Eleven Things That I Humbly Disagree With Pastor Steven Anderson About

2nd Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Someone recently commented on my Facebook page that they disagreed with Pastor Steven Anderson's teaching that Jesus burned in Hell for three days. Yes, I agree, Biblically Jesus did NOT burn in Hell, not even for one second (Luke 23:43). After addressing the reader's comments, I kindly took the opportunity to deal with some other issues for the sake of edifying my readers with the truth. Actually, there are several doctrinal areas in which I respectfully disagree with Brother Anderson; namely:

1. I Disagree With a PreWrath Rapture.

I believe in a Biblical Pretribulation Rapture (i.e., the Rapture will happen BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period). Pastor Anderson teaches that the Rapture and Christ's Second Coming are the SAME event, which I think is unbiblical.

2. I Disagree With Pastor Anderson That the Rapture will Happen 75 Days After the Abomination of Desolation (AOD).

The AOD is when the Antichrist breaks the peace agreement with Israel, stops the Jewish daily sacrifices, and professes himself to be God on earth). Clearly, we would know WHEN Jesus is coming back, so this cannot be accurate in lieu of Mark 13:32-37. Daniel 12:11-12 teaches that from the AOD to Christ's Second Coming will be 1,290 days. Again, we would KNOW exactly WHEN Jesus is returning. Only the timing of the Rapture is a mystery, but not Christ's Second Coming.

3. I Disagree That Jesus Burned in Hell Fire for Three Days.

The Savior Himself told the repentant thief on the cross next to Him, that they would both be in Paradise that very same day (Luke 23:43). Clearly, Jesus did not burn in Hell.

4. I Disagree With Pastor Anderson That There is No Old Testament Place Called 'Paradise.'

Acts 2:27 says that Jesus went to Hell. So Hell must have been compartmentalized, with a place of Torment on one side, and a place of Paradise on the other. In fact, this is EXACTLY what we see in Luke 16:19-31 in the true story of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:22 refers to this place of Paradise informally as "Abraham's Bosom." Matthew 12:40 teaches that Jesus was in the heart of the earth for 3 days and 3 nights, like Jonah was 3 days and nights in the belly of the whale. Hell is in the heart of the earth (Ezekiel 31:17). My friend Pastor Max D. Younce has authored this masterpiece of literature titled: "A Biblical Examination Of Hell," which you can either buy as a hardcopy, or freely download or read in .pdf format.

5. I Humbly Disagree with Pastor Anderson that Christian Ladies Can Openly Breastfeed in Public Around Men.

I think it is unwise and immodest.

6. I Disagree with Pastor Anderson's Strange "Reprobate Doctrine" Which Says Homosexuals Cannot be Saved.

This heresy falsely claims that God hates homosexuals and has given up on them ever getting saved, banning them from salvation. I do believe the Reprobate Doctrine as Dr. Jack Hyles preached it, which I explain in detail in the preceding article, contrasting what Pastor Hyles taught versus what Pastor Anderson is preaching. I believe there is a point of no return that an unsaved sinner can cross, where they will never get saved; but it is only because of the hardness of their heart, and not because God refuses to save them. Jesus said in John 5:40 that "Ye will not come unto me." He didn't say, "Ye cannot come." Furthermore, in John 6:37 Jesus promised to never cast away anybody who comes to Him for salvation. 2nd Peter 3:9 says that God is not willing for ANY to perish, but that ALL men repent and come to Christ to be saved by faith alone.

7. I Disagree that "Praying" is the Bible Method to Be Saved.

Pastor Anderson does teach that a person CAN be saved without praying, by just believing. He gets that right. But he is very wrong to use Romans 10:13 (a single passage of Scripture) to base a new doctrine which says to be saved, God's normal method is through prayer. Such thinking goes totally contrary to the entire Gospel of John, which is specifically written for the purpose of getting people saved (John 20:31). Nowhere in the Gospel of John are we taught to pray, repent, confess publicly, get water baptized, nor anything else to be saved except simply to BELIEVE. John 6:47, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life" [emphasis added]. Praying is NOT the Bible method to get saved. It is not wrong to pray as a result of one's faith, but it is not God's method. God's method is "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30-31).

8. I Disagree with Pastor Anderson that God Hates Homosexuals, Pedophiles, Rapists or Any Other Class of Sinners.

Yes, God hates sin, but not the sinner. Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6-9). Of a truth, we should never accept sin with the sinner, nor reject the sinner with the sin. John 3:16 says that God loves (Greek: agapes) the whole world. God is not fond (Greek: phileo) of their sin. Pastor Anderson mocks and scorns saints like me who look to the Greek to understand the Bible, calling people like me "Chick Phileo Christians." But if Brother Anderson understood the various Bible Greek words for "love," then he would understand that God hates the sin, but never people.

9. I Do Not Agree with Pastor Anderson's Teaching that the Church Replaces Israel (aka, Replacement Theology).

I love and agree 99% with his "Marching To Zion" movie. I agree that we (saints) are the chosen of God. We are true Jews, not biological Jews. What saith the Scripture? Romans 2:28-29, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Neither biological, ethnic, cultural nor national Jews are the chosen of God, but only born-again Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 3:26-29).

Having said that, there never was a time in the Old Testament where unsaved Jews were God's "chosen." The Jews were God's people, including unsaved Jews, but the promises DIDN'T apply to them. God's promises have always followed a line of faith. God divorced Israel in 586 BC, turning to the Gentiles to preach the Gospel instead, to provoke the Jews to jealousy. God made way, by faith alone in the Gospel, for any Jews to be graffed back into their tree if they wanted it. Romans 11:23, "And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again."

But this is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ, otherwise the Jews are cut off and damned to Hell forever. So I do not agree with Replacement Theology. Israel is Israel. The Church is the Church. Israel is coming back, but only when Jesus returns at His Second Coming and the Jews turn toward God (Hosea 3:4-5). No unsaved Jew has or ever will go to Heaven (John 3:3).

10. I Disagree with Pastor Anderson's Interpretation of 1st Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

I heard a sermon recently by Pastor Anderson, where he mentions a doctrinal quarrel between Dr. John R. Rice and pastor Jack Hyles. These two great soulwinning men often shared preaching meetings together (approximately 2,200 meetings over 20 years).

One night Pastor Hyles preached his sermon first. His text was 1st Corinthians 15:19, saying that even if there were no resurrection and no afterlife, it would be worth living the Christian life anyway. When Brother Hyles finished, Dr. Rice got up and said to the audience that Dr. Hyles doesn't agree with the Apostle Paul. Paul said we would all be miserable if there were no resurrection from the dead, if there is no afterlife. Steven Anderson sided with Dr. Hyles. I am siding with Dr. Rice.

What saith the Scripture? 1st Thessalonians 4:13, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." The Bible says if there is no bodily resurrection and afterlife, then we have NO HOPE and are sorrowful, as the unbelieving. But we do have the "hope of eternal life" (Titus 1:2). Paul teaches about the coming Rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, exhorting us to COMFORT one another with these precious truths. So clearly Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) is correct with the Apostle Paul, that without the resurrection there would be no hope, no comfort, and we of all men would be utterly miserable. 

11. I Disagree with Pastor Anderson's Young Earth View. I firmly believe that the earth itself is billions of years old, as legitimate science evidences. The earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old according to science. What saith the Scripture? Psalms102:25, “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” The psalmist specifically mentions the earth. I think that is significant. I do not think that dinosaurs roamed the earth with mankind 5,000 years ago. Science evidences that dinosaurs lived upon the earth 60 to 220 million years ago. I believe the human race is approximately 6,000 years old, which history agrees with. I believe in the literal 6 days of creation in Genesis, in which God REMODELED the earth as we know it today. I agree with the Gap Principle (it's not a theory if you study the Hebrew in Genesis chapter's 1 and 2). I do not believe in evolution in any of its forms. God created the universe. Long before God remodeled creation, Lucifer and one-third of the angels rebelled against God and were cast down to the earth, at which time God destroyed the earth, laying it void and waste, rendering the fallen angels disembodied (now only spirits). I humbly think the Young Earth view does harm to the cause of Christ. If an unsaved person is aware that you foolishly think dinosaurs lived 5,000 years ago, they will assume you are too stupid for them to listen to anything else you have to say, including the Gospel which would save them. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!

Having said all that, I still love, admire and promote Pastor Anderson's soulwinning ministry. Brother Anderson is strongly opinionated, sharp in his tone and harsh in his words, and so am I. 2nd Corinthians 11:6, “But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.” The Apostle Paul came across also as being rude, but Paul said he was not ignorant in knowledge. In other words, Paul knew what he was talking about doctrinally. I do not know of even one Bible preacher with whom I agree on everything. No two preachers completely agree. That is the nature of the journey of finding the truth. We are all at different places on our lifelong journey.