Don’t just look at what a preacher says and judge their whole ministry on one sound bite or statement. Look at their whole life, their integrity, their authenticity, their track record, the way they treat people, the way other people who know them talk about them. Look at their relationship with their spouse, their children, their colleagues, their church, other believers and even unbelievers. In other words look at the fruit of their life. Put that sound bite in the context of their whole life before we write them off as a heretic or dangerous preacher. We know how easy it is to take someone out of context today and misrepresent them so let’s not be guilty of that. Before reacting to something someone said, spend time studying their life. You may find that the sound bite was just them trying to provoke thought, and so they said it in a provocative way. Imagine if someone told you that there was this guy out there who was telling everyone that if they want to have eternal life they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood? You would possibly think they were a dangerous heretic and someone to warn others about. But those words came from our Lord and saviour, who actually did speak them to people without any qualification or clarification. He wanted to provoke their thinking because they were stuck in religion. He even let the crowds walk away offended after hearing his statement without chasing after them to qualify what he was actually talking about.
Just because I preach total forgiveness of sins, perfect righteousness, open access to God even if we sin, eternal security, please don’t assume I am saying it is ok to run out and sin and live however you want. Don’t assume that my teachings are dangerous and lead people towards sinful lifestyles that are rebellious to God. Look at my life. Look at my family. Look at my wife, my children, my track record. Look at what other people say about me. You’re not going to find any of your negative assumptions about me. What you will find is stability, strength, victory, integrity, purity, empowerment, a healthy marriage, children who love and respect me and who walk with God, honour towards leaders, authority and local churches. You’ll find healthy relationships in my life and testimonies of many people whose lives have been transformed through my teachings. My teachings may not agree with your theological upbringing, or your interpretation of the Word, but I can tell you now they are grounded in the Word of God in context and are producing supernatural transformation and fruitfulness in my life. So don’t be shallow, look into someone’s whole life and doctrine before you attack them or something they said.