Pastor Cho Yong-gi of One of the World's Largest Churches Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee from these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment, with these let us be content.

1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Pastor Cho has done a lot of damage to the Name of Christ . I hope the Lord will show him mercy by leading him to full genuine contrite repentance before its too late . Perhaps this is what He is doing now . Leading him to repentance through incarceration .. Praise the Lord for His mercy !

He's not actually serving 3 years in prison:

Yoido Full Gospel Church senior pastor received a suspended sentence of three-year prison term with a five year probation and ordered to pay a penalty of 50 billion won (US $4.7 million) by Seoul Central Court on Feb. 20, 2014. [even though he's guilty of "committing breach of trust and corruption of 130 billion won (US $21 million"].

- See more at: http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/50481/20140221/full-gospel-church-founder-david-yonggi-cho-found-guilty-of-breach-of-trust-corruption.htm#sthash.UXOplsxF.dpuf

Well, I am not a supporter of the Yoido church as their beliefs stray far afield into private revelations that are just....draw your own conclusions. But I will tell you what I do support. The mercies of God on a man who seeks Him truly. Corruption is so easy when men love you so much, thus making Jesus' "woe" to the one who is beloved by men a hard truth. For every one of Yonggi, there are so many of us whose corruption sneaks by public notice. Lord, cleanse me!! Wash me, Lord!! You know my inner man, and my secret sins. God, that I might repent and fall upon the Rock! Help us, Lord.

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

2 Timothy 3:1-9

As a Korean-American, my heart grieves when I see how far South Korea has fallen from the days of it's infancy in regards to the gospel; once small in it's own eyes, it strove to faithfully seek and serve the Lord...but prosperity came and they waxed fat and kicked and became filled with every unclean bird and animal and has become a factory for all kinds of heresies and cults and abominations...Lord, continue to bring down and expose those who have caused your great and glorious name to be blasphemed amongst the peoples of the world and raise up those who will faithfully teach and live out Your Word. Bring the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ back to Korea and stir their hearts in true Holy Spirit led repentance and bring revival once again Lord, cause them to see their desperate need of you, cause them to come humbly once again, just as in the days of old, 100 years ago...sigh...

Well, I am not a supporter of the Yoido church as their beliefs stray far afield into private revelations that are just....draw your own conclusions. But I will tell you what I do support. The mercies of God on a man who seeks Him truly. Corruption is so easy when men love you so much, thus making Jesus' "woe" to the one who is beloved by men a hard truth. For every one of Yonggi, there are so many of us whose corruption sneaks by public notice. Lord, cleanse me!! Wash me, Lord!! You know my inner man, and my secret sins. God, that I might repent and fall upon the Rock! Help us, Lord.

Well said!

We are all just sheep. We can't fight our enemies nor outrun them. We wander off and can rarely find our own way back. We're not even as smart as an ant who stores up food for himself; no, we must be led by green pastures and still waters daily. Praise the Lord for a Good Shepherd!

In Christ,

Ron

http://www.apts.edu/aeimages/File/AJPS_PDF/04-1-YHLee.pdf

It would be only fair to examine the life and ministry of Bro. Cho. The above website gives us a good view of this man's life and his beliefs.

Mike

Brother Jacob Prasch gives a good breakdown of Cho's beliefs on his website about Cho's book called "The Fourth Dimension."

http://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/discernment/church-issues/aberrational-theology/dangers-of-the-fourth-dimension

Here is an excerpt:

The second main error in Yonggi Cho’s Fourth Dimension teachings are are his ideas of imagination and visualization.

As we look at the word “imagination” in the NASB we find it appears twice.

A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own imagination. (Prov. 18:11)

Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are leading you into futility;
They speak a vision of their own imagination,
Not from the mouth of the LORD. (Jer. 23:16)

In both cases it speaks of a delusion: the delusion of trusting in riches and the delusion of the false prophets who prophesy what is in their minds rather than God’s word.

Let’s try “imaginations”; it appears once.

Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high. (Ps. 73:6-8)

Along with this is the classic passage in Jeremiah 17:9…

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?

A simple search of how the Bible deals with imaginations reveals that it is hardly something to be trusted. Yet Yonggi Cho claims:

“Until you see your husband clearly in your imagination you can’t order because God will never answer. You must see him clearly before you begin to pray. God never answers vague prayers.” (pg. 11)

Visions and dreams are the language of the fourth dimension, and the Holy Spirit communicates through them. Only through a vision and a dream can you visualize and dream bigger churches. You can visualize a new mission field. You can visualize the increase of your church. Through visualizing and dreaming your can incubate your future and hatch the results. (pg. 31-32)
It sounds great to itching ears. All you have to do is make a clear image in your mind, and then by using the “laws of faith” you can “order” what you want and God will give it to you. He then goes on to say how he imagined a church of thousands and it came to reality.

Actually, the Holy Spirit communicates to us through the Word. (Heb. 1:1; Jn. 14:26)

Through envisioning and dreaming we can kick away the wall of limitations and can stretch out to the universe. That is the reason God’s Word says “Where there is no vision the people perish”. If you have no vision you are not being creative; and if you stop being creative then you are going to perish. (pg. 31)
Yonggi Cho seems to forget that Jesus put a big limitation on prayer and what we can do — it is something called “God’s will”.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. (1 Jn. 5:14)

Where there is no vision the people perish? The word used for “vision” here is “chazon”. It is not the kind of vision you imagine in your mind — that would be “maskit”. Chazon means “revelation”. Where there is no revelation the people perish. Revelation comes to us through the Word. (Heb. 1:1) It no longer comes as it did in former times in various ways, etc. Where there is no understanding of the Word, the people perish. What does the Word really say?

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint.
But blessed is he who keeps the law. (Prov. 29:18)

The verse clearly says that having a vision is associated with keeping Scripture. Any real vision will be founded on Scripture. It is not something that we “create in our minds”. It contrasts “not having vision” with keeping the Law. Those with no revelation cast off restraint, but the blessed person keeps the Word of God. That is the sense of the verse which has its equivalent in 2 Corinthians 12:1, “I will go on to visions and revelations”. The Greek word for “revelation” here is “apokalupsis” — something that is hidden and must be unveiled; the true understanding of revelation.

Yonggi Cho says that visions help us “kick away all the walls of limitations”. The Bible says without revelation we cast off restraint. Yonggi Cho’s vision is not the biblical chazon, a revelation through the Word, but something they “create”in their mind.

If you have no vision you are not being creative. (pg. 31)
And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. (Jer 14:4)

Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.( Jer. 23:16)

Cho and Rick Warren recently had breakfast together. In response to Rick’s question concerning his ministry, Cho replied, “As a minister, you should know that prayer is the foundation of church growth and revival. [Y]ou should have visions and dreams because [these] are the vessels through which God works.” [Editor's Note: This quote originally found at http://pastors.com/articles/ChoInterview.asp but no longer viewable on the web.]

"We should always try to visualize the end result as we pray [or] it cannot become a reality. Through visualizing and dreaming, you can incubate your future and hatch the results. (pg. 48)
If only the apostles had understood this they could have imagined that Nero would disappear. Paul could have visualized many people getting saved in Athens rather than wasting his time preaching the Gospel so that just “a few were saved”. The modern charismatic teaching on visualization is foreign to the Bible.

Yonggie Cho writes, “I claim that I could build a church which has more than 10,000 members in the states, as well as Germany or in Tokyo”. (pg. 20)
Well Mr. Cho, that was 1979, more than 30 years ago. Couldn’t even one of your hundreds of thousands of disciples make the short trip to Japan and put your teaching into practice?

“Those members are inside of me, growing, and as the vision grows inside of me, the same is growing outside.” (pg. 18)
The example of Joseph gives us a biblical view of prayer. Yes, Joseph was given a dream, but it was hardly his goal to reign over his brothers and parents. As he continued faithful to God, things went from bad to worse as he was rejected by his brothers, sold as a slave, taken to Egypt, sent to prison. There is no conceivable way that Joseph imagined these things or brought them to pass through the fourth dimensional laws; he just remained faithful to God. At the end of his life he could look back and see God’s hand in it all. He could see that the suffering was necessary. He could see that even the betrayal by his brothers was God’s way of bringing about the salvation of his family.

Paul’s desire was to preach to the Jews yet God sent him to the Gentiles. God knows what we need. Yes we may pray specific prayers, we should learn God’s ways through studying His Word so that in time we will begin to understand His will to the extent that we may pray His will confidently, but even then our imagination remains a part of the soul and until the resurrection we are fallen creatures. The Word-Faith Movement, including Yonggi Cho, raises man to the level of God.

Many Christian in Korean and Taiwan see him as a hero.
This will do them great damage. Let us pray that these people wake up and embrace the truth.

tbsounde2 wrote:
As a Korean-American, my heart grieves when I see how far South Korea has fallen from the days of it's infancy in regards to the gospel; once small in it's own eyes, it strove to faithfully seek and serve the Lord...but prosperity came and they waxed fat and kicked and became filled with every unclean bird and animal and has become a factory for all kinds of heresies and cults and abominations...

Lord, continue to bring down and expose those who have caused your great and glorious name to be blasphemed amongst the peoples of the world and raise up those who will faithfully teach and live out Your Word. Bring the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ back to Korea and stir their hearts in true Holy Spirit led repentance and bring revival once again Lord, cause them to see their desperate need of you, cause them to come humbly once again, just as in the days of old, 100 years ago...sigh...

I will pray for Korea, brother; but we all must guard our hearts from the things of this world.

God bless,
Lisa

The sad reality is that Cho has had a HUGE impact in South Korea which has also made it's way into almost every Korean-America Church. I have observed a common and alarming trend throughout my time in Seoul as well as my interactions with Korean Churches in the US; trends that echo teachings of people like Cho regarding an over emphasis on prosperity, church growth, and using God more like some kind of force or genie rather than trusting in His sovereignty. Almost every service is about making big dreams for yourself and about becoming famous or prominent people in society, using the story of Joseph as their main basis for argument. For pastors, this had led them to be more concerned about growing their church in numbers rather than teaching their entrusted sheep the Word and the gospel; thinking that having a large church is the sign that God is being glorified. For Parents this has caused them to primarily focus on this form of success for their children rather than spiritual substance; their prayers for their children mainly centering around worldly success, with no form of discipleship in the home and leaving it to the youth pastor to teach their children how to "be a Christian", with home conversations predominantly composed of "how are you doing in school" rather than "how is your walk with Christ." I have seen countless Korean Americans who grew up in church that end up hating their parents and anything to do with God or worse, many walk with a presumption of religion while living like devils, thinking to be Christians just because they attend church every Sunday while getting drunk the night before at clubs and pursuing after the wealth and success of this world. And the blame partly falls on people like Cho who have peddled a false gospel with false hopes and expectations to unsuspecting sheep that were led astray; pastors, mothers, fathers...sure he had one of the largest churches in Korea, but that added to the false validation in the minds of people that large church equals true church when in fact it is quite the opposite in the book of Revelation in comparing Laodecia vs Philadelphia, "though you have but little power, you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Literally breaks my heart to pieces as I see the house (contemporary Korean church) built by human hands beginning to crumble and fall and cause spiritual devastation on those who once found shelter within its walls.

Hi Blaine,

Many to my knowledge are aware of the persecuted church in NK, but to what degree they are familiar with the details I am not certain. I am fairly certain that Cho is familiar. But the interesting thing is that SK's view is more of pity due to outward hardships that the people in NK face without realizing that it is the very hardship and difficulty that has kept them pure whereas those in the south have wandered from the faith due to their prosperity. NK and a desire to do mission work there has become a sort of fad in SK in my opinion and some churches here in the states. I am always conflicted when I am praying for the church in NK. In one sense I am deeply moved by their suffering but in another sense I know what westernization will do and the flood of heresies that will come, especially from the south and the west. But on the other hand, the korean cult called the moonies already has a presence in NK as its founder donated lots of money to the former president. The corporations under the moonies cult is actually one of the primary manufacturers of automobiles used in NK. So in light of this, it would seem far better for the doors to open so that the gospel can be preached to as many as possible unto the return of our Lord.

Hi just-in,

Definitely, I absolutely agree with you, but they are few and far between. Not sure if you had a chance to visit SK recently, but there are cults everywhere, which are more militant in their evangelism than the "real" (and I use that term loosely) christians. Materialism and vanity has swept through the land and the people are in utter bondage to media and technology. They have massive churches, and on every block, literally, you can see endless rows of red crosses that light up at night littered all across the city scape, but powerless to turn the society away from it's addiction to games, high suicide rates, plastic surgery, etc. It is because the people of SK have turned away from the once humble place they used to be; where the Word and gospel used to be central and they had tender hearts before the Lord. Now SK, an asian nation where respect for your elders is paramount, has turned into a nation where students will curse and beat up their own teachers with the teachers not being able to do anything about it due to the fear of being sued. Where children are raised by television and internet and worship their gods in the form of k-pop stars and computer games and korean dramas and worldly success. To be honest, I think SK is in a far worse condition than the US. I even heard that people are returning to buddhism in droves, saying "it's not a religion, but a philosophy for living" because of people like Cho who have turned people off toward the church, causing the name of Christ to be blasphemed. Yes there are godly men in Korea, just as there were 7000 that did not bow the knee to baal during elijah's time, but sadly, I feel that SK has crossed a point of no return and that judgment is nigh. I wish this wasn't so, with all my heart I wish SK would return, but the opiate of prosperity and a pretense of religion proves to be too strong a drink as testified throughout history, namely the Israelites.

Bearmaster: "K P Yohannan has said it is easier for him to live out Christ.in India in the midst of persecution than America with its materialism."

I find such sentiments strange - can anyone back this up with Scripture? Israel for the record didn't fare very well in either abundant prosperity or their wilderness years.

It is said that circumstances reveal the man. Surely it is not a matter of importance to a regenerated soul where he is placed if he abides in Christ.

Hi yuehan,

Although I agree with your sentiment that circumstances, good or bad, reveal the man and that it is all about trusting and abiding in Christ no matter where we are, I think there is a strong biblical precedence for the notion that having more worldly prosperity and comfort presents additional challenges to the believer. Here are some verses to back up my point:

14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
with the very finest of the wheat””
and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.
15 "But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
with abominations they provoked him to anger.
Deuteronomy 32:14-16

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:23-24

24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:24

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:9-10

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
James 2:5

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
James 5:1-6

9 "‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Revelation 2:9

8 "‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:8

15 "‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Revelation 3:15-18

This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but the bible is quite clear that having more in this life presents certain difficulties to the believer. This isn't to minimize the hardship and struggle faced by those who are persecuted for their faith and endure through poverty, but that they in a sense have a clearer path laid before them in their walk with the Lord (less distractions to say the least). It is usually those who are in a more humble (poor, difficult, etc) condition that realize and feel a greater need for God.

Hi brother Greg,

Thank you for the post. I just read the article and I still am not convinced, especially because the one who wrote the article on Charisma news (which I feel is many times not a very reliable source) already has a bias toward Cho as he happens to be a close family friend of theirs and the idea that he had absolutely no idea is a bit hard for me to swallow. But regardless of his true involvement in the whole money and legal issue, I think if one were to take a close look at what Cho's teachings consisted of, it would be quite evident that he is not accurately representing what it is taught in the scriptures and is rather teaching that which is in accordance to the word faith and prosperity movement which has done a great deal of damage to the Korean church, both in Korea and throughout the world, especially in America. I have heard that he is a very humble man, but that doesn't mean that he is a godly man in the sense of "rightly dividing the word of God." I've met super loving and humble people who are followers of buddha and krishna, even more than many Christians might I add, but that is the very thing, it isn't only by one's outward character a man of God is defined, but the manner of their teaching as well, if it is in accordance with the truth (a concept which I am certain you are fully aware of). Cho is guilty of far more than embezzlement, but of leading many Koreans astray by giving them what their itching ears want to hear, and this under the pretense of preaching the Word of God, I have seen and experienced these things first hand.