Joseph Prince’s Out-of-Context ‘Giving to Gain’ Prosperity Gospel Teaching in Luke 6:38 has confirmed himself as a Serial Hypocrite & a Serial Double-Talker – By Rev George Ong (Dated 16 Dec 2022)
The right interpretation of Luke 6:38 (NKJV);
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
is one issue that you shouldn’t miss because you could be the one who has misinterpreted it.
Don’t ever miss the important issues that are contained in Appendixes 1, 2 and 3 at the end of the article.
Note that Joseph Prince didn’t preach for the last 4 consecutive Sundays: 20 Nov, 27 Nov, 4 Dec & 11 Dec 2022.
Though Joseph Prince didn’t preach in person on 11 Dec 2022, last Sunday, he uploaded a pre-recorded sermon that was shown to his congregation and aired on YouTube.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon aired on YouTube (a pre-recorded sermon) on 11 Dec 2022, 5 days ago, Joseph Prince said;
Please click here to view the one-and-a-half-minute video:
“You know, there are people who say things like, well, you are giving to receive.”
“Why did Jesus say, ‘Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will men give into your bosom.’ (Luke 6:38a)
Notice the expression, it’s very specific. It’s in detail. Even the process; how it’s going to come back to you.
Why did Jesus say; if Jesus didn’t want us to expect a return, He didn’t expect us to believe for a harvest, why did He encourage us with the result of our giving, with the harvest of our giving. Amen.
He could just have said, ‘Give in the name of the Lord. Give with a motive to bless others.’ He could have said that. No, He wants us to be encouraged.
He wants us to believe that when we give, we will reap. Amen. It will be given back to us. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, men will give to our bosom.
So, is this teaching a prosperity in the Bible? Something that God is saying to us that it’s not His will for us to prosper…”
“So, child of God, God wants you to be encouraged. God wants to prosper you.”
“But it’s like God arrested me recently and told me, it’s time for me to preach this in its biblical context. Amen.”
Luke 6:38 is a fairly familiar verse that we have read in the Bible and heard many times preached on pulpit.
Yet, many have not come to grasp the real meaning of it.
We often hear of Prosperity Gospel preachers such as Joseph Prince, who quotes this verse,
promising you that what you generously give (money) to God through the church,
God will give you back more (money) in return and you will be repaid many times over.
Joseph Prince teaches that for what you give,
you are guaranteed to get more, or you will reap a harvest that is more than what you have sown or given.
The imagery depicted in Luke 6:38 is that of a good measure of grain, pressed down or compressed so that more might be put into the same measure in a container.
It is then shaken together so that the container could hold even more grain as more is poured into it.
And when it reaches the maximum volume and could hold no more, it begins to run over and overflow.
Though the imagery in Luke 6:38 is vivid, the interpretation of Joseph Prince that it is referring to our giving (of money), is erroneous.
I could imagine how Jesus must have felt seeing people like Joseph Prince, making Him say what He didn’t mean.
Jesus could be filled with great displeasure and even righteous anger of seeing a so-called Pastor (Joseph Prince), abusing the word of God and distorting His words, just to prove his Prosperity Gospel theology, which is false anyway.
The erroneous teaching as advanced by Joseph Prince in Luke 6:38 is that when you give (money) to God,
God will give you back more in return
as indicated by the words “pressed down”, “shaken together”, and especially, “running over” in the verse.
Does that mean that God cannot or does not bless believers with such “running over” blessings?
Of course, He can.
He is the sovereign God who can choose to bless anyone in whatever way he wants.
And many believers, (including myself), have experienced such bountiful blessings of God in their lives.
But for Joseph Prince to interpret Luke 6:38 out of context and twists the words of Jesus
in order to teach it as a universal principle that is bound to work for every New Covenant believer
– that what one gives, one will get more in return
is a different matter and a serious misdemeanour.
Yes, believers do receive blessings in the light of their sacrificial and generous giving as God is a generous God who gives.
But these may not necessarily come back to us in the form of financial blessings.
Such returns could be in the form of seeing lives changed and souls saved, and they are even more precious and valuable than the rich financial blessings that we could stand to receive.
Joseph Prince said;
“But it’s like God arrested me recently and told me, it’s time for me to preach this in its biblical context. Amen.”
The perennial sin that Joseph Prince keeps committing is the sin of hypocrisy.
On the one hand, Joseph Prince keeps harping on the fact that we must interpret a verse or a passage in its context in his books and sermons.
Yet, on the other hand, he is the culprit who keeps breaking the same rule that he exhorts others to follow.
On many occasions, Joseph Prince would write in his books and preach in his sermons
about the hypocrisy and deception of taking a verse out of its context
– when the disturbing truth is, he is the one who regularly does it and the chief culprit who is guilty of it.
Here are 5 instances:
In ‘Destined to Reign’, Page 66, Joseph Prince wrote;
“Let me give you a Bible study tip: When you read the Bible, be sure to read everything within its context because when you take the “text” out of its “context”, what you are left with is a “con”! Many believers are hoodwinked into believing “cons” and erroneous teachings when something is lifted and taught out of its context.”
In ‘Destined to Reign’, Page 95, Joseph Prince wrote;
“I hope that by now, you can see the dangers of lifting the Word of God out of its context. We have to be careful not to take a verse out of its context and build a teaching or doctrine around it. Bible teachings have to be confirmed by several supporting verses and these have to be studied within their proper contexts.”
In ‘Destined to Reign’, Page 136, Joseph Prince wrote;
“It is important to always read Bible verses in their context. Many people end up misinterpreting Bible verses because they fail to do this. One way to read Bible verses in their context (and this is a key Bible interpretation principle) is to identify who the verses are talking about.”
In ‘Unmerited Favour’, Pages 29-30, Joseph Prince wrote;
“One of the things that I always remind my Church is this: Always read a verse in its context because when you take the “text” out of its “context,” it becomes a con! Don’t let anyone con you out of God’s blessings in your life.”
In ‘Unmerited Favor’, Page 188, Joseph Prince wrote;
“When reading the Bible, always look at the context of the verses. When you take the “text” and interpret it out of its “context,” all you are left with is a “con”! So don’t be conned. Read everything in its context.”
Besides these 5 times, I’ve heard him say the same thing many times in his teaching videos/audios.
But what insincerity and pretense when Joseph Prince blatantly breaks the same rules without batting an eyelid that he is asking others to observe.
What do you call a man
who keeps breaking the same rules that he strongly advocates?
What do you call a person
who commits the same error repeatedly and unrepentantly that he is constantly warning others of?
What do you call a preacher
who accuses others of being a con man when he is the guiltiest of them all?
– A serial hypocrite pure and simple.
And hypocrisy is a serious character flaw.
Hypocrisy is what Jesus cursed and condemned the Pharisees for 6 times in Matthew 23.
No hypocrite can ever be a true teacher of God’s word and a Christ-centred preacher.
But the more crucial issue is this
– how could a true teacher of God’s word not be pricked in his conscience about his hypocrisy when he does the same things over and over again
– breaking the same rules about interpreting a text in its context that he strongly advocates?
In order to understand Luke 6:38, let’s look at its bigger context in Luke 6:27-42:
Luke 6:27-42 NKJV
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you:
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Tell me honestly, do you see money mentioned in Luke 6:38?
Joseph Prince saw money (our giving) in Luke 6:38
because he has taken it out of its context,
and he has read something that isn’t there – money (our giving) into the text.
In the immediate context of Luke 6:38 in Luke 6:37-42,
it has to do with judgement and forgiveness in verse 37,
and the hypocrisy of judging and pointing out the faults of others (speck in their eye),
when you yourself are ladened with a bigger fault (plank in your own eye) in verses 41-42.
In verses 39-40;
Luke 6:39-40 NKJV
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher,
Jesus was probably alluding to the Pharisees, who as blind guides, are guilty of such hypocritical judgement in verses 41-42.
(In fact, the Pharisees were mentioned by Jesus at the beginning of Luke chapter 6 (Lk 6:1-11) for their judgmental attitude about what could or could not be done on a Sabbath.)
If one were to compare Luke 6:37-42 and Matthew 7:1-5 of which both were spoken by Jesus,
Jesus was not talking about money (our giving), but He was talking about the fact that we should not judge others:
Luke 6:37-42 NKJV
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV
1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Furthermore, in the bigger context of Luke 6:38 in Luke 6:27-38, Jesus is teaching about how a disciple ought to treat others.
In Luke 6:37, He culminates with an injunction not to judge or condemn but to forgive:
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Jesus then continues in Luke 6:38:
38 Give, and it will be given to you:
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
So, if you read the passage in context,
“Give, and it will be given to you…” in Luke 6:38,
it is not the giving of money or financial resources that Jesus is talking about, but the giving of forgiveness (also mentioned in Luke 6:37).
In Luke 6:37, Jesus exhorts His disciples (and us) to forgive others. Do not condemn or judge them, but rather forgive.
And the next verse in Luke 6:38, Jesus says,
“Give, and it will be given to you…”
Hence, verse 38 has to be taken in the context of forgiveness (and judgement) in verse 37.
Jesus is actually addressing the issue of forgiveness (and not our giving of money) in Luke 6:38 when He says,
“Give, and it will be given to you…”
The message is, just as you
Forgive, and you will be forgiven,
in Luke 6:37,
in the same way, if you
Give (forgiveness), and it (forgiveness) will be given to you,
in Luke 6:38.
We are to give forgiveness to others, so that we will also be forgiven.
If we give forgiveness in Luke 6:37, it shall be given to us in Luke 6:38;
“good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
In other words, as you forgive, forgiveness comes back to you. As you show grace, grace that comes back to you.
And it comes back in measures that you just don’t expect (Lk 6:38);
“good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over…”
What we are looking at is a spirit of generosity.
When we are generous with our forgiveness (Lk 6:37) and mercy (Lk 6:36), we will experience the same forgiveness and mercy, and even in a greater intensity.
We don’t want to give out negative judgment harshly and unnecessarily (Lk 6:37).
We don’t want to be condemning people for no rhyme or reason (Lk 6:37).
We want to be living our life with a generosity of spirit that shows them love, mercy and one that gives forgiveness.
We ought to live our lives with a generosity of spirit where we are not condemning, not judging, but we are allowing that free forgiveness to flow from our heart – and we would be amazed at what God could bring back to us:
“For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Lk 6:38b)
As we forgive, people will extend the same forgiveness to us in return.
So, the overall thrust of Luke 6:37-38 is that we shouldn’t judge but to forgive others.
That is the subject that Jesus was trying to explain and address to His own disciples.
So, these verses are definitely not talking about the giving of money or financial giving.
Luke 6:38 is actually talking about giving forgiveness to others.
Let’s now compare Luke 6:37-38 and Matthew 7:1-2; both of which were said by the same person, the Lord Jesus:
Luke 6:37-38 NKJV
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Notice the same phrases (almost identical) are used of both passages (Lk 6:37a & Matt 7:1 and Lk 6:38b & Matt 7:2b) by Jesus:
Luke 6:37a NKJV
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Matthew 7:1 NKJV
1“Judge not, that you be not judged.
Luke 6:38b
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:2b NKJV
and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
The same phrase (almost identical):
“For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you,”
is used by Jesus in both Luke 6:38b and Matthew 7:2b about what would happen when we judge one another.
In other words, if you take Luke 6:37-38 in its context and comparing it with Matthew 7:1-2,
you will have to conclude that Jesus was talking about the measure of treatment you give to others
is the measure of treatment you will receive in return
– especially regarding judgement and forgiveness.
How we treat others, is how we will be treated.
Jesus is speaking about the measure of judgement (negative) or forgiveness (positive) that you mete out,
is the measure that you will receive or reap (Lk 6:38b);
“For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Hence, in Luke 6:38, Jesus isn’t speaking about money or finances at all.
For Joseph Prince to interpret Luke 6:38 as speaking about money
is to take the passage out of its context
and make Jesus say something He didn’t intend to.
Joseph Prince is daringly putting words into Jesus’s mouth and he has totally misrepresented what Jesus has intended to convey in Luke 6:37-38.
This is yet another evidence that Joseph Prince is preaching another Jesus that is not of the Bible.
He is making Jesus promise that we will receive more money in return when we give, when no such promise is evident in the passage.
And when believers naively believe such teachings of Joseph Prince but do not receive such promises, who would they blame?
Jesus!
Joseph Prince has indeed abused the scripture in Luke 6:38 to advance his false Prosperity Gospel agenda.
Yes, Luke 6:38 does mention the word, “Give” and implied the idea of generosity.
But is it talking about being generous with the giving of our money (though this is taught in other passages)?
Of course not!
It is talking about being generous or gracious about how we perceive and treat people
– that we are not to be judging or condemning but to be forgiving of others.
If we are generous about forgiving others, then they too will also be forgiving towards us (Lk 6:38b):
“For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
So, the context shows the “Give” in Luke 6:38, doesn’t have anything to do with money.
Jesus is exhorting us that we should give forgiveness and mercy to others in the way we want God to mete them to us.
Jesus is teaching us to give forgiveness in a merciful and non-judging and uncondemning attitude:
Luke 6:36-38a NKJV
36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you…
And if we do that, we will reap more than the same amount of forgiveness that we have bestowed onto others (Lk 6:38b);
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Joseph Prince seems to teach that if you give $100, you will, perhaps, get $1000 back, or if I give $1,000, I will, perhaps, get $10,000 back.
That’s being naively presumptuous and blatantly selfish!
If it is true that every time when a believer gives, he will get back many times he has given, every Christian would be very rich and become millionaires by now.
Since this isn’t the case, Luke 6:38 cannot be interpreted in that twisted way.
Should we be giving money just to get it back more in return?
Was Jesus giving financial advice on how to invest your riches through your giving so as to gain more riches?
Of course not!
Jesus was merely making the point that the way we treat others, will be how they will treat us back.
How can Joseph Prince teach that God will make us richer and more prosperous by our giving,
when Jesus, in verse 24 of the same chapter of Luke 6, has already warned people about being rich;
Luke 6:24 NKJV
24 “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
On the contrary, Jesus pronounced His kingdom blessings on the poor in Luke 6:20 when he said,
Luke 6:20 NKJV
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
Joseph Prince uses Luke 6:38 to challenge people to give as they would stand to be financially prosperous by receiving more than what they have given.
Giving to God and receiving financial blessings from God are not wrong.
But what is certain is that Jesus didn’t pronounce Luke 6:38 in order to get His disciples to give money so as to gain more.
Did Apostle Peter say to Apostle John,
“Hey John, Jesus has just told us that the key to financial prosperity and a life of riches is to give generously – that what we give, we will receive much more in return. This is too good to be true!”
Of course not!
This is because when the apostle Peter met a crippled beggar who was expecting to get some pennies from him, in Acts chapter 3, Peter said;
“… Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6 KJV).
Peter didn’t become rich and prosperous because of Luke 6:38, but he was rather poor as he didn’t have something materially decent to give to the beggar.
Did Apostle John say to Apostle Peter,
“Hey, Peter, what Jesus said is a perfect strategy to be rich – that for the amount that I give, I am bound to receive many times more. What a liberating truth!”
Not at all!
The reason is John was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel during the twilight years of his life.
And John didn’t stay at the VIP suite of one of Patmos’ most prestigious hotels.
If John really believed what Joseph Prince teaches that Jesus promises prosperity and financial blessings for those who give, John must have felt gravely disenchanted and deceived, when he found himself living in isolation and relative poverty in the final days of his life.
If Joseph Prince teaches what Jesus said
– that God will give believers back much more than what they give in Luke 6:38, and that God wants to prosper them, were true,
then it must be evident in the lives of His disciples/apostles.
This is because all the words of Jesus in Luke 6:20-42, from verse 20 onwards, especially in Luke 6:38, were spoken to His disciples:
Luke 6:20a NKJV
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
But there is hardly any evidence that the disciples of Jesus were prosperous and wealthy because of Luke 6:38.
Paul himself, the disciple par excellence, was obviously not a prosperous and a rich man,
as he was hungry, thirsty, cold, naked and often went without food:
2 Corinthians 11:27 NIV
27 “I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”
If that was Christ’s real intention, that New Covenant believers are to be materially prosperous and rich because of Luke 6:38, this certainly wasn’t true in the case of Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:27.
You must remember that Paul, like us, is also a New Covenant believer.
The promise that God will bless us with much more than what we give in Luke 6:38,
and hence, we will become prosperous and wealthy, as taught by Joseph Prince
wasn’t true of Apostle Paul, Peter, and John, or any of the other apostles.
If these apostles of Jesus, being the first batch of New Covenant believers, whose lives and ministries didn’t express the teaching and truth of Luke 6:38 that Joseph Prince asserts,
– that Luke 6:38 is a promise that God will give them more than what they have given, and hence, they would become prosperous and wealthy,
such a teaching of Joseph Prince is categorically false.
Luke 6:38 isn’t about material giving, and the only mention of material giving in Luke chapter 6, occurs in the wider context of verse 38, in verses 30, 34 and 35:
Luke 6:30 NIV
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
Luke 6:34-35 NIV
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
So, the only mention about material giving in Luke chapter 6 is about giving to your enemies without expecting any return from them.
Jesus exhorts us to love our enemies by doing good to them without expecting to get anything back in return.
Hence, Luke 6:38 cannot be used by Prosperity Gospel preachers, such as Joseph Prince, to teach that Jesus said God will give back to us even more with what we have given to Him.
Some believers may get a material return in the form of a love offering when we are kind to others, but our eternal reward from God is what should really motivate us.
Luke 6:38 is not a sure-to-work formula to be financially prosperous because God will give us back more than what we give to Him (Lk 6:38), as Joseph Prince wants us to believe.
If that were so, that would stand in contradiction to everything else Jesus said in this sermon in Luke 6:27-38
about unselfish love, and not seeking to get anything material in return because of one’s acts of kindness.
In summary, all of Christ’s previous instructions in Luke 6:27-37 are the background to Luke 6:38.
So, when Jesus said,
Luke 6:38a NKJV
38 Give, and it will be given to you:
He was, in a larger sense, referring to loving our enemies and giving and/or lending them money or material goods in their need, and not expecting anything back in return.
Jesus was saying we should be merciful to them and refrain from judging and condemning them.
Christ was also talking about the fact that we should give forgiveness to them even though they may hate and curse us.
All the above forms the context to Luke 6:38, which teaches us that as we give forgiveness, we will receive forgiveness back in return in surprising measures;
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
So, Luke 6:38 cannot mean that God will give us much more financially each time when we give as a universal principle that is bound to work for every New Covenant believer.
If that is true, the world will be filled with Christian millionaires many times over.
We must remember that Jesus wasn’t unfolding a trade secret of guaranteeing a return on our giving.
He isn’t promoting greed – telling people that if they give, more will be given to them.
Rather, the immediate context of verse 38 in Luke 6:37-42, is judging and forgiving others.
Thus, the giving in verse 38 is in the sense of extending mercy and forgiveness to others, and not about giving money to God.
Last, even in our giving of money to God and others, God’s assurance is that there is no fear of ever impoverishing ourselves by our giving, because He is a rich God who cares for us, and He will provide for our every need; and if He deems fit, to even bless us with blessings that “run over” and overflow .
Rev George Ong
Appendix 1
Joseph Prince: The Serial Double-Talker.
Joseph Prince is not just a serial hypocrite which I have proven in my discussion on Luke 6:38, but he is also a serial double-talker.
In ‘Unmerited Favor’, Page 97, Joseph Prince wrote;
“However, the new covenant does not actually begin with the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as these books deal predominantly with the life of Jesus before the cross.
In fact, the new covenant begins after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hence, the cross is our clearest marking point of where the new covenant begins.”
In ‘Grace Revolution’, Page 309, Joseph Prince wrote;
“You can’t simply take something that was recorded and spoken during the dispensation of the law of the old covenant, and apply it to new covenant believers today.
Likewise, you cannot take what was recorded and spoken before the cross of Jesus and apply it to new covenant believers today.”
In ‘Destined To Reign’, Page 92, Joseph Prince wrote;
“The new covenant only begins after the cross, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost.”
On the one hand, Joseph Prince wrote in his books
that everything of what Christ spoke and taught in the gospels before the cross (which includes Luke 6:38),
doesn’t apply to New Covenant believers because they were spoken and taught under the Old Covenant Law.
On the other hand, Joseph Prince teaches in his sermon on 11 Dec 2022
that what Jesus said in Luke 6:38, (which was before the cross), is a truth that New Covenant believers could claim
– that God would give us back much more than what we have given to Him,
and hence, we would become prosperous.
Can you see how self-contradictory and unprincipled this sneaky man, Joseph Prince, is?
When there are truths in the gospels spoken by Jesus that speak against his grace doctrine,
he will immediately offer the excuse that they are under the Old Covenant, and therefore, inapplicable to New Covenant believers.
But when he finds passages in the gospels, such as Luke 6:38 that could be used to support his grace doctrine,
he changes tact, and arbitrarily, makes them the exception.
This is not the first time that Joseph Prince has done this.
In the many passages of the gospels, such as John 3:16, the Prodigal Son and other examples,
what are not applicable to his New Covenant Grace doctrine because these were spoken by Jesus before the cross,
he, arbitrarily, switched around, and conveniently used them to support his grace doctrine just because they served his purpose.
This is double-talking and self-contradiction of the highest order!
I have once again proven that Joseph Prince is indeed, a serial double-talker.
How on earth can anyone ever trust this unprincipled fellow for the flippant, inconsistent and self-contradictory way he handles Bible texts?
If no one can trust a serial double-talker, how can anyone trust Joseph Prince to be a true teacher of God’s word?
Joseph Prince has to come forward and admit, publicly, that one of either of his teachings is false, as both cannot be true at one and the same time.
Appendix 2
Joseph Prince tries to deceive by claiming that his Prosperity Gospel doctrine is biblical because it isn’t the extreme versions that are taught by others.
In this sermon on 11 Dec 2022 and his other recent sermons, Joseph Prince, has time and again, defended his Prosperity Gospel doctrine
with the argument that he isn’t preaching the extremes of the doctrine, such as covetousness or materialism, etc, that are preached by others.
Joseph Prince is trying to deceive you that just because he isn’t preaching about covetousness or materialism, etc, means his Prosperity Gospel teaching is biblical.
Be not deceived because that is a wool that Prince is pulling over your eyes.
The fact is, regardless of whether one is preaching an extreme version of the Prosperity Gospel doctrine,
if one, such as Joseph Prince, has misinterpreted and twisted a verse, for example Luke 6:38, to support his Prosperity Gospel teaching,
no amount of justification by Joseph Prince can make it right.
By Joseph Prince’s Prosperity Gospel teaching that every New Covenant believer has the covenant right to be very wealthy as Abraham was
– that itself is an extreme teaching simply because it is false.
Appendix 3
Right & Wrong Reasons for Judging.
We have learned from Luke 6:37, 41-42 in the article that we are not to judge people.
But are all forms of judging wrong?
What if someone who is living in open sin of adultery; and you confront him; and he throws the verse in Luke 6:37 at you:
Luke 6:37a
37 Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
What if someone, such as Joseph Prince, is unrepentantly preaching the false Prosperity Gospel and his heretical grace doctrine with reckless abandon,
and when you contend and expose his heresies,
his ardent and diehard supporters hit back at you with Matthew 7:1-2 (which happened to me many times):
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Your common sense (besides scripture) will tell you that in the above 2 instances, that is not the way to apply the verses.
While we are not to judge subjectively or without any evidence, there are many instances in the Bible that tell us we have a duty to judge and we must judge.
If you haven’t had the chance, do not miss reading this previous article, which throws a good measure of light on the issue;
Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged? – By Rev George Ong,
by clicking on the link below;
https://www.revgeorgeong.com/rev-george-ong-judge-not-lest-you-be-judged/