who attend New Creation Church part of the true church?
I don’t think they are.
I don’t deny there are true ‘sheep’ in New Creation Church. But if they refuse to repent and persist in staying in the church, these ‘sheep’ will, sooner or later, become ‘goats’, or they have never been ‘sheep’ in the first place – and, to me, both outcomes are possible.
They themselves, from one angle, are as culpable as Joseph Prince as they choose to sit under his feet and they are as lost as their leader, Joseph Prince, if they don’t repent.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) had better not use this excuse again and again for not acting against Joseph Prince – that though Joseph Prince may be a heretic, those attending New Creation Church, who may be the innocent victims, aren’t.
These people who choose to go with the heretic, Joseph Prince, and remain stubbornly unrepentant, are the same people who were described by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Hence, in a sense, they are as culpable as Joseph Prince.
For those who haven’t read Dr Chris Kang’s testimony why he came out of New Creation Church, you can do so by clicking on the link below:
Next, let me surface what Rev Eric Chua, a Singapore Presbyterian Pastor had written which was featured on this website some time ago:
“The Greatest Threat is not just the Coronavirus but the Virus of False Teachings
The current pandemic is a stark reminder of our vulnerability and weaknesses. Life is hard, pain is real, and death is certain, and many of us may be far worse off than we realise. However, the Good News of the Gospel in John 3:16-18 is that even though we may be far worse off than we think, God’s infinite grace is far greater than anything we can ask for or imagine.
In view of this, it is therefore a tragedy that many people continue to be deceived by the false teaching and the false gospel of Joseph Prince. He preaches a false grace that is without true repentance and without the true righteousness of God. It is a false gospel that ultimately leaves his followers in a worse state than they ever realise. The danger of Joseph Prince’s false teaching is also a reminder that currently the greatest threat should not just be the Coronavirus, but the virus of false teachings.
Our greatest fear should not just be how the pandemic would affect us, but how we are to give an account to our Lord God, especially if we would to do nothing to counter the false teaching of Joseph Prince.
It is in this regard that I thank God for raising Rev George Ong in exposing and warning others of the heresy of Joseph Prince. It is probably one of the hardest decisions he has to make. His decision has resulted in the loss of friends who couldn’t grasp what he was trying to do, biting criticisms from some sections of the church and hate mails from those who believe in the grace theology of Joseph Prince. But praise God that despite such opposition, he persevered.
I would also like to thank Rev George Ong for the use of his resources on the website. At one point, I was helping three people to get out of New Creation Church. There were portions of his resources on the website that I referred to that enabled me to finally convince them to leave the church.
May the Good Lord grant Rev George Ong the wisdom, tough love and empowerment to be His faithful soldier of the Cross in combating heresies, for the glory of God’s name.”
Rev Eric Chua
Retired Presbyterian Pastor, Singapore
Rev Eric Chua wrote;
“In view of this, it is therefore a tragedy that many people continue to be deceived by the false teaching and the false gospel of Joseph Prince. He preaches a false grace that is without true repentance and without the true righteousness of God. It is a false gospel that ultimately leaves his followers in a worse state than they ever realise. The danger of Joseph Prince’s false teaching is also a reminder that currently the greatest threat should not just be the Coronavirus, but the virus of false teachings.”
If Rev Eric Chua had categorically said that Joseph Prince is preaching the false grace gospel, why is a Singapore Methodist Bishop and a Singapore Presbyterian Pastor defending Joseph Prince that he isn’t a heretic?
Rev Eric Chua also wrote;
“Our greatest fear should not just be how the pandemic would affect us, but how we are to give an account to our Lord God, especially if we would to do nothing to counter the false teaching of Joseph Prince.”
I do hope every Pastor, especially the National leaders in the Singapore Church, would seriously take to heart what Rev Eric Chua had sincerely written.
Joseph Prince who uses God’s love to spite his critics has exposed himself to be a false prophet – By Rev George Ong
This article which was supposed to be released last Thursday had to be postponed to today as I had to feature a more important article on Pastor Jason Lim, Senior Pastor of Gospel Light Christian Church, last Thursday.
Don’t miss the theological view of Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said that if a preacher who preaches on God’s love without an emphasis on His wrath and judgement, (which Joseph Prince is guilty of), that is a sure indication that he is a false prophet.
There is something fishy and shady why Joseph Prince has called Martyn Lloyd-Jones a great man of God and one who could be considered to be a Charles Spurgeon of the modern church, when the theological views of Martyn Lloyd-Jones have, time and time again, contradicted that of Joseph Prince.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon aired on YouTube on 16 Oct 2022, last Sunday, Joseph Prince said the following;
Please click here to view the 45-second video:
“Today’s world, they don’t see any reason to be patient unless it’s for show so that I can get something out of you. The pleasure of loving is not so much to get something back. Not so much of that as it is in the love itself. You should find your fulfilment and enjoyment in loving, even the person doesn’t return.
You can see somehow people who love in the other way, they get very angry when the person they love don’t reciprocate. But in the first place I didn’t love you to get something back. So it doesn’t really matter how you respond… Because people don’t have to change for me to love them. Alright, that’s the love of God.”
For those of you who follow my articles closely on this website, you would realise what Joseph Prince said, is a cryptic and backhanded way of getting back at his critics. Anyway, that’s what he frequently does in his sermons – so no surprise.
(Well, Joseph Prince did say in his sermon last Sunday on 16 Oct 2022 (not featured in the video) that he loves all his critics. But then, he also says that some of his critics don’t love him and take cheap shots at him in their criticisms against his teachings. You mean what was said by Rev Yang Tuck Yoong in a sermon during a worship service that was featured on this website on 13 Oct 2022 against Hypergrace and Antinomianism are cheap shots? Do you see the self-righteousness and the Pharisaical attitude in Joseph Prince’s comment – “I love everyone who criticises me (I’m the angel) but those who criticise me don’t love me as they are taking cheap shots at me (they are the devils).”
What gave Joseph Prince away is his non-verbal cues. When someone’s verbal communication and non-verbal cues don’t tally, you know something is not quite right. Would a sincere person communicate a serious issue in a flippant way which could detract from what he is saying? Of course not! But that’s what Prince deliberately does – he does it in a flippant way with the aim of evoking laughter from the audience – laughing at who? His critics!
It is sinister of Joseph Prince to give the impression that he is communicating love to his critics when it is the opposite of what he meant – how? – by his non-verbal cues. Always remember, Joseph Prince, is indeed, a master deceiver.)
Joseph Prince thought he could hit back at his critics the hardest if he could show what his critics say or do is inconsistent with the theology of God’s love.
But the joke is, by doing that, he is actually hurting himself – how? – By exposing himself as a false prophet, who misrepresents and distorts the Lord Jesus’ (who is God) love.
Let me explain.
So after Joseph Prince has described what he thinks love is and isn’t (please read the above of what he said again in the video if you have forgotten), he added,
“Alright, that’s the love of God.”
What Joseph Prince said about God’s love seems so sentimentally true and alluring that you are almost bought over.
But let me unveil this alluring but false theology of God’s love, which Prince has sentimentally described.
Tell me, how did Jesus (who is God) respond to 5 of the 7 New Covenant churches in Revelation chapters 2-3, if they choose not to return to Him and repent?
Is it by telling them in a nice and sentimental way as Joseph Prince would do, in line with the love teaching that he had explained in the video;
“Since you have chosen not to return to me and repent, no worries, my love for you is not to get something back from you (as Joseph Prince said in the video)?
I love you as the act of loving you is what I find true fulfilment and enjoyment, and that is enough (as Joseph Prince said in the video).
So even if you don’t return to me and repent, and reciprocate, I won’t get angry with you (as Joseph Prince taught in the video).”
Did Jesus do what Joseph Prince would have done to the 5 churches of Revelation?
No!
Jesus said to them if they don’t return to Him and repent, He will judge and punish them.
Please read Revelation chapters 2-3 for yourself to see if it’s true.
From what Jesus said to the 5 New Covenant churches in Revelation chapters 2-3, I have the authority from God’s word to say that Jesus will never say to Joseph Prince;
“Joseph Prince, you ought to know that I love you – that even if you don’t return to me and repent from your heresies, it’s okay with me
as my love for you is not to get something back from you; the act of loving you is what I find true fulfilment and enjoyment, and that is enough;
and even if you don’t return to me and repent from your heresies that you have preached with reckless abandon, and reciprocate my love for you, no worries, I won’t get angry with you because my love for you has nothing to do with changing you.”
Would Jesus say all that nonsense that Joseph Prince is teaching?
Of course not.
But what would Jesus say to Joseph Prince?
Go and read about the serious judgements and punishments that Jesus had warned He would mete out to 5 of the 7 churches in Revelation if they don’t repent, and you would have some idea what Jesus would say to Joseph Prince.
In fact, Jesus even warned that
“I will strike her children dead,” (Rev 2:23)
– referring to the spiritual children of the false prophetess, Jezebel, which would also include members of the New Covenant Church of Thyatira who have embraced her false teachings.
That’s how seriously Jesus treated false teachers and false teachings.
Joseph Prince must realise that no judgement in the present doesn’t mean no judgement in the future.
Both Father God and the Lord Jesus are both patient and loving but Prince had better not overstretch the love and patience of God.
Now it is clear that Joseph Prince’s understanding of the love of God, which he has described in the video, and then pronouncing that to be,
“Alright, that’s the love of God,”
is evidently false.
Joseph Prince has not only given a false impression of how the Lord Jesus as God would love, his constant emphasis in his teachings on God’s love without an equal and almost zero emphasis of God’s wrath and judgement is grossly erroneous:
In ‘Destined To Reign’, Page 41, Joseph Prince wrote;
“Several years ago, I was walking to my car after a preaching engagement when a guy came running after me from the auditorium. Just as I was about to open my car door, he stopped right in front of me, wheezed and said,
“Wait, pastor…” He was panting very hard and trying to recover from his sprint. “Wait… I have a question for you.” He looked very disturbed and said, “You talked about God’s love, but the Bible also says that God is wrath!”
Right there in the parking lot, I began my next sermon. I explained that while God has wrath, the Bible never defines God as wrath. Instead, according to the Bible’s definition, God is love.”
In ‘Grace Revolution’ Page 38, Joseph Prince wrote;
“God does have anger, but the Bible never defines God as wrath; it defines God as love (see 1 John 4:8, 16).”
In ‘Grace Revolution’ Page 140, Joseph Prince wrote;
“My friend, if you’ve been shown a God of judgment and anger all your life, let the Scriptures reveal to you His true nature: “God is love” (1 John 4:8).”
In ‘The Power of Right Believing’, Page 191, Joseph Prince wrote;
“For decades upon decades, God has been portrayed as an angry God by the devil, and unfortunately, many Bible teachers have unwittingly helped him by painting a picture of a God who is full of wrath. This depiction of God is an error.”
In ‘Destined To Reign’ Pages 49-50, Joseph Prince wrote;
“Chapter 5: Is God Judging America?
Soon after the tragedy of September 11 had taken place, some believers publicly declared that God was judging America because of its sins.
When I heard that, I could just imagine Osama bin Laden in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan agreeing with them and thinking that “god” was indeed using him to judge America.
Come on, when Christians attribute such events to God’s judgment, terrorists would be the first to say, “Amen! Preach it!” Can you see that something is amiss when both believers and terrorists agree on the same thing?
Thousands of people died, and many families, friends and loved ones were thrown into grief. How can that be the work of our loving Father? Read the Bible for yourself. It says that God is “not willing that any should perish” Terrorism is the work of the devil. It is not the work of our loving Father.
I have also heard some believers pronouncing, “If God does not judge America for all its sins, God has to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Well, let me say this with honor and respect: If God judges America today, He has to apologize to Jesus for what He has accomplished on the cross!
My friend, God is not judging America (or any country in the world today). America and its sins have already been judged! Where? At the cross of Jesus! Sin has been judged at the cross!”
After reading what Joseph Prince had written, you must have been horrified at the grossly erroneous doctrine of Joseph Prince on God’s love and His wrath.
The last straw was what he had written as follows:
“My friend, God is not judging America (or any country in the world today). America and its sins have already been judged! Where? At the cross of Jesus! Sin has been judged at the cross!”
Joseph Prince is effectively saying that since every sin has been judged at the cross, and that includes America and any country in the world, no one can now be judged by God, regardless of whether they respond or don’t to the gospel.
From this statement of Prince (whether he had intended it or not), he is indirectly preaching the heretical doctrine of Universalism that everyone would be saved whether they believe in Jesus or they don’t because the sins of America and any country in the world, have already been judged by Jesus at the cross.
Joseph Prince is effectively saying that God does not and will not judge any of the nations in the world today. By that, he blatantly denies one of God’s attributes – that He is a God who judges. He is tantamount to preaching a false God that the Bible never depicts.
But don’t we know that the catastrophic judgement that was prophesied by Jesus on Jerusalem came to pass in AD 70, resulting in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of unrepentant Jews (Lk 13:34-35; 19:42-44; 21:20-24)?
The Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, which came after the cross, was a manifestation of God’s judgement and wrath on His own Jewish people that the finished work of the cross did not thwart.
Right now, I’m going to highlight Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ theology of God’s love and wrath, and show you that they totally contradict that of Joseph Prince.
In ‘Life in Christ, Volume One, Fellowship with God, Studies in 1 John’, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“We must not even start with God as love.”
“Now we can see at once how by putting it like this we just give an utter contradiction to what has been so popular especially, again, since 1860; the great message that has been preached for a hundred years is ‘God is love’. That is the thing that has been emphasised…”
We have been told that God is love – that is what we wanted and there He was to meet us; yet what an utter travesty of the gospel that is! This is the message: ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’
I say it with reverence that before I begin to think and consider the love of God and the mercy and compassion of God, I must start with the holiness of God. I go further; unless I start with the holiness of God, my whole conception of the love of God is going to be false, and this of course is what we have been witnessing.
We have had the flabby, sentimental notions of God as a God of love, always smiling upon us … Scriptures start with the holiness of God. God is utter, absolute righteousness and justice; ‘holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Heb 12:14); ‘God is a consuming fire’ (Heb 12:29);”
In Joseph Prince’s grace theology, while God’s love, mercy and grace are preponderantly preached, God’s wrath and judgement are not preached because he says we are under the New Covenant of grace; we are living in the age of grace, and wrath and judgement, which characterise the Old Covenant of law, are over, until Christ comes back again.
This stark heresy of Joseph Prince in his teaching of God’s love was pointed out by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who said;
“We must not even start with God as love.”
“We have had the flabby, sentimental notions of God as a God of love, always smiling upon us … Scriptures start with the holiness of God.”
“I say it with reverence that before I begin to think and consider the love of God and the mercy and compassion of God, I must start with the holiness of God. I go further; unless I start with the holiness of God, my whole conception of the love of God is going to be false, and this of course is what we have been witnessing.”
Joseph Prince has always been preaching about the love of God.
What about the holiness of God or a theological term – sanctification?
Oh, Joseph Prince is against it!
To defend himself, Joseph Prince would immediately retort as he has done time and again – “who says I’m against sanctification.”
Well, if he isn’t against sanctification, why does he hardly preach on it?
Just ask his congregation when was the last time they heard Joseph Prince preach a full sermon purely on sanctification.
They will be scratching their heads to locate a date.
In ‘Studies in the Sermon on the Mount’, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“The picture we need to have in our minds, therefore, should rather be this. The false prophet is a man who comes to us, and who at first has the appearance of being everything that could be desired.
He is nice and pleasing and pleasant; he appears to be thoroughly Christian, and seems to say the right things. His teaching in general is quite all right and he uses many terms that should be used and employed by a true Christian teacher.
He talks about God, he talks about Jesus Christ, he talks about the cross, he emphasizes the love of God, he seems to be saying everything that a Christian should say. He is obviously in sheep’s clothing, and his way of living seems to correspond.
So you do not suspect that there is anything wrong at all; there is nothing that at once attracts your attention or arouses your suspicion, nothing glaringly wrong.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“He talks about God, he talks about Jesus Christ, he talks about the cross, he emphasizes the love of God, he seems to be saying everything that a Christian should say. He is obviously in sheep’s clothing, and his way of living seems to correspond.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones is warning us, that though someone may preach about the cross, talk about Jesus and emphasise the love of God, which Joseph Prince constantly does in his preaching, that doesn’t mean he cannot be a wolf who has come in sheep’s clothing.
In fact, that is the very thing that could prove he is a false prophet.
In ‘Studies in the Sermon on the Mount’, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“The answer is that the false prophet very rarely tells you anything about the holiness, the righteousness, the justice, and the wrath of God. He always preaches about the love of God, but those other things he does not mention.
He never makes anyone tremble as he thinks of this holy and august Being with whom we all have to do. He does not say that he does not believe these truths. No; that is not the difficulty. The difficulty with him is that he says nothing about them. He just does not mention them at all.
He generally emphasizes one truth about God only, and that is love. He does not mention the other truths that are equally prominent in the Scriptures; and that is where the danger lies.
He does not say things that are obviously wrong, but he refrains from saying things that are obviously right and true. And that is why he is a false prophet. To conceal the truth is as reprehensible and as damnable as to proclaim an utter heresy; and that is why the effect of such teaching is that of a ‘ravening wolf’.
It is so pleasing, but it can lead men to destruction because it has never confronted them with the holiness and the righteousness and the justice and the wrath of God.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“The answer is that the false prophet very rarely tells you anything about the holiness, the righteousness, the justice, and the wrath of God. He always preaches about the love of God, but those other things he does not mention.”
“He generally emphasizes one truth about God only, and that is love.”
How can we identify a false prophet?
According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he is one who always preaches on the love of God to the exclusion of His holiness, justice and wrath.
By this definition, Joseph Prince indeed fits the bill.
In ‘Romans Chapter 11 To God’s Glory’ Martyn Lloyd-Jones said;
“‘Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God’. The answer to all our troubles is to know the truth about God, to believe it, and to be subjected to and pervaded by it.”
“Well, what is this and how do we obtain it? The answer is we obtain it only through God’s own revelation. You have got to start with that. You must not start by saying, ‘Now I cannot believe that God can…’ The moment you say that, you have left the Bible, you have rejected revelation, you are thinking of yourself and are making your own ‘god’. You are guilty of idolatry.”
“Well I mean that you must take to heart the word ‘and’ in the expression ‘the goodness and severity of God’. ‘What do you mean?’ asks someone.
What I mean is that ‘Behold therefore the goodness of God’ is the modern cry. Only goodness! Not goodness and severity. And it is because the modern world and the modern church is leaving out this ‘and’ that things are as they are, and I see no hope of restoration until we have restored it.
I do not see any hope of revival until people have got hold of this, then they will be humble. We have got to take the revelation as it is. If you pick and choose with revelation you might as well be a philosopher, because you are acting as if you were one. The philosopher as such is not interested in the Bible at all. He starts with his own thoughts and works it out. You say, ‘Ah no! No, no, I believe the Bible’.
But do you believe the Bible? If you say you do, then believe it as it is. Do not take one aspect only; do not say ‘I believe in the goodness of God’. No, you have got to believe also in the severity of God. Goodness and severity. How much do we know about the severity of God? How much time have we given to a consideration of the severity of God? What do the terms mean?
Well, goodness means, of course, ‘kindness and compassion’. What does severity mean? It means ‘severe and exact justice’. It is exactly what the Apostle has already told us in the eighteenth verse of the first chapter of this great Epistle (Romans).
‘For the wrath of God has already been revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness’.
That is what severity means, the ‘wrath of God’. He repeats it here. It is everywhere. It is, of course, the message of the whole Bible.
But this is the thing that men neglect, and, alas, many men who say they believe the Bible. Indeed it seems to me this is creeping even into Evangelicalism. Only one side is represented – the goodness, the love of God, the mercy, the kindness and the compassion, and we are hearing less and less and less about the severity, the justice, the righteousness, the wrath of God upon sin. That is where all our troubles come from. That is why the church is as she is.
Now I would put this point in this way, that we have got to realize, says the Apostle here, that when God acts, the whole of God acts. God does not act in parts. God acts always in the light of all His attributes and they are all in operation at exactly the same time.
All the attributes of God are always displayed together – ‘the goodness “and” the severity’ of God. And we must never isolate any one of the attributes of God – that is the modern heresy – the love of God has been isolated from all the others. And it is a form of idolatry, it is a form of unbelief, it is a form of philosophy and speculation.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said,
“All the attributes of God are always displayed together – ‘the goodness “and” the severity’ of God. And we must never isolate any one of the attributes of God – that is the modern heresy – the love of God has been isolated from all the others. And it is a form of idolatry, it is a form of unbelief, it is a form of philosophy and speculation.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that any teaching that focuses on the goodness of God without His severity (wrath), and God’s love to the exclusion of His other attributes, such as His holiness, wrath and judgement, (which is exactly what Joseph Prince teaches) is a modern heresy, and is promoting idolatry.
If Martyn Lloyd-Jones had declared such a person (such as Joseph Prince) is preaching heresy and promoting idolatry, why is a Singapore Methodist Bishop and a Singapore Presbyterian Pastor defending Joseph Prince that he isn’t a heretic?
If you remember, you would have realised that the last quote of Martyn Lloyd-Jones about preaching on the goodness of God without His wrath, is directly related to a previous article that was featured on this website.
In that article, I’ve highlighted that Joseph Prince teaches the false doctrine that it is only the goodness of God that will lead people to repentance and that we mustn’t preach on God’s wrath and judgement.
That article is entitled,
Article 1: Joseph Prince’s Half-truth Teaching on Romans 2:4 Contradicted Michael Brown, Martyn Lloyd-Jones & the Lord Jesus
If you haven’t read it, you can view it by clicking on the link below,
Rev George Ong