Here we are back for the second half of the fourth week of this blog entitled "Who Can We Trust? Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth!" We've been discussing who we can and can't trust in mainstream evangelism today. Today is on the negative and we'll be focusing on Joyce Meyer. In case you missed the first few weeks worth of entries I do suggest that you go back and read them as well when you're finished here.
We can all agree that we live in a generation and culture(if you're in America) of easy believism where people have the ability to get their message out to millions with just the click of a mouse. With that said, there is a slew of theological information at our fingertips. One quick google search and you can get commentary and scripture interpretation from Billy Graham to Benny Hinn and everything in between. With so many choices and the deceitfulness of our own hearts we're apt to listen to whomever we "like" or whomever our friends listen to or whatever makes us feel good. In light of this reality let us be diligent in determining who we let speak into our life! Every heretic speaks some truth sometimes or no one would listen. My goal over the next few months is to do two blogs a week, both critiquing prominent evangelicals in our day, one on someone who is trustworthy, someone who rightly divides the Word, someone who doesn't twist the scriptures, and the other on someone who is untrustworthy, possibly deceived, and even possibly an apostate, who for filthy lucre, distorts the Gospel. Let me say up front that there may be some of these critiques that you absolutely agree with and some you may vehemently reject and at times you may think that I'm being judgmental, harsh, or you may even think I'm crazy but I challenge you to research the Word and the person and then decide. I will praise some of these men and I will reject others, it's not personal but as a Pastor with a Pastor's heart I feel compelled to protect the flock from wolves and to lead the flock to spiritual food that will equip them for this life and the next, that is the sole intent behind these blog entries! Lets get started!
This week's untrustworthy Evangelical is Joyce Meyer.
Once again we are still focusing on the WoF(word of faith) movement and the fanatical and heretical prosperity gospel that has ravaged the Evangelical landscape of the American church. With Kenneth Hagin's influence as he plagurized EW Kenyon's work and brought this heresy that's born in the "American dream gospel" to the limelight, he has left behind many followers and teachers of this deceptive message that plays upon man's sinful nature and his need for self gratification and one of those is Joyce Meyer. Meyer hides behind her "self-empowerment" message directed especially to women and tries to minimize scrutiny by distancing herself from her roots in the WoF movement. She tends to say things that sound biblical and sound good but if you understand her motive and foundation from which they flow you'll see that they're anti-biblical at their core. For example, she may say something like "God wants the best for you," which in essence is true but that doesn't mean he wants to bless you financially but from her foundation that's what she probably means. I'd say the same thing, God does want the best for you but from my foundation rooted in God's sovereignty that means he wants to glorify himself in you no matter what path that takes.
Though she tries to maneuver around her theological foundation it still remains, she got her PhD from Life Christian University which holds to the WoF message and has other graduates such as Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn! She still endorses LCU! Though ones education isn't always evident of what they believe let's look at a list of recorded herisies taught by Joyce Meyer from www.bereanresearch.org.
1. Jesus stopped being the Son of God:
“He could have helped himself up until the point where he said I commend my spirit into your hands, at that point he couldn’t do nothing for himself anymore. He had become sin, he was no longer the Son of God. He was sin.” (http://storage.carm.org/joycemeyer/joyce-meyer-Jesus-became-sin-stopped-being-son-of-God.mp3)
Response: This is heresy. Jesus did not ever stop becoming the son of God. Essentially what she is saying is that Jesus stopped being divine, the eternal son, second person of the Trinity. This is an attack on the very nature of Christ and it is a dangerous false teaching. Joyce Meyer needs to repent and retract this statement. There is no place in Scripture that says Jesus stopped being the son of God. She’s adding to the word of God and placing in the hearts and minds of listeners false doctrine.
2. Jesus was born again:
“The minute that blood sacrifice was accepted Jesus was the first human being that was ever born again,” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neKsa_74w7k&feature=related)
Response: This is just plain wrong. Being born again means to be saved from the wrath of God for a person’s sins (Eph. 2:1-3), to have a new birth (John 3:3), and to be regenerated (2 Cor. 5:17). Mrs. Meyer is simply wrong biblically. Why does she teach this? It can only be because she has bought into many of the errors of the Positive Confession movement where many say that Jesus lost his divine nature, went to hell, finished the atonement in hell, and was born again! These are serious errors.
3. Jesus paid for our sins in hell:
“He became our sacrifice and died on the cross. He did not stay dead. He was in the grave three days. During that time he entered hell, where you and I deserve to go (legally) because of our sin. He paid the price there.” (The most important decision you’ll ever make, by Joyce Meyer, second printing, may 1993, page 35)
Response: This is blatantly wrong. Jesus did not pay the price of our redemption in hell. He paid the price on the cross. It was finished on the cross when he said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30). Also, consider the following verses:
Col. 1:20, “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Col. 2:14, “having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
1 Pet. 2:24, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
4. Jesus went to hell in our place and was tormented:
“Jesus paid on the cross and went to hell in my place. Then as God had promised, on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. The scene in the spirit realm went something like this: God rose up from his throne and said to demon powers tormenting the sinless son of God, ‘let him go.’ Then the resurrection power of Almighty God went through hell and filled Jesus. On earth his grave where they had buried him was filled with light as the power of God filled his body. He was resurrected from the dead — the first born again man.” (The most important decision you’ll ever make, by Joyce Meyer, second printing, may 1993, page 36)
Response: Where does she get this entirely fictitious dialogue between God and the demon powers? It is made up, not founded in scripture, and mistakenly assumes that Jesus went to hell, the place of torment and suffering after he died on the cross. The Bible does not teach any such thing. However, it does say that Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9). This can mean that Jesus was physically buried, or that Jesus went to Hades to inform those who had already died about who he was and what he did on the cross, or it can be referring to his incarnation as is contrasted with his ascending into heaven (Eph. 4:10). But there is simply no reason to believe that Jesus suffered in hell and finished the atonement there. See response to Quote 1.
5. If you don’t believe Jesus went to hell, you cannot be saved:
“His spirit went to hell because that is where we deserve to go… There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth.” (The most important decision you’ll ever make, by Joyce Meyer, second printing, may 1993, page 37)
Response: This is an amazingly bad statement on her part. She is saying that you cannot be saved from your sins unless you believe that Jesus went to hell where we deserve to go. This is a false modification of the gospel which is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4 and states that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Nowhere in scripture are we told to believe that Jesus suffered for us in hell or that he went there. This is not only wrong, it is heretical.
6. We are called little gods:
“I was listening to a set of tapes by one man and he explained it like this..this kind of gets the point across…he said why do people have such a fit about God calling his creation, his creation, his man not his whole creation, but his man, little gods? If he’s God what’s he going to call them but the God kind? I mean if you as a human being have a baby you call it a human kind. If if [sic] cattle has another cattle they call it cattle kind. I mean what is God supposed to call ’em? Doesn’t the Bible say we are created in his image? Now you understand I am not saying you are god with a capital G. That is not the issue here so don’t go trying to stone me or yell blasphemy at me.” “The Bible says right here John 10:34…’and Jesus answered is it not written in your law I say we are gods.’ So men are called God’s by the law…”(Joyce Meyer). (www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrP3OLCH9GI&feature=related)
Response: In this clip she goes on to quote John 10:34 where Jesus says to the Pharisees “you are gods,” which is a quote from Psalm 82:6, which is an imprecatory Psalm of condemnation for the unrighteous judges. Psalm 82:7 says, “nevertheless you will die like men.” She then turned to Psalm 82 and went through it. The video stopped, so I do not know what she would have said about the next, all-important verse.
7. Joyce Meyer said she is not a sinner:
“I am not poor. I am not miserable and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I were and if I still was then Jesus died in vain. I’m going to tell you something folks. I didn’t stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head I wasn’t a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that’s heresy and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I am righteous and I can’t be righteous and be a sinner at the same time.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmHJdM63hk)
Response: Mrs. Meyer needs a lesson in basic biblical theology. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Notice that John the apostle says “we.” He includes himself with sinners. Also, Paul said in Rom. 7:19-20, 24, “For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me…24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Is Joyce Meyer better in Christian character than John and Paul? I think not. Mrs. Meyer fails to recognize her own sinfulness, and so mistakenly denies her own sinfulness. I can only conclude that this false teaching comes from pride because it certainly isn’t biblical.
8. The host of hell were literally on Jesus and were laughing:
“They were having the biggest party that had ever been had. They had my Jesus in the floor and they were standing on his back jumping up and down laughing. And he had become sin. Don’t you think that God was pacing, wanting to put a stop to what was going on? All the host of hell were upon him. Upon him. Up on him. The angels were in agony. All the creation is groaning. All the host of hell was upon him. Up on him. They got on him. They got him down in the floor and got on him and they were laughing and mocking. Ha ha ha ha. You trusted God and look where you ended up. You thought he’d save you and get you off that cross. He didn’t, ha ha ha.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNfOaxIcOMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNfOaxIcOM)
Response: Where did she get this – in the sacred Book of Joycemeyeronomy? It is certainly not in the Bible, and yet she has no problem teaching it as an authoritative truth. Does she not know that the Bible says not to exceed what is written (1 Cor. 4:6)? She has done exactly that. She is in grave error and has violated God’s word that says that Jesus bore our sins in his body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) and finished the atonement on the cross (John 19:30) – not in hell at the hands of demons! There is no way demons were literally standing ‘on’ Jesus. Meyer is in gross error!
9. Joyce Meyer gets revelation knowledge:
“The Bible can’t even find any way to explain this. Not really that is why you have got to get it by revelation. There are no words to explain what I am telling you. I have got to just trust God that he is putting it into your spirit like he put it into mine.” (http://storage.carm.org/audio/joycemeyer/joyce-meyer-revelation-knowledge.mp3)
Response: Revelation knowledge? Is she on par with the apostles who received revelation knowledge from God himself? Or how about the Old Testament prophets? Does she, like them, also receive revelation knowledge from God? If so, how would we know if it were true or not? The answer is simple: we test what she says against Scripture, and it is obvious that she is getting a lot of things from somewhere else that contradict the word of God.
10. Joyce Meyer is a "pastor"
As unpopular as it might be to say, Joyce Meyer is wrong for occupying the position of a preacher of God’s word. Not only does she preach false doctrines, but she also functions as a preacher by teaching God’s word, exegeting it, applying it, and telling people what to believe – in public. She is out of place for doing this. She speaks as a minister of the gospel teaching with authority.
I'm sure that some that read this may listen to or even like Meyer and her message as it can be very appealing in it's positivity.
I pray you'll do your research and understand her foundation and how twisted her theology and doctrines are to the true Gospel. God bless!
