Joseph Prince’s No Need to ‘Do, Do, Do’ will lead you to Hell – By Rev George Ong (Dated 22 Aug 2024)
Announcement No 1:
My heartfelt and sincere thanks to every one of you
who supports this Website & YouTube channel
and prays for me.
My special thanks to those who take the time and trouble
to write against Joseph Prince’s heresies
in the YouTube channel.
It is you all who are keenly aware and understand
how much sweat, blood and tears
it has taken from me
in my contending against Joseph Prince’s heresies.
Tough as it may be, and functioning at a scorching pace,
it is and it must be the strength and joy of the Lord
that has sustained me throughout the last 7 years:
From 2017-2020,
doing through emails and
From 2020-2024,
through this Website and YouTube Channel.
I have been relentlessly working hard
and I have also been deliberately resting hard.
That is why I was able to persevere for the last 7 years.
But as I had already shared with you
I have a major event coming up in September
– and now I’m sharing with you
– it is my 40th Wedding Anniversary Celebration
– and I’m indeed looking forward to it.
So, from next week till the middle of September,
I will become less available
because it has already and is going to take me
lots of my time and energy
both in the planning and execution of it.
Announcement No 2:
Note there is 1 video & 1 audio
on David Pawson,
1 video each on Derek Prince & George Ong
& 2 videos on Joseph Prince.
Please see the Appendix
for the Featured YouTube comments.
Announcement No 3:
No matter how busy you are,
you mustn’t miss the very comprehensive
and excellent materials
given in this Article.
Contents:
1. ‘Do, Do, Do’ is an Integral Part of New Testament Christianity.
2. If you Don’t Do, you can Finish up in Hell.
3. ‘Do, Do, Do,’ is Entirely Scriptural.
4. We must Do, Do, Do for Christ because of what Christ has Done, Done, Done for us.
5. The Life & Ministry of Paul is one that is ‘Do, Do, Do’.
6. The True Grace taught by Apostle Peter is about what we Must Do.
7. As we are empowered by God’s Grace to be sanctified, sanctification is our responsibility.
8. Jesus’ list of the Dos and Don’ts.
9. Paul’s List of the Dos and Don’ts.
10. Practical Illustration about the need to do.
11. Joseph Prince may sound Logical but it isn’t Biblical.
12. The ‘no need to do doctrine’ of Joseph Prince will ultimately destroy you.
(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.)
to view the entire video:
In the sermon preached 4 days ago,
on 18 Aug 2024, Joseph Prince said;
“And the only way you can grow, spiritually
is to grow in grace.
‘In’ means, the soil of grace.
If you are not planted in grace,
you ought to be planted in grace.
That means what?
I’m planted in grace means grace, friend, is supply.
Grace is unmerited favour.
Supplied constantly. Amen.
What is law?
Law is God’s demand, demand, exacting from you.
Grace is supply.
Law is man must work.
Man must do, do, do, do.
You shall not, you shall not, you shall not.
Grace is, God says, I will do this for you.
I will do that for you.
I will do this for you. Amen.
Your posture there is a posture of rest
but dynamic faith that He will do.
That He is the one doing.”
In ‘Destined to Reign’, Joseph Prince wrote,
“In fact, because Jesus has already died on the cross for us,
He has already done everything on our behalf.
“Remember, Christianity is
“done, done, done”, not “do, do, do”.”
What Joseph Prince has said in the video and wrote in his book,
“Remember, Christianity is
“done, done, done”, not “do, do, do”.”
is patently against the Holy scriptures.
This is because Christianity
is not only
“done, done, done”,
BUT ALSO
“do, do, do”.”
In a teaching session, George Ong said;
“But I’m going to prove to you
that in many passages of scripture,
it’s about you.
It’s not to say God cannot help you.
No, no, no.
It’s not to say we should not cry out to God to help us
in our sanctification. No, no.
But in many passages, the onus is on us.
Because many passages, you, you, you, you, you,
you must do this.
You cannot run away from it.
Here is one.
Pursue sanctification without which
no one will see the Lord.
Make every effort to be holy,
without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Now, Joseph Prince don’t like this make every effort.
You know one of the things he teaches
is Effortless Christianity.
You heard. Effortless.
You know why he teaches Effortless Christianity
because his concept of salvation is just justification.
Christ has done already for you,
what you want to do?
Clever, ah, Ha. You want to do, ah.
You want to earn salvation. No, no, no.
That’s why his thinking is justification only.
But he’s wrong. He’s (it’s) half gospel.
Full gospel is both justification and sanctification.
That’s why he teaches
that everything is done, done, done for you.
No need to do, do, do.
But I will say, you better do, do, do also.
Yes, everything is done, done for us, justification,
so that we must do, do, do for Him, sanctification.
This is the first text that proves my point.
Make every effort.
That’s why I said, this writer of Hebrews,
if he were to agree with Joseph Prince,
he wouldn’t have said that, right.
He will say Effortless Christianity, Mah.
Christianity is done for you;
you don’t have to do anything.
But he said what, make every, make every,
make every effort to be holy, Wah.
Make every effort, you know, to be holy, you know.
Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.
Wah, this is more serious.
You have to make every effort to be holy, you know,
without that, you are out.
I’m going to prove to you
that many passages, they don’t bother to qualify.
Sometimes play safe, right, better qualify.
Eh, you better have justification first, Lah. But no.
They go straight to the point.
They never say you better have justification.
They just go straight to the point.
If you are not holy, you are out.
If you don’t have sanctification, you are out.
So, is it serious?
I am not saying we must have the righteousness of God in Christ.
Of course, we must have that.
You know why I bring this point up.
I don’t know whether you are aware,
Joseph Prince uses this argument to deceive many people.
He always say, once you are justified,
Aiyah, you don’t worry about being holy, Lah.
Don’t worry about sanctification.
Once you are justified,
aiyah, you will automatically be holy.
Did the verse say that?
Many passages don’t present like he (Joseph Prince) explained.
You make sure, ah, you enjoy the love of God, Lah.
Once you know to appreciate the love of God,
you will automatically love Him.
I can guarantee you, there’s no passage that says that.
But he deceived many people.
Once you have faith,
you automatically you do works.
The Bible never says all that he said.
The Bible goes straight to the point.
We’re going to come to many passages.
If you don’t have it, Paul said it right.
Paul said, just now we read Galatians (Gal 5:19-21),
Ephesians (5:3-5), Corinthians (1 Cor 6:9-10), right.
If you don’t have all these character markers of holy living,
you cannot enter God’s kingdom.
Go straight to the point.
Why I said it’s deceiving because his people,
they will say, Oh Pastor Joseph Prince teaches
once I have faith, I will do works, automatic.
So, I just have faith, Lah.
And if they don’t do works,
Joseph Prince is not going to say they are not saved
because of his other teachings.
Oh, Pastor Joseph Prince say, ‘I’m once saved, always saved.’
Pastor Joseph Prince also teaches me I cannot lose my salvation.
Pastor Joseph Prince also teaches me
that my sins are all forgiven already.
So, even if they don’t do,
may be mature ones may do,
but the immature, baby Christians will not do,
they are not saved.
You see all these things are really deceptive,
leading people to hell
because of the way he teaches.
So, make every effort.
Do you know the word, he teaches, Effortless Christianity.
Do you know that the word effortless and effortlessness
is not in the Bible?
And yet he can teach Christianity is effortless.
Effort appears many times.
Make every effort appears at least 4 times.
How is it that his people cannot see
that he is teaching against the word of God?
That’s why those who choose to follow him
will have no excuse
when they stand before God’s judgement.
No excuse.
There are many texts that he goes against.
This is one of the many.
Yet, they will choose to follow Joseph Prince.
Of course, we pray that they will turn to God.
But many are like that.
They choose to follow their idol.
No one will see the Lord.
So, very clear.
This text is very clear.
Without sanctification, you are out.
No one will see the Lord.”
In a recent sermon, Joseph Prince said:
“So, why are we telling people you should be doing this.
You should be doing that.
You should, should, should.
All the shouldest and couldest and all that,
is actually putting law on the people.
…The more you try to don’ts the don’ts.
The more you do the don’ts.
That you are supposed to don’t do it.”
Joseph Prince thought he was articulating some profound truths
so he could impress people.
But what he uttered is not only pure rubbish
but also starkly unbiblical.
In a teaching session, David Pawson said;
“But the believers’ mistake is the opposite.
And that mistake is to think that a Christian
is someone who does nothing;
who says, Christ has done it all.
And who believes that good works are no use
because we’re not saved by works; we’re saved by faith.
And to many Christians,
that means that Christ has done all that is necessary,
and all I need to do is to accept that.
And I want to show you before we finish tonight
that a believer can finish up in hell in the wrong eternity.
So that’s my theme for tonight
– that Christians have to do many things
if they’re going to be saved, eventually.
And the Bible is full of dos and don’ts,
of things we should be doing
and things we shouldn’t be doing.
And whereas in the Old Testament
there are 613 dos and don’ts,
how many do you think there are in the New Covenant,
in the New Testament?
There are over 1,100, nearly twice as many dos and don’ts
for Christians as there were for the Jews.
And those who say it doesn’t matter now,
you’ve accepted Christ,
you’ve done everything you need to do,
and He’s done everything for you and that’s all
– and what happens to the 1,100 dos and don’ts
in the New Testament?
In a teaching session, Derek Prince said;
“And then I want to analyse for a moment
Matthew chapter 5 (should be Matthew chapter 25).
There are three classes of people there,
who were totally rejected by God.
The foolish virgins
who took no oil,
the one talent servant
who did nothing with it
and the goat nations
who did not help the brothers of Jesus.
And they were all totally and finally rejected by God.
And I said to myself one day,
“What did they all have in common
that caused them to be rejected?
What did they do?”
And I got a simple answer,
“They did nothing.”
That’s all you have to do to be rejected
– just do nothing.
It’s a solemn thought.”
These three groups went to hell
because they have not done what they should have done.
Have you now been sobered up and shaken up
by the fact that your doing or not doing
can affect your eternal destiny?
And yet, Joseph Prince can teach
that we are not to do, do, do.
In a teaching session
on Matthew 24:42-51 and Matthew 25,
David Pawson said;
to listen to the 5-minute audio:
“Now the 5th thing that is in common to these stories
and here we are coming near
for the burden for this morning.
In each of the 4 stories, some were not ready.
The whole point of these 4 stories
is that some were not ready.
And the shock that I got when I ask
in what sense were they not ready was this.
They were not ready
because they had not done certain things.
They weren’t criminals.
They weren’t full of vice.
There wasn’t a murderer, an adulterer among them.
In fact, none of them is accused of a single vice
or a single crime or a single sin.
They are only accused of having not done something.
Do you know a man can go to hell
not because of what he’s done or anything he has done
but because of what he didn’t do?
Now, that’s a shock of these 4 stories.
Remember, He’s (Jesus) speaking to the disciples again.
And He’s saying you are in danger of doing nothing.
In fact, to get to hell, that’s all you need to do – nothing.
That’s the teaching of Jesus.
All you need do – nothing.
In the first case,
a man had been left to give food
to the other servants
and he hadn’t given it.
In the second case,
they were supposed to have enough oil
to light the wedding
and they hadn’t got it.
In the third case,
the man with one talent had failed to improve it.
He just hasn’t done anything with it.
And in the fourth case,
Jesus said, you never visited me, you never clothed me,
you never gave me a drink.
And you know they gave the whole game away
when they said O Lord if we realised it was you.
What social snobbery lies in that implication, doesn’t it?
In other words, O we thought it was just some unimportant person.
If we’ve known it was you,
if we’ve known it was important,
we would have done it.
You see, that’s awful, isn’t it?
The sins of neglect.
What I call the sin of omission
of what Jesus is talking about here.
Not the bad things we’ve done
but the good things we haven’t done.
And that’s a serious word.
And it’s not very nice to be told you going
to be judged for what you haven’t done.
Now, look at the punishment that was meted out
to those who were not ready.
Cut to pieces, weeping and gnashing of teeth,
shut outside in the outer darkness,
weeping and gnashing of teeth again,
cursed to eternal fire, eternal punishment.
And you know I cannot get round those words of Jesus.
And here we have the profound truth said,
and we’ve got to grapple with it in the last few minutes.
The disciples who are not ready, go to hell.
And we must grapple now with this very serious truth
which Jesus is giving us.
It is disciples He’s talking to
and disciples who were not ready, go to hell.
These are not ranked unbelievers.
These are not pagan, heathen people.
These are 12 men who for 3 years had shared his ministry.
These are 12 men who’ve taught and preached and healed
in the name of Jesus.
And in each of the stories,
the people who are finally rejected
are those who have had a connection
with the central figure in the story.
In the first story,
it’s the servant of the householder who is sent to hell.
In the second story, it’s five of the virgins, the bridesmaid
waiting for the wedding looking for the bridegroom coming.
In the third story,
it was a man who had been given a talent
by the businessman before he went on a journey.
And in the fourth story,
the goats have been in the flock of the one shepherd.
This is the challenge of these 4 stories.
You can be as near as that to Jesus and still not be ready.
And I very close now to the burden the Lord gave me
for you this morning.
We’re not talking about the people out there
facing the danger out there now,
we’re talking about the danger in each of us in this hall is in.”
1. ‘Do, Do, Do’ is an Integral Part of New Testament Christianity.
There are two wrong misconceptions about Christianity.
The first misconception
is that unbelievers have the wrong understanding
that Christianity, like other religions, is merely to do good.
They think that a Christian
is essentially one who does good to others.
The second misconception
is that believers think a Christian is one who does nothing at all
because Christ has done everything for them on the cross.
So, we ought to just rest
and relax in the finished work of Christ.
The second misconception
is what Joseph Prince falsely teaches.
Joseph Prince teaches that once you have accepted Christ,
He has already done everything for you,
and you don’t need to do anything.
To do anything is to get into works.
But in case you aren’t aware,
did you know that the Bible is full of dos and don’ts
– of things we should be doing
and things that we shouldn’t be doing.
In the Old Testament,
there are a massive 613 dos and don’ts
(including the Ten Commandments).
And many aren’t even aware that in the New Testament,
there are even more.
There are about 1,100 dos and don’ts,
nearly twice as many as the Old Testament.
How then can Joseph Prince say
that there is nothing for us to do
as Christ has done everything for us
in His finished work on the cross?
Joseph Prince is making an utterly false statement.
Joseph Prince in saying that there is nothing for us to do
is contradicting the scriptures 1,100 times.
Joseph Prince in saying
that there are no more commandments to obey
is effectively ripping off chunks of scriptures
that contain the 1,100 dos and don’ts from the Bible.
What has Joseph Prince done to all these 1,100 dos and don’ts?
– Ignore them, treat them as if they hadn’t been written,
and pretend he is blind to all these 1,100 commandments?
So, Joseph Prince, what happens
to the 1,100 dos and don’ts in the New Testament?
(only a sampling of which will be unveiled to you in the ensuing sections)?
Joseph Prince has effectively ripped them out of the Bible
and thrown them away into the rubbish bin.
Joseph Prince has committed the great sin of Revelation 22:18-19:
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy,
God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
Joseph Prince
– by his teaching that there is nothing for us to do
is telling 1,100 lies.
Any teacher of the word who tells a lie
will set the alarm bells ringing immediately.
Here, we have Joseph Prince, who tells, not one, not two,
but 1,100 lies openly and unabashedly.
How in the world can any believer or church
consider him to be a true and an excellent teacher of the word
is just pure insanity?
The idea that Christians have nothing to do
except to accept that Jesus died for them
and rest in the finished work of the cross
is sheer rubbish.
The New Testament contains 1,100 things
for us to do and not do,
and that’s part of being a Christian.
2. If you Don’t Do, you can Finish up in Hell.
How do believers finish up in hell?
From the teachings of Jesus,
it has to do with what they didn’t do what they should.
In Matthew 25,
Jesus was talking to His disciples,
not to unbelievers.
He warned them not to be caught not doing.
First, they must do by filling the oil
as the five foolish virgins didn’t have enough oil
because they didn’t top it up,
and was locked out of the celebrations of the bridegroom.
Second, Jesus warned they must do something with their talents,
The one-talent man didn’t use it, but he buries it,
and he went to hell.
He didn’t do anything with what God had given him.
Third, Jesus warned about doing something
– about the need to serve the least of your fellow believers,
especially those who are in need.
Because they didn’t do what they should,
they were cursed into the eternal fire.
These three groups went to hell
because they have not done what they should have done.
Have you now been sobered up and shaken up
by the fact that your doing or not doing
can affect your eternal destiny?
What Joseph Prince teaches that Christians do nothing
because Christ has done everything for them on the cross,
is sending those who really believe what he said to hell.
What we do and we don’t do
can mean the difference between heaven and hell.
There are two eternities.
Which eternity we will end up in
will be decided by what we do or not do in this life.
Joseph Prince would shoot back and remark,
“George, what you have just described isn’t grace;
it looks more like works.”
George would retort,
“What? Joseph Prince,
I am surprised that your understanding of grace
is so shallow.
You teach that if God requires anything of us under grace,
then, it is no longer grace.
Can you give me chapter and verse in the scriptures
where this teaching of yours is found?”
Certainly, it is not grace if one has to work for his salvation.
But it is certainly grace if God calls us
to walk worthy of that calling to obey Him and do His works
as we have been bought with a price,
and He then equips and empowers us
by that same grace to do and accomplish them.
Grace is to enable us to do the works of the Lord;
grace does not keep us from doing these works.
JC Ryle, in a comment upon the words of Christ,
‘Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh,
shall find so doing’ (Lk 12:43 KJV), wrote:
“It is not the servant
who is found wishing and professing,
but the servant who is found “doing,”
whom Jesus calls “blessed.”
… We are gravely told that
to talk of “working,” and “doing,” is legal (legalistic),
and brings Christians into bondage!
… The lesson before us is not about justification,
but about sanctification,
– not about faith, but about holiness;
the point is not what a man should do to be saved,
– but what ought a saved man to do.
The teaching of Scripture is clear
and express upon this subject.
A saved man ought to be “careful
to maintain good works.” (Tit 3:8).
The desire of a true Christian ought to be,
to be found “doing”.
(Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke, vol. 2, p. 90.)
Jesus Himself teaches the importance of us,
as His servants or slaves, doing His works:
“Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing
when he comes.
Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge
of all his possessions” (Lk 12:43-44 NASB).
3. ‘Do, Do, Do,’ is Entirely Scriptural.
The following scriptures remind us that
even if you believe right, but if you don’t do and act right,
you will still be damned.
We must do right and not just believe right.
Don’t Be Deceived!
To enter the Kingdom of God, after initial salvation,
you must Do the following:
Go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22)
Bear good fruit or get thrown into the fire (Jn 15:6; Matt 7:19; 3:10)
Sow to please the Spirit to reap eternal life (Gal 6:8)
Stand firm through hatred to the end to be saved (Matt 10:22)
Do what is right to be righteous (1 Jn 3:7-8)
By the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body to live (Rom 8:13b)
Persist in doing good so that God will give you eternal life (Rom 2:7)
Live holy or the second death will have power over us (Heb 12:14; Rev 20:6)
Continue to believe in Jesus so that we will live and never die (Jn 11:25-26)
Continue in the teaching of Christ or be without God and eternal life (2 Jn 9; 1 Jn 2:24-25)
Hold firmly to the word Paul preached so that your believing is not in vain (1 Cor 15:2)
Keep yourself from idols (1 Jn 5:21) for all idolaters will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8)
Hold firmly till the end the confidence you had at first to share in Christ (Heb 3:14)
Remain faithful to God to the very end so you won’t be hurt by the second death (Rev 2:10-11)
Continue to do the will of the Heavenly Father to live forever (Mt 7:21; 1 Jn 2:17)
Love God for the kingdom of God has been prepared for all who do (1 Cor 2:9; Jas 2:5)
Hold on to your courage and the hope of which you boast of remaining in God’s house (Heb 3:6)
Hate your life in this world to keep it for eternal life (Jn 12:25)
Strive to enter God’s kingdom doors for many who try will not enter (Lk 13:23-24)
Hold on to faith and a good conscience to prevent shipwrecking your faith (1 Tim 1:19)
Keep yourself pure (1 Tim 5:22) for the pure in heart will see God (Matt 5:8)
Overcome and be a faithful follower to escape the lake of fire (Rev 21:7-8; 2:10-11; 17:14)
Set your mind on what the Spirit desires to live in accord with the Spirit (Rom 8:5)
Continue in God’s kindness and faith or get cut off like the Jews (Rom 11:19-23)
Be afraid (and not arrogant) of getting cut off like the Jews (Rom 11:20)
Discipline your body and make it your slave so you won’t become disqualified (1 Cor 9:27)
Keep a tight rein on your tongue or your religion is worthless (Jas 1:26)
Forgive others who sin against you so that your sins can be forgiven (Matt 6:14-15) and so you don’t be accountable once again for your previously forgiven sins (Matt 18:21-35)
Joseph Prince has deceived many with his
‘once you believe right, everything will be alright’ teaching
because he has hidden the plenty of scriptures in the above
about what you ought to do and what you ought not to do,
from you.
He has deceived many
with his once saved, always saved doctrine
– as you would realise by now,
what you do and not do can have a clear impact
on whether you will be eventually saved.
For those who have been deceived
– it’s time to wake up, as it plainly means
you have missed all these verse/s
that are clearly written in the scriptures
Joseph Prince’s maxim:
“Don’t worry too much about ‘do, do, do’,
all because Christ’s redemptive work for our salvation
on the cross is ‘done, done, done’.
The Bible teaches the reverse.
The Bible teaches us to ‘do, do, do’
because Christ’s redemptive work for our salvation on the cross
is ‘done, done, done’.
Christians have lots of work to do.
The Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commission,
the Book of Acts, the Book of Titus and the Book of James
are hard evidence that inform us that works
are not the peripherals,
but they are part and parcel of the Christian life.
By the way, the theme of James is to be ‘Doers of the Word’.
Joseph Prince is contradicting many passages of scriptures
that speak about the need to ‘do, do, do’.
Yes, indeed, grace is incompatible
with works of self-righteousness (Eph 2:8-9; Gal 2:21; 5:4).
But grace is also God’s power working through you and me
because we are cooperating with Him (Eph 3:7).
Ephesians 3:7 NKJV
7 “of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.”
4. We must Do, Do, Do for Christ because of what Christ has Done, Done, Done for us.
In ‘Destined to Reign’, Joseph Prince wrote,
“In fact, because Jesus has already died on the cross for us,
He has already done everything on our behalf.
Remember, Christianity is “done, done, done”,
not “do, do, do”.”
George’s comments:
Joseph Prince is teaching
because of what Christ has done for us at the cross,
we should just rest in Him and do nothing for Him.
He got it wrong the other way round.
No, the right order is
– look, Jesus has done everything once for us.
Now, it’s our turn to do something for Him.
And so we have this exhortation in Hebrews 10:19-25,
“Let us.”
Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV
19 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The author of Hebrews starts off the passage with the word,
‘Therefore’…in V19.
Then he says,
“Let us”… three times in V22, 23, 24 and 25.
What the author is saying is
– because of what Christ had done
– because he had opened for us a new and living way
through his blood in V19-21,
let us do this and let us do that from V22-25.
Now Joseph Prince has got it the other way round.
He teaches that Jesus should do something continually for me
because I, once and for all, have accepted him as my Saviour
– well, that’s what Joseph Prince is falsely teaching.
And the exhortation “Let us” is in the present continuous tense,
which means let us go on doing something.
Jesus has once and for all done everything that is needed,
so let us continually do something for Him.
Do you get the picture?
The author is exhorting the Jewish believers
that because Jesus has done it once for us,
we must do it all the time for Him.
It is not the other way round as Joseph Prince falsely teaches
– that since Christ has done it once for us,
we have no business to do,
as Christianity is not about, ‘do, do, do’.
In fact, Joseph Prince has done something far worse.
He teaches that when we try and ‘do, do, do’
which is our legitimate responsibility under sanctification,
which is entirely biblical,
he twists it around and falsely accuses us
of doing it under justification,
trying to earn our salvation.
So, according to V22-25,
what must we do after what He has done for us in V19-21?
First, let us draw near with the full assurance of faith, V22.
Second, let’s hold unswervingly to our hope, V23.
Third, let’s spur one another to love and encouragement, V24-25.
5. The Life & Ministry of Paul is one that is ‘Do, Do, Do’.
The life of Paul, too, contradicted Joseph Prince’s teachings.
Though Paul put no confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3)
and trusted in Christ’s righteousness
and he didn’t try to gain it by obeying God’s law (Phil 3:9),
he did not rest on his laurels after being saved by faith.
On the contrary,
his life was marked by an attitude of do, do, do:
He worked out his faith with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12).
He pressed on toward the goal for the heavenly rewards that await him (Phil 3:14).
He warned and taught men so that they will become mature in Christ (Col 1:28).
He strives with great effort and strenuously contend with all the energy inspired by what Christ has done for him (Col 1:29).
He was careful to discipline his body like an athlete so that he might win the spiritual race and not be disqualified (1 Cor 9:24-27).
He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision God gave him (Acts 26:19).
Next, Joseph Prince claims
that he has learned his grace theology from Paul.
Let’s see if it is true:
Romans 14:19 NIV
19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
Ephesians 4:3 NIV
3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Paul, by asking us to do to
“make every effort”
is openly discrediting Joseph Prince’s teaching
that Christianity is effortless
and that Christianity is done, done, done and not, do, do, do.
Everyone can share from their personal experiences
and bear this out
– that being a peace-maker
to bring about harmony and reconciliation
between two conflicting or warring parties (Rom 14:19; Eph 4:3)
is anything but effortless.
It requires lots of tolerance, patience and forbearance.
That is why Paul says such a role
in Romans 14:19 and Ephesians 4:3
requires lots of effort:
“Make every effort” (Rom 14:19; Eph 4:3).
But here comes Joseph Prince,
who unthinkingly, declares to everyone
that Christianity is a done thing and it is effortless.
Let’s go a step further and find out if Paul’s spiritual walk
was effortless and whether it was something that he had to do:
1 Cor 9:26-27 NIV
26 “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Joseph Prince, how can Paul,
who run with an aim, fight like a boxer
and strike his own body to make it his slave
be a done thing and an effortless exercise?
To be true to his grace doctrine,
which he is consistently preaching,
Joseph Prince would waste no time in reprimanding Paul:
“Paul, what’s going on?
Why are you exerting yourself by running and boxing?
Why are you beating yourself?
Have you forgotten that Christianity is effortless?
Christ has done everything for you at the cross.
So, you don’t have to work it out yourself, beating your body.
It seems that you’ve started to depend on your flesh!
What are you trying to prove, Paul?
It is all about Christ, nothing about you.
By beating your body,
you have fallen back into works-religion.
You are getting very self-reliant and self-confident
for depending on your self-effort by beating your own body.
Who do you think you are, Paul?
A hero!
Trying to show off that you can do it without Christ?
No, Paul, it’s all about what Christ has done for you,
not what you can do for Him.
By beating your body, you are back to works-religion,
you are back to relying on your self-effort,
and that’s a great insult to the finished work of Christ.”
Paul may just say two simple sentences to Joseph Prince:
“Could you please shut up!
Quit mouthing all this theological rubbish
that I have never taught you.”
6. The True Grace taught by Apostle Peter is about what we Must Do.
What is True grace?
True grace is put forth and defined by the scriptures.
Peter wrote:
1 Peter 5:12 NIV
12 “…I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.”
1 Peter 5:12 is a very important summary verse
to Peter’s entire first epistle.
He stated almost at the end of the epistle in 1 Peter
(in the second last verse of the last chapter)
that his epistle, as a whole,
represents the true grace of God.
If the scriptures make it a point
to mention the concept of true grace,
then there must also be such a thing as false grace.
False grace is what is being presented today
by none other than Joseph Prince.
How can we differentiate between true grace and false grace?
The key is to get a fuller understanding of what Peter taught
about true grace in the Epistle of 1 Peter
by thoroughly examining it.
While Peter in 1 Peter speaks about
our biblical and human responsibility to do,
Joseph Prince teaches the false doctrine
that we must rest in the finished work of Christ,
and there is nothing much for us to do.
But there are many verses in 1 Peter
that contradict Joseph Prince’s teachings
– that we who are saved by grace
indeed, have lots of things that we must do.
Note the following verses in 1 Peter
that speak about our human responsibility and actions
in response to the true grace of God.
In other words,
an understanding and experience of the true grace of God
must result in our obedient response
to do what the scriptures have instructed us.
Anything less is not true grace.
I highlight this to especially debunk Joseph Prince’s teaching
that any response to do the works of obedience
that are clearly stated in the scriptures,
he denigrates as works-righteousness and legalism.
Here’s the list:
1 Peter 1:14 NIV
14 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”
1 Peter 1:17 NIV
17 “…Live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”
1 Peter 1:22 NIV
22 “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”
1 Peter 2:1-2 NIV
1-2 “…rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind…crave pure spiritual milk…”
1 Peter 2:11 NIV
11 … “abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:12 NIV
12 “Live such good lives….that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God…”
1 Peter 2:13 NIV
13 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority…”
1 Peter 2:15 NIV
15 “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”
1 Peter 2:16 NIV
16 “…do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.”
1 Peter 2:17 NIV
17 “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”
1 Peter 2:24 NIV
24 “…die to sins and live for righteousness…”
1 Peter 3:8 NIV
8 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
1 Peter 3:9 NIV
9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult….
1 Peter 3:10 NIV
10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech”
1 Peter 3:11 NIV
11 “Turn from evil and do good….seek peace and pursue it.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV
15-16 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer…. with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…
1 Peter 4:1 NIV
1 “…since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude.”
1 Peter 4:2 NIV
2 “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires…”
1 Peter 4:7 NIV
7 “…be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
8 “Above all, love each other deeply…”
1 Peter 4:9 NIV
9 “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
1 Peter 4:10 NIV
10 .…use whatever gift you have received to serve others….
1 Peter 5:5 NIV
5 “…submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility…”
1 Peter 5:6 NIV
6 “Humble yourselves…”
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
8 “Be alert and of sober mind…”
1 Peter 5:9 NIV
9 “Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”
As you’ve gone through the list,
I’m sure you have noted the many action verbs
that believers must exercise their human responsibility
to do and not do.
It is true that we are saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9),
kept and strengthened by the Lord.
We can add nothing to the finished work of Christ (Heb 10:12).
However, according to the Apostle Peter,
there are basic Christian and human responsibilities
that do exist under the umbrella of the true grace of God.
This is certainly not about adding works to grace
or denying the infinite and finished work of Christ
as Joseph Prince would falsely accuse us of.
Otherwise, Peter was in error and teaching falsehood
by telling the Christians to do,
and then at the end of his letter in 1 Peter 5:12,
stating that this was the true grace of God
in which Christians were to stand fast.
Every one of the above verses,
which portray our human responsibility to do and act,
is a contradiction to Joseph Prince’s teaching
that Christianity is all about God’s sovereignty and God’s grace,
and nothing about our human responsibility to do.
7. As we are empowered by God’s Grace to be sanctified, sanctification is our responsibility.
It is the grace of God
that starts our journey of sanctification or holiness.
We can count on the Spirit
that empowers our pursuit of holiness.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to put in any effort.
God’s grace does not automatically produce obedience or holiness.
God’s grace doesn’t mean we just passively wait for things to happen.
John Piper (a well-respected Bible teacher) puts it succinctly,
“When it comes to killing my sin,
I don’t wait passively for the miracle of sin-killing
to be worked on me,
I act the miracle.”
This is consistent with the following scriptures:
Romans 8:13
says that by the Spirit, we must put to death the deeds of the flesh.
Ephesians 4:22-24
instructs us to put off the old self and put on the new.
Colossians 3:5
commands us to put to death what is earthly in us.
First Timothy 6:12
urges us to fight the good fight of faith.
Luke 13:24
exhorts us to strive to enter the narrow gate.
First Corinthians 9:24-27
speaks of us as running a race and disciplining the body.
Philippians 3:12-14
talks of us as pressing on and straining forward.
Second Peter 1:5
commands us to “make every effort.”
Colossians 1:29
challenges us that our responsibility as believers is to “toil, struggling with all his energy” as Christ powerfully works within us.
We must never forget that, according to Jesus,
the reward of eternal life
goes to those who conquer and overcome (Rev 2-3).
Do the above scriptures tell us that God or Christ
will do whatever it is to be done for us?
No.
They all clearly state we have the human responsibility to do them.
Christians are exhorted to work
– we work to kill sin, and we work to live in the Spirit.
Yes, we are called to rest in Christ,
but we are never to rest
in our battle against the flesh and the devil.
A mature Christian understands
what it means to experience the inner peace of God,
and yet, he is also known for fighting the spiritual warfare.
Having experienced the grace of God,
and empowered by the same grace,
he is striving, fighting, and working his hearts out
for the glory of God.
Someone may rightly say,
“No one can attain any degree of holiness
without God working in his life.”
Jerry Bridges (who wrote a book on holiness) rightly writes,
“But just as surely no one will attain it (holiness)
without effort on his own part.
God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness.
But He has given us the responsibility
of doing the walking.”
Putting off the corruption of the flesh is,
as John Calvin puts it,
“a work arduous and of immense labor.”
That is why the author of Hebrews bids us
to strive or make every effort to be holy:
Hebrews 12:14 NIV
14 “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14 ESV
14 “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”
What this simply means that even a child could understand
that it takes effort to be holy.
The teaching of Joseph Prince
that just by focussing on the finished work of Christ,
you would automatically be holy,
is plainly false.
When it comes to sanctification or holiness,
we don’t just look to the Lord,
expecting Him to do everything for us, and we do nothing,
but we must make every effort and work hard to be holy.
Let’s not be deceived by Joseph Prince’s
‘Let go and let God’ false view of Christianity
– that we expect God to do everything,
and we just flow along with Him,
doing nothing.
Hannah Whitall Smith argues (which is incorrect because it is incomplete),
“All that we claim then in this life of sanctification is that by a step of faith we put ourselves into the hands of the Lord, for Him to work in us all the good pleasure of His will; and that by a continuous exercise of faith we keep ourselves there…Our part is trusting, it is His to accomplish the results.”
This may sound super-spiritual, but it’s not biblical.
Sanctification is not about leaving all the work to God,
and all we do is just trust Him,
but more importantly,
it is something that we must toil with effort
as we have been enabled by the Holy Spirit to do it.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:
“The New Testament calls upon us to take action;
it does not tell us that the work of sanctification
is going to be done for us…
We are in the ‘good fight of faith’,
and we have to do the fighting.
But, thank God, we are enabled to do it;
for the moment we believe, and are justified by faith,
and are born again of the Spirit of God,
we have the ability.
So, the New Testament method of sanctification
is to remind us of that; and having reminded us of it,
it says, ‘Now then, go and do it.’”
We need to fight, strive and make every effort
to work out all that God is working in us.
We must follow the example of Paul, who said,
“I worked harder than any of them,
though it was not I,
but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor 15:10).
Sanctification is not about resting in God
or waiting around for enough faith to begin working for God
when God wants us to be up and about and get to work (Phil 2:12-13).
When it comes to sanctification,
trusting in God does
not put an end to toiling with fervour.
What God has done and what we must do
are not mutually exclusive.
What God has done
does not cancel out what we must do.
It is because of what God has done that we must do.
Paul teaches us that it is because of the grace of God
that we have received in Titus 2:11
that we must do certain things in Titus 2:12:
Titus 2:11-12 NIV
11 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
Joseph Prince’s teaching of just resting in the grace of God
and ‘Let go and let God’
and everything will take care of itself
is unbiblical.
This simplistic and super-spiritual approach of Joseph Prince
is not the wholistic teaching of the Bible.
The word of God is not ashamed to use the word, “Therefore”
as “an exposition of grace in the scriptures,
especially in Pauline’s epistles,
and this will normally be followed by an exhortation to works.”
Joseph Prince has contaminated the Christian doctrine
with antinomian teachings
that distort God’s grace and nullify human responsibility,
So much so that they have conveniently transferred
all their biblical and human responsibilities to God
on the pretext of defending God’s sovereignty
and under the guise of giving Him glory.
Any human effort is treated with contempt as works
and as subsuming the glory of God.
Joseph Prince labels even genuine obedience
and authentic holiness as legalism
– and works, even when done in obedience to the scriptures,
is a ‘dirty’ word that is anathema to his grace doctrine.
God forbid that no works
be added to the finished work of Christ,
which the Galatians did
when they insist on adding circumcision to the gospel.
But works done out of our biblical and human responsibility
and as part of the sanctification process
can’t be missed
as they are all over the New Testament scriptures.
Many of these scriptures contain commandments
and instructions that we must do.
This is to expose the false teachings of Joseph Prince
that any effort we strive towards sanctification,
which he treated as works,
is to rob God of His glory.
This is a deception by Joseph Prince
as all the following verses, which I will unfold to you,
are concrete and clear commandments and instructions
of what every Christian must observe and do.
Below is the long list of what does God expects us to do.
If we don’t,
it will constitute disobedience to His commands and instructions.
Mind you, although it is one long list,
they are just a sampling,
as only passages of the Gospels and Romans are featured.
I feature the Gospels and Romans
as the speakers or writers are Jesus and Paul,
and they represent two of the most authoritative sources.
It is a laborious list, and there is every temptation
to skip over and merely browse through.
But it would be to your benefit if you read it meditatively,
not as one big chunk in one go, but in batches in a few sittings.
8. Jesus’ list of the Dos and Don’ts.
Here’s the list:
We are not to tempt God (Matt 4:7).
We are to serve Him only (Matt 4:10).
We must repent to be saved (Matt 4:17).
We are to rejoice and be glad when we are persecuted (Matt 5:12).
We are to let our lights shine before men so they may see our good works (Matt 5:16).
We are to obey and teach God’s commandments (Matt 5:19).
We must not murder and hate another person (Matt 5:21-22).
We are to reconcile with those we’ve offended (Matt 5:24-25).
We must not commit adultery or be lustful (Matt 5:27-28).
We are to remove anything that causes us to fall into sin (Matt 5:29-30).
We are not to divorce except for cases of unrepentant unchastity (Matt 5:32).
We must always keep our word (Matt 5:33-37).
We are not to be revengeful, but be tolerant and do good to others who have mistreated us (Matt 5:38-42).
We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44-47).
We are to strive to be perfect (Matt 5:48).
We are not to do good deeds just to receive the praise of others (Matt 6:1).
We are to do good deeds but not as a means to impress others. (Matt 6:2-4).
We are to pray but not as a show-off (Matt 6:5-6).
We are not to meaninglessly repeat our prayers (Matt 6:7).
We are to pray after the pattern of ‘the Lord’s prayer’ (Matt 6:9-13).
We are to forgive others (Matt 6:14).
We are to fast but not as hypocrites to impress others (Matt 6:16).
We are not to lay up treasures on earth, but lay them up in heaven (Matt 6:19-21).
We must serve God and not money (Matt 6:24).
We are not to worry about our material needs (Matt 6:25-32).
We are to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33).
We are not to judge others (Matt 7:1-5).
We are not to give what is precious to those who are not ready (Matt 7:6).
We are to ask, seek and knock when we pray (Matt 7:7-11).
We are to do for others what we want them to do for us (Matt 7:12).
We must enter by the narrow gate and walk the narrow road that leads to life (Matt 7:13).
We must beware of false prophets (Matt 7:15-20).
We must do the will of the Father (Matt 7:21).
We must do what Jesus said or be destroyed (Matt 7:24-27).
We must pray for the Lord to send out workers into the harvest field (Matt 9:38).
We must confess Jesus before others and not deny Him (Matt 10:32-33).
We must love Jesus more than our parents or children (Matt 10:37).
We must take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matt 10:38).
We must be prepared to lose our life for Jesus’ sake (Matt 10:39).
We are to take Jesus’ yoke upon us (Matt 11:28-30).
We must always be on Jesus’ side and gather with Him (Matt 12:30).
We must not blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31).
We are to do the will of the Father (Matt 12:50).
We must honour our parents (Matt 15:4-6).
We are not to be defiled by evil thoughts of murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lying and slandering (Matt 15:19-20).
We must deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus (Matt 16:24).
We must have the attitude of a child to enter the Kingdom of God (Matt 18:3-4).
We must not cause any child who believes in Jesus to stumble (Matt 18:6).
We must not cause anyone to stumble (Matt 18:7).
We must not despise any children (Matt 18:10).
We are to confront in private any brother or sister who offends us (Matt 18:15).
We are to obey Jesus’ instructions regarding church discipline (Matt 18:16-17).
We are to forgive others to be forgiven (Matt 18:35).
We are to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 19:19).
We are to serve others instead of being served (Matt 20:26-28).
We are to pay our taxes and give to God what is His (Matt 22:21).
We are to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds (Matt 22:37).
We are not to exalt but humble ourselves (Matt 23:12).
We are not to neglect the weightier issues of the law, such as justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt 23:23).
We are not to be hypocritical (Matt 23:25-28).
We are not to be alarmed about wars and rumours of wars prior to Jesus’ return (Matt 24:6).
We are not to fall away from the faith (Matt 24:10).
We must not allow our love to grow cold (Matt 24:12).
We must endure to the end (Matt 24:13).
We must be on the alert for Christ’s return (Matt 24:42).
We must always be a faithful slave, anticipating our Lord’s imminent return (Matt 24:45-51).
We must use the time, talents and treasures that God has entrusted to us for His service (Matt 25:14-30).
We must help and minister to the needy (Matt 25:34-40).
We must partake of the Holy Communion (Matt 26:26-27).
We must make disciples of all nations by teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded (Matt 28:19-20).
We must not neglect the commandments of God to keep our traditions (Mk 7:9).
We must not be ashamed of Jesus or His words (Mk 8:38).
We must be at peace with one another (Mk 9:50).
We must have faith in God (Mk 11:22).
We must be baptised (Mk 16:16).
We are to bless those who curse us (Lk 6:28).
We are to be merciful (Lk 6:36).
We must not condemn or judge others (Lk 6:37).
We are to give (Lk 6:38).
We are not to point out the speck in a brother’s eye when we have a log in our own (Lk 6:41-42).
We are to do what Jesus says if we are to call Him Lord (Lk 6:46).
We are to bear fruit and persevere in our faith (Lk 8:12-15).
We are to hear God’s word and obey (Lk 8:21).
We must not look back after putting our hands to the plow (Lk 9:62).
We are to ask for the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13).
We must not be afraid of those who can only kill us physically (Lk 12:4).
We are to fear God, who can cast a person into hell (Lk 12:5).
We must not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit (Lk 12:10).
We must on guard against every form of greed (Lk 12:15).
We must not layup treasure for ourselves but be rich toward God (Lk 12:21).
We must bear fruit (Lk 13:6-9).
We must strive or make every effort to enter by the narrow door (Lk 13:24).
We must not exalt but humble ourselves (Lk 14:8-10).
We must love Jesus much more than our loved ones (Lk 14:26).
We are to count the cost of becoming His disciple (Lk 14:28-32).
We must be willing to give up everything for the sake of Christ (Lk 14:33).
We must be faithful in small things and with money (Lk 16:9-11).
We must have compassion for the poor (Lk 16:19-31).
We must rebuke a brother if he sins and forgive him if he repents (Lk 17:3-4).
We are to pray and not give up (Lk 18:1).
We are to receive the kingdom like a child (Lk 18:17).
We are to preach on repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 24:47).
We are to believe in Jesus (Jn 3:16).
We are to worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn 4:23-24).
We must honour Jesus, the Son of God (Jn 5:23).
We must not work for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life (Jn 6:27).
We must ‘eat the flesh’ and ‘drink the blood of Christ’ (Jn 6:53-54).
We are not to judge by appearance, but with the right judgment (Jn 7:24).
We are to hold on to the teachings of Jesus (Jn 8:31).
We are to obey Jesus’ words (Jn 8:51).
We are to follow and serve Jesus (Jn 12:26).
We are to love one another, even as Jesus loves us (Jn 13:34).
We are to do the works that Jesus did and greater works (Jn 14:12).
We are to love Jesus and obey His commandments (Jn 14:15).
We are to remain in Jesus’ love (Jn 15:9).
We are to ask Him for things in Jesus’ name (Jn 16:24).
We are to be ready to face tribulation (Jn 16:33).
This ends Jesus’ commands
and the list of dos and don’ts (not exhaustive)
found in the Gospels.
These are the things that we’re supposed
to be teaching Christ’s disciples to obey (see Matt 28:20).
9. Paul’s List of the Dos and Don’ts.
Next, let’s look at what Paul in Romans instructs us to do
and his list of dos and don’ts.
I picked Paul, who wrote Romans
mainly because I want to corner Joseph Prince.
Joseph Prince keeps boasting that his mentor is Paul,
whom he had learned all his grace theology from.
But a perusal of the following list would indicate that Paul,
who teaches that there are so many things for Christians to do,
go against Joseph Prince’s grace theology
that there isn’t much for us to do
because of the finished work of Christ.
Here’s the list:
We are not to be involved in homosexual behaviour (Rom 1:26-27).
We are not to be greedy, envious, deceitful, malicious, gossip or slander, etc, (Rom 1:29-31).
We are not to give our approval to those who practice sin (Rom 1:32).
We are to persevere in doing good (Rom 2:7).
We are not to be self-seeking and reject the truth (Rom 2:8).
We are not to curse or speak bitter words (Rom 3:14).
We are to count ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ (Rom 6:11).
We must not let sin reign in our bodies, obeying its desires (Rom 6:12).
We are not to offer the members of our bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness (Rom 6:13).
We are to present ourselves completely to God and to give every part of your body to God to do what is right (Rom 6:13).
We must not covet (Rom 7:7).
We are not live according to the flesh but put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Rom 8:12-13).
We are to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1).
We are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2).
We must not think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom 12:3).
We are to exercise our gifts according to the grace given to us (Rom 12:6).
We must love what is sincere, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good (Rom 12:9).
We must be devoted to one another and honour one another above ourselves (Rom 12:10).
We must never be lacking in zeal and be fervent in spirit as we serve the Lord (Rom 12:11).
We must rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulation, and be devoted to prayer (Rom 12:12).
We must share with those who are in need. (Rom 12:13).
We must practice hospitality (Rom 12:13).
We must bless those who persecute us and not curse them (Rom 12:14).
We must rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Rom 12:15).
We must live in harmony with one another (Rom 12:16)
We must not be proud and conceited but willing to associate with the lowly (Rom 12:16).
We must never pay back evil for evil (Rom 12:17).
We must do what is right in the eyes of everyone (Rom 12:17).
We must live in peace with all men as far as possible (Rom 12:18).
We must never take our own revenge (Rom 12:19).
We must feed our enemy if he is hungry and give him a drink if he is thirsty (Rom 12:20).
We must not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21).
We must be subject to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1).
We must owe nothing to anyone except to love one another (Rom 13:8).
We must lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light (Rom 13:12).
We must behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, sexual immorality and debauchery, dissension or jealousy (Rom 13:13)
We must clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh (Rom 13:14).
We must accept those who are weak in faith (Rom 14:1).
We must not judge our brother or treat him with contempt (Rom 14:10).
We must not put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way (Rom 14:13).
We must pursue peace and mutual edification (Rom 14:19).
We must bear with the failings of the weak, and not just to please ourselves (Rom 15:1).
We must accept one another, just as Christ accepted us (Rom 15:7).
We must keep our eyes on those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way contrary to biblical truth and turn away from them (Rom 16:17).
10. Practical Illustration about the need to do.
Let’s take the illustration of a father
who is helping his son to study for his exams.
Does that mean the son does not have to put in any effort anymore
just because his father is helping him?
No.
His father is there to help him,
but he is not there to study for him.
Even though the father is helping him,
the son still has to put in lots of effort to study for himself.
In the same way, the grace of God is all-sufficient
to help us in our service for Him,
but that does not mean that God is doing everything for us,
and we do nothing.
That also does not mean that what we do for God
is now an effortless exercise,
and no human effort is required on our part.
11. Joseph Prince may sound Logical but it isn’t Biblical.
Joseph Prince’s usual teaching goes like this:
If you do A,
B will automatically follow.
If you focus on Justification (A),
sanctification (B) will automatically follow.
If you focus on Christ’s obedience (A),
you will automatically obey Him (B).
If you focus on the finished work of the cross and what He has done for you (A),
everything that you do will automatically be effortless (B).
It may sound logical, but it isn’t biblical.
That’s why many who are too lazy to read their Bibles
have been deceived.
Joseph Prince, could you show me
where all these principles you teach in the above
are listed in the Bible (chapter and verse)?
Friends, the truth is you can’t find it anywhere in the scriptures.
To say, “Jesus paid it all” is unequivocally biblical.
To say, “Jesus did it all to merit all of our saving blessings”
is also gloriously biblical.
But to say, “Jesus did it all,
so you don’t have to do anything”
(a classic statement by Joseph Prince)
is absolutely unbiblical.
Jesus does not repent and believe the gospel for us
– though He gives the grace for us to receive.
Jesus does not live the Christian life for us
– though He supplies us all the grace to live the victorious Christian life.
Just because we can always count on the grace of Christ to help us
does not mean we do nothing.
Just because God is sovereign
does not mean there is no place for human responsibility.
No wonder so many goats are attracted
to the ‘Do Nothing’ and ‘No-Commitment-Needed’
theology of Joseph Prince.
That’s why so many people like to go to Joseph Prince’s church.
I’ve no more responsibility
as every responsibility is now on Christ.
I’ve nothing to do
because Christ has done everything for me on the cross,
and He will do everything for me from now onwards.
So, I will just go to New Creation Church to rest and relax.
No commitment is expected.
Go and be entertained.
Just enjoy the show.
Just go to a big and posh auditorium every Sunday
to enjoy the show and be entertained
by Joseph Prince’s motivational and humorous sermons
– which carnal believers (goats, thinking they are sheep)
wouldn’t want it?
Luke 12:35 NIV
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.”
Did Jesus say,
“You must focus on my finished work on the cross,
and your lamps will automatically be burning”?
No.
Jesus said,
“You have the human responsibility
to keep your own lamps burning,
or else, there could be severe repercussions” (Lk 12:36,46).
John 12:25 NIV
25 “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Did Jesus say,
“You must focus on the righteousness of God in Christ,
then you will automatically hate this life
and keep it for eternal life”?
No.
Jesus said,
“You must take it upon yourself to hate this life
to keep it for eternal life.”
Acts 20:28 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.”
Did Paul say,
“Focus on Christ and what He has done for you,
and you will automatically keep watch over yourselves
and your flock”?
No.
Paul said,
“I am giving you an instruction
that you must keep watch over yourselves and your flock.”
Human responsibility does not mean we don’t depend on God’s strength.
But it does mean we must proactively take the initiative to do our part.
It is not God who has promised to help us,
and therefore, we don’t do anything.
It is in the light of the certainty of God’s strength and help
that we have the confidence to do our part
to strive, fight, hold on, to keep, etc.
12. The ‘no need to do doctrine’ of Joseph Prince will ultimately destroy you.
Imagine what would happen to those
who are influenced by Joseph Prince’s teachings.
They would not lift a finger to hold on,
to keep or make every effort to guard their faith,
pushing all the responsibility to God alone.
The likelihood is many would grow cold, backslide,
even though they are attending church
and serving in the ministries.
And when they do,
they could grab hold of another false doctrine of Joseph Prince
that they are once saved always saved
and could never lose their salvation, no matter what.
They could rely on other false doctrines of Joseph Prince
about God’s unconditional grace and unconditional love.
God will love them unconditionally,
no matter what they do or don’t do.
But the scriptures tell us that
if we don’t do by obeying the words of Christ,
we will be destroyed (Matt 7:26),
and if we don’t do by doing the will of the Father,
we will not enter the kingdom of God (Matt 7:21).
Do you now realise how deadly Joseph Prince’s heresies are?
It is so deadly
that as the people are worshipping God every Sunday
thinking they are on their way to heaven,
when the reality is, they might be headed for hell.
Rev George Ong
Appendix
Featured YouTube comments:
@WordsofGodThe
“Joseph Prince says,
“The reason why you are not healthy is BECAUSE you are tolling so much in your mind .. you are worried so much in your mind .. you are holding back the healing FROM ME!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO7QEX3Xb0Q&t=71s
Do you know what is he saying?
He is speaking to you that ‘he’ is that ‘Oracle of God’
who can make you healthy and wealthy!
However, did Jesus say that?
Did Jesus tell us that if we toil, if we worry,
we are holding back the healing FROM HIM?
Obviously, the health and wealth part
is added by Joseph Prince.
It is his ‘literature’ which has now been switched to ‘psychology’
to become a mixture of everything.
Obviously, Jesus never preached Matthew 6:33-34
as His text for the health and wealth gospel,
or the health and wealth psychology;
but Joseph Prince extracts it to preach his own ‘gospel’
and give you the impression that he has the ‘Oracles of God’.
It means that now all the doctors in the hospitals
and people in the medical field
will now have to accept the authorized ‘anointed’ wisdom
of Joseph Prince too
because he is a rare preacher
who discovers that anxiety and worrying
is the root cause of people’s mental health
as well as all kinds of physical sicknesses,
and most important of all,
he has the cures and ‘Oracles’ of God too.”
@charlespitan5412
“Joseph Prince, why do you talk so much
about your wealth and health, your prosperity gospel?
Sunday after Sunday after Sunday,
you preach, more or less, the same thing.
The only difference is the way you present it,
and yet, you use the Bible, the holy word of God,
and twist it to suit your evil intentions.
You are dangerously doing that
and you are heaping the curse of God unto your own self.
You said you are of the New Covenant
and the Old Testament is for Old Covenant people,
but when it comes to prosperity,
you use the Old Testament to support your twisted gospel.
Can you please pick one verse from the Bible
and preach on spiritual beauty, wealth, health and riches in heaven,
and how we can receive it through sanctification
and obedience to the word of God,
instead of your worldly bla bla bla,
and when you die you will bla to hell.
Please repent Mr. Joseph Prince
(I don’t call you a pastor because you are not a pastor at all. A pastor is someone who looks after the sheep and protects them from the wolf)
before it is too late.
Next time, if you want to preach your own hyper grace
and prosperity gospel,
do not use the holy word of God, use your own bible.
Make your own religion, don’t use Christianity
to camouflage your false teachings.
Once again, I say, please repent,
and God will truly bless you.
Thanks to Reverend George for working tirelessly
in exposing and fighting against the heresies of Joseph Prince.
And to all believers,
please pray for Rev George and his ministry
so that many eyes will be opened to see the truth,
and open their hearts to the true gospel
that is in Jesus Christ. Amen.”
@singapore-p3u
“I seriously wonder why people are still so foolish
to follow this so-called pastor (Joseph Prince)
who preach nonsense….
and the people are so shallow when it comes to the Word.”
@lindakoo5221
“Thank You again Rev Ong
for persistently exposing Joseph Prince’s typical heresies.
He is into deceiving and brainwashing his congregation
into believing all the nonsense and garbage
that he teaches.
Truly, this is the hour that his congregation “wake up”,
repent and turn away
from all Joseph Prince’s false teachings and heresies
that totally distort the word of God.
Are they not aware that they are also into mocking God
by agreeing with Joseph Prince?
It is alarming that Joseph Prince has the audacity
to claim that his critics have misinterpreted the Bible.
Joseph Prince is, without a shadow of a doubt,
a false teacher who does not know the word of God.
I believe many will agree with you Rev Ong,
that a slanderer preacher
will only produce slandering Followers.”
@hanamel8163
“We shall only rejoice in the Lord of our salvation
and not gold or silver…our blessed Hope!
I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us. Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! – (Habakkuk 3:16-18)
Thank you, Rev Ong for sharing this!”
@jasontan6469
“The main problem I observe
is that he does not preach Christ.
He preaches about Christ;
but not Christ alone as the all-sufficient grace
and gospel of God.
All scripture points to Christ as the Messiah,
but it does seem that in his sermons;
he never preaches Christ as sufficient for us.
There’s always this element of us
needing to desire more from God,
asking God for more of everything else, but Christ.
Christ Himself mentioned that the 5,000 people
who were fed pursued Christ
because they ate and were full.
But He came to offer them the living bread, that is Himself,
of which those who partake of this eternal bread
will never go hungry.”
@InChristAlone7
“Apostle Peter preaches the real Jesus
when he said to the crippled man
“Silver & Gold, I do not have, but I have Jesus….”
Our Lord instructed us in Revelation
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”
Jesus is not talking about physical and worldly gold,
but spiritual gold.
Joseph Prince is definitely preaching another Jesus
from the way he twists and turns the scriptures
to suit his prosperity gospel.”
@thng9170
“What was in our Lord’s heart
when He suffered on the cross for us?
Do you think He was thinking
about our wealth and health in this world?
Certainly not.
In His heart and throughout the NT,
the key theme is the final salvation of our souls
as each of us will face the Lord’s judgement on the last day.
We have been commanded by Him
to preach the Lord’s salvation
and make disciples of all nations.
But for Joseph Prince, in and out for the past 20+ years,
what has he been preaching?
Obviously, he has been preaching a different gospel
under a different spirit that is not following
what the Lord has commanded him.
Clearly, he is in darkness and in total denial of the truth.”
@davidching7803
“New Creation Church should jolly well close down
so that Joseph Prince quit preaching rubbish on the pulpit,
and he really needs to attend Bible school
to re-learn the Bible.
He’s sending the entire congregation of goats
who follow his rubbish preaching and including himself
to hell and ruination.”
@joyceliew4352
“Joseph Prince said …
“if a lily is sick and withering, the clothing just become brown right and fades and dies. So, it’s talking about our health. Why are you worry about your health. The reason why you are not healthy is because you are toiling so much in your mind. You are worried so much in your mind, you are holding back the healing from me.” ???
Question to Joseph Prince:
you meant the lilies are our bodies?
If it is so, according to verse 30,
which means our bodies are here today alive
and green and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace??
With this kind of interpretation from Joseph Prince,
no wonder it has caused so much confusion
among God’s people.
Body not sick also will become sick.
Jesus told us not to worry about our daily needs
(water, food and clothing) for He will provide.
Matthew 6:28-30 AMP
[28] And why are you worried about clothes?
See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], [29] yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
@jamesow5163
“God’s word is always consistent.
Joseph Prince’s interpretation of GOD’s Word
is not consistent.”
@kimyong7031
“Thanks, Rev George for checking
Joseph Prince’s sermons on Health and Wealth.
Let’s continue to search the scripture with eagerness
like the Berean church in Acts.”
@janicelee3826
“Just read the Lord’s prayer Jesus taught us,
“Give us this day our DAILY Bread”,
not many years of bread to be stored for many years.
Bread cannot be stored for too long either.
The full context of the verses is telling us Do Not Worry;
verses not talking about health:
Matthew 6:28
28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
@Matrixqc777
What did the Israelites do with their gold (and silver)
taken out of Egypt
that was meant for the building of God’s tabernacle?
‘So all the people took off the rings of GOLD that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the GOLD from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a GOLDEN CALF. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”’ (Exodus 32:3-4).
‘And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have CORRUPTED THEMSELVES. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a GOLDEN CALF and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 32:7-8).
“Those that sit under false prosperity driven preaching
are not victims, they are culprits,
because they want exactly what the false teachers wants
and it’s not God”.
– Paul Washer
‘And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a GOLDEN CALF. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you’ (Deut. 9:16).
To the Church in Laodicea (NCC?): “FOR YOU SAY, I AM RICH, I HAVE PROSPERED, AND I NEED NOTHING, not realizing that you are WRETCHED, PITIABLE, POOR, BLIND, AND NAKED” (Rev.3:17).
@MrLEE-xn9fq
“Joseph Prince’s mind only thinks about gold and silver…
not all will be rich, quite a few will find a vein of gold.”
@MyHanck
“He preaches the false freedom
from non-performance of God’s law.”
@WordsofGodThe
“Joseph Prince thinks that he needs to interpret
the gold and silver in the Bible correctly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO7QEX3Xb0Q&t=50
Replying to him, I will say,
There is no need to interpret Lah, just think.
In Singapore, 3 million people
would somehow have some gold, right?
If they collect it,
will they be able to build a huge golden calf too?
Certainly. Are all the Singaporeans rich
just because they have gold? No.
So, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist
or a Shakespeare’s writer
to interpret the gold in the Bible.
You know that gold means nothing
when your heart only wants to devise lies and hypocrisies.
Since you talk like a Shakespeare and act like him,
here’s a Shakespeare’s quote for you too:
“There is thy GOLD, worse poison to men’s souls, Doing more murder in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell.”
One more from Shakespeare:
“All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold.”
Note this comment is a critique of my website:
@stevechelvan3016
“George, you should give yourself 1 year
and attend all Joseph Prince’s services
to do a critical review,
rather than cut and paste redaction.”
These are the comments of those
who wrote against the above critic:
@vijayrem-mn6id
“@stevechelvan3016
So, after your 1-year review of Joseph Prince’s teachings,
What’s your take?”
@kengoppingoppin
“I suggest you read the Bible.
Not just study the Bible, study it hard, real hard.
Push your mind to its limit to plumb its depth.
Intensely search the word
and fervently seek the Holy Spirit’s help,
then review Joseph Prince’s teachings.”
@joyceliew4352
“Hi Steve
Kindly please do your research
before you think Rev Ong has not been listening
to Joseph Prince long enough.
As for the cut and paste redaction,
give yourself a challenge
by joining them back from the scriptures
and then read for yourself
to see whether Rev Ong has explained the Word
out of context.
Just to let you know it takes “faith”
to study The Word of God.
Please kindly study The Word like the Bereans for yourself,
or else, please don’t accuse the “truth”
which is clearly shown with solid proofs
from The Written word.
You have faith in a man who called himself a “prince”,
while we have faith for The Written Word of God.”
@user-qi8rv4ez7u
“If you don’t want to be deceived
all the time of your life,
you need to reset and rethink.
If you are prejudiced against this channel,
you can watch other channels on Joseph Prince.
Then come back a year later,
and your mind may be born again.”
@InChristAlone7
“Hello Brother, Reverend George has been around
for the last 7 years
and has been reviewing and commenting
on the false doctrines of Joseph Prince.
He dived deep into the scriptures
to share the true revelations,
unlike Joseph Prince who picks and selects scriptures
to suit and substantiate his false grace teaching.
Reverend George watches every sermon
preached by Joseph Prince for years
and that’s why he can point out
all of Joseph Prince’s false teachings.
Probably, you must have been deceived by Joseph Prince
and follow his teachings blindly.
Please review any of Reverend George’s YouTube video
and cross reference with Joseph Prince’s teachings
and discover for yourself
that there are lots of twisted verses by Joseph Prince.
Peace to you.”