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Frederick K. C. Price, Ph.D., founded Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, California, in 1973, with a congregation of some 300 people. Today, the church's membership numbers well over 14,000 members of various racial backgrounds.
Crenshaw Christian Center, home of the renowned 10,146 seat FaithDome, has a staff of more than 200 employees. Included on its 30-acre grounds are a Ministry Training Institute, the Frederick K. C. Price III elementary and junior and senior high schools, as well as the FKCP III Child Care Center.
The Ever Increasing Faith television and radio broadcasts are outreaches of Crenshaw Christian Center. The television program is viewed on more than 100 stations throughout the United States and overseas. The radio program airs on over 40 stations across the country. (Beware! The Lies of Satan, by Frederick K. C. Price, copyright 1995, p. 233)
No doubt, there are other matters in which Price teaches falsely (2 Peter 3:16), but all one needs is to examine his book, Beware! The Lies of Satan, to know Mr. Price does not have God (2 John 9).
In this book Price repeatedly exhorts the reader to examine what he says with the word of God. For example, Frederick writes,
In fact, I constantly encourage people to check out what I am saying by checking the Word for themselves. (p. 44)
The misconceptions we have covered in this book are by no means all the lies which Satan has attempted to pass off as genuine truths on the Body of Christ. The way you can tell what is the truth and what is not true is simple - check it out with the Word.
The Word of God is what you should use as a benchmark with which to measure any teaching or doctrine having to do with God. (p. 227)
We have done this, and found that Mr. Price teaches contrary to the Word of God (Romans 16:17-18). We have not given here every error in his book, but the following well illustrates his deceit.
I. Lewdness (Jude 4)
The very first paragraph in the book in the introduction is this:
People are being lied to every day, and some of them are going to hell because of it! Other people, who are saved and are supposedly children of God, are suffering from illness, poverty, worry, and guilt. Still more are saved and are relatively successful in life. However, if you looked at their lifestyles, you would find it hard to believe they were really born-again, because they are living the same lifestyles as many sinners do, or worse. (p. ix; see also p. 84 third paragraph)
Price, here, teaches the common lie that one can be saved, born-again, but yet live in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin. This goes against an abundance of Scripture. Please see, for example, Psalm 15; 24:3-6; John 8:31-36; Romans 6:20-22; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5-6; Colossians 3:5-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 1 Peter 4:17-18; 1 John 2:3-5; 3:4-10; 3 John 11; Revelation 21:8; etc..
In Price's following paragraph he calls all of the people he mentions in the first paragraph "innocent."
The worst part of it is that all of these people think they are supposed to be where they are in their lives, spiritually, physically, mentally, economically, and materially. They do not know that they have gotten the short end of the stick. They do not know they have been lied to and cheated out of what is rightfully theirs. They have been innocent, and, at the same time, ignorant. (p. ix)
When you compare Price's words with the words of God, Price is found to be a liar, for he speaks the direct opposite of the Word of God. God never describes any of these people as innocent. He pronounces them guilty (Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18/Psalm 5:10). The whole world is guilty before God (Romans 3:19), and none of these people Price mentions are saved from that guilt. They are therefore not innocent.
The first group is on their way to hell (as Price says). Therefore, they are not innocent (e.g. Revelation 21:8). The second group is suffering from worry and guilt. That does not describe a saved person (see Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 33:18/Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:3-5). Thus, they are still guilty and not innocent. The third group we dealt with above, and those are certainly still guilty before God and are not innocent.
Price attempts to move the guilt away from those who have believed lies by declaring they are innocent (without any Scriptural support), and then speaking of their leaders who told them the lies, he declares them innocent as well! In the next paragraph (now the third paragraph in the book) Price writes,
So who has been doing the lying all this time? Who can we pin the blame on? Not the preacher, the deacon, the elder, the seminary, or the Sunday school teacher. They may have passed down false information, but bless their hearts, they were just as sincere as they could be, and probably believed in their hearts that what they were telling everyone else was right. They did not know what they were teaching and preaching was not true or scriptural. They were simply deceived. (p. ix)
Being "simply deceived" does not remove "the blame." Price places the blame on the Devil (p. x), and Satan is certainly to be blamed (Revelation 12:9); but this does not remove the blame for those he deceives. 2 Timothy 3:13 declares,
Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
They are deceived, but they are still evil and getting worse.
God says He hates a perverse mouth (Proverbs 8:13). Lying is perverse (e.g. Acts 20:30). He says nothing about whether or not the person knows that what is coming out of his mouth is perverse or not. God simply says He hates such a mouth, and He further declares,
A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth. (Proverbs 6:12)
If what is coming out of the person's mouth is perverse (lies), then you can know they are wicked (i.e. guilty before God, Proverbs 21:8). Jesus said,
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)
Price continues with this foolishness in his next paragraph (now the forth paragraph of his book).
You cannot say the world lied, either - not sinners, or the government, or the movies, or the television networks, or the newspapers. The reason is the same. They were, and are, as deceived as anyone else. They have been groping in the dark. (p. x)
In other words, even though people may speak lies, if they don't know it's a lie, then they are not lying! This is downright stupid! Scripture says,
A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. (Proverbs 14:5)
Every single person on the planet who does not know God is a false witness. Satan has deceived them (Revelation 12:9), and so they testify falsely of God (Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Romans 1:21-23). They speak lies from day one (Psalm 58:3). You can say the world lied, because it does, particularly about God; because "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:10).
God declares no innocence, no justification, and no acquittal for those who speak lies, deceived or otherwise.
All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).
II. Fables (2 Timothy 4:4)
A. Fictional Chaos
Speaking in the context of Genesis 1:2, on page 5 Price writes,
Why would God create a world, submerge it in water, then call the ground to come up out of the water to form continents and islands?
Price's question assumes a non-reality. God did not create a world and then submerge it in water. He created an earth submerged in water (Genesis 1:2, 9-10). Price's fiction continues,
The Spirit of the Lord gave me what I believe to be the answer to this question, and it ties directly into the origin of Satan. (p. 5)
So, Price claims the Spirit of the Lord gave him this answer. What is the answer?
I believe that when God created this world initially, Satan (the bright star, Lucifer) was placed in charge of this earth realm, and his job was to bring the praise, worship, and adoration of the creatures of the earth to God. (p. 5)
Scripture never teaches this (Proverbs 30:5-6), but Price teaches it nonetheless.
Lucifer was a very beautiful angel; in fact, he was the most beautiful angel God had created. (p. 5)
Scripture does not teach that Satan "was the most beautiful angel God had created" (Proverbs 30:5-6), but this doesn't slow down Price. He continues,
However, because of his beauty, his pride got in the way.
Lucifer thought that since he was so beautiful, the praise and adoration of these creatures should be directed to him. He said, "I will exalt my throne above the throne of God." He became perverted, and as a result of his actions, not only himself, but the whole earth was plunged into a chaotic condition. (p. 5-6)
The only thing truly chaotic here is Price's twisted teaching. Scripture never teaches any of this (Proverbs 30:5-6), and the worst part about this is, Price says you don't have to believe it anyway, even though it was given to him by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Spirit of the Lord gave me what I believe to be the answer to this question, and it ties directly into the origin of Satan. If you have a challenge with it, you do not have to accept it. After all, your salvation is not based on what I am about to say. (p. 5)
In other words, according to Price, you do not have to believe the Spirit of God! That is damning! Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3). If you don't believe God, it will be accounted to you as wickedness and will result in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8 "unbelieving").
Thankfully, in truth, we do not have to believe Price, nor should we, because he is a liar (1 John 2:4; Revelation 21:8), and he speaks directly against the Spirit of the Lord.
B. According to Price, Genesis Chapter One Really Doesn't Mean What It Says.
In direct denial of the very beginning of the Bible, Price writes,
Actually, Genesis 1:2 to the end of that chapter is really not the story of creation. It is the story of the restoration of this earth out of the chaos that resulted from Satan's rebellion against God. (p. 6)
In the Ten Commandments God declares that He made the heavens and the earth in six days (Exodus 20:11). Genesis 1:1-31 records those six days in detail. Mr. Price lies and denies the obvious. Genesis 1 is very much the story of creation.
Also, Price adds a restoration, chaos, and rebellion before Genesis 1:2 that does not and did not exist (Proverbs 30:5-6). The first heavenly rebellion recorded in Scripture is recorded in Ezekiel 28:12-16, and there the cherub is described in his perfect state, before he rebels, in the garden of Eden, which was not made until sometime during those six days or later (Genesis 2:8).
There is nothing in Scripture to indicate any Satanic rebellion before Genesis 1:2. Job 38 indeed reveals the heavenly host being created before the earth was created, but there is no disharmony indicated. If anything, it portrays just the opposite, joy in unison.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
At the end of the paragraph of the above quote, Price adds,
When God originally created the earth, He did not create it in darkness, because the Bible says that God is light, and that in Him is no darkness at all. (p. 6)
Price again speaks directly against the word of God. God says,
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light;" and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)
On the page prior, Price said this of Genesis 1:2:
Also, Genesis 1:2 says, ... and darkness was on the face of the deep. Literally, in the Hebrew, it says there was chaos. God does not create chaos, because chaos is confusion, and the Bible says God is not the author of confusion. (p. 5)
The only word that might possibly have any connotation of chaos or confusion here is the Hebrew word for "darkness" (choshekh, e.g. Job 5:14; 12:25), but that is in no way its literal meaning. It literally means darkness, and any idea of chaos or confusion is quite interpretive and is only by implication, just as the English word "darkness" might be used in that way.
What is incongruous about Price's claim is; this Hebrew word for darkness in Genesis 1:2 is the same exact Hebrew word used in Isaiah 45:7 in which the Lord says,
I form the light and create darkness.
God says He creates the very thing Price says He does not.
Indeed, God is not the author of confusion (literally, "God is not of confusion," 1 Corinthians 14:33). In other words, it is not of God (i.e. godly) if there is confusion in the midst of the assembly, as the context of 1 Corinthians 14:33 dictates. If it is not of God, then it is of the Devil (James 3:15-16). But, at the same time, God does cause confusion or any chaos that might exist (e.g. Genesis 11:7-9; Exodus 23:27; Deuteronomy 28:20, 28; Psalm 60:3; Zechariah 12:4), because all things are of Him (Romans 11:36).
C. No Such Animals
Price writes,
In the last 6000 years of recorded history, there have been no such animals as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Apatosaurus (formerly Brontosaurus), or any other dinosaurs living on the earth. (p. 6-7)
We know Price is not any where near 6000 years old, so we know he speaks with no authority whatsoever. He certainly wasn't around for the past 6000 years, but he surely talks like he was. How does he know there were no such creatures? He doesn't, but he confidently promotes it as truth.
If there ever were such creatures on the earth, they had to be within the last approximately 6000 years, because the earth is only that old (see the Pat Robertson report); and all the animals were created on the sixth day of creation (Genesis 1:24-25). Job 40:15-24 describes a large creature that might fit one of the dinosaur types.
Price's fable continues,
In the last 6000 years of recorded history, there have been no such animals as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Apatosaurus (formerly Brontosaurus), or any other dinosaurs living on the earth. However, those bones had to come from somewhere. I believe they are the bones of animals that existed in the pre-Adamic earth before it was plunged into chaos as a result of this spirit creature, Satan. These animals were destroyed, along with everything else on this planet, because of Satan's sin. (p. 6-7)
This is pure fiction. There was no pre-Adamic earth as Price purports. The only pre-Adamic earth that has ever existed is the one found in the first five days of creation before Adam was created (Genesis 1:1-23).
D. Dominion Fable
Price further claims,
Abraham is the man God used to get back into the earth realm. God had given Adam dominion over all the resources He had created, but Adam gave that dominion over to the devil. (p. 129)
This is a lie. Scripture teaches no such thing (Proverbs 30:5-6), and if anything, it is a denial of Psalm 8, because the only dominion Scripture records God gave Adam is found in Genesis 1:26, 28 and this is addressed again in Psalm 8. Speaking of mankind it says,
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen - even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:6-8)
The dominion God gave Adam (Genesis 1:26, 28) is still in effect in the sons of Adam.
E. Fabular Spirits
There are indeed demons (e.g. Leviticus 17:7), but the kinds of demons Fred claims to exist, Scripture does not.
You may or may not know it, but there are people who are manipulated and influenced by these evil spirits. There are sex-perversion spirits, narcotic spirits, alcohol spirits, tobacco spirits, and many others. I am not saying that everyone who smokes cigarettes is possessed by a tobacco spirit, or that everyone who drinks is possessed by an alcohol spirit, but many of these people can be influenced by such a spirit. (p. 16)
Scripture speaks of a spirit of ill will (Judges 9:23), a spirit of deep sleep (Isaiah 29:10), a spirit of harlotry (Hosea 4:12; 5:4), a spirit of an unclean demon (Luke 4:33), a spirit of divination (Acts 16:16), a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11), a spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15), a spirit of stupor (Romans 11:8), the spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12), a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7; see also Proverbs 28:1; Revelation 21:8), the spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 4:3), and the spirit of error (1 John 4:6), but it does not speak of any of the specific spirits Fred Price speaks of, nor does it teach any such spirits exist. Fred simply adds to the Word of God (Proverbs 30:5-6).
Fred's fabulistic theology continues. On page 18 he writes,
Demons need a vehicle by which to manifest themselves in this physical world.
Scripture says no such thing (Proverbs 30:5-6). Demons manifest themselves in this physical world in other ways than possession. Demons are manifested via idolatry (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20), false doctrine (1 Timothy 4:1), bitter envy and self-seeking (James 3:15-16), and deception (2 Chronicles 18:21-22; Revelation 16:13-14). Possession is only one way of several ways demons manifest themselves.
Price's folly continues,
What they desire most is to inhabit and possess a man. (p. 18)
Scripture neither implies nor teaches any such thing (Proverbs 30:5-6).
Jesus does describe as malcontent an unclean spirit who has left its host (Matthew 12:43-45). The spirit's experience is one of dryness, lack of rest, and without a home (Luke 11:24-26). But what a demon desires most is not revealed in Scripture.
Fred continues,
If they cannot do this, they will take the secondary step of possessing an animal. Failing that, they will go into a house or some other geographical location, and haunt or inhabit that. But their highest goal is to possess a man, because then they can do their greatest damage in this earth realm in trying to thwart the work of God. (p. 18)
Price is speaking in the context of Mark 5:1-14 in which Christ casts out a Legion of demons from a man and permits them to enter some nearby swine. Neither this text, nor any other Scriptural text, teaches this "highest goal" or first, second, and so on order of the desires of demons. Price just makes this up (or reiterates what he has heard from another).
III. A False God
A. A god Who Sends No One To Hell
Price's god sends no humans to hell.
Read this statement very, very carefully: God does not and will not send anyone to hell except the devil and his angels. (p. 24)
This is an amazing denial of the God of the Bible. God does send people to hell. It is from His hand, as Isaiah 50:11 declares,
This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment. (Isaiah 50:11)
And God will send people to hell, as Revelation 20:12-15 illustrates:
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15; see also Matthew 24:50-51; 25:31-46; Revelation 14:9-11; 19:20)
The only ones in view here are God and those He judges. It is quite evident from this text the one who casts them into the lake of fire (hell) is God Himself, that's why Jesus said,
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! (Luke 12:4-5)
Not only does Price deny the wrath of God via Him casting people to hell, but Price also denies God's eternal plan.
Read this statement very, very carefully: God does not and will not send anyone to hell except the devil and his angels. That is whom hell was made for. Hell was never intended for mankind. (p. 24)
From the foundation of the world (Isaiah 46:10; Revelation 17:8), God chose (Romans 9:15-18) to make the majority of mankind (Psalm 12:1; Proverbs 20:6; Matthew 7:13-14) "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction" (Romans 9:22; see also Proverbs 16:4). This destruction is eternal destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9) in the lake of fire (i.e. hell, Revelation 21:8). Hell was most certainly intended for mankind.
Not only is Price's god one who does not send people to hell (contrary to the real God), but his god also has been doing everything He can to keep people out of there (unlike the God of the Bible). Price writes,
According to the Bible, it is God's will that no man should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
However, God will let you to go to hell if that is your choice. God has been doing everything He can for the last 2000 years to keep you out of there. (p. 24)
Indeed, God our Savior "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4), but He does not do all He can to keep people out of hell. He also hardens "whom He will" (Romans 9:18).
To this very day, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7), because the Lord chose not to do certain miracles that would have caused them to repent (see Matthew 11:23), but instead He chose to make them "an example to those who afterward would live ungodly" (2 Peter 2:6). Sodom and Gomorrah is not an isolated event. See also, for example, Deuteronomy 29:4 (see also Deuteronomy 5:29); Proverbs 16:4; Matthew 11:21; Revelation 13:8; 17:8; etc..
B. A god Who Takes Nothing Away
After quoting Job 1:20-21 Fred frets (Proverbs 19:3) against the Lord and says,
Thank God for the faithfulness of Job. Thank God that when his world literally came apart, he could keep his composure and worship the Lord, instead of going to pieces. That says something about the man and his commitment to the Lord. However, what Job said is not a statement of truth. It is truly stated, because it is recorded in the Bible, but it should not be construed as a statement of truth. (p. 48-49)
The following verse (Job 1:22) says,
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
If Job's words were not true (as Price claims), then Job did sin and charge God with wrong. He would have sinned by lying, and he would have charged God with wrong, by charging God with something God did not do. But, the narrative (God) denies these things, and affirms the words of Job. But, despite that, Price speaks against the words of God and says,
God did not take anything away from Job, just as He does not take anything from His children today, because the Bible says that all the gifts of God are without repentance. In other words, they are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). (p. 49)
Indeed, "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (speaking particularly of God's promises to Israel, Romans 11:29), but this does not mean God "does not take anything from His children today." God took things away from His children in the past (e.g. Psalm 88:8, 18; Ezekiel 24:15-18), and He still does today (e.g. John 16:33; Romans 11:36; Hebrews 10:34; James 1:2-3). Job is even used as an example for us today to be encouraged by his endurance and the Lord's eventual kindness (James 5:10-11).
Fred's slander (2 Timothy 3:3) continues,
You may say, "But God permitted the devil to do all that to Job." That is right. What you may fail to realize is that God had to permit it. He gave Job, and each of us, a free will. Permitting all those things to happen was Job's decision. If Job allowed it, God had to permit it. (p. 49)
"God does as He pleases" (Psalm 115:3), not as He has to, as Price dictates.
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. (Romans 11:36)
And this includes the will of man (Proverbs 16:9; 20:24; Jeremiah 10:23).
Moreover, Price fails to recognize the contents of the first chapter of Job. It is God who challenges Satan with the life and integrity of Job (Job 1:8), and it is all because of Job's profound godliness and Satan's false accusation (slander) against Job that these things came upon him (Job 1:9-11) It had nothing to do with Job allowing anything (Proverbs 30:5-6). Price just makes this up as a result of his faulty theology, as Price says,
In fact, Job brought what happened to him on himself. He says in Job 3:25, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me." Proverbs 18:21 tells us, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. That is a spiritual law. Because Job kept running off at the mouth about how scared he was, what he was afraid of came to pass. (p. 49)
Scripture never says this (Proverbs 30:5-6). First of all, it never says Job verbally expressed his fear, but even if he did, Proverbs 18:21 does not teach that expressing a fear will result in that fear happening (which is what Price is teaching here). For the power of the tongue Proverbs 18:21 is speaking of, see, for example, Proverbs 12:18; 15:4; 21:23; 25:23; 26:28; James 3:2-12; etc..
Price slanders Job and brings blame ("running off at the mouth") upon a man whom God declared "blameless" (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3).
IV. Perverted Exaltation of Man
Speaking in the context of Colossians 3:9 ("Do not lie to one another....") Price writes,
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," not the lie. If you are a Christian, you are as much Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ, because you are a member of the Church, otherwise known as the Body of Christ. (p. 73)
In the very next paragraph (we have skipped nothing) Price writes,
If people kept that concept in mind, they would not treat other people the way they do sometimes, because they know Jesus would not treat them that way. That includes lying. You may not be perfect, but you can be truthful. (p. 73)
In Price's second paragraph he denies what he says in his first paragraph. If a believer truly were "as much Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ" then they would be perfect. Since Fred acknowledges "You may not be perfect" his own words affirm his statement in the first paragraph is a lie, because Jesus Christ is perfect (Hebrews 4:15).
V. Unthankful (2 Timothy 3:2)
Fred Price has a whole chapter in this book that argues against Ephesians 5:20.
. . . giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20)
Price lists this as one of The Lies of Satan. The chapter title reads,
Lie 6 Thank God for Everything, No Matter What (p. 87)
The first sentence of the very last paragraph of this chapter says,
Do we thank God for everything? NO! (p. 97)
Price argues, that because the verse says we are to give thanks to God, this means,
Rather, it is telling us to give thanks to God for the things God does for us - for all things to God, or, in other words, for all things that are God's. (p. 93-94)
Even though Matthew does not say this, in a twist of Matthew 22:15-21, Price claims "not everything is God's" (p. 89), and so he denies Exodus 19:5; Job 41:11; Psalm 24:1; 50:10-12; and Romans 11:36; and therefore erroneously concludes,
That also means that if we are going to give God thanks for everything He does for us, we should not give Him thanks for what the devil has done! (p. 94)
What Price fails to acknowledge is, what the devil has done, God has caused (Isaiah 45:7; Romans 11:36), and thus we should indeed give thanks "for all things to God" (Ephesians 5:20). But Price says otherwise.
We should not thank God that someone is sick, poor, dying, or dead. (p. 94)
Scripture gives no such instruction, but rather the opposite (Ephesians 5:20). One blameless and upright man who did not sin with his lips put it this way:
Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? (Job 2:10)
Indeed we should. We should give thanks in it (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and for it (Ephesians 5:20). Price acknowledges the former, but not the latter.
We are supposed to give thanks in sickness, in poverty, in adversity. We are not supposed to give thanks for those things, but while those things are happening to us, we are to give thanks. (p. 94-95, bold added)
Price speaks unlike the Psalmist who wrote,
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:75)
When "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose," we can with confidence (Proverbs 14:26) give thanks, indeed, for all things (Ephesians 5:20), and acknowledge that it is all from His hand, as Ecclesiastes says,
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
VI. A "Probably" Revelation
On page 132 Price writes,
Let me ask you a simple question, and share with you a revelation the Lord gave me.
So, Price is talking about a revelation the Lord gave him. What was this revelation? Immediately after the sentence above, speaking in the context of Genesis 24:29-35 Price writes,
The servant said it was God who blessed his master Abraham, but who told the servant that it was the Lord who had given it to him? We have no indication that the servant was a worshiper of Jehovah, so how did he know? (p. 132)
Price says, "We have no indication that the servant was a worshiper of Jehovah." This is a lie. Genesis 24:12-14, 21, and 26-27 clearly show the servant was a worshiper of Jehovah.
Price's "revelation" continues,
The servant more than likely knew because Abraham told him. That means Abraham probably testified about where and how he got his wealth.
This may seem simple, but to me, it was a great revelation, and it gave me more proof for the way God has led me to minister, in terms of sharing what He has done in my life. (p. 132, bold added)
This "great revelation" is a "more than likely," "probably" revelation that is good for nothing and proves zero. "More than likely," and "probably" equals no revelation whatsoever. Price declares it to be "great." It is great alright, "great swelling words of emptiness" (2 Peter 2:18).
VII. Love of Money (1 Timothy 6:10)
On page 133 Price writes,
One thing people forget is, when God prospers you, it gives you a powerful witnessing tool. When other people see you in a beat-up car, or no car, wearing raggedy clothes, chances are they do not want to hear you talk about Jesus. They will take one look at you and figure, "If I have to go through what he's going through with all this Jesus stuff, forget it."
On the other hand, when you pull up to the curb in a Rolls-Royce and get out wearing a custom-tailored business suit, people want to know quickly how you got it. When a financially successful person like that starts sharing how the Lord blessed him, even heads of state and presidents of major corporations will become interested - and those are the people who should be included when we witness. We have traditionally ignored them, and have concentrated on the man on the street, but Jesus died for the corporate head and the man on the street, for the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. (bold added
Why would they become interested? Because they love money (1 Timothy 6:10). So, Price, being a lover of money himself (2 Timothy 3:2; 2 Peter 2:3, 14) teaches to appeal to the covetous heart of man and their love for the things in this world (1 John 2:15).
Jesus did no such thing, but rather, just the opposite (Luke 12:26-33; ). When someone came to Christ and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go," Jesus appealed to His own poor plight and said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Christ did the very thing Price claims would turn people off.
In fact, anyone who maintains, "If I have to go through what he's going through with all this Jesus stuff, forget it." such a one is unfit, unworthy, cannot be His disciple (Mark 8:34-36), and will face the wrath of the Almighty in unending torture for all eternity, where their worm will not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48). He shall be an abhorrence to all flesh (Isaiah 66:24).
VIII. Tithing
The tithe (10%) is not a command under the new covenant, but can be followed as an example (e.g. Genesis 14:20; 28:22). 2 Corinthians 9:7 gives the new covenant standard, "as he purposes in his heart" and "God loves a cheerful giver" (see also Proverbs 3:9-10). Yet, Price has his own standard.
In an attempt to justify the tithe, Price perverts Hebrews 7:8 and writes,
Here mortal men receive tithes ... refers to the ministers of God here on earth, such as pastors. (p. 144, ellipsis in original)
One need only to read Hebrews 7:5 to see Price's perversion.
And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, . . .
The ones receiving tithes are the Levitical priests. The text neither implies nor purports anything about pastors. Price just makes this up (or repeats error that he has heard from another).
After quoting Malachi 3:10, Price perverts this passage as well and writes,
The storehouse is God's house, the place set aside for the worship and praise of God and the study of His Word. In short, the storehouse is the local church. It takes money to maintain the storehouse, so if you are being spiritually fed at your local church, you should give that church your tithes. (p. 145)
In Malachi 3:10 God's storehouse was His temple (e.g. 1 Chronicles 26:12-17; Nehemiah 10:38), which was a building the Lord specifically commanded His people to build (e.g. 1 Chronicles 22:10-11; Zechariah 1:16; 4:9; 8:9). No such building, or anything like it, has been commanded by the Lord to the church to build. You will find no such building project(s) in the entire New Testament. Scripture does not teach, "the storehouse is the local church" as Price claims (Proverbs 30:5-6), thus it does not take "money to maintain the storehouse," because no such storehouse is in God's agenda. This is man's agenda, not God's (Colossians 2:8-10), and it is a perversion of the word of God.
In his tithing fantasy, Price comes up with a real winner regarding what goes on in the heavens. He gives a sample prayer, and at the beginning of the second paragraph of this prayer Price writes,
Jesus, as our Lord and High Priest, we bring the firstfruits of our income to You, that You may worship the Lord our God with them. (p. 157)
This is pure fantasy (Proverbs 30:5-6) nowhere found in holy writ. God (Jesus Christ) says,
Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. (Psalm 50:7-12)
We can't give God anything He doesn't already own, and there is nothing in Scripture that even implies Christ takes financial offerings from believers and worships God with them. This is yet another example of Price's (or someone's) imagination gone wild, out of control.
IX. According to Price, Worry Is The Worst Sin
Price writes,
Worry is unbelief. It is a lack of faith. The Bible says that anything not of faith is sin, and worry is the worst sin you can commit. (p. 171)
Jesus said,
Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
There is only one sin that will never be forgiven, and it is not the sin of worrying! Worrying is by no means "the worst sin you can commit." Again, Scripture simply does not teach this (Proverbs 30:5-6).
Jesus said to the Pharisees, "you will receive greater condemnation" because of their hypocrisy (Matthew 23:14). To Pilate Jesus said, "the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin" (John 19:11). 1 John 5:16 speaks of sin unto death and sin not unto death. There are certainly some sins that are worse than others, but Scripture nowhere teaches worrying is "the worst sin you can commit."
X. According to Price, God Doesn't Kill People
The title of the very last chapter of his book reads,
Lie 12 God Kills People (p. 213)
Price writes,
Believe it or not, God has nothing to do with your dying. Nothing whatsoever. (p. 213)
Earlier in the book Price wrote,
God has nothing to do with murder, sickness, disease, or anything else that can wipe you out. He is not the author of AIDS, HIV, or any other sexually-transmitted disease. (p. 83)
Price's attempt to support this Biblically is Hebrews 2:14. Frederick writes,
These verses [Hebrews 2:9-15] categorically prove that God is not the one killing people. (p. 214)
Hebrews 2:14 mentions Christ's mission to destroy through death "him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." This does not remove the fact that God is still the one killing people, even if Satan were involved (Romans 11:36). For example, even though Saul committed suicide, Scripture still declares that God killed him (1 Chronicles 10:4-5, 14).
The Lord clearly proclaims,
Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)
For more on this, see our report, The Lord Kills.
XI. According to Price, God Doesn't Decide When You Die, You Do
In this same chapter Price writes,
At this point you may think, "All right, Brother Price, if God is not the person killing people, and the devil has no more legal authority to kill us, then who determines when we die?"
Are you ready for a shock? You do. (p. 216)
A little later Price writes,
God says in another scripture that the years of a man should be 120, so you can live to be at least 120 years old. (p. 221)
Genesis 6:3 does not teach that. Genesis 6:3 is written in the context of people dying at over 900 years old (Genesis 5 & 11:10-23). The statement is in the context of the coming judgment of God (Genesis 6:5-7), not the maximum length of man's lifetime. Nonetheless, Price's folly continues.
The moment your heart stops, your spirit and soul leap out of your mouth and head for glory. You could be sitting in a chair at home when it happens, not hooked up to some respirator. You could be kicking back by the pool in your chaise lounge and just decide, "I think I'm going on to be with the Lord today." (p. 222)
This "leap out of your mouth" folly is only found in Revelation 16:13 and there it has to do with demons coming out of the mouth of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, not "your spirit and soul."
Price attempts to support the above claim with Genesis 49:28-33 and comments,
It implies here that Jacob chose his time to die. (p. 222)
Whether he did or did not does not mean we all can do so (Proverbs 30:5-6).
In another attempt to support his "you decide when you die" foolishness, Price quotes 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 and concludes,
Paul includes death as being yours. It is not up to God or to the devil to determine when you are going to die. It is up to you. You do not have to be a victim of the circumstances. God has put you in control. (p. 220)
What Price fails to acknowledge here is, indeed all things are ours, but all things are not in our control, nor can we do what we please with all things, as Ecclesiastes tells us.
There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. (Ecclesiastes 7:15)
There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. (Ecclesiastes 8:14)
The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)
"Man also does not know his time" (Ecclesiastes 9:12). Believers are not immune to this reality.
XII. Price's Impotent god
In this same section Price writes,
Many people end up dying in the prime of life because they think they are leaving when they die up to God, and are taking absolutely no control of the situation themselves. At the same time, God has left the situation in their hands, and is not touching it with a 29-1/2 foot pole. While they and God are waiting for one another, the devil comes in and kills them.
Satan is the author of death, not God. God did not kill any of your family, despite what the minister said at the time. If you decide to die, God will have to let you die - there is nothing He can do about it. (p. 218)
There are so many lies in here it's not funny (Proverbs 30:5-6). The Bible does not teach people are dying because "they are leaving when they die up to God," nor does it teach that "God has left the situation in their hands," and is not touching it. It also does not say anything about anybody waiting on anyone and the devil coming in and killing someone in such a circumstance. Nor does it teach "Satan is the author of death." Having the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) and being the author of it is not one and the same.
Instead of "God did not kill . . . ," the truth is, God did kill them (1 Samuel 2:6), and it never says anywhere or teaches that "If you decide to die, God will have to let you die - there is nothing He can do about it."
To God belong escapes from death (Psalm 68:20), plus all things are of Him (Romans 11:36). As mentioned above, if someone dies, it's because God has killed them (Deuteronomy 32:39), even in the case of suicide (1 Chronicles 10:14).
XIII. A False Free Will
Illustrating further Price's impotent god, Price propagates a free will that does not exist.
The point is, a lot of the things we assume are God's choices are really ours. Because those choices are ours to make, there is nothing God can do about it. (p. 219)
Price denies the words of Jeremiah.
O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)
Price also denies the wisdom of Solomon.
A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
A man's steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)
Price's lies continue:
If God wanted to make everything happen, He would have made you a robot. He would not have given you a free will. (p. 219)
God does make everything happen (Job 34:13-15; Hebrews 1:3; Romans 11:36), even the will of man (Romans 9:16), but Price thinks not. Earlier he wrote,
God will not force you to be filled with the Spirit, just as He will not force you to be born again. It is entirely your decision. (p. 195)
This is entirely against Ephesians 2:1-10. It is a gospel of works (Romans 9:11-13; Galatians 1:8-9), and speaks directly against Romans 9:16.
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. (Romans 9:16)
Scripture does speak of a free will (e.g. Leviticus 1:3; 19:5; 22:19, 29), but this will is still yet directed by God Himself, as Jeremiah 10:23 and Proverbs declares.
XIV. Sickness
The seventh chapter in this book reads,
Lie 7 God Is Glorified Through Sickness (p. 99)
In this chapter Price attempts to deal with some Scriptures that blatantly declare God is glorified through sickness. For example, he deals with John 9:1-3.
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." (John 9:1-3)
Concerning this passage Fred writes,
"See, Brother Price! The man was born blind for the work of God." That is what this verse can appear to say if you read it like that, and that is the way it appears to be written in the New King James Bible. But is that what it really says?
I submit to you that it is not what this verse says at all. (p. 105)
Price goes on and argues about the punctuation to get away from the truth (p. 105-107), and then writes,
How could God, who was in Jesus, first make the man blind, then heal the man from his blindness? God would be working against Himself. (p. 107)
God declares,
Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? (Exodus 4:11)
Yes indeed (Colossians 1:16), and He does not work against Himself in this, but rather to His glory (Romans 11:36), as Jesus declares (John 9:3).
In this same section Price writes,
It was God's will for that blind man to be healed, just as it is His will for every blind person to be healed today! (p. 107)
Scripture nowhere teaches this (Proverbs 30:5-6), but that doesn't slow down Price.
Frederick foolishly deals with another passage in his error, John 11:1-4.
Another Scripture which can appear to say that God is glorified through sickness, and which has also been misinterpreted, is in the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11.
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Someone may read that and say at this point, "You see, Brother Price! Jesus very plainly says it. This man was sick for the glory of God."
That is not what Jesus is saying at all. (p. 108)
In other words, according to Frederick, even though the Bible plainly says it, you can't believe it; instead, believe "Brother Price." The problem with this is, if you do so and continue in it, you will certainly go to hell (Revelation 21:8).
At the end of this chapter Price writes,
Is God glorified through sickness? Not according to the Bible. (p. 116)
This is a lie. God was glorified in Paul's sickness (infirmity, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9), that's why Paul took pleasure in it (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
XV. Not Out of Fear
Speaking in the context of hell, Price writes,
This is not a scare tactic. This is a fact. God does not want you to become a Christian out of fear, but out of love. (p. 39)
This is a lie. The Lord indeed requires love (Mark 12:30), but He also requires fear.
The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. (Isaiah 8:13)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). Being afraid of God is the only way to come to God in truth, as the Lord says,
On this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isaiah 66:2; see also Psalm 119:120)
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