Background Information:
Born: May 19, 1958
Bachelor of Arts, Journalism, Georgia State University
Master’s Degree, Dallas Theological Seminary
Founder and Senior Pastor, North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia- 1995
Founder, North Point Ministries
Television Host, Your Move with Andy Stanley
Overview:
As the founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries, Andy Stanley has a responsibility to teach the truth of Scripture to those who are at his church. However, his track record contains many sermons, quotations, and teachings that explicitly contradict sound, orthodox Christian theology and the Bible itself. He has made several neo-Marcionite statements. (Marcionism: a heresy which teaches that the Old Testament is no longer relevant or authoritative Scripture.) Furthermore, Stanley has advocated for the critical race theorist principle of “anti-racism,” and made claims that white people are “probably” all racist. His church has also (like many churches) adopted the Leftist narrative concerning COVID-19, opting to close its doors till the development of a vaccine.
Andy Stanley and Marcionism:
In a sermon posted on Stanley’s YouTube channel in 2018, entitled “Aftermath, Part 3: Not Difficult,” he made several claims about the early church that stand in stark contrast to the truth described in Scripture. In particular, he claimed that the early “Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish Scriptures,” and “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish Scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.” By the “Jewish Scriptures,” it is clear that Stanley is referring to the entire Old Testament, and particularly the books of God’s Law. Given what he said in the aforementioned sermon, Stanley believes that the Old Testament is akin to discardable tool that God once gave to His people, but that He no longer holds as authoritative. Stanley also said: “Jesus’ new covenant, His covenant with the nations, His covenant with you, His covenant with us, can stand on its own two nail-scarred resurrection feet. It does not need propping up by the Jewish Scriptures.” In other words, Stanley argues that Jesus has relinquished the responsibility of Christians to hold to the necessity of the whole Bible.
This is as close as one could possibly come to true Marcionism without admitting to denying that God inspired the Old Testament, or without stating that there is a separate God of the Old Testament who is not the same as the God of the New. It is functional neo-Marcionism, rather than full-fledged Marcionism, and it is heretical, according to the Bible itself, where Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” and according to all historic, orthodox Christian traditions. It is imperative for Christians to remove themselves from false churches with false pastors in the pulpits who teach things that are as blatantly heterodox as Stanley’s sermon.
Andy’s Antinomianism:
As a consequence of Andy’s explicit neo-Marcionite theology, he rejects the Law of God altogether. Not only does he distinguish the Law from the Gospel, but he denies the importance or validity of God’s Law altogether for those who are in the Church universal. Whereas the Biblical view is that the Gospel inspires repentance which, in turn, inspires obedience to God’s Law, Stanley’s view is that the Gospel superseded and replaced the Law altogether. He suggested that “The Ten Commandments played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel. It gave them moral guidelines and helped separate this new nation from their neighbors. This was part of the formal agreement (or covenant) God created with his people, but Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it.” The Decalogue (Ten Commandments), according to Stanley, is no longer binding. But if it is no longer binding, then there can be no objective standard for what constitutes “sin,” because “sin is the transgression of the law,” per 1 John 3:4.
Thus, Stanley’s neo-Marcionism results in the heresy of antinomianism. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, “antinomianism” is the rejection of God’s Moral Law, especially as revealed in the Old Testament. In the early days of the Church, antinomianism was prominent among Gnostics, who argued against the importance, validity, and authority of the Old Testament Scriptures. In rejecting the Biblical view of the Moral Law, Stanley has linked himself to a longstanding opposition to the Church, the Bible, and ultimately to God who instituted both of those as safeguards against falsehood and evil.
Andy Stanley’s Denial of the Importance of Jesus’s Birth and Church-Gathering:
Stanley has claimed that “Christianity doesn’t hinge on the truth or even the stories around the birth of Jesus.” Further, under Stanley’s leadership, when Christmas happens to fall on a Sunday, North Point has repeatedly cancelled church services. Stanley’s approval of cancelling church directly contradicts the Biblical command to gather together as a body and to “not forsake the assembly,” as it is written in Hebrews 10:25.
Andy’s Anti-Racist Racism:
Alongside the other errors previously mentioned, Andy Stanley has promoted critical race theory– in particular, he has embraced the tenet of “anti-racism.” He said “It is not enough not to be a racist. It is not enough not to be a racist. Non-racist is not the goal. Being non-racist does nothing to address racism. Practically speaking, it amount to indifference towards racism. If you’re a Jesus follower, you must be– we must be anti-racism.” Anti-racism is the idea that, rather than treating people as image-bearers of God regardless of skin color, people must be treated differently according to their racial identity, with some persons being given priority for “past injustice,” a term which really means “something that may or may not have happened that can be used to guilt those who are considered privileged into giving up their property, privileges, status, wealth, history, culture, and other items to those who are considered oppressed.” (For those who wish for a brief primer or refresher on the tenets of CRT and how anti-racism ties into the CRT paradigm, check out our Wokepedia article on the subject here.) Stanley is arguing, then, that believers must align themselves with the narrative and goals of “social justice.”
In the same sermon, Stanley went on to say the following: “Speaking from personal experience, and I’ll own this, whether you’re white, or brown, or black, when you shift from non-racist to anti-racist, you may discover something disturbing about you. You may discover a racist in the mirror. You may discover subtle versions of racism that have been hiding, even masquerading as virtues, buried in the recesses of your heart… For some of us, the truth is, when it comes to our hearts, racism will never be rooted out, until we are willing to speak out. And honestly, there’s probably a little bit of racism in all of us. And who knows? Perhaps it will never be completely erased from our hearts…” This, too, accords perfectly with critical race theory, which holds that all white people are inherently racist, and that anyone who denies this (or claims to be “not racist”) is exhibiting symptoms of “white fragility.” Stanley’s argument here is that anti-racism is a project that Christians should actively promote. In reality, anti-racism is a secular doctrine that stands in opposition to historic Christian orthodoxy, which does not promote the vengefulness of critical race theory for alleged “past injustice,” but instead favors truth, rather than favoring those who are deemed “poor” by Left-wing professors, politicians, or pundits.