Christians seem giddy at the notion that huckster Paula White will pray at the inauguration...and the world sees the hypocrisy that they cannot.

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But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. -- 2Peter 2: 1-3 (NLT)

I stayed away from this story for long enough. Perhaps because it is largely a waste of time to dance around with Christo-political operatives who care more about idolizing this country than the God they claim to serve. Paula White was recently named along with Franklin Graham to pray at the upcoming inauguration for Donald Trump. I think prayer is always a good idea. The bible says we are to pray first for those in authority and leadership. So prayer is not the issue even though I do not think Donald Trump has a god beyond himself. Nevertheless, we pray that he would lead so that we can live our lives in peace as the Word instructs us to do. No, the issue is with who has been chosen to lead these prayers. Now Trump can choose anyone he likes but it is frightening to realize the utter lack of discernment on the part of the church to not run from these choices screaming.

I know Franklin Graham has a lot of Christian street cred being the son of Billy Graham and the CEO of two major Christian charities. It is only when you dig a little that things get funky. Like how are we ok with Graham receiving $880,000 in salaries from these two organizations? How about the fact that in 2012 the Trump Foundation gave Graham through these two organizations a combined $125,000 in donations. Suddenly when Trump decides to run for president and needs to get in with the evangelicals it is Graham that sets it all up and paves the way. There is a term for this that was popular during this election cycle -- pay for play.

But Graham, while seedy, is not the conundrum for self-professing Christians. That distinction belongs to Paula White. Everyone glossed over Graham and focused their outrage on the selection of White. The criticisms have been far and wide and mostly deserved. But the Seeker Friendly Industrial Complex takes care of its own. It always makes sure that any criticism is met with push back to protect the brand. Enter false prophetess Jennifer Leclaire. Jennifer is an editor over at Charisma News, which is a front for the false signs and lying wonders heresy and a Republican Party operative. So when Paula White wanted a platform to respond to the allegations she just gave ole Jennifer a call and sure enough, Leclaire gave White free reign to answer her critics without so much as a question being asked of her. Not even trying to stay neutral, Leclaire claims that White has been "coming under massive verbal persecution" leading up to the inauguration. Give me a break.

Yes, in this country Christian persecution consists of people restating things you have already said and drawing logical conclusions from them. Leclaire's statement is absurdly ridiculous. The title of the Charisma piece is "Paula White Responds to 'Heretic, Apostate, Charlatan' Accusations. Within it, White claims she has been accused falsely of everything under the sun since it was announced she would pray with the President Elect. I am not going to get into some of the specifics because I think they were provided to poison the well. I do not know nor have seen any accusations about her being an addict. The adulterer accusation probably stems from her status of being married three times. The most recent to a former member of the rock band Journey who intimated during a recent church service that he and White liked watching pornography to enhance their marriage. The accusation about her denying the Trinity comes from conservative blogger Eric Erick Erickson. It appears to stem from something she said a long time ago about all humans being begotten of God. I do not believe White routinely preaches nor believes this so I agree with her on this one point. The accusation about bankruptcy, which she scoffs at, is probably referring to the state of her former church which did indeed file bankruptcy. Instead of these, let us deal with the three main spiritual accusations -- heretic, apostate, and charlatan. Let us start with simple definitions.

A heretic is someone who teaches theology and beliefs contrary to what is accepted within Scripture.

An apostate is someone who falls away from established faith.

A charlatan is someone falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud.

So how does Paula White score? As Meatloaf once sang, two outta three ain't bad. First, let us deal with the one that she is not. Paula White is not an apostate. Please realize that this is a nuanced conclusion and should not be counted favorably for Mrs. White. She is not an apostate because in order to be, she must have first been correct in the faith and then fallen away. Paula White always has been false. An example of an apostate would be Rob Bell who once pastored a huge mega church and preached the Gospel. Then one day he woke up and decided that hell was not an actual place and that all people go to heaven. Now this doctrine of universalism is heretical but the fact that he once believed correctly also makes him apostate. Paula White has no such correct history upon which to rest. The charge of heretic is fully supported however. This despite White's attempts to muddy the water:

"My life and decisions have been nowhere near perfect, though nothing like what has been falsely conveyed in recent days. Nevertheless, I am now a 50-year old grandmother who has learned from the good and the bad in my life. I thank God that He has plenty of grace for us all and that He knows that neither my faith, my life, not my theology originates or is inspired by any other book than the Bible -- which I believe is inerrant and God's truth. God also knows I have poured my life in love and service to others." -- Paula White

That is breathtaking. To play the grandmother card, the grace card and the victim card in one paragraph takes skill. First of all, it is not about perfection. White says this to start because she wants people to lower the bar for what they should expect from her. What has been conveyed lately, outside of the trinity denying charge, is fully supported. In this statement she defends her belief in the trinity, the Word of God, and the fundamentals of the Gospel but ignores the theological elephant in the room and that is her pimping of the prosperity gospel. Yes the grace of God is immense but that is in relation to our personal walk, not our ministry. As a minister of the Gospel, White has chosen a different standard by which to be judged. A higher standard. One that does not go away by waving your hand and speaking eloquently about mistakes you may have made.

But perhaps the most egregious thing White says is at the end here. To claim that she has poured her life in love and service to others is a mockery. That is because Paula White is the textbook definition of a charlatan. She is utterly a fraud, who has fleeced the flock of God for decades now. She serves only one god and that is mammon. One of her primary shticks is to claim direct revelation from God to force people to send her money. This is the "special knowledge" she claims to have to defraud people. In 2014 for example she claimed that God told her that 1Chronicles 22:9 meant that people should "sow" a $229 "seed" into her ministry and that this would be a "breakthrough seed." This is an actual excerpt from the mailer she sent out regarding this false word:

"This email will change your life! YOU are on the verge of complete breakthrough in every area of your life. Spiritually, Financially, and Relationally God has shown me that this is a season of victory for His people." -- Paula White

There is a word for this beloved. It is called a scam. God gave no such ridiculous word to Paula White. This is spiritually manipulative. It is maliciously evil. It is not a mistake, an error or an oopsie. This is a wolf getting ready to dine on some of God's sheep. Before you go thinking no one responds to things like this please realize that Paula White is currently worth in excess of five million dollars. That is how much money she has stolen from Christians. And you are happy she has been chosen to pray for the President-Elect? Seriously? In case you are thinking this is an outlier you would also be wrong. This is how Paula White makes her money. Just this past year she did a "teaching" on Jubilee and how this was the year of supernatural debt cancellation. That people who sowed into her ministry would receive a "double portion" from God. Then she leveraged Passover to go for the kill:

"These are mandated times that God says you must bring to me, don't stand before me empty-handed. So I want you to call our toll free number right now. And as you honor God with an offering, you are standing in position, ready to receive revelation and harvest. For the outpouring of what God has for you." -- Paula White

Absolutely shameless beloved. To take the feast days of ancient Israel and sacrifices required and twist them to try and make merchandise of the people of God is the definition of a charlatan. Then to prostitute out the blessings of God in exchange for it shows that Paula White does not know God because if she did, she would fear Him. Let us turn to our key verses for today, which seem to perfectly fit our discussion about Paula White.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Paula White is the false teacher Peter warns us about here. She has secretly brought in destructive heresies into the body of Christ, which is why the charge of heretic is fully supported. The prosperity gospel is utter and complete heresy. The notion that God will financially reward you for sowing money into this ministry or that turns God into a whore. When Jesus taught about money He always taught the opposite. We cannot serve two masters. We also do not do our good deeds to be seen or in expectance of reward. The easiest way to know if the teaching you are receiving is heresy ask yourself if it could be taught exactly the same way in other countries. Could the prosperity gospel work in the underground church in China? Or in the persecuted church in Iraq? Could it work in the slums of South America? The answer beloved is no. It is a Ponzi scheme designed to make the preacher rich. Kenneth Copeland is worth hundreds of millions of dollars -- all fleeced from the people of God through the prosperity heresy. People used to ask me if I thought that God wanted us to be poor and my answer was reflexively, well no. As I have matured in reading His Word my answer now is different. If THAT is the question on your mind then the answer is yes because it reveals where your heart is. Paula White denies Christ because she denies His Word. In her defense on Charisma News, she spoke passionately about things she claims to believe in but they are not relevant if your starting point theologically denies the very Gospel you claim to believe in! If you preach a quid-pro-quo gospel of carnal blessings it no longer matters if you believe in the Trinity. The key verses continue:

Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

Please do not miss this beloved. Many people continue to follow the evil teachings of Paula White. Many people who do will never see eternal life because she denies the one that can save them. The point here to not gloss over is that the way of the truth will be slandered. We always count the cost in terms of salvation when we discuss false teaching but how many people who are unsaved actually think less of God because of the actions of people like Paula White? You see, while much of the church has no discernment when it comes to sowing a $229 seed based upon 1Chronicles 22:9, the world see it for what it is -- a scam. Just consider that the national coverage of the outrage of selecting such an obvious charlatan is not being carried by Christian media. No beloved. Christian media, such as Charisma News, is too busy defending the wolf. This story is being carried by secular new sources. It has been widely reported through multiple worldly news sources, including the Washington Post. They can easily point out the glaring hypocrisy on the part of the church, nodding in assent at the selection of a heretic and charlatan to pray for our new president. Let there be no doubt about it beloved. The way of the truth may indeed be slandered by a world that sees what we refuse to see. And why? For the love of money:

In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. -- 2Peter 2: 2-3 (NLT)

In her greed Paula White has indeed come up with clever lies and schemes to get a hold of your money. Using numerology she has played the people of God for suckers. Twisting the Bible and employing guilt she has strong-armed the sheep to send her over five million dollars. The bankruptcy of the church she used to run? Pay that no mind. Married three times and joking about pornography from the pulpit -- hey stop persecuting her! Lying on behalf of God? Let's give her a platform to tell us how she is just a mistake making grandma who serves and loves the people she is robbing blindly. How pathetically sad.

What is truly pathetic and sad is that the church is not running away from this screaming. That in these last days they have embraced the wolf over the sheep and deferred to their politics over their Savior. Should believers pray for Mr. Trump? Absolutely. Of course if they pray for him as much as they prayed for his predecessor they will have a lot to answer for. God sees everything within our own wickedly deceitful hearts. The only thing that matters is the Gospel because it alone has the power of God unto the salvation of man. When the church openly embraces a heretic and a charlatan who has made five million dollars off of killing the sheep, is it any wonder that the way of the truth is slandered? If you want to know why those who find the narrow path are few in numbers, look no further. This does not gather people to Christ. It scatters them away.

Reverend Anthony Wade -

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.