Every movement has its charlatans. But in Christianity the stakes are eternal, so some things simply cannot go unchallenged.
Let's talk about televangelist Jesse Duplantis:
For Christians, these statements aren't merely eccentric. They contradict the very core of our faith. And for those looking at Christianity from the outside, wondering whether this is what the religion teaches, let me say unequivocally, it is not.
Only One Person in Christian belief can say "If you've seen me, you've seen God." And it isn't Jesse Duplantis.
In the New Testament, Jesus tells His disciples, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Christianity rests on that audacious and unique claim: that Jesus alone is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and the "exact imprint" of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3).
No pastor, preacher, or spiritual leader, no matter how charismatic, shares such divine identity.
The earliest Christian leaders understood this. When Paul and Barnabas performed a miracle and the crowds tried to worship them, they ripped their clothes and cried out, "We are men of like nature with you!" (Acts 14:14-15). In other words: don't confuse us with God.
To claim otherwise is not faithful Christianity; it's spiritual delusion dressed in religious language. What Duplantis is preaching here is a false theology that harms both believers and public understanding of Christianity.
In order to justify his own chosen lifestyle of extravagance and excess, Duplantis argues that his wealth is not only acceptable, but divinely endorsed. If God is rich, he reasons, God's representatives should be too.
But the New Testament never links godliness with luxury. In fact, it actively warns against it. The Apostle Paul described teachers who "suppose that godliness is a means of gain" and called such thinking corrupt (1 Timothy 6:5). He adds that those who desire to be rich fall into "temptation" and "harmful desires" that lead to ruin (v. 9). That is as direct a warning against the so-called "prosperity gospel" as one can find.
Jesus Himself lived without wealth or earthly riches. "The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head," He said (Matthew 8:20). His life was one of service, not self-indulgence. The earliest Christians followed that pattern. While Duplantis wallows in opulence, Paul details that he and other apostles experienced hunger, thirst, and homelessness (1 Corinthians 4:11-13). For thinking people, believers or not, this contrast should cause deep reflection.
This form of spiritual abuse doesn't only harm believers. When public figures like Duplantis claim divine status or frame personal wealth as spiritual entitlement, they distort the public's understanding of Christianity and erode trust in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Many people reject Christianity because they've encountered counterfeits wrapped in Christian vocabulary.
Real Christianity teaches hope, generosity, and the dignity of all people, not that spiritual leaders are miniature gods or that holiness is measured by a home's square footage. Christian leaders are called to humility, accountability, and sacrificial service. Jesus washed His disciples' feet - a symbolic act of servanthood that stands worlds apart from lavish mansions and self-deification.
The real scandal is not that some preachers stray from these values, but that many Americans assume such figures represent the faith. They don't. They represent Satan, the enemy of God.
We need to keep saying so, loudly and clearly.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.
