On Sunday, March 14, I stood in the pulpit at Christ Our Savior to preach a bold sermon. I knew it was bold and I knew I would stir the pot a little bit and ruffle some feathers. If you know me, this is not a new thing. Over the last year, I have really leaned into Proverbs 28:1, where we hear that the righteous are as bold as lions. Well, that Sunday I roared for the sake of the Gospel. The true Gospel. The saving Gospel. The Gospel that makes you and me righteous in the shedding of Christ Jesus’ blood on the cross, since apart from it we are the furthest thing from righteous.
In this sermon (using Philippians 3:18), I included Joyce Meyer in a laundry list of people we would, and should, deem as enemies of the cross; someone who preaches salvation from another source outside of Christ crucified on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. Now, Joyce Meyer is in a unique position. As you may well know, Joyce Meyer used to be a member of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. That’s probably why so many people are drawn to her. To be certain, Joyce Meyer also has done some wonderful things in her ministry, such as helping numerous women recover from sexual abuse, and praise God for that. But, theologically speaking, we must take caution. She sounds like a Lutheran in much of what she says, and so people don’t REALLY listen to what she is saying when they turn her on their television.
I have made my feelings known about Joyce Meyer. Most, if not all, LCMS pastors share in these feelings. In confessing these feelings, many people fought back on her behalf, some even saying that I was out of line calling Joyce Meyer an enemy of the cross of Christ. To that, I say, “I said what I said.”
Martin Luther, when asked to recant his works and accusations against the Papacy (not that I am comparing Joyce Meyer to the Papacy, nor myself to Luther) said the following: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by clear reason, I am bound by the Scriptures.” I am convinced that much of what Joyce Meyer teaches contradicts God’s Word and so I am going to let Joyce Meyer speak for herself and let you make the decision of whether or not you should or should not listen to her. I urge you to make this decision based on God’s Word and our Lutheran Confessions (derived from God’s Word) and not by my opinion.
Let’s begin with what Joyce Meyer has to say about Christ on the cross, essentially claiming that the hypostatic union of Christ (two natures of Christ in one person) is broken at the crucifixion: “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.”
Martin Luther is quoted in the Lutheran Confessions (Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord), saying, “If it were not to be said [if these things were not true], God has died for us, but only a man, we would be lost. But if “God’s death” and “God died” lie in the scale of the balance, then He sinks down, and we rise up as a light, empty scale. But indeed He can also rise again or leap out of the scale; yet He could not sit in the scale unless He became a man like us, so that it could be said: “God died,” “God’s passion,” “God’s blood,” “God’s death.” For in His nature God cannot die; but now that God and man are united in one person, it is correctly called God’s death, when the man dies who is one thing or one person with God (SD 7.44).” In other words, to say that God did not die on the cross, means that you and I are still in our sins, which means death and hell for us. He became sin, He was God, God died.
Paul notes in Colossians 2:9 that “in [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” The Apostle John also writes at the beginning of his Gospel that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:1-3).” The author of Hebrews also proclaims that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Joyce Meyer on Christ’s sacrifice: “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…Jesus paid it 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. (The Most Important Decision You’ll Ever Make, page 36)
The apostle John records in his account of the crucifixion the words of Jesus: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30).”
Notice how Jesus says that it is finished. The cross was enough. The penalty for sin is done. The Greek word used for “finished”, tetelestai, means that it was complete and paid in full. There is nothing else. The apostle Paul seems to think so as well, noting that “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2),” for it is there where He “reconciled to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross (Colossians 1:20).”
Martin Luther is also quoted in our Confessions of the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord (Article IX) that, “we simply believe that the entire person, God and man, after the burial descended into hell, conquered the devil, destroyed the power of hell, and took from the devil all his might.” Yes, Jesus did descend into hell. It was not to suffer, but to declare victory over sin, death, and the devil.
Joyce Meyer on her sin: “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.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhDBwJVQv_o)
John writes in his first epistle that, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).” Paul echoes this in his notorious battle within ourselves as both saints and sinners in Romans chapter 7: “For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 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…wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of this death? (Verses 19-20, 24). There is no greater danger, no greater enemy to the cross, than someone who says they are without sin. Christ died for sinners after all.
The Lutheran Confession in the Augsburg Confession, Article XII of Repentance says that we “condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost. Also those who contend that some may attain to such perfection in this life that they cannot sin.”
These are just three examples in some of Joyce Meyer’s works. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, can God use Joyce Meyer for good? Absolutely He can! To suggest otherwise is to question God’s ability. But as the Christian is warned multiple times throughout Scripture to avoid false teachers (Matt 7:15-20, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, amongst others), it is important for them to heed these warnings and not be led astray. Little bit by little bit, brief theological point by brief theological point, doubt by doubt, teachers like Joyce Meyer, though they may be incredibly helpful and influential in other areas, must be avoided.
Would you rather have a few toxins in your cereal or a bunch of toxins in your cereal?
Let the reader understand.
Rev. Tyler Cronkright 