Joseph Prince Who Preaches a Different Jesus is a Heretic – By Rev George Ong (Dated 12 Oct 2021)

 

(This above article was sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, NCCS office, and for the attention of Executive Committee Members.)

 

(A previous article, “Joseph Prince ‘Wipes Out’ Christ’s Teachings in the Gospels” – By Rev George Ong, Dated 5 Oct 2021, was also sent to NCCS for their attention.)

 

There are people who criticise me for taking issue with Joseph Prince on his grace doctrine. One of their main arguments is that Joseph Prince is preaching Jesus and since Joseph Prince is preaching Jesus, there shouldn’t be any doubt that he is a true teacher of God’s word.

 

But my question is – which Jesus is Joseph Prince preaching? Is it Joseph Prince’s Jesus or Bible Jesus?

 

The Apostle Paul had warned the early church that not every preacher who preaches Jesus is preaching the real Jesus, and not every preacher who preaches the gospel is preaching the true gospel.

 

2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT

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 concrete evidence that Joseph Prince is indeed preaching a different Jesus of the Bible, and hence, he is preaching a false gospel:

 

1. 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 and heartbeat 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 throughout the last 20 over years of his ministry?

 

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 Joseph Prince has replaced the Great Commission of Jesus with his own Grace Revolution message.

 

I have been a Christian for 54 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 (True Gospel) and for replacing it with his Grace Revolution (False Gospel) 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 ever be a true prophet. This fact alone is enough for anyone to indict and nail Joseph Prince as a heretic!

 

2. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches against discipleship and the cost of it, both of which are the most prominent and important topics that Jesus teaches?

 

(Don’t be deceived by his one-liner statement that he isn’t against discipleship. He is. I have further proof. If he isn’t against discipleship, why is he not preaching it: such as a disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, sacrifice for the sake of the gospel and even be willing to be martyred for the sake of Christ, etc.)

 

3. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he preaches that God will never get angry or judge believers?

 

But Jesus was angry with a number of the seven churches in Revelation, and He even warned He would judge them severely (Rev 2:2-3).

 

4. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that it is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance and that we must never use judgement to warn them to repent?

 

But Jesus did the opposite by warning five of the seven churches of severe judgements if they don’t repent in Revelation 2-3.

 

5. 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 says, “If one merely listens to My words but doesn’t obey them, one would be destroyed” (Matt 7:26-27; Lk 6:46-49), and the author of Hebrews says, Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:9).

 

6. 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) and that the law will still be around until heaven and earth pass away (Matt 5:18).

 

7. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Once God has forgiven a person, there is nothing that can change that fact; our forgiveness by God has nothing to do with our willingness to forgive others”?

 

But Jesus says, “If you refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive you; He will even revoke your past forgiveness” (Matt 6:14-15; Matt 18:21-35; Mk 11:25; Lk 6:37).

 

8. 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).

 

9. 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).

 

10. 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).

 

11. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he 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).

 

12. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “The only righteousness you need is the righteousness of Christ; and your holiness or righteousness has no part to play in your salvation”?  

 

But Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness (or holiness) exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20).

 

13. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Unlike the Old Covenant, as New Covenant believers, we must never fear God”?

 

But Jesus says, “We should fear the one who can cast both the body and soul into hell” (Matt 10:28; Lk 12:4-5).

 

14. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “New Covenant believers will never have to go through martyrdom”? 

 

But Jesus says, “As believers, you can expect to be martyred (though not all will be) for His sake” (Matt 24:9).

 

15. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “The New Covenant is not about your love for God but God’s love for you”?

 

But Jesus says, “If you do not love Me more than your parents or children, you are not worthy of Me” (Matt 10:37).

 

16. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Your salvation is never dependent on your works or fruit but only on your confession of faith”?

 

But Jesus says, “If you don’t produce fruit, I will cut you off and throw you into the fire to be burned” (Matt 7:19; Jn 15:2,6).

 

17. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “God is pleased with you all the time, and He will never be displeased with you no matter what you do”?

 

But Jesus says, “God can be pleased with you, but He too can be so displeased that He can strike His people dead (Ananias and Sapphira) so that the church can be woken up to fear Him” (Acts 5:5-6, 10-11).

 

18. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “God will never punish or judge His people no matter what sins they may commit”?

 

But Jesus says, “I have no qualms about severely rebuking My people and even making them suffer intensely and causing death to come upon them if they remain unrepentant” (Rev 2:21-23).

 

19. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Every one of your future sins has been forgiven without the need for confession or repentance”?

 

But Jesus says, “All your future sins are not forgiven unless you repent of them as I had warned five of the seven churches in Revelation to repent of their sins or face My severe judgement” (Rev 2-3).

 

20. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “If you focus on Christ’s obedience, you are Christ-centred; if you focus on your obedience to Christ, you are self-centred”?

 

But Jesus says, “If you don’t focus on obeying Me and do the Father’s will, you are not only not Christ-centred, but you will be barred from entering God’s kingdom and be destroyed” (Matt 7:21-23; Lk 6:46-49).

 

21. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “We must not be negative in our speaking and preaching”?

 

But Jesus says, “I can be more than negative in My preaching; I had even pronounced the destiny of hell on the unrepentant Pharisees” (Matt 23:13,15,33).

 

22. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that once you have said the sinner’s prayer, you are once saved always saved, and it has nothing to do with your enduring to the end as that would be dependent on your works to be saved?

 

Jesus did not say that if you are saved, you will endure to the end, but He says that if you endure to the end, you will be saved (Matt 10:21-22; Matt 24:13; Mk 13:13).

 

23. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that those who have received Jesus as Saviour will not be cast out to hell as his place in heaven is guaranteed; obedience has nothing to do with salvation?

 

But Jesus says that many people who call Him “Lord” will be cast out to hell on the last day because they did not obey the Father’s will (Matt 7:21-23).

 

24. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that you must think big and ask God for big things in your finances and businesses, etc; to do anything less is an insult to God?

 

But Jesus says that the deceitfulness of riches, the pleasures of life and the desire for things in this world are thorny weeds that can choke your life, and make it unfruitful for God (Matt 13:22; Mk 4:18-19; Lk 8:14).

 

25. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that everything about Christianity, including salvation, is effortless?

 

But Jesus says that you need to make every effort to enter God’s Kingdom (Lk 13:24 NIV).

 

26. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that believers are not required to obey any law?

 

But Jesus says that believers are expected to obey the law or the commandments of God (Matt 5:19).

 

27. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says the rich are ‘blessed’ and that to get very rich is the covenantal right of every New Covenant believer?

 

But Jesus calls the poor ‘blessed’, and He pronounces ‘woe’ on the rich as they cannot love God and riches at the same time (Matt 6:24; Lk 6:20,24).

 

28. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he talks mostly about heaven but hardly mentions hell as he might offend people and chase them away, and hinder his explosive church growth agenda?

 

But Jesus talks more about hell than about heaven and He often spoke about hell and warned of its terrors regardless of whether He would offend people or not (Matt 5:22, 29-30; 8:12; 10:28; 13:41-42, 49-50; 18:9; 22:13; 23:33; 24:51; 25:30; Lk 13:28).

 

29. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that you must focus on Him loving you and not you loving Him because everything in Christianity is now all about you?

 

But Jesus says that if you want to follow Him, you must deny yourself, instead of focussing on yourself (Matt 16:24).

 

30. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he dismissed those who preach on obedience to Christ as legalists who are self-dependent and self-focussed?

 

But Jesus teaches that those who truly love Him will obey His commandments and His teachings (Jn 14:15,23).

 

31. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says that most of Christ’s teachings in the gospels are given in the context of the Old Covenant and are not binding on New Covenant believers?

 

But Jesus says that everything that He has taught in the gospels is relevant for New Covenant believers as the Holy Spirit will bring to their remembrance everything that He has said and taught (Jn 14:26).

 

32. How can Joseph Prince be preaching the same Jesus of the Bible when he says, “Since what Christ has done for you on the cross is more powerful than your denial of Him, your denial of Him cannot undo what He has done for you on the cross”?

 

But Jesus says, “If you deny Me, I will deny you” (Matt 10:33).

 

If Joseph Prince contradicted the teachings of Jesus, not once, not twice, but a massive 32 times (and what I’ve given is not even the entire list), how can he be considered by many to be a Christ-centred preacher, how can he claim to be preaching the Jesus of the Bible, and how can he not be a heretic? What more proof do you need to be convinced that Joseph Prince is a wolf in sheepskin?

 

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 a heretic, then it only shows that you have already made up your mind that Joseph Prince isn’t a heretic regardless of the facts.   

 

The most sobering fact is that people are saved, not because they believe in Joseph Prince’s Jesus, but when they believe in Bible Jesus. Yet, today, there are so many who claim to be Christians just because they believe in Joseph Prince’s Jesus.

 

Be warned that those who believe in Joseph Prince’s Jesus, don’t believe in Jesus at all as I have already proven to you that Joseph Prince’s Jesus is vastly different from Bible Jesus.

 

Joseph Prince’s Jesus is not the real Jesus but the counterfeit Jesus. And no one can be saved if he places his trust in the counterfeit Jesus that Joseph Prince has concocted in his own imagination. 

 

Rev George Ong