Joseph Prince’s Teaching That God Will Never Be Angry With Us Is Illogical & Unbiblical – By Rev George Ong (Dated 25 Feb 2022)
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, NCCS office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon on 20 February 2022, 5 days ago, Joseph Prince said; please click here to view excerpts in the 40-second video:
“God has sworn. Isaiah 54 (Isa 54:9), He will never be angry with us. Why? Because in Isaiah 53, it talks about the finished work of Jesus Christ which I quoted just now. Jesus bore our diseases. Amen. He was wounded for our transgressions. All that is found in Isaiah 53. Therefore, as a result of Jesus’ work, in Isaiah 54, it says. ‘God has sworn’; and God doesn’t have to swear. His word is enough. God swore, ‘I will never be angry with you.’ Hallelujah! Child of God, God will never be angry with you and He has raised his arm when he said that. Amen. It’s a sworn oath of God. God will never be angry with you. Praise the Lord!”
Wow! Joseph Prince seems pretty convincing in his argument. He has to be as he is a master deceiver. He is a specialist at taking one verse and building a false doctrine around it.
Are you aware that anyone, not just Joseph Prince, can take one verse in the Bible and build a false doctrine around it?
Let me show you what I mean – for instance, John 3:16:
John 3:16 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
One can take John 3:16 and say to a congregation,
“My dear friends, all you need to do to have eternal life is just believe. That’s all you need to do because that’s what God’s word in John 3:16 says. You don’t need to repent of your sins at all because repentance is not stated in this verse. All you need to do to have eternal life is just to believe. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s not what I say; that’s what God’s word in John 3:16 says.”
So, what do you think? Are you now convinced that anyone can build a false doctrine just by basing his argument on one verse – John 3:16?
If you are still not convinced, let’s take another verse in Luke 13:3. Jesus said:
Luke 13:3 NIV
3 “… But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
One can use Luke 13:3 and say to an audience,
“In order not to perish, you must repent. If you repent, you will not perish. All you need to do is just repent. You don’t have to do anything else, like believing in Christ, because it’s not stated in the verse, and Jesus didn’t say it in Luke 13:3. It’s not what I say, but it’s what Jesus says in Luke 13:3. So, just repent, and you will never perish. Who says you must believe in Jesus in order not to perish? Jesus didn’t say that you must believe in Him in Luke 13:3. But Jesus says all you need to do is repent. Once you do that, you will not perish and go to hell; meaning you will end up in heaven. Believing in Jesus is not a requirement at all for not perishing, as it is not stated in Luke 13:3.”
So, are you getting the picture?
Have I proven to you that anyone can take one verse, and build a false doctrine out of it? Friends, that’s what Joseph Prince has done to Isaiah 54:9.
This is not the first time Joseph Prince has used one verse to build a false doctrine, but he has done it many times for many other verses as well.
More often than not, one verse does not contain the whole truth. It may contain only a semblance of the truth or just half of it.
Have you noticed that each of both John 3:16 and Luke 13:3, contains a semblance of the truth about our salvation and not perishing?
John 3:16 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Luke 13:3 NIV
3 “… But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
You cannot just take one and throw out the other. Both are needed to arrive at the whole truth – that we must both repent in Luke 13:3 and believe in Christ in John 3:16, in order to be saved and not perish.
If we insist on the half-truth of either just repenting of our sins in Luke 13:3 or just believing in Christ in John 3:16 as sufficient for salvation, not only will that run into contradiction into each other, between John 3:16 and Luke 13:3, but we would also commit an evil act of birthing a new heresy.
This is exactly what Joseph Prince is doing – taking a half-truth in one verse in Isaiah 54:9 and pushing it as the whole truth – that God will never be angry with New Covenant believers.
In other words, Isaiah 54:9 has to be qualified by other verses, just as John 3:16 has to be qualified by Luke 13:3 and Luke 13:3 has to be qualified by John 3:16.
Isaiah 54:9 is not a blank cheque or blanket promise to every single New Covenant believer that God will never be angry with him as Joseph Prince has made it out to be.
God’s oath in Isaiah 54:9 is certainly not a promise to those who are habitually disobedient, perennially unrepentant, and believers who have turned their backs on God as apostates.
From the witness of scriptures, it is these believers that God will not only be angry with, but He will judge them if they persist in their rebellious ways.
We have to remember that God is still a consuming fire, a God of wrath, not just under the Old Covenant in Deuteronomy 4:24 but also under the New in Hebrews 12:29:
Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV
24 “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire…”
Hebrews 12:29 NIV
29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
And the Book of Hebrews, and Hebrews 12:29, in particular, were written to believers to warn them that if they were to become apostates and abandon the faith, they would come under God’s wrath and anger because God is still a consuming fire.
Paul also issued a strong warning to believers in Ephesians 5:6 against living an immoral life because that would bring about God’s wrath on the disobedient:
Ephesians 5:1-6 NIV
1 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a person is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”
It is rather clear that the Book of Ephesians, and, in particular, Ephesians 5:1-6 were written to the church of Ephesus, who are believers in Christ.
And the sombre lesson is God can display His wrath and anger against Christians who are disobedient, and those who have gotten themselves entangled in the many sins as listed from verses 4 to 5.
Hence, Joseph Prince’s teaching that God will never be angry with you is flawed as God can even display His wrath and anger on disobedient believers if they start to behave like unbelievers.
Yes, believers have been delivered from God’s wrath. But if they persist in behaving as unbelievers consistently and unrepentantly, then God’s wrath can still be poured on them.
This is why there isn’t any verse in the entire scriptures that states that God will never be angry with His Old or New Covenant people even though they repeatedly sin against Him and rebelliously remain unrepentant.
The truth is, there are numerous examples in the New Testament that God can get angry with New Covenant people:
Does Peter’s warning to Simon that if he does not repent, God will make him perish prove that God is more than angry with Simon in Acts 8:20-24?
Acts 8:20,22,24 NIV
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Does God who struck Ananias and Sapphira dead prove that He is more than angry with them in Acts 5:5-10?
Acts 5:5,7,9,10 NIV
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died… 7 About three hours later his wife came in… 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died…
Does Paul’s warning to the Corinthian believers that God can destroy the person who tries to destroy God’s temple, prove that God is more than angry with him in 1 Corinthians 3:17?
1 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
17 “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
Does the Lord Jesus’ warning to the church in Pergamum that He will fight against them with the sword of His mouth if they don’t repent prove that He is more than angry with them in Revelation 2:16?
Revelation 2:16 NIV
16 “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Does the Lord Jesus’ warning to the church in Thyatira that He will make them suffer intensely and even strike them dead if they don’t repent prove that He is more than angry with them in Revelation 2:22-23?
Revelation 2:22-23 NIV
22 “So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead…”
Does the Lord Jesus’ warning to the church in Laodicea that He will vomit them out of His mouth if they don’t repent prove that He is more than angry with them in Revelation 3:16 and 19?
Revelation 3:16,19 NKJV
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Did Jesus ever say in the entire New Testament that because of His finished work on the cross, He will never be angry with New Covenant believers as Joseph Prince falsely teaches?
Never!
In fact, as I have proven, Jesus was more than angry with the New Covenant churches and believers in Pergamum, Thyatira and Laodicea (see above), if they refused to repent. Hence, Joseph Prince’s teaching that God can never be angry with us because of Jesus’ finished work is a scam!
From these many passages (see above) in the New Testament, I believe I have proven that Joseph Prince’s teaching that God will never be angry with us goes head-on against what was taught by the Lord Jesus and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
If God can destroy His people in 1 Corinthians 3:17, make them perish in Acts 8:20, and even strike believers dead in Acts 5:5 and 10 and Revelation 2:23, this simply means that God is more than angry with them.
In his book, the ‘The Power of Right Believing’ Page 191, Joseph Prince said,
“We are now under the new covenant, and you will not be able to find a single New Testament Scripture that says God is angry with believers because of their sins.”
Joseph Prince is childishly arguing that just because the word, ‘anger’ or ‘angry’ isn’t used against the New Covenant believers in the New Testament, it means God has never shown His anger at them (in the same foolish way that one can argue that just because the word ‘Trinity’ isn’t found in the Bible, the doctrine of Trinity isn’t taught).
Joseph Prince has missed the point. The point is, if God can destroy people, make them perish, and even strike believers dead, which He did, whether there is any verse in the New Testament that states God is angry with them is no longer the issue anymore.
Of course, God is more than angry with the person that He struck dead, even though it may not be stated. If not, why is God destroying and striking New Covenant believers dead?
If God can destroy a New Covenant believer, simple logic would compel one to conclude that God is more than angry with that person, even if it is not stated. God could be so angry with them that He could even strike them dead.
Besides being unbiblical, this teaching that God will never be angry with us is illogical and ridiculous from a practical viewpoint.
Would any thinking father ever say this to his son,
“Son, dad will never get angry with you no matter what you do. You may cheat in an exam, beat up the neighbour’s son or insult your mother, but dad will never be angry with you because of my love for you.”
Tell me honestly, would you as a responsible father ever say that to your son?
Never!
What kind of son would that produce? – a spoiled child who would go on doing the bad things as he has the assurance that his dad would never be angry with him.
In the same way, Joseph Prince – by teaching the oath of God in Isaiah 54:9 as an unqualified promise for every case, is giving the New Covenant believers who are living in wanton disobedience, a false sense of security.
These believers would think since Joseph Prince teaches this as an unqualified promise that God will never be angry with them, it doesn’t make any difference whether they repent or not, for example, if they are living in adultery.
They would continue in their sinful adulterous ways, raising their hands with their lovers to worship God at Joseph Prince’s church, because of the false sense of security from Prince that God will never be angry with them anymore.
The result is that they would ultimately end up being judged and condemned by God to hell for their unrepentant adulterous sins.
Friends, be warned that this is what and where Joseph Prince’s teachings could lead you to.
Can you now see why Joseph Prince is able to draw such a vast quantity of ‘converts’ to his so-called ‘gospel’ of grace? It is because of such feel-good teachings that appeal to the carnal flesh that God will never be angry with you, no matter what you do.
Never be deceived by Joseph Prince who keeps trumpeting the fact that his ‘gospel’ of grace has brought in a massive quantity of converts. No true convert can ever be won from the feel-good and false gospel of grace that Joseph Prince preaches.
In gist, the oath and promise that God will never be angry with us cannot be an unqualified one, or it will bring Isaiah 54:9 into contradiction with many verses in both the Old Testament and the New.
If that is the interpretation, it will contradict many verses, which clearly indicate that God would not only be angry, but He will also judge, condemn and destroy His own people, regardless of whether they are the Old Covenant or New Covenant people.
Finally, we have to ask the question – in what sense will God never be angry with His people (Isa 54:9)?
Isaiah 54 is talking about the restoration of Israel. God had judged and punished the Jewish people by allowing them to be conquered by the Babylonians because of their disobedience. But He also graciously assured that He will never forsake them. He will be eternally kind and merciful to them and will restore them.
In Isaiah 54:9-10, God swore that He will never be angry with them in the sense that He will never break His covenant with them and destroy them as He had destroyed the world in Noah’s flood.
Isaiah 54:9-10 is also to probably highlight the fact that God will never be angry with His Jewish people in that He foresaw that a remnant (not every Jew, nor the whole Jewish nation) will finally be saved and that they will not be destroyed because He would honour His covenant He made with them through Abraham.
God will never be angry with them not because God cannot get angry (righteous anger and not human anger) when they or we do things that displease Him or if they or we sin against Him, but because His ultimate anger and wrath will never be poured out on the Jewish remnant as He will finally save them.
God swore that He will never be angry with them because He is not a God who breaks His covenant. In the same way that God swore on oath in the covenant He made with Abraham, He swore that He will never be angry with them because after the judgement, God will finally restore them back to be His covenantal people again through the Jewish remnant.
This doctrine about the Jewish remnant who would finally be saved was also taught in the New Testament by Paul himself in Romans 11.
The Jewish remnant which God promised that He will never be angry with them as he will finally save them, is qualified by and also because these Jewish people themselves will finally choose to be saved and recognise Jesus as their Messiah.
But those who continue to reject Jesus as Messiah, God will not only be angry with them but He will display His ultimate and righteous anger at them by cutting them off:
Romans 11:20-22 NASB
20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off.
Paul taught that believers in the New Covenant are no more secure than the Jews under the Old because the position of the Gentiles was conditional as theirs was – provided that
“You continue in His kindness.” Otherwise, “You also will be cut off” (V22).
If God has the severity to cut off New Covenant believers, who choose not to continue in God’s kindness to a Christless eternity, this shows that He is more than angry with them.
It is a stern warning from Paul that is specifically directed at New Covenant believers – that just as God has been severe in His dealings with Old Covenant people, He could and would do the same with New Covenant people.
If God can even display His severity at His New Covenantal people and cut them off to a Christless eternity, this means God is more than angry with them.
So the teaching of Joseph Prince that God will never be angry with His people as an unqualified promise and no matter what they do, is not only illogical but unbiblical. In short, it is one big lie!
Rev George Ong