Did Jesus Pay For Our Sins In Hell?
There is a blasphemous teaching among Word Faith teachers that Jesus did not pay for our sins on the cross. They actually teach that when the blood of Jesus poured out on the cross that it did not atone for our sins. They claim that Jesus had to suffer in our place in hell in order to finish the redemption.
There is a long list of these false teachers that adhere to this blasphemous doctrine: Joel Osteen, Keith Butler, Ken Copeland, Fred Price, Creflo Dollar, Ken Hagin, Creflo Dollar, etc.
Here are some of their quotes:
"Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God Satan and all the demons of hell thought that they had Him bound and they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence."
(Hank Hanegraaff, "Christianity in Crisis" page 347. Fred Price, Ever Increasing Faith Messenger June 1980)
"The Bible indicates that for three days, Jesus went into the very depths of hell. Right into the enemy's own territory. And He did battle with Satan face to face. Can you imagine what a show down that was?"
(Joel Osteen, Sermon, CS-002 - April 23, 2000, "The Truth of The Resurrection")
"It wasn't a physical death on the cross that paid the price for sin...anybody can do that."
(Kenneth Copeland, What Satan Saw on the Day of Pentecost, audiotape #BCC-19, side 1)
"When Jesus cried, 'It is finished!' He was not speaking of the plan of redemption. There were still three days and nights to go through before He went to the throne Jesus' death on the cross was only the beginning of the complete work of redemption."
(Hank Hanegraaff, "Christianity in Crisis" page 164. Ken Copeland, Jesus Our Lord of Glory, Believer's Voice of Victory, April 1982)
"Christ's physical death on the cross was not enough to save us."
(Ken Hagin, How Jesus obtained His Name, Tape 44H01)
"Jesus went into hell to free mankind from the penalty of Adam's high treason...When His blood poured out it did not atone. Jesus spent three horrible days and nights in the bowels of this earth getting back for you and me our rights with God."
(Ken Copeland, Personal letter from Ken Copeland, Ft. Worth Texas, March 12, 1979)
"After entering hell and being there for three days, Jesus became born again....Jesus was the first born-again man...Jesus died spiritually for every man so that sinners could be redeemed from spiritual death...Jesus stepped out of life and tasted spiritual death."
(Creflo Dollar, Study Notes, The First Begotten Son, 04/11/04)
"When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished,” He was referring to the Abrahamic covenant....Jesus entered hell with nothing more than His covenant with God...He took back the keys to death, hell and the grave."
(Creflo Dollar, Study Notes, Our Authority Through the Covenant, 04/18/04)
"We were sin, and he swapped places for us. He was the righteous Son of God, and he swapped with us his righteousness and took our sin. He swapped with us, and became it for us. We were deserving of going to hell and burning there for all of eternity. He went to hell in our place. For untold agony, Jesus, went through in the bottom of the pit. Hell, itself, paid the penalty that you and I deserve. On that third day, I believe there was party going on in hell. They thought they had him; they thought they had the Holy One. I believe they were all there, taunting Jesus; but then, Jesus in the pit of hell, the Father said, it's enough. The claims of justice has been satisfied."
(Keith Butler, "The Authority of the Name of Jesus," Article C-Faith)
Jan Crouch, approvingly recited the following words from Paul Billheimer's book during a live communion service aired on TBN:
"It was not sufficient for Christ to offer up only his physical life on the cross. His pure human spirit had to descend into hell ...His spirit must not only descend into hell, but into the lowest hell....The Father turned Him over, not only to the agony and death of Calvary, but to the satanic torturers of His pure spirit as part of the just dessert of the sin of all the race. As long as Christ was 'the essence of sin' he was at Satan's mercy in that place of torment. . . While Christ identified with sin, Satan and the hosts of hell ruled over Him as over any lost sinner. During that seemingly endless age in the nether abyss of death, Satan did with Him as he would, and all hell was 'in carnival."
(Hank Hanegraaff, "Christianity in Crisis" page 164-165. Jan Crouch and Paul E. Billheimer: "Destined for the Throne," page 83-84. Quoted by Jan Crouch during "Praise the Lord," 20 August 1987)
The Bible warns us not to follow men (Jeremiah 17:5, Psalm 118:8), but to test what all leaders teach with scripture (1 John 4:1, Acts 17:11).
In Deuteronomy 13:3, God says that He will test us with false prophets to see if we truly love Him, "You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
If it can be clearly proven that the Bible teaches that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross in his physical body would you still follow these people? Do you truly love God with all of your heart and soul or do you follow man? Is the bible your final authority or man? These are some questions that you might have to wrestle with. I pray that you choose God over man.
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