It’s that time of year again. You know the season. When heresies about the incarnation of Christ seem to come out of the woodwork and get hand wrapped in a bow.
As an example, this last week, perennial heretic Jesse Duplantis got tweet-whipped for a terrible sermon titled “The Idea of God Needs to Be Altered” (a mistake in itself). Here’s a sample of Duplantis speaking of himself:
Terrible, right? Only Jesus is God incarnate, not us!
Then again. If that is heresy, shouldn’t we judge similarly the statement below, even if it was made by a grace pastor known across the country. (He will remain nameless here so you can judge righteously by the doctrine and not the person.)
“Christ lives in you by you living in complete total dependence on your father, and just like the father [sic], he told Philip, he said, if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the father…”
Here’s another example of a similar heresy. Two statements: one is from Benny Hinn and the other from a grace preacher. Can you tell who said what?
“All the relationships Jesus Christ has with the Father and the Spirit, you share.”
“You are everything He was and everything He is and ever shall be.”
Did you figure out which one is heresy? Correct answer: Both teach the same heresy.
Let’s play again. Which heresy is from known heretic William Marrion Branham and which is from the grace preacher?
“…in them days, it was God in a man, his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe that. …God in a man, the fullness of the Godhead bodily in a man. God, in a man; now, it’s God in men. The fullness of God in the Godhead bodily in his entire church, manifesting Himself, fulfilling his Word.”
“God is manifest in our mortal bodies just like He was manifest in the flesh of Christ.”
One more pair from Benny Hinn and the other from a grace preacher.
“How could God be made your sin and not be a sinner – you were made a sinner in disobedience, he was made a sinner in obedience …”
“Jesus … said, The only way I can stop sin is by me becoming it… I and sin must become one.”
Can you see the difference in these two heretical statements? I can’t. Jesus was not made a sinner, especially not on the cross.
It is easy for people to see and oppose heresy when it is found in another camp or a disliked denomination. What’s harder is when heresy comes out of your own beloved pastor’s mouth.
Don’t let the doctrine of God be altered no matter the season or how well loved the preacher (Gal 1:8; 1 Cor 11:19).
The most dangerous heresies are not those taught in churches you will never attend or from some distant religion. The most dangerous are the ones closest to you, coming from the preacher you listen to, packaged with light.
Error can hide behind the lights of love, joy, peace, and unity. To prevent heresy, you must shine the light of truth.
For His Glory,
Justin “in season and out” Johnson