Here we are back for the second week of this blog. In case you missed the first three entries I do suggest that you go back and read them as well when you're finished here.
This is the second entry concerning untrustworthy evangelicals and todays and the next few untrustworthy entries will consists of contemporary prosperity and word-of-faith preachers who were greatly influenced by the two main architects of this movements theology, Kenneth Hagin Sr.(Daddy Hagin) and Oral Roberts. Today I want to focus on the heresy of Kenneth Copeland!
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!
If you've watched any "christian" T.V. such as TBN or Daystar then you've seen and heard of Kenneth Copeland. He has that iconic televangelist hair and bright white smile but let's be honest, there's very little Gospel or truth in the theology and message of Copeland. I don't want to focus too much on Copeland as a person but focus on the matter at hand, his heresy and what makes him untrustworthy. Kenneth Copeland is the spiritual son of the two dominant architects of the "prosperity" "word-of-faith" movements, Kenneth "daddy" Hagin Sr. and Oral Roberts, you've probably heard of the latter. Copeland has spewed this gospel-less message for decades and is quite wealthy because of it.
Let's get to the point his ministry is built entirely on the foundational belief that you can claim health and wealth by speaking it into existence by faith. Heresy! Worth an estimated $700 million you could say he's doing well lying to unsuspected people searching the airwaves for answers.
Copeland's Heresies -
1.) Claims that Jesus never claimed to be God.
2.) Is quoted as saying "the biggest failure in the Bible is God! Claimed that God was on the outside looking in when Satan deceived Eve in the Garden and had to concoct a plan to get back into his own creation. This is completely unbiblical and undermines the sovereignty of God!
3.) Teaches that we are "little gods" which is prevalent teaching in many heretical cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses and distorts Genesis 1:27 to make it believable.
4.) He gives false prophecies.
5.) Claims to have the same creative power of God in word-of-faith.
If Copeland's on the T.V. turn it off and pray for him! Thank God for discernment and the direction of the Word of God! May we consistently rightly divide the Word of God and allow it to determine who's truthful and who's a heretic. God Bless!
“God’s reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself…He was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even.” (Kenneth Copeland, Following the Faith of Abraham I (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989), tape #01-3001, side 1.
“I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible actually is…The biggest one in the whole Bible is God…Now, the reason you don’t think of God as a failure is He never said He’s a failure. And you’re not a failure till you say you’re one.” (Kenneth Copeland, Praise-a-Thon program on TBN (April 1988). He also said, “Adam committed high treason; and at that point, all the dominion and authority God had given to him was handed over to Satan. Suddenly, God was on the outside looking in…After Adam’s fall, God found Himself in a peculiar position…God needed an avenue back into the earth…God laid out His proposition and Abram accepted it. It gave God access to the earth and gave man access to God..Technically, if God ever broke the Covenant, He would have to destroy Himself.” (Kenneth Copeland, Our Covenant with God (Fort Worth, TX: KCP Publications, 1987), 8-11 passim.
What Blasphemy!
“God’s on the outside looking in. He doesn’t have any legal entree into the earth. The thing don’t belong to Him. You see how sassy the Devil was in the presence of God in the book of Job? God said, Where have you been? Wasn’t any of God’s business. He [Satan] didn’t even have to answer if he didn’t want to ..God didn’t argue with him a bit! You see, this is the position that God’s been in…Might say, ‘Well, if God’s running things He’s doing a lousy job of it.” He hadn’t been running ‘em, except when He’s just got, you know, a little bit of a chance.” (Kenneth Copeland, Image of God in You III (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989), audiotape #01-1403, side 1.
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