Craig Groeschel Gets Forgiveness WRONG!

Craig Groeschel, False Teachers, and the Bible App

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where we bring you Christian commentary about the things that matter. As ever, please know this video isn't a sinful attack, but rather a biblical critique.

In today's video, we're going to be talking about Craig Grishel. Now, Craig is the lead pastor of Life .Church, which is the biggest church in the United States at the moment. It is important to note that Craig is not as obviously a false teacher as someone like Joel Osteen, or T .D. Jakes, or Joyce Meyer.

He appears on the outside to be just your average evangelical church growth pastor, certainly not a prosperity gospel charlatan. And because of this, many people have a really hard time identifying Craig Grishel as a false teacher.

But make no mistake about it, he still is. And we don't say that here on this channel for shock value or clickbait, but rather because it's true and because it matters. For instance, if you take a look at the most popular Bible app, YouVersion, you will find that it is actually owned and operated by none other than Life .Church and Craig Grishel.

And this Bible app, which is again owned by his church, they have Bible reading plans offered by serious false teachers like Joel Osteen, T .D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and even the likes of Kenneth Copeland.

So the question must be asked then, if Craig Grishel isn't a false teacher, then why are so many false teachers being advertised, advanced, and promoted on the Bible app that is owned by him and his church?

Contrast this with Acts 20 verse 28, which tells pastors to do this, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.

Now I'm no pastor or a Bible scholar, but it seems to me that paying attention to your church and caring for it diligently would not include exposing them to false teachers constantly. But this is not the only unfortunate and concerning teaching being offered by Life .Church.

Craig Groeschel's Sermon on Forgiving Yourself

The following clip is from a sermon given by Craig Grishel entitled, How Do I Forgive Myself? Watch this.

Help us to let it go. As you have forgiven us, God, so we receive your forgiveness and we forgive ourselves. Let it go.

You see, I actually watched the entire sermon here, and I was waiting the entire time for him to offer the obvious disclaimer that according to the Bible, you cannot truly forgive yourself. But much to my surprise, that was never made clear by him at any point throughout the entire message.

It all led to the very end of the sermon. In fact, when he was closing in final prayer, when he said what you heard in the video, As you have forgiven us, God, so we receive your forgiveness and we forgive ourselves.

So Craig Grishel never says that you cannot forgive yourself, and at the end of his sermon, he actively says that you can forgive yourself. That makes his position clear. But as you may have guessed, this isn't biblical at all.

Why Forgiveness Cannot Be Extended to Yourself

Now, there are several points one might make in defense of Craig's prayer here, but there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest. The most popular refutation of the positions we will take in this video will certainly be that we are merely arguing semantics.

You're simply arguing about words, some might say. But you are not actually disputing ideas or concepts. You and Craig both believe the same things. You're just using different words to describe your positions.

Craig doesn't really think that you can forgive yourself. Obviously, he thinks that only God can truly forgive. What Craig is talking about is releasing yourself from unnecessary guilt after you have been forgiven.

And in response to that very valid complaint, here's what I would say. Craig said specifically and clearly that we ought to forgive ourselves for our past sins. He did not say that we should simply repent, have faith, and rest in the forgiveness of God.

No, that would have been biblical. Instead, he said, and I quote, As you have forgiven us, God, so we forgive ourselves. And this is absolutely unbiblical for several reasons. First, it doesn't matter what kind of forgiveness Craig Richelle is referring to.

The fact is, you cannot extend forgiveness of any kind to yourself. This is a false and unbiblical view of what forgiveness truly is. First John 1 9 says this quote, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice that the passage says that we confess our sins. They're not someone else's sins, but rather ours. We committed them. This is what we should do with our sins. And then notice who offers the forgiveness.

It's God. In summary, we are the party who has sinned. God is the party who has been sinned against. Colossians 3 13 talks about, quote, Forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive, end quote.

So we can see that there are two categories of forgiveness here, forgiving other people and being forgiven by God. In Mark 11 25, Jesus echoes this saying, quote, Whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone so that your father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Again, two categories, forgiving others and being forgiven by God. This is the pattern that runs through the scriptures. This is indeed the textbook definition of what forgiveness is. We cannot start changing the definitions of important biblical words that have been around for thousands of years because we want to make a clever sermon or help people feel better about themselves.

The fact still remains, you cannot forgive yourself. If forgiveness was a work that relied on your effort, it never would have happened. There is not one command in all of scriptures that I'm aware of which tells us to forgive ourselves, not even one.

So why on earth would we preach a sermon telling people to do that if it doesn't appear in scripture one time? And this brings us to the most important issue with regards to this comment. The huge focus on self-perception will actually undermine true assurance of forgiveness in the Christian life.

The Danger of Self-Perception and Subjective Assurance

Let me explain. This is just a side effect of many modern churches' obsession with the self. If you don't totally feel forgiven, they say, then make sure you forgive yourself. If you don't feel completely loved, they say, then make sure you're loving yourself.

Here's the problem, though, with all of this. If you really could manufacture enough forgiveness for yourself to satisfy your conscience, then you wouldn't need God. If you could manufacture enough love to satisfy your weary soul, then you wouldn't need Christ.

On the flip side, what does it say about God that He cannot offer enough love or enough forgiveness to satisfy you? Why is it that we could suggest as Christians that the infinitely powerful God we serve cannot fulfill us completely in these areas, to the extent that we even have to love and forgive ourselves in order to fully experience grace in our lives?

Ultimately, you see, complete forgiveness, total and utter love, only comes from God. The problem is that Craig Rochelle presents it as if it's 99 God forgiving you, but if you really want to feel it, if you want to go all the way, then you've got to lift your weight and do your 1 by forgiving yourself.

If you want to get all the way into forgiveness, then you have to forgive yourself. But again, this is not Biblical. We can be all the way in forgiveness through Christ alone. In fact, that's the only way to do it.

Romans 8 .1 says this,. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You see, only in Christ can you be free from the guilt and condemnation that afflicts you. But Craig Rochelle and many other modern megachurch leaders want you to rely on your feelings to gauge forgiveness.

If you don't feel fully forgiven, then you need to forgive yourself. Do you see the issue here? The reliance is almost entirely on you to complete this task. Christianity tells us that we are in a very literal state of spiritual deadness.

The only solution is Jesus Christ and His sacrifice received in faith. The issue of sin is objective. The solution, Christ, is equally as objective. This is the kind of reality and Biblical truth that yields true assurance and true peace, receiving Christ and relying on Him alone.

By contrast, Craig Rochelle and company make the problem about whether or not you feel forgiven all the time, which is subjective and most certainly not reliable. And the solution is that you must make yourself feel more forgiven by deciding to forgive yourself, which again is equally subjective.

This will not work. When you attempt to build the Christian life on whatever you happen to be feeling inside at any given moment, then you may feel forgiven at one point and then feel completely in despair the next.

Build Your Faith on the Objective Truth of God's Word

So instead of falling into this pattern of desperation, learn to meditate on the everlasting and rock-solid objective truth of God's Word. Jesus says in John 17, quote,. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.

Do not build your faith in a reactionary way on feelings. Instead, let's believe in Christ and build on Him as our solid foundation. We must face the facts. We cannot forgive ourselves. Only Christ can.

And praise God that that's the case. And stay away from Craig Rochelle and Life .Church. Their teaching is deeply concerning, and their ministry connections are seriously compromised. I pray that this has been a blessing to you, and please know this.

I do not offer any of this correction from a high and mighty position. I am nothing but a wretched sinner saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. So let's pray for Craig and for Life .Church, that they would stop their unbiblical connections and participation in false teaching by God's grace and turn to the truth of God's Word.

If you also want to help and become part of the solution today, hit the link in the description. Your support keeps us independent and helps us immensely here on the channel. So I hope you'll consider joining the Truth Army today, and until next time, fight for truth, never surrender, and keep your eyes open.

Thank you, and God bless.