Pulse
16 December 2024
The past two decades have witnessed the proliferation of study Bibles in the market. A cursory search on Amazon would yield a plethora of different study Bibles such as The Woman’s Study Bible, The Courage for Life Study Bible for Men, the Outreach Study Bible – the list goes on and on.
To an already cluttered market, Joseph Prince, the hyper-grace preacher and pastor of New Creation Church, recently launched the Joseph Prince Study Bible, which comes in the form of an app. According to the promotional website, this Study Bible ‘curates Pastor Prince’s most impactful teachings to deliver a rich, multimedia experience that will transform the way you read the Bible within the Gospel Partner app.’
The passages in the Bible are linked to video clips of excerpts of Prince’s sermons that expound them. These excerpts are quarried from more than 1,000 of Prince’s sermons preached over the span of twenty years. The user-friendly app also contains features that allow users to highlight passages and enter notes of their own.
Some critics suggest that naming this multi-media tool the Joseph Prince Study Bible reveals a degree of self-absorption or narcissism on Prince’s part. However, it is worth noting that there are significant precedents for this practice.
For example, the Scofield Reference Bible, first published in 1909 by Oxford University Press, and revised in 1917, was named after the American theologian and minister, C. I. Scofield. A more recent instance is the John MacArthur Study Bible (published in 1997), named after the long-time pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.
Perhaps (here I am speculating) Prince’s inspiration for putting together a Study Bible came from Joel Osteen, the senior pastor of Lakewood Church, who published the Hope for Today Bible in 2009, which contains his devotional and inspirational writings.
It is important to note that every study Bible reflects the theology of its architect or architects. This is true for study Bibles that are the result of the work of a group of scholars in biblical studies such as the ESV Study Bible, which was created by a team of 95 leading Bible scholars and teachers.
It is also true of study Bibles that are organised within the framework of a particular theological and ecclesiastical tradition such as the KJV Reformation Heritage Study Bible (Reformation Heritage Books, 2014), and the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (Ignatius Press, 2024).
And it is certainly true of study Bibles that are tied to a particular pastor or preacher.
For example, the notes and interpretative comments found in the Scofield Study Bible mentioned above are very much influenced by the theological biases and errors of C. I. Scofield. Aligned to the dispensationalism of the pastor whose name it bears, this study Bible presents a view of salvation history that is divided into distinct, artificially segmented periods.
Biblical prophecies about the end times are interpreted in a literal, futuristic sense, which are then commandeered to support the premillennialism of its author. The symbolic language of prophetic literature in Daniel and Revelation is largely ignored, while Christian Zionism, which has no scriptural warrant whatsoever, is dogmatically asserted.
In a similar vein, the John MacArthur Study Bible betrays the theological biases of its author. For example, it strongly reflects MacArthur’s particular interpretation of the Calvinist and Reformed tradition, especially the doctrines of election and predestination, which are then wedded to his premillennial dispensationalism (Calvin, like the other Reformers, was an amillennialist).
The John MacArthur Study Bible also reflects the anti-charismatic views and cessationism of its author who in 1993 published a book entitled Charismatic Chaos. Critics of the study Bible have pointed out that it fails to present a nuanced and balanced view of the work of the Spirit in the Church today.
The Joseph Prince Study Bible will not be immune from these problems.
If Prince displays even some measure of consistency in his convictions, the study Bible named after him will surely bear all his trademark teachings – which I have described elsewhere as heresy (https://ethosinstitute.sg/the-new-antinomianism/).
Prince’s study Bible will stress that the Old Testament and even many of the words spoken by Jesus are not meant for Christians as they are directed at the people of God in the old covenant. In Destined to Reign, Prince writes:
There is a lot of confusion and wrong believing in the church today because many Christians read their Bibles without rightly dividing the old and new covenants. They don’t realise that even some of the words which Jesus spoke in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are part of the old covenant. They were spoken before the cross as He had not yet died. The new covenant only begins after the cross, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost (emphasis in original).
And in an article entitled ‘What Does it Mean to “Rightly Divide the Word”’, he clarifies further that
… some things that Jesus said in the four gospels were spoken before the cross – before He had died for our sins – and some were said after the cross – when He had already won our complete forgiveness and rightfully given us His righteousness. It is the latter that applies to us (believers under the new covenant) today. (Emphasis mine).
In his study Bible, Prince will repeat his insistence that Christians need to confess their sins only once, at the point of their conversion. Beyond that, there is no further need for confession and repentance because Christ has forgiven all their sins – past, present and future.
In Unmerited Favour, Prince writes:
… how often do you have to confess your sins for Jesus to forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness? Only once! In that very instance when you prayed the prayer of salvation, all the sins that you would commit for your entire life were forgiven once and for all. You received the full redemptive work of Jesus on the cross into your life, and all his blessings, his favour, his health and his success became yours! Let me say this plainly: You do not need to confess your sins again and again to be forgiven. You are already forgiven!
He will surely also repeat his claim that 1 John 1:9 (‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’) is not directed at Christians. In Unmerited Favour, Prince asserts that ‘I John 1:9 was not written for believers,’ but for Gnostics.
He will underscore his teaching that the Holy Spirit does not convict Christians of sin, against the plain teaching of the Bible (John 16:8). In Destined to Reign, Prince writes, again categorically, that ‘The Holy Spirit never convicts (Christians) of your sins. He never comes to point out your faults …’
He will reinforce his idea that God cannot see our sins because they are covered by the blood of Christ. ‘Let me say it one more time to make sure that you did not miss it,’ he writes in Destined to Reign, ‘God cannot see your sins when they are covered by the blood.’
And he will repeat his counsel, also found in Destined to Reign, to ‘Stop examining yourself and searching your heart for sin’ – again, in blatant contradiction to the teachings of Scripture (Lamentations 3:40; Psalm 139; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
Unless Prince has recanted from these teachings or he is duplicitous, his study Bible will surely repeat and reinforce all these theologically erroneous and spiritually harmful teachings.
While study Bibles are helpful tools for Christians who wish to have a more in-depth appreciation of Scripture, it is important to select them carefully and wisely by investigating their theological stances, biases and even errors.
The more reliable study Bibles are those that are put together by a team of reputable Bible scholars and theologians, instead of those based solely on the interpretation of a pastor or Bible teacher.
Although these study Bibles may still reflect particular theological or ecclesiastical traditions, we can at least be assured that the information they contain is grounded in thorough scholarship.
Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor at Trinity Theological College (Singapore) and Theological and Research Advisor of the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity.