Desmond Tutu, retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, was widely eulogized upon his death on December 26, but he was a false teacher who preached a false christ and a false gospel. The Bible tells us to “mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned” (Romans 16:17). This is not a popular activity today, and probably never has been, but the time is rapidly approaching when it will be crystal clear that it is better to please God, than man. Desmond Tutu questioned the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. “Some people thought there was something odd about Jesus’ birth. It may be that Jesus was an illegitimate son” (Tutu, Cape Times, October 24, 1980). Tutu was a universalist who believed all men have God. “The Holy Spirit is not limited to the Christian Church. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, who is a Hindu … The Holy Spirit shines through him” (Tutu, St. Alban’s Cathedral, Pretoria, South Africa, Nov. 23, 1978). “Everybody is a God-carrier, all are brothers and sisters; all are one family that can live in peace. Then evil will be overcome and God will say: ‘You are my children. Help me to realize my dream’” (Expo 2000, Hanover, Germany, Ecumenical News International, June 15, 2000). “God’s family has no outsiders. Jesus said, ‘I, when I am lifted up, will draw all [to myself].’ Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden … Gay, lesbian, so-called ‘straight.’ All, all are to be held in the incredible embrace of the love that won’t let us go” (Tutu, sermon at All Saints Church, Pasadena, Calif., Nov. 4, 2005). Like all false teachers, Tutu twisted Scripture out of context. The Bible emphatically teaches that all men are loved by God and can be saved, but it also emphatically warns that no man can be saved without repentance and personal faith in the Jesus Christ of Scripture and in His blood atonement. The apostle Paul warned, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9). Like many prominent black leaders who are exalted by the mainstream media, Tutu was a racist. He said, “Thank God I am black. White people will have a lot to answer for at the last judgment” (Argus, March 19, 1984). He ignored mankind’s wretched history, of millennia of vicious tribal warfare in Africa and in every habitable part of the earth–black against black, white against white, yellow against yellow, brown against brown, red against red. The book of Acts says God has made all men of ONE BLOOD (Acts 17:26), and, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 6:23). Man’s problem is not a skin problem, it is a heart problem. The hearts of ALL men are darkened with sin, and regenerating salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only answer.
(Friday Church News Notes, December 31, 2021, www.wayoflife.orgfbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)