Joseph Prince’s Grace Revolution ‘Gospel’ Is Diametrically Opposed to the Great Commission Gospel of Jesus – By Rev George Ong (Dated 27 Jan 2022)
Joseph Prince said,
“So I believe there’s gonna be an end-time revival. I want the church to be a church that will reach out beyond its walls. I want everyone to go online to bring this gospel of grace, this glorious gospel of grace and peace to all the four corners of the earth. He wants us to reach as many people as possible because the time is short. God’s heart is for people to hear this wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Based on the false Pre-trib scenario about the disappearance of believers which the world won’t even know when it happens, Joseph Prince then issued a challenge with the urgency for believers to preach his gospel of grace to unbelievers.
But don’t be deceived! Let me repeat this again. Don’t be deceived!
What Joseph Prince is urging you to preach is not the true Great Commission gospel of Jesus (Matt 28:18-20) but his false Grace Revolution ‘gospel’.
In his book, ‘Grace Revolution’, Pages 156 & 193, Joseph Prince wrote:
“The grace revolution is this great awakening to righteousness. When people hear the real gospel being preached – the gospel that tells them how right Jesus’ finished work has made them…”
“The grace revolution is all about Jesus. There is no revolution of grace without the cross.”
The Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ of Joseph Prince does not save, but the Great Commission gospel of Jesus does.
I, and the rest of the true Church, is categorically for the preaching of the true gospel for the salvation of precious souls, but we must fight against the deceptive approach of Joseph Prince, who is now trying to mobilise not only New Creation Church, but the rest of the Christian world to preach his false gospel, under the cover and guise of the true gospel.
I have covered the following in a previous article. And especially for those who may have missed, let me now list them out again for your benefit about the difference between the true gospel of Jesus and the false gospel of Joseph Prince.
Joseph Prince is constantly preaching his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ or the broad and easy road gospel, that supposedly leads to life, but in reality, it leads to destruction, as follows:
You are unconditionally loved by God, whether you obey or disobey Him.
You don’t have to confess your sins as every of your sins has been forgiven.
You must not confess your sins even when you sin. If you do, you are insulting God. Instead, when you sin, any sin, whether it is anger, envy, adultery, rape or even murder, etc, you must not confess your sins, but you must confess you are righteous in Christ in the midst of committing the sin of anger, envy, and even adultery, rape or murder.
You shouldn’t worry about repenting with tears and deeds as repentance is only a change of your mind.
You will always be in the good books of God as He will always be pleased with you, even though you may do things that are displeasing to Him.
You are forever in God’s favour as He will never get angry with you, punish and judge you, no matter what wrong you may commit.
You must not fear God as God is only interested in loving you.
You will never be convicted by the Holy Spirit of your sins as the Holy Spirit is there to convict you about how righteous you are.
You shouldn’t try to be holy as that would lead you to legalism and make you judgmental of others; just focus on the fact that God has made you righteous in Christ.
You will be healthy; and better still, if you partake the Holy Communion as many times a day as you take medicine as that is the secret not only to good health but also to make you young and good-looking.
You have the covenantal right to be very wealthy as Abraham was, because you are the seed of Abraham.
You will enjoy total freedom as there is not a single law that you need to obey. You must never try to obey God’s laws as God’s laws are ‘equal’ to condemnation, and Satan will always use your obedience to God’s laws to oppress and condemn you, and bring about your death.
You are totally secured because you are once saved always saved the moment you say the sinner’s prayer, and you will never lose your salvation, no matter what; and even when you are living in sin till the day you die.
You shouldn’t focus on obeying God or Christ as that is being self-occupied and works-conscious; you should just focus on Christ’s obedience.
You don’t have to work for God as Christianity is effortless; your job is just to rest in God and He will do everything for you because Christianity is ‘done done done, not do do do’.
You won’t suffer as a Christian as Christ has already suffered for you on the cross.
You won’t die as a martyr as Christ has already died for you on the cross.
You are totally in safe hands as you won’t meet with any misfortune or tragedy because God will always protect you from every danger and sickness such as Covid-19 as no virus can come near you.
You don’t have to sacrifice for Christ, and if you do, you will do it out of self-effort and self-righteousness.
You don’t have to fast as fasting is not applicable for New Covenant believers, and fasting will make you proud and legalistic.
You don’t have to pay any price for discipleship that Jesus talks about as there is no such thing as costly discipleship to begin with. As the word, ‘disciple’ or ‘discipleship’ is not even found in Paul’s epistles in the first place, that’s why I (Joseph Prince) hardly talk about it.
You don’t have to live with the evidence of Jesus’ Lordship over your life as that would make you performance-conscious and work-obsessed. By merely saying with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ is enough to prove that He is your Lord.
You must not obey the first and most important commandment – to love God with all your heart, mind and soul as that is under the Old Covenant; just enjoy and experience God’s love for you as that is the essence of the New Covenant.
You don’t have to obey the Great Commission that Jesus has commanded the Church, and that is why I (Joseph Prince) don’t preach about it at all; just focus on my (Joseph Prince) gospel of grace – it is my Grace Revolution ‘gospel’, not the Great Commission of Jesus that will convert and conquer the world.
After perusing the above list containing the teachings of Joseph Prince, you need to tell me honestly, is that the narrow road gospel or the broad road ‘gospel’ which Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:13-14?
That is undoubtedly the broad road ‘gospel’ or the Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ that Joseph Prince preaches that will lead the multitudes to destruction and hell in Matthew 7:13.
As opposed to Joseph Prince’s broad road ‘gospel’, Jesus always teaches the narrow and tough road gospel that leads to life as follows:
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Lk 9:58)
– Jesus is talking about the narrow road gospel of the uncertainty and hardship of those who wish to follow Him.
“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:60)
– Jesus is teaching the narrow road gospel that responding to His call to follow Him is infinitely more important than anything else.
“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:62)
– Jesus is stressing the narrow road gospel that anyone who wishes to follow Him must count the cost, and if he turns back, he is unfit to enter God’s kingdom.
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters… he cannot be My disciple.” (Lk 14:26)
– Jesus is explaining that the narrow road gospel of discipleship means that one’s love for Him must be greater than his love for his parents and siblings.
“…those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Lk 14:33)
– Jesus is revealing the narrow road gospel that those who are not prepared to give up everything would be disqualified from being His disciple.
“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Lk 12:51-53)
– Jesus is communicating that the narrow road gospel would bring about division in one’s family.
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Lk 13:24)
– Jesus is describing the narrow road gospel that entering God’s kingdom isn’t an easy thing, but one has to strive and agonise to enter.
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (Jn 15:18)
– Jesus is portraying the narrow road gospel that anyone who wishes to follow Him must be prepared to be hated by the world.
“… ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…” (Jn 15:20)
– Jesus is showing the narrow road gospel that being a servant of Christ, one must be ready to be persecuted just as He was.
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt 5:44)
– Jesus is relating the narrow road gospel that his disciples ought to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.
“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Lk 18:22)
– Jesus is depicting the narrow road gospel that one would have to acknowledge Him not just as Saviour but also as Lord by giving up everything for His sake.
“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:27)
– Jesus is unfolding the narrow road gospel that just as condemned criminals are made to carry the crosses upon which they would be executed, we must be willing to endure whatever trials, including death, we may face for being His disciples.
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate… his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Lk 14:26)
– Jesus is referring to the narrow road gospel that requires forsaking the disciples’ own lives because of their love for Him.
Can you see the difference between the broad road ‘gospel’ that Joseph Prince champions and the narrow road gospel that Jesus urges? The difference between them is the difference between black and white and the difference between day and night.
If you are still not convinced, let me give you more examples of the difference between Jesus’ narrow road gospel and Joseph Prince’s broad road ‘gospel’:
Joseph Prince preaches the broad and easy road ‘gospel’ that a one-minute sinner’s prayer can gain you eternity in heaven.
Jesus preaches the narrow and difficult road gospel that one has to make every effort to enter God’s kingdom (Lk 13:24).
Joseph Prince preaches the broad and easy road ‘gospel’ that there is no more sin to deal with as every sin has been forgiven.
Jesus preaches the narrow and difficult road gospel that if you don’t repent of your sin, you will be severely judged, and you will perish (Lk 13:3,5; Rev 2-3).
Joseph Prince preaches the broad and easy road ‘gospel’ that obedience has nothing to do with being saved.
Jesus preaches the narrow and difficult road gospel that if you don’t obey and do the will of the Father, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 7:13-14,21-23).
Joseph Prince preaches the broad and easy road ‘gospel’ that there are no more laws to obey.
Jesus preaches the narrow and difficult road gospel that if you are lawless, you will be barred from the kingdom of heaven (Matt 7:23).
Joseph Prince preaches the broad and easy road ‘gospel’ that the grace that saves is unconditional.
Jesus preaches the narrow and difficult road gospel that His grace is conditional – if one doesn’t fulfil the condition of obedience and holiness even though His grace is unmerited, one will not enter God’s kingdom and will be eternally destroyed (Matt 7:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 12:14).
Just a comparison of the above – between the gospel of the Lord Jesus and that of Joseph Prince will quickly surface that they are not marginally different but diametrically opposed.
With such a vast and irreconcilable difference between the two, how can anyone still choose to believe that Joseph Prince is preaching the true gospel and Jesus of the Bible?
(If you wish to know the details of this previous article, “Joseph Prince is the False Prophet Jesus refers to in Matthew 7:15-16” Dated 23 Dec 2021, please click here to read.)
The narrow road gospel of Jesus is the same gospel that is given in the Great Commission gospel in Matthew 28:18-20. Yet, Joseph Prince is totally silent about the Great Commission gospel. Are you shocked to hear that?
I have checked with many Ex New Creation Church members (some with the church for 15, 18 and 20 years) and those who are currently attending New Creation Church, and none of them don’t ever remember a single time that Joseph Prince ever taught on the Jesus’ Great Commission gospel in Matthew 28:18-20 at all.
I have also read through the five main books he had written (‘Destined To Reign’, ‘Unmerited Favor’, ‘The Power Of Right Believing’, ‘Grace Revolution’ and ‘Live The Let-Go Life’) many times, searched the internet, and listened to plenty of his video/audios – and nothing was mentioned about the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
Can you believe what I have just revealed?
This is ‘really really really’ strange!
This is getting ‘very very very’ fishy!
No true preacher of the word would ever avoid mentioning and preaching on the Great Commission. Any preacher who never mentions and preaches on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 ought to set the alarm bells ringing!
Though this issue was raised many times, I haven’t heard Joseph Prince reply a single time why he is completely silent about the Great Commission of Jesus.
Don’t let Joseph Prince get away this time. You must press him for an answer! Ask Joseph Prince when was the last time he taught his church on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20? Question him on why is he so silent on this issue of the Great Commission!
Prince must answer this most pertinent question publicly on the pulpit. If Prince still chooses to remain silent, then it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that he has something fishy to hide.
Joseph Prince’s protracted silence on such a crucial topic of the Great Commission speaks volumes about His disinterest and even antagonism to our Lord’s last and most important command for the Church – the Great Commission.
Why such deafening silence about such a crucial topic as the Great Commission in Joseph Prince’s theology and practice if he is indeed a true teacher of God’s word?
The reason is Joseph Prince is not interested at all in Jesus’ agenda of winning the world through discipleship in the Great Commission gospel. He is only keen on his own agenda of saturating the world with his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’.
Let me tell you the real reason why he is totally silent about the Great Commission. What’s worse is that he is not just silent about the Great Commission, but he has also, in an indirect way, preached against it.
Prince preaches against it indirectly as he knows it would be a tall order and a suicidal move to directly and openly come against the Great Commission – a non-negotiable doctrine that is held by all evangelical churches.
But what Prince ‘cleverly’ does is that he preaches against the doctrine of discipleship, obedience and commandments or laws, particularly the link between them and salvation. But as you can see, discipleship, obedience and commandments or laws are all mentioned in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20:
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Do you now understand why Joseph Prince is not preaching the costly gospel of the Great Commission but his cheap Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ that promises everything but expects nothing?
Why is the Great Commission a costly gospel or the narrow road gospel as reflected in Matthew 7:13-14?
The Great Commission isn’t a cheap but a costly gospel simply because costly discipleship and Christ’s Lordship expressed by our total obedience to His commandments are both contained in it (Matt 28:18-20):
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I can guarantee that if Joseph Prince truly repents and starts preaching the true and costly Jesus’ gospel in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 that contains costly discipleship, serious obedience and commandments or laws, the 34,000 people in his church will dwindle to a much smaller number.
The reason for many (not every) of these 34,000 people that are currently attending his church is due to a false, cheap and easy Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ that Prince is preaching that attracts a whole multitude of goats.
Anyone who believes Joseph Prince who rejects and even teaches against Jesus’ gospel in the Great Commission to be a true prophet must be out of his mind. (Matt 28:18-20)
Yet, there are multitudes of such mindless Christians around. And sadly, many of them include Pastors and leaders of churches. Unthinkable!
How can Joseph Prince claim to be a Christ-centred preacher when the most important heartbeat of Christ for the Church in the Great Commission is not even given a single mention in his teachings? (Matt 28:18-20)
If Joseph Prince dares to replace the Great Commission gospel with his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’, how can any pastor or believer who truly shares the heartbeat of Christ for the world stomach it and keep quiet about this violation? (Matt 28:18-20)
By Joseph Prince’s total silence and contemptuous neglect of the Great Commission gospel and the passionate pursuit of his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’, he is sending a clear message to Jesus that his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ can do a much better job in reaching lost souls than the Great Commission gospel could. (Matt 28:18-20)
By Joseph Prince’s audacity to treat the Great Commission, the heartbeat of the King of kings and the Lord of lords with such contempt, no more convincing needs to be done on anyone that he is a false prophet and a heretic. (Matt 28:18-20)
But unfortunately for Joseph Prince, not only does he have Matthew 28:19-20 to worry about, he also has to contend with Acts 3:22-23. Both Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 3:22-23 are New Covenant passages, written after the finished work of the cross.
Let me place Matthew 28:20 and Acts 3:22-23 one after the other:
Matthew 28:20 NIV
20 “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 3:22-23 NET
22 “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet (Jesus) like me from among your brothers. You must obey him in everything he tells you. 23 Every person who does not obey that prophet (Jesus) will be destroyed and thus removed from the people.’”
George would say to Joseph Prince:
“Hello Joseph Prince, Acts is not in the gospels, but it is after ‘the finished work of the cross’, the holy phrase which you have constantly and craftily abused to deceive the people.
Why is it after ‘the finished work of the cross’ in Acts 3:22-23, that believers must still obey everything that comes from Christ, which you have a pet word to get rid of obedience – ‘legalism’.
You thought you might have some grounds to discount Matthew 28:18-20. So, tell me, how are you going to rule out Acts 3:22-23, which happened after ‘His finished work of the cross’?”
Obedience to Christ’s commandments in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:20 has everything to do with salvation because if one disobeys Christ, he will be destroyed in Acts 3:23.
By Prince’s total silence on the Great Commission, his church would not be aware that they need “to obey everything that I (Christ) have commanded” in Matthew 28:20.
And if they don’t obey him in everything he (Christ) tells you, in Acts 3:22 they “will be destroyed” in Acts 3:23.
Hence, by preaching the Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ instead of the Great Commission gospel, Joseph Prince is putting his entire church and the millions around the world who have been deceived by his false gospel in serious danger of being destroyed by Christ on the day of judgement.
Would that kind of preacher be a true teacher of God’s word? Any sensible believer or Pastor would conclude that one who has come to destroy the sheep, must be a wolf in sheepskin!
So don’t be deceived. If you are deceived by the challenge of Joseph Prince in his Vision 2022 to preach his cheap grace and false gospel, then, you too, are leading your relatives and friends to their eternal damnation.
Joseph Prince, by not teaching on the Great Commission on Matthew 28:18-20, is openly defying and rebelling against Christ by not carrying out His command. This is because he disagrees with Christ’s approach to winning the world.
Christ’s approach to winning the world is through costly discipleship:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20 NIV).
“To obey everything that Christ has commanded” is sure going to cost every disciple. But Joseph Prince preaches against costly discipleship.
Joseph Prince chooses to do it his way through his Grace Revolution ‘gospel’, which is nothing but easy Christianity and cheap grace – that our salvation which won’t cost us a thing only involves receiving blessings of health, wealth, prosperity and youthful and good looks from God.
Once you are a Christian, according to Joseph Prince’s Grace Revolution ‘gospel’, you will be very wealthy as Abraham was, and God will always protect you from COVID-19, as, in the words of Joseph Prince, ‘no virus can come near you’. And as you know, the current COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the bankruptcy and falsity of Joseph Prince’s Health and Wealth ‘gospel’.
Joseph Prince is such a rebellious man that he refuses to win souls in the way Christ has directed/commanded the church to follow/obey – the Great Commission and through discipleship. He is blatantly disobeying the commandment of Christ as laid down in the Great Commission.
How can Joseph Prince be said to be Christ-centred when he is not even carrying out and even speaks against the heartbeat and chief agenda of Jesus in the Great Commission?
Joseph Prince is a brazen liar and shameless hypocrite who would portray himself as a Christ-centred preacher, and yet, disobey the most important commandment of Christ in the Great Commission that He has given to the Church. (Matt 28:18-20)
By deliberately disobeying the commandment of Christ in the Great Commission, what message is Joseph Prince sending to Jesus?
Joseph Prince is effectively saying to Jesus:
“Hey Jesus, if you aren’t aware, may I inform you that my Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ is a more effective strategy than your Great Commission in winning souls through discipleship. Just look at the results of my Grace Revolution strategy – 34,000 people as compared to the Great Commission strategy that is adopted by all the churches?”
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 and a heretic!
If Joseph Prince is truly preaching the true gospel, he must not remain silent anymore regarding why he had not preached on the Great Commission gospel of Jesus for the last 20 years of his ministry.
We demand an answer from him. We expect to hear from him in his messages in the coming Sunday worship services. If Prince still chooses to remain silent, this proves that he had indeed something fishy to hide under the cover of silence – hiding what? Hiding the fact that he is against the Great Commission of Jesus, yet is afraid to come out publicly against it knowing that he may open up a can of worms that could haunt him.
What is worse is Joseph Prince is deceiving the Church that the Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ he is preaching is the ‘wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ’. This is what Joseph Prince said,
“So I believe there’s gonna be an end-time revival. I want the church to be a church that will reach out beyond its walls. I want everyone to go online to bring this gospel of grace, this glorious gospel of grace and peace to all the four corners of the earth. He wants us to reach as many people as possible because the time is short. God’s heart is for people to hear this wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Don’t be deceived! The Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ that Prince is mobilising the world to preach from 2022 is not the “wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is the Great Commission gospel in Matthew 28:18-20, the true gospel that Joseph Prince fights against.
Conclusion
In summary, Joseph Prince’s silent and secret rapture that provides believers an easy and fairy-tale escape from tribulation is not only false, but it will also bring about untold disasters and needless miseries to the unbelieving world.
Joseph Prince’s Grace Revolution ‘gospel’ that he is urging and mobilising believers to preach from 2022, is not the true gospel in Matthew 28:18-10, but the false gospel, as it is diametrically opposed to the Great Commission gospel of the Lord Jesus.
So don’t ever be deceived and start to preach the false gospel of Joseph Prince that cannot save. Rather, we ought to preach the true gospel of Jesus in the Great Commission that will save.
One is a broad road and easy gospel (Matt 7:13) that will bring in loads of goats into the church, while the other narrow road and more difficult gospel (Matt 7:14) would not bring in the crowds, but it will certainly bring in genuine converts and true disciples who will make their mark for the kingdom of God.
What is your focus? Quantity – false converts, or quality – true disciples!
Rev George Ong