Correcting Ock Soo Park’s Erroneous Teachings by Christ’s Person and Work

The following paper is an assignment for Systematic Theology II: A studies of a heretical figure based on Christ’s Person and Work by Ngaitun Chow

Correcting Ock Soo Park’s Erroneous Teachings by Christ’s Person and Work

            Sound theology of Jesus’ person and work is the touchstone of exposing heterodox teaching about Christian orthodoxy. In the first paper, a theological basis has established on the truths about Jesus’ coexisting humanity and divinity, and his salvific work in human redemption. In this paper, I will first focus on the important teachings about Jesus’s person and work from the Bible, creeds, systematic theology texts, and lecture notes. I will then apply the findings to the heretical views that Ock Soo Park taught through the ministry of Good News Mission. After analyzing his faulty view of Christ’s work for salvation, I will show where his erroneous view of Christ’s person is also affected. Finally, I will propose recommendations on how to correct and help adherents to leave the group based on my personal encounter and witnesses’ advices.     

The Divinity of Jesus          

The Bible is the primary source and the authority for a theological discussion about the person and work of Christ. It describes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the Son of Man” who is fully God and fully human at the same time in his incarnated body. His self-consciousness and divine attributes testify him as one with the Father and to know him is to know the Father (John 10:31, 14:7). He is God in the beginning (John 1:1), preexisted the creation (8:58), and worked simultaneously with his Father (14:23). His beloved disciple John regards him as the Creator, “All things were made through him” (1:3), the Sustainer because his divine fullness brings us grace (1:16), and the Redeemer “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (1:12). The Nicaean Creed affirms the person of Jesus as fully God in the very same substance of the Father always:

“The Only Begotten Son of God (John 3:16), born (of the substance) of the Father before all ages (Colossians 1:15, 1:17). God of God (John 1:1-2), Light of Light (John 1:4, 1:9), true God of true God (1 John 5:20), begotten, not made (John 1:14), consubstantial (of one substance) with the Father (1 John 1:5 & John 8:12).”   

The Humanity of Jesus      

            By the incarnation, Jesus bridged the chasm between humanity and God. His self-consciousness and human attributes testify him as “the Son of Man”. The title suggests his humanity who was the Word became flesh (John 1:14), but also alludes to his coming suffering as the messianic figure in Dan. 7:13-14. As a fully man, physically he felt hunger when he fasted (Matt. 4:2); he experienced thirst (John 19:28); he fatigued (4:6); and psychologically he loved and had compassion (John 11:3, 13:23, Matt. 9:36); he could be distressed (26:37); he had experienced joy (John 15:11), grieved (Mark 3:5), indignant (10:14); and he had wept (John 11:35); and cognitively he knew the thoughts of his friends (Luke 9:47), his enemies (6:8), and people around him (John 2:25). Paul affirmed the humanity of Jesus by describing him as “a descendant of David” (Rom 1:2-3), “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (8:3), and “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7-8). By the fifth century, the Definition of Chalcedon was written to explain and rail guard the reality of the coexistence of Jesus’ divinity and humanity in his incarnated body,

      “Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood… recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union; but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence…”

Jesus' Role in Human Redemption

Jesus was sent by God to become a man to redeem and atone for men’s sins, “by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” (Rom. 1:2-3, 5:15). By withholding his freedom, knowledge, and power Jesus was not less than God. He limited his divinity in order to become the substitutionary atonement for us, “he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave”, tying himself with the circumstance-induced limitation, “He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death” (Phil. 2:7-8).

Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). His role was a substitutionary atonement for our sins (Rom. 5:6, 1Pet. 2:24). He is the lamb the Old Testament was pointing to (Gen. 22:8, Ex. 12:21, Is. 53:7). When Paul catechized the believers in Corinth he emphasized Jesus’ redemptive work by his bodily death, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1Cor. 15:3-4). These passages elucidate Jesus as the Savior in achieving redemption to humanity through his death and resurrection.

Above all Jesus is the Messiah. The Old and New Testament speak of the Messiah with three offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. As the Prophet, Jesus reveals the will of God, teaches righteousness, manifest God’s glory, and preach the good news to the gentiles, according to Hodge. As the Priest, Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice of atonement for the sins of all people (Heb. 2:17), replaced old priesthood as “the mediator of new covenant” (9:15), extended priesthood to all believers (1Pet. 2:9), interceded for us with empathy (Heb. 4:15), and was divinely appointed by God (5:10). As the King, Jesus was anointed by God (Heb. 1:8), was the fulfillment of Micah 5:2 as “ruler over Israel”, and had a new covenant people. Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King means that we ought to listen, offer ourselves, and obey him for he knows and holds the future.

Summary:     Jesus is the center of our faith and practice. It is crucial for Christians to hold the orthodox belief of Jesus’ person and work otherwise we will easily go astray. The Bible, creeds, and faithful theologians teach us that Jesus is fully God and fully human, and he became the substitutionary atonement for us. The only way to salvation is to believe in his death and resurrection. Therefore if anyone added or subtracted anything from the salvific work of Christ is a heretic. A faulty interpretation of Christ’s work will also distort one’s view on Christ’s person. Ock Soo Park’s teaching is an example of heterodox Christology and Soteriology. The rest of the paper aims to examine the erroneous doctrine held by Good News Mission and propose practical recommendations on correcting and helping its adherents.

Ock Soo Park and Good News Mission

            Ock Soo Park was born in 1944 in Korea. He was born again in 1962 after which he studied in a mission school run by Dick York and other foreign missionaries[1]. He composed his thirteen chapters autobiography, and said this about his personal testimony, “Before I was born again, I failed at everything, but after receiving the forgiveness of sins and devoting my life to the Gospel, God’s only provided me with precious opportunities to preach the good news of His salvation”[2]. Ock Soo Park founded Good News Mission in 1986 and International Youth Fellowship in 2001. According to Good News Mission official website^[3], the group is presently carrying on its mission activities with 178 churches in South Korea and has dispatched 214 missionaries to 80 countries worldwide. Good News Corps was the fruit of International Youth Fellowship when the first 14 volunteers were dispatched from Korea to countries across the world. To sum up, Good News Mission has established 29 Mahanaim Bible Colleges, has dispatched 4,442 short-term missionaries from 2002 until now, and has hosted the Bible Crusade in New York City twice a year since 2006.

Ock Soo Park’s Erroneous Teaching                                                                        

            Ock Soo Park has authored 38 books, including the most popular title, Secret of Forgiveness of Sins and Being Born Again. In its many of Park’s erroneous teachings can be found. First, he falsely argued that sin and act of sin are different. He said, “You may have stolen, lied and committed murder, but those are not sins, they are crimes.”[4] When he interpreted 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins…” Park thought people should not confess the “symptoms of sins” referring our transgressions against God’s law, but confessing that by nature we are a mass of sin which is our original sin. He believed confession should never refer to any act of sin, only to one's sinful nature. Thus, Park convinced Christians not to continuously confess their sins after repentance. He considered confession of sins meant that they were still in sin and not saved. He posted the question to the orthodox believers in a rhetorical way, “There are many people who pray, saying, “God, forgive my sins.” You are doing well, but let’s think carefully about this. Folks, when Jesus was crucified, did he wash away your sins, or did He not? If your sins are washed away, do you have to ask to have them washed away again?”[5]

Park’s third erroneous teaching was that he believed born-again Christians would no longer sin. He translated the text of John 8:11 as “...I do not condemn you. You have no sin”[6] instead of “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” [7] (ESV) When he approached new believers he would say, “"You say that you believe Jesus washed away your sins, but when you are asked, “Do you have sin?” You answer, “Yes I have sin.” That is not believing… You must believe that the Lord washed our sin perfectly clean. Then your heart can be freed from sin."[8] Park’s greatest mistake was to add “no longer sin” and “no more confession” for salvation in Christ. In other word, his “good news” was Jesus plus— no confession of sin.

According to Dr. Israel Drazin a Jewish Scholar, Ock Soo Park advocated that the devil was the sole reason for human’s sin. On December 26, 2006, Ock Soo Park made an advertisement on an entire page of the New York Times stating, “Ham was led by Satan” (referring to Ham the son of Noah). Drazin quoted from Park’s writing, “You must come to know that the thoughts that arise in you are not your own, but are thoughts inserted by Satan. If you simply follow the thoughts that arise in you, you can only be cursed.”[9] Drazin disagreed with Park’s idea because he knew that mistaken notion would lead to foolish and unproductive acts. Park’s heretical teachings about sin, confession, and sanctification diminished the salvific work of Christ. Thus, it distorted the correct view of Christ’s person as merely a redeemer but not a sustainer and sanctifier.

Orthodox Doctrine of Jesus Salvific Work vs. the Heretical Views

            In response to Park’s confusion of sin and act of sin, the Bible does not distinguish them in term of Jesus’ work of salvation over sin. Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin (ἁμαρτίαν, singular) of the world” (John 1:29). His salvific work was a substitutionary atonement for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8), “so that we might die to sins (ἁμαρτίαις, plural) and live for righteousness” (1Pet. 2:24). In both cases, the words of sins refer to the realm and our transgressions that Jesus has crucified for us. Christians must confess sins, our acts of iniquity, not merely the sinful nature that Park suggested. The context of 1John 1:9-10 unfolds it clearly, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...”

            In term of redemption from our sinful nature, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb. 10:10) It is true that our sins have been forgiven once we put faith in Christ because of the work he has done on the cross. In term of our spiritual growth, we know that we still sin and the Bible teaches, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another (James 5:16). Christian life is a continuous journey, “if we walk (περιπατῶμεν, present active subjunctive) in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses (καθαρίζει, present active indicative) us from all sin.” (1John 1:7) In a judicial sense, we have a righteous standing before God. Our cleansing is past because Jesus crucified once and for all. In a filial sense, we have not made prefect in our life before God. Our covering by Jesus’ blood needs to continue. Therefore, confession of sin is necessary. It is a deadly sin by not confessing because otherwise we would then make God a liar.

Summary: Jesus’ salvific work is eschatological, Already-But-Not-Yet, “we are saved, being saved, and will be saved”. Sin is still real in the present, and until Jesus returned we have to practice confession. Applying this to the person of Christ, as the Prophet he tells the people of God to repent and remember the Lord’s covenant; as the Priest he covers us with his blood and continue to intercede for us by the right side of the Father; and as the King he demands our loyalty and will return to deliver us from this evil world. This is how the orthodox Christology and Soteriology correct the erroneous teaching of Ock Soo Park.   

Recommendations on Correcting and Helping Adherents from Good New Mission

Ock Soo Park’s erroneous teaching was a result of combining Justification and Sanctification[10]. Therefore, we have to understand what the Scripture teaches us about Justification, which is our standing before God. First, Jesus died for our sin and only because of that we are  “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). Second, we then become justified, righteous in God's sight, and become his children by faith (Rom. 5:1). Third, nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:39). These are the foundations of our righteous standing before God.

Jesus’ salvific work has not stopped there to let our life unchanged. He continues to work in our lives to sanctify us. This ongoing state is called, Sanctification. First, as Christian we feel the tension of sin because we still have our sinful nature (Rom. 7:19). However, we must be responsible to discipline our sinful nature and nurture our new nature so that we have victory over the flesh (Rom. 13:14). Finally, sin actually can affect our fellowship with God, and effectiveness in service, unless it is promptly confessed (1John 1:9). Christians should not stop with the righteous standing but to work out the salvation in the continual sanctified state.

In term of helping adherents from Good New Mission, precaution is better than remedy. One great example of rising awareness of the heresy is to publish article on major newspapers. The Indian Church announced a solemn warning before Ock Soo Park ’s “Bible Crusade” launching at their city[11]. Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), Christian Forum Dimapur and the Korean Presbyterian Church Council, the Synod of South Atlantic together cautioned public against the “dangers” of Good News Mission. In addition, NBCC general secretary, Rev Anjo advised all churches and members against having any association with the Good News Mission and told them not to participate or attend the program hosted by the Mission.

Many young people who came out of the cult wrote their detailed experience on blogs[12] and two particular college students shared their stories in The New York Times, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”^[13]. It was an article about the trip that made the front page of nytimes.com. It described the account of two students who went home early in the trip from Dallas, Texas during the four days of “training” in preparation for teaching in Mexico.  

Conclusion: In this paper, I have applied the studies of Christ’s person and work on Ock Soo Park’s erroneous teachings gathered from primary sources, adherents’ viewpoint, books, news articles, websites, and personal encounter. Findings show that Park teaches another gospel and Good News Mission is a heretic group. Christians must be aware and avoid associate with them.  

Bibliography

Drazin, Israel. Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind. Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 2008.

Green, Joel B., Jeannine K. Brown, and Nicholas Perrin, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove, Ilinois: IVP Academic, 2013.

Park, Pastor Ock Soo. The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again. Seoul, Korea: Good News Publishing House, 1997.

Primary Internet References

  “Pastor Ock Soo Park”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/pastor-ock-soo-park/. (Cf. Autobiography on http://ocksoopark.com/?c=4/19&uid=23)

 “Who We Are”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/who-we-are/.

Secondary Internet References

Blog text2cloud, Accessed November 3, 2014, http://text2cloud.com/2014/05/the-good-news-cult/

Jim Dwyer, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”, The New York Times, January 19, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/nyregion/traveling-to-volunteer-but-it-wasnt-what-they-expected.html?_r=3&scp=15&sq=Mexico&st=cse&fb_source=message&

“NBCC cautions on ‘Good News Mission’”, Nagaland Post, October 25, 2009. http://www.nagalandpost.com/ShowStory.aspx?npoststoryiden=UzEwMTg1Njg%3D-ITV3kfEFmyQ%3D

“The International Youth Fellowship”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm

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[1] “The International Youth Fellowship”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm.

[2] “Pastor Ock Soo Park”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/pastor-ock-soo-park/. (Cf. Autobiography on http://ocksoopark.com/?c=4/19&uid=23).

[3] “Who We Are”. Accessed November 3, 2014, http://goodnewsmission.net/about-us/who-we-are/.

[4] Ock Soo Park, The Secret of Forgiveness of Sin and Being Born Again (Seoul, Korea: Good News Publishing House, 1997), 30.

[5] Ibid. 124.

[6] Ibid. 121.

[7] John 8:11 “οὐδὲ ἐγώ σε κατακρίνω· πορεύου, [καὶ] ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε.” (NA27).

[8] Park, 235.

[9] Israel Drazin, Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind (Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 2008), xv.

[10] “The International Youth Fellowship”, Accessed November 3, 2014, http://www.truth-that-matters.com/iyf.htm.

[11] “NBCC cautions on ‘Good News Mission’”, Nagaland Post, October 25, 2009. http://www.nagalandpost.com/ShowStory.aspx?npoststoryiden=UzEwMTg1Njg%3D-ITV3kfEFmyQ%3D.

[12] Blog, http://text2cloud.com/2014/05/the-good-news-cult/.

[13] Jim Dwyer, “Traveling to Teach English; Getting Sermons Instead”, The New York Times, January 19, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/nyregion/traveling-to-volunteer-but-it-wasnt-what-they-expected.html?_r=3&scp=15&sq=Mexico&st=cse&fb_source=message&.